Department personnel worked with local, county, federal and other state officials to assist residents and businesses impacted by Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. Emergency responders recovered 561 drums containing various substances, 670 compressed natural gas cylinders and 39 oil tanks ranging in size from 250 to 1,000 gallons. These items were collected at a temporary command post in Piscataway shown in the upper right photograph. In addition, other bottles and containers filled with pesticides and other hazardous substances were packed into 502 55-gallon drums for proper disposal. The 500-year flood resulted in 930 notifications to the Site Remediation Program's emergency response communications center to report oiled properties, permit exceedances by operating businesses and other environmental problems. In the upper left photograph, a Department worker takes inventory of debris along Peter's Brook in Somerville. After the Raritan River's water level receded, a drum was found along its banks suspended 25 feet off the ground in a tree limb, as shown in the lower right photograph. NJDEP Commissioner Robert C. Shinn, Jr. presented more than 80 Department employees with a letter of appreciation for their work during the State of Emergency. NJDEP Emergency Response Specialist Chris Hagerman, left, is shown receiving his award from the commissioner at a ceremony held in Trenton in December 1999.