NJ Sewerage Commission Has New Chair For First Time In A Decade

NEWARK, NJ — For the first time in more than a decade, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) has a new chairperson.

Brendan Murphy was unanimously elected to serve as the chair of the Newark-based agency’s board of commissioners at their May 6 reorganization meeting.

According to the PVSC, Murphy has served as a Totowa councilman and as chair of Totowa’s public works and public safety committees. He is an accountant for Lerch, Vinci & Higgins in Fair Lawn, and is part-owner of Murph’s Tavern in Totowa.

Murphy has served on the board since 2019.

“Taking on this role at the fifth-largest wastewater treatment plant in the United States is a tremendous privilege and honor,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow commissioners, our executive director and the rest of PVSC’s leadership team.”

Murphy, a Passaic County resident, is replacing Thomas Tucci Jr., who has served as chair since 2014. Tucci announced that he will resign from the board later this month due to his relocation outside of PVSC’s service area.

Tucci’s decade-long run as chairperson is the second-longest in the agency’s 123-year history.

The longtime board member offered well-wishes for Murphy and the rest of his peers on the commission.

“Although I will miss serving as a commissioner, [Murphy] is an outstanding public servant and I have every confidence that he will be an extremely effective board chairman,” Tucci said.

Executive Director Gregory Tramontozzi congratulated Murphy on his new role and thanked Tucci for his service over the years.

“We have been extremely fortunate to have had such a dedicated and hardworking public servant at the helm for such a long period of time,” Tramontozzi said. “He has been a tremendous friend to his fellow board members and PVSC’s management team, and he will always be remembered for his professionalism, his dignity, his sense of fairness, and for always doing what he thought was right for PVSC and its various stakeholders.”

The board also elected Luis Quintana as vice chair and Elizabeth Calabrese as treasurer.

“I am very proud to be a part of this leadership team,” Quintana said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside Chairman Murphy, the other seven commissioners, and our very talented employees working in the various departments and units that comprise this agency.”

The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission serves more than 1.6 million residents in the 48 municipalities of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Union and Passaic counties.

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