Christie Signs 3 Laws to protect Barnegat Bay

[finchaser]

Christie Signs 3 Laws to protect Barnegat Bay!
Following through on his pledge to fulfill a top environmental priority, Governor Chris Christie today signed into law three bills to improve the health of Barnegat Bay, as components of his comprehensive plan for the long-term restoration of this 660-square mile ecological gem and his commitment to improving water quality statewide.

The bills target nutrient runoff from lawn and landscape fertilizers, soil restoration, and stormwater basin repairs, to address three key issues of a comprehensive 10-point Barnegat Bay restoration plan the Governor announced last month.

“Today marks another turning point for Barnegat Bay, one that ends years of talk and study, and implements an action plan aimed at providing solid solutions to restore the environmental health of this incredible New Jersey resource,’’ said Gov. Chris Christie. “We owe it to future generations to stop the talk and act now.’’

“Basing our efforts on science and facts, we are moving ahead to deal with longstanding and complex issues of Barnegat Bay, to prevent further degradation of the Bay and begin its long-awaited restoration,’’ said Gov. Christie, who signed the landmark bills at a ceremony today at the Skippers Cove Beach Club, overlooking Barnegat Bay in Ocean Township.

The comprehensive Barnegat Bay plan, which includes the closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station by the end of 2019, addresses long- and short-term needs of the Bay. It fulfills the Governor’s commitment to make it a priority to deal with the deteriorating ecological health of Barnegat Bay.

Bill A-2290 establishes the strictest-in-the-nation standards to control the amount and content of fertilizer applied to lawns. This will reduce the amount of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorous, that ultimately end up in waters like Barnegat Bay, affecting ecological health.

Bill A-2501 updates statewide soil erosion and sediment control standards so that soils can properly absorb and control stormwater runoff. This will help address problems at many construction sites, where soils get compacted to such a degree that water simply runs off into our waterways, carrying pollutants and nutrients as they go.

Bill A-3606 requires the State Department of Transportation to inventory and assess stormwater basins it owns and operates in the Barnegat Bay watershed, and to include needed repairs or replacements in its capital project plans. Faulty basins result in pollution washing directly into Barnegat Bay.

“These measures will enhance our-short-term efforts to improve Barnegat Bay, part of what will be a long-term project to reverse decades of declining ecological health,’’ said DEP Commissioner Martin. “And they also will have environmental benefits statewide.’’

As part of the Barnegat Bay improvement effort, Governor Christie today also announced that the DEP has adopted rules establishing a “Narrative Nutrient Criteria’’ for Barnegat Bay and all New Jersey coastal waters. The measure, signed last week by Commissioner Martin, includes a detailed scientific study of all facets of nutrients that enter the Bay, and will give the DEP a wealth of information on which to base future decisions on how to deal with water quality issues.

The Barnegat Bay watershed encompasses most of 33 municipalities in Ocean County and four towns in Monmouth County. Its environmentally sensitive estuarine system consists of aquatic vegetation, shellfish beds, finfish habitats, waterfowl nesting grounds and spectacular vistas, as well as a population of more than 500,000 people, which more than doubles during the summer season.

There have been a host of studies done on the estuary for decades, and in 1995 it was designated as an estuary of national significance. Ecological problems have long been observed but identifying and quantifying the specific causes of its decline have proven difficult. The DEP, scientists and Bay advocates have been working to find the causes of the decline.

Increased nutrient loadings have been found to be the source of many problems at Barnegat Bay. Nutrients mostly enter the bay in stormwater runoff, via surface and groundwater flow. The nutrients, phosphorous and nitrogen are contained in fertilizer, pet waste, septic system discharges and boat waste discharges.

As the areas surrounding the Bay have developed over recent decades, there has been a decrease in the natural landscape, which works to filter these pollutants from entering the Bay, and an increase in impervious cover, such as pavement and buildings, which limits the ability of the land to regulate what gets into the Bay.

There is also a need to repair, clean and retrofit many stormwater basins to capture polluting runoff before it enters Barnegat Bay.

The comprehensive Barnegat Bay plan is available here. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/barnegatbay/ (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/barnegatbay/)
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[rip316]

About time he is doing something productive.

[bababooey]

[Bill A-2290 establishes the strictest-in-the-nation standards to control the amount and content of fertilizer applied to lawns. This will reduce the amount of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorous, that ultimately end up in waters like Barnegat Bay, affecting ecological health.

__________________

This is issue #1 IMO, looming larger than the other ones. The sheer amount of development in the last 25 years is choking that bay. The fish dont hang around like they used to. I'm not a scientist, but truly feel the phosphates and nitrogen from fertilizers and wastewater runoff are killing many small plant systems that the bottom of the food chain needs to survive. I hope they get this one right but remain somewhat skeptical. I would like to see how they are going to stop individual homeowners from fertilizing. I agree with the principle, but wonder how it's all going to come together. At least it is a step forward.

[cowherder]

This is issue #1 IMO, looming larger than the other ones. The sheer amount of development in the last 25 years is choking that bay.

I agree but what can you do? You can't turn back the hands of time.

[baitstealer]

You may not be able to change back the hands of time, but we can certainly look towards the future. We need to contine to make changes. Great news that they are closing the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station.

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Finchaser, thanks.

This article details how runoff and other issues affect the bays in the area, specifically the Barnegat Bay in this case.....


http://brick.patch.com/articles/grassy-bay-had-former-brick-mayor-crying-weed

[DarkSkies]

6-27-11

Sent in by Fin, thanks!


http://www.state.nj.us/dep/barnegatbay/

[bababooey]

Back pedalling? Well at least we won't be hit with higher taxes.


Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill that would have assessed fees on property owners in Ocean County to repair and retrofit stormwater basins as part of a plan to clean up Barnegat Bay.
Environmentalists viewed the bill (S-1815 (http://http//www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S2000/1815_I1.HTM)) as a crucial component to cleaning up Barnegat Bay, one of the country’s most polluted and threatened coastal estuaries.
The Ocean County freeholders, all of whom are Republicans, saw the bill as a tax for which they would have been blamed.
Stormwater basins and drains are conduits for pollution because they are not designed to trap nitrogen, an ingredient of lawn fertilizers that washes into the bay’s tributaries after heavy rainfall. Nitrogen encourages the growth of non-native species, killing off the native species.
Scientists have attributed changes in the bay, including a huge invasion of stinging sea nettles, to increased nitrogen levels.
In his veto message, Christie said his 10-point plan addressing the health of the bay is designed to make improvements with existing funds.
"While I fully share the sponsors’ concerns about Barnegat Bay, now is not the time to increase the tax burden," Christie wrote in his veto message Friday.
"I simply cannot support this imposition of the additional fees that would be required under this bill."
Christie noted the $16 million in state and federal funds his administration made available to Ocean County communities earlier this month for 25 stormwater projects affecting the bay.
But environmentalists say the state needs a stable source of financing because it will take an estimated $270 million to repair or retrofit all 2,700 basins in the watershed.
Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), who sponsored a companion bill with state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) said that Christie’s veto — the third of the legislative proposals affecting the bay — means that the governor is not as committed to the cleanup as he claims.
"Improving stormwater management would help us restore the beauty and health of the watershed, which is vital to our state’s economy,’’ McKeon said.
The bill would have given Ocean County, whose 33 communities are situated in the bay’s watershed, the option to establish a utility to manage the basin repairs. The utility would have had a wide range of choices on which to base such fees to businesses and homeowners.
Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, said the bill would have allowed the county to redirect some sewerage fees it now collects to the stormwater repair fund without assessing new fees.
Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari said the county has spent $1 billion over the past two decades to help preserve the bay, and he thanked the governor "because it would be another burden on the taxpayers."
"We feel we’ve done our share," he said. "The state should be in partnership with us.’’

[surfstix1963]

Is it an election year or did he screw up thats the only time they do anything productive:d

[DarkSkies]

The DEP is finally getting involved. Here's the press release, sent in by Fin. Thanks!
I noticed Commissioner Bob Martin will be there. I wonder if he'd be willing to honestly explain his positions on beach access during the day. Wishful thinking?


************
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 17, 2011

Contact: Lawrence Hajna (609) 984-1795
Lawrence Ragonese (609) 292-2994

DEP SPEARHEADS BARNEGAT BAY CLEANUP WEDNESDAY; LOCAL GROUPS JOIN IN GOVERNOR CHRISTIE'S ACTION PLAN TO RESTORE BARNEGAT BAY

(11/P126) TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection this Wednesday will be joined by volunteers from dozens of local groups - including students, senior citizens, environmentalists, business and local government leaders, and even military personnel from Fort Dix - in a massive day-long trash and debris cleanup for the Barnegat Bay watershed.

The Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide cleanup organized by the DEP and the nonprofit New Jersey Clean Communities Council, is expected to include many hundreds of people representing all 37 municipalities within the bay's 660-square-mile watershed. Thirty-three of the municipalities are in Ocean County, and four are in Monmouth County.

This hands-on effort demonstrates the Christie Administration's continued commitment to restoring Barnegat Bay, which for decades has been subject to increasing ecological stress, much of it related to stormwater pollution. The cleanup will enable local residents and groups to become directly engaged in the Governor's 10-point comprehensive restoration plan for the bay, which the Governor launched in December 2010.

"The Governor and I are committed to the restoration of Barnegat Bay, a unique ecological treasure and an invaluable asset to our tourism economy," said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, who will personally join DEP staff and volunteers in picking up trash from locations around the bay. "One of the main goals of this week's cleanup blitz is to provide an opportunity to those who live in the watershed and care about the future of the bay to roll up their sleeves and become directly involved, at the same time inspiring others to take action to protect the bay."

The cleanup blitz fits in with Action Item No. 8 in the Governor's Comprehensive Plan, which calls for increased education efforts to foster public stewardship for the Bay. Other efforts under way as a result of the 10-point plan include the safe closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant by 2019, enhanced state funding for local governments for projects to better control stormwater pollution, a tough statewide fertilizer law that benefits the bay by reducing nutrients in stormwater runoff, a detailed scientific study of water issues in the bay, and a first-ever Barnegat Bay-wide water quality monitoring network, which the DEP recently launched.

"Restoration of Barnegat Bay will take years of sustained work and a great deal of commitment from many people,'' Commissioner Martin said. "With efforts such as this grass roots cleanup, as well as the other initiatives detailed in the Governor's comprehensive plan, we are off to a very strong start.''


The event, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., targets a wide variety of locations for cleanup, including wetlands, stream banks, stormwater discharge points, school grounds, trails, docks, areas around bulkheads, and the bay itself. The cleanup will be held rain or shine.

The Commissioner will be joined by all members of his senior management team as well as other DEP employees, many of whom will serve as team captains.

The Commissioner will kick off the day at 8 a.m. in Stafford Township, where he will participate in a cleanup with students from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES) of the Ocean County Vocational School District. Other stops for Commissioner Martin include a 10 a.m. visit to Lacey Township to join Lacey High School students working on local trails improvement effort, and a 12:30 p.m. stop in Bay Head Borough, to pitch in on a cleanup effort with students and local residents.

The Barnegat Bay Blitz will be marked by a ceremony at Ocean County Community College in Toms River at about 3 p.m.

(MEDIA: The DEP Press office will issue a detailed itinerary on Tuesday).

Much of the trash that will be collected on Wednesday could otherwise ultimately enter the bay through the discharge of stormwater. Stormwater also carries other pollutants such as common lawn fertilizers, automotive fluids and silt that degrade wildlife habitat and water quality in Barnegat Bay and its tributaries. The trash that volunteers collect will be turned over to local public works departments for proper disposal.

Groups expected to participate include local elementary, middle, and high schools, the ReClam the Bay environmental group, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association, staff and students from Jenkinson's Aquarium, and senior citizens from Harvey Cedars.

Kayakers from the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association, volunteers from ReClam the Bay, and employees of the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife, will clean up areas around the Sedge Islands Marine Conservation Zone. Fort Dix crews will help out in various locations, including Manchester, Lakehurst and Brendan Byrne State Park. A llama will help local residents cart away trash collected in and around the Colliers Mill Wildlife Management Area.

Some 600 students at the Beachwood Elementary School will take part in the cleanup during recess Wednesday.

"The kids love to help out and they do get upset when they see litter on the playground or in the school yard,'' said Principal Jim Ricotta. "Our school just celebrated Respect Week, and now we're focusing on respecting the environment. Our teachers are giving lessons on controlling pollution and runoff, which is a big problem in our area. The kids enjoy learning about Barnegat Bay and getting involved. We're happy to participate.''

The idea of a cleanup blitz grew out of expressions of interest from local groups and DEP staff who wanted to help implement the Governor's Barnegat Bay comprehensive action plan.
"There is truly a great deal of untapped potential out there, people who are ready, willing and able to pitch in and help out,'' said Lynette Lurig, a DEP research scientist who is organizing the cleanup.

"Whether you live on Long Beach Island, near the Garden State Parkway, or in the Pinelands further inland, there are lots of things you can do on a personal level to restore the bay,'' said Katie Barnett, a DEP environmental specialist who is also organizing the event. "Cleaning up litter is just one of them."

DEP partners in the cleanup include the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, MATES Academy, the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, Waste Management, the Barnegat Bay Partnership, and ReClam the Bay.

For more information on the cleanup blitz, the Governor's comprehensive plan and how you can help protect the bay, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/barnegat/bbblitz.htm (http://www.nj.gov/dep/barnegat/bbblitz.htm)

[bababooey]

Sorry Dark but I think Bob Martin is doing this for political gain, and that's all.

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Finchaser, thanks!




IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 9, 2011

Contact: Lawrence Ragonese (609) 292-2994
Kerry Kirk Pflugh (609) 984-1795
Lawrence Hajna (609) 292-2994

DEP TEAMS UP WITH AREA'S LEADING RESEARCHERS ON BARNEGAT BAY STUDIES CALLED FOR BY GOVERNOR'S RESTORATION PLAN

(11/P131) TRENTON -- The Department of Environmental Protection is teaming up with several of the region's leading research institutions to perform scientific studies that will help the department make critical decisions on how to restore and enhance ecologically stressed Barnegat Bay, Commissioner Bob Martin announced today. Taken together, the series of ten studies coupled with other work the DEP is undertaking will result in the most comprehensive scientific analysis ever for the bay.

The studies will be performed by the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, Montclair State University, Rider University, Monmouth University and the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, in cooperation with the DEP.

"Governor Christie is committed to restoring Barnegat Bay, an ecological treasure and tourism asset that is important to all of New Jersey" said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. "The results of these studies will fill in data gaps and arm us with critical information that will help define future actions we must take to restore the bay and bring it back from many decades of decline. We are extremely fortunate to have such a pool of talent and expertise in marine sciences so close at hand to assist us as we nurse the bay back to health."

The Governor's 10-point Comprehensive Barnegat Bay Restoration Plan calls for a variety of strategies to reduce nutrient pollution to the bay, including the nation's toughest statewide fertilizer law, low-cost funding for local governments to improve stormwater control projects, acquisition and protection of land in the watershed to filter pollutants and provide buffers, and development of a Special Area Management Plan to improve coordination among planning jurisdictions. The plan also calls for the closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey Township by the end of 2019, a decade ahead of the expiration of its federal license.

"I commend the DEP for pulling together so much scientific expertise from agencies and institutions around the region to work together to address the bay's problems," said Stan Hales, Executive Director of the Barnegat Bay Partnership. "These studies represent the most comprehensive research commitment to the Barnegat Bay in the past 30 to 40 years, perhaps ever. The studies address numerous information gaps about the bay's fundamental ecology. They should provide us with a more complete understanding of the bay's current condition and the extent to which the bay's ecology has changed."

Long and very shallow, Barnegat Bay has limited inlets to allow flushing of degraded water to the ocean. The bay is becoming eutrophic, meaning that nutrients are causing frequent algae blooms that can cause low dissolved oxygen conditions and block sunlight, affecting the estuary's overall ecological balance.

Over the years, extensive research has been done on the bay's struggles with water quality problems. But the work was not fully coordinated, resulting in key information gaps.

Brown tide outbreaks, declines in hard clam populations and eel grass, and population explosions of sea nettles are some of the most visible signs of the ecological stress the bay faces. Yet the role that specific changes in water quality conditions have in causing these and other bay problems remain unclear.

The DEP's Division of Water Quality Monitoring and Standards over the summer launched a first-ever bay-wide water quality monitoring network to gather data from both the bay and its tributaries on pollutants, sources of those pollutants, and how water flow affects the health of the bay.

The DEP Office of Science also has been working with the state's Science Advisory Board, state universities, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Barnegat Bay Partnership to develop and fund additional research projects that will fill in the gaps and establish baseline ecological conditions for the bay for comparison over time. Scientists hope to better characterize and address the environmental stresses the bay faces.

Toward this end, Commissioner Martin has authorized funding of contracts for the following studies:

Benthic Invertebrate Community Monitoring and Indicator Development for the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary
Partner: Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Project amount: $171,633
The DEP currently uses the presence and abundance of bottom-dwelling, or benthic, invertebrates to gauge the health of streams. This study will evaluate the feasibility of taking the same approach for estuaries, using benthic invertebrate species such as clams and worms to assess nutrient impairments caused by nitrogen and phosphorus.

Barnegat Bay Diatom Nutrient Inference Model
Partners: New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, Academy of Natural Sciences
Project amount: $108,207
DEP water quality monitoring of Barnegat Bay for nitrogen and phosphorus did not start until 1989, but salt marsh sediments hold signatures of nutrient loadings going back hundreds of years in the form of diatoms from past algae blooms. This study will evaluate these clues for the development of biologically-defensible nutrient criteria for New Jersey's bays.

Benthic-Pelagic Coupling: Hard Clams as Indicators of Suspended Particulates in the Barnegat Bay
Partner: Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Project amount: $132,398
Hard clams were once the most commercially important shellfish species in Barnegat Bay, but studies indicate that clam stock decreased by about 67 percent from 1986 to 2001. This study will determine whether a change in food quality is a factor in the decline, and will evaluate whether efforts to deal with the eutrophication process can reverse this trend.

Assessment of Fish and Crab Responses to Human Alteration of Barnegat Bay
Partners: Rutgers Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rider University
Project amount: $233,297
Fish and crabs are important resources in the bay, harvested both recreationally and commercially. However no comprehensive studies of their populations in the bay have been done since the 1970s, when the pace of development increased greatly in the bay's watershed. This study will work to determine how fish and crabs responded to this urbanization.

Assessment of the Distribution and Abundance of Stinging Sea Nettles
Partner: Montclair State University
Project amount: $83,333
Little is known about the increase in the abundance and distribution of stinging sea nettles in Barnegat Bay. This study will investigate possible causes for an increase in this type of jellyfish, including the increased construction of hard submerged surfaces such as bulkheads and docks that provide suitable attachments for juvenile jellyfish as well as low oxygen conditions that may give jellyfish an advantage over other species.

Baseline Characterization of Phytoplankton and Harmful Algal Blooms
Partners: New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, the Academy of Natural Sciences
Project amount: $101,934
Phytoplankton consists of microscopic plants that float in the water column or live on the bottom, forming the base of a complex food web. This study will investigate the interactions between nutrient loadings, phytoplankton responses, and harmful algae blooms.

Baseline Characterization of Zooplankton in Barnegat Bay
Partner: Monmouth University
Project amount: $100,000
Zooplankton includes larval fish and other species that form an important food web link to other species such as crabs, clams and fish. However, the last definitive studies of zooplankton in the bay were conducted in the 1970s in conjunction with operations at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant. New information will be needed on the abundance and distribution of these organisms as a baseline for comparison once the plant shuts down.

Multi-Trophic Level Modeling of Barnegat Bay
Partner: Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Project amount: $130,000
Natural resource management within Barnegat Bay has occurred on an individual species level, such as in the management of hard clams on state-approved shellfish beds. The goal of this project is to improve understanding of how natural and human changes have affected the bay's biota so models can be developed to determine how these resources will respond to management actions.

Tidal Freshwater and Salt Marsh Wetland Studies of Changing Ecological Function and Adaptation Strategies
Partners: New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, the Academy of Natural Sciences
Project amount: $100,000
More than 28 percent of Barnegat Bay's tidal marshes were lost to development between 1940 and 1970. However, recent studies show that wetlands in Barnegat Bay can remove some 80 percent of the nitrogen that flows into from the land. This study will improve understanding of this process and how wetlands can prevent algae blooms, low oxygen conditions and fish kills.

Ecological Evaluation of Sedge Island Marine Conservation Area in Barnegat Bay
Partner: Rider University
Project amount: $55,865
Shallow water surrounding the Sedge Islands in the bay off Island Beach State Park serves as a nursery for blue claw crabs, hard clams and fish. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the state's Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone, established to protect ecologically sensitive marshlands, tidal creeks and open water from damage from motorboats and personal water craft.

For more information on the studies, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/barnegatbay/plan-research.htm

For more on the Christie Administration's 10-point restoration plan, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/barnegatbay/