In This Issue:

• Coastal Calendar
• FEATURE: Greening the Garden State Through Remediation, Assessment, and Restoration
• Jersey Beaches on "Shore" Footing
• Fishing for Regulatory Solutions
• Shellfish Restoration Program Enters Fifth Year
• Marine Science Competition Plumbs Oceans of Knowledge
• Shore Takes Center Stage in Survey

Greening the Garden State Through Remediation, Assessment, and Restoration

by Anthony Dvarskas, Ph.D., Economist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and Restoration

Woodbridge Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project

     With its many rivers and streams and over 200 miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and on Delaware and Raritan Bays, New Jersey enjoys an abundance of coastal and marine natural resources. These resources, such as fish, shellfish, crabs, birds and supporting habitats like wetlands, mudflats and streams provide a range of benefits, or ecosystem services, that support and enhance our day-to-day lives. Ecosystem services range from nutrient cycling and filtration in a salt marsh to the production of fish and shellfish important for wildlife and for recreational or commercial harvesting.

     Releases of oil and hazardous substances into the marine environment can impair natural resource functions, leading to a loss of the related ecosystem services. For example, oiling of vegetation after a spill can lead to full or partial impairment of ecological services, with destruction of habitat and loss of associated organisms that depend upon the marsh. Contamination in marine environments has also led to the closure of many recreational and commercial fishing areas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through its Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) works to protect and restore coastal resources injured by hazardous waste sites, oil spills, and vessel groundings. NOAA is a trustee for coastal resources such as estuarine and anadromous fish and other living marine resources and their habitats, including wetlands, mudflats, and coastal streams, as well as recreational uses of those resources.

     The goal of DARRP is to protect and restore natural resources threatened or injured by an oil spill or hazardous substance release, as required by federal law. Natural resources include biota and their habitats, surface water and sediments, groundwater, uplands, and air. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Oil Pollution Act (OPA), responsible parties are required to cleanup contamination and restore the natural resources harmed by the release of hazardous substances or oil. NOAA, the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), states, and other trustees coordinate with the response and cleanup agencies to ensure: (1) cleanups reduce contamination and promote recovery of natural resources, and (2) the public receives adequate and appropriate compensation for injuries to the natural resources and loss of the services they provide (e.g., habitat restoration).

Working From Remediation Through Restoration

     To protect and restore injured resources in New Jersey, NOAA works closely with co-trustees, cleanup agencies, and the responsible parties to ensure an effective cleanup, assess injuries to natural resources, and develop a plan, with public input, for appropriate restoration. During the remedial phase, trustees provide technical expertise to help evaluate the ecological risk posed by the contamination, recommend a protective remedy, develop an environmentally sensitive remedial design, integrate habitat restoration wherever possible, and design baseline and post-construction monitoring programs.

     The trustees evaluate whether the selected remedy fully addresses the contamination and whether past and or future conditions, i.e., prior to or after remediation, are sufficient to warrant pursuit of a potential Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA).

     Activities undertaken during the initial assessment phase of an NRDA could include evaluation of potential pathways for contamination to the natural resources, a determination of those potentially responsible for the contamination, an evaluation of ecosystem contamination, and a determination of regulatory compliance with water quality, sediment, and soil standards at the contamination or spill site. These data are used to determine if the spill or release potentially resulted in injury to the public’s natural resources.

     If the trustees determine that natural resources have been injured by an oil spill or hazardous substance release, they quantify the loss and evaluate and recommend preferred restoration projects to compensate the public. The Trustees then seek the public’s feedback on the draft restoration plans and also ensure that those responsible for a release either fund the selected projects or implement the projects with Trustee oversight and monitoring. While the Trustees often cooperatively assess natural resource injuries and implement restoration projects with responsible parties, sometimes a cooperative settlement is not possible, and the trustees pursue their damage claims in court.

     As part of the assessment process, NOAA and its partners quantify the extent of ecological injury and human use losses. These conclusions form the basis for an eventual legal claim for settlement or adjudication. To determine the amount of restoration needed for a natural resource damage claim, the trustees use several tools. Habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) is often used to scale ecological losses. HEA is used to calculate the total number of acres of habitat that need to be provided to compensate the public for the injuries to ecological services. For lost recreational services, surveys are often used to determine the monetary value that individuals place on recreational activities, such as fishing and swimming, within an impacted area. If appropriate, values may also be transferred from studies conducted in similar areas. By using these quantification methods, the Trustees can develop a lost use value that approximates the level of public compensation required.

     The Trustees have been particularly active in addressing impacts from remedial site impacts in New Jersey as well as spills along the New Jersey coast. There are over 100 coastal hazardous waste sites in New Jersey and multiple petrochemical facilities in the New York/New Jersey Harbor and the Delaware River that pose a potential threat to natural resources and the services they provide. To compensate the public for injuries from releases from several of these facilities, NOAA and its partners, the USFWS and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), have successfully cooperated in planning and completing restoration or securing protection of over 490 acres of marine habitat, 419 acres of freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and 15 stream miles in New Jersey. The following sections provide information on selected completed and ongoing activities in New Jersey related to specific oil spill incidents and hazardous substance releases.