I Love That Dirty Water

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Most of the discussions about Sandy recovery center around "resilience", and "sustainability" but have ignored the sewer plant, oil port and petrochemical issues. Real long term planning is required. Thanks for bringing this up. Too bad the folks in charge are concerned with "rebuilding in place rather than adaptation.

When Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, a little over a year after Irene, it brought a storm surge of up to 16 feet to the New York metropolitan area. Unlike Irene, Sandy inundated refineries and chemical plants in New Jersey. There were an estimated 630 storm-related oil spills in New York City. However, New Jersey took the worst blow regarding oil contamination after a significant diesel fuel spill at the Motiva Refinery into the Arthur Kill. According to New Jersey environmental officials, 336,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the waterway after a storage tank ruptured from the storm surge. Major sewage treatment plants were disabled resulting in the discharge of an estimated 11 billion pounds of untreated effluent into the harbor and surrounding tidal rivers and bays. As the floodwaters spread inland, they carried large amounts of chemicals and petroleum products with them. When they receded they left behind a toxic residue that covered the ground, coated homes, and fouled the region’s wetlands and waterways.

http://enviropolitics.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/i-love-that-dirty-water/

[Beach Rat]

1. I Still Can't Find Anything Out

What exactly was in the muck in my basement? Christie's DEP acts like its some kind of national secret. I'm sure it wasn't only river water and mud (and a couple of fish).