WNBC-TV

PROGRAM: TODAY IN NEW YORK

STATION: WNBC-TV

DATE/TIME: 11/30100     5:OOAM

LENGTH: 2:23

JAKE HANSON, ANCHOR: There's some new hope this morning for what many say is one of the dirtiest rivers in America, the Passaic, which runs through Essex Countyinto the New York Bay.

MAURICE DUBOIS, ANCHOR: Now some federal money is about to launch a clean-up effort that may have big results in a few years. New Jersey reporter Brian Thompson with this story now.

BRIAN THOMPSON, REPORTER: For too many years thecritics say this has been the reality of the Passaic River, coming down from Great Falls through Newark and into New York's Upper Bay.

REP. BOB MENENDEZ: (Excerpt of press conference) You know, year after year we see the Passaic on the list of at-risk rivers.

THOMPSON:Congressman Bob Menendez isn't old enough to remember these views of the workhorse river, an open sewer that befouled the Passaic. And while a skimmer now operates on these waters to keep debris under control, decades of chemical pollution are locked in the sediment and soaked in the riverbank soil, some runoff still controlled by oil booms. Finallythere is good news ... a hundred thousand dollar federal study to Identify specific pollution points that could lead to a comprehensive long-term clean-up.

REP. BILL PASCRELL: (Excerpt of press conference) This is an opportunity to improve our water. It's an opportunity to improve our towns and our cities. This is an opportunity to improve our economy.

THOMPSON:In fact, witness this swing bridge in Newark. The Passaic is still a working river, still a vital part of the fabric of this corner of New Jersey. A seventy-five million dollar park, similar to New York's Battery Park, will soon take form along its banks, as New Jersey seeks inspiration from New York's waterfront successes in recent years. Even so, critics say...

ANDY WILLNER, NY/NJ BAYKEEPER: We think they're way late, and hopefully this is a fresh beginning. What we really want to do is concentrate on making sure that those responsible for polluting the river are the ones who pay for the river's cleanup.

THOMPSON:We're told nothing has changed on that, even as this pollution study just now gets underway. If it seems like a true clean-up will take a long time, well, it will. But take heart. After more than two decades of struggle, the Lower Hudson is now relatively clean, suggesting the same can happen here. On the Passaic in Newark, Brian Thompson, NewsChannel 4.