Sewage Agency Taking Another Look At Newark Plant Proposal

NEWARK, NJ — The future of a proposed “standby power plant” at a wastewater facility in Newark isn’t written in stone yet, it seems.

On Thursday, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) confirmed it will be re-examining its plan to build a natural gas power plant at its existing wastewater treatment facility in the Ironbound section of Newark. The commission will be taking a look at whether there are any “renewable options” for the project – which is has also done in the past, a spokesperson said.

The long-running proposal is part of a resiliency plan that sprang up in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. During the now-infamous storm, the PVSC wastewater facility in Newark was flooded, spilling billions of gallons of raw or partially-treated sewage into the Passaic River.

Since then, the PVSC has rolled out a sweeping series of renovations to avoid future calamities. Part of that plan includes building a 34-megawatt power plant, which would provide backup power to their wastewater treatment plant if the grid goes down.

The PVSC described the need for such an addition in a 2016 request for proposals:

“In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, many of PVSC’s facilities suffered extensive damage due to flood waters that submerged much of the plant. This flooding was due in part to loss of electrical power at the treatment plant. As a result, PVSC has chosen to design and install a standby power generation system that is capable of providing sufficient power for all treatment plant needs in the event of a similar event.”

A PVSC spokesperson told Patch that the facility would be powered by “the same natural gas that people all across Newark and New Jersey in general use to heat their homes and from which they also obtain electrical power.”

“The plant will use state-of-the-art emission controls with negligible impact to the community,” he said.

However, some residents and environmental activists allege that, as currently planned, the plant would be bad news for the people who live nearby.

In May, a coalition of environmental, faith and social justice organizations called into the commission’s virtual board meeting, demanding that the agency put the brakes on the project.

“This fracked gas plant will cause further harm to Ironbound residents who have already been unreasonably burdened with an overwhelming number of environmentally hazardous facilities in their area,” said Maria Lopez-Nunez, an organizer with the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC).

“The sewage plant should have a backup generator in some form – but one that improves our community,” Lopez-Nunez urged.

According to the ICC, the Ironbound section of the city has long been plagued by an overabundance of waste processing facilities and other environmental hazards. These include a large trash incinerator on Raymond Boulevard, a rendering plant on Wilson Avenue accused of emitting “putrid odors,” and a proposed biosolid treatment plant on Doremus Avenue.

• See related article: The Color Purple: Newark Residents Fed Up With Incinerator Smoke
• See related article: Newark Plant Sickening Community With Putrid Odors, Lawsuit Says
• See related article: The Big Poop Debate: Proposed Waste Plant Causes Outcry In Newark

“Newark can’t be the dumping ground for everyone else,” agreed Kim Gaddy, a local resident who also spoke at the May board meeting.

“We need resiliency in the event of another disaster like Superstorm Sandy but the solution can’t be to perpetuate New Jersey’s legacy of environmental racism,” said Gaddy, founder of the South Ward Environmental Alliance and national environmental justice director at Clean Water Action.

“My family and neighbors already suffer from toxic pollution from the nearby port, highways, airport, incinerator, many other smoke stacks and contaminated sites,” Gaddy said.

• See related article: Gov. Murphy Signs Landmark Environmental Protection Bill

‘A NECESSARY COMPONENT’

On Thursday, the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club said the PVSC’s decision to take another look at “renewable options” is a step in the right direction.

Acting Director Taylor McFarland said renewable alternatives could include tidal, hydro or wind power, as well as battery storage and flywheels.

“We want to thank the PVSC for taking this step forward,” McFarland said. “Now we need to make sure that we hold them accountable.”

However, a PVSC spokesperson told Patch that the effort isn’t new; the agency has been trying to work with the community on the proposal for nearly a decade.

“The PVSC is not starting the public engagement process, it is re-opening it,” he said. “The PVSC has already held a number of public meetings over the last eight years to discuss this project with interested stakeholders.”

“The comments that were received – including those from the ICC – were addressed,” he added.

And unless there’s a new option that hasn’t been floated before, the outcome may be the same. According to the PVSC:

“[We] already evaluated renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, for potential use as fuel sources for the SPGF. In the opinion of PVSC’s consulting engineers, physical and technological limitations rendered those options infeasible. What PVSC is doing now is looking at renewable options again because the public has asked us to do so.”

Does the PVSC plan to replace this proposal with another project in Newark, including one with renewable energy?

“Not at this time, but that is exactly why we are meeting with the public,” the agency told Patch on Thursday. “If another realistic, reliable fuel source can be identified, PVSC will consider that source and how to move forward on the project. The standby power generation facility is only one component of PVSC’s hazard mitigation plan. It is, however, a necessary component, regardless of how it is fueled.”

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