Editorial: Flooding concerns about proposed Teterboro expansion

NorthJersey

Where will all the water go?

Or, to quote Hasbrouck Heights Mayor Jack DeLorenzo with regard to a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plan to expand Teterboro Airport by filling in 11 acres of wetlands in the Meadowlands: “We have trouble now with water runoff and raining. Paving over that many acres – where will all the water be absorbed?”

A view of Teterboro Airport last Wednesday.

The question, however you want to phrase it, is one that needs an answer. A firm, data-based answer, not a conjecture, not a guess, but a real, educated estimate on how water will be redistributed in one of Bergen County’s most flood-prone areas once this expansion – including three new hangars, an asphalt apron to expand the airplane taxi area, offices, parking and storm water management facilities – is completed.

The Port Authority and Signature Flight Support Corp., which leases the land, say they need to expand Teterboro Airport to accommodate today’s larger aircraft. As part of that expansion, much of the airport’s remaining wetland area, which is part of the protected Meadowlands district of the Hackensack River Watershed, would be filled in.

We urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must approve the plan, to tread with caution in considering the countereffects to one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the entire country.

In order to compensate for the loss in wetlands, the Port Authority proposes to use “mitigation credits” – points allocated when a developer preserves established wetlands that are similar to those that would be affected. The agency has already purchased 6.66 mitigation credits from the Richard P. Kane Wetland Mitigation Bank in the Hackensack Meadowlands District. The remainder would come from a plan to enhance 45.5 acres of forested wetlands along the Oradell Reservoir, according to the Port Authority’s application with the Corps of Engineers.

This would be a mismatched trade, at best, and would do little to preserve wetlands – or the many important plants, birds and aquatic life that are part of it – in the Meadowlands, an area that has seen something of a comeback in recent years after suffering through decades of environmental abuse.

In the end, though, we suspect that the Army corps’ decision will come down to the effects of possibly increased flooding that could come to the general area that includes Moonachie, Little Ferry, Hasbrouck Heights, Wood-Ridge and South Hackensack. Residents of Moonachie and Little Ferry, in particular, remember all too well the devastation left by the rainwaters of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Paving over wetlands to increase airport capacity will be a real concern to homeowners who live in high-flood areas. Proponents of the plan say the expansion is necessary for Teterboro to be able to handle an “increase in the physical aircraft footprint.” They also say the expansion would ease traffic delays and reduce air and noise pollution.

The towns have reason to be suspicious of this plan and the flood risk it might carry. They should at the least be pushing for concessions from the Port Authority on some form of flood mitigation backup. Hasbrouck Heights, for instance, has endorsed a plan for a storm water detention system.

The Port Authority is a powerful, bi-state entity with legitimate reasons for looking to expand in densely populated North Jersey. That doesn’t mean the Corps of Engineers should necessarily sign off on just any plan to expand Teterboro Airport. Not, at least, until it gets satisfactory answers on questions concerning potential consequences of flooding and environmental impact.