Category: Waterbodies & Other Wetlands 
Location: Located in the northeastern portion of the HMD in Carlstadt, Bergen County. Moonachie Creek runs from Commerce Blvd., through the Empire Tract, underneath the New Jersey Turnpike – Western Spur and through the MRI3 Wetland Mitigation Bank, down to the Hackensack River.
Current Land Use: Open Water
Site Description:
Moonachie Creek drains a large portion of the Empire Tract in Carlstadt, Bergen County. From the early 1930’s until April 2007, Moonachie Creek was cut off from tidal influence due to river front dikes and a tide gate built near the mouth of the creek by the Bergen County Mosquito Commission. The riverfront dikes breached several times in 2007, 2008 and 2009, which caused tidal flooding to impact developed properties adjacent to the Empire Tract. To alleviate the tidal flooding and obviate the need for constant repairs of the old earthen dikes along the Hackensack River, in June 2010 the NJ Meadowlands Commission installed a new tide gate on the downstream end of the culvert that conveys Moonachie Creek underneath the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur. Upstream of the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur, Moonachie Creek is not tidal and its banks are dominated by common reed (Phragmites australis), with some mixed woody species on adjacent spoil banks. Downstream of the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur, the tidal portion of Moonachie Creek flows through the Spartina alterniflora marshes created during the construction of the MRI3 wetland mitigation bank and Global Terminal & Container Services wetland mitigation site, which were completed in July 2012.
Existing Site-Specific Data Inventory
A. Survey, Maps, and GIS
HMD regional data exists inclusive of this site.
B. Real Estate/Ownership
N/A
C. Site History & Land Use
No data obtained.
D. Biological Studies – Fauna
An avian survey and analysis of potential environmental impacts of the proposed mitigation activities were completed for the Empire Tract in 1998.
E. Biological Studies – General Environmental
An avian survey and analysis of potential environmental impacts of the proposed mitigation activities were completed for the Empire Tract in 1998.
F. Geotechnical
No data obtained.
G. Hydraulics and Hydrology
No data obtained.
H. Water and Sediments
No data obtained.
I. Historical/Cultural Resources
No data obtained.
J. Restoration/Remediation Design Plans
No data obtained.
Site Reports
Site #39 – Moonachie Creek
Category: Waterbodies & Other Wetlands
Location: Located in the northeastern portion of the HMD in Carlstadt, Bergen County. Moonachie Creek runs from Commerce Blvd., through the Empire Tract, underneath the New Jersey Turnpike – Western Spur and through the MRI3 Wetland Mitigation Bank, down to the Hackensack River.
Current Land Use: Open Water
Site Description: Moonachie Creek drains a large portion of the Empire Tract in Carlstadt, Bergen County. From the early 1930’s until April 2007, Moonachie Creek was cut off from tidal influence due to river front dikes and a tide gate built near the mouth of the creek by the Bergen County Mosquito Commission. The riverfront dikes breached several times in 2007, 2008 and 2009, which caused tidal flooding to impact developed properties adjacent to the Empire Tract. To alleviate the tidal flooding and obviate the need for constant repairs of the old earthen dikes along the Hackensack River, in June 2010 the NJ Meadowlands Commission installed a new tide gate on the downstream end of the culvert that conveys Moonachie Creek underneath the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur. Upstream of the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur, Moonachie Creek is not tidal and its banks are dominated by common reed (Phragmites australis), with some mixed woody species on adjacent spoil banks. Downstream of the NJ Turnpike’s Western Spur, the tidal portion of Moonachie Creek flows through the Spartina alterniflora marshes created during the construction of the MRI3 wetland mitigation bank and Global Terminal & Container Services wetland mitigation site, which were completed in July 2012.
Existing Site Specific Data Inventory
* – Report repeated under multiple data categories and/or sites.
A. Survey, Maps, and GIS
Relevant survey, mapping, and GIS data for the Meadowlands can be found in the Meadowlands-wide site report under data category A.
B. Real Estate/Ownership
Not applicable.
C. Site History & Land Use
No data obtained.
D. Biological Studies – Fauna
1. *TAMS Consultants, Inc. Avian Survey Report: Existing Conditions, Environmental Consequences, and Mitigation Activities – Empire Tract. Revised October 29, 1998. [1] A report detailing an avian survey, conducted from 1996 to 1997, to determine the overall bird usage of the Empire Tract (through which Moonachie Creek flows). The report also includes a discussion of the potential impacts to the avian community of the affected environment that would result from development and an assessment of the proposed mitigation activities for the Meadowlands Mills wetland mitigation program and its beneficial effect on avifauna.
E. Biological Studies – General Environmental
2. *TAMS Consultants, Inc. Avian Survey Report: Existing Conditions, Environmental Consequences, and Mitigation Activities – Empire Tract. Revised October 29, 1998. [1] A report detailing an avian survey, conducted from 1996 to 1997, to determine the overall bird usage of the Empire Tract (through which Moonachie Creek flows). The report also includes a discussion of the potential impacts to the avian community of the affected environment that would result from development and an assessment of the proposed mitigation activities for the Meadowlands Mills wetland mitigation program and its beneficial effect on avifauna.
F. Geotechnical
No data obtained.
G. Hydraulics and Hydrology
No data obtained.
H. Water and Sediments
3. *Mattson, C., G. Potera, & M.E. Saks. Water Quality in a Disordered Ecosystem: A Report on the Water Quality Monitoring Study Performed in the Hackensack Meadowlands between June and September 1971. 1971. [1a] Part of a natural resource inventory on which to base future land use decisions and against which to make future comparisons. Chemistry and water quality were measured at 11 sites, including Berry’s Creek, Penhorn Creek, Losen Slote Creek, Bellman’s Creek, Moonachie Creek, Mill Creek, and the Hackensack River.
I. Historical/Cultural Resources
No data obtained.
J. Restoration/Remediation Design Plans
No data obtained.
K. Bibliographic Updates
Site #39: Moonachie Creek