Hackensack Riverkeeper® Joins New Jersey CSO Group

 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has revoked and reissued the General NJPDES Permit for Combined Sewer Systems, which requires all municipalities with combined sewer systems to undertake a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan (LTCP). The LTCP is a feasibility study to evaluate means, costs and effectiveness of control alternatives for reducing the frequency and volume of CSO discharges, as well as different levels of pre-treatment and disinfection.

 

To meet the Public Participation Program requirement of LTCP, the City of Paterson, the Towns of Harrison and Kearny, the Borough of East Newark, Jersey City MUA, Bayonne MUA, North Bergen MUA and the Passaic Valley Sewage Commissioners have formed the New Jersey CSO Group and has invited Hackensack Riverkeeper to participate. When the group meets in September, it will form a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) to explore issues and options related to CSOs.

 

The CAC will hear presentations, offer feedback, learn about alternative controls and their estimated project costs and benefits, and ultimately will offer recommendations on what types of controls should be implemented under the LTCP. The CAC will conclude in January 2007 and a Public Participation Program Report will be submitted to the NJDEP summarizing the group’s findings.