Storms bring rain and rain makes the rivers rise. Who watches over the water? And what about that giant mulch pile towering in the woods of Sterling Forest in Tuxedo, not to mention the teetering pile of dirt along Rt. 17 that may spill into the Ramapo River at any time.
Some of these questions and more will be answered at the 18th Annual Ramapo River Watershed Conference, scheduled for Friday, April 26, at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. Organized by Geoff Welch, a Town of Ramapo Watershed Keeper, the conference explores issues related to what is happening in the area’s watershed. Due to wild and rainy weather this year, the conference will focus on issues related to storm drainage, development and wetland contamination.
The conference kicks off at 9:30 a.m. with a meet and greet around coffee and bagels, with the official opening at 10 a.m. Highlights will include a 10:20 a.m. talk by Town of Ramapo Attorney Michael Klein and Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator Chuck Stead on the on-going Ford Paint Sludge Remediation in Torne Valley. Also, Dr. James Hays, special research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, will give an update on the Tuxedo environmental disaster commonly known as the Mulch Pile.
The 18th Annual Ramapo River Watershed Conference takes place Friday, April 26, at Ramapo College of New Jersey, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, N.J.
Following is a schedule of Watershed Conference events:
In the Pavilion, Morning Session
- 9:30 am – Coffee and Bagels
- 10:00 am – Remarks: Dr. Peter Mercer, President, Ramapo College, Dr. Sam Rosenberg, Dean, SSHS, Ramapo College. Greetings – Geoff Welch, Chair, the Ramapo River Committee, Dr. Howard Horowitz, Professor of Geography, Ramapo College
- 10:15 am – Update on Ford Paint Sludge Remediation in Torne Valley: Michael Klein, Town of Ramapo Attorney, Chuck Stead Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator / Adjunct Professor, Ramapo College
- 10:45 am – News from the Headwaters: What do we know about the Upper Ramapo? Ed Helbig, Orange County Water Authority and Dave Church, Orange County Planning Commissioner
- 11:15 am – Snakes of the New Jersey Highlands and the Hudson Highlands: Randy Stechert, Herpetologist
- 11:45 am – Cropsey’s Castle, Aladdin: the Artist’s Summer Home Near Warwick, New York: Dr. Kenneth Maddox, Art Historian, the Newington Cropsey Foundation
12:30 — 1:30 p.m. Session Break for Lunch
In the Pavilion, Afternoon Session
- 1:30 pm – Updates on Tuxedo Environmental Issues, the Mulch Pile Site and the DeMarino Soil Site: James Hays PhD. Special Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
- 2:00 pm – Assessing Cumulative Impacts of Gas Pipelines in the Highlands Region: Ramapo Environmental Research Collaborative (a project of the Environmental Assessment capstone course)
- 2:30 – New Jersey Highlands Updates: Wilma Frey, Senior Policy Manager, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Erica Van Auken, Campaign and Grassroots Coordinator, The New Jersey Highlands Coalition
- 3:00 pm – Acid Brook – DuPont Pollution and Remediation in Pompton Lake: Bill Wolfe, N.J. PEER, Jan Barry, Environmental Journalist, EPA and NJDEP Invited
- 4:00 pm – Wine, Cheese and Conversation
Presented by the Ramapo River Committee and the Environmental Studies Program at Ramapo College.
Kindly Sponsored by: George L. Becker, Jr. MD, CGF Passaic River Coalition, Rockland County, Town of Ramapo, Betty Hedges, Jan Barry, and The Ramapo River Watershed Intermunicipal Council.
The 18th Annual Ramapo River Watershed Conference is a free event — Registration requested. For more information, email geoffwelch@gmail.com or call 845- 712-5220.
More At SloatsburgVillage
Ramapo Reclaims Torne Valley With Ford Cleanup — Ford is cleaning up paint sludge dumped in Torne Valley during the unregulated dark days of yesteryear. Some 30 thousand tons of contaminated debris has been hauled off.
MTA Drainage Fix Along Sloatsburg Tracks — Metro-North Corporate & Public Affairs provided Sloatsburg with details of improvements made to railroad and right-of-way drainage.
Who Pays For Tuxedo’s Mulch Pile? — Now that Tuxedo’s wood chipping facility has been fingered as an environmental problem, what next?
Tuxedo Disputes Source of Fish Kill — Town of Tuxedo Supervisor Peter Dolan said in the same article that “cleanup of culverts in the water basin may have reduced the water levels significantly over the past three weeks.”
Feature image of the Ramapo River and Chuck Stead with students courtesy of Geoff Welch.
