Letter sent o Mayor and Council

Dear Mayor and Councilmen,

As a concerned resident of Paramus, I would like to take steps to make members of our community aware of the great health/environmental hazard that is present in many of our backyards. The specific site that I am speaking of is located on Soldier Hill Rd adjacent to the Reid Park nature preserve.”

Initially, I was made aware of the site by the “Save Paramus Wetlands” signs that are prominent around town. Upon further evaluation and a walk through of the nature path I discovered that this site was not only wetlands, but also contaminated, and a hazard to all humans and wildlife. This site was obviously utilized as a landfill and had endured years of dumping, which is evident today. There are piles of concrete, glass and metals through out the site, readily visible to anyone walking through. Trails have been created from Reid Park into the contaminated area located immediately to the south, with a nature walk to the east. Dirt trails created by ATVs and motor bikes have been created over the years. Tree houses and makeshift tents have also been formed on the property.

Although there is much publicity regarding the wetland issue, no one has formally requested the contamination be cleaned. There does not appear to be any timeline to clean the site. The DEP has addressed the need to clean the site, based on presence of toxins. However, clean up issue has been moved to the back burner. It appears as though no one is truly concerned with the true issue at hand…our well being. “Save Paramus Wetlands” has become an agenda that has yet to resolve any environmental issues.

There is clear documentation pointing to the contamination provided by DEP, and a clear need to have the site cleaned. This issue should be as important as “Save Paramus Wetlands”. Finding from the DEP, indicate that the Musquapsink Brook flows through the site and through many of our backyards and into our drinking water via the Passaic Brook, eventually flowing into the Oradell Reservoir (all Category One Water ways).

I would respectfully request your assistance and the community’s assistance to join forces to clean the landfill immediately, to prevent further contamination. The same diligence and prompt response taken to clean the contamination at the East Brook School will be required to clean this site once and for all.

I will be seeking a prompt response to this letter on a blog posted to address this matter.

Saveparamusnow.com. Please advise if there is any thing that we may do as a community to reconcile this health hazard once and for all.

Respectfully yours,

Save Paramus Now, Paramus Wetlands