Storm Water Treatment on its way

Today in a press release from New Jersey Legislators, The state is considering a Storm Water Treatment Authority to treat the Storm water runoff from More then 200 storm drains that empty into waterways from Atlantic, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

But who will pay for this Authority to operate? Property owners will!

There is no argument that Barneget Bay needs help, but this proposal seems to have business owners worried about the costs.

One issue that stands out for all waterways is the amount of Road Salt used on the streets and bridges through out the entire state, Turning fresh water spots into brackish water and ruining ecosystems. There are alernatives to using Salt and salt compounds for keeping ice off roadways.

Article is taken from www.pressofAtlanticcity.com

Read on:


N.J. legislators consider three-county authority for stormwater treatment
By DEREK HARPER Statehouse Bureau, 609-292-4935

Published: Friday, November 14, 2008

TRENTON - State legislators are considering creating a tri-county utilities authority to treat the water that goes down storm drains in Ocean, Atlantic and Gloucester counties, paid for with usage fees from property owners.
The initial bill dealt solely with Ocean County, but changes Thursday included the other counties.
Environmental advocates have said the runoff from homes and streets is one of the worst causes of environmental degradation in the region's back bays.
On Thursday, legislators in the Senate Environmental Committee took testimony but postponed voting on the bill until the December meeting.
Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society's state branch, said he supported the bill because severe, ongoing problems in Barnegat Bay need attention. He said more than 200 stormwater drains empty into the bay.
"I can tell you that ecologically, it's dying," he told legislators. He compared it to Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina's Outer Banks, where legislators have moved to regulate runoff.
Similarly, state Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel said while tens of thousands of jobs rely on a clean bay, "Barnegat Bay is becoming New Jersey's largest retention basin."
He said the bay sees less fresh water, more pollution, lower oxygen levels, more eelgrass and increased salinity.
But David Brogan, New Jersey Business and Industry Association environmental policy vice president, worried about the cost that would be borne by businesses in the three counties.
Legislators asked supporters to get support from the Atlantic and Ocean County freeholders. Sen. Andrew R. Cisla, R-Ocean, Monmouth, said he wondered about the cost of the program, coming in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Similarly, committee Vice Chairman Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said, "There is no question it is a problem in Barnegat Bay," but he wondered if going into other counties made business sense.
Cisla said advocates should also approach the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.