What's Ailing The Bight? Problems Affecting the New York - New Jersey Harbor and the New York Bight NEW YORK BIGHT iHWWIBM RESTORATION PLAN U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II and the New York Bight Restoration Plan Work Group ------- Problems Affecting the New York-New Jersey Harbor and the New York Bight The New York-New Jersey metropolitan region is the most densely populated in the United States Its coastal waters are among a wealth of amenities that have attracted this great multitude. These resources function together as an integral coastal ecosystem. They include the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, the core area of which is the New York-New Jersey Harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean waters of New Jersey and Long Island out to the edge of the Continental Shelf, known as the New York Bight The NY-NJ Harbor has been a vital shipping port since colonial times. It sustained abundant fisheries well into the 20ih century, as the NY Bight continues to do today. Ocean beaches and coastal waterways in the region offer unsurpassed recreational opportunities to residents and visitors alike. The mixing of salt and fresh waters in the Harbor and tributary rivers is crucial to the nurture of many ooastal and marine species. The NY Bight hosts many oceanic creatures, including sea turtles, dolphins and other mammals, and it lies within the important bird migratory pathway known as the Atlantic Flyway. Unfortunately, this rich natural endowment has been seriously degraded. Water contamination and waste disposal, including ocean dumping, loss of coastal and upstream natural habitats due to rampant development, and overharvesting and contamination of fish and shellfish have all contributed to the degradation of the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the two states of New York and New Jersey have convened a Manage- ment Conference of public inierestgroups, scientists, and govern- ment to reverse this decline, to restore a self-sustaining and healthy coastal ecosystem, and to develop plans for the manage- ment of the Harbor and the Bight for both marine and human benefit. The programs encompassed by the Management Con- ference are: THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY HARBOR ESTUARY PROGRAM and THE NEW YORK BIGHT RESTORATION PLAN. Focus of Regional Programs The problems just mentioned are caused by various pollution and other human factors, identified and described below, which are the interim focus of study. The final New York Bight Restora- tion Plan will assemble these individual efforts into a comprehen- sive plan that will be adopted by the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program Management Conference. ------- New York Bight and New York - New Jersey Harbor NEW YORK BIGHT S- T-mAciIvj -J -T'-\ * NEW YORK NEW JERSEY NEW YORK- NEW JERSEY HARBOR ------- • Ftoatables... Trash and other floatable debris washing up on area beaches have been a chronic problem, but exceptional episodes in 1987 and 1988 shocked the public and mobilized government to take action. Since the Spring of 1989, the US EPA, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard, the States of NY and N J, and the City of NY have cooperated to carry out a short-term floatables action plan that helped contain the problem. This operation uses helicopter and vessel surveillance to detect floatables in the Harbor, which are then intercepted by Corps of Engineers cleanup vessels. EPA heads a communications network to gather infor- mation and direct the cleanup. In addition, the States of NY and NJ and the City of NY provide support with cleanup operations on Harbor shorelines and with debris disposal. Citizen action has also been instrumental in this effort. In addition to this successful short-term effort, stepped up measures targeted to preventing floatable debris from entering Harbor and Bight waters are included in a plan that will require long-term commitments by the public and private sectors. ------- • Pathogens... Pathogens, or disease-causing microorganisms in human sanitary wastes, have profoundly affected area coastal waters. Treatment of raw sewage began early in the 20th century, but it was not until 1987 that every major Harbor discharge became subject to some level of treatment. Problems still occur when rainwater washes contamination from the urban landscape into stormsewers or combined sewers, or runs off directly ^nto area waterways. Combined sewers mix stormwater with sanitary wastes; when the combined volume exceeds the capacity of the treatment plant, untreated wastewater goes directly into Harbor waters. The prevailing conditions have resulted in the permanent clo- sure of Harbor and many nearshore Bight waters to shellfishing, and of many Harbor beaches to swimming. Even on some of the ocean beaches, bathers are cautioned against swimming after rain events due to the episodic presence of sewage-related bacteria. Despite this, there is evidence that public health conditions are improving. Recent advancements in sewage treatment have reduced restrictions on shellfishing and bathing in some Harbor waters. Ending sewage sludge dumping in 1987 at an ocean site 12 nautical miles offshore has improved conditions there so that it may soon be possible to permit shellfishing again. Phasing out ocean sludge dumping by 1992 at the offshore 106-mile site will have further beneficial effects. On the other hand, rapid develop- ment in the outlying coastal portions of LI and NJ may lead to furtheruse restrictions in those areas farther from the metropolitan center. To help eliminate temporary closures of beaches and shellfish beds, EPA, coordinating with the States of NY and NJ, has adopted a beach/shellfish closure action plan This plan will improve enforcement of wastewater discharge permits using existing regulations. In addition, efforts are underway to control combined sewer overflows (CSO's) and other wet weather dis- charges. The City of NY has committed $1.5 billion over 10 years to remediate CSO's, and other State and local actions are being directed at the remaining pathogenic polution sources. ------- • Toxic Pollutants... Our industrial and urban society generates products and wastes that, when released to the general environment, can be harmful to humans and other living things. The NY-NJ metropolitan region, with its formerly dominant industrial base and its great population density, also has a concentration of toxic pollution matched by few other localities in the United States. Organic compounds like PCB's and Dioxin, several pesticides, and some toxic metals are found in fish tissues and coastal waters at levels that exceed protective standards for human health and marine life. While toxic pollution sources are coming under increasingly better control, this problem will remain a serious one in the region for years to come. Short-term efforts at toxics control will focus on existing pro- grams, to ensure that they are being fully carried out and to measure how well they reduce toxic pollution. Over the long term, however, additional work is needed to understand the nature and magnitude of the toxic pollution problem. This information will be important to justify additional toxics control measures that may be necessary, measures that are likely to be costly. In the meantime, efforts are underway to reduce inputs of toxics that have already been identified as violating water quality stan- dards and criteria. As might be expected, the NY-NJ Harbor is the focus of the toxic pollution problem and the Harbor Estuary Program is taking the lead in this issue. In what is known as a wasteload allocation, inputs of such toxic metals as mercury, copper, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and nickel will be examined and limits will ultimately be set on point-source discharges of those metals found to contnbute to water quality violations. • Nutrient Enrichment... All life depends on an adequate supply of nutrients; however, human point and nonpoint source discharges can add excess nutnents, disturbing the natural balance of a waterbody. Blooms of marine algae stimulated by excess nutnents can rob coastal waters of life-giving oxygen when the algae die and decay. Low oxygen levels, known as hypoxia, disrupt the life cycles of fishes and bottom creatures when they encounter the stress of insuffi- cient oxygen. The most noteworthy hypoxic event in the Harbor/Bight region was in the summer of 1976, when over 3,000 square miles of ocean waters off NJ lost nearly all oxygen. The result was suffocation of large populations of fishes and shellfishes. This event was caused mainly by a rare combination of weather factors, but the influence of human-caused nutrient inputs cannot be discounted. Small kills of fishes and bottom fauna are a more regular occurence in marine waters. Harbor waters also fre- quently exhibit low oxygen levels during the warm summer months when stress on manne life is most severe. Inadequate information is presently available to determine the importance of the human contribution to the hypoxia problem. Taking steps to reduce this contribution can be very costly. For example: nutrient reduction could be achieved by upgrading the level of sewage treatment in the region, but at a cost totaling billions of dollars. For this reason, mathematical modeling studies are underway to examine the dynamics and water quality condi- tions of the Harbor and the Bight that will help determine the need for nutrient control and the most effective means of achieving it. ------- • Habitat Loss and Degradation ... Reducing pollution in our coastal waters may improve condi- tions for human health and marine life, but restoring good water quality only to entice greater development and loss of natural habitat will result in little, if any, overall environmental gain. Accordingly, the physical needs of the ecosystem must be an important consideration of any plan to improve or restore environ- mental quality in the Harbor/Bight region. An inventory of current habitat conditions in the region is in progress to determine the adequacy of existing programs to manage and maintain natural resources. Studies are document- ing historical changes, mapping sensitive areas and evaluating what actions need to be taken to ensure the long-term viability of the Harbor/Bight ecosystem. Everyone plays a role in protecting habitat, from Federal agen- cies managing National Parks and Refuges to State and local agencies charged with making land use decisions Since only a small portion of the coastal habitat in the region is in public ownership, decisions by individual landowners will be instrumen- tal in determining the success of this effort. ------- YOU CAN HELP — GET INVOLVED Support the betterment of the New York-New Jersey Harbor and the New York Bight by taking one or more of these positive actions: • ENTER your name on the Program mailing list to receive the newsletter and notices of meetings and hearings. • JOIN one of the planning committees: Citizens Advisory Com- mittee(CAC), Science & Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), or Local Governments Committee (LGC). These ensure that local viewpoints are considered within the framework of the Harbor and the Bight programs. • ATTEND meetings of the Harbor and Bight programs to keep abreast of progress being made, and to understand the ramifi- cations on each member of the public of prospective pollution control measures being considered. • JOIN local conservation organizations and nature groups. Become familiar with the pollution problems in your local area and the environmental solutions to those problems. • DO your bit to combat pollution. Consider the effects of your lifestyle on the environment. Reduce litter; conserve water, dispose of toxic household products properly; use fertilizers sparingly; keep your car tuned; recycle household trash; use products that are environmentally benign; and learn other ways to live more in harmony with nature. • NOTI FY elected officials of you r concern for the Harbor and the Bight and of the need to ensure the region's environmental quality for all generations. For more informatjon, and to enter your name on our mailing list, please fill out and mail in the form below New York-New Jersey Harbor/New York Bight Programs I would like: to be put on your mailing list. to participate on an advisory committee. CAC STAC LGC Name: Affiliation: Address: Mail to: NY-NJ Harbor/NY Bight Public Participation Coordinator Hudson River Foundation 40 West 20 Street, 9th Floor New York, New York 10011 ------- |