November/December 2007
Progress Update Ringwood Mines/ Landfill Site |
Ford Motor Company has been working closely with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to follow up on cleanup activities undertaken in the 1980s and 1990s at the Ringwood Mines Landfill Site in Ringwood, New Jersey, where waste materials from Ford's former assembly plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, were disposed from late 1967 through mid-1971. Other parties, including the Borough of Ringwood, used the site for the disposal of waste materials before, during, and after the period when Ford-related wastes were brought to the Site.
Ford is providing this Progress Update to share information about developments in the investigation and cleanup of the Site during the months of November and December 2007.
Site-Wide Test Pit Investigation
USEPA and NJDEP required Ford to excavate 79 test pits throughout the Site to determine whether there were additional paint sludge deposits in nonresidential areas outside the three known landfill areas (Peter's Mine Pit area; the O'Connor Disposal Site, and the Cannon Mine Pit area) and the previously identified SR areas. USEPA and NJDEP selected the locations based on data developed through the reconnaissance survey
, and their interest in ensuring that paint sludge was not located in other areas of potential concern on the Site.Ford has completed the excavation of all 79 test pits. It will be submitting results of the testing to NJDEP and USEPA and will post the results on the Web site (
www.ringwoodsiteupdate.com) as soon as EPA reviews and approves the draft report.SR-6 Investigation
Surficial paint sludge removal activities continue in SR-6. [To view a copy of the USEPA-approved Paint Sludge and Drum Remnant Removal Work Plan, which identifies the SR areas, visit the Web site at www.ringwoodsiteupdate.com.] Ford's contractor, ARCADIS, continues to excavate and characterize materials in SR-6 for off-site disposal.
Cannon Mine Investigation
In March, Ford submitted a revised work plan for the investigation of the former Cannon Mine Area, a landfill area that was used for many years by the Borough of Ringwood for waste disposal. The objective of the Cannon Mine Work Plan is to characterize potential waste materials in the Cannon Mine Pit Area as well as to evaluate the quality of the groundwater in the area. [The Cannon Mine Work Plan can be found here.]
Pursuant to the USEPA-approved work plan, ARCADIS has been collecting surface soil samples, excavating test pits, and has installed borings to characterize waste materials in the in the Cannon Mine pit. ARCADIS installed monitoring wells in December within the area and will conduct groundwater sampling in January 2008. ARCADIS continues to conduct real-time vibration monitoring to ensure that site activities do not have any impact on potential subsurface voids in the area, in accordance with USEPA and NJDEP requirements.
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Ford is committed to addressing remaining environmental issues at the Ringwood Site associated with the disposal of Ford-related wastes. Ford is also committed to keeping the community informed and addressing questions or concerns about Site activities. If you would like a copy of previous issues of the Progress Update, or have any questions regarding activities at the Site, please contact Jon Holt, Ford Community Relations Consultant, at (908) 832-0557.
