Location Details

The Lower Passaic River extends from Dundee Dam to Newark Bay. The Greater Newark Bay Complex consists of the Lower Passaic River, the Hackensack River downstream of Oradell Dam, the Arthur Kill, the Kill Van Kull, and tidal portions of all rivers and streams that feed into those bodies of water.

Trustees' Role

The trustees have completed a preliminary assessment screen, drafted a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) plan and shared it with the public for comment, and have initiated restoration planning. The trustees have also provided NRDA training for potentially responsible parties. As part of the natural resource damage assessment, the trustees are:

• Creating a database of available information about the watershed.
• Analyzing and presenting available data at public forums.
• Discussing possible cooperative assessment efforts with potentially responsible parties.
• Assessing the scope of potential restoration opportunities available to compensate for injured natural resources and their services.

Trustees and Partners

The federal trustees NOAA and the U-S-FWS and the NJDEP are partnering with other state and federal agencies to collectively focus on cleaning up and restoring the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay. They are determining the sources and extent of contamination, assessing the condition of plant and animal habitats, calculating the risks to human health and the ecosystem, and determining appropriate cleanup and restoration.

The trustees' partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE-NYD), and the State of New Jersey. USEPA is leading cleanup efforts under CERCLA. The USACE along with their local sponsor, the State of New Jersey, will address watershed restoration under the Water Resources Development Act.

These agencies will develop cleanup and restoration plans with stakeholder and public input.