Office of the Governor
NEWS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 1999
Contact: Jayne O'Connor 
Trenton, NJ  08625
609-777-2600

The vessel that was christened today, S.V. Newark Bay, was purchased by Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission with a grant from the state Office of Maritime Resources. It will be used to collect floating debris from the Passaic River waterways as part of the PVSC's efforts to clean up the river. The trash skimmer, a TrashCat™; model MS16-12000B from United Marine International LLC, uses a unique combination of hydraulically controlled conveyor systems. It is capable of retrieving a wide variety of floating material up to 4 1/2 feet in diameter.

Gov. Christie Whitman christens New Jersey's new TrashCat™

"Our continued aggressive efforts to protect our water have resulted in a number of positive trends for New Jersey's water supply," Gov. Whitman said. "The continued improvement in coastal water quality during my term has allowed us to make 21,000 more acres of waters available for shellfish harvesting. The acreage is more than one-third times the size of Newark. The number of water systems reporting contaminants have declined over the past decade and the number of beach closing had dropped from more than 800 in 1988 to just three in 1998."

The new legislation appropriates $12,968,909 to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from the Stormwater Management and combined Sewer Overflow Abatement grants to certain local governments and local government units in Union, Middlesex, Camden, Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties for combined sewer overflow abatement project planning and design grants. The bill was sponsored by Assembly Members Joseph V. Doria, Jr. (D-Hudson) and Paul DiGaetano (R-Bergen/Essex/:Passaic) and Senator Louis F. Kosco (R-Bergen).

A second bill appropriates $1,152,519 to the DEP from the Stormwater Management and Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement Fund to five local governments in Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties for financing the cost of planning and design of combined sewer overflow abatement projects. The legislation was sponsored by Assembly Members Doria and DiGaetano and Senators Nicholas J. Sacco (R-Bergen/Hudson) and John A. Girgenti (D-Passaic).

Source: Excerpted from a New Jersey Press Release

Visit these pages for photos from the
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioner's Web Site:
Passaic River/S.V. Passaic River Skimmer Vessel
Passaic River/S.V. Newark Bay Skimmer Vessel