Bill Text: NJ SR85 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requests EPA to assist DEP in developing total maximum daily loads for Barnegat Bay.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-11-22 - Filed with Secretary of State [SR85 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-SR85-Amended.html
SENATE RESOLUTION No. 85
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED OCTOBER 7, 2010
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requests EPA to assist DEP in developing total maximum daily loads for Barnegat Bay.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on November 15, 2010, with amendments.
A Senate Resolution requesting the United States Environmental Protection Agency to assist the 1New Jersey1 Department of Environmental Protection in the development of total maximum daily loads for Barnegat Bay.
Whereas, New Jersey's Barnegat Bay Estuary watershed is one of the State's most precious natural resources and this 1[backbay] back bay1 system is now significantly affected by an array of human impacts that potentially threaten its ecological integrity; and
Whereas, The Barnegat Bay Estuary watershed encompasses most of the 33 municipalities in Ocean County and four municipalities in Monmouth County, supports a population of over 500,000 people that more than doubles during the summer season, and also provides economic, ecological, aesthetic, and recreational benefits; and
Whereas, Eutrophication exists in the Barnegat Bay, caused in part by nutrient loadings from nonpoint sources and evidenced by the decline of seagrass and hard clams and the increase of harmful algae, drift algae, and other noxious species; and
Whereas, Studies show that increased development has caused pollutant loadings from nitrogen and phosphorus to grow; and
Whereas, A total maximum daily load (TMDL) represents the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water may receive and still meet its water quality standards, 1[with a margin of safety,]1 and a pollutant is anything that prevents a waterbody from attaining the national goal of being "fishable and swimmable"; and
Whereas, A TMDL is composed of wasteload allocations for "point sources" like sewage treatment plants, urban stormwater systems and large animal feeding operations, 1and of1 load allocations for nonpoint sources such as polluted rainfall runoff from agricultural lands and impervious surfaces 1[, and a margin of safety]1 ; and
Whereas, Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft Chesapeake Bay TMDL, prompted by insufficient restoration progress over the last several decades in the Chesapeake Bay and the commitment of a federal strategy to meet 1[President Obama's]1 Executive Order 113508, signed by President Obama,1 to restore and protect the bay, and the final TMDL will be established by December 31, 2010; and
Whereas, The Chesapeake Bay TMDL includes reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment sufficient to achieve clean water standards for dissolved oxygen, water clarity, and chlorophyll a, a measure of algae; and
Whereas, The draft Chesapeake Bay TMDL - the largest ever developed by EPA - includes pollution limits to meet water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers and is designed to ensure that all pollution control measures to fully restore the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025, with 60 percent of the actions completed by 2017; and
Whereas, The Chesapeake Bay TMDL will be a "pollution diet" that will compel sweeping actions to restore the bay and its network of streams, creeks and rivers, as well as local rivers that support fishing and swimming and serve as a source of local drinking water; and
Whereas, If the EPA can develop the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, and work with the impacted states, 1[New Jersey would] it can1 also work with 1[the EPA] New Jersey1 to develop TMDLs for Barnegat Bay; and
Whereas, Developing TMDLs for the Barnegat Bay would protect the 75-square mile environmentally sensitive estuarine system, which consists of aquatic vegetation, shellfish beds, finfish habitats, waterfowl nesting grounds, and spectacular vistas, and would further ensure that the Barnegat Bay watershed area remains a viable and healthy multi-use ecosystem; and
Whereas, In order to preserve the Barnegat Bay watershed, help is urgently needed to protect the bay from pollution; and
Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper and in the interest of the State to request the EPA to assist the 1[DEP] New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection1 in the development of TMDLs for Barnegat Bay, and provide funding towards their implementation; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House requests that the United States Environmental Protection Agency assist the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in the development of total maximum daily loads for Barnegat Bay, and provide funding towards their implementation.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Region 2 Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor of New Jersey and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and each member of Congress elected from this State.
