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Health & Fitness

Clean Water: NJDEP must take stronger action before it's too late

New Jersey’s waters are severely impacted by non-point source pollution, or polluted runoff. The majority fail to meet state and federal clean water standards: More than 50% of drinking water sources, 84% of waters designated for swimming, and 99% of waters that support fishing violate Clean Water Act standards.

New Jersey regulates its ‘non-point source’ stormwater discharges to state waters with a permit that is set to expire at the end of February.  Stormwater is one of the most important sources of pathogens, nutrients and toxic pollutants in New Jersey waters, and is a prime reason that so many of the state’s waters are unsafe for drinking, swimming, fishing and aquatic life. We believe the NJDEP is compelled to change and strengthen the new permit to require updated best management practices to control water pollution.

The state general permit, known as the MS4 permit, regulates how municipalities are allowed to discharge stormwater into rivers, bays and other water bodies. Under the Clean Water Act, permits are to be renewed every five years to incorporate new technology and best practices to continually reduce water pollution until the discharge of all pollutants is finally ended. Since the current New Jersey MS4 permit was adopted in 2009, significant advances have been made that, if incorporated into a new permit, could make great strides in improving New Jersey’s water quality.

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Stormwater collected by municipalities contains pollutants such as animal waste, fertilizer, grime, oil and gasoline and other contaminants that in aggregate adversely affect water quality.

Think about Barnegat Bay. The Bay’s problem is straight-forward: Numerous scientific studies have determined that too much stormwater pollution is entering the estuary. Stormwater runoff from developed and altered lands and roadways in the Bay’s 660 square mile watershed (the land area that drains to the Bay) is polluted by nutrients and other contaminants. This runoff enters storm drains and pipes that discharge directly to our waterways.  This pollution “fertilizes” the Bay’s water far beyond the amount of pollution the Bay’s ecosystem can handle. These nutrients, mostly nitrogen, have “overfed” the Bay’s ecosystem.

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This excessive ‘fertilization’ of the water creates a cascade of negative impacts on the life of the Bay, starting with too much algae, destruction of seagrass beds which provide critical habitat for fish and other marine life, and a welcoming environment for stinging jellyfish. These impacts cause diminished environmental, aesthetic, and recreational uses of our beloved Barnegat Bay.

The natural ecology of the Bay is not the only victim of stormwater pollution. It also impacts people: the way we use and enjoy the Bay, and our local economies. The health of the Bay is crucial to a 3.4 billion dollar shore economy including tourism, boating, fishing, and real estate values. Sadly, jellyfish stings now make swimming a misery and some communities have resorted to building nets around beaches as an attempt to keep the jellyfish out. We have experienced crashing shellfish numbers and the loss of the shellfishing industry hits hard in the Bay’s communities and local economies. Over the last 25 years, over 900 shellfishermen have lost their jobs.

To stop Barnegat Bay from dying, and to improve waterways throughout New Jersey, we must use new and readily available tools and established approaches to environmental protection. To protect the water, we must protect the land by minimizing municipal stormwater pollution for both existing and new development by strengthening MS4 permits.

The NJDEP has an opportunity to uphold the intent of the Clean Water Act through changes to new MS4 permits that will improve water quality throughout our State and protect our shore economy. This is an opportunity that should not be missed.

 

Helen Henderson is the Atlantic Coast Programs Manager for the American Littoral Society headquartered on Sandy Hook, NJ

732.575.5701

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