Watershed association gets big bucks from federal environmental agency

The watershed association will divide the grant with the New Jersey Water Supply Authority and the South Branch Watershed Association.

By David Campbell
   The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association accepted a $1 million grant from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman Friday that will go to protect the water supply in the Raritan River Basin.
   The grant was one of 20 awards to watershed organizations nationwide totaling $15 million. The grants, which the former Republican governor of New Jersey announced at the watershed association’s nature reserve, range from $300,000 to $1 million.
   The watershed association will divide the grant with the New Jersey Water Supply Authority and the South Branch Watershed Association under the EPA’s watershed initiative, which seeks to support community-based groups working to clean up watersheds.
   The 20 recipients were chosen from among more than 176 organizations. They were selected because they best demonstrated effectiveness in achieving "on-the-ground environmental results" quickly, according to the EPA.
   "The people closest to those watersheds are the ones who know how best to protect them," Administrator Whitman said. "We’re writing a new page in how we protect water in the U.S. and how government can be a part of that. These dollars will go to ensure that we’re helping Mother Nature do the job much better than we possibly could."
   George Hawkins, executive director of the watershed association, said the association and its partners will work directly with local governments, businesses, residents and key landowners to implement strategies to improve and protect water in the Millstone and Raritan rivers.
   The association plans to use the grant to step up the pace of its stream-bank restoration and River Friendly certification programs for businesses and golf courses, train organizations in the region to implement similar programs, and expand its work with municipalities, Mr. Hawkins said.
   "I am honored to stand here on behalf of the 20 watershed groups that have received awards across the country," Mr. Hawkins continued.
   "Collectively, we stand passionately united behind the watershed ethic that protects the entire length of our rivers from their headwaters to where they meet the sea, engaging our neighbors and friends to protect the environment in the many places we call home," he said.
   Spokesmen for the Sierra Club and NJPIRG were critical of Administrator Whitman’s press event Friday, charging her with seeking credit as a conservationist at the same time, they claimed, that her agency works to undermine the Clean Water Act.
   "Having Christie Whitman here is like her buying you a SARS mask and finding out the mask is made in China," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
   Sam Boykin, field director for NJPIRG, accused the EPA under Ms. Whitman of cutting around $861 million from clean-water enforcement.
   "So to come to New Jersey to do a photo op is insulting," Mr. Boykin said.
   Montgomery Township Mayor Louise Wilson said the watershed association has a strong conservation record and said she is confident the association will put the federal money to work wisely and responsibly.
   "This really validates the work and the leadership of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association," Mayor Wilson said. "They are a resource that forward-thinking municipalities can lean on with absolute confidence."
   State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) said Administrator Whitman’s record as governor proves her to be a "preeminent environmentalist."
   "I commend the president, the Congress and Gov. Whitman for what they are doing today," Sen. Lance said.
   Mr. Hawkins stressed that the federal money will go directly toward protecting the local environment.
   "This is a challenge to us to make sure that every penny of this goes toward protecting our ecology and our watersheds," he said. "In all of this, the citizens are banding together. We’re protecting the environment in our homes, where we live."
   The watershed association, based on a roughly 800-acre reserve in Hopewell Township, is the largest nonprofit of its kind in New Jersey.
   Watersheds are lands that drain into streams and rivers. The watershed surrounding Stony Brook and the Millstone River is part of the Raritan River basin. The 1,100-square-mile basin is located in populated urban, suburban and rural areas, and is the source of drinking water for 1.2 million residents in seven counties, according to the EPA.