Shark River: The Dredge Debate

Ask anyone who has piloted a boat through Shark River and they will tell you how shallow and dangerous it can be, especially around low tide. For the last two decades, local, state, and federal officials, as well as concerned citizens, have been working on a feasible plan that will make Shark River navigable once again.

Everyone agrees that dredging is necessary. Where opinions differ is how much dredging should take place, where the dredged material will be dried out, and ultimately, where it will be managed. In such a densely populated area, how towns choose to handle dredge material has become the proverbial stick in the mud. However, there is finally some hope.

This past month the NJ Department of Transportation, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Towns of Neptune and Belmar have come together with local and state law makers to come up with a dredging plan for the 105,000 cubic yards of material clogging Shark River’s state-managed channels. One of the temporary management areas is on Seaview Island, which was a dredged material disposal area until 30 years ago. Understandably, some residents are concerned while others are supportive of the much-needed dredging project. The good news is that the material tested clean by meeting the residential direct contact standards. The material will be placed at the Monmouth County landfill to be used beneficially.

This has the potential to vastly improve navigability for boaters, while also minimizing impacts to the environment and the surrounding area. Clean Ocean Action has closely followed these developments and will continue to work closely with those involved to facilitate the successful completion of the project.

Coastal Management Rules Revisions

Coastal Management Rules Revisions

In June, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced that it would be consolidating the rules that determine how development occurs in coastal areas. These changes are being billed as administrative in nature, to streamline permitting and reduce paperwork.  However, some of the changes proposed could have significant consequences for our coastal waters.

Staff Scientist Cassandra Ornell spoke at the first of three public hearings, held in Long Branch on June 25.  She highlighted the fact that the proposal does not specifically address actions that will be taken in the permitting and development process to increase resiliency at the coast, and protect coastal communities from sea level rise and extreme storm events. To the contrary, several provisions in the new rules would allow more development in sensitive coastal areas, only increasing future risk. The ability to develop more properties on a single lot in shoreline coastal areas will not only endanger residents and their livelihoods, but increase polluted stormwater runoff, and further impact the quality of our coastal waters.

The rules also change several aspects of dredged material management.  The conditions that determine maintenance dredging are being relaxed, so that dredging in areas that were last dredged long ago would now fall under the definition of “maintenance dredging,” and therefore be dredged back to historical levels. This change would allow for less restrictive dredging protocols in areas that are not currently used for navigation, and opens the way for new development in farther upstream areas. Similarly, time restrictions for dredged material management areas would be relaxed, thereby allowing historical sites that are now productive functioning wetlands that filter pollutants from the water and that may contain threatened or endangered species to potentially be reverted back to dredged material management areas.

Marina expansion and new development would be permitted (under specific conditions) in shellfish areas.  Although these areas may be small, there is no limit in the law to how many of these areas can be developed, that is, there would be no limit to the amount of total shellfish area that would be lost.  This change will impact water quality and further reduce already dwindling shellfish resources, as well as affect those who depend on the resource for a living.

At over 1,000 pages, the details of the rule changes are too numerous to mention. Clean Ocean Action and several other environmental organizations met with the NJDEP in July to gain further clarity about the proposed changes, and to discuss the potential implications of these changes.  COA has since  prepared and submitted extensive written comments on the rule proposal. Please stay posted for any updates.

Superfund Advocate and Hartwick College Grad Joins Clean Ocean Action's Summer Crew

Rebecka Flynn - Cornell University Class of 2014 - Science and Policy Intern

Since I can remember I was always within nature, be it from riding horses competitively, swimming outside, playing softball, going to summer camps; I was always involved with nature in some manner, and it lead to me being very protective of the environment. I would constantly see housing developments built around my house, until finally the mountain that my town is at the foot of was no longer woods filled with wildlife, but instead of filled with townhouses and paved roads. Around this time I became involved more with the environmental movement, and wanting to see it protected and allowed to flourish. I also come from a town, Middlesex, NJ, which has a two superfund sites, one of which is a nuclear site related to the Manhattan project.  The fact that this site was still not cleaned up despite it being from the 1940’s, angered me, and waked something in me that wanted to advocate for the people and give them a voice.

Currently I am in a Masters of Public Administration program at Cornell University with a focus on Environmental Policy. For my undergraduate degrees I went to Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY.  While at Hartwick, I also was the President of the Environmental club on campus, Grassroots, and was on the student-faculty committee dedicated to environmental sustainability and programming on campus.

I wanted to intern at Clean Ocean Action because of the dedication the organization has to ensuring that there are clean oceans for current and future generations. Here at Clean Ocean Action, I am the Science and Policy Research Intern. I am writing position papers for Clean Ocean Action on several different issues ranging from dredging to LNG to clean beaches.   It is something I am passionate about and am excited to come to work every day to help in Clean Ocean Action’s fight against ocean pollution.