In just the second month of 2014, dirty water reports are an all too common occurrence with a major chemical spill in West Virginia last month and a major coal ash laden with mercury, lead, and arsenic spilling just upstream of drinking water intake pipes last week in North Carolina.
Here, at home in New Jersey, the majority of our waterways violate clean water standards for drinking, swimming and fishing on a regular basis.
Some of the primary water pollutants in Central Jersey include bacteria and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Stormwater, rain and snow melt, wash these pollutants from the land and carry them to our waterways. By allowing new developments to proceed without proper regulations, water pollution in New Jersey will worsen.
That’s why the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, in partnership with seven other environmental groups, filed a petition requesting the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) strengthen the requirements to control pollution and support cleaner drinking, swimming, and fishing waters.
The Watershed Association and other groups make the case that New Jersey’s stormwater rules are not meeting the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act and should therefore be improved to protect and restore our waterways.
Under the Clean Water Act, stormwater permits are to be renewed every five years to incorporate new technology and best practices. This constant renewal is designed to continually reduce water pollution until all waterways possible are suitable for drinking, swimming and fishing and ultimately water pollution is eliminated.
The current permits, known as MS4 permits, were adopted on March 1, 2009, and are set to expire on Feb. 28. Over that time, driven by stronger standards in updated Clean Water Act permits, states and cities around the country have used green infrastructure, such as the rain gardens, which we are constructing to manage stormwater from our new environmental center, to reduce polluted runoff.
New Jersey residents deserve clean water, and in filing this petition, the Watershed Association is working hard to protect and restore that water.
Jennifer M. Coffey
Policy director
Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
