Growing up in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Peggy Fussell has fond memories of ice skating on a local pond—that is, until she discovered that the pond was a toxic waste site.

Decades after chemical producer American Cyanamid ceased its Bridgewater operations, and was declared a Superfund Site, its toxic legacy is precariously contained in local waste ponds. As climate change fuels more intense storms in the region, these ponds risk flooding and spilling over into the nearby community.

With a cleanup that has dragged on for decades and has no clear end in sight, what will it take to avoid catastrophe?