Hackensack Riverkeeper

20 Years of Protecting, Preserving, and Restoring the Hackensack River and its Watershed

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Public Comments & Pipelines

The ability to submit comments to the NJDEP or other state and federal agencies is one of the most powerful tools available to the public. Whether the comments are made in support or opposition to a proposed project or rule, they play a crucial role in engaging the public in the issues that affect them and providing a platform to express opinions to those in charge. Overall, the most effective comments are those that provide a clear, concise stance on an issue, supported by factual information about the project. 

When submitting comments, it is important to consider a few factors. In some cases only individual comments are counted by agencies, and therefore the total number of comments may not reflect what counts to the agency. Additionally, while it is admirable to have a coalition of 10, 20, or even 100 groups/members on the same side of an issue, it is not as impactful to the agency to receive one comment from that group. Finally, while it may add to the total number of comments received, submitting comments along the lines of typing the word “NO” over and over again is not helpful. There are more effective ways to express the anger and frustration that can arise in response to these issues. 

You can help stop Williams-Transco by submitting comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and NJ Department of Environmental Protection! 

To comment on New Jersey pipeline projects:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC):

Step 1 – Register with FERC and sign up to be an intervener 

Register here: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eRegistration.aspx

It takes about 10 minutes, costs nothing, and is among the most powerful actions an individual, group, or agency can take to register their views about this project. 

As an Intervener, you will have no further obligations, cannot be sued, and do not need an attorney.

Step 2 – Submit your comments online through FERC

Once you are an intervener, subsequent comments to FERC should be done through eComment (6,000 characters or less) or eFiling (longer or other documents)

Submit comments under docket CP17-490-000

You can also subscribe to receive updates to this docket when new files are added

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP):

Comments on proposed NJDEP rulemaking (generally): 

Online submission: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments/

For comments longer than 20,000 characters email: [email protected]

Comments specific to the Williams/Transco Pipeline NJDEP permit applications:

Currently, Williams Transco has submitted the their applications to NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), but NJDEP has not released public notice of the applications or made copies available to the public. 

Once NJDEP has deemed Williams’ applications administratively complete, which should happen very soon, they will release copies of the applications for public review and comment. 

In the interim, please ask the NJDEP to hold a public hearing on the applications in the impacted communities.

Mail comment letters to:

Christopher Jones, Manager Bureau of Urban Growth & Redevelopment NJDEP Division of Land Use Regulation 501 East State StreetStation Plaza 5, 2nd Floor Trenton, NJ 08609 Subject Header: Williams Transco Rivervale South to Market Project

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Stop straw plastic pollution at its source by replacing plastic straws with reusable, sustainable alternatives!

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Vote yes on ballot question #2: The lockbox for enviro funds | Editorial

While governors of both parties have snatched this money, Christie has been the king.

A “yes” on question #2 keeps Natural Resource Damage funds from being reallocated to the general fund to plug budget holes!

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Join us Wednesday for wine and chocolate! 

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Superstorm Sandy: 5 years later, New Jersey is still storm proofing

Superstorm Sandy: 5 years later, NJ is still storm proofing

Five years post-Sandy and what have we learned? 

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Public Access: More than Just a Beach-Goers Right

Generally, when one thinks of the rights associated with public access to the shoreline, images of walking along sandy beaches and swimming among the rolling waves often come to mind. However, there are approximately 130 miles of shoreline in the State of New Jersey; about a third of which are along the northern shores of the state in metropolitan areas like Newark, Hoboken, and Edgewater.  The right of public access to these shorelines extends to all tidal waters whether it’s the Atlantic Ocean or the Passaic River, and is vested in every citizen of the state. 

The concept of public access to water as a common right goes back to the Ancient Romans. Emperor Justinian codified the concept of public access in Roman law as the Public Trust Doctrine around 500 AD. Over centuries, the Public Trust Doctrine’s tenet of public access to tidal waters was carried on through English Common Law and eventually in the laws governing the United States upon its incorporation. The basic principle of the Public Trust Doctrine is that the right to the waters shores is as common to man as the right to breathe the air and warm in the sun. 

Through the Public Trust Doctrine, it is the duty of the state to protect the publics’ right to access the shoreline. While much of focus tends to fall on New Jersey’s shore towns, the right to public access is equally important to the cities north of the Raritan River. It is no happy coincidence that many shore towns offer parking and restroom facilities along their beach avenues; it is a result of the State’s Public Trust Doctrine. Towns are required to allow shoreline access, provide parking, and install restroom facilities at pre-determined intervals along the shoreline. Additionally, towns with public beaches are not permitted to charge unreasonable beach access fees, or charge exorbitantly higher fees to out-of-town residents. All of this stems from the pursuit of protecting the publics’ right to access New Jersey’s tidal waters and shorelines.

In some aspects, the right of public access is at greater risk to North Jersey residents, many of whom do not or cannot make regular trips “down the shore” and can only access the waters along the rockier and less accessible shores of the Hudson or Passaic Rivers. For those residents, access to the shoreline is often in the form of river walks, fishing piers, or small-craft launch sites. Physical access to shorelines in many urban areas is sometimes restricted by private industrial properties, at ports protected by Homeland Security, and by large condominium complexes. However, even where private property exists, the public’s right to access the shoreline is still protected. The only true restrictions exist where the public right to access conflicts with National Security interests; otherwise, access must be granted to the public up to the mean high water line and generally includes a reasonable portion of dry sand areas as well. 

In more densely developed cities and towns, there is a delicate and often imperfect balance between granting public access and protecting private property rights. It takes a strong commitment to protecting the right of public access and a genuine understanding of the value and benefits associated with it to achieve parity. Access to the water can provide a sense of peace, a profession, a sense of community, sources of food or recreation, and even transportation.  However, for any of these values and benefits to be realized, the public must first be able to access the water; and that is where the state must be relied upon to protect our interests under the Public Trust Doctrine. 

There is currently a bill before the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees that will codify the Public Trust Doctrine into law; making the right to public access a NJ law rather than simply a doctrine to follow. Finally achieving official codification is largely the result of a legal battle with the NJDEP and a series of compromises between stakeholders during the drafting process. While the bill is not perfect, it is certainly a serious step in the right direction. Going forward, once this bill is signed into law, it will be easier for the public to exercise the right to public access and for groups like Hackensack Riverkeeper to fight on the publics’ behalf if that right is violated. As always, Hackensack Riverkeeper will keep a close watch on the bills’ progress and pursue amendments in the future to make the bill a better version of itself on behalf of the people of New Jersey. 

Click here to read more about the Public Trust Doctrine in New Jersey.

To report public access violations, please contact NJDEP at (609) 777-DEP3.

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Superfund at Risk Under Trump Administration

Making America Great Again by Gutting the EPA?

The Hackensack River was on the verge of making it on to the Superfund National Priorities Listing (NPL) through the EPA, and was a shoe-in for approval prior to the November election. Now, the River’s listing and the Superfund monies that accompany it are in danger of disappearing. The contamination that will remain as a result of that potential breakdown contains substances like cadmium, lead, mercury, and dioxin, to name just a few.  

President Trump’s proposed budget has the EPA losing approximately 31% of its funding, including funds earmarked for Superfund cleanups, if approved. The EPA is the hardest hit agency under the proposed Federal budget, followed by the State Department at an approximately 29% cut. Even a lesser cut to the EPA, like the 7% cut suggested by Congress, would cripple the already lean-running agency. In fact, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the EPA has accounted for 0.5% or less per year of the total Federal budget each of the past twenty years. Putting aside for the moment what such a drastic cut means for the general health and protection of the environment, the effect on the Superfund program could be catastrophic to waterbodies like the Hackensack River.

The Hackensack, like many urban rivers in the US, was long used as the dumping ground by the industrial sites along its shores. For decades before the advent of environmental laws and regulations these companies went unchecked, dumping barrels of chemical waste into the water creating makeshift landfills. The worst offenses have long since ceased, the companies have closed or moved away, but the River remains impaired by chemicals like mercury and cadmium deep in its sediment. Superfund listing is designed to address the worst hit areas of sediment with a targeted, intense cleanup meant to swiftly remove the contamination with as little harm done to the surrounding water as possible.

The Superfund program exists through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), enacted in 1980. As the title of the Act suggests, it was designed to enable the EPA to respond swiftly to environmental emergencies, compensate injured parties, and assign liability to those responsible. However, the success of the Superfund program hinges on the availability of funds to enable the initiation of costly cleanups and emergency response actions. With a cut as deep as 31%, the EPA could lose an alarming number of employees, many of whom make running the Superfund program possible. Without sufficient funding, the program will falter. At best, only the most severe emergency spills or contamination events will see remediation. Only the worst-case scenarios will be addressed; and sites in desperate or near-desperate need of assistance, like the Hackensack River, will suffer the consequences.

Targeted cleanup of the Hackensack River through a Superfund designation is no longer a given, even after years of campaigning for that result and a year’s worth of water testing that produced alarming results. The listing’s approval is currently pending a thorough review of the EPA’s studies of the Hackensack River by both the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the EPA. Ultimately, the NJDEP must give its approval to the EPA before the River can officially be listed to the NPL. Local municipalities have expressed their support of the listing through official resolutions, sending copies off to the EPA, NJDEP, and the Governor’s office. Hackensack Riverkeeper continues to fight for the listing of the River as well, and will make its voice heard at every opportunity.

We hope to have an update for you soon.

To learn more about the EPA’s Superfund program and site updates, visit their Superfund page at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund.