The NJDEP secured a landmark agreement that opened up a large stretch of the Raritan River for fish spawning as compensation to the public for harm to natural resources caused by past pollution at a refinery and three polymer plants that were operated by or affiliated with the El Paso Corp.
The removal of three dams, financed and carried out by El Paso, opened up a nearly 10-mile stretch of the middle and upper Raritan River to fish migrations for the first time in more than a century, at the same time expanding recreational opportunities along the river.
Dam removal will open up 10 miles of migratory fish habitat along a stretch of the Raritan that twists through a highly diverse residential, commercial and agricultural portion of Somerset County that includes Bridgewater, Bound Brook, Somerville and Manville. It will also open up some 17 miles of tributaries to spawning. The dams removed were:
Calco Dam, located at river mile 20.9 and built by the Calco Chemical Co. in 1938 to disperse chemicals from its facility. The dam is essentially a large concrete pipe spanning the river that today carries and disperses wastewater into the river for Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority. The authority has constructed a new outfall that will be operational shortly.
The Nevius Street Dam, located at river mile 27 and constructed of rocks and mortar in 1901 for aesthetic purposes and later retrofitted to provide water to ponds on the Duke estate. The NJDEP and El Paso are working on a plan to ensure the river continues to feed water to these ponds after the dam is removed.
The Robert Street Dam, a 6 ½-foot-high sheet piling and concrete dam located at river mile 27.9 and constructed prior to 1930 for purposes that are not known today.
El Paso approached the NJDEP in 2005 to cooperatively resolve its Natural Resource Damage liability. The settlement resolved Natural Resource Damage claims by the NJDEP against the Houston-based company that stem from contamination at EPEC Polymers Inc in Flemington, Hunterdon County; Nuodex Inc. in Woodbridge, Middlesex County; EPEC Polymers Inc. in Burlington City, Burlington County; and the Eagle Point Refinery in West Deptford, Gloucester County. Investigations and/or cleanups are under way at those sites.
The dam removals occurred over a three year period, with one dam removed each year. The project was initiated with the removal of the Calco Dam in July 2011, opening approximately six miles of the river to fish passage.
DEP Press Release- July 20, 2011
