Geographic Information Systems
and
The Passaic River Remediation
Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
P.O. Box 33, Verona, NJ 07044
(973) 239-9466
The Passaic River
Covering parts of
northeastern NJ and
southeastern NY, drains
almost 935 square miles
and is the second largest
river in NJ stretching
approximately 85 miles
from the Bernardsville
Mountains and emptying
into the Newark Bay.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Lower River Basin
Along 17 miles that run from
the Dundee Dam in Garfield,
NJ down to the Newark Bay
just on the perimeters of the
recently renamed Newark
Liberty Airport, is the Lower
Passaic River Basin. Some
would call it The Forgotten
River. Others would rather
not mention it at all.
Dioxin in the Passaic River (16)
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Stew:
The Lower Passaic River Basin
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The industrial revolution began along the Passaic River
Overcrowded development, housing, manufacturing,
supermarkets and shopping malls
Rerouting the river for Route 80 (think flooding)
Many water sewage plants strategically positioned adjacent
to the river
They do use the river as a sewer disposal
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Tire Story
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Tires & The River:
A Really Strange New Jersey Thing?
In 2002,
4,000 tires
were hauled out of an
800-foot stretch of river
between Paterson and Fair Lawn.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Passaic River
Not Just Tires
 Raw Sewage
 PCBs and other Toxic $&*%
 DDT
 Heavy Metals
 Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons
 Dioxin
 And So Much More…
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Introducing The Known Polluters
(According to the USEPA)
1) The Ashland Chemical Company Site
2) The Hilton Davis Site:
Responsible Parties
Thomasset Colors, Inc.
Hilton Davis Chemical Co.
Sterling Winthrop, Inc.
Freedom Chemical Company
Eastman Kodak Company
Drum Service of Newark, Inc.
360 North Pastoria
Environmental Corporation
H.S. Acquisition Corporation
Noveon Hilton Davis Inc.
SDI Divestiture Corporation
STWB Inc.
2) The Hilton Davis Site:
Continued:
PMC Global, Inc.
Plastics Manufacturing
Smithkline Beecham
Bayer Corporation
3) The Pitt-Consol Chemical
Company Site
Responsible Parties
E.I. du Pont de
Nemours & Co.
Pitt-Consol Chemical Co.
4) The Benjamin Moore &
Company
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Introducing The Known Polluters
5) The Lucent Technologies Site
Responsible Parties
Lucent Technologies
AT&T Corporation Inc.
RTC Properties, Inc.
6) The Monsanto Company Site
Responsible Parties
Monsanto Company
Motor Carrier Services Co.
7) The Public Service Electric and
Gas Company Essex Site
Responsible Parties
PSE&G
Public Service Enterprise Group
8) The Public Service Electric & Gas
Harrison Site
Responsible Parties
PSE&G
Public Service Enterprise Group
The Sherwin Williams Company
9) The Sherwin Williams Company Site
10) American Modern Metals Corporation
Site
Responsible Parties
American Modern Metals Corporation
DiLorenzo Properties Company
Marshall Clark Manufacturing Corporation
Kearny Industrial Associates, LP
S&A Realty Corporation
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Introducing The Known Polluters
11) The Atlantic Richfield Site
Responsible Parties
Atlantic Richfield Corporation
Amerada Hess Corporation
12) The Franklin Plastics Site
Responsible Parties
Franklin Plastics Corporation
Franklin-Burlington Plastics, Inc.
Spartech Corporation
13) The Stanley Works Site
14) The Safety-Kleen Envirosystems
Company Site
Responsible Parties
Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company
Bristol-Myers-Squibb
Propane Power Corporation
Wilson Five Corporation
Apollo Development and Land
Corporation
15) The Napp Technologies Site
Responsible Parties
Purdue Pharama Technologies, Inc.
Nappwood Land Corporation
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©2007
Introducing The Known Polluters
16) The Hexcel Site
Responsible Parties
Hexcel Corporation
Fine Organics Corporation
17) The Getty Newark Terminal Site
Responsible Parties
Chevron Texaco Corporation
Getty Petroleum Corporation
Getty Realty Group
Texaco, Inc.
Texaco Refining and Marketing, Inc.
Power Test of New Jersey, Inc.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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Introducing The Known Polluters
18) The Diamond Alkalai Site
Responsible Parties
Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company
Diamond Alkalai Company
Diamond Shamrock Corporation
Maxus Energy Corporation
Occidental Electrochemicals Corporation
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Occidental Chemical Corporation
Chemical Land Holdings Inc.
Tierra Solution Incorporated
Tierra Solutions, Inc.
Oxy-Diamond Alkali Corporation
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Diamond Alkali:
Superfund Site EPA ID# NJ980528996
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Diamond Alkali:
So unknown, yet so much trouble
 Manufactured Agent Orange
 Agent Orange was used to wipe out the Vietnam
countryside during the 1960’s-70’s Police Action.
 Apparently, Diamond Alkali had used the Passaic River has a
place for "run off."
 So sitting at the floor of the Passaic River, specifically in
Newark is: 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Better known and simply put: Dioxin
Dioxin (4)
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Diamond Alkali:
Superfund Site EPA ID# NJ980528996
According to a recent Cornell
University Study:
This EPA Superfund Site has the
highest concentration (50,000
ppm) of dioxin in the country,
dioxin can be found 6 miles
upstream. The EPA conceptual
plans are to either cap off this
site, not actually removing any of
the toxic dioxin, but just sealing
it up. The present NJDEP would
like to do the same. Or dredging
has been strongly suggested but
never done. The present EPA
would like to continue research.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Passaic River:
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse…
 “800,000 people in 23 towns use 83 million gallons of
Passaic River water each day.” The Record
 ‘Although the Passaic Valley Water Commission says the
situation is not unusual,’ it seems gravely odd and dangerous
that “we pour sewage into the river, then we cook, bathe and
drink from it.” The Record
 PVWC is one of four sewage treatment plants that use the
River and some have very antiquated systems.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
YIKES!
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
WARNING:
“Contaminated sediments take a large toll on
human and ecological health across the
Nation. Threats cited in EPA’s Contaminated
Sediment Management Strategy include
possible juvenile neurological and IQ
impairment from food chain poisoning,
increased incidence of cancer and long term
damage to aquatic ecosystems.”
A study by the EPA
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Passaic River:
So, if I think about this:
 Along the bottom and throughout this
mutable river, sits (creeps?) Agent Orange
and other deadly chemicals that are harmful
to all living creatures.
 And most people that consume their water from the Passaic
River are probably unaware of these hazardous materials.
 To be fair, The Passaic River Water Authority uses a massive
filtration system for sewage that goes into the water and of
course, potable water (water used for drinking).
 Besides sewage disposal, the River suffers from overflow and
run off during very heavy rains.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
 WARNING:
“Evidence indicates that the ecology of the
Passaic River has been adversely impacted by
the presence of these hazardous substances.
This impact is reflected in the State of New
Jersey’s
prohibition
of
the
sale
and
consumption of striped bass, blue crab and
other seafood in the Passaic River. Some of
these hazardous substances may also cause
cancer in humans.”

NJDEP
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
"Who’s Doing What?"
A Strong Sign of Progress
 On June 9, 2004, the Passaic River Institute held its first
symposium "Who’s Doing What?" at Montclair State
University.
 More info on this group and its mission can be found at
http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/pri/background.html
 Organizations, Government entities, Scientists, Politicians
and Citizens join together at these panels to discuss the
environmental despair of the Passaic River and the various
organizations and programs focused on its remediation.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Greater Newark Conservancy’s
Environmental Justice Program
 Works with organizations in almost every major
New Jersey city :
http://web.njit.edu/~cecc/webdev/conservancy/2005f/environmental.htm
 Help to counteract trends that show a
disproportionate amount of toxic waste, air
pollution, water pollution and open-space depletion
in several urban communities.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
What is Environmental Justice?
The United States E. P. A. Defines:
“The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people
regardless of race, color, national origin, or income
with respect to the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Fair treatment means that no group of people,
including a racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group,
should bear a disproportionate share of the
negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial,
municipal, and commercial operations
or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and
policies.”
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
It would appear:
 There are many groups interested in the
improvement of the Passaic River.
 There has been explorative research,
experimentation, hot spots cited, financially
supported scientific research, and accountability on
the part of some of the companies that are guilty.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
GIS
plays a
significant role
in solving the problem:
http://web.njit.edu/~cecc/webdev/conservancy/2005f/environmental.htm
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
How does it work?
GIS, or Geographic
Information Systems,
is “computer software
that links geographic
information (where
things are) with
descriptive information
(what things are).”
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
What is GIS?
GIS combines layers of
information offering an
almost 3-dimensional
view of that location. A
GIS can link data sets
together like longitude
and latitude of the river
with testing information,
hot spots and
remediation.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Why GIS?
GIS helps these agencies
share their data. By
creating a shared
database, one
organization can benefit
from the work of
another—data can be
collected once and used
many times.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Who’s Working on the Remediation?
To Name a Few:
 USACE
 USEPA
 NJDEP
 Passaic River Coalition - The “Face the River, Fix the
River™” campaign for the Lower Passaic River
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Do They Have A GIS System
for the Passaic River?
 USACE
 USEPA
 NJDEP
 Passaic River Coalition
-
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Dr. Kirk Barrett, Director of MSU Passaic River Institute and the panel of leaders of
environmental agencies that lead off the Second Passaic River Symposium. From left to
right, Dr. Barrett; Alan Steinberg, Reg. 2 Admin. of the U.S. EPA, Lisa P. Jackson, Comm.
of the NJ DEP, Col. Aniello Tortura, NY District Commander for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers; Lisa Baron, NJ Department of Transportation and Mark Stout, Assistant
Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation
According to Dr. Kirk Barrett, Director, Passaic River Institute,
Montclair St. U., Coll. of Science & Math: “There are many
organizations with GIS's related to the Passaic River; the
USACE, USEPA, NJDEP all have strong GIS capability in
house. But, there isn't one unified GIS, nor is there one
publicly available over the internet.”
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
GIS for Public Use




Orange County Water Authority of New York
Detailed information compiled over the last ten years
Effective for every aspect of the community
From city and rural planning to environmental
protection and sustainability to include public access to
the results of bio-monitoring streams and wells,
watershed development, and monitoring contamination
sites
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
GIS OCWA
On-line and available for anyone
 Allows an in-depth look (literally) at the water, land,
stream and bio-monitoring of Orange County, New
York, (a major watershed area).
 GIS has assisted New York and Orange County citizens
and officials alike to maintain their number one
resource, the waterways.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Right To Know
 GIS is at the core of the democratic
process .
 On the OCWA, everyone has access to
understanding and participating in the
development, planning, remediation and
sustainability of their own community.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Cornell University
LINKAGE: Asthma and The Environment
 Asthma trends in America indicate relationships
between race and socio-economic status: Minority
and the poor are more susceptible to asthma.
Through this research, they are trying to determine
if the root cause for high incidences are directly
related to environmental hazards.
 They are concentrating on Newark, the Passaic
River and the various toxins in and around that area.
 They are using GIS to determine this by overlapping
toxic sites with neighborhoods with people victim to
asthma.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Cornell University
Study: Some Conclusions:
 “The limited access by and availability to the
public to such critical technologies have created
barriers for Environmental Justice
communities’ ability to perform timely spatial
analysis…
 And exclusion from key policy making
decisions.”

http://www.crp.cornell.edu/projects/WebGIS_2000/home/EJ.asp
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Public Information Access:
The Big Map
According to Former Gov McGreevey:
“We will have one state map that we will live by and not
one dollar of taxpayer money will be spent to subsidize
sprawl anymore”
http://www.nj.gov/dca/osg/resources/maps/preli
mmapsinfo.shtml
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The BIG Map Landscape Project
 Aligning State regulations and funding programs




with the State Plan.
It will draw heavily upon the Endangered and
Nongame Species Program’s Landscape Project.
The map is using GIS.
Overlaps natural resources, existing development,
infrastructure availability and state planning areas.
GIS data includes endangered and threatened
species habits.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The BIG Map Landscape Project
 This map provides builders and planners with
transparent predictable guide for where the state will
encourage and support development
 The DEP has provided an online discussion board for
individuals and groups to view the map and to offer
input or raise concerns.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
GIS and Sustainable Development
 More so now than ever before, our quality of life is
directly affected by the quality of our air, our water and
the biodiversity that surrounds us.
 “Mother Earth has a fever and we can all feel it.”
Chief Looking Horse
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©2007
Sustainable Development
 Sustainable development is a process that
will leave future generations choices.
 Achieving this requires economic,
environmental, and social imperatives.
 “Many businesses are thinking of the
world beyond today.
 “They are adopting eco-efficiency and
eco-innovation to improve the prospects
for tomorrow.”
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Sustainable Development and Business
 “To some degree, these changes are a
result of continuing pressures from
customers, investors, employees,
legislators, and, increasingly, from banks
and insurance companies.”
 Eco-Efficiency: The Business Link to Sustainable
Development, Book by Livio D. Desimone, Frank
Popoff, World Business Council for Sustainable
Development.; MIT, 2000
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
QUESTION:
Can the earth continue to provide
and regenerate the resources we
need for supporting life and
encourage development as we
know it?…
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Could You Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Passaic River
… A Destination Resort
Could You Imagine?
A Family Outing at The Banks
of The Passaic River
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You
Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You …
Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You Truly
Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You Just
Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You
Really…Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Could You Imagine?
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
The Environmental Issue
A Political Issue?
---How strange for it to be-- No, It’s Personal!
 It’s not an economical issue.
 It’s shouldn’t be a financial issue.
 It’s a personal issue.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
This Technology
 GIS allows us to measure our assets
 Understand our patterns of change
 Better understand the resources we are using
 Identify the impact of human-induced geographic
change – A Good Thing In NJ!
 GIS is also helping us better utilize the resources we
have by leveraging geographic information with
analysis tools that support planning as well as
operational activities.
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Making a Difference
New Jersey Water Watch
 Cleanups
 Education
 Water Monitoring
http://www.njwaterwatch.org/montclair
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Making a Difference
The Passaic River Institute
 Environmental Research
and Education
 College of Science and
Mathematics at MSU
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Making a Difference
 Brookhaven National Laboratory





www.bnl.gov
Columbia University, Geochemistry
Division -Lamont Earth Observatory of
Columbia University
www.ldeo.columbia.edu
Drew University, Dept. of Biology
depts.drew.edu/biol
Earth Tech, Inc. www.earthtech.com
The Greater Newark Conservancy’s
Environmental Justice Program
web.njit.edu/~cecc/webdev/conservanc
y/2005f/environmental.htm
The Ironbound Community
Corporation, Newark, NJ
www.ironboundcc.org
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©2007
Making a Difference
 National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
www.noaa.gov
 National Science Foundation
www.nsf.gov
 New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection,
Division of Science Research and
Technology New Jersey
Department of Transportation,
Office of Maritime Resources
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Making a Difference
 New Jersey Meadowlands
Commission (NJMC),
Meadowlands Environmental
Research Institute
www.meadowlands.state.nj.us/co
mmission/index.cfm
 NY/NJ Baykeeper
www.nynjbaykeeper.org
 New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation,
Division of Fish Wildlife and
Marine Resources
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfw
mr
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Making a Difference
 Passaic River Coalition - The
“Face the River, Fix the River™”
campaign for the Lower Passaic
River
 Passaic Valley Sewerage
Commissioners www.pvsc.com
 Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey www.panynj.gov
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Making a Difference
 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Earth and Environmental
Sciences Dept.
www.rpi.edu/dept/geo
 Rutgers University, Cook College,
N.J. Agricultural Experiment
Station aesop.rutgers.edu
 US Army Corps of Engineers,
New York District, Harbor
Programs Branch
www.nan.usace.army.mil/harbor
/archive/index.htm
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Making a Difference
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Great Swamp National Wildlife
Refugegreatswamp.fws.gov
 US Geological Survey
www.usgs.gov/
 US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) www.epa.gov
 William Paterson University,
Environmental Science
www.wpunj.edu/cos/envsci-geo
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
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©2007
Making a Difference
 League of Women Voters,
Ridgewood, NJ
 The Lower Passaic River
Ecosystem Restoration
Project (LPRERP)
 Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.
 Montclair State University,
Dept. of Earth &
Environmental Studies and
Passaic River Institute
GIS & The Passaic River Remediation Project
Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
Wanna Help?
 Participate in NJ Water Watch
 Write to the NJ Legislation
 Get Involved
 Don’t turn your back!
 AND BOYCOTT THE Very
Strange PASSAIC RIVER
TIRE DISPOSAL Ritual
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Centaur Strategies, llc
©2007
THANK YOU!