Interstate Environmental Commission a Tri-State Water and Air Pollution Control Agency
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INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION A TRI-STATE WATER AND AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY 2 0 0 8 A N N U A L R E P O R T NEW YORK NEW JERSEY CONNECTICUT Printed on Recycled Paper INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION A TRI-STATE WATER AND AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY 2008 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Formerly the INTERSTATE SANITATION COMMISSION INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ATRI-STATE WATER AND AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY 311 WEST 43rd STREET, SUITE 201 • NEW YORK, NY 10036 PHONE: 212-582-0380 FAX: (212) 581-5719 WEB SITE: www.iec-nynjct.org COMMISSIONERS CONNECTICUT John Atkin Chairman Richard Blumenthal J. Robert Galvin. M.D., M.P.H. Regina McCarthy Patricia M. P. Sesto NEW JERSEY Frank A. Pecci Vice Chair Heather Howard, J.D. Mark N. Mauriello John M. Scagnelli The HonorableM. Jodi Rell NEW YORK Judith L. Baron The Honorable Jon S. Corzine Vice Chair The Honorable David A. Paterson Gerard J. Kassar Treasurer and the Legislatures of the States of Donna B. Gerstle Connecticut, New Jersey and New York Alexander B. "Pete" Grannis Rose Trentman Executive Director Chief Engineer Howard Golub The Interstate Environmental Commission respectfully submits its report for the year 2008. The members of the Commission are confident that with the continued support of the Governors and the members of the Legislatures, the Commission will maintain active and effective water and air pollution abatement programs. formerly the INTERSTATESA-NIT AnON COMMISSION INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS CONNECTICUT NEW JERSEY John Atkin Frank Pecci Chairman Vice Chair Richard Blumenthal Heather Howard, J.D. J. Robert Galvin, M.D., M.P.H Mark N. Mauriello Regina McCarthy John M. Scagnelli Patricia M. P. Sesto NEW YORK Judith L. Baron Vice Chair Gerard J. Kassar Treasurer Donna B. Gerstle Alexander B. “Pete” Grannis Rose Trentman *** ** * Howard Golub Executive Secretary Boris Rukovets Assistant Secretary Ross Brady Counsel INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION STAFF Howard Golub Executive Director and Chief Engineer Boris Rukovets Assistant Executive Director and Assistant Chief Engineer Ross Brady Senior Attorney Engineering Laboratory Peter L. Sattler Pradyot Patnaik Nicholas S. Protopsaltis Evelyn R. Powers Brian J. Mitchell Inna Golberg Field Investigation Administrative William M. McCormack Carmen L. Leon Caitlyn P. Nichols Elizabeth M. Morgan Gillian M. Spencer Fay L. Lau Kristen J. Barshatzky Peter M. Del Vicario Alexia T. Barlikas James A. Bunkiewicz STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION As I near the end of my second term as Chairman of the Interstate Environmental Commission (IEC), I am proud of the environmental progress we have attained in so many areas. The Commission continues to move forward with strong programs covering interstate coordination, water testing and monitoring, response to emergencies, regulation and enforcement, research, and a full slate of activities to address public education and public outreach. The Commission is an integral part of a network of regional and multi-agency partnerships addressing environmental matters throughout the tri-state area. I am honored being the Chairman of the sole environmental agency in the Tri-State Area with both regulatory and enforcement powers. The Commission has continued its commitment and involvement with the Long Island Sound Study and the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, including special intensive surveys in support of these programs. We just completed our 18th year of monitoring in Long Island Sound to document dissolved oxygen conditions, our 8th year of monitoring for pathogens in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Complex, our 13th year of sampling shellfish harvesting waters in the New Jersey portion of western Raritan Bay, and our 6th year of ambient and point source sampling to determine the causes of bacterial contamination in the Byram River. Along with these programs, we are continually striving to build and reinforce lines of communication with the US Environmental Protection Agency and our three member States’ environmental and health departments. I am gratified that the IEC again participated in World Water Monitoring Day which has become an annual event that takes place each fall. This was the sixth annual World Water Monitoring Day, an event that IEC has participated in since it was started in 2002 as National Water Monitoring Day. The Commission joined with thousands of organizations and people around the world to collect water quality data that all the participants input to an international data bank. This international monitoring partnership of the public; state, interstate and local governments; federal agencies and countries throughout the world is an excellent example of the importance of involvement at all levels to protect the environment. It is essential that we have participation at all levels — starting at the grassroots — to care for the natural resources that benefit us locally. I am proud that we have been a part of this effort since its inception. I strongly feel that it is incumbent upon us to make clear that it is the IEC’s responsibility to encourage and promote interstate cooperation nationally. To that end, we have established a respected position among interstate commissions whose jurisdictions that reach from Canada to the Mississippi River. Exchanging ideas and cooperating with our fellow interstate commissions facilitates our ability to stay fully informed on all matters affecting the quality of our interstate waters and, consequently, to quickly react to potential sources of pollution within our region. We continue to be active in seeking grants to supplement our traditional state and federal funding. I am pleased to report that in addition to being awarded several research grants, we are involved in important cutting edge topics of the moment, including pharmaceuticals and green technology. The staff is to be commended for their perseverance for successfully obtaining grants in a highly competitive atmosphere for limited research funds. Additionally, the broad scope of the Commission’s outreach programs include meetings with key legislators, as well as appearances before citizen groups, student internship programs, and public education campaigns. Some of these efforts are conducted solely by IEC and others in conjunction with interstate commissions and professional pollution control organizations. As a part of these efforts, our annual boat inspection trip was once again a most rewarding success. This year’s trip covered the upper East River and the New York and Connecticut waters of western Long Island Sound; the trip afforded the Commission’s members and staff the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and points of view with many of you. This is one example of the wide range of the Commission’s outreach programs, and I continue to be fully supportive of IEC’s strong public education programs and campaigns to further communication and intensify public awareness of water quality and environmental issues. This Annual Report offers a full review of the wide scope of the Commission’s programs and activities, including an update of our legal activities in the areas of regulation and litigation. I invite you to visit our website, www.iec-nynjct.org, for continuing reports and back issues of Annual Reports. This year’s Report will soon be available on our website. On a personal note, I want to sincerely thank my fellow Commissioners for affording me the opportunity to once again chair this vital agency that is so important to our region’s environment. I also want to express my gratitude to the Commission’s staff for their support and for carrying out our mission and responsibilities in a most professional manner. John Atkin Chairman CO N T E N T S PAGE I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 WATER POLLUTION 3 AIR POLLUTION 5 II. WATER POLLUTION 6 GENERAL 6 CONNECTICUT WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANTS 8 NEW JERSEY WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANTS 14 NEW YORK WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANTS 22 AMBIENT AND EFFLUENT WATER QUALITY MONITORING 61 SPECIAL INTENSIVE SURVEYS 64 2008 AMBIENT WATER QUALITY MONITORING IN LONG ISLAND SOUND TO DOCUMENT DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONDITIONS 64 2007-2008 MICROBIOLOGICAL SURVEYS IN THE SHELLFISH HARVESTING WATERS OF WESTERN RARITAN BAY 73 2008 AMBIENT WATER QUALITY MONITORING FOR PATHOGENS IN THE HUDSON RIVER FROM YONKERS TO BEAR MOUNTAIN 77 PATHOGEN TRACK DOWN ON THE BYRAM RIVER 81 WORLD WATER MONITORING DAY 83 HARBOR-WIDE WATER QUALITY MONITORING ACTIVITIES IN THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY HARBOR COMPLEX 84 2008 BOAT INSPECTION TRIP 84 REGIONAL BYPASS WORKGROUP 86 CLEAN WATER ACT SECTION 305(b) WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT 89 STORET 89 PROPOSED REVISIONS TO DISSOLVED OXYGEN SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR MARINE WATERS 91 NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM 91 PAGE COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS AND MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEMS 93 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH 95 III. AIR POLLUTION 98 GENERAL 98 AIR POLLUTION COMPLAINTS 98 OZONE HEALTH MESSAGE SYSTEM 100 REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION WARNING SYSTEM 100 IV. LEGAL ACTIVITIES 101 MITIGATING NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF NEW YORK CITY’S OPERATION AT THE FRESH KILLS LANDFILL 102 ADDRESSING NITROGEN AND COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW IMPACTS OF SOME NEW YORK CITY SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS 104 APPENDIX A - WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS DISCHARGING INTO INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL DISTRICT WATERS - 2008 A-1 APPENDIX B - DISCONTINUANCE OF SANITARY FLOW B-1 APPENDIX C - INTERSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FINANCIAL STATEMENT FY 2008 C-1 APPENDIX D - GLOSSARY