‘A Hard Problem to Handle’; Sewage in New York Harbor and the Fight Against the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission

Presenter: Zeph Schafer (History, Economics)

Mentor: James Mohr

Facilitator: Matt Nelson

From 1905 to 1921, the states of New York and New Jersey fought over New Jersey’s right to build a modern sewage treatment facility close to the border between the two states. In New York, concerned state officials claimed that New Jersey’s sewage would overwhelm the already polluted New York harbor, while New Jersey contended that its modern treatment technology would make its sewage disposal unnoticeable. This research used official state and city documents, court records and contemporary newspaper reports to investigate the legal fight between the states. In conclusion, the research reveals how the interstate fight did not defend the public health at stake. Instead, the battle ignored the need to relieve New Yorkers of the sewage from their own city and postponed the introduction of an effective sewage treatment project in New Jersey by almost twenty years.