Befriending a Marsh: Responses to Conflict in Kearny

Marco Rangel's presentation

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Marco Rangel

TEAM: Productive Ecologies

SITE: Kearny, NJ

PROJECT: Befriending a Marsh: Responses to Conflict in Kearny

DESCRIPTION: The research that was conducted in/for Kearny, NJ and the Meadowlands region inspired me to primarily focus on and address three points of conflict: the inflow of contaminants at Kearny Marsh, the flooding issue at Kearny’s edge, and the lack of human access and connection to the wetlands. In addition, I put some thought into repurposing Keegan Landfill, which sits adjacent to Kearny Marsh. This merely encompasses adding onto current plans for renewable energy production onsite. The following ideas outline an overarching goal in this project, which is to bring people and cleaner water to the wetlands and in turn allow for a more productive interaction between ecological systems and an ever-growing urban realm.

After meeting with a landscape architect, I learned about several ways that storm water contamination and flooding issues could potentially be solved. In order to filter dirty water that accumulates after rainfall on impervious surfaces, the key is to slow down the water before it reaches a larger, more sensitive body of water. The process of slowing the water down includes inserting landscaped drainage along streets and existing parks. In this site’s case, much of the storm water runoff finds its way into Kearny Marsh, concentrated at Frank’s Creek.

A topography study revealed that most of that water starts along Kearny Ave to the west. Because there is a big section of residential streets in between the Kearny edge (Schuyler Ave) and the highest point in elevation where storm water begins to run from (Kearny Ave), I decided to include that section as one area for intervention. The idea is to reconsider the design of streetscapes and small existing parks in a way that is conscious of filtering dirty storm water.

In regards to the flooding issue that Kearny’s edge experiences during big storms, I developed an idea that calls for softening the current edge where an abandoned railroad sits amongst a thicket of plant overgrowth. In order to accomplish this, the idea is to slightly bring the wetlands into the land at two points along the ¾ mile strip, so that the flow of water from Kearny is a little more evenly dispersed along the waterfront. One point would be at Frank’s Creek where water already passes through, and the other would be at Gunnel Oval Park, to the north. After passing through efficiently landscaped streetscapes, the water would then be further filtered at these two wetland zones where an abundance of plants greatly contributes to cleansing the water.

In response to the concern over bringing not only water but also people to the wetlands, the answer is rather simple. Because there are two existing parks along Kearny’s edge, the idea is to utilize these spaces as entrances to a waterfront greenway that includes interaction with the recreated wetland zones and the spaces in between. The greenway could manifest beautifully if design consideration is applied to a storm water experience where the landscape deliberately changes during periods of heavy rainfall. Ultimately, the edge can become a haven for a small set of programs. One idea is to construct a kayak/canoe center where people can actually get the chance to venture into the marsh. Also, because the two current parks are used for sports, which are important to the town, an empty lot can potentially transition into some passive green space.

Lastly, plans discovered in the research for Keegan Landfill regarding a solar energy farm inspired me to intensify the productivity of the space. Current plans state that a mere 13 out of 100 acres will be dedicated to solar energy production. If things were ideal, much more of the acreage could be appropriated for solar energy use that can feed into the surrounding power grid. Ironically, the current solar farm is to be co-owned and operated by PSE&G, which is the backbone behind the controversial power plant to the east and along the Hackensack River. Perhaps greater energy production at this site could make up for losses that may occur at the power plant. In addition, my idea is to also bring people to this more expansive solar farm. Sites of energy production are often alienated from communities, and because this particular type of energy production is fascinating and in some ways innovative, why not foster awareness and educate the people who live in the region? There is no better way to get to know a new neighbor than to simply go over and say hello, learn more about them, and ultimately consider the friendly and mutually productive relationship that you can both share. The vision for this interaction includes a possible education center onsite, meandering paths through large swaths of solar panel rows, and some passive space along the edge of the marsh.

NJ Productive Ecologies VI - Conflict in Kearny

Our understanding of the site has improved immensely due to the sequence of maps/diagrams that we designed in conjunction with our research. Identifying key structures, examining how they affect the natural environment (which was always a large part of our thesis), and connecting socio-political forces with economic conditions ultimately led us to make a decision to further focus on an area of our site that revealed significant conflict- the Kearny edge. The following quotes are important to consider before understanding the next step we would choose on our mission to successfully map conflict at our site.

Scientific Findings:

The following quotes can be found on page 6 of this Rutgers University study, completed in 2008.

“The majority of the Kearny Marsh stormwater contaminant loadings occur to be appearing at the Frank Creek’s interface...”

“Due to the impairments being caused as a result of water flowing into the marsh from Frank’s Creek, we recommend that this connection be severed. Should the connection remain, it needs to be physically controlled, so that water can drain out of the marsh, while water flow into the marsh is restricted during storm events...”

Conflict:

The following quotes can be found in this article by The Jersey Journal in 2011.

“Kearny is seeking funding for a new $1 million pump station after Hurricane Irene dumped up to three feet of water in some basements east of Schuyler Avenue.”

“A pump station would pump water into Frank’s Creek,” said Town Engineer Michael Neglia.

The town has collected $250,000 toward the new pump station from Russo Development, a firm that is constructing a new mixed-use commercial and residential complex on Schuyler Avenue.”

“Mayor Al Santos said Kearny is requesting that other developers with pending projects in town also contribute to the fund.”

By re-examining our data, we realized that there was substantial conflict between remediation efforts on the marsh (New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) and redevelopment efforts by the municipality of Kearny and a private development company- Russo Development. Seeing that the Rutgers University study proved that there was a highly concentrated area for stormwater contaminants at Frank's Creek, and Russo Development/Town of Kearny have plans to pump even more water through that specific site, it is clear that there are two conflicting forces working to revitalize 'something'. Combine this idea with the notion that there is general lack of access to the wetlands and you have a picture that portrays true conflict.

The following model seeks to highlight themes within the conflict along Kearny edge. It can be thought of as a 'hybrid' map, pulling from the previous diagrammatic maps that we used to get to this point in the first place.

NJ Productive Ecologies II - Citizen Interview/Access to Marsh

Because we had previously visited the areas of our site along the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers on a studio boat tour in September, we decided to make an early October visit to the Kearny section to try and get a peek of the marsh.

Using the world wide web, we found complicated directions to our destination at Gunnell Oval Park.

What we found was a very discreet "trail" that led us to the marsh. We were determined to walk through the overgrown grasses, albeit some harassment by the hungry mosquito population.

We decided to document the current access conditions at Gunnell Oval Park, from start to finish (finish being the first sight of the marsh). Later that day, we came across a citizen of Kearny at the park and decided to muster up enough guts to ask him some questions for our research. We were not entirely surprised to learn from him that Kearny residents have very little connection to the wetlands, and the landfill itself...let alone the construction of "cool" projects regarding energy efficiency.

Unfortunately, we did not think to ask for his permission to post the brief interview online so we decided to create a mash-up of the access video and interview audio.

Take a look...

Access to Kearny Marsh from Laura Moen on Vimeo.

NJ Productive Ecologies V - Powers in Struggle

The next step in our project was to identify the bodies of power, regulation, and activism that relate to the thesis that we were trying to make visible.

Research on the landfill’s history and current occupation revealed startling information. Firstly, it’s important to once again clarify that we were now looking at not only the landfill itself, but the adjacent Kearny edge, which includes park spaces and other more confined industrial sites. Through online research, we found that there is a current redevelopment plan underway for the area of Kearny along Schuyler Avenue, which can be contextualized in the Relevant Structures blog post. This development is being facilitated by a firm known as Russo Development. Furthermore, our research revealed that flooding concerns that were recently sparked by Hurricane Irene in late August have generated a pump station proposal to deal with the excess water in the low-lying area east of Schuyler Avenue. This online article revealed that the pump station will potentially direct all flood water through Frank’s Creek, and ultimately into the wetlands. Given the data we collected by the Rutgers team, it was obvious that this proposal would be a huge issue in terms of amplifying the contamination that enters the wetlands.
Some separate supplemental research found that there is currently a solar panel project underway at the landfill. Yet another online article revealed some potential judgement that can be made due to the way in which the solar farm is advertised. Prior research told us that the Keegan Landfill is a 100 acre site. The online article boasting about the solar farm reveals that it will only occupy a mere 13 acres of the site. Furthermore, the article makes it seem as though the landfill is not currently active, which is not the truth. Although the solar project is innovative in the way that it provides renewable energy, which is considered to be a more sustainable energy source, the public relations surrounding its construction ultimately seem to blanket the issues that surround the landfill itself.

In regards to the power plant, we found that it is owned by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), which is a publicly traded company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. The large map above shows the four levels of ownership and regulation occurring within this particular site. They are private, city, state, and federal. The site is monitored closely by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to retain proper emissions standards. PSEG was required to pay a fine to the city of Newark, The State of New Jersey, and the EPA. In 2012, they are scheduled to receive 180 million dollars to aid in plant operations and possibly will receive 220 million the following year.

Over the past one hundred years, the Standard Chlorine Site, Kopper’s Coke site, and Diamond Shamrock site have changed hands multiple times. The Standard Chlorine site, though owned by the Standard Chlorine Chemical Company, Kearny, NJ is watched closely by the EPA who is facilitating the remediation of the site. The Kopper’s Coke site, currently owned by The Hudson County Improvement Authority, has hopes of being purchased by New Jersey Transit for redevelopment according to an article written by The Jersey Journal. The Diamond Shamrock site, formerly owned by Chemical Land Holdings, is now owned by Terra Solutions. Together these three sites comprise just over 180 acres of land. Designated as potential sites of development, little to no action. In a report completed by the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, the sites are good contestants for infrastructure development in relation to growth development.

NJ Productive Ecologies IV - Contamination Alert

At this point in the studio project, we realized that it would be helpful to break apart our site into three pieces for closer study: the power plant, the super fund site, and lastly the landfill and its relationship to the marsh and Kearny’s edge. As we continued to develop our research, we discovered information that focused more specifically on how our sites of study affected the natural ecosystem(s) around them.

Upon conducting research on the landfill, data was retrieved from a Rutgers University study that focused on the way development around the wetlands has contributed to contamination. Interestingly enough, we found that there was indeed a source of contamination coming from, what we now know to be, the newly re-operated landfill; however, the data further informed us that there was also a significant amount of contamination coming from municipal stormwater inputs as a result of development occurring in Kearny. This data basically suggested that there was a large concentration of contamination from this stormwater at the site of Frank’s Creek, which can be contextualized in the Relevant Structures blog post. In addition to deriving this substanital set of information, a brief inquest was done to determine the types of waste being put into the landfill by external sources.

Regarding the power plant, research was done on the integral way that the energy-producing site both takes and gives back to the Hackensack River. Better known as the Hudson Generating Plant, operated and owned by PSEG, is located on the eastern bank of the Hackensack River. Research showed us that the power plant uses water from the river in its cooling process, which is then excreted back into the river. This coal-powered generating station was declared one of the top 10 biggest pollution agents in the United States and was involved in a law suit with the EPA, the state of New Jersey and the city of Newark in 2006 due to their lack of sufficient cleaning procedures. Because of this, PSEG installed a 700 million dollar selective catalytic reduction system. We found that this system was ultimately able to reduce their emissions by 88 percent in 2010. All data found here.

The Standard Chlorine Site was deemed a Superfund Site by the EPA in 2001. According to a Public Health Assessment released in 2005 by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the 25-acre site contains tanks and drums holding dioxin and asbestos contaminants, soil filled with various contaminants and PCB in the vicinity of a former transformer. As stated in the report, all areas of this site appear to drain directly into the Hackensack River. This possesses an environmental health threat which has warranted warnings against the consumption of fish, especially crab, from the Hackensack River. On either side of the Standard Chlorine Site sit the former Kopper’s Coke and Diamond Shamrock sites. A 2003 study conducted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology and North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc. shows that although the Kopper’s Coke and Diamond Shamrock sites have not been given Superfund status, they also hold toxins in the soil which poss a threat to the river.

NJ Productive Ecologies III - Identifying Relevant "Structures"

The map above highlights structures that we considered to be relevant to our overarching thesis, which is that current urban infrastructure (industry, etc.) is not only imposing on the natural wetlands, but ultimately creating a barrier for residents around them. This barrier is crucial to examine because there is more meaning to the idea of having ‘access’ to a natural ecosystem than to perceive it as a mere physical connection. It’s more-so about how that physical connection can create a way of thinking for people, which will help to not only protect the wetlands from further contamination, but to connect people to the natural environment that they often don’t realize they are a part of.

NJ Productive Ecologies I - Making Observations

One of the first ideas that came to mind as we looked closely at our site both online (via google maps) and on the ground*, was that we would be looking at existing conditions around the overall edge of the wetlands that could potentially reveal the conflict that our studio sought to analyze. Using prior knowledge and experience, we quickly predicted that there were issues concerning human access to the natural ecology in the area, but also that there was probably some significant contamination coming from the series of industrial sites that find themselves along different parts of the wetland edge. These sites include the former 1-A Landfill, also known as Keegan Landfill, the Kopper’s Coke and Standard Chlorine Site, which has been designated a superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and also the power plant along the Hackensack River, which most people refer to as the Hudson Generating Station.


*check out this blog post for on-site footage of our walk through the access point at Gunnell Oval Park