Learn How To Stop Bay Jellyfish, See 1980s Ciba-Geigy Film At Save Barnegat Bay Meeting

LAVALLETTE, NJ — Save Barnegat Bay will present the findings of its "Stop the Sting" jellyfish campaign on Tuesday at its annual meeting, set for Tuesday.

The environmental organization also will screen a documentary on the Ciba-Geigy pollution that includes footage from the 1980s as it gives an update on its fight with the state Department of Environmental Protection over its recent natural resources damage settlement, executive director Britta Forsberg said.

The meeting is open to the public and is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at the Lavallette First Aid Building, 1207 Bay Boulevard, Lavallette.

The "Stop the Sting" jellyfish campaign has been a three-year project. Paul Bologna, the jellyfish expert and biology professor at Montclair State University will present the findings along with ways the public can help get rid of jellyfish in Barnegat Bay.

The project, conducted in conjunction with the Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue dive team, scrubbed bulkheads in certain lagoon communities to study whether the effort could interrupt the reproduction cycle of bay nettles to reduce their populations in the bay, which in turn could reduce the threat of stings at children’s swimming beaches on the bay.

Save Barnegat Bay will give details on the latest update regarding their appeal of the NJDEP's settlement with BASF at the Ciba-Geigy superfund site.

Part of that update will include the screening of a long-lost film that begins in Lavallette and tells the story of Greenpeace and the community effort to expose the pollution entering the ocean from the Ciba-Geigy pipeline in Ortley Beach, Forsberg said. Save Barnegat Bay has received special permission from the makers of the film to do a one-time screening, she said.

"The footage from the 1980s shows clearly the divers on the pipeline and black effluent entering the ocean," Forsberg said. "The film also documents the historic harm Ciba-Geigy has done to the natural resources of the Jersey Shore and highlights the community’s historic fight to stop this pollution."

After the screening Save Barnegat Bay will host a panel to discuss the findings in the film.

Save Barnegat Bay filed an appeal in October 2023 of the NJDEP's natural resources damages settlement with BASF, but attempted settlement efforts with NJDEP and BASF through the Civil Appeals Settlement Program at the Appellate Division of New Jersey's courts have failed, the organization said.

Save Barnegat Bay is moving forward with filing legal briefs outlining the serious environmental and regulatory deficiencies in the deal. The latest updates and additional information can be found on the Save Barnegat Bay website.

Also the website under "Betrayal of Trust: Ciba-Geigy’s Toxic Trail at the Jersey Shore" are documents that Save Barnegat Bay and community volunteers discovered that were not considered by the NJDEP during its discussions with BASF, Forsberg said, documents that show damages to the natural environment.