May 2, 2012
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VICKSBURG, Miss. — ERDC Environmental Laboratory's (EL) Dr. Todd Bridges, the Army's senior research scientist for Environmental Science and the director, Center for Contaminated Sediments, was invited by the Passaic River's Cooperating Parties Group (CPG) to present an in-depth briefing on "Opportunities for Innovation in Contaminated Sediment Remediation" to more than 100 members of the CPG and the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 staff.
The briefing, which was made via video teleconference, presented a comprehensive overview of the challenges and technologies relevant to cleanup and restoration of urban rivers and identified several emerging technologies that offer solutions to the challenges presented by these complex projects.
The CPG consists of more than 70 private companies contributing to the cleanup and restoration of the lower portions of the Passaic River located in New Jersey.
According to the Lower Passaic Cooperating Parties, the river is a 17-mile long highly-urbanized river that, over the past 200 years, has been polluted by countless public and private sources. Industrial, urban and residential development and associated population growth has resulted in poor water quality, contaminated sediments, bans on fish and shellfish consumption, lost wetlands and a significantly degraded habitat.
In past years, progress has been made to reduce industrial discharges, urban run-off and combined sewer overflows. However, ongoing sources of contaminants to the river present a significant challenge to remediating and restoring the river.
Learn more about ERDC's research on contaminants in soils and sediments at ERDC-EL's Public Site.