First Congregational church is sponsoring a presentation by Marian Glenn of Rahway River Watershed association, March 10, 2019 at 11:30. Our church is located at 123 Elmer Street, Westfield, NJ. Soup and Salad will be served. Please RSVP to 908-233-2494.

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DEP Podcasts 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE        February 28, 2019                 

Contact: 

Lawrence Hajna    (609) 984-1795
 Caryn Shinske    (609) 984-1795
 Steve Rochette (ACOE)     (215) 656-6432

DEP, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SEEK PUBLIC COMMENT

ON INTERIM REPORT FOR BACK BAYS STUDY

(19/P12) TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are seeking public comment on an interim report that is a milestone in developing a comprehensive flood-mitigation strategy for the state’s extensive back bay areas. 

The Army Corps’ New Jersey Back Bays Coastal Storm Risk Management interim report released today will inform decisions on strategies to protect communities and ecosystems through structural, non-structural and ecological solutions.

“New Jersey is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise caused by climate change,” DEP Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe said. “The DEP and the Army Corps are committed to ongoing public dialogue on solutions needed to make our economically vital and environmentally fragile coastline more resilient.”

The goal is to develop an integrated strategy to protect coastal communities against storm surge and flooding in a 950-square-mile area encompassing parts of Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Monmouth and Ocean counties. This area is interlaced with some 3,400 miles of estuarine shorelines along bays, rivers, creeks, sounds and lagoons.

The interim report states that protecting New Jersey’s estuarine areas presents unique challenges due to the state’s “combination of low-lying topography, sea level change, densely populated residential and commercial areas, extensive low-lying infrastructure, and degraded coastal ecosystems.”

The report provides locations where storm-surge barriers, flood walls or levees could be effective but notes that these structures would have visual impacts during and after construction and would be costly. It further notes that relocation of structures, while causing temporary visual impacts, could have long-term ecosystem and storm-surge protection benefits.

Also outlined are ecosystem-based solutions such as marsh restoration, beach and dune restoration, and creation of living shorelines, which are areas planted with native plants and shellfish to provide natural flood buffers. The DEP is currently monitoring several projects that restored salt marshes degraded by sea-level rise and subsidence and is working with municipalities and nonprofits to create living shorelines as alternatives to hard structures such as bulkheads.

Following Superstorm Sandy, the state put in place more rigorous elevation requirements for construction of new homes or reconstruction of storm-damaged homes in flood hazard areas. The DEP has also implemented the nationally recognized Blue Acres acquisition program to move homeowners out of flood-prone areas.

The DEP is also facilitating the development of regional resiliency plans and is developing a comprehensive Coastal Resilience Plan to guide policies, regulations, resource allocation and funding to better protect coastal areas.

Since launching the back bays study in 2016, the DEP and the Army Corps have held public workshops and meetings that provided valuable insights in the development of the interim report. The study is being equally cost-shared by the DEP and federal government and was developed out of the Army Corps’ North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study, undertaken after Superstorm Sandy slammed the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast in October 2012.

Once the study is completed, the Army Corps will issue a decision document with a recommended plan. After the plan is approved by Congress, design and construction will occur as funding is made available.

The public is invited to provide comments on the interim report by April 1. To view the full report and other background, visit www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/New-Jersey-Back-Bays-Coastal-Storm-Risk-Management/

Comments may be emailed to PDPA-NAP@usace.army.mil or in writing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning Division, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

For more information on DEP’s Engineering and Construction program, visit: www.nj.gov/dep/ec/

Welcome to My Green Cranford, the official home of Cranford's Environmental Commission.  Explore this site for ideas for sustainable living or get involved in a "green project" and help make Cranford, New Jersey, and our planet a healthier place to call home.

NJ Parks & Forests Instagram

Handling our Trash: Getting to a Circular Carbon Economy

Americans live with waste every day ‐‐ a growing problem. Recycling is one of the ways we can have a positive impact on our environment. Recycling can also provide us with renewable sources of energy which help reduce greenhouse gases. A zero waste recycling strategy only works if we understand our shopping, consumption and disposal habits, with the goal to move toward zero trash sent to landfill and incineration. This knowledge will not only make us better recyclers but also better voters as we help shape local, state and national environmental policy. This program will clear up confusion and address how to achieve renewable energy and a low carbon economy.

Matt Civello currently serves on the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board helping to achieve its zero‐waste goals and advises the Manhattan Borough President, City Council and mayoral administration and others on policies and programs on furthering the City’s waste prevention, reuse, and recycling programs. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the non‐ profit Earth Matter which processes 740 tons of

organic material from City residents. Matthew does not necessarily represent the views of the MSWAB for the purpose of this event.

Dr. Serpil Guran is the Director of Rutgers EcoComplex “Clean Energy Innovation Center” and manages the new RutgersX “EcoIgnite: Clean Energy Proof of Concept Center and Accelerator” program. She is trained on thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis and gasification) of biomass and waste materials for the production of fuels and chemicals, and she specializes in research, development, and assessment of sustainable

biofuel and recycling technologies, and life cycle analysis of clean energy systems alternative fuel production systems.

Amanda Nesheiwat, the moderator, currently works as the Environmental Director for the Town of Secaucus, as well as chairwoman of their Environmental Committee and most recently as the town’s official Recycling Coordinator after receiving her certification as a recycling professional from Rutgers University in 2016.

NFRPP is a non-partisan 501.c.3 organization committed to providing authoritative information on key public policy issues fostering informed citizens and civic engagement.

March 7, 2019
Time: 7:30 pm
Westfield High School
550 Dorian Rd, Westfield, NJ 07090 (in Cafeteria B)

Please RSVP at www.nfrpp.org

Free and Open to the Public Walk‐Ins Welcome

Suggested Donation is $10 Donations are tax‐deductible

Co‐Sponsor: WWW.NFRPP.ORG