TOMS RIVER, NJ — When the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in early December announced a proposed settlement that would turn 1,000 acres of the former Ciba-Geigy property into a nature preserve, it appears state officials expected it would be welcomed with open arms.

The response has been the exact opposite. Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill's initial statement, issued just a day after the DEP announced it was seeking public comment on the proposed settlement with BASF, set the tone that has grown ever since.

On Wednesday evening, Save Barnegat Bay, the local environmental organization, is hosting a meeting for the public to sound off on the proposed settlement, which would leave BASF with 255 acres of developable land. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Toms River High School North, 1245 Old Freehold Road.

Save Barnegat Bay is holding the public meeting — with the support of Toms River and Ocean County officials — because the NJDEP is not holding any public comment hearings on the proposal.

Comments must be submitted to the NJDEP by Feb. 3, which is an extension after the comment period initially was limited to 30 days.

"While at surface value, the (natural resources damages) settlement might sound like a promising outcome for the site’s painful lingering history, we are concerned that it does not provide real justice for the Toms River community and our natural resources," a statement on the Save Barnegat Bay website reads. "No public participation hearings were hosted as part of these settlement discussions, and little-to-no scientific data was released to substantiate the safety of these plans."

"We want a transparent record and full engagement of the community," said Britta Forsberg, executive director of Save Barnegat Bay, who is urging the NJDEP to extend the comment period through March 6. "We need the DEP to answer questions during a local public comment period. This affects the entire county."

Save Barnegat Bay is particularly concerned about the scientific aspects of the safety of turning the site into a recreation area, the statement says, and advocates — as Hill did — for an exhibit in the proposed public nature center that is "a truth-telling exhibit that honors the families affected by this tragedy."

Fifteen children died of cancers tied directly to the contaminants released by Toms River Chemical Corp., later Ciba-Geigy, that leached into the groundwater in the area where the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer sits. There was a $13.6 million settlement by Ciba-Geigy, Union Carbide and United Water with 69 families over the contamination, but not all of the families affected participated in the settlement.

There are ongoing health concerns, which is why Hill and others want to see a fund established to help other families. The state published a report on the cancer cluster in 2003 that found higher rates of cancers, Save Barnegat Bay notes.

The contaminated area, which was designated a federal Superfund site in 1983 by the Environmental Protection Agency, covers about 320 acres where Toms River Chemical, later Ciba-Geigy, manufactured dyes, pigments, resins and epoxy additives from 1952 until 1990. Operations fully ceased in 1996.

Save Barnegat Bay notes the remediation investigation at the site started in 1984 and uncovered an estimated 47,000 buried drums; those were removed.

"Since remediation efforts began, the toxic 'plume' of contaminated groundwater has shrunken in size but has not been fully resolved," Save Barnegat Bay says.

The site was purchased by BASF in 2008, and all remedial activities are currently BASF’s responsibility under EPA’s oversight, an EPA update from Jan. 17 notes.

In addition to Hill and the Toms River Township Council — which moved its meeting to 4 p.m. Wednesday to accommodate the Save Barnegat Bay meeting — state Sen. James Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano of the 10th District, the Ocean County Board of Commissioners and the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce have spoken out in opposition to the settlement.

Read more about Save Barnegat Bay's concerns about the proposed settlement on the organization's website.

Information about the ongoing EPA-led remediation at the Ciba-Geigy site can read here.

Read more about the Ciba-Geigy site:

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