October 3, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Captain Bill Sheehan; or Kathleen L. Millian or Lemuel B. Thomas Hackensack
Riverkeeper Gives Notice of New Lawsuit to Stop River
Contamination Jersey City, NJ – Hackensack Riverkeeper yesterday joined with three Jersey City residents to give notice of its intent to file a federal lawsuit against Honeywell International Inc. and twelve property owners responsible for chromium contamination in the Hackensack River. “We’re putting Honeywell and the others on notice that Hackensack Riverkeeper will not tolerate a job half-done,” explained Captain Bill Sheehan, executive director of Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc. “The polluters must clean up the messes they’re responsible for.” The lawsuit will involve 12 properties near the Hackensack River and Route 440 in Jersey City. The properties, which have been designated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as "Study Areas 5 and 6," are in the vicinity of the 34-acre site (often called the Roosevelt Drive-in site) Honeywell is already cleaning up under a federal court order. That site contains 1.5 million tons of hexavalent chromium-laden toxic waste, which is a carcinogen. The chromium-laden waste has been leaching into the Hackensack River for decades. In 2003, following lawsuits brought by Hackensack Riverkeeper, Interfaith Community Organization, and several Jersey City residents, a federal judge ordered Honeywell to excavate the contaminated soil at the 34-acre site. The court also ordered Honeywell to clean up the site’s contaminated groundwater and contaminated sediments in the Hackensack River in the vicinity of the site. The new lawsuit will focus on chromium contamination surrounding the 34-acre site on the near-by properties that make up Study Areas 5 and 6. The contaminated groundwater at these sites is connected to the contaminated groundwater at the Roosevelt site and continues to cause toxic pollution to leach into the Hackensack River. This lawsuit will bring the entire problem under the federal court’s jurisdiction. The court will be able to order Honeywell to undertake the same sort of comprehensive remedy that it ordered for the 34-acre site for these other sites as well. “The Federal Judiciary has made it abundantly clear that Honeywell must clean the Roosevelt site,” said Captain Sheehan. “We’re confident that they will continue to uphold the environmental rights of our watershed citizens on Areas 5 and 6 as well.” The notice letter contains a statement which the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requested that Hackensack Riverkeeper include. It states that NJDEP is asking the New Jersey Attorney General to send Honeywell a similar notice letter for Study Areas 5 and 6. Under federal law, Hackensack Riverkeeper is required to give Honeywell, the property owners, and state and federal officials, 90 days notice before filing the lawsuit. Hackensack Riverkeeper intends to file suit promptly after the 90 days have elapsed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A copy of the Letter of Intent is available either by facsimile or as a PDF file. Please contact Hackensack Riverkeeper at 201-968-0808 or via e-mail at Hugh@hackensackriverkeeper.org to receive a copy. |