The North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHS)A and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) signed an administrative consent agreement last week seeking a cleaner Hudson River.
By John Heinis/hHudson County View
“My DEP colleagues and I congratulate the North Hudson Sewerage Authority for leading the way in addressing the complex challenges of combined-sewer discharges,” NJ DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said in a statement.
“Through the signing of this historic agreement and finalization of the CSO permit, the Authority is making a long-term commitment to investments in technologies and strategies that will better protect public health and the environment and reduce flooding. We are proud to partner with the North Hudson Sewerage Authority and look forward to working with more communities on the long-term efforts that are needed to effectively address the unhealthy discharges from antiquated CSO systems.”
The ACA covers those areas of NHSA’s system serviced by the Adams Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 1600 Adams Street in Hoboken.
The Agreement signifies the NJDEP’s approval of NHSA’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan (CSO LTCP). NHSA, in close cooperation with the NJDEP, began to prepare its CSO LTCP in 2015.
The CSO LTCP was initiated by the NJDEP to preserve and improve the cleanliness and quality of waterways throughout the State of New Jersey. NHSA is a Hudson River discharger with nine CSO outfalls.
“Our staff worked very hard to meet the challenging criteria set by the State. In the end, we developed a plan that will progressively improve the Hudson River’s water quality,” added NHSA Executive Director Dr. Richard J. Wolff.
“At the same time, we examined the current and future financial impact of the LTCP on our service area and took concrete steps to lessen that impact, including securing financial assistance from the State, elongating our construction timetable, and continuing to manage our business in a most efficient and cost-effective manner.”
The LTCP is a comprehensive program that takes into consideration the distinct features of the NHSA collection system and the requirements of its service area municipalities.
It includes several projects that will expand the capacity of the treatment plant, enabling the plant to treat and clean more flow and additional detention facilities and high-level sewer systems will be built to remove stormwater from the system.
With NJ DEP approval, NHSA has already begun construction on several projects included in the LTCP. The first phase of work, the construction of the detention system and surrounding sewer infrastructure at Hoboken’s Northwest Resiliency Park, has been completed.
Phase 2 and 3 are underway. For reasons of both affordability and engineering requirements, the LTCP construction schedule stretches over a 25-year time frame, a period that may well be adjusted as new issues arise.
“We are very appreciative of the support that we have received from the State thus far in the process. The NJ DEP staff has worked closely with us to develop a Long Term Control Plan that meets the program’s goals, is affordable for most of our service area, and is effectively stretched across a reasonable timetable,” Wolff also indicated.
“In addition, we have received several State grants, and we will hopefully be able to continue to participate in the loan forgiveness program operated by the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank.”
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