Berrys Creek

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Berrys Creek
Berry's Creek Canal. New York City in the background

Berry's Creek Canal. New York City in the background

Data
Water code US :  874701
location Bergen County , New Jersey (USA)
River system Hackensack River
Drain over Hackensack River  → Newark Bay
origin in Teterboro
40 ° 52 '24 "  N , 74 ° 3' 33"  W.
muzzle at Rutherford in the Hackensack River Coordinates: 41 ° 47 '12 "  N , 74 ° 5' 6"  W 41 ° 47 '12 "  N , 74 ° 5' 6"  W.
Mouth height 0  m


Berry's Creek (also: Berrys Creek , Berry Creek ) is a tributary of the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County , New Jersey . The catchment area encompasses a highly diverse range of wetlands, marshland, and wildlife. The river runs through a densely populated region and was exposed to severe industrial water pollution in the 19th and 20th centuries . In the 20th century, several companies dumped toxic chemicals in the river and the chemicals are still in the sediment today. The river has the highest concentration of methylmercury compounds of any freshwater sediment in the world. Parts of the catchment area were included in the Superfund program and cleanups began at the end of the 20th century.

history

The river was named after Major John Berry , an early British settler and Deputy Governor of New Jersey . The colonization of New Jersey by European colonists began in the 17th century. Increasing settlement in the early 19th century was accompanied by changes in the landscape by the people, especially in the Hackensack Meadowlands: clearing, road construction, railroad construction and drainage ditches, as well as backfilling of wetlands. In the course of the second industrial revolution , heavy industry plants, storage tanks and chemical plants were built. Areas higher up in the catchment area were built on from 1900. In the 1930s, urban sewage became the brunt of pollution in the river itself, as well as in the Hackensack River. The sewer pipes were only dismantled in the 1990s.

The region's urbanization increased after the Second World War . Other roads and highways were built and expanded, such as the New Jersey Turnpike (1952), and public works such as the Meadowlands Sports Complex (1970s). Tidal gates were built in the 1960s to control the tide and these structures changed the water levels and the flow rates, which of course changed the ecosystem significantly. Backfilling of wetlands during the 20th century resulted in a loss of 63% of the wetlands in the catchment area.

geography

Berry's Creek is by and large a tidal estuary , along with the Hackensack River. It rises from the East and West Riser Ditches in Teterboro , some of which are in the area around Teterboro Airport . The river's main channel runs 4.5 mi (7.2 km) through the area of ​​the Moonachie and Carlstadt parishes . In East Rutherford , the river forms the western boundary of Walden Marsh and the Meadowlands Sports Complex. This is where the Peach Island Creek flows , which runs in the extensive wetlands between the Hackensack River in the south and east and Berrys Creek. Tributaries and river stretches also belong to the Wood-Ridge community .

The river continues under Route 3 and splits into the main arm and the dividing course Berry's Creek Canal . This was built in 1911. It runs straight through East Rutherford to the Hackensack River. The main arm goes over to Rutherford and then forms the border between Rutherford and Lyndhurst until it reaches the Hackensack.

Catchment area

The Berry's Creek basin covers an area of ​​31 km² (12 mi²), with 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) with tidal currents and wetlands and 10.4 mi² (27 km²) with densely built-up areas. In the catchment area there are numerous commercial and light industry factories, sports facilities and several closed landfills , as well as many roads and highways.

Walden Marsh was created adjacent to the sports facilities in the 1980s as part of environmental compensation and flood control. In 2000 there were 30 flood protection systems in the area up to the confluence with the Hackensack.

Pollution and renaturation

Mercury concentrations in superficial sediments of Berry's Creek.

Ventron / Velsicol

Between 1929 and 1960, FW Berk and Company , a chemical company in Wood-Ridge and Carlstadt, dumped untreated sewage, some with high concentrations of mercury, into the river. In 1960 Berk sold its 16 hectares to Wood Ridge Chemical Corporation , a supplier to Velsicol Chemical Corporation , and the pollution continued. In the 1960s, the New Jersey Department of Health conducted wastewater tests with a focus on conventional pollutants for which there were well-established analytical methods. Some dirty water samples were actually tested for mercury, but the results were negative due to ineffective testing methods. In 1968 the plant was sold to Ventron and again the pollution continued even though the company had already started to investigate the environmental impact of its wastewater. In 1970, the newly formed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested the wastewater and found two to four pounds (1.8 kg) of mercury being added to the river every day. Neither the state nor the EPA took legal action against the company. The facility ceased in 1974 when Ventron sold the property to Robert M. Wolf , a construction company.

In 1976, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP; the successor organization to the EPA) finally brought legal proceedings against Ventron and other companies that violated the recently passed New Jersey Water Quality Improvement Act of 1971 . The state enacted a new chemical spill law in 1977, the Spill Compensation and Control Act, and additional charges under that law were brought in the trial. In 1983 the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Ventron and Velsicol were jointly responsible for the environmental damage.

It has been measured that the river has the highest concentration (between 1 and 2 g / kg sediment of methyl mercury compounds) in the world, the equivalent of 268 tons of mercury-contaminated toxic waste between 1943 and 1974. Wolf had demolished the old Ventron factory in 1974, but the existing pollution persisted, leaving the area unusable.

EPA superfund

The federal law " CERCLA " was passed by the Congress of the United States in 1980 to enable the cleaning of dangerous toxic waste sites. This law was created based on New Jersey's 1977 spill cleanup law . EPA took advantage of the new law in 1983 and 1984 by designating the Ventron / Velsicol property and two nearby sites (Scientific Chemical site in Carlstadt and Universal Oil Products site (UOP LLC) in East Rutherford) as Superfund sites . The EPA and NJDEP began detailed inventories and initial cleanups in 1980. In 1990, contaminated soil was removed and replaced as an interim solution. but the completion of the project will continue into the first quarter of the 21st century. In addition to mercury, all three areas are heavily contaminated with PCBs . Until 2018 only the Scientific Chemical Site is considered "under control".

In October 2018, the EPA published a 5.5-year plan to remove or seal off toxic waste areas in the river and river basin.

Fauna & flora

Food chain in Berry's Creek.

Around 1900 the predominant aquatic plants were cattail and Atlantic white cedar . The composition began to change when the Oradell Dam was built on the Hackensack River in 1921 . The dam was built on the tidal limit, which increased the salinity of Berry's Creek. Since then, the marsh vegetation has mainly consisted of reeds ( Phragmites australis ).

Berry's Creek is also home to the last nesting ground of harriers (northern harrier) in the Meadowlands and is used extensively by wintering raptors. 256 species of birds have been identified and the area is an important resting place on the bird migration route (Atlantic Flyway).

Important fish species in the Meadowlands are Mummichog ( Fundulus heteroclitus ), White Perch ( Morone americana ), Atlantic Silverside ( Menidia menidia ), Gizzard Shad ( Dorosoma cepedianum ), Striped Killifish ( Fundulus majalis ) and Striped Bass ( Morone saxatilis ). In November 1991, a water sample survey revealed a high concentration of chromium in the hepatopancreas of the local blue crab ( Callinectes sapidus ). The NJDEP has issued a warning against the gathering and eating of blue crabs in Berry's Creek, the entire Hackensack River basin and Newark Bay .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Hackensack Meadowlands Initiative: Preliminary Conservation Planning for the Hackensack Meadowlands, Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey. US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Pleasantville, NJ, Mar 2007: 34-36.
  2. ↑ a b c Final Remedial Investigation Report; Berry's Creek Study Area. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Doc ID 550104), August 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c Berry's Creek Study Area Proposed Plan. EPO, May 2018.
  4. ↑ geonames.org . Berrys Creek.
  5. ↑ geonames.org . Peach Island Creek.
  6. ↑ geonames.org . Berry's Creek Canal
  7. ↑ Preassessment Screen determination for the Berry's Creek Watershed, Bergen County, New Jersey. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Fish and Wildlife Service 2014: 5.
  8. ↑ ERDC, HMDC & USACE - NYD, Flood Control Survey 2000 Performed By HMD.
  9. ↑ David Lipsky, Robert J. Reed, Ronald Harkov: Mercury Levels in Berry's Creek. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) 1980: 3. (doi = 10.7282 / T3MW2GC4)
  10. ↑ a b Supreme Court of New Jersey : State Department of Environmental Protection v. Ventron Corporation , vol = 94, NJ, opinion 473, 1983.
  11. ^ State of New Jersey. Spill Compensation and Control Act. NJSA title 58, ch. 10, sect. 23.11, et seq. L. 1976, c. 141.
  12. ^ A b Joseph F. Sullivan: Retroactive Liability of Polluters Upheld by New Jersey Court. New York Times 1983-07-22.
  13. ↑ Berry's Creek / Berry's Creek Canal . US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. May 2004.
  14. ^ Robert B. McKinstry Jr .: The Role of State Little Superfunds in Allocation and Indemnity Actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. In: Villanova Environmental Law Journal. 1994 vol. V, 1:96.
  15. ^ A b Scientific Chemical Processing Superfund Site . EPA. 23 October 2018.
  16. ↑ a b Universal Oil Products Superfund Site . EPA. 23 October 2018.
  17. ^ Ventron / Velsicol, Wood Ridge Borough, NJ: Cleanup Activities . EPA.
  18. ↑ a b Berry’s Creek Study Area Interim Cleanup Plan Fact Sheet . EPA. October 2018. Doc ID 550178.
  19. ↑ Michael Warren: This mercury-soaked NJ creek is beyond toxic. Now there's a plan to clean it up. NJ Advance Media (NJ.com), Iselin, NJ 2018-10-02.
  20. ^ "The marshes of the Meadowlands provide many important wetland functions. More than 265 species of birds use the area, and the Meadowlands is recognized as a major link along the Atlantic Flyway for migratory species (especially shorebirds) and an important overwintering area for a variety of waterfowl ... Waterway-associated birds occurring in the region include a variety of shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, and gulls. "EPA final RI 4-28.
  21. ↑ EPO final RI, 4-29
  22. ↑ The data was collected from three locations (Diamond Shamrock, Sawmill Creek, Berry's Creek) by the National Academy of Sciences Benedict Estuaries Research Laboratories & HMDC Environmental Research Operations : National Academy of Sciences Benedict Estuaries Research Laboratories & HMDC Environmental Research Operations: Interim Report : Accumulation of Chromium in Blue Crabs of the Hackensack River, Hudson County, NJ. MESIC (Meadowlands Environmental Site Investigation Compilation), Site # 32, Berry's Creek / Berry Creek's Canal.
  23. ^ Newark Bay Complex (including Newark Bay, tidal Hackensack River, Arthur Kill, Kill Van Kull and tidal tributaries) . NJDEP. 2018.

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