News Releases

Army Corps and NJDEP announce completion of Phase 1 of Passaic River Basin Flood Risk Management General Re-evaluation Study

Published March 6, 2014

-- Report narrows further investigation to three potential flood risk management alternatives from six --

NEW YORK – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announce the completion of Phase 1 of the Passaic River Basin Flood Risk Management General Re-evaluation Study and the availability of the Preliminary Alternative Analysis Report to the public.

Phase 1 analyzed six potential flood risk alternatives for the Passaic River Basin stemming from when the Corps and the DEP last formally examined flood risk management in the basin in the 1980s. The six alternatives were re-evaluated based on today’s existing conditions in the basin and new preliminary estimates of benefits and costs of each alternative were calculated.

Using those preliminary benefit and cost estimates, the DEP has requested that further, detailed analysis of three alternatives be undertaken in the second and final Phase of the General Re-evaluation Study.

The three alternatives to be further analyzed include:

Alternative 14A - Alternative 14A includes levees and floodwalls combined with nonstructural measures (like floodproofing, raising homes and buyouts). It does not include channel improvements but does include the possibility of bridge and dam modifications to help reduce localized flooding.

Duel Inlet Newark Bay Outlet Tunnel – This alternative is the plan that was authorized by Congress after the 1987 study, with modifications that were developed with public input in the early 1990s.The most significant modification relocated the tunnel outlet from Third River to Newark Bay.

Nonstructural - This alternative involves addressing the flood risk management issues in the Passaic River Basin exclusively through nonstructural measures (like floodproofing, raising homes, and buyouts). The nonstructural measures would be in lieu of large-scale construction projects, like levees, floodwalls, diversion tunnels, etc. that tend to have a greater impact on the environment than modifying existing buildings. These nonstructural measures would only manage the flood risk to homes within the 10-year floodplain.

Senior New Jersey DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials met with local officials today to discuss the findings of the report and the next steps for Phase 2 of the ongoing study evaluating a comprehensive solution to flood risk management in the Passaic River Basin. 

"The Army Corps is pleased to be moving forward with our partners in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on this important study of flood risk management alternatives for communities in the Passaic River Basin" said New York District Commander Col. Paul E. Owen. "We're committed to working with the state of New Jersey and the stakeholders within the Passaic River Basin to analyze, develop and implement the best flood risk management solutions possible."

“Our communities in the densely populated Passaic River Basin have had to deal with flooding issues for too long,” New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. “While there is no silver bullet that can stop flooding in the basin, efforts such as this will help to mitigate flood damage and help ease the pain suffered by residents living in this area.’’

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be hosting three public information sessions in the coming weeks with New Jersey DEP representatives in attendance to discuss the results of Phase I of the report with interested members of the public and to answer questions, get feedback and gather concerns.

Each meeting will include two open house poster board and information exchange sessions with a formal informational presentation given between each poster board session each evening.

At the poster board sessions, the public will be able to learn more about the different alternatives and the Phase 1 report from informational posters and have the opportunity to discuss them with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New Jersey DEP personnel.

The meeting agendas are slated to be as follows:

7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Informational Poster Board Session and Information Exchange
7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. – Formal Informational Presentation
8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Informational Poster Board Session and Information Exchange

The details of those meetings are as follows:

Municipality

Address

Time

Date

Fairfield

Winston S. Churchill High School
233 Fairfield Road

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

March 25, 2014

Pompton Lakes

Pompton Lakes High School
44 Lakeside Avenue

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

March 27, 2014

Lyndhurst

Lyndhurst Fire Department
299 Delafield Avenue

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

April 3, 2014

 
The Phase 1 Report is available to the public online in PDF format at www.nan.usace.army.mil/Passaic

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Contact
Chris Gardner - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contact
917-790-8007
christopher.p.gardner@usace.army.mil
or
Larry Ragonese - NJ Department of Environmental Protection Contact
609-292-2994
larry.ragonese@dep.state.nj.us

Release no. 14-004