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UPDATED
Wants agency to build barge to rail garbage hauling facility in Jersey City
Gov. Chris Christie Monday called on the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to help reduce harmful air emissions and take approximately 1,000 trucks per day off New Jersey's roads by building a new barge-to-rail facility at Greenville Yards in Jersey City.
The governor said the facility, which would be in full operation by 2013, would play a major role in eliminating 15 million vehicle miles traveled in New Jersey, cut down on the cost of highway maintenance and significantly reduce harmful air pollutants.
A new facility would allow for municipal solid waste to be barged from New York to New Jersey in watertight sealed containers and taken out of state by rail. Currently, the majority of New York City's trash is trucked through the Port Authority's Hudson River crossings in unsealed open-topped containers with fabric coverings and travels through the state. Christie said the practice causes environmental consequences such as increased congestion, and a burden on the state's highway infrastructure.
"For far too long, New Jersey's roads have been clogged by trash trucks and the harmful emissions they produce, making the quality of life worse for all of our residents," Christie said. "But the Port Authority can act immediately by completing its purchase of this land, investing the resources needed to build a first-class operation, and moving waste off our roads and onto rail in sealed, safe containers."
In order to implement the plan, the Port Authority needs to make improvements to decades old track and infrastructure, as well as construct a barge-to-rail transfer facility. These improvements cannot be made until the purchase of the land is finalized.
The track at Conrail's Greenville Yard in the Greenville section of Jersey City, connects to two railroads — CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. The shipment of the sealed containers will add one train per day to New Jersey's rail freight system.
New Jersey environmentalists support Christie's call for an end to trash truck traffic.
They said the trash trucks are a significant and unnecessary source of New Jersey's dirty air, traffic congestion, and road damage from the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington Bridge through Jersey City, Newark and Elizabeth and along the New Jersey Turnpike, and Routes 1, 31, 78, 80, and 202.
"Keeping New York City garbage trucks out of New Jersey and focusing on barge and rail will reduce air pollution in areas of New Jersey already hardest hit with emergency room visits due to dirty air,'' David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said. "This would also reduce global warming pollution, relieve traffic congestion, and alleviate the heavy pounding on New Jersey roads as New York City hauls its trash to Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia."
Three existing New Jersey transfer stations in Newark, Elizabeth and Jersey City that receive New York garbage trucks could be replaced with a new barge to rail station in Jersey City, an existing railyard in an industrial area not near residential neighborhoods.
"This can be a win win for all interested parties and affected communities and we urge the Port and New York City to work with Governor Christie and the grassroots to make it happen," Pringle said.
"We believe this is a good step in the right direction to lower truck traffic and the pollution that comes from diesel,'' Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club director, said. "Diesel pollution is a serious health problem for people in New Jersey, especially in the urbanized parts of our state. We hope that this would also apply to trucks from New York bringing garbage to the incinerators in Newark and Rahway. We welcome this proposal and want to make sure the barges are going to sealed and the transfer facilities will also meet the highest standards. In the past we felt that a facility like this should be in Staten Island but think the change is interesting.''
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
