Project Delivery Team Meetings
The five partner government agencies actively involved in the site, US-EPA, US-ACE, NOAA, US-FWS, and NJDEP, hold joint public meetings every few months to provide updates on activities in the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay study areas. The agenda, sign-in sheet, and presentations for the most recent meeting are posted at www.ourpassaic.org and www.ournewarkbay.org.

Draft Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan
NOAA and USFWS announced the availability of a draft Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan for public comment in December 2007. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan is one step in the damage assessment process. It serves to document exposure of natural resources to hazardous substances and identify anticipated procedures for evaluating natural resource injuries potentially caused by such exposure.

Passaic River Symposium
The Passaic River Institute at Montclair University has hosted two Passaic River Symposia. The first, "Who's Doing What," was co-hosted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation on June 9, 2004. The second, "Progress and Challenges," was co-hosted by the Hudson-Delaware Chapter of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry on October 13, 2006.

Community Involvement Plan
The partner agencies have prepared and completed the Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for the Lower Passaic River Restoration Project and Newark Bay Study. The CIP creates a blueprint for public involvement over the life of the project. The commitment of the partner agencies to active and open public involvement forms the basis of this document. The CIP provides a toolbox of options for keeping the public informed and for soliciting input. As a living document for a dynamic project, the CIP will be reviewed annually, and updated as needed to reflect project progress and changes to community needs, concerns, issues, and contacts.

CIP Public Forums
Public forums were held on September 14, 2005, in Rutherford, New Jersey, and on September 15, 2005, in Newark, New Jersey. Click here for a summary of project presentations, discussions and questions and answers that took place at the forums. Click here to view the slide presentation given at the public forums.

Community Input to Guide Development of the CIP
From December 2004 through February 2005, the partner agencies conducted a series of Community Interviews as part of the public involvement process for the Lower Passaic River Restoration Project and the Newark Bay Study. A summary of the Community Interview is included in the Community Interview Report.

NRDA Educational Seminar
The federal trustees presented a Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) Educational Seminar in Newark, New Jersey on September 14, 2004. The presentation, provided below, highlighted assessment strategies for the Greater Newark Bay Complex.

NRDA Agenda, September 14, 2004.

NRDA Overview: Natural Resource Trustees Presentation to NJ Industries, September 14, 2004.

Methods Commonly Applied in NRDA to Quantify Restoration, September 14, 2004.

Cooperation: What It Takes!, September 14, 2004.

NRDA Process and Trustee Activities, September 14, 2004.