DEP sues Ciba for pollution damages

The state Department of Environmental Protection has sued Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp., seeking compensation for damage to the environment in Toms River.

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The 29-page lawsuit seeks a judgment for damages the state has "incurred, and will incur, for any natural resource of this State that has been, or may be, injured as a result of the discharge of pollutants and hazardous substances at the Ciba-Geigy site."

It also seeks an order compelling the defendants to perform under DEP oversight, or to fund the DEP's performance of "any further assessment of any natural resource that has been, or may be, injured" as a result of that discharge and to "compensate the citizens of New Jersey for the lost value of any injured natural resource."

DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna said Friday: "Certainly there has been a long history of enforcement, monitoring and cleanup at Ciba. What this suit represents is seeking compensation for the public for the damages caused to natural resources."

The lawsuit — filed Thursday, two days before the statute of limitations was to expire — also names Novartis Corp., a former owner of the Ciba site, as a defendant. The DEP seeks a judgment against the economic benefits and savings the suit says Novartis enjoyed by avoiding the costs of complying with the Water Pollution Control Act.