Earth Week Call For Expanded Category One Protections, Better Implementation
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
TRENTON
– With Earth Day approaching, leading statewide and local environmental
groups announced a campaign to expand and strengthen protections for
New Jersey’s pristine waterways. The groups will file legal petitions
to win Category One protection for five of the state’s waterways: Toms
River (Ocean and Monmouth Counties), Great Egg Harbor River (Atlantic
and Gloucester Counties), Salem River (Salem County), Cedar Creek
(Ocean County), and Oldmans Creek (Salem and Gloucester Counties).
“These
are among the most precious waterways in New Jersey, but they are all
at risk,” said Ethan Lavine, NJPIRG’s Environmental Associate. “Poorly
conceived development projects dump tons of pollution into the most
ecologically significant streams and rivers in the state. We need these
protections for more waterways, and also to make sure that they are
properly implemented and vigilantly enforced.”
The
petitions, to be filed with NJDEP, lay out a science-based rationale
for implementing the increased protection. The petitions also ask NJDEP
to begin the rule-making process necessary to implement the Category
One upgrades.
Category
One protections guard against measurable increases in water pollution
and create 300-foot buffer zones that limit new development around
pristine waterways. These buffers guard against new major development
projects, maintaining a riparian strip that greatly reduces the amount
of non-point runoff pollution that enters the waterway.
“Category
One designation for these waterways would represent an important and
long-overdue step forward for water quality in a region that is
currently experiencing growth at a pace and scale that the sensitive
resources found here simply cannot sustain,” said Leann Foster, Policy
Director for American Littoral Society (ALS). “Because of the 300-foot
buffer requirement, Category One is an important tool for controlling
development in the stream corridors and in the watershed itself.”
Signing
the petitions are New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG),
New Jersey Audubon Society, Sierra Club, New Jersey Environmental
Federation, American Littoral Society, Pinelands Preservation Alliance,
Save Barnegat Bay, Salem County Watershed Task Force, the Federation of
Gloucester County Watersheds, the Great Egg Harbor Watershed
Association, and others.
The
petitions, prepared by Carter Strickland and Stacy Corbin of the
Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, demonstrate the high quality and
value of each river, expounding on characteristics such as high water
quality, aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance,
exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply
significance, and exceptional fisheries resources – the characteristics
weighed by NJDEP in the classification of the waterways.
“The
water quality protections provided by Category One designation are not
only critical to safeguarding our drinking water supplies, but also to
protecting the health of stream ecosystems, which support many of New
Jersey’s threatened and endangered species,” said Joanna Wolaver, New
Jersey Audubon Society’s Conservation Project Coordinator.
The
effort attempts to remedy a geographic imbalance in the designation of
Category One protections, which have been thus far been largely
reserved for northern New Jersey waterways. As development increasingly
shifts southward, runoff pollution threatens treasured southern New
Jersey waterways and the ecosystems they support, such as the Jersey
Shore, Delaware Bayshore, and Pinelands Region.
“Granting
Category One status to these Pinelands streams is a logical
continuation of the state's commitment to protecting this unique
ecosystem,” said Rich Bizub of the Pineland Preservation Alliance.
Three of the five waterways for which petitions will be filed fall
within the Pinelands Region (Toms River, Great Egg Harbor River, and
Cedar Creek).
The
five waterways also feed New Jersey’s precious coastal ecosystems.
“Development is undoubtedly threatening the health of our coast,” said
Helen Henderson, project manager for Save Barnegat Bay. “Ecologically
and economically, protecting these waterways is the right thing to do.”
The
call for expanded Category One protections comes less than a week after
a New Jersey appeals panel upheld – in the strongest possible terms –
NJDEP’s authority to implement the 300-foot buffers that accompany
Category One designation in a challenge brought by the New Jersey
Builders Association.
While
the groups called for the expansion of Category One designations,
especially in southern New Jersey, they also called for improved
implementation of the protections. The 300-foot riparian buffers that
accompany Category One designation have sometimes been reduced in size
or fragmented to accommodate large-scale development projects. In some
instances, towns have failed to implement the buffer.
“The
court victory last week on the Category One buffers in the stormwater
rules means the NJDEP must now move forward and nominate more streams
for Category One,” said Jeff Tittel, director of New Jersey Sierra
Club. “But the designation alone is not enough. We also need to
implement these protections in all the different water rules.”
“With
Earth Day Saturday, it's perfect timing to begin implementing the great
commitments the Governor made during the campaign to upgrade the
state's clean water rules and laws – more and better C1's, including
stronger standards for sewers, septics, and stormwater,” added Dave
Pringle, campaign director for New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Toms River
Toms
River (Ocean and Monmouth Counties) flows through New Jersey’s Pineland
Region before emptying to Barnegat Bay Estuary. Toms River and
tributaries drain a significant portion of the eastern Pinelands
Protection Area and recharge the Kirkwood-Cohansey, Magothy, and Piney
Point aquifers that supply drinking water for the region (all of which
are close to the surface and, therefore, especially vulnerable to
contamination). Though Toms River is in one of the most rapidly
developing regions of the state, for much of its length, the area
around the river remains relatively undeveloped. Toms River and
Barnegat Bay are ecological treasures and very popular with boaters and
fishermen.
Great Egg Harbor River
Great
Egg Harbor River (Atlantic and Gloucester Counties) is the largest
canoeing river in the Pinelands Region and an important recreation
destination. It faces an incredible threat from development, especially
at its headwaters. The Great Egg plays host to dozens of species of
fish and birds. Threatened and endangered species that rely on the
river include bald eagles, northern harrier, osprey, the peregrine
falcon, and the Pine Barrens tree frog.
Salem River
Salem
River (Salem County) runs through Supawna Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge, Mannington Meadows Complex, and the Salem River Wildlife
Management Area. It supplies drinking water for the region, and hosts
habitat for the bald eagle. The Salem River is the most threatened
waterway in Salem County. It covers over a third of Salem County and is
the largest tributary to the Delaware River. Over two-thirds of the
lands surrounding the river are open (farm fields or open space), but
development pressure is exceptionally high.
Cedar Creek
Cedar
Creek (Ocean County) flows from New Jersey’s Pinelands to the Barnegat
Bay Estuary. Though in an area facing exceptional levels of
development, Cedar Creek remains relatively undisturbed. Its high water
quality, valuable species habitat, and exceptional worth for recreation
make Cedar Creek an important waterway to protect.
Oldmans Creek
Oldmans
Creek (Gloucester and Salem Counties) flows through lush green farms,
large tracts of forest, and expansive tidal wetlands before joining the
Delaware River. New development is transforming the area and
threatening the integrity of Oldmans Creek. The watershed hosts
foraging habitat for the bald eagle and is an important source of
groundwater replenishment.
