Great Support from the Community Against LNG

THANK YOU!

To all of the citizens who joined us in Long Beach, NY, Edison, NJ and Sea Bright, NJ, we thank you for taking a stand to keep our oceans free of industrialization.

Young advocates at the Sea Bright citizens hearing

Tuesday, July 9, 2013: Public Hearing in Long Beach, NY

Over 350 citizens attended the public hearing in Long Beach, NY

Environmental groups including COA, Catskills Citizens for Safe Energy,

Food and Water Watch, Concerned Citizens of Montauk, and the Surfrider Foundation spoke out against 

the Port Ambrose Liquefied Natural Gas facility at a press conference just before the public hearing on 

the matter at the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach, NY on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. The groups cited threats to 

tourism, commerce, and the marine environment, the connection to hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) 

upstate, the deficiencies in the application, and the fact that an identical project was vetoed by 

Governor Christie all as reasons to reject this project. Hundreds of citizens attended and spoke out 

against the project at the public hearing as well.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013: Public Hearing in Edison, NJ

Press conference before the public hearing in Edison, NJ

COA, Food and Water Watch, and Edison Wetlands Association blasted the offshore Port Ambrose Liquefied Natural Gas facility at a press conference just before the public hearing at the New Jersey Expo and Convention Center in Edison, NJ on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.  Hundreds of citizens attended and spoke out against the project at the public hearing as well, with momentum building in opposition to Port Ambrose following last night’s public hearing in Long Beach, NY.

Thursday, July 11, 2013: Citizen Hearing in Sea Bright, NJ

Over 150 citizens at the citizens hearing in Sea Bright, NJ

Hundreds of citizens, including Congressman Frank Pallone, Senator Jen Beck, Mayor of Sea Bright Dina Long and Oceanport Council President Joseph Irace, gathered for a hearing organized by Clean Ocean Action to speak on the proposed project by Liberty Natural Gas at Sea Bright Public Beach in Sea Bright, NJ on Thursday, July 11, 2013.  Citizens were outraged that the federal agencies ignored the coast and did not set up a public  hearing along the Jersey Shore.

The fight against Liquefied Natural Gas isn't over. 

While no additional hearings have been announced, comments from the public can still be entered into the official record.

Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo can still veto this project.  Call and tell our elected officials that you are against the Port Ambrose LNG project.  You can reach Governor Christie at (609) 292 - 6000 and Governor Cuomo at (518) 474-8390.

Other ways to help:

• Take Action: Sign Surfrider's petition against LNG
• Get the Facts on Liberty LNG’s Port Ambrose Application Here
• Take Action: Sign one of Catskills Citizens for Safe Energy's petitions against LNG

Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue EPA for Failure to Protect Beachgoers from Water Pollution

Press contact: Sean Dixon, Clean Ocean Action 732-872-0111, Policy@CleanOceanAction.org

                        Tina Posterli, Riverkeeper 516-526-9371, tposterli@riverkeeper.org

                        Matt King, Heal the Bay, 310-451-1500 ext. 137, mking@healthebay.org

                        Blair Fitzgibbon, Waterkeeper Alliance, 202-503-6141, Blair@fitzgibbonmedia.com

EPA’s new water quality criteria fail to protect human health as required by the BEACH Act.
NEW YORK, N.Y. (June 20, 2013) – The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to meet its legal responsibility to adopt water quality criteria that address the health threat posed by pollution at U.S. beaches, according to a notice of intent to sue filed by a coalition of local and national organizations concerned about beach water quality. The groups are Clean Ocean Action, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Heal the Bay, Natural Resources Defense Council, NY/NJ Baykeeper, Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance.

“Too many of America’s beaches are sick – and they’re passing on their illnesses to families across the country,” said Steve Fleischli, Water Program Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “But EPA is not doing its job to help make sure we are safe when our families head to the beach.”

More than 180 million people visit coastal and Great Lakes beaches every year, and swimming and surfing are favorite pastimes in the United States. But beach closings due to hazardous contamination remain near all-time highs. In 2011, there were over 23,000 beach closing and health advisory days across the country. More than two-thirds of the closing and advisory days were prompted by dangerously high bacteria levels, indicating the presence of human or animal waste. The underlying culprits are generally improperly treated sewage, animal manure and contaminated stormwater runoff, which have a highly deleterious effect on water quality.

This pollution poses a significant threat to public health. Pathogens in contaminated waters can cause a wide range of diseases – including gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, and respiratory illness. However, despite these risks, EPA’s latest actions fail to protect people who choose to recreate in coastal waters. EPA has estimated that up to 3.5 million people become ill annually from contact with either overflow of overburdened sewage treatment plants during storm events, leakage from faulty infrastructure, or inappropriate sewage treatment.

“A day at the beach should never make someone sick,” said Kirsten James, Science and Policy Director for Water Quality at Heal the Bay. “EPA missed a major opportunity and a legal mandate to upgrade its recreational water quality criteria to better protect the public from the dangers of polluted water at U.S. beaches. This must be corrected.”

In 2000, Congress enacted the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act), requiring EPA to modernize criteria for water quality that would protect beach users from illnesses caused by pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria. EPA updated these criteria in 2012. However, EPA’s 2012 criteria are inadequate and fail to protect public health in several ways:

• EPA’s criteria fail to protect against single day exposures to pathogens. 
• EPA now allows water quality samples to exceed contamination levels EPA has determined are unsafe up to 10% of the time without triggering a violation. This approach could mask a serious pollution problem and expose families to an unnecessary risk of illness from recreating in local waterways.
• EPA’s new criteria also fail to address the risk of non-gastrointestinal illnesses – such as rash and ear infections – that result from recreating in contaminated waters. The agency concluded that addressing stomach illnesses would adequately protect the public from other types of ailments.
• EPA’s criteria permit a level of risk that would result in 36 of every 1000 beachgoers becoming ill with vomiting, nausea, or stomachaches. This level of risk is unacceptably high.

“Swimmers deserve to know that their favorite beach is clean on the day they're using it. It doesn't matter to them one bit what the average water quality was a month ago,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, the Hackensack Riverkeeper. “New Jersey discharges 23 billion gallons of sewage per year from permitted sewer overflows. Sometimes our waters are clean, sometimes they are dangerous; we are not safe unless we know which is true on a daily basis.”

“The New York-New Jersey Harbor has seen both increasing recreational use and increasing impacts from disease causing pollution,” said Deborah A. Mans, the NY/NJ Baykeeper. “We need EPA to let people know when the water is safe and to punish polluters when it is not. A monthly standard just does not protect public health.”

“EPA’s criteria is doubly flawed because it not only assumes that is acceptable for 36 of every 1000 people to contract gastro-intestinal illness by recreating in contaminated water, an unacceptably high number; it also ignores the proven risk of other health impacts, from rashes to eye and ear infections that routinely plague swimmers in our waterways,” said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director for Riverkeeper. “People recreating in the Hudson River must be protected with strict standards, utilizing the best science to truly protect public health rather than the EPA’s status quo.”

“Science-based criteria for pathogens in recreational waters are the cornerstone of the Clean Water Act’s protections against widespread pollution by animal manure and human sewage and are essential to protecting people that swim and fish in our nation’s waterways from pathogenic illness,” said Kelly Foster, Senior Attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance. “EPA has adopted criteria that do not protect the public from disease when swimming and fishing, make it more difficult to reduce or eliminate pathogens from our recreational waters, and do not adequately inform the public about the risk they face when deciding to go to the beach. Without adequate recreational criteria, the Clean Water Act simply cannot function to adequately protect us from disease when swimming at our nation’s beaches and recreational waters.”

“The beaches, boardwalks, and bays of the nation drive billion-dollar coastal economies,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action, “having clean, safe beaches where parents, children, tourists, locals, surfers, and fishermen can enjoy a day at the beach without a day at the doctor’s is the keystone condition for these clean coastal economies. The EPA has failed in its duty to protect beachgoers using the best science, and has failed to develop a system that warns the public of health risks before they happen – not several days or weeks later.”

###

Clean Ocean Action is a coalition-based non-profit organization working to improve and protect the water quality of the marine waters off the New Jersey and New York coasts. Follow us @CleanOcean or online through www.CleanOceanAction.org

Hackensack Riverkeeper is a non-profit corporation organized to provide representation for the living resources of the Hackensack River. Hackensack Riverkeeper runs boat tours and operates a paddling center on the Hackensack River in the Meadowlands, and has its offices in Hackensack New Jersey. Captain Bill Sheehan founded Hackensack Riverkeeper fifteen years ago. www.hackensackriverkeeper.org

Heal the Bay is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Santa Monica Bay and all southern California coastal waters and watersheds. Progress toward the mission is achieved by effectively combining the use of science, advocacy, community outreach, and public education to create positive environmental change. For over two decades, Heal the Bay has been effective in cleaning up polluted waterbodies, including freshwater and coastal waters, to better protect the health of the public and aquatic life throughout the Los Angeles region. www.healthebay.org

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

NY/NJ Baykeeper is a non-profit corporation working to protect, preserve, and restore the ecological integrity and productivity of the New York/ New Jersey Bay. Baykeeper conducts restoration programs, especially oyster restoration, in both New York and New Jersey waters, works to acquire land for preservation and advocates for clean water throughout its coverage area – extending from Sandy Hook, New Jersey through Jamaica Bay Queens. Debbie Mans is the NY/NJ Baykeeper. http://nynjbaykeeper.org/

Riverkeeper is a membership-based, non-profit group dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries and protecting the drinking water supply of New York City and Hudson Valley residents. Through enforcement, grassroots advocacy and policy initiatives Riverkeeper has helped to establish globally recognized standards for waterway and watershed protection, and serves as the model for the growing Waterkeeper movement that includes nearly 200 Keeper programs across the country and around the globe. For more information please go to www.riverkeeper.org

Waterkeeper Alliance is an international alliance of water advocates working to patrol and protect rivers, streams, and coastlines around the world. Waterkeeper Alliance represents the interests of over 200 member watershed organizations providing a way for communities to stand up for their right to clean water. Visit us at http://www.waterkeeper.org and follow us on Twitter @Waterkeeper.

Members of Congress, led by New Jerseyans, Urge President Obama to Reconsider Seismic Exploration Plan

On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have called on President Barack Obama to reconsider the U.S. Department of Interior's plan to use seismic surveys to search for deposits of oil and gas in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean.  The plan, proposed by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management last year, would open the Mid-Atlantic to seismic surveys, using sound blasts louder than a jet engine to penetrate thousands of feet into the seabed.  In addition to being the first step towards drilling in the Mid-Atlantic the effects of the exploration itself are hazardous to marine life big and small causing a range of impacts to from panic to death for miles.

“While the region copes with the impact from Sandy, the threat of seismic exploration adds insult to injury for our fishing communities and marine life,” said Clean Ocean Action Executive Director Cindy Zipf.

Leading the delegation of members of Congress are New Jersey's own Senator Frank Lautenberg in the Senate, and Representative Frank Pallone in the House.  Other members from New Jersey’s delegation included Senator Robert Menendez and Representatives Rush Holt, Bill Pascrell, and Albio Sires.  In New York, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Congressman Chuck Rangel signed on.  Here is a complete list of signers:

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)

Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Congressman Tim Moran (D-VA)

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ)

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL)

Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL)

Congressman William Lacy Clay (D-MO)

Congressman Bill Keating (D-MA)

Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA)

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Congressman Mike Capuano (D-MA)

Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Congesswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT)

Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA)

Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Congressman David Price (D-NC)

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Congressman John Tierney (D-MA)

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL)

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA)

Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ)

“We applaud those members of Congress who have taken a stand today against seismic exploration, especially those from New Jersey.  We are proud of New Jersey's dedication to protecting our shores from industry and thank Senator Lautenberg and Congressman Pallone for leading the charge. As was evidenced in Atlantic City last year when BOEM held a public hearing on seismic surveys, the people of New Jersey have no interest in allowing industry off our shores, and will continue to make our voices heard and stand up to big oil,” added Zipf.

In April of last year, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management held a public hearing in Atlantic City to allow members of the public to voice their opinion on the proposed surveys.  Members of the public opposed to the surveys outnumbered those in favor 10-1.

Calling All Volunteers for January 19!

Calling All Volunteers! Help COA Make a Difference in Our Coastal Communities After Sandy Join Clean Ocean Action Saturday, January 19th for the Second Wave of Action "For the Shore." There are still projects in need of volunteers for this Saturday! Projects in New Jersey: Highlands Sea Bright Neptune Long Branch Manahawkin Ocean Gate Cape May Bayonne Projects in New York: Jones Beach Staten Island

To Help the Jersey Shore’s Comeback, Clean Ocean Action Launches 2013 Year of “Waves of Action” For The Shore

To Help the Jersey Shore’s Comeback, Clean Ocean Action Launches 2013 Year of “Waves of Action” For The Shore 

Year-Long Volunteer Recovery Action Plan Released Today 

Clean Ocean Action (COA) held a teleconference today to announce the 2013 “Waves of Action” program, which will respond to the impacts of Superstorm Sandy and help improve and protect the marine environment.  COA is engaging its network of organizations, businesses, citizens, and municipalities to help coastal communities throughout New Jersey and New York in need over the long term with volunteer action.   

Learn More at www.ForTheShore.org!

“Recovery will be a very long and challenging road,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action.  “It is essential to rebuild better with environmental stewardship and resiliency and provide resources and support to keep the momentum going,” Zipf added. 

Future Waves of Action days in 2013 will progress with the needs of communities and will keep the momentum going for continued improvement of the shore through debris clean ups, sustainable development plans, and projects to improve water quality.  

“Even though it has been over two months since the Hurricane, there are still very real needs in many communities, and we will work to meet those needs for as long as it takes,” said Zach McCue, Clean Ocean Action Citizen Action Coordinator. 


“Rebuilding Sea Bright will take a sustained effort for a couple of years. Partnering with Clean Ocean Action for regular volunteer days provides additional resources that will be very important to the long term recovery of the town,” added Frank Lawrence, Sea Bright Volunteer Coordinator, who participated in the teleconference on Thursday. 

Waves of Action For The Shore: Month-to-Month
January 19 – Clean-Up, Clean-Out 
February 23– Helping Hands at Home 
March 23 – Bringing Back our Ecosystems 
April 27 – 28th Annual Beach Sweeps
May 18 - Back to the Beach  
June 22, July 20, August 17 - Healthy Habitats, Water Conservation and Energy Efficiency 
September 21 – Education for the Future and Long-Term Recovery 
October 19 – Fall Beach Sweeps
November 13-15 – Education for the Future 
December 7 – Waves of Action Conference and Awards 

The Wave of Action on Saturday, January 19, is in unison with Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, which has become a national weekend centered on service.   

“Many of our projects from December are registered again in January, since Waves of Action is the only clean-up effort that some parks and beaches have been able to have since Sandy.  That said, there are also many new locations where people can help,” said Tavia Danch, Clean Ocean Action Education Coordinator.   

A number of organizations and municipalities have been involved in not only the planning of, but are also participating in, Clean Ocean Action’s Wave of Action on January 19.  These groups include: President’s Inaugural Committee, National Park Service, Bayshore Waterfront Park Affiliation, Monmouth County Park System, HOPE worldwide, Borough of Sea Bright, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Wall High School Environmental Club, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, Red Bank Friends of Maple Cove, United Methodist Committee of Relief, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Beach Haven West Community Association, Surfrider Foundation, South Jersey Chapter, Borough of Ocean Gate and Natural Resource Protective Association. 

Over 1,200 people have already signed up to help to clean out homes, neighborhoods, parks, beaches, and waterways at 27 locations throughout New York and New Jersey, including Atlantic City, Long Beach Island, Sea Bright, Asbury Park, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Staten Island and Jones Beach, New York.
   
“Before Hurricane Sandy, many of the people interested in cleaning up New Jersey's beaches were environmentalists,” noted Lindsey Van Zile, Toms River South High School Senior and Waves of Action Project Leader.  “Now, with the help of Waves of Action program, we can all come together and create solutions to major environmental problems and even help those in need,” she added.  


For more information about the Waves of Action program, visit www.fortheshore.org or contact Clean Ocean Action at (732) 872-0111.

It's Giving Tuesday!

It's Giving Tuesday! We Invite You to... GIVE help to someone in need ~~~ GIVE to Clean Ocean Action to support our year-round ocean advocacy efforts as well as our ongoing Waves of Action to restore communities most effected by Sandy Donate HERE DOWNLOAD THIS EVENT FLYER AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD New projects are listed each day on FortheShore.org. Be sure to register your project for the December 8th Wave of Action - volunteers are standing by. This community wave of action is designed to help communities, businesses, organizations, and homeowners to work together - in the way most meaningful for them. We are encouraging Project Leaders to REGISTER FOR A PROJECT NOW - project ideas could include: beach, town, and park clean-ups, community kitchen events, food, household items, and furniture drives, neighborhood clean out and repair, or anything else your area needs! To register a project, click here or contact Clean Ocean Action at 732-872-0111. For volunteer opportunities in the meantime visit: Hurricane Relief Efforts - UPDATED DAILY

Waves of Action For the Shore: Saturday December 8

Although Hurricane Sandy has passed, families, communities, and coastal municipalities are still reeling from the devastation. In the aftermath of the storm, there is a tremendous response from volunteers region-wide who have dedicated their time and efforts to help those affected and in need.

In that spirit, Clean Ocean Action is announcing a plan to coordinate a rebuilding, recovering, and restoration program which will begin with a Wave of Action Day on Saturday, December 8th.

This first Wave of Action will help initial relief efforts for our New York and New Jersey community beaches, neighborhoods, and businesses after Hurricane Sandy.

We Invite You...

We invite you to head to www.ForTheShore.org and REGISTER a project for December 8th!  Tell us where  you need help, how many volunteers, and what they should bring, and we'll post your project on www.ForTheShore.org where volunteers can browse for projects in their areas or in their skill set.

December 8th Wave of Action...

This community wave of action is designed to help communities, businesses, organizations, and homeowners to work together - in the way most meaningful for them.  We are encouraging Project Leaders to SIGN UP NOW - project ideas could include anything from:

• beach, town, and park clean-ups,
• community kitchen events,
• food, household items, and furniture drives,
• neighborhood clean out and repair, or
• anything else your area needs!

To register a project, click here or contact Clean Ocean Action at 732-872-0111.

Hurricane Sandy: A Warning Against Future Offshore Industrialization

Hurricane Sandy is advancing north toward the Mid-Atlantic.  

Although the projected paths vary on where the storm will hit land, it is clear that if we allow offshore energy projects like LNG terminals and Offshore Oil Drilling the ocean would be MORE at risk and the potential impacts (economic and environmental) to our coastal areas would greatly increase.

Oil and gas exploration plans are underway from mid-Florida to the southern tip of New Jersey with deafening seismic sonar surveys expected to begin next year - blasting deafening sound waves across the seafloor (killing, harming, and dispersing all forms of marine life (to varying degrees)).  There are active proponents in Virginia who want to see oil rigs off their coast ASAP. 

Similarly, Liquefied Natural Gas Terminals have been proposed off the New Jersey and New York coasts.  These facilities would be the docking sites of giant tanker ships carrying vast quantities of concentrated energy.

Across the Gulf of Mexico region, hurricanes have damaged and destroyed rigs and pipeline ports - resulting in oil spills and debris that have destroyed coastal ecosystems (anyone remember the BP Deepwater Horizon?!?).  Billion dollar coastal economies of the Atlantic Coast that depend on clean oceans would be jeopardized.  

YOU get help protect our coasts and industry-free oceans by supporting the Clean Ocean Zone and COA as we continue to fight these offshore energy threats to our oceans!

Help us keep these industries out of the ocean so that the next time we're facing yet another major storm, we're not also living with the fear of an offshore energy disaster!

Main Thunder Horse production platform listing after being struck by Hurricane Dennis in 2005 (source: www.wastedenergy.net)

More on Hurricane Sandy

NOAA Hurricane Center, The Weather Channel, and WeatherUnderground.com  

Please take care and prepare for the storm.

Useful links on the looming offshore energy threat:

• More on LNG Terminals
• BOEM Offshore Oil and Gas Energy
• BOEM South and MidAtlantic Exploration EIS
• Bi-Partisian Support for a Clean Ocean 
• Elected Officials Speak Out Against Drilling
• Seismic Surveys Threaten Marine Life

      

New Mapping Tool Released for Ocean Planning in the Mid-Atlantic

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) recently released a new Ocean Data Portal that is in development.  This data portal includes information on ocean life, human uses of the ocean, sea floor topography, habitat, and sediments, as well as ocean regulations.  The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Region includes coastal and offshore waters from Virginia to New York.  The data and mapping portal will serve as a resource for ocean planning efforts in the region.  The mapping capabilities make it easier to visualize and understand multiple layers of information together.  If you have data or information, high priority data needs have been identified here.  If you use the ocean or have an interest in how the ocean may be used in the future - check it out and provide your thoughts and insights by clicking on feedback! (Note: the Proposed Atlantic Wind Connection is shown under renewable energy. This potential transmission line will also transmit conventional, dirty fossil fuel energy. See prior blog on this project which we've termed the Atlantic Coal Connection.)