"We cannot continue to grow and continue to build without correcting the problem, looking at flood plain management," she said.

Bass Levin, also the chair of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, spoke at the second annual Meadowlands Economic Summit, held here at the Meadowlands Environmental Center. The 14 towns in the Meadowlands have 3% of New Jersey's jobs. Manufacturing, wholesale trade, warehousing and transportation represent more than half the balance of this industrial haven.

The flooding is more than an inconvenience. Richard Lemieux, managing partner of Ernst & Young's office at 125 Chubb Ave. in Lyndhurst, said he received many employee requests to move to an area where the parking lot doesn't flood. Ultimately, E&Y decided to keep a strong office presence in the Meadowlands, because of the work force they can tap from the area. But the flooding almost cost New Jersey hundreds of high-paying jobs.

The NJMC has a plan to install five megawatts of solar paneling on rooftop space in the Meadowlands area, "the Saudi Arabia of rooftops," as the Meadowlands was described. Implementation could take a while, said Robert R. Ceberio, executive director of the NJMC, because of a worldwide shortage of photovoltaic panels. Ultimately, the NJMC wants 20 megawatts of power coming from Meadowlands rooftops by 2020.