Hazard Podcast - Heart of Ringwood - Season 1: Episode 3

The Hazard Podcast - America’s Biggest Crime Scene

In July 2005, Roger De Groat stepped outside his home in the secluded, forested community of Upper Ringwood to find a hole the size of a swimming pool where his backyard used to be. Roger’s home, like the rest in the neighborhood, sits atop an extensive and poorly understood system of abandoned iron mines, and sinkholes like these have opened every so often for decades.

But what’s in the mines is a different kind of lingering threat.

Ford Motor Company turned the mines and the area around them into a toxic waste dump in the ’60s and ’70s, with little regard for the community, which was overwhelmingly Ramapough-Munsee Lenape Nation tribal members, that was being dumped on. Today the community is gripped by cancer and other diseases that residents believe are tied to the chemicals Ford left behind.

When the Environmental Protection Agency put the Ringwood Mines on the Superfund list in 1983, an initial shoddy cleanup left so much pollution behind that the site was put back on the list in 2006. A second try at cleaning up the mess is underway. As climate change brings increasingly heavy rains and other impacts to the area, toxic chemicals tied to the site are known to be in the groundwater and threatening to migrate toward a critical water supply reservoir nearby.

And the Ramapough are still living through it all.

Support for Hazard NJ is provided by Peril and Promise, a public media reporting initiative covering the human stories of climate change and its solutions, with major funding provided by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos and Diana T. Vagelos. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise

Read the episode transcript below:

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

ROGER DE GROAT, SR. HAD JUST FINISHED MOWING HIS BACKYARD IN UPPER RINGWOOD... A SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE NORTH JERSEY HIGHLANDS.

HE WENT INSIDE HIS HOUSE FOR A WRENCH TO FIX HIS WEED WACKER.

WHEN HE CAME BACK OUT... HIS BACKYARD WAS GONE.

IN ITS PLACE WAS A CRATER THE SIZE OF A SMALL SWIMMING POOL.

ROGER WAS LUCKY... IF HE WOULD HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE EVEN SECONDS LATER... HE WOULD HAVE FALLEN INTO THE SINKHOLE.

BUT STORIES LIKE THIS ONE FROM JULY 2005 AREN'T ISOLATED EVENTS IN RINGWOOD... AND ARE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT BECAUSE OF EXTREME WEATHER FUELED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.

ROGER'S HOME... AND MANY OTHERS IN THIS NORTH JERSEY NEIGHBORHOOD... ARE LOCATED ON TOP OF THE FORMER RINGWOOD MINES.

IT'S AN UNDERGROUND LABYRINTH OF MINE SHAFTS... SOME CENTURIES OLD... THAT WEREN'T ALWAYS PROPERLY FILLED OR SEALED.

EXPERTS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SOME OF THE OLDEST MINES... WHICH DATE BACK TO THE 1700s... MAY BE UNMAPPED AND HAD THEIR EXACT LOCATIONS LOST TO HISTORY.

THE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA ARE NOT ONLY IN DANGER OF BEING SWALLOWED BY THE EARTH... OH, IF MOTHER NATURE UNLEASHES HER WRATH THEY MAY BE IMPACTED BY WILDFIRES AND FLOODING AS WELL.

THIS WOULD BE TERRIFYING ALL ON ITS OWN. BUT THE FORMER RINGWOOD MINES... WHERE ABOUT 50 HOMES ARE LOCATED... IS ALSO A SUPERFUND SITE.

JUST ONE OF THESE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS COULD RE-RELEASE TOXINS INTO THIS COMMUNITY... AND ITS WATERSHED.

THIS IS HAZARD... A LIMITED SERIES ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SUPERFUND SITES HERE IN NEW JERSEY.

I'M JORDAN GASS-POORE'... AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST FROM TEXAS.

I SPENT MANY SUMMERS AS A KID ON MY FAMILY'S PROPERTY IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.

MY NANA WOULD FILL UP JUGS WITH WATER FROM THE CREEK FOR US TO DRINK.

I WAS CURIOUS IF THE WATER WAS CONTAMINATED. SO, FOR ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE PROJECT I TESTED THE WATER. MY SCIENCE TEACHER REMARKED THAT THE CREEK WATER WAS CLEANER THAN THE WATER I DRANK IN MY HOMETOWN OF SEGUIN TEXAS. HE ENCOURAGED ME TO KEEP DRINKING THAT CREEK WATER.

MORE THAN A DECADE LATER... THE AREA SURROUNDING MY FAMILY'S PROPERTY HAS BECOME DEVELOPED WITH MCMANSIONS AND SHOPPING CENTERS. I WONDER IF THAT CREEK WATER IS STILL AS CLEAN.

I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS WATER ON THE BRAIN. DRIVING TO RINGWOOD, NEW JERSEY... OKAY, BEING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WHILE MY COLLEAGUE IS DRIVING US TO RINGWOOD, NEW JERSEY... I SAW NUMEROUS SIGNS ABOUT KEEPING THE AREA'S WATER PURE.

THE IRONY OF THESE SIGNS WASN'T LOST ON ME. SEE, FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS... RINGWOOD HAS BEEN HOME TO A TOXIC DUMP THAT'S IMPACTED THE LAND AND ITS GROUNDWATER.

WELL, THE DUMP IS SPECIFICALLY IN UPPER RINGWOOD... A COMMUNITY IN THE BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD.

FOLKS IN RINGWOOD ARE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT IRON FROM THEIR MINES HELPED THE AMERICAN ARMY DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT HOW GEORGE WASHINGTON VISITED THE AREA.

RINGWOOD MANOR WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT TO HOUSE IRON WORKERS. THE BUILDING LATER BECAME THE SUMMER HOME TO THE WEALTHY COOPER-HEWITT FAMILY. TODAY... ITS VAST GROUNDS ARE PART OF RINGWOOD STATE PARK.

A LOT HAS CHANGED HERE OVER THE CENTURIES... THE MINING STOPPED DECADES AGO... AND MANY PEOPLE HAVE COME AND GONE... THAT IS, EXCEPT A SECT OF THE RAMAPOUGH-MUNSEE LENAPE NATION CALLED THE TURTLE CLAN... WHO CONTINUE TO LIVE IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

THEIR ROOTS IN THE AREA STRETCH BACK TO AT LEAST THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

Dennis DeFreese, Sr. -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

Our people went back to the 1700s. And way back even further. Because I remember this area here, it used to be a college called Green Engineering Camp. And I remember all the young teenagers there, I used to hang out with them. And they were college students. And you know, it was nice. It was heaven. Ringwood's beautiful. Ringwood was beautiful. But now I go up and where I was born and raised, I look around. I'm like, man, what the heck happened?

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

I MET WITH DENNIS DEFREESE SENIOR... AND HIS NEIGHBOR... VAL GUNN... AT THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

IT'S A SMALL EPISCOPAL CHURCH THAT'S BEEN A GATHERING PLACE FOR THE RAMAPOUGH FOR A LONG TIME.

Valerie Gunn -- Ringwood resident & Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

This church has been in existence from the 1700s.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT'S VAL. SHE'S ABOUT TO TURN 70... AND IS A PROUD GRANDMA. WHEN WE MET... SHE WAS WEARING A HOT PINK T-SHIRT THAT READ: "GRANDMA." WITH THE LIST OF HER GRANDCHILDREN'S NAMES. IT REMINDED ME OF MY NANA.

LIFE FOR VAL'S GRANDCHILDREN IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD.

MANY OF HER CHILDHOOD MEMORIES INCLUDE EXPLORING THE SURROUNDING WOODLANDS.

WHAT STUCK OUT TO HER WAS THE WATER.

Valerie Gunn -- Ringwood resident & Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

We used to walk down the path. And we would get water we would carry water from the spring. And you talk about delicious, absolutely great water. Oh, it was the best in the world. I'm telling you. But we had to carry our water when we were kids growing up, but we did it.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

LIKE VAL... DENNIS GREW UP IN UPPER RINGWOOD. HE REMEMBERS DRINKING THE WATER FLOWING NEAR HIS CHILDHOOD HOME.

Dennis DeFreese, Sr. -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

I drank the water. And I never got sick. All the time. I drank it, me and my brothers.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT IS... UNTIL FORD MOTOR COMPANY STARTED DUMPING THOUSANDS OF TONS OF PAINT SLUDGE AND OTHER WASTE FROM THE COMPANY'S ASSEMBLY PLANT IN NEARBY MAHWAH... INTO --- AND AROUND --- THE ABANDONED MINES OF UPPER RINGWOOD

FOR YEARS IN THE 1960s AND '70s... FORD'S PLANT IN MAHWAH CHURNED OUT HUNDREDS OF CARS IN A DAY

FORD WAS MAKING THE AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE FOR SOME PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY... AND CREATING AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE FOR THE RAMAPOUGH PEOPLE.

-- RANGOON RED

-- BRITTANY BLUE

THESE WERE SOME OF THE COLORS OF PAINT THAT WERE SPRAYED ON FORD'S CARS. THE DROPLETS THAT DIDN'T STICK WOULD COLLECT ON THE GROUND AND IN DRAINS BENEATH THE CARS ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE.

AND THAT EXCESS PAINT WAS MUCH OF WHAT WAS COLLECTED AND DUMPED IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

IN 1984... THE 500-ACRE RINGWOOD MINES SITE WAS ADDED TO THE SUPERFUND LIST.

FORD WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING TO CLEAN UP THE SITE. AND THEY DID IT IN RECORD TIME.

THE EPA GAVE THE SITE A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH WHEN THEY DELISTED IT IN 1994.

IT TOOK 11 YEARS TO "CLEAN UP" THE SITE... AND IT'LL TAKE EVEN MORE TIME TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT COULD HAVE GONE SO WRONG.

UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES... CLEANING UP A SUPERFUND SITE IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION.

BUT RINGWOOD MINES WAS NEVER REALLY CLEANED UP IN THE FIRST PLACE.

EVEN AFTER THE SITE WAS DELISTED... RESIDENTS CONTINUED TO FIND PAINT SLUDGE IN THEIR YARDS AND SCATTERED THROUGHOUT UPPER RINGWOOD.

I MET JAN BARRY AT THE RINGWOOD MINES SUPERFUND SITE.

Jan Barry -- Former reporter, The Record

What caught my attention, besides the fact that somebody had tied colored ribbons along that whole area, because they were creating a hiking trail. And I said to the EPA person who is there, you know, "There's going to be kids walking down this hiking trail." No interest. We then went over on the far side of this community, at the end of Cannon Mine Road. There was a house, we go to the front yard, they have paint sludge heaving out of the grass in front of the kids play equipment. It was the same house that had the paint sludge in the backyard some years before. And at that point, frankly, I lost it. I said, "You've got to be kidding me. We're back to the same place that you said you cleaned up." And at that point, I started writing memos to editors.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

JAN WAS ONE OF THE REPORTERS WITH THE BERGEN RECORD THAT... ALONG WITH THE RAMAPOUGH... HELPED EXPOSE THE LARGE AMOUNTS OF POLLUTION THAT REMAINED ON THE SITE IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES CALLED "TOXIC LEGACY."

Jan Barry -- Former reporter, The Record

We found internal documents where they say, well, the state probably won't take a close look at this. And then it was a housing organization, nonprofit that built these newer houses over here, and they definitely want to take a close look at this gift to them. "Aren't we so nice, giving them this nice contaminated land?" And they had nasty things to say about these local people using the terminology that only local area people would know to use. So Ford was already into the local prejudice against Ramapough Indians. And I guess that plays a huge part in what's going on here.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE THING ABOUT PAINT SLUDGE IS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE A PLAIN OLE ROCK... NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

BUT BREAK OFF A CHUNK... AND IT SMELLS LIKE FINGERNAIL POLISH REMOVER... IT'S THE ACETONE INSIDE THAT'S STILL POTENT.

Jan Barry -- Former reporter, The Record

As you break it open, it's so fresh inside. The core never dried, so the chemical smell just erupts. I had a piece of this stuff on my desk in The Record for a long time. Until I'm at some meeting and somebody said, "You know, there's a chemical thing coming off of this all the time. Stick it into a paper bag and then take a breath."

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

PAINT SLUDGE CONTAINS A MIXTURE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS... LIKE LEAD... ARSENIC... AND CHROMIUM... AMONG OTHERS.

LEVELS OF LEAD IN PAINT SLUDGE NEAR HOMES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE 100 TIMES THE LEVELS THE EPA CONSIDERS ACCEPTABLE

WAYNE MANN... A RAMAPOUGH COMMUNITY LEADER WHO GREW UP IN UPPER RINGWOOD... SAYS KIDS EVEN PLAYED WITH THE PAINT SLUDGE... NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS.

HE REMEMBERS ONE OF THE TIMES OFFICIALS CAME BY UPPER RINGWOOD TO INSPECT THE SITE BEFORE IT WAS PUT BACK ON THE SUPERFUND LIST. THIS IS WHAT THEY SAW.

Wayne Mann -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member, named plaintiff in Mann v. Ford

The one yard where they came, a kid was sitting, banging on something playing with his trucks. What he was banging on was a giant piece of sludge, lead. Another yard, kids were out swinging on a swing set. All around that yard and swing set was all protruding through the ground chunks of lead. It's all Ford's. Well, that was supposed to be all cleaned up.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

MANY OF UPPER RINGWOOD'S RESIDENTS SAY CONTAMINATION FROM THE PAINT SLUDGE HAS MADE THEM SICK.

THERE ARE CASES OF SKIN RASHES... SEVERE HEADACHES... BLEEDING FROM THE EYES, NOSE, AND THROAT... AND VARIOUS CANCERS.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE CANCER... VAL SAYS... THAT LOCALS CALL VAN DUNK LANE "CANCER ROW." IT EARNED THE GRIM NICKNAME BECAUSE EACH HOUSE ON THE STREET HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY CANCER IN ONE WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.

WHEN VAL'S NEPHEW... COLLIN... DIED FROM A RARE FORM OF CANCER IN 2001... THAT'S WHEN LOCALS REALLY STARTED TO NOTICE HOW WIDESPREAD THE HEALTH ISSUES WERE IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

Valerie Gunn -- Ringwood resident & Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

My nephew, my brother's son, developed, it was called Ewing's Sarcoma when he was 10. And he developed that, and that's how everything started. He died a year later; he lived for one year from the time that he developed it. And then after that, it was like, everybody started getting cancer.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

DESPITE THIS... NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIND A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN THE PAINT SLUDGE AND THESE REPORTED DISEASES.

IN 2006... THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SENIOR SERVICES AND THE FEDERAL AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY RELEASED A REPORT ON THE HEALTH CONCERNS RELATED TO THE SUPERFUND SITE.

THE AGENCIES FOUND THAT FROM 1979 THROUGH 2002... OVERALL CANCER INCIDENCE WAS NOT ELEVATED IN THE AREA OR IN RINGWOOD BOROUGH AS A WHOLE... COMPARED TO NEW JERSEY.

SHORTLY BEFORE THE REPORT WAS RELEASED... THE RINGWOOD MINES WAS PUT BACK ON THE SUPERFUND LIST -- A FIRST FOR THE EPA.

WHILE EVERY SUPERFUND SITE NEEDS TO GET CLEANED UP QUICKLY... RINGWOOD MINES... IF I HAD TO MAKE A PRIORITIES LIST... WOULD BE NEAR THE TOP.

I'M NOT PICKING FAVORITES OR ANYTHING... BUT THERE'S JUST SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS SEVERE WEATHER CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE CAN STILL IMPACT THIS SUPERFUND SITE... AND WREAK HAVOC ON THE RESIDENTS OF UPPER RINGWOOD.

TO MAKE THINGS EASIER ON ALL OF US... I'M GOING TO BREAK DOWN EACH OF THE POTENTIAL CLIMATE IMPACTS AS SUCCINCTLY AS I CAN.

MORE PREVALENT... AND INTENSE FOREST FIRES MEANS DANGEROUS TOXINS COULD BE RELEASED IN THE AIR.

DOCTOR JUDITH ZELIKOFF... AN NYU RESEARCHER... LED A STUDY IN 2021 THAT FOUND MUCH HIGHER RATES OF ASTHMA AND BRONCHITIS AMONG THE RAMAPOUGH WHO USED TO OR CURRENTLY LIVE NEAR THE MINES.

WILDFIRES AND DROUGHT WILL ONLY MAKE THESE HEALTH PROBLEMS WORSE.

Judith Zelikoff -- Professor of Environmental Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Not only do you have PCBs generated, you're going to have lots of metals, you're going to have polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogens. So you're going to have if anyone treated their couches or their furniture, you know, with these treatments. So they're all going to be in the air.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

JUDITH MENTIONED PCBs. THAT'S A GROUP OF HUMAN-MADE CHEMICALS THAT WERE BANNED IN THE U.S. IN THE LATE 1970s.

EVEN THOUGH THE PRODUCTION OF PCBs IS BANNED... THESE CHEMICALS ARE STILL PRESENT IN OUR AIR... WATER... AND SOIL.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING RAINSTORMS MORE INTENSE... AND FREQUENT.

WHEN THAT HEAVY RAINFALL COMES DOWN... THE WATER MAY RUSH THROUGH THE OLD MINES... FAULT LINES... AND CRACKS IN THE ROCK.

IF THIS HAPPENS... THE WATER COULD FLUSH CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER INTO NEARBY STREAMS AND RIVERS.

Wenke Taule -- Former Mayor of Ringwood

Ringwood sits on what's called fractured bedrock. And no one can tell you where the contaminated water is going to go. It's impossible. Ford says they know. They just can't know.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT'S WENKE TAULE. SHE BECAME THE BOROUGH'S FIRST WOMAN MAYOR IN 2005... AND WAS IN OFFICE WHEN RINGWOOD MINES WAS PUT BACK ON THE SUPERFUND LIST.

Wenke Taule -- Former Mayor of Ringwood

If something should occur, you know, an event with climate change, flooding, whatever, it could flush this contamination through the fractures.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

NOW... IF UPPER RINGWOOD WAS NOT ON TOP OF MINES... THERE'D BE LESS CONCERN ABOUT THESE FRACTURES IN THE GROUND.

BUT ALEC GATES... A GEOLOGIST WITH RUTGERS-NEWARK WHO SPENT MUCH OF HIS CAREER WORKING IN THE RINGWOOD AREA... SAYS THE MINING HAS PRETTY MUCH STRIPPED AWAY THE GROUND'S NATURAL FILTRATION SYSTEM... POTENTIALLY EXPOSING PEOPLE TO CONTAMINATED WATER.

Alexander Gates -- Distinguished Service Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Rutgers -- Newark

So, if you have bad things on the surface, as long as you have that thick, black layer, they're all anything that comes through, it will tend to filter it out. If you don't have it there, like you do around a mine area, it'll just go straight into the groundwater system without any filtering.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRINKING THE WATER IN UPPER RINGWOOD FOR A VERY LONG TIME... WAY BEFORE FORD STARTED DUMPING CHEMICALS THERE.

BUT THE POLLUTION HAS GOTTEN SO BAD THAT NO ONE DRINKS IT ANYMORE. AND THEY MAY NEVER DRINK IT AGAIN.

ALEC SAYS THERE'S NO WAY ALL OF THE GROUNDWATER IN THE AREA CAN BE TREATED.

Alexander Gates -- Distinguished Service Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Rutgers -- Newark

They can't even get all the sludge out, it's in the cracks. How are you going to do that? So you would have to, like, excavate the whole area. That's tough rock. That's not going to be easy to excavate. And then how are you going to clean it out?

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY QUICKLY FLOW THROUGH THE SUPERFUND SITE'S FRACTURED BEDROCK... SPREADING ALREADY POLLUTED GROUNDWATER IN WAYS THAT GEOLOGISTS AND ENGINEERS DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND.

THAT PUTS NEARBY BODIES OF WATER AT RISK... INCLUDING THE WANAQUE RESERVOIR... WHICH SUPPLIES DRINKING WATER TO MORE THAN THREE MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS NORTH JERSEY WHEN DEMAND FOR WATER IS AT ITS PEAK.

I WENT TO THE NORTH JERSEY DISTRICT WATER SUPPLY COMMISSION TREATMENT PLANT IN WANAQUE, JUST SOUTH OF RINGWOOD, TO SEE THE RESERVOIR FOR MYSELF.

WHILE I WAS THERE... I TALKED WITH THE COMMISSION'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR... TIM EUSTACE... ABOUT THE RISKS THE RINGWOOD MINES SUPERFUND SITE POSES TO THE RESERVOIR.

Timothy Eustace -- Executive Director, North Jersey District Water Supply Commission

The mine is two-and-a-half miles from here. So, I just want to make sure if anything happens that I can address it a mile away, that it never reaches this body of water.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

INCREASINGLY HEAVY RAINS ON THE RINGWOOD MINES SITE COULD SPREAD CONTAMINATION DOWNHILL... WHERE THE RESERVOIR SITS.

Timothy Eustace -- Executive Director, North Jersey District Water Supply Commission

My concern was the fault lines because there's a fault line under the reservoir and there's a fault line along the mountain range where the mines are the end, the geologists say the fault lines do not run the way that I should have concerns. I think the fault lines run east west, and they'd have to be north south for it to create runoff coming down here. So I'm somewhat quelled by that geology report. But you know, Earth doesn't always do what we think it's going to do. So I'm almost comfortable with that report.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

"ALMOST COMFORTABLE."

THERE'S ONE PESKY CONTAMINANT THAT KEEPS TIM UP AT NIGHT. THAT'S 1,4-DIOXANE... A COLORLESS SOLVENT USED BY INDUSTRIES TO DISSOLVE OILY OR GREASY SUBSTANCES

1,4-DIOXANE WAS FIRST FOUND IN GROUNDWATER AT THE SITE IN THE SPRING OF 2015.

BUT RESIDENTS WEREN'T TOLD UNTIL THE RECORD BROKE THE NEWS NEARLY A YEAR LATER. IN A PUBLIC MEETING AFTER THE FINDINGS WERE MADE PUBLIC, EPA OFFICIALS SAID THEY REGRETTED NOT ANNOUNCING THEM SOONER.

THE CHEMICAL HAS SINCE BEEN FOUND IN SALLY'S POND, A SMALL WATERBODY IN RINGWOOD STATE PARK JUST DOWNHILL OF THE MINES.

THE WATER IN SALLY'S POND EVENTUALLY FLOWS INTO THE WANAQUE RESERVOIR, BUT SO FAR, THE EPA SAYS NONE OF THE CHEMICAL HAS BEEN DETECTED DOWNSTREAM OF THE POND SINCE TESTING BEGAN IN 2016.

TIM SAYS THE EPA TOLD HIM THERE'S "VERY LITTLE CHANCE" OF THE WANAQUE RESERVOIR BEING CONTAMINATED.

Timothy Eustace -- Executive Director, North Jersey District Water Supply Commission

I want no chance of this happening. So, it's my overabundance of caution. And the commissioners here agree with me about that, that we want to be ahead of anything that happens.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BUT JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE... TIM SAYS THE RESERVOIR IS ROUTINELY TESTED FOR ONE-FOUR DIOXANE... AND OTHER HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS.

TIM TOOK ME ON A TOUR OF THE COMMISSION'S BIG TREATMENT PLANT TO SHOW ME WHERE THE TESTING HAPPENS.

IT WAS LOUD AND SMELLED LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL GYM.

EVEN THOUGH THE EPA NOW CONSIDERS 1,4-DIOXANE TO BE A "LIKELY HUMAN CARCINOGEN"... IT'S NOT CURRENTLY REGULATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

THE SCARY PART IS... ONCE 1,4-DIOXANE IS IN WATER... IT'S LIKELY TO STAY THERE AND DOESN'T BREAK DOWN

AT THE RINGWOOD MINES SUPERFUND SITE... THERE'S ALSO THE INCREASED RISK OF MORE FREQUENT SINKHOLES... LIKE WHAT ROGER DE GROAT, SR. EXPERIENCED IN 2005

WENKE REMEMBERS GETTING A PHONE CALL ONE NIGHT FROM VIVIAN MILLIGAN... A FORMER RAMAPOUGH LEADER...

Wenke Taule -- Former Mayor of Ringwood

There's a gigantic hole in Roger's yard. I said, "What is it, the septic?" "Oh, no. This is something very different." As it turned out, it was a mine hole that had supposedly been closed in the 1800s that opened up because of water.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

IF THE RINGWOOD MINES SITE ISN'T CLEANED UP SOON... ALEC SAYS HEAVY AND MORE FREQUENT RAINFALL CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF SINKHOLES IN THE AREA.

Alexander Gates -- Distinguished Service Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Rutgers -- Newark

Obviously, if you do any construction on these mines -- they're extremely dangerous. Because you're going to open things up; the construction equipment falling or you can build something on top of a place that you really shouldn't.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE CLIMATE CONCERNS ALEC... WENKE... AND TIM HAVE FOR UPPER RINGWOOD AREN'T SHARED BY RINGWOOD BOROUGH MANAGER SCOTT HECK.

LET'S SEE, GOING THROUGH OUR LIST HERE...

ON WILDFIRES: SCOTT SAYS...

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

With the exception of a fire that we had, I think a year or two ago, that was a result of the power lines that was in and around the Superfund site, we really have not seen any. We have had a few fires in Upper Ringwood, also, relative that were home fires. But our response is relatively quick to all of those situations, so it's not a big concern for us because we do watch that and we haven't had many at all.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

FLOODING AND GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION AREN'T GOING TO BE AN ISSUE SCOTT SAYS BECAUSE PART OF THE SITE'S CLEANUP PLAN... WHICH INVOLVES CAPPING THE CONTAMINATED AREA... ADDRESSES THESE CONCERNS.

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

The capping calls for a pullback of the waste from the edges and consolidating it away from the brook, so that it minimizes and reduces any chance of that getting into the water stream.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

AND SINKHOLE SCHMINKHOLES... SCOTT SAYS THERE'S ONLY ONE AREA "IN-AND-AROUND THE SUPERFUND SITE" THAT'S SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS PROBLEM.

TO HELP PREVENT THE GATES OF HELL FROM OPENING UP AGAIN... THE BOROUGH'S ENGINEER'S DID A "LOT OF EXTENSIVE RESEARCH" TO ENSURE THAT RESIDENTS STAY SAFE.

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

So, we had geotechnical individuals come in and do all kinds of extensive studies. We did borings down to bedrock throughout the entire area. The one area where there was a subsidence in the road we filled in, we remediated. And we have conducted a study throughout the entire area to identify, using mining maps and drilling and borings, to determine where there might be voids. And the engineer has determined that it is safe. And we have addressed any areas of concern.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SCOTT ISN'T ALONE HERE... THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TOLD ME THAT THE RINGWOOD AREA HAS A LOW LEVEL OF SINKHOLE RISK COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE STATE.

AND THE EPA SAYS THE NEW CLEANUP PLAN HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO PROTECT AGAINST POTENTIAL SINKING OR CAVING

THE DECADES-LONG SAGA BETWEEN THE RAMAPOUGH AND FORD IS A CLASSIC DAVID AND GOLIATH STORY.

THIS CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF HBO. THEY SPENT YEARS CHRONICLING THE CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT FILED BY THE RAMAPOUGH AGAINST FORD FOR DUMPING TOXIC CHEMICALS ON THEIR LAND.

THE DOCUMENTARY'S CALLED MANN V. FORD... NAMED AFTER WAYNE MANN... WHO BECAME A LEADER IN THE FIGHT TO HOLD FORD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POLLUTION.

Wayne Mann -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member, named plaintiff in Mann v. Ford

In the filming of the documentary, 55 people died in the five years that was being filmed. So there's not as many people there as it used to be that even knows the woods anymore. You know what I mean? Because it's like, it's probably out there. But even more than just the sludge. It's what's in the mines that you're going to never fully investigate because they know, they know what's down there. Or they surmise what's down there. They don't, it's a can of worms, as I was told at one meeting, that doesn't want to be opened.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

WAYNE AND I MET UP AT RINGWOOD STATE PARK TO TALK ABOUT HIS PAST EXPERIENCES AS A COMMUNITY LEADER... WHAT HE'S LEARNED... AND WHAT HE PLANS TO DO NEXT.

Wayne Mann -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member, named plaintiff in Mann v. Ford

I stood my ground. And I stood the ground for the people that I loved. And I stood ground for people that I'll never meet that may even dislike me, because maybe they'll say, "Oh, he started trouble." But I started trouble because you're drinking the water.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

YEARS AFTER WAYNE AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE RAMAPOUGH FILED SUIT... FORD... THEIR CONTRACTORS... AND THE BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD SETTLED WITH THEM FOR $11 MILLION.

MANY FAMILIES ONLY RECEIVED ABOUT $8,000 EACH.

SOME OF THE RAMAPOUGH MAINTAIN MANY OF THEIR TRADITIONS: THEY HUNT DEER AND FISH IN THE NEARBY STREAMS FOR FOOD. THEY GROW VEGETABLES IN THEIR YARDS.

LIVING OFF THIS LAND BEFORE IT WAS KNOWN TO BE A SUPERFUND SITE MAY HAVE EXPOSED THEM TO TOXINS AND HARMED THEIR HEALTH.

AND WHILE VAL STILL LIVES IN UPPER RINGWOOD... DENNIS AND MANY OTHERS HAVE LEFT THEIR ANCESTRAL LAND FOR FEAR THEY'D DIE FROM THE CONTAMINANTS.

NOW THERE'S ONLY A FEW PEOPLE LEFT TO PASS DOWN THE RAMAPOUGH TRADITIONS.

WAYNE SAYS UPPER RINGWOOD... WHERE THE MINES ARE... IS THE HEART OF RINGWOOD. IT STILL BEATS... JUST NOT AS FAST ANYMORE.

Wayne Mann -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member, named plaintiff in Mann v. Ford

You took care of all the treasures surrounding the heart, you let the heart be poisoned. Because why? Because we lived there. You know, but we absorbed it, we accepted it. We stayed. We fought, we didn't want to go anywhere.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE FEAR IS THAT ONE DAY SOON... THE ONLY LIVING REMINDERS OF THE RAMAPOUGH WILL BE THE RECREATIONAL SPACES NAMED BY EUROPEAN COLONISTS: THE RAMAPO MOUNTAINS AND THE RAMAPO RIVER.

AND DESPITE THE BATTLE WITH TOXINS... AND CLIMATE CHANGE... AND LAWSUITS WITH COMPANIES... THE BIGGER FEAR IN THIS REGION IS THAT PEOPLE WILL FORGET THE PEOPLE THESE PLACES ARE NAMED AFTER.

RAMAPOUGH CLAN MOTHER VIVIAN MILLIGAN WAS UPPER RINGWOOD'S UNOFFICIAL HISTORIAN.

VIVIAN SPOKE WITH THE RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY'S ORAL HISTORY PROJECT.

HERE SHE IS TALKING ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE LAST NAME VAN DUNK.

Vivian Milligan -- Lifelong Ringwood resident

Supposedly, a Dutch name because a lot of Dutch settlers did come right up the Hudson, far and wide, along with the Native Americans, and they settled along the Hudson.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

VAN DUNK LANE... AKA CANCER ROW... IS NAMED AFTER THESE FOLKS

VIVIAN LIVED IN THE AREA HER ENTIRE LIFE... AND SPENT YEARS TRYING TO GET FORD TO CLEAN UP THE MINES.

IN 2016... SHE GOT DOWN ON HER KNEES AT A PUBLIC MEETING WITH AN EPA OFFICIAL AND BEGGED THEM TO REMOVE THE WASTE... INSTEAD OF CAPPING IT

VIVIAN DIED LAST AUGUST, BEFORE SHE COULD SEE THE RINGWOOD MINES CLEANED UP. BUT HER LEGACY LIVES ON.

TO MANY RAMAPOUGH... THEIR CONCERNS HAVE FALLEN ON DEAF EARS.

THEIR STORY IS ONE THAT'S HISTORICALLY BEEN TOLD BY PEOPLE WHO AREN'T RAMAPOUGH.

RACIST MYTHS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY HAVE CAUSED THEM TO BE DEMONIZED. RESIDENTS TOLD US STORIES OF RACISM THEY'VE BEEN SUBJECTED TO... AND THERE'S A BELIEF THAT FORD PICKED THEIR HOMES TO DUMP ON AS A FORM OF DISCRIMINATION.

IN 1980... THE RAMAPOUGH WERE RECOGNIZED AS A TRIBE BY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. BUT... DESPITE NUMEROUS EFFORTS... THE TRIBE STILL ISN'T RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

THE RAMAPOUGH DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT AROUND FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CHANGE THEIR MIND.

INSTEAD... SOME MEMBERS ARE RECLAIMING THE TRADITIONS FORD AND THE BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD STOLE.

I VISITED THE MUNSEE THREE SISTERS MEDICINAL FARM IN ANDOVER TOWNSHIP... ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY FROM RINGWOOD.

IT WAS A DAY TOO HOT FOR MY BLACK CARDIGAN... AND THE GROUND WAS TOO MUDDY FOR MY BLACK FLATS. JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I WAS ON A FARM.

I WAS THERE TO MEET VINCENT MANN... CHIEF OF THE RAMAPOUGH'S TURTLE CLAN... AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE FARM.

CHIEF MANN CO-CREATED THE FARM IN 2019 TO ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

Vincent Mann -- Turtle Clan Chief, Ramapough Lenape Nation

It's not just about providing food to our community who shouldn't be growing vegetables where they are in the Superfund site, but it's also about food sovereignty. We grew up in a pretty crappy society, but in the same breath, you know, we're still here. And, you know, while we held on to a lot, you know, including our identity, people are now beginning to wake up to that fact even more so, right?

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BUT CHIEF MANN'S ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO HAVE THE RESIDENTS OF UPPER RINGWOOD RELOCATED... PERMANENTLY... TO A NEW COMMUNITY THAT WOULD BE BUILT ON NEARBY COUNTY PARK LAND.

IT'S AN IDEA THAT HAS COME UP IN PUBLIC MEETINGS IN THE PAST... BUT CHIEF MANN IS NOW READY TO REALLY START PUSHING IT.

JUST LAST MONTH... CHIEF MANN MET WITH EPA AND STATE OFFICIALS... PLUS CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE AND JOSH GOTTHEIMER... TO MAKE HIS LATEST PITCH

THIS WAS LAID OUT IN A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT WAS SHARED WITH NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS AFTERWARDS.

IN THE POWERPOINT... CHIEF MANN ASKED FOR 300 RESIDENTS... CURRENTLY LIVING IN 50 HOMES... TO BE MOVED INTO 100 NEW HOMES ON TRANQUILITY RIDGE. THAT LAND'S NOT FAR FROM THE EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD IN UPPER RINGWOOD.

THE COST? AT LEAST $50 million

THIS ISN'T UNHEARD OF. THE SUPERFUND LAW ALLOWS THE EPA TO PAY FOR TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT RELOCATION IF IT'S DEEMED NECESSARY TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH

BUT THIS HAS ONLY HAPPENED 33 TIMES... AND ONLY 11 OF THOSE RELOCATIONS WERE PERMANENT.

ONE OF THOSE WAS THE GRAND STREET MERCURY SITE IN HOBOKEN... WHERE FREE-FLOWING MERCURY WAS FOUND DRIPPING BETWEEN THE FLOORS OF AN OLD INDUSTRIAL BUILDING.

Walter Mugdan -- Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2

Literally liquid mercury was found when they were doing reconstruction. It was found in the walls, it was dripping down to the ceilings, it was in the closets falling on to people. So, the County Health Department actually made the decision there, literally overnight, that people had to move out of the building.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

RIGHT NOW... THE EPA IS NOT CONSIDERING RELOCATION AS AN OPTION IN RINGWOOD

WALTER MUGDAN... THE DEPUTY REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR FOR EPA REGION 2... SAYS RELOCATION IS ONLY CONSIDERED WHEN ALL OTHER CLEANUP OPTIONS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED.

Walter Mugdan -- Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2

Relocation is considered an extraordinary remedy. And one that is considered to be appropriate when there's an immediate threat to residents that can't be addressed through other less intrusive means.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

STILL... EPA DID COMMIT AT THE MEETING TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE RELOCATION OPTION... AT CHIEF MANN'S REQUEST.

IT DOESN'T HELP THAT WITHOUT FEDERAL RECOGNITION, THE RAMAPOUGH DON'T HAVE THE SAME INFLUENCE OVER THE SUPERFUND PROCESS THAT ANOTHER TRIBE MIGHT.

CHIEF MANN SAYS AFTER THE DECADES OF DUMPING... AND THE BOTCHED CLEAN UP... THE RAMAPOUGH OF UPPER RINGWOOD DESERVE THE CHANCE TO START OVER WITH A CLEAN SLATE.

Vincent Mann -- Turtle Clan Chief, Ramapough Lenape Nation

It's not just because we want a shiny new house, and it isn't because relocating our community now is going to stop, you know, the health ailments, the cancers, and the deaths right now. But we don't think about just tomorrow, we think about the next seven generations. We need to bring our community back together. We have, you know, hundreds of people who moved away from there, thinking that they were going to protect themselves, except for the fact that because their parents were exposed to these toxic chemicals, they too, no matter how far away they move, they can move all the way to the moon, and they're still going to have those health ailments.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BUT VAL... WHO I MET UP WITH AT THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN RINGWOOD... DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE.

Valerie Gunn -- Ringwood resident & Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member

Well, I'm not gonna lie to you. I love it here. You know, I'm not gonna say "Oh, yeah, you know." I absolutely love it here. It's just things have to be done right. Things have to be done better.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

WAYNE MANN SAYS THERE ARE PEOPLE LIKE VAL AND HIS SISTER WHO WANT TO STAY BECAUSE OF THEIR FAMILIAL CONNECTION WITH THE LAND.

Wayne Mann -- Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan member, named plaintiff in Mann v. Ford

For my sister, she already told me when she goes, she's going like her parents did. You know, and it's home. It's the only home that they know. I can't answer that for the rest of the community, because that's Vincent's job. He speaks for them. I speak for the environment.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

AND ANGEL STEFANCIK, A 22-YEAR-OLD WHO HAS SPENT HER ENTIRE LIFE IN UPPER RINGWOOD AND IS NOW RAISING A FAMILY THERE, THINKS THAT LEAVING WOULD BE THE OPPOSITE OF THE GOAL OF DECOLONIZATION. TO HER, LAND BACK MEANS STAYING ON THE LAND THEY'RE CURRENTLY ON.

Angel Stefancik -- Ramapough Lenape Nation Turtle Clan member and Ringwood resident

You're giving them what they want. They want us to just uproot and just go. That's they're whole sole purpose because once they get their hands on our land, guess what? It's free game.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SO, WHAT HAPPENS NOW FOR THE RAMAPOUGH?

IT'S CLEAR THAT CHIEF MANN FACES A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD IN CONVINCING BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AND HIS OWN COMMUNITY IN RELOCATING THE RESIDENTS OF UPPER RINGWOOD. AND THAT WORK IS JUST BEGINNING.

BUT BACK ON THE FARM... HE REMAINS OPTIMISTIC THAT THE TURTLE CLAN'S BEST DAYS LIE AHEAD.

SURROUNDED BY ACRES OF SPROUTING CROPS AND A PAIR OF PLAYFUL DOGS... CHIEF MANN SAYS HE FINDS HOPE AND INSPIRATION IN WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.

AND THAT FUELS A DETERMINATION TO MOVE AHEAD.

Vincent Mann -- Turtle Clan Chief, Ramapough Lenape Nation

You know, my grandfather always told me that the sun is always shining somewhere. Doesn't matter if it's night or day. Doesn't matter right now. It always is shining. And I just thought when I was younger, that that meant that the sun was always shining. Which was a metaphoric thing. But I didn't really understand that, you know. But I do. The sun is literally shining, all the time.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE EPA REACHED A $21 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH FORD IN 2019 TO CAP THE SITE. THIS MONEY WOULD ALSO HELP PAY TO REMOVE CONTAMINATED SOIL FROM AROUND THE OPENING OF ONE OF THE MINE'S PITS

THIS IS A CONTROVERSIAL MOVE BECAUSE IT MEANS TONS OF THE POLLUTED SOIL WILL STILL REMAIN ON SITE UNDER AN ASPHALT BARRIER... AND ACROSS THE STREET FROM MANY OF THE RAMAPOUGH'S HOMES.

FORD'S NOT THE ONLY ONE ON THE HOOK FOR THE CLEANUP.

THE BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD OWNED THE LAND THE COMPANY DUMPED ON... AND BECAUSE OF THAT THE EPA HAS DETERMINED THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MESS.

SCOTT SAYS OVER THE YEARS THE BOROUGH HAS APPEALED THE EPA'S DECISION THAT MAKES THEM PARTIALLY LIABLE FOR THE SITE'S POLLUTION.

HE SAYS THERE HAVE EVEN BEEN POINTS WHERE THE BOROUGH'S DISAGREED WITH FORD. BUT THERE WAS NO WAY AROUND THE BOROUGH PAYING SOMETHING TO CLEAN UP THE SITE.

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

At some point you have to determine, "Listen, the EPA said we're a responsible party and there's a percentage that has been agreed upon that we're going to be compensating the Ford Motor Company because there was also many, many years ago dumping there both acknowledged or known about by the borough of Ringwood as well as the state of New Jersey." So, are we a responsible party? We accept that we are only because we own the property and there was some knowledge back then, theoretically; I still don't understand why, when the state is in the exact same party, why they're not a responsible party.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE EPA HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO HAVE THE BOROUGH AND FORD PAY MORE THAN $32 MILLION TO REMOVE THE CONTAMINATION FROM JUST ONE PART OF THE SITE.

BUT THAT CHANGED WHEN FORD AND THE BOROUGH PITCHED A NEW PLAN TO ONLY REMOVE SOME OF THE POLLUTION AND PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP OVER THE REST.

THIS PLAN ALLOWS THE BOROUGH TO BUILD A NEW... LARGER... RECYCLING CENTER ON TOP OF THE CAPPED SOIL... AND ACROSS THE STREET FROM THEIR CURRENT RECYCLING CENTER.

THE MOVE LOWERED THE CLEANUP COSTS TO A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION... AND HAD A MIXED REACTION FROM RINGWOOD RESIDENTS.

THOSE WHO WANTED THE POLLUTION REMOVED WERE OUTRAGED. OTHERS... WHO WORRIED A MORE EXPENSIVE CLEANUP WOULD RAISE THEIR PROPERTY TAXES... SUPPORTED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW RECYCLING CENTER.

THE EPA WENT ALONG WITH THE NEW PLAN BECAUSE, THEY SAID, IT STILL PROTECTS PUBLIC HEALTH ... AND BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER HOW A TOWN WANTS TO USE THEIR LAND.

THIS IS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE AGENCY ORIGINALLY WANTED TO GET RID OF THE TOXIC SOIL.

SCOTT SAYS CAPPING THE SITE WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF "ALL INVOLVED."

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

I mean, think about it, to excavate all this material out, the plan was for 13,250 truck trips out of the neighborhood. What would that do to the folks that are living in and around there? I mean, 13,250 truck trips; it would have significantly increased the amount of time that this cleanup would take. It would significantly impact their day-to-day lives for a long time. What risks are associated with moving that type of material? What risks are associated to the children in the neighborhood? And what risks are associated with digging it out for that length of time and impacting a stream while you're digging out?

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

MOST OF THE CLEANUP IS COMPLETE, SCOTT SAYS.

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

I think that the excavation is substantially complete. And I don't know exactly the ultimate percentage but I think that you'll see that in the next coming months that'll be wrapped up significantly.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

FORD DECLINED TO ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT WE SENT THEM.

INSTEAD... A COMPANY SPOKESPERSON SENT US THIS:

"Ford Motor Company takes its environmental responsibility seriously and has shown through its actions a commitment to addressing the issues in Upper Ringwood that are related to Ford. Ford continues to work cooperatively with the Borough of Ringwood, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Contractor activities to remedy the three soil areas requiring remediation started in late fall of 2021."

WHAT COULD BE THE FINAL CLEANUP AT RINGWOOD MINES BEGAN EARLIER THIS YEAR.

SCOTT'S HOPEFUL THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME RINGWOOD MINES WILL BE ON THE SUPERFUND LIST BECAUSE THE CLEANUP AREA HAS BEEN EXPANDED.

Scott Heck -- Ringwood Borough Manager

I'm hoping that they have learned from their errors of the past that this is the last remediation, although I have to tell you, from my perspective, watching what went on, and they did really go above and beyond to ensure that there's not a third cleanup so, so they maybe they have corrected some of those issues in the past. And I think we're going to get a good cleanup and the residents are going to be better off for it.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

HAZARD IS A SPACE NOT JUST FOR LEARNING ABOUT SUPERFUND SITES... BUT FOR ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITIES IN CONVERSATION AROUND THE CLEANUP OF THESE TOXIC PLACES.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT SUPERFUND SITES IN NEW JERSEY? DO YOU LIVE NEAR ONE? IF SO... I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. SEND ME A TWEET USING HASHTAG #HazardNJ.

OR LEAVE ME A VOICE MEMO AT... HAZARD@MYNJPBS.ORG.

WE MAY PLAY YOUR COMMENTS IN A FUTURE EPISODE.

Credits

Hazard NJ is written, edited and hosted by Jordan Gass-Poore’

Executive Producer – Jamie Kraft

Executive in Charge of Production – Joe Lee

Associate Producer – Michael Sol Warren

Production Assistant – Chris Pandza

Production Manager – Chloe Motisi

Additional research by Mer Mousoom

Sound Designer & Engineer – Mark Bush

Audio Recording Engineer – Frank Brown

Music composed by Nick Pennington

Artwork by Matthew Fleming

Animated trailer created by Everest Strayer