Candidates, committeemen debate mercury lawsuit’s merits

By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
   HILLSBOROUGH — Citing “huge expenses” in moving forward, Democratic candidate Matt Dawson objected Sept. 23 to the Township Committee’s decision to file a lawsuit against the federal government for failing to remove the 2,617 metric tons of mercury from Hillsborough.
   ”This is a high expense to move forward with when negotiations are continuing,” he said.
   The Township Committee voted during its Sept. 9 meeting to authorize Township Attorney Albert Cruz to file the complaint about the mercury, which was supposed to have been moved by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada in spring 2007.
   Mr. Dawson said that, although promises were made, there was no signed contract that the DLA is in breach of regarding moving the mercury, so he does not think paying the expenses for a lawsuit is worth the money.
   In addition, Mr. Dawson said, it might be worthwhile to wait until after the election season when the township can work with the newly elected member of Congress, who will take the place of current Congressman Mike Ferguson, who chose not to run for re-election.
   ”It would be prudent to wait and see what happens with the new member of Congress instead of filing the lawsuit and raising taxes,” Mr. Dawson said.
   Mayor Anthony Ferrera said at the Sept. 23 meeting that the township has been more than patient in trying to get the mercury moved from Hillsborough and that, for the safety of the residents, it has to be done sooner rather than later.
   ”The residents here have about had it,” he said. “I think we have a pretty good case.”
   Deputy Mayor Frank DelCore said it would not be beneficial to wait for a newly elected member of Congress, who might not know the details of the mercury removal.
   ”This person will be starting from scratch,” he said. “We have something with the existing Congressman.”
   In a statement from both Democratic candidates for committee, including candidate Manny Foranoce, Mr. Dawson said he would rather the township try to negotiate with the DLA for the removal of the mercury, instead of moving forward with the lawsuit.
   ”This is exactly the type of wasteful spending that I have been focusing and campaigning on, and it is driving taxes sky high,” Mr. Dawson said.
   Over the past few years, studies have been done on the mercury to determine the best location for it, with the Nevada depot being the designated place. Tests have been done on the flasks and drums holding the mercury to determine that it is packed safely and prepared for shipment.
   Currently, representatives from the DLA are discussing the logistics of the move with members of the Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC). No time frame for the move has been set as of yet.
   There are also plans to move mercury from Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana to the Nevada depot.
   The Hillsborough depot was used to store mercury after the GSA Belle Mead Depot closed in the 1960s. Mercury had previously been used for military aircraft instruments, but was put into stockpiles when it was found to be highly toxic.