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

(cont'd from page 2)

Edmonds Creek Marsh mitigation area at Kin Buc Landfill

Ongoing Remediation, Assessment and Restoration Efforts

     Apart from the places where DARRP and its partners have already achieved restoration or protective remediation, NOAA continues these activities at additional sites.

     In New Jersey, the DARRP has been actively involved with its partners in the complicated cleanup of sites along the Passaic River, which flows approximately 80 miles across northern New Jersey to Newark Bay. This river has a longstanding history of industrial contamination in its lower reaches. Contaminants in this waterway, contributed by many companies over time, include dioxins and PCBs that pollute sediments and could harm invertebrates, fish, and wildlife. NOAA has worked extensively with the EPA in its efforts to evaluate risk and select a remedy to address the contaminated sediments. NOAA and the USFWS recently signed interim cooperative agreements with 22 of the potentially responsible parties. These federal agencies are working with the cooperative responsible parties to assess injury and initiate restoration efforts in the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River. Initial funding for the first phase of natural resource injury work has come from NOAA, the USFWS, and the NJDEP. However, the cooperating responsible parties are now funding a portion of these expenses. Through the current agreements with the cooperative potentially responsible parties, DARRP aims to expedite its injury quantification and initial restoration efforts in this urban watershed.

     Another site in the early phase of both the Superfund remedial investigation and the damage assessment process is Berry’s Creek, which flows into the Hackensack River in Bergen County. As early as 1929, multiple companies discharged hazardous materials into Berry’s Creek. As an example of the contamination present at the site, mercury levels at Berry’s Creek are among the highest found in freshwater ecosystems in the United States. NOAA is working with EPA and co-trustees to evaluate degree and extent of contamination and the risk posed within the Berry’s Creek watershed. In addition, the initial funding for the NRDA work at this site is from a successful bankruptcy settlement with Fruit of the Loom and NWI Land Management Corporation for liability at the site. NOAA and its partners are now determining the ecological risk and extent of injuries to natural resources at this location.

     One of the restoration objectives of long-term interest in New Jersey is the Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative. The Raritan River watershed is the largest watershed in New Jersey. Dams along the Raritan River and its tributaries currently block the passage of shad and other anadromous fish from reaching their historic upstream spawning habitats, creating challenges for the restoration of these fish populations. Removal of dams along the river would open and enhance upstream habitats to anadromous fish runs, improve water quality, and benefit the fish populations as well as local communities along the river. Existing and future settlements from cases at sites contaminated with hazardous substances in New Jersey could be applied to the work envisioned as part of the Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative.

     Restoration of natural resources is the guiding focus of the work done through NOAA’s DARRP and its partners in the damage assessment process. As more cases move toward settlement, NOAA’s DARRP program will continue to conserve, protect, and restore natural resources in New Jersey. For more information on DARRP activities in New Jersey and across the country, as well as updates on the cases described above, please visit darrp.noaa.gov.