Free Republic

Ford Motor Co. will haul out piles of arsenic-laced soil found in Ringwood State Park, ending a four-year battle over the source of the waste. The company failed to prove the cancer-causing element was a naturally occurring remnant of mining in the remote mountain in Ringwood, rather than a byproduct of the paint sludge it dumped decades ago. As a result, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is demanding Ford remove the contamination as part of its Superfund cleanup. Plastic tarps now cover several hockey-rink size swaths of the toxic-laden soil. Federal officials say the arsenic isn’t leaching and has not...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey has warned squirrel hunters near a toxic waste dump about consuming the critters because they could be contaminated with lead. It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents - many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area - about their squirrel intake, said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Senior Services. A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, to send out letters advising...

INDIANA BAT RINGWOOD -- Ford's toxic waste dump may be home to a tiny newcomer, posing a big problem for neighbors seeking a speedy cleanup.  The Indiana bat, a nationally listed endangered species, may be in the area. And that has interrupted tree clearing at the dump even though residents say the contamination is making them ill and should be removed as soon as possible.  Wildlife personnel are investigating whether the bats, which winter in mines and summer in the bark of large trees, are living at the Upper Ringwood site."We realize some work has stopped and we understand...

Tragedy in Passaic County. A small plane carrying two people crashed in West Milford yesterday, killing both passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna 182 was attempting to take off from Greenwood Lake Airport when it crashed at the end of the runway. The four-seat, single-engine plane was quickly engulfed by flames and was destroyed. Authorities say the victims were 79-year-old Harold Botsford Junior, a flight instructor from Ringwood, and Ted Fletcher, a pilot from Franklin Lakes who was trying to refresh his license.