Morses Creek (New Jersey)
On its route to the Arthur Kill, it traverses Kenilworth, Cranford, Roselle Park, Roselle, Union and Linden. In Cranford it runs behind Adams Park. It crosses near Roselle Park High School. In Linden and Roselle, it crosses the land of Wheeler Park and Roselle Catholic High School. It bisects the Bayway Refinery on the Chemical Coast. Historically, the land of the lower creek included prosperous tidewater farmland.
Contamination
According to a 2014 Wasting Our Waterways report, the Bayway Refinery dumped over 2 million pounds of toxins in the Arthur Kill via Morses Creek in 2012 alone. Morses Creek is severely contaminated. A battle has erupted over whether Exxon-Mobil as the former owners of the Bayway Refinery are responsible merely for remediation or a full restoration of the waterway. A settlement made with the state of New Jersey allows Exxon-Mobil to postpone clean-up until the current owners, Phillips 66 Partners, sells the facility.
No current plan to clean up Morses Creek exists despite decades of contaminated water and soil.
Ilya the Morses Creek manatee
In 2009, to the surprise of many, a lost Florida manatee named Ilya by researchers was found swimming in Morses Creek. Thought to have sought warmth in the warm water discharged from the Bayway Refinery, he was successfully rescued and returned to the Florida wild.
See also
References
- ^ Richard Kane; Paul Kerlinger; Richard Radis (Summer 1991). Birds of the Arthur Kill Tributaries (PDF). Vol. XVll, No. 2.
- ^ "The Morse family plot". Lostinjersey.wordpress.com. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Cleaning Up More Than 100 Years of Spilled Oil in New Jersey". Wnyc.org. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Residents will be 'up Morses Creek without a paddle' - Union News Daily". 13 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Residents will be 'up Morses Creek without a paddle' - Union News Daily". Unionnewsdaily.com. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ Haddon, Heather (7 April 2015). "Exxon Settlement in New Jersey Sparks Controversy". Wsj.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ Lauren Pancurak (2002). Making of America. Linden, New Jersey: Yeats Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738523651.
- ^ Newman, Andy (15 June 1997). "Fill 'er Up? We Do". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Featured Manatee: Ilya". Savethemanatee.org. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Linden, New Jersey". Books.google.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.