GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 990925A
Phil Reynolds
GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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** D O U B L E I S S U E **
990925A
<*> NJDEP FINES CONSERVATION SCHOOL
<*> WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: POHATCONG & LOPATCONG - OCT 21
<*> POHATCONG CREEK WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
<*> 2 SIDES DISAGREE ON DELAWARE DREDGING ISSUE
<*> ANOTHER 15 TAINTED WELLS DISCOVERED IN MONROE
<*> WEB SITE VENTURES DEEP INTO THE PINELANDS
<*> HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER CANOE PROJECT
990925B
<*> UPDATE PLANNED ON MERCURY PROBE AT CAMP EVANS
<*> FORT DIX GETS LEAD OUT AT FIRING RANGE
<*> COMPETING INTERESTS STALLED NEW JERSEY FLOOD PROJECT
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NJDEP FINES CONSERVATION SCHOOL
Date: 990925
From: http://www.nj.com/njcommunities/ledger/essex/
By Patty Paugh, Staff Writer, 09/24/99
What was touted as a $1 million pioneering waste water invention has
evolved into another environmental problem for the New Jersey School
of Conservation, as well as huge losses for it and others.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has fined the
Sandyston-based satellite of Montclair State University $26,000 for
violations of the state's water pollution control act, according to
DEP spokeswoman Sharon Southard.
The DEP found the school's innovative waste water treatment system,
which uses wetlands grasses to neutralize pollutants, was exceeding
effluent limits, according to a public notice. The unique operation
features two treatment fields planted with vegetation with root
systems containing micro-organisms that consume contaminants.
A pending administrative consent order requires the school to conduct
an assessment study to determine what corrective actions must be
implemented so the system can meet effluent limits by Dec. 1, 2000.
The consent order is scheduled to take effect following a 30-day
public comment period.
Kathy Monteiro, the university's director of architectural and
engineering services, said yesterday she is uncertain how much it will
cost to hire an engineering firm to undertake the mandated assessment.
But she conceded costs associated with what was hailed as a
state-of-the-art treatment method in 1996 have mushroomed in the past
year.
The school paid about $46,000 to haul sewage to the Sussex County
Municipal Utilities Authority in Hardyston from July 1998 through July
1999, when the state halted use of the treatment fields, Monteiro
said. In addition, she noted the school paid $20,000 for other
improvements to the system, and its annual costs for an SCMUA operator
to oversee the plant rose from $24,000 to $60,000 when it couldn't
comply with DEP limits.
Maple Construction, the Mountain Lakes contractor that originally
built the root-zone system, also shelled out $150,000 to rebuild the
fields after owner Ed Dzialo was informed they were constructed too
low, he said.
Monteiro blamed much of the system's inability to meet discharge
limits on building the treatment fields 2 feet lower than the DEP
required. But Dzialo said he built the fields at the elevation
described on construction plans.
"We do this type of work constantly, sewage treatment plants,
everything, and this is the worst project I've seen. And this was
supposed to be a state-of-the-art plant," he said, adding there are
more problems with the system than elevation.
School officials hoped the unusual treatment fields would become a
model for their ecology students and the rest of the state, enabling
them to score a major environmental victory after running afoul of the
state in 1986. That year, two state officials saw waste water from the
school's septic system overflowing into Big Flat Brook, one of the
state's premier trout streams.
At the time, John Kirk, school director, adamantly denied effluent
ever leaked into the water. School officials subsequently urged the
state to permit construction of an innovative waste water treatment
plant at the environmental school. In 1996, the system, paid for with
state funds, became operational.
But state officials found it did not work, according to the DEP
spokeswoman. The operation racked up 38 effluent violations, 26 of
them deemed serious because they were at least 40 percent higher than
in permitted levels, she said.
(C) 1999 The Star-Ledger
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WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: POHATCONG & LOPATCONG - OCT 21
Date: 990926
From: 609-633-3812
September 22, 1999
Dear Colleague,
The Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Watershed
Management, would like you to join us as we embark on a new era of
environmental regulation and management: watershed protection. while
watershed protection is not a new idea, most of the existing water
resource programs are implemented on a site-specific basis. The
principle of watershed management dictates that we manage our
resources holistically while working together toward a common purpose:
the protection and wise use of our resources for a sustainable future.
In order to further facilitate this process, the Department is
initiating the development of a watershed management plan for
Pohatcong and Lopatcong Creek watersheds.
Currently, a similar watershed planning process is occurring in the
Musconetcong River Watershed and in other areas throughout the State.
The development of a watershed management plan is not done by one
agency acting in a vacuum but by the watershed's stakeholders
interactively developing the plan and the mechanisms to implement and
fund that plan. It is our hope to be part of a process which leads to
action, not a report that sits on a shelf. Only by participating in
this public process can you be assured that your views will be heard
and incorporated in the watershed management plan.
To begin the dialogue on "watershed management planning in the
Pohatcong and Lopatcong", we invite you to attend a public gathering.
The purpose of this meeting is to provide a forum for the Department
to present its views and visions as a stakeholder in the watershed and
to begin a process for the public to discuss issues which are
important to them about their watershed. This meeting will be held on
October 21, 1999 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the cafeteria of the
Warren County Community College, 475 Rt 57, Washington NJ.
If you plan to attend, please contact our Office at 609-633-3812 to
RSVP or contact us if you have questions or require further
information. The watershed is important to each of its residents and
each resident has an effect on its future. We hope you will attend.
Sincerely,
Kenneth H. Klipstein, Chief
Northwest Bureau
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Watershed Management
POB 418
Trenton NJ 08625
609-633-3812
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POHATCONG CREEK WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
Date: 990925
From: skeh...@fast.net
POHATCONG CREEK WATERSHED
. . .
What is the Pohatcong Creek Watershed?
The Pohatcong Creek flows from its headwaters in the wetlands of
Independence Township to its mouth at the Delaware River, in Pohatcong
Township, a distance of about 20 miles. The Watershed is the area
drained by the creek. This is 58 square miles of woodland, farmland,
towns and homes, all in Warren County.
. . .
What is the Pohatcong Creek Watershed Association?
We are a group of folks, who, concerned with the quality of the
Pohatcong Creek and its watershed, began meeting last year to discuss
what we could do, at a local volunteer level, to protect this valuable
natural resource. This year, we plan to monitor water quality, develop
a bank restoration program, inventory historic landmarks and initiate
a public awareness program. We are a non-profit organization.
. . .
Our purpose is:
"...to maintain protection of the Pohatcong Creek watershed, which
includes; the conservation, protection and restoration of water
quality, wildlife, soil, forests and all other natural resources
within the watershed; to promote regional short term planning, long
term planning and alternative development practices which will
preserve and enhance the natural and cultural landscape; to conduct
scientific investigations and research towards the above purposes; and
to do all things suitable and appropriate to protect and improve the
communities of, and the area within, the watershed."
. . .
You are invited to attend the monthly meetings of the Pohatcong Creek
Watershed Association on the third Thursday of each month at Warren
County Community College on Route 57. Meetings begin at 8:00pm,
usually in Room 128. Please join us in our conservation efforts. The
health and well being of our community is reflected in this beautiful
stream. Let's work together to maintain and improve the quality of our
environment!
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MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Please enroll me as a member of the Pohatcong Creek Watershed
Association. Enclosed is a check made payable to the Pohatcong Creek
Watershed Association for the membership category indicated below:
Student/Senior Membership -$10
Individual Membership -$15
Family Membership - $25
Government/Civic Membership -$35
Corporate/Business Membership -$100
Patron of the Pohatcong -$500+
Name _________________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _______________________________________________________
Tel/Fax/Email ________________________________________________________
MAIL TO:
Pohatcong Creek Watershed Association
256 Creek Road
Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Please contact Steve Kehayes at 908-213-1550 or
skeh...@fast.net with any questions.
Thank you for your support!
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2 SIDES DISAGREE ON DELAWARE DREDGING ISSUE
Date: 990925
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/burlingtoncountytimes/
By Kathleen Cannon, BCT Staff Writer
Palmyra - Dredge spoils from the Delaware River are either a valuable
resource that can be used to create riverbank parks like the one here,
or toxic time bombs that should be left undisturbed in the bottom of
the river, people on either side of the issue say.
State Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Shinn believes the
sand dredged up from the river bottom can be put to good use, and led
a tour of the Palmyra Cove Nature Park here yesterday to demonstrate.
Foxes, deer, turtles, and a variety of birds frolic in and around a
70-acre dredge spoil dumping area in the middle of the park. Shinn
said the adaptive re-use of the dredge spoils is a model that can be
expanded here or replicated elsewhere along the river.
To that end, he led officials from the Delaware River Port Authority
on a tour of the 350-acre park. The DRPA will be responsible for
disposing of about 23 million cubic yards of Delaware River and Bay
dredge spoils dug up by the Army Corps of Engineers starting next
year.
"A high-nesting population of birds co-exist very well here with
activities associated with dredging," he told the authority officials
before the tour.
The tour was hosted by the Burlington County Bridge Commission, which
developed the park that stretches south from its Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
to the Pennsauken Creek.
The park is a "playground for birds," said commission director George
Nyikita, noting that birders have spotted more than 200 varieties of
migratory birds here.
Despite the pristine setting for yesterday's tour, environmentalists
are gathering forces to stop the river deepening and dredging project
that Shinn and others believe opens the river up for more commerce and
creates more parks along the riverfront.
Maya vanRossum, of the Delaware Riverkeeper environmental group, said
her group and 21 others oppose the river-dredging project. The
Alliance to Dump the Delaware Deepening was formed to halt the $300
million Army Corps project.
The groups believe the deepening project will release an abundance of
toxins into the river, and eventually into underground water supplies
once they leach out of the re-located spoils.
The environmentalists say the project would have profound
consequences for the delicate oyster industry in the Delaware Bay as
well.
Yesterday's official tour of Palmyra Cove Nature Park "is a feel-good
mission, diverting attention from the real issues," she said in a
telephone interview from her group's Washington Crossing, Pa.
headquarters.
"It's shocking the New Jersey DEP is backing that kind of project,
and backing it very strongly," vanRossum said.
But Lt. Col Debra M. Lewis of the Army Corps of Engineers dismissed
the environmentalists' concerns. The dredge spoils are clean enough to
use as fill for parks, or even to supplement construction materials
such as dry wall, she said.
"There's an unwarranted stigma attached to dredge spoils," she said.
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ANOTHER 15 TAINTED WELLS DISCOVERED IN MONROE
Date: 990925
From: http://www.southjerseynews.com/
By Gene Vernacchio, Courier-post Staff
Monroe - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found 15 more
contaminated wells in the township.
EPA spokesman Richard Cahill said authorities tested 100 residential
wells in July after dozens of other wells within the township were
found to be contaminated.
Contaminants include mercury, benzene and tetrachloroethylene.
High exposure to mercury can cause kidney and neurological damage,
Cahill said. Long-term exposure to benzene can seriously affect the
blood cells. And exposure to tetrachloroethylene can lead to
drowsiness, dizziness and headaches.
The EPA found contamination confined to three pockets in the township
- Tuckahoe Road and Route 322, the Black Horse Pike near Cecil and
along Winslow Road.
Monroe Mayor Mary Duffy said EPA officials went door-to-door
Wednesday and Thursday to notify affected homeowners and to distribute
free bottled water.
"We're not trying to panic people and scare them to death," she said.
"Yes, we have a problem here."
The 15 affected residences will be issued a free supply of bottled
water for about two months until in-home filtration systems can be
installed, Cahill said. Those residents also are eligible to have
costs of the filter installations offset by federal Superfund monies.
"This situation has us all concerned. No one wants to drink water
that's contaminated," said Catherine Burkholder, who had her water
tested a year ago and installed a water filtration system.
(C) Copyright 1998 Courier-Post, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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WEB SITE VENTURES DEEP INTO THE PINELANDS
Date: 990925
From: http://www.pressplus.com/
September 25, 1999
WANT TO UNCOVER THE MYSTERIES OF THE PINE BARRENS?
The Press' online site offers 150 pages of articles, photos and maps
on the 1.1-million-acre region.
By Jack Kaskey, Staff Writer, (609) 272-7213
Pleasantville -- Does the Jersey Devil still lurk in the Pinelands?
How did the piney myth -- the one that says Pine Barrens residents are
lazy and dull-witted -- get started? And where is Ongs Hat, anyway?
If you've ever contemplated these questions or most anything else
about the 1.1-million-acre region known as the Pinelands, The Press of
Atlantic City has a treat for you.
The paper's Web site, Pressplus, now features a Pinelands section,
filled with more than 150 pages of articles, photos and maps from The
Press' archives, and a handful of new features, such as a Pinelands
quiz.
Online Editor Dory Lewis began working on the project about six
months ago when she stumbled on an archived story about the Albert
Music Hall in Waretown, Ocean County. Having been to the hall several
times, she began investigating other Pinelands gems she might have
missed.
"I did a little more searching, and I found a whole can of worms,"
Lewis said. "I decided to open it."
What resulted is a sprawling site organized into 11 categories:
animals, art, folklore, food, history, fire, water and iron, music,
people, plants, recreation and towns.
The plants section includes information on pinescaping -- landscaping
with native plants -- while the recreation section has information on
hiking trails and canoeing rivers in the Pinelands.
The history section features profiles of Pinelands towns, including
towns that are "off the map." The food section includes farm locations
for picking your own fruits and vegetables and loads of recipes for
those two Pinelands staples: cranberries and blueberries.
The most colorful section, however, is dedicated to the people of the
region, opening with a humorously illustrated story that separates the
piney myth from reality. It then delves into stories about the area's
first settlers right on through the death of Johnny Camp, one of the
last true pineys.
Lewis has previously developed online features about birding and the
Miss America Pageant, but she said this is by far her most ambitious
project. Since taking her current position with the paper in June
1997, daily visitors to Pressplus have increased from about 400 to
more than 5,000 unique readers.
To explore the site, visit:
Copyright (c) 1999 South Jersey Publishing Co.
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HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER CANOE PROJECT
Date: 25 Sep 1999
From: "Jared Eudell" {ftro...@hotmail.com}
On July 18, 1999, Hackensack Riverkeeper announced that a new
recreational canoe livery service would be coming in the near future.
That day has arrived. Hackensack Riverkeeper has opened its canoe
livery in Laurel Hill Park, Secaucus.
Hackensack Riverkeeper is a nonprofit organization whose mission is
to protect, preserve, and restore the natural and recreational
resources of the Hackensack River. Participants can now explore the
wetlands and experience the wildlife of the Hackensack River by canoe.
The livery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00am - 6:00pm. The
cost to rent one of our 17-ft. Marathon canoes is $30 per day and
includes two paddles and two life jackets (sorry, no soloists).
It's about time this type of recreation was brought back to the
Hackensack River. For information, contact Capt. Bill:
Capt. Bill Sheehan
Hackensack Riverkeeper
1000 River Road-T090C
Teaneck NJ 07666
Tel: 201-692-8440
Fax: 201-692-8449
Email: cap...@keeper.org
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Back issues of the Garden State EnviroNews are available at
http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/11gsn.htm
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