Comment EI-16984
Received or sent (printed as 4/6/2009)
Dear board members, I would like you to require an Environmental Impact Statement on The Embankment and the Harsimus Branch. Firstly, Jersey City sits at sea level. The Harsimus Cove neighborhood on which much of the Embankment sits literally used to be a sea cove, and has been filled in. This neighborhood frequently suffers from flooding because of these two factors. Most houses in this neighborhood employ sump pumps," and on rainy days you can see these pumps forcing water out of basements onto the sidewalk and down into the city sewer system. As sea levels rise, and as more of Jersey City becomes concreted over, the flooding problem will only worsen for those living alongside the Harsimus Branch area. Although it us unstudied, The Embankment provides a significant amelioration effect on flooding in this neighborhood. It's top contains the equivalent of a scrubby forest, and its bulk is made of soil, dirt and sandstone. Combined, this six-block structure temporarily prevents a huge amount of water from reaching street level during a rain storm. It is a giant sponge, in effect. You can see the hydraulics of the Embankment after rain has ended -- water continues to run slowly down the sides of the Embankment for several days afterward. It is even possible to judge the water level inside the Embankment by seeing from which height on the wall the water is emerging. If the Embankment were removed and replaced with houses, this rainwater would reach the ground immediately during any rainfall and exacerbate the flooding problem in the neighborhood. Secondly, the Embankment provides a significant cooling effect on the neighborhood in the summer. Generally, trees take heat out of the air in summer because the water within them remains cooler from its lowered temperature during the nighttime. The trees on top of the structure -- particularly the willows -- provide a constant downward flow of cool air along Sixth Street in the summer time due to this effect. You can feel it if you stand near the wall on a hot day; there is a palpable downward breeze of cooler air coming off the Embankment. If the Embankment is removed, summer temperatures in the neighborhood -- already uncomfortable in July and August -- will only get higher. For these reasons I believe the environmental impact of the Embankment and its removal should be studied before decisions are made to remove it."
Submitted by: Jim Edwards · NA
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/AB-167/sub/1189X/comment/EI-16984 · back to the docket sheet