Rep. Smith tours TWW in step toward helping utility
TRENTON >> U.S. Rep. Chris Smith toured Trenton Water Works’ digs Monday, as part of his renewed pledge to help the troubled water utility secure federal funding to offset millions in improvement projects and system upgrades.
Smith stopped by The Trentonian to chat about the twohour-long guided tour, led by a convoy from the mayor’s office, that started out at TWW headquarters and wound to the water filtration plant on the Delaware River.
The longtime Republican congressman, elected this month to a 20th term after defeating Democratic challenger Josh Welle, called for an “all-hands-on-deck fullcourt press” to help TWW, which was hammered with a record-setting number of violations this year, eroding customers’ confidence in the struggling water utility.
“My job is to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure the resources are there,” Smith said. “That means state resources, too. The governor needs to be fully engaged in this. The EPA needs to be, on the federal level, fully engaged in this. It may need a state fix, a federal fix or a combination of even a county fix. Freeholders could appropriate a portion [of funds].”
Smith hopes to meet with Peter Lopez, the administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency for Region 2, overseeing New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The congressman also plans to get in touch with the Congressional Research Service to determine where federal dollars might come from for TWW as Mayor Reed Gusciora’s administration tout $11 million in system upgrades.
Democratic congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman also attended the TWW powwow, coming a week after the mayor, a former Democratic assemblyman, penned a letter to the Republican congressman reaching across the aisle to welcome his support.
“I think we’re doing pretty good,” Gusciora said about the city’s efforts to address TWW’s follies. “You can easily Google American Water and see how many violations [they have]. We’re no different than any public or private utility. I will say in the last eight years there was benign neglect. We’re not talking 10 years [to restore TWW]. I estimate within the next five years. I don’t think we’re talking 20 years down the line.”
The city is under an Administrative Consent Order with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which has also required the city to cover the Pennington Avenue reservoir by 2023, a project anticipated to cost $27 million.
In addition, the ACO requires the city to replace 7 percent of leaded pipes within the distribution system each year, in an attempt to control recurring elevated lead levels officials say are caused by the leaching of the toxic substance into the water from old pipes.
“We’re doing the responsible thing,” Gusciora said of the attention being paid to TWW, which has included millions spent to hire outside engineering firms to stabilize the notoriously understaffed department.
New TWW leader Shing FuShueh told City Council earlier this year more than two dozen hires were awaiting approval from the Department of Community Affairs.
City officials have complained for years about the state’s stranglehold over Trenton, believing it has impeded the capital city from standing on its own.
But the mayor has touted a partnership with the Gov. Phil Murphy administration as part of the equation to help restore the capital city to glory.
Smith also called on the governor to do his part to help the city and TWW.
“I think it a new day. I think the page needs to be turned,” Smith said. “I’m very hopeful we can get this right.”
But not everyone was so keen on the Smith and Watson’s trek to Trenton to talk TWW, seeing it as the canary in the filtration plant.
“Trentonians, the scheme to privatize TWW is in full effect. Our own Mayor Gusciora (D) and Congresswoman WatsonColeman (D) are giving Republican congressional representative Hon. Chris Smith (R) from Hamilton Township, a tour of our water utility. #Collusion #TrojanHorses,” West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn tweeted, alluding to the Greeks’ sneaky capture of Troy.
The Fourth Congressional District leader represents Hamilton and Robbinsville in Mercer County, which fueled Vaughn’s belief that Smith is sowing seeds of subterfuge.
The mayor, who vowed when he ran that the city would remain in control of TWW, knocked down claims that Smith’s friend-of-Trenton posture is a politically calculated setup.
“Motherf—-er caught in the act,” Gusciora said dismissively when asked about a takeover plot. “We’re selling it to the Russians. I guess we have to give it up. Robin Vaughn’s statements are attributable to the First Amendment. Doesn’t mean her statements have to be correct. … I don’t know who is the Trojan horse. I guess Bonnie is the Trojan horse.”
Smith, who lives in Hamilton, says he’s been committed to helping TWW from the getgo but was initially told by the state that the situation was under control.
In March, he wrote a letter to DEP chief Catherine McCabe asking for a briefing on the “unfortunate situation on Trenton Water Works” after Hamiltonians reached out to him with concerns.
“There’s a real emotional commitment [to Trenton],” Smith said, rattling off family ties to the capital city. “I think now if we can be part of the solution, I can’t guarantee a magic wand, but I will do everything I can to leave no stone un-turned in finding … grant money for rate payers.”
When asked to weigh in on Hamilton Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo’s so-called TWW takeover bill, establishing a regional committee over TWW, the congressman intimated that water utility needs a makeover, not a takeover.
“I think if we get a solution, those kind of concerns, they don’t evaporate, but they dissipate,” he said. “Maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe that’s not. I think the Trenton assembly representation are deadset against it, so it’s probably not going to move. … Rather than having a board decide, ‘you need to do a better job,’ [how about] come up with the money.”