4.17 Utilities 4.17 Utilities A. INTRODUCTION This section evaluates potential long-term Build Alternative impacts on utilities within the project area. Underground and overhead utilities lines located within the project area either intersect or run parallel to affected rail lines, and could be impacted by the Build Alternative. Utility information has been compiled from existing mapping and coordination with local municipalities and utility companies. Water and sanitary sewer lines have been identified, along with fuel lines and underground electric lines. Other utilities close to or within the project area include cable television, telephone, communications fiber optics and overhead electric lines. Also evaluated in this section, in accordance with CEQR regulations, are the potential impacts of the Build Alternative on New York City’s water supply, sanitary sewage treatment, and stormwater management infrastructure, as well as its municipal solid waste management system. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS NEW JERSEY Utility providers and municipalities in New Jersey listed below were contacted for “as-built” drawings or for annotating project area base mapping with intersecting or paralleling utilities: • City of Hoboken • Hudson County Improvement Authority • Hudson County Mosquito Control Commission • Jersey City • Jersey City Department of Public Works • Jersey City Municipal Utility Authority (JCMUA) • Kearny Department of Public Works • Kearny Municipal Utilities Authority • Kearny Town Engineer • Kearny Water Department • North Bergen Department of Public Works • North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority • North Bergen Township Engineer • North Hudson Sewerage Authority • North Jersey District Water Supply Commission • Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission • Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) • Secaucus Department of Public Works • Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority • Secaucus Town Engineer • AboveNet • ADESTA, LLC • Amerada Hess Corporation 4.17-1 Access to the Region’s Core FEIS • AT&T • Duke Energy Gas Transmission • Cablevision of Hudson • Comcast of Jersey City • Level 3 • Qwest • Sprint Nextel • United Water Company • Verizon - NJ • Verizon Business • Williams Gas Pipeline - Transco Most identified utilities cross rail lines at existing grade crossings, or run parallel to the NEC. Major utilities found in the New Jersey portion of the project area include: • A 138 kV overhead electric line, owned and operated by PSE&G, crossing over and running parallel to the NEC near the former Boonton Line. • Several underground conduits running parallel and crossing at several locations in the existing trackway near Frank R. Lautenberg Station. • Underground telecommunications lines running parallel to the NEC on either side and crossing at different locations. • A 138 kV overhead electric line crossing the former Boonton Line, Main Line, and the NEC near Penhorn Creek in Jersey City. • A 10-inch fuel line crossing both the Morris & Essex Lines and the Main/Bergen Line south of Frank R. Lautenberg Station. • A 138 kV overhead electric line running along County Road in Secaucus and crossing the NEC. • 230 kV and 138 kV overhead electric and 230 kV underground electric lines crossing the former Boonton Line and Main Line south of Penhorn Creek. • A 345 kV underground electric line crossing the Main Line near the crossing with CSX tracks. • 16-inch water and gas lines located within the right-of-way of Secaucus Road and crossing under the NEC. • 230 kV underground electric lines crossing the proposed alignment at Grand and Clinton Streets in Hoboken. • Several utility conduits crossing the proposed alignment at Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen. • Communication lines and a 30-inch forcemain running parallel to the NYS&W in North Bergen. • An underground electric distribution line running parallel to a service road near the Morris & Essex Lines in Kearny. • Two 72-inch water mains owned by JCMUA crossing the NEC near Croxton Yard. • A pipeline used for receipt of liquid asphalt materials located on the southerly dock of the Hackensack River, near the Standard Chlorine Chemical Company, Inc. and Diamond Shamrock sites in Kearny. Utility lines in New Jersey near or intersecting the NEC and other proposed rail construction areas are listed in Appendix 4.17. 4.17-2 4.17: Utilities In addition, Hudson County operates pump stations in the project area, two of which are located near proposed Build Alternative infrastructure. One pump station (St. Paul’s) is located at the confluence of the Hackensack River and Penhorn Creek just west of the former Boonton Line. The other pump station, which is no longer in use, is located just north of the NEC where Penhorn Creek flows under the railroad in the vicinity of Secaucus Road. HUDSON RIVER The only designated “Pipeline Area” on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Navigation chart (New York Harbor; #12327), south of the project area, is located south of the Holland Tunnel (vicinity of Piers 25 – 29) near the Battery. Those private utility companies and public utility agencies that have provided input indicated that their utilities are either contained in existing rail and vehicle tunnel crossings of the Hudson River, or located beyond project area limits. NEW YORK UTILITIES The following New York City companies and/or municipal and state agencies were contacted for “as- built” drawings or for annotating project area base mapping with intersecting or paralleling utilities: • AboveNet • AT&T • Cablevision of NYC • Columbia Transmission Company • Con Edison - Electricity, Gas and Steam • Con Edison Communications • Con Edison Interference • Empire City Subway • Level 3 Communications (formerly Looking Glass Networks) • Lexent Metro Connect • Lightspeed Fiber Network • Metromedia Fiber, Inc. • New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) - Sewers Department • NYCDEP - Water Department • New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) • New York City Fire Department (FDNY) • New York City Police Department (NYPD) • New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) • New York Unified Court System • Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) • Qwest Communications • RCN Communications • Teleplax Coin Communications • Time Warner Cable of New York City • Urban Communications Transport Corporation • Verizon - NY • Williams Gas Pipe Line - Transco • XO Communications • Yipes Enterprise Services, Inc. 4.17-3 Access to the Region’s Core FEIS Utility lines in New York near to or intersecting the NEC and other proposed rail construction areas are listed in Appendix 4.17. WATER SUPPLY, SANITARY SEWAGE TREATMENT AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE New York City’s water supply system is operated and maintained by NYCDEP. New York City’s domestic drinking water supply is provided by reservoirs in the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds in Upstate New York. Manhattan, including the New York project area, is served by the Catskill/Delaware System via Water Tunnel No. 1 and the Croton System. The project area between Eighth and Sixth Avenues is served by two water pressure zones. The gravity- fed system provides an average of 40 to 45 pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure within the trunk mains supplying the project area. Slight variations in pressure can occur during peak use periods and while fire hydrants are in use. In the vicinity of the project area, Water Tunnel No. 1 is located several hundred feet below Sixth Avenue and Broadway. Water Tunnel No. 1 ranges between 10 and 14 feet in diameter. Water ascends from Water Tunnel No. 1 through shafts at West 42nd and West 23rd Streets to trunk mains ranging between 20 inches and 48 inches in diameter. Trunk mains run four feet below grade that then feed distribution mains that run east-west. On average, New York City consumes approximately 1.2 billion gallons of water each day, of which approximately 322 million gallons per day (mgd) is consumed by Manhattan. Based on the CEQR Technical Manual, existing uses in the project area are estimated to consume approximately 1.1 mgd of domestic water each day. An additional 0.5 mgd of water is estimated to be used for air conditioning in the project area. SOLID WASTE AND SANITATION SERVICES Municipal solid waste generated in the project area (largely District M-4) is collected by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and trucked directly to out-of–State waste-to-energy facilities. Under the current interim solid waste management program, private carters consolidate solid waste at waste transfer facilities both inside and outside New York City, which is then transported to out-of-City disposal facilities. Based on information from DSNY, approximately 560 tons per week (tpw) of municipal waste is collected in M-4, in addition to 100 tpw of paper and 85 tpw of glass, metal and plastic. The estimated commercial waste generated within the project area, based on rates provided in the CEQR Technical Manual, is 394 tpw. Based on the typical capacities of 12.5 tons for a DSNY collection truck and 13.5 tons for private collection truck, the current volume of municipal solid waste generated in the project area requires two DSNY truck trips per week and 29 private carter truck trips per week. At PSNY, recycling occurs daily and consists of paper and cardboard, which is hauled away by private carters. Trash is collected daily by a 40-yard compactor for NJ TRANSIT, Amtrak, and Long Island Railroad and is transported by one collection truck, which is estimated to carry approximately 13.5 tons daily or 85 tpw. Private carters dispose of solid waste generated within PSNY. Solid waste and newspapers collected from waste bins located on the station platforms are ultimately transferred to private carters’ collection trucks and hauled out of New York City to disposal facilities. 4.17-4 4.17: Utilities C. FUTURE NO BUILD CONDITIONS NEW JERSEY No known major utility installations are proposed for the New Jersey portion of the project area. The North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority (NBMUA) is planning to extend its gravity interceptor located under the edge of Westside Avenue in Jersey City along NYS&W tracks.