EDITORIAL
By:Ruth Luse
Area officials including those in Hopewell and West Amwell townships would serve their communities well by attending a March 8 forum being held at Prallsville Mills, off Route 29 in Stockton the headquarters of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission.
The forum will focus on how to deal with the recent designation of a 65-mile stretch of the Delaware River extending from the Delaware Water Gap in the northern part of the state south to Washington Crossing in Hopewell Township, as "wild and scenic."
Hopewell resident James Amon, who is executive director of the commission, said Monday that much of the work aimed at controlling development along the river already has been done because of previous and ongoing efforts made and being made on behalf of the D&R Canal, which runs adjacent to the river.
But there are issues that environmental commissions and planning boards should be addressing such as water quality.
Local streams that run into the Delaware such as Moore’s Creek (on the north side of the Trap Rock quarry), Fiddler’s Creek, Steele’s Creek (between Grant Street and Washington Crossing) and Jacob’s Creek (at the southern border of Hopewell Township) should, Director Amon said, be as pollutant-free as possible. Officials should be centering their attention on the local watershed areas, where pollutants are produced to see that these streams don’t carry contaminants to the river.
Mr. Amon also said, for example, that riverside residents and property owners can plan lawns that include buffer areas between grasses and the river, so that runoff (from insect repellents and lawn-care concoctions) doesn’t make its way into the river.
The March 8 forum is a response to Congressman Rush Holt’s Jan. 27 charge to area officials and residents that they "get to work" on making the most of the opportunity the "wild and scenic" federal designation provides. "Most of … the benefits are on us (at the local level) to bestow. The designation does not explicitly or automatically give them to us."
The congressman added: "The lower Delaware River flows through the heart of one of the most heavily populated and industrialized corridors in our nation. … Sprawl, increased runoff created from development, and air pollution from more cars and heavy industry threaten the health of the lower Delaware." This designation should be used to ensure "that the future environmental economic benefits of the lower Delaware River are protected."
We, in this area, already have managed to convince the state that some big rigs don’t belong on Route 29, which is the state’s only scenic byway and runs along the route of the D&R Canal. Now, we have an opportunity to improve the quality of one of the most beautiful rivers in the nation. We think this is a cause well worth all our efforts!