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On Wed., June 14th at 8:00 pm WPDQ 89.7 FM, (Freehold, NJ) will be hosting a "Town Meeting" on the dredge disposal crisis. The live call-in show will feature Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-NJ, Cynthia Zipf of Clean Ocean Action, Tom Fote from JCAA, and Kevin O'Driscoll of the Surfers Environmental Alliance. You can reach the studio by calling (732) 845-9055 Peggy Bowen, Director pegdiver@surfnj.net New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs http://www.ScubaNJ.org council - PO Box 585, Manasquan, NJ 08736 Mail to home - 558 Trenton Ave, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 home - (732) 531-9668
June 12, 2000 Good News and Bad News On May 30, the Army Corps released a massive 30-day public notice (notice # FP63-345678CC) for the dredging and deepening of the Kill Van Kull. The public comment period ends on June 29. In total, there are 14 reaches that will be dredged, 5 of which have been approved by the EPA for disposal at the HARS. The public notice reviews plans for all 14 reaches. The reaches that failed EPA's so-called HARS remediation standards will be disposed through various alternatives, including treatment and re-use. The 5 reaches that passed EPA's standards are proposed to be ocean disposed at HARS. COA has reviewed the bioaccumulation, toxicity, and sediment chemistry data provided by the US EPA. The good news is that three of the reaches (a total of 1.4 million tons) showed very low levels of contamination and were nearly all sand. In fact, this material will reduce levels of contamination in biota and sediments to background levels and will reduce impacts within the HARS. The bad news is that the other two reaches are of concern. One reach of 7,000 tons has high dioxin levels. The other reach of 341,000 tons has levels of specific contaminants that are as bad or worse than levels at HARS and will not likely provide a healthy and safe habitat for marine life. Another problem for these two reaches is that these will be dredged immediately next to highly contaminated reaches that failed EPA's so-called HARS standards. Steps to take. COA will demand that the COE (1) issue an extension to the public comment period in order to review this massive document and (2) grants a public accountability meeting so that the Army Corps can fully describe the contents of these plans and answer questions by citizens. Write to Mr. Harold Hawkins and Colonel William Pearce to request these above actions---US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, New York, NY 10278-0090, Attn: Harbor Management Branch. You are on The Wave, an e-mail list to help you stay informed about the current ocean dumping issue and other threats to the ocean environment. If you would like to be removed from The Wave, please reply to this message with "remove me from the wave" in the subject box.
DEFEND YOUR OCEAN: JOIN IN THE BLUE WAVE Ocean Advocates Urge Citizens to Wear Blue Ribbons in Defense of Our Ocean (We expect to see a Wave of Blue -- from boats to cars to planes - You can fly a blue ribbon and wear one too! The NJ Dive Council will be joining this group on Monday but many of us have been supporting this for a while.) Highlands, NJ - A campaign urging citizens to fly royal blue ribbons symbolizing unity against ocean dumping will be launched on Ocean Defense Day, May 27th. The day will also include activities on land, sea, and air. On Memorial Day weekend, from Long Island to Cape May, ocean advocates urge beach-goers, concerned businesses, fishermen, surfers, and others to show their devotion to a clean ocean by wearing royal blue ribbons. In the air, at sea, and on land, royal blue will be the color for a clean ocean. This powerful symbol of solidarity will send a clear message to elected officials and government agencies that we will no longer stand for ocean dumping of toxin laden muck. Ribbons can be placed on shirts, cars, boats, dogs, beach chairs and umbrellas, surfboards, fishing poles... anywhere possible. People are asked to wear ribbons throughout the summer supporting action to stop ocean dumping of contaminated mud. Our ocean is under siege. It is up to us to fight back. Show your dedication to ending ocean dumping by wearing a blue ribbon, exclaims Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action. In addition to the flying of royal blue ribbons, an air, sea and land rally is planned. Banner planes will fly from Breezey Point Long Island, NY to Cape May, NJ. A squadron of support planes will accompany the banner planes and photograph the sea and land events. At sea, boats will meet at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS, the former Mud Dump) at 2:30 P.M. At 1:00 P.M. boats from Sheepheads Bay, NY and Atlantic Highlands Harbor, NJ will parade to a 1:30 P.M. meeting point at Romer Shoal before continuing out to the HARS. From outside Manasquan Inlet, a parade of boats will leave at 12:30 P.M., passing Shark River Inlet at approximately 1:10 P.M., and continuing up the coast to the 2:30 P.M. meeting at the HARS. On land, "Citizen Action Sites" will be set up from Long Island, NY to Cape May, NJ. At each site, citizen's will be able to pick up blue ribbons, sign petitions, and learn about 7 Ways to Kill the Muck Monster. The following is a preliminary list of sites: Long Island: · (Locations Pending) Staten Island: · (Locations Pending) Middlesex County: Perth Amboy - (Pending) Monmouth County: Atlantic Highlands - Atlantic Highlands Harbor/Marina, Flotilla parade at 1:00 PM Sea Bright - Public Beach (Pending) Long Branch - West End (Pending) Long Branch - Old Pier (Pending) Asbury Park - 2nd Ave and Ocean Ave, Boardwalk Ocean Grove - Main Ave, at the flag pole Bradley Beach - (Location Pending) Avon-by-the-Sea - Boardwalk Pavilion Belmar - Taylor Pavilion Belmar - 12th Ave Beach Spring Lake - South End Pavilion (Pending) Manasquan - Inlet Pavilion (Pending). Flotilla parade at 12:30 PM Ocean County: Point Pleasant - Inlet Parking Lot (Pending). Flotilla parade at 12:30 PM Point Pleasant - Jenkinsons Aquarium Bay Head - Central Market Bay Head - Mullers Bakery Seaside Heights- Sumner Ave and the Boardwalk Lavalette - Philadelphia Ave, near the lifeguard headquarters Ortley Beach (Location Pending) Island Beach State Park - (Location Pending) North Beach Haven, Long Beach Island, 2007 Long Beach Blvd. - Alliance for a Living Ocean Forked River - American Eagle Flag, Route 9 (Permanent location until the battle for the ocean is won) Atlantic County: (Location Pending) Cape May County: Wildwood - (Pending) *** Join these groups in support of the Ocean - For More Information, Contact: Clean Ocean Action, 732/872-0111 Cindy Zipf or Joe Woerner American Littoral Society Asbury Park Consortium Clean Ocean Action Coastal Conservation Association of NY Edison Wetlands Association Garden Clubs of New Jersey Jersey Coast Anglers Association Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater Natural Resources Protective Association NJ Environmental Federation NJ Environmental Lobby NY/NJ Harbor Baykeeper Recreational Fishing Alliance Save Barnegat Bay Save the Bay Surfrider Foundation, NJ Chapter Surfers Environmental Alliance Staten Island Tuna Club Staten Island Yacht Club Water Spirit * * * Contact COA at 732-872-0111 or www.cleanoceanaction.org for more details about the Ocean Defense Campaign. ### Peggy Bowen, Director pegdiver@surfnj.net New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs http://www.ScubaNJ.org council - PO Box 585, Manasquan, NJ 08736 Mail to home - 558 Trenton Ave, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 home - (732) 531-9668
The two new projects are from Buttermilk Channel, NY, and the Raritan River, NJ. In the short time that the public was allowed to review the permits, scientists discovered appalling levels of pollution in the mud: · Buttermilk Channel has four times the level of oil contamination than does the worst area of the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS), the former ocean dumpsite that is supposed to be cleaned-up and restored to health by placing clean material on it. Polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the pollutant found in high levels, can cause fin rot and fish tumors, among other impacts. Roughly 112,000 tons of Channel mud is slated for dredging and dumping in the ocean. · The Raritan River project will allow 310,000 tons of muck to be dredged and dumped at the HARS, even though the mud has higher levels of DDT than does the HARS itself and elevated levels of PCBs. While the Corps and EPA are proposing to dump River muck at sea, in an area used by commercial and sport fishermen, another federal agency (the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry), is warning the public not to eat fish or shellfish from the River because of the dangerously high levels of heavy metals and PCB pollution. PCBs affect the mental and physical development of children and are thought to cause cancer. Citizens and elected officials appealed to the Corps and EPA to extend the public comment period on the permits, and schedule a public hearing to allow additional scientific information to be brought to light. But on April 21, before the comment period had even ended and the public had been able to submit all of its evidence, the Corps rejected the request, once again affirming the Corps contempt for citizen concerns. The two new permits come on the heels of the Castle Astoria and Brooklyn Marine Terminal permits, which were also highly contaminated. "The Army Corps and EPA have declared themselves judge, jury and executioner of our ocean. They wont let citizens, their right to be heard, or scientific information get in its way, or slow down its rush to dump toxins in the ocean. Over Memorial Day week-end, citizens will unite by land, sea and air to tell the Corps, EPA and federal government that its time to listen to what the public wants: a clean, healthy ocean," said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. In order to win this fight against ocean dumping, we need to show the federal agencies that this grass-roots opposition is strong and is not going away, Congressmen Pallone said. The Ocean Defense Campaign will help to build on the already strong opposition to ocean dumping by getting more people involved . With the summer beach season right around the corner, the potential of more ocean dumping is really starting to hit home. The federal agencies must finally understand that we are serious. We dont want any more contaminated materials dumped in our ocean. The federal agencies need to stop dragging their feet and get to work on more stringent standards for what can be put in the ocean. We know that safe land-based alternatives are available and practical. Its time to put them to use, and stop treating the ocean as the automatic disposal option, added Congressman Pallone. "For too long, our oceans have been used as the official dumping grounds for dredged muck. When are the officials who have the power to make the decisions on allowing the dumping of toxic mud to continue going to realize that the people of the Jersey Shore have had enough?" asked U.S. Representative Jim Saxton. "We cannot even get Vice President Al Gore, the person who brokered the agreement to end ocean dumping, involved in finding a solution. Time and time again, I have asked the Vice President to intercede on behalf of the families who call the Jersey Shore home, those who use it to sustain their livelihoods, and those who vacation at our beaches. Unfortunately, the Vice President defers responsibility to others and refuses to become engaged," said Saxton. Ocean Dumping is an irresponsible short-term approach that has long-term environmental and health consequences. Regrettably, the President and Vice President will not move to safer solutions until the people pressure them to do so. I urge everyone to join together with Clean Ocean Action on Memorial Day weekend to show that we will not sit idly by while our oceans are again threatened with toxic contaminants, said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4). From Sandy Hook to Cape May, the Atlantic Ocean is a valuable natural, cultural and economic resource for New Jersey and its citizens. We need to ensure that we explore every option available to protect this natural resource from the dumping of toxic waste. I urge everyone to join Clean Ocean Action in their efforts to protect the Jersey Shore, said Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12). ---------------------------------------------------- Peggy Bowen, Director pegdiver@surfnj.net New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs http://www.ScubaNJ.org council - PO Box 585, Manasquan, NJ 08736 Mail to home - 558 Trenton Ave, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 home - (732) 531-9668
The Ocean Defense Campaign will kick-off its summer of activities on Saturday, May 27th, with a sea, land and air rally. By sea - a flotilla; on land - citizen action sites in strategic positions; and by air - a squadron planes, including a banner plane. To help people get involved, organizational meetings will be held next week: * Monmouth County organizational meeting: Monmouth Beach Municipal Building, Monday, May 8th at 7:00 P.M. * Ocean County organizational meeting: St. Pauls United Methodist Church on the corner of Bridge Avenue and West Lake Avenue in Bayhead, Wednesday, May 10th, 7:00 P.M. * Atlantic and Cape May Counties: call Clean Ocean Action for details (732/872-0111). Flotilla -- Chuck Oliver is organizing the "flotilla." Contact him (woodsie1@home.com) for details if you want to join in on the sea - - - Land - We need as much help as possible in manning tables. So please mark your calendar and contact me if you can give at least an hour or two! (We hope to have two tables each in Belmar, Spring Lake, Avon, Bradley Beach & Manasquan if we can get the volunteers. We will provide all the handouts, banners, t-shirts, muck samples, etc.) Merry 732-280-2865
Join us to plan for a BIG DAY! - Dive Clubs sign on Please!
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2000
For More Information, Contact: Clean Ocean Action, 732/872-0111
Cindy Zipf or Joe Woerner
American Littoral Society Clean Ocean Action
Coastal Conservation Association of NY
Edison Wetlands Association Garden Clubs of New Jersey
Jersey Coast Anglers Association
Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater
Natural Resources Protective Association
NJ Environmental Federation NJ Environmental Lobby
NJ Chapter Sierra Club NY/NJ Harbor Baykeeper
Recreational Fishing Alliance Save Barnegat Bay
Save the Bay Surfers Environmental Alliance
Staten Island Tuna Club Staten Island Yacht Club
Water Spirit
MAYDAY, MAYDAY
OCEAN ADVOCATES RESPOND TO OCEANS DISTRESS CALL
ANNOUNCE OCEAN DEFENSE CAMPAIGN
CITIZENS URGED TO HELP PLAN RALLY AT UPCOMING MEETINGS
Highlands, NJ - The universal distress call of "Mayday" sounded today as the
ocean faces another barrage of toxic mud, courtesy of the Army Corps of
Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency. The agencies ended a comment
period today on two more permits that will dump nearly a half-million tons of
contaminated muck off the Jersey shore. A diverse coalition from New Jersey and
New York have formed to combat this latest attack on the ocean, launching an
"Ocean Defense Campaign" today that promises actions by land, sea and air to
stop the contamination of the ocean, including a week-end of events over
Memorial Day.
I attended a meeting last weekend sponsored by New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone down in Long Branch NJ, and listened as reports on the necessity of this sand and stone were being put to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior by lawyers for Amboy Aggregates. The rationalization they used was mind boggling to me and a few others attending the meeting. This subsidiary of Great Lakes Dredge and Dry-dock Corporation want to take the top six inches of the ocean bottom of a huge area of the New York Bight stating that it is needed to supply cheap sand and stone to the building and construction business as aggregate for commercial concrete companies.
Never once mentioning that Great Lakes has just finished building the largest dredge in the world and is just dying to play with their newest toy, or that the price they are paying for the sand is around .50 cents a ton, but retails for up to $38.00 US a ton for a sand and stone mixture necessary for concrete.
Never once was it mentioned that there is plenty of existing sand and gravel in thousands of traditional pits being operated in communities all over the northeastern United States that support thousands of families, businesss, and contribute to the quality of life in these communities. Never once was the destruction of the marine ecosystem brought up as these gentlemen asked the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior to start up the environmental impact analysis so they can start the process to wipe out the existing fisheries and fishing communities on the northern New Jersey shore by scooping up the bottom habitat necessary for Lobster, Crabs, Flounder, Striped Bass, Bluefish, Ocean Surf Clam and the whole apex of marine life and biota that lives in the top six inches of the sand layer of ocean bottom in the New York Bight.
This information was brought up by Jim Kelly of Save The Bay, Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action, Tom Fote of Jersey Coast Anglers Association, J.B. Kasper of the Trenton Times, Bill Schultz the Raritan Riverkeeper of the American Littoral Society, and Myself representing the Natural Resources Protective Association, and Coastal Conservation Association New York.
One after another we took the podium and explained the importance of this sensitive marine ecosystem to the MMS, and its importance to the coastal communities of both New York State and the State of New Jersey. The argument is based on dollars and sense, its that simple.
Amboy Aggregates has access to a $700.000.000 marine dredging account thru funding from Great Lakes Dredge & Dry-Dock to make big dollars at a cheap outlay, and the beach goers, landowners, and fishermen of our area have one single Congressman from New Jersey named Frank Pallone to bring some sense to this Permit request.
One true fact is that ocean sand is cheap, and Amboy Aggregates has the equipment readily available to just go out and scoop it up, another true fact is the reality that this is the first time that such a permit would be issued by MMS, a permit that would give the holder the exclusive right to totally destroy an area of our marine environment down to the last living form of marine biota in the area to be sand mined. It also opens the door to this type of underwater strip mining in every coastal state and territory in the United States of America, and all of it Possessions.
Now is where I ask for your help to stop this newest assault on our marine
waters by allowing underwater strip mining to happen in the first place. Even
a postcard will help. This letter MUST be postmarked by April 10th, 2000,
make it a class project for your children, just help us to stop this Permit
request before it reaches a stage where it might not be able to stop the
project,
send a letter to:
Minerals Management Service
International Activities and Marine Minerals Division,
381 Elden Street M.S. 4030,
Herndon, VA 20170.
In your letter express your concern about ocean sand mining, and its consequences to the livelihood of the people and communities that live off of our marine waters, and also the damage that will be done to the marine ecosystem that might be irreparable. If not irreparable, this area will take decades to recover from the onslaught of the heavy equipment that will be utilized to suck up the sand and stone, killing everything in the path of the dredge.
Send a copy of your letter to:
Bruce Babbit, U.S. Dept. of the Interior
1849 C-Street,
Washington D.C. 20240
and let Him know how you feel about destroying the essential habitat of multiple
forms of marine species, ending the possibility of making a living off the
fisheries of the area strip mined, and destroying the livelihood of thousands of
fisherman in the areas that will come under attack once this first permit is
issued.
I have been called an Eco-terrorist by politicians here on Staten Island due to my fervor in protecting my little corner of the ocean, its my little space on this small planet. My problem is that my little space is part of the biggest City on the planet. Local corporations think that the New York Bight is theirs to do with what they like, Ive done something worse then any politician in the New York, New Jersey area could ever imagine, and I am continuing to do it, I am organizing. Just like I organized for the maritime Unions in the 1980s, I am organizing environmental, conservation, sporting, and recreational groups in my area using the same techniques, I make Public Hearings, meetings, and speak to any group that wants to hear the facts on what's going on in the marine environment of the NY Bight.
I travel at my own expense most of the time to neighboring states to show support in their battle to stop this onslaught taking place in the past five years on our waters, New York's western Long Island Sound, is a dead zone, The Jamaica Bay Restoration Project, A restoration utilizing toxic mud, poisoning my neighbors to the East, This sand mining deal destroying the marine habitat to my South, Our own local Borrow Pit problem here in Raritan Bay. Through organization we were able to stop the toxic containment islands from being built out in the Bay, I heard a local politician take credit for stopping the toxic island, It pissed me off. A small group of dedicated environmentalist stopped that poisonous island from being built 2500 ft from our shore, The Natural Resources Protective Association stopped that. The NRPA stopped it through networking with similar groups in our area, now we network with similar groups around the world, I guess I am some sort of Eco-terrorist, I have a Pen. You have a pen too, write that letter to the Minerals Management Service, If your not from the area that the Permit is being requested for, write a letter anyway, Your little space on this planet is next on the hit list of areas to be opened to the dredge rats.
I can be contacted through the Staten Island Register at 2100 Clove Road,
Staten Island NY 10305 or via the internet at Kerry@ccany.org if you wish to
add something to this Post
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Peggy Bowen, Director pegdiver@surfnj.net
New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs
http://www.ScubaNJ.org
council - PO Box 585, Manasquan, NJ 08736
Mail to home - 558 Trenton Ave, Oakhurst, NJ 07755
home - (732) 531-9668
This is the OFFICIAL information on the public hearing for the Brooklyn Terminal project on 1/24/00: * * * * The purpose of this public notice and public hearing is to collect additional information on the authorized activity which could be considered for a Corps of Engineers determination whether to modify, suspend, or revoke the issued permit. PUBLIC HEARING: The details of the public hearing are as follows: DATE: January 24, 2000 TIME: Afternoon Session - 2:00 to 5:00 (dinner break) Evening Session - 7:00 PM to end of hearing LOCATION: Expo Theater on the grounds of Fort Monmouth in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey DIRECTIONS: From either the north or the south: Exit the Garden State Parkway at Exit 105 North. At the end of the exit ramp, using the jughandle, make a left turn onto Hope Road. Go north on Hope Road to the fourth light (this includes the light at Hope Road and the exit ramp) until Tinton Avenue. Make a right at the light. The next light will be Route 35. Go straight across Route 35 and onto the grounds of Fort Monmouth. Expo Theater will be on your left after proceeding approximately 0.5 miles from the fort's entrance. Park in one of the lots. The public hearing is open to everyone. All interested individuals, groups, and agencies are invited to be present or be represented at the hearing. Everyone will be given an opportunity to express his or her views and furnish specific data on aspects of the proposed activities. At the public hearing, any person may appear on his or her own behalf, or may be represented by counsel, or by other representatives. All comments that were made in response to the September 22, 1999 public notice will remain in the administrative record of the application and will remain part of the application evaluation process currently being conducted and need not be resubmitted. The public hearing will be conducted following appropriate procedures set forth in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 327. Any person will be permitted to submit oral or written statements concerning the subject matter of the hearing, that is new information not already part of the administrative record; to call witnesses who may present oral statements; or to present recommendations as to an appropriate decision. Any person may present written statements or other additional information prior to the time the comment period is closed to public submission, and may present proposed findings and recommendations. Opportunity for rebuttal during the public hearing may be afforded, but reasonable limits upon the number of rebuttals will be established. Speakers will be directed to limit their oral presentations to 5 minutes. Lengthier written presentations may be submitted, but the speaker will be requested to summarize the presentation in the allotted 5 minutes. Cross-examination of speakers will not be permitted. To ensure order during the public hearing, the following speaker sequence will be followed after opening remarks by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and a description of the project by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: 1. Federal elected officials or their representatives; 2. Federal agencies' representatives and appointed federal officials; 3. State elected officials or their representatives; 4. State agencies' representatives and appointed state officials; 5. County elected officials; 6. County agencies' representatives and appointed county officials; 7. Local Government officials; 8. Organized environmental groups' representatives; 9. Organized citizen groups' representatives; and 10. Private citizens. Speakers in the respective groups not having an opportunity to present their statements during the afternoon sessions will be permitted opportunity to present their statements during the evening session.
