Friday, January 18, 2013
Mayor, congressman want to meet with state agency to discuss the extent of the pollution that's migrated from the Pompton Lake down into Wayne.
Local and federal officials are trying to schedule a meeting with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to find more about the pollution that migrated from behind the Pompton Lake Dam. Mayor Chris Vergano and Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen are attempting to schedule a meeting with the DEP to find out, “where the hot spots are” with regards the pollution that’s come into Wayne as a result of DuPont’s failure to keep it from seeping into Pompton Lake. The eastern part of the lake borders Wayne. Officials have said that the floodgates on the dam possibly cause pollution from sediment at the bottom of the lake to flow into the Ramapo River and into Wayne. “My concern is that once the gates open, all that muck from the bottom of …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The federal Environmental Protection Agency said "very, very low concentrations of lead" were found in sediment at the bottom of Pompton Lake.
Authorities will test samples taken from the Ramapo River to ensure that no significant amount of contaminants exist in the lower part of the Ramapo River past Pompton Lake Dam. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered the testing after it found “very very low concentrations of lead” in sediment taken from the bottom of the lake, said Phillip Flax, chief of the EPA’s correction action and special projects section. The EPA has ordered DuPont to remove 100,000 cubic yards of sediment from part of the lake where mercury, lead, and copper seeped into for years from the company’s former explosives factory. The eastern part of the lake borders Wayne. A 2011 study of sediment from the lake found contaminated sediment in downstream parts …
Monday, October 29, 2012
Bypass system will allow water from behind the gates to slowly drain downstream.
The floodgates on the Pompton Lake dam are closed and back under computer control, the state Department of Public Works (DEP) confirmed Sunday night. DEP spokesman Larry Rangonese confirmed that a bypass system would allow water behind the dam to slowly drain out while the gates remain closed. “The system will slow the refilling of the lake and slow the outflow of water,” Rangonese said. The gates were manually raised Saturday to allow five feet of water to drain out from behind the dam. The DEP said the action should allow “the released water ample time to safely pass downstream communities” such as part of Wayne and Pompton Lakes. A computer automatically raises the gates when the water behind them reaches a predetermined height. The …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Floodgates on the Pompton Lake dam will open early in anticipation of storm.
The floodgates on the Pompton Lakes dam will be manually opened Saturday in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy in an effort to relieve possible downstream flooding for residents who live below the dam. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a press release on the decision Friday night. “New Jersey’s reservoirs are designed to provide water, not for flood control,” DEP Commissioner Martin said in a statement. “But given the situation, we decided we needed to get as much water out of the reservoir systems as possible, creating void space for runoff from the storm.” The DEP will manually open the gates and keep them open to drain five feet of water from the lake. This should allow the water to safely pass through …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
State's Office of Emergency Management would gain control from DEP under proposed legislation.
A state legislator is working to alleviate some of the flooding in the Passaic River Flood Basin. Assemblyman Scott Rumana (District 40) introduced legislation that would change who decides when the floodgates on the Pompton Lake dam can be opened. The legislation that would authorize the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to order the water level of any reservoir to be lowered up to five feet prior to a “severe weather event.” “It’s not an overall solution to the problem but it’s one of those things we can do in the short term to take the edge off for people living in the flood plain,” Rumana said. The event must be forecast to deposit three or more inches of rain in a day. The OEM would also need to determine that such a move would be…
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Army Corps of Engineers and state will each fund part of a re-evaluation study to determine what can be done to better manage floodwater in the Passaic River Flood Basin.
An agreement is now in place to re-evaluate flood control projects in the Passaic River Basin. The signing of the cost-sharing agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) means that officials can begin comparing flood risk management alternatives for communities in the basin. The re-evaluation is one of 15 recommendations the Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission stated could help minimize flooding in the basin. The commission, which Governor Christie created, issued its initial report in 2011. The DEP released an updated report on the plan in April. The study will re-evaluate a feasibility study for alleviating flooding in the basin the Corps completed in the late 1980s. The …
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The science of flooding in the Passaic River Flood Basin and its impact on the local economy will be discussed.
Panelists at a symposium at William Paterson University May 2 will try and educate North Jersey residents about the science, economic impact, and officials’ response to flooding in the Passaic River Flood Basin. The event is not designed to be an open forum where flood victims will have a chance to share their experiences. “Most of what people know about flooding is what they see on television in terms of its history, what causes it, and what has been done to solve the problem. We will hopefully lay out the big picture in terms of the scientific and economic issues and the historical setting of all of this,” said Sandra DeYoung, dean of the university’s College of Science and Health. DeYoung helped to organize the symposium. “The issue is …
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Local flood victim asks: Where do we go from here?
If you haven’t heard by now, a study performed by AECOM and released by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week states that the Pompton Lakes floodgates do not impact flooding downstream. This position, fervently held by the State of NJ and Army Corps of Engineers since 2007, is enumerated in 157 pages of exquisite detail, citing years of storm and flood data. So the question remains, where do we go from here? Back to our flooding homes and neighborhoods, secure in the knowledge that the best the State will say is that our property is being destroyed by an “extremely wet decade?” Should we place our faith in the 15 Point Flood Plan, which exhorts us to eliminate entire streets and subdivisions of thriving, tax …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
State releases findings of independent study of the gates on the Pompton River dam.
An independent study of the floodgates on the Pompton River dam has concluded that the operation of the gates does not increase downstream flooding. “The data and the science we now have clearly indicates that the floodgates are not the cause of flooding down stream,” said Bob Martin, DEP commissioner. That conclusion was part of a final report the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released on Thursday. Governor Christie ordered the study conducted after touring flood-ravaged towns in the Passaic River Flood Basin last year. The $350,000 study also concluded that the lowering of Pompton Lake prior to Hurricane Irene last August “did not affect the flooding form that storm.” AECOM, an international engineering and …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Report to outline the operation of the floodgates on the Pompton River dam.
A report on the operation of the floodgates on the Pompton River dam, will be presented to area mayors next week, Mayor Chris Vergano said at a council meeting Wednesday. The mayors of Little Falls, Pequannock, Fairfield, and other towns in the Passaic River Flood Basin will examine the report, said Larry Ragonese, a spokesman with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “The DEP has been reviewing the report for a few weeks now and it will be made public soon,” Ragonese said. “We just want to give the mayors the courtesy of reviewing it first.” AECOM, an international, technical and management support services firm based in California, is also reviewing the report. Governor Chris Christie ordered the study on the gates …
Elizabeth Taylor
5:44 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
I've seen some two headed ducks swimming there lately more ›