Piles of dirt at Sloatsburg Community Field (Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)
“The chairman of the local sewer district raised serious questions over how the Town of Ramapo received a lucrative contract to remove contaminated soil for the district.
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, who is also the chairman of the sewer district’s board, said Ramapo was never one of the original 11 bidders in 2011 for an $800,000 contract to remove four piles of contaminated soil in Sloatsburg and Hillburn.
“Ramapo was not one of the bidders,” Hoehmann said this week. “There appears to be a clear attempt to circumvent a legitimate bidding process, and that’s very disturbing.”
Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence remains a member of the sewer board. He declined to comment about the issue during a court appearance in White Plains federal court on Monday, and has not returned calls seeking comment.
RAMAPO: Contaminated soil remains despite $400K payout
SPECIAL REPORT: Ramapo nears breaking point
Soon after the bids were received, the sewer board decided to seek an agreement with Ramapo to remove the soil. The sewer district ultimately approved an “inter-municipal agreement” with Ramapo in 2012 — of which the town received a partial payment of $400,000 — to remove the soil that same year.
Officials said that very little work has been done on the piles to date. And one of the four soil piles remains contaminated, sewer district officials maintained after the issue was revealed last week.”
Read the complete Journal News story here.