Plan to lower dam worries industry, suppliers

ALEX NUSSBAUM     From Bergen Record

Hundreds of jobs could be swept away, along with a key backup to New Jersey's drought-stricken water supplies, if a plan to lower the lake behind Dundee Dam goes through, critics say.

Citing safety concerns over the 143-year-old Passaic River dam, federal officials have ordered the water behind it taken down by 2½ feet this summer. Eventually, they want the stone dam to be permanently lowered.

Dundee Lake, the pool behind the 20-foot tall dam, is a water source for both Marcal Paper Mills Inc. and Garden State Paper. The mills say lowering it would cost them dearly - especially Garden State, which is struggling to reopen its Garfield plant after the bankruptcy of its infamous owner, Enron.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, say Dundee Lake could be an emergency water source this year if drought problems continue. Shrinking it makes even less sense during the state's worst water crisis in decades, they warn.

"It amazes me that no one is saying, 'Hey, we have a drought condition. What happens during this summer?'Ÿ" said Nick Marcalus, whose family-owned paper-products giant employs 1,000 people in Elmwood Park, upstream from the dam. "This is going to happen, and after it happens, I think a lot of people are going to be sorry that they didn't have more understanding of what the impact is."

Federal and state agencies consider the aging dam a "high hazard" that needs to be fixed soon. A 1997 federal report questioned the dam's "stability" and noted that a spillway meant to release excess water was undersized, raising the risk of flooding on Route 21 or in surrounding communities. A 2001 follow-up inspection found the problems remained, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

United Water, the Bergen County water supplier that co-owns the dam, says there's no immediate danger of the dam collapsing. But a letter last week from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency that ordered the lowering, warned that the structure was "inadequate" even under normal conditions.

The order to fix the dam comes as state officials have complained about leaks, broken pumps, and other problems throughout the state's water supply infrastructure as New Jersey battles its worst water crisis in decades.

While Dundee Lake probably wouldn't be used for drinking water, in a pinch it could supply industries or firefighters, some say. The state's Water Supply Advisory Council - a panel of environmentalists, water suppliers, and other experts -added its concerns on Friday, urging that the lowering be delayed until after the current drought.

Marcal, meanwhile, says it would need to spend $400,000 to $700,000 to reconfigure a pipeline that dips into the river, if the lake is lowered. Garden State Paper says it's in more dire straits. The company closed last fall after Enron's collapse, taking 250 jobs with it. Lowering the dam would destroy its water supply and hamstring any hopes of reopening, city officials say.

"We're just trying to do everything in our power to get Garden State Paper up and running again," Mayor Frank Calandriello said. "Lowering Dundee Dam couldn't come at a worse time."

The federal energy commission had ordered the drawdown to begin by April 23. But Enron has sought a delay in bankruptcy court, arguing that the project could jeopardize the possible sale of Garden State to an as-yet-unnamed buyer.

As a result, the deadline was extended by a month. But it will be the last delay, the energy agency warned in a memo last week. It regulates Dundee Dam because the dam once generated electricity.

United Water, which proposed the lowering and manages the dam, says it's seeking a solution that harms no one. But the federal orders leave it little choice, spokesman Kevin Doell said.

"We understand the issues with regard to the economics of Marcal," Doell said last week. "Naturally, those issues of cost also apply to both water companies and their customers in terms of looking for a responsible way for taking care of the problem."

The utility owns the dam with its fellow water supplier, the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission. United Water initially hoped to finish lowering the water by Sept. 30. The dam itself would be lowered 2½ feet sometime after that.

Older than Garfield itself, the Dundee Dam curves 450 feet across the Passaic to the far shore in Clifton, near a historic spot where British forces forded the river in pursuit of retreating Colonial troops in 1776.

When New Jersey Gov. William Newell laid the dam's cornerstone in 1859, observers called it one of the state's manmade wonders.

The project had an inauspicious beginning, nonetheless. The nearby Dundee Canal, dug to improve navigation on the river, saw all of one ship before its owners declared bankruptcy two years later. Eventually, though, the dam attracted industries that drew power from water rushing through the canal.

Now, however, both federal and state regulators call the dam a safety hazard. To get the 30-day extension from FERC, the utilities proposed several interim measures, including biweekly inspections, continuous electronic monitoring of water levels, and more coordination with the National Weather Service to anticipate flooding. On Tuesday, United Water employees will gather in a conference room for a "table-top" drill that simulates everything from leaks in the dam to a terrorist plane attack.

But Doell, United Water's spokesman, insisted the dam is safe. "The dam's quite strong, but it's just not in accord with federal standards," he said.

Marcalus, the Marcal president, agreed the dam may have to be lowered permanently - just not now, during a drought.

Normally, Dundee Dam holds back an additional 14 feet of Passaic River water. But this year's drought has lowered levels on both sides of the dam already. Siphoning off another 2½ feet makes it more likely Marcal won't be able to pump all the water it needs, he said.

And while safety concerns may exist, they're not the sole reason for shaving off part of the dam, Marcalus added. That is simply the cheapest option for the utilities, if not necessarily for the paper mills, he said.

Company attorney Charles V. Bonin said Marcal was being forced to pay for the dam owners' "fiscal mismanagement." But Doell said lowering the dam was the only responsible move. Repairing it at the same height would cost twice as much, he said, declining to give exact figures.

Along with the economic worries, the Passaic River Coalition, an environmental group, has raised other concerns. Shrinking the lake could dry up habitat along the shores that supports wildlife, said the group's leader, Ella Filippone.

A spokeswoman for the energy commission said the agency has not approved permanent changes to the dam yet, just the temporary drawdown. Because the decision is still pending, the agency won't comment on the controversy, Celeste Miller said.

The final ruling will require a detailed study of environmental impacts, she said.

State environmental officials say they're concerned about the potential impacts as well and are studying the issue. But New Jersey has not taken a position on Dundee Dam, said a DEP spokeswoman.

That's little satisfaction to Marcalus, who says state, local, and federal officials have been "remiss" in letting the project go forward.

"We are hoping that cooler heads prevail and that we don't have to resort to legal resources," he said. "But I think we have a situation that's out of control."