The Lower Passaic River Restoration Project begins with a study of the environmental conditions of the river. The study will produce a plan of action to achieve the goals of the Project.

Goals of the Lower Passaic River Restoration Project:

• Remediate Contaminated Sediments
• Improve Water Quality
• Restore Degraded Shorelines
• Restore and Create New Habitats
• Enhance Human Use

• Characterize the nature and extent of contamination in the Lower Passaic River.
• Characterize the mechanisms governing long-term fate and transport of site contaminants.
• Assess the risks to human and ecological health posed by the contamination in the river.
• Characterize the function and structure of candidate restoration sites in the Lower Passaic River watershed.
• Evaluate remedial alternatives that meet both CERCLA and WRDA selection criteria to address unacceptable human health and ecological risks and provide for restoration within the Lower Passaic River watershed.
• Evaluate options for reducing costs associated with dredging NY/NJ Harbor sediments contaminated by pollutants originating from the Passaic River.
• Support development of a Natural Resource Damages assessment.

• If we take no action on the Lower Passaic River, when will contaminants of concern recover to acceptable concentrations?
• What actions can we take on the River to significantly shorten the time required to achieve acceptable concentrations for human and ecological health?
• Are there contaminated sediments now buried that are likely to become exposed following a major flood, possibly resulting in an increase in contaminants in the biota of the River?
• What actions can we take on the River to significantly improve the functionality of the Lower Passaic River watershed?
• If the risk assessments for Newark Bay demonstrate unacceptable risks due to contaminant export from the Passaic River, will the plan proposed for the Passaic River significantly shorten the time required to achieve acceptable concentrations in Newark Bay, or will additional actions be required on the Passaic River?
• What actions can we take on the River to significantly reduce the cost of dredged material management for the navigational dredging program?
• What actions can we take to restore injured resources and compensate the public for their lost use?