The Star-Ledger
November 30, 2000

NEW STUDY TO KICK OFF PASSAIC RIVER CLEANUP WATERWAY CALLED KEY TO NEWARK’S REVIVAL
By Barry Carter

To New Jersey congressmen believe restoration of the Passaic River is crucial to the redevelopment of Newark and other communities along its winding banks. To achieve that goal, Reps. Robert Menendez (D-13^th Dist.) and William Pascrell Jr. (D-8^th Dist.) said yesterday a study will be conducted to determine how best the river can be cleaned of contaminants. The two congressmen were joined by official from Newark, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Office of Maritime Resources in announcing the effort to restore the river as a means to economic revitalization at its many waterfronts. Menendez said the river was once an economic foundation during the industrial age, but lax environmental policies in the past allowed it to become contaminated with pollutants.

“Now we have the opportunity to change that legacy of failure into an opportunity for success for the future,” said Menendez, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and leader of the effort behind the study.  “We believe that the quality of life for people up and down the Passaic River can be enhanced, and it can be once again a source of economic empowerment for this region.”

The study will take a year to complete and will be conducted by the Army Corp. of Engineers beginning in January. Evaluation of the river, which is 90 miles long, will focus on the lower end between the Dundee Dam and Newark Bay. Pascrell said the river is key to the future of the region, and the time has come for a comprehensive look at the pollution that has caused years of problems.

“To be a valuable part of the economic revitalization in commerce in New Jersey, it must be a clean river.  There’s no way of getting away from that fact,” Pascrell said.

Initial steps to secure $100,000 in funding for the study were undertaken by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in April. Pascrell and Menendez are on the committee, and they along with other members of New Jersey congressional delegation lobbied for the study.  In October, President Clinton signed the fiscal 2001 energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that provides the money. When the study is complete, the Corps of Engineers will make a recommendation to Congress to undertake a feasibility study, said Paul Tumminello, project manager.

“We’ve done these types of studies before,” he said.  “It’s the initial first step of laying out the blueprint of what it is we can do.”

Officials say the study will go a long way toward augmenting redevelopment in Newark, where there is already a minor league baseball stadium, a performing arts center and plans for an indoor sports arena. Earlier this month the federal government signed a lease with a developer who will construct a 12 story building along the Passaic River to house offices of the FBI.  The city also has plans for an esplanade, a hotel, restaurants, and retail shops.

“This is a major step in opening up the riverfront,” said Newark Business Administrator JoAnne Watson. “This is the opportunity to realize the vision of transforming the Passaic River front into an area like the Baltimore Inner Harbor and New York City Seaport.”