~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2011
Littoral Society Receives $1 Million Clean Water Grant to
Tackle Polluted Stormwater Runoff in Barnegat Bay Watershed
The American Littoral Society has been awarded a $1million grant by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to help solve water pollution problems damaging Barnegat Bay. The grant will support the Society’s efforts to clean up polluted stormwater runoff, one of the major sources of water quality problems affecting the Bay.
Barnegat Bay is recognized by Congress as an estuary of national significance. The ecological health of the Bay is in decline, threatening the economic health of the region. The administration of Governor Chris Christie has made addressing the degradation of Barnegat Bay one of its top environmental priorities. Long appreciated for its great aesthetic, economic and recreational value, an array of human impacts potentially threaten the ecological integrity of this gem of the Jersey Shore. Much of the deterioration of the Bay can be traced to pollutants that run off from lawns and streets through stormwater basins into the Bay and its tributary streams and rivers.
The Society will work with the Ocean County Department of Planning, the Ocean County Soil Conservation District and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve to reconstruct identified malfunctioning basins with innovative techniques to remove nutrients, sediments and pathogens. The retrofitted basins will not only reduce pollution entering the Bay, but will serve as demonstration projects for approaches that can be applied to other sources of pollution in the Bay’s watershed. The project will also develop a prioritization plan to guide additional state, county and municipal efforts for fixing, or “retrofitting”, stormwater basins which are not currently removing pollutants from urban runoff.
The Society will work closely with Princeton Hydro, LLC to carry out the water quality objectives of the grant. Located in Ringoes, NJ, with offices in Sicklerville, NJ, PA and CT, Princeton Hydro is well-known for their innovative stormwater projects. They have designed and implemented a number of award winning stormwater management solutions that reduce nutrient loads, improve groundwater recharge and minimize off-site increases in runoff volumes and flows. Dr. Stephen Souza, the President of the company, will serve as project manager. He will be assisted in conducting the technical elements of the project by a team of Princeton Hydro’s NJ licensed professional engineers, wetland scientists and aquatic biologists.
The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) will assist the Society in the project’s outreach and educational efforts. Outreach will include the use of multi-media, interactive educational and outreach tools, including the actual training of municipal Department of Public Works, municipal engineers and planning board personnel involved at the local level in the design and maintenance of stormwater basins and other stormwater BMPs.
The grant builds on past work by the Littoral Society and others to address pollution problems plaguing the Bay. In December, Governor Christie announced a 10 point “Action Plan for Barnegat Bay” which included a commitment of over $100 million towards cleaning up pollution of Barnegat Bay.
“Cleaning up the polluted runoff harming Barnegat Bay is key to bring the Bay back to health” said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director. “Governor Christie is taking quick action to direct significant funding to cleaning up this major contributor to the Bay’s problems. We appreciate the confidence of the Governor and DEP Commissioner Robert Martin in the Littoral Society’s ability to assist in this urgent effort.”
The grant is one of six Clean Water Act Section 319 grants awarded this year, and is the largest of this year’s awards.
The Society has been a leading voice in advocating for the restoration and protection of Barnegat Bay. It has been a leader in the effort to craft strategies to help the Bay recover, including supporting the passage of landmark legislation this year to reduce fertilizer use and pollution, to protect soil health, to develop a pollution budget for the Bay, and to mandate the retrofitting of state owned stormwater basins. The Society serves on the Science and Technical and Advisory Committees of the Barnegat Bay Partnership, has pioneered community based approaches such as its “Bayscape for Barnegat Bay” program and is restoring clams and oyster reefs to the Bay’s waters through its national partnership with Restore America’s Estuaries and the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration program.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 2010
READ GOVERNOR CHRISTIE"S COMPREHENSIVE ACTION PLAN FOR
BARNEGAT BAY http://nj.gov/dep/barnegatbay/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopes run high that 2010 will be the year that Barnegat Bay finally receives not only the attention it deserves from decision makers and elected officials at all levels of government but also the implementation of programs and remedies that are needed to actually start bringing the Bay back to health.
Read our LETTER to the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Barnegat Bay Stakeholder Meetings
This spring and summer the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection solicited input from Bay "stakeholders" during 3 meetings to identify problems, causes, goals and actions needed to address Barnegat Bay concerns. The last meeting was held in late June and the information gathered will be summarized for Governor Christie and NJDEP Commissioner Martin to develop and implement an action plan. Both have stated that the health of Barnegat Bay is a priority for them.
The American Littoral Society continues to advocate for a holistic plan based on our 10 Steps to a Healthier Bay (found below) that was first promoted to lawmakers in 2009 as the necessary actions to help heal the Bay. The Bay is a complex system with multiple stressors and we must address the problems at all levels in order to improve the conditions in the Bay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throughout 2009, our efforts to protect the Barnegat Bay and its watershed were at an all time high. We monitored development proposals in communities throughout Ocean County including Lakewood, Toms River, Berkeley and Waretown just to name a few.
Since special legislative hearings were held in the summer, we"re happy to report that there has been a flurry of activity surrounding the protection and restoration of Barnegat Bay. We"re pleased that the following actions that took place were part of our "10 Steps to a Healthier Bay":
Passage of public ballot question #1 allows 2 years of continued funding for the Green Acres Clean Water Act so we can preserve more natural lands to help clean up the bay; regulating fertilizers and their application is on the radar screen at all levels of government so we can reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in stormwater pollution to help clean up the bay; and a public hearing took place on proposed legislation that would require the installation of cooling towers at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating facility in Lacey Township to help limit the impacts of the plant"s operations on the bay .
Ten Steps to a Healthier Bay
Over the summer of 2009 (July 30th) the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Environment Committees held a joint legislative hearing in Lacey Township, Ocean County to hear testimony focused on the ecological health of Barnegat Bay.
Representatives from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, academic institutions, and leaders of the environmental community testified on behalf of the Bay"s health.
The American Littoral Society provided a "10 Steps to a Healthier Bay" Action Plan aimed at proactively planning for the Bay"s future, reducing current pollution inputs, and preventing new ones.
The "10 Steps" included actions that State, County, and Local governments can implement to protect Barnegat Bay from further harm:
1) Enact comprehensive watershed-based planning to control growth
2) Increase open space protection to offset overdevelopment
3) Establish nutrient reduction targets (both interim and overall)
4) Evaluate, prioritize and retrofit existing stormwater basins for improved water quality
5) Aggressively implement existing environmental programs and regulations to protect water quality
6) Create a “tributaries protection program” - All waterways must have protective buffers to improve water quality
7) Require that new development not increase pollution (no net increase in nutrient loads) to the Bay
8) Require cooling towers at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
9) Pinelands and inland community growth plans must consider overall Bay water quality impacts
10) Enact a County-wide Fertilizer Ordinance
These ten items articulate the work the Society has been doing in the Barnegat Bay watershed at the grass roots, municipal, county and state levels. To learn how each of these actions will improve the health of Barnegat Bay and what it will take to implement them you can download our Action Plan Document. Download pdf
How can individual citizens help? You can support our work to make these ten important actions a reality by following the progress of our work on this page and by signing up to get e-mail alerts about actions you can take to help Barnegat Bay. You can do this by clicking on Get Our Newsletter at the top of this page. After you input your name and e-mail address, you will have the option to select “I want to get news about Barnegat Bay” in addition to the Coastal Reporter that you are already receiving.
BAYSCAPE FOR BARNEGAT BAY
You can protect Barnegat Bay in your own backyard or community by becoming a Barnegat Bay "Shore Steward" and bayscaping for Barnegat Bay. Visit our "Bayscape for Barnegat Bay" page or contact our Atlantic Coast Project Manager, Helen Henderson at helen@littoralsociety.org.
Improving water quality in Barnegat Bay will take the cooperation of all who live and work in the watershed. There are a surprising number of actions that individuals can take. To achieve the level of change needed will require us to think differently and adjust how we live and manage our homes and gardens in the watershed. To help get the word out about how our behavior on land impacts the health of the bay and how we can be better stewards, the American Littoral Society is creating a traveling display called Barnegat Bay and You. We partnered with Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach, who hosted our display during the 2009 summer season. Winter 2009 our display was seen at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County library.
Our display is on the road to public venues such as libraries, schools, and municipal buildings throughout the watershed. If you would like to bring Barnegat Bay and You to your facility, contact Helen at helen@littoralsociety.org.
This summer you can visit our display at Cattus Island County Park.
This project has been funded in part by the Barnegat Bay Environmental Grant Fund, administered by the Trust for Public Land.
Hear Our Public Service Announcements Throughout the summer of 2008, we broadcast public service announcements on WOBM 92.7 FM to help the public learn about the problems facing Barnegat Bay and how individuals can help. You can download the audio files below--share them with your friends. Even one year later, the message still comes through loud and clear.
Nitrogen Pollution in Barnegat Bay
Restore the Bay
Preserve Land for the Bay
"Bayscape" for the Bay