WASTE WATER PLANT DROPS A BOMB
By Bill Sheehan
On Sunday August 10, I was aboard the Robert H Boyle accompanied by HRI Trustee Cathe Morrow, and her husband Jay. It was a hot, sunny summer afternoon and since there were no regularly scheduled Eco-Cruises, I decided that I would take a cruise upriver to Hackensack and look at the River and shoreline to see if all was well.
Everything was fine until we cruised under the bridge that carries the western extension of the NJ Turnpike over the River between Moonachie and Ridgefield. As we motored north, the surface of the water went totally flat and we were immediately overwhelmed by the odor of partially treated sewage.
As we continued up the river the odor continued to get stronger and looking into the water I could see millions of particles floating in the slick. These particles are technically referred to as total suspended solids, (TSS). As we approached the Bergen County Utilities Authority Waste Water Treatment Plant in Little Ferry, I was shocked and dismayed by the six inch thick carpet of black, gray, brown sludge that covered an area of the discharge canal about the size of a baseball diamond.
We were thoroughly disgusted by the stench and the visual was sickening. As I recovered from the first shock I realized that we were witnessing a major violation of a NJPDES—New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System—permit. Cathe Morrow started snapping pictures as I reached for the Environmentalist's best friend, the cell phone. I dialed the NJ-DEP hotline and was glad to hear an operator on duty, not just a voice mail system. I filed a complaint with the hotline operator and made sure to get a case number for follow up.
The next day Monday I called the NJ-DEP Northern Enforcement Bureau to follow up on the complaint that I filed on Sunday. I was referred to the case worker who handles the BCUA and I informed him that his client had spilled a large amount of partially treated sewage into the river and I gave him the case number of the complaint that was filed via telephone on Sunday. After a brief conversation in which I explained what we had witnessed I was told that he would get back to me. A short while later he did just that and he proceeded to tell me that the BCUA was aware of the problem and was not sure what was causing it. Perhaps it was Toxic Shock due to an illegal discharge to the Sanitary Sewer System to which I replied that I was mainly concerned with the sludge that was already in the River. He went on to tell me that it may be an over production of nitrogen gas causing the sludge to rise and escape into the River with the effluent. I informed him again that my primary concern was the ongoing violation and the sludge that was polluting the River. I was told that they were working on the problem and I was left with a gnawing feeling that this major incident was going to be handled as a business-as-usual complaint with no consequence for the violation.
The next morning, Tuesday, I was once again scheduled to go into the office but I couldn't get the smell and the visual impact of the BCUA incident out of my head, so instead I went down to the dock got on board the Boyle and headed upriver to see if there was any improvement in the situation. Once again as I approached the Little Ferry plant I was greeted by a strong odor of sewage, and the discharge canal was still choked with a huge mat of partially treated sludge. Two days had elapsed since I had reported this violation to the DEP hotline and the sludge was still fouling the River. I immediately contacted the appropriate environmental reporter at The Record and he agreed to meet me at the dock with a photographer.
Wednesday, a front page story and two photos of the sludge floating on the River appeared in The Record, and by that afternoon the NJ-DEP issued a "Notice of Violation" (NOV) regarding the incident. I was then contacted by both Channel 4 News, and Time Warner Cable to provide access via boat and commentary for their evening newscasts.
I believe that if it were not for the media coverage this event would have been overlooked that the NOV would not have been issued. In order to determine how many other violations may have occurred at the Little Ferry Plant we are going to be taking a look at the daily monitoring reports (DMRs) and comparing them to the NJPDES Permit governing the Plant.
However, the big question that has been lurking in Little Ferry is, "Why is the fifth richest county in the first richest state still only treating their wastewater to the woefully inadequate secondary standard?" This is both shameful and morally reprehensible. Lets get our priorities straight—a clean and healthy river is not a goal or a dream, it is the law of the land.