Jane Tousman asked for our support at the last Con-Com meeting for a public hearing by the Army Corps of Engineers on this project. More information was sought by the Con-Com before taking a public position on it because, as an inter-modal transportation infrastructure development project, it could entail significant environmental benefits as well as costs. In anticipation of our next Con-Com and Ex-Com, I offer the following one-page overview of the situation to help all of us better understand it.

Edison Township sprawls on the north-west side of the Raritan River. The NJ Turnpike runs through Edison, nearly bisecting the town. Two industrial parks, on the grounds of the former Raritan Arsenal (1917-1963), occupy most of the land between the Turnpike and the River. One is Raritan Center Industrial Park (2350 acres), and the other is Heller Industrial Park (700 acres). We are primarily concerned here with Raritan Center, which is owned and operated by two real estate development companies: Federal Business Centers, Inc. and Summit Associates Inc.

Both industrial parks own railroad tracks and equipment. Their railroad operations have been subcontracted to Raritan Center Railway, LLC. by Raritan Center since August 2001 and Heller since August 2004. The Railway handles interchange with both CSX and Norfolk Southern through a shared Conrail line. It now seeks to expand operations with two projects: (1) Port Raritan - replacement of an abandoned pier along the Raritan River for intermodal connections and sea shipping to other East Coast ports and (2) Raritan Express - a container shuttle service over existing rights of way (a short Raritan Center connection and the Conrail Chemical Coast Line) from Raritan Center to terminals in ports Newark and Elizabeth.
See: The Raritan Express Shuttle & Port Raritan pdf

The Port Raritan project also entails reconstruction of a rail trestle and at-grade rail line at the southern end of the wharf and an at-grade rail and road connection at the northern end of the wharf. More details may be found at www.raritancentralrr.com/. The Railway expects reduced road congestion and more efficient energy use from these projects.

Timeline:

1. An environmental permit for the Port Raritan project was issued by the NJ DEP on June 17, 2009.
2. A permit is also being sought from the US Army Corps of Engineers (NY District), pending a 30-day public comment period that expired August 30, 2009, but since extended.
3. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is soliciting comments from the public on the Port Raritan project sponsored by the Township of Edison and proposed for inclusion in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for FY 2010-2011, to be funded with a $19.5 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (economic stimulus funds). Comments must be received by October 16, 2009. As of 10-02-09, I (Steve Lanset) am still trying to get a copy of the grant application from NJTPA; they say it's not available yet.

Congressman Oberstar's mammoth $450 billion (over 6 years) Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 (transportation.house.gov/Media/file/Highways/HPP/OBERST_044_xml.pdf), , has been deferred by the Administration for 18 months. In my first sweep through the 775 page bill, I see that it would strongly promote inter-modality, but does not single out specific locations.

A group of environmental organizations, among them the Edison Wetlands Association, Clean Ocean Action, and NY/NJ Baykeeper, on Sept. 10, 2009, submitted a letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers contesting Federal Business Centers' permit application for approval of Port Raritan pier replacement on the grounds that it (1) failed to mention the project's relationship to the Raritan Express Corridor project ("single and complete project") and ancillary industrial park development, with all the regulatory and environmental impacts therein, (2) omitted information submitted to the NJDEP. Its application to NJDEP was for a general maintenance permit, not an individual permit that would have required more rigorous assessment. Since the pier currently appears non-serviceable, the applicant should not have qualified for a General Permit.

Accordingly, the environmental groups say that the permit application failed to address the "sensitive wetland resources of both the Raritan River and Raritan Center". The application also failed to specifically address the status of ongoing remediation at Raritan Center and especially prospective remediation in Area 13 proximate to the wharf, to commence in 2019 due to budgetary constraints, where there may be military munitions as well as toxic chemicals. The environmental groups asked the US Army Corps of Engineers for a public hearing on the permit application to gather public testimony about the proposed projects and their full implications.