Environmental Resource Inventory City of Summit Union County, New Jersey Reeves-Reed Arboretum A Collaborative Effort by City of Summit and Passaic River Coalition 2011 Acknowledgements City of Summit City Hall, 512 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901 Phone: 908-273-6400, Website: www.cityofsummit.org Jordan Glatt, Mayor Common Council Dave A. Bomgaars, President Ellen K. Dickson Nuris Portunodo Thomas Getzendanner Michael J. Vernotico Richard J. Madden Stephen P. Murphy Environmental Commission Marian G. Glenn, Chair Ervin Bales Marjorie Fox Amy Cairns Harrison John Kilby Christine Lijoi Judith Mandelbaum David Naidu Beth Kinney, Director, Department of Community Services Jin Blades, Administrative Manager, Department of Community Services Passaic River Coalition A nonprofit watershed association created in 1969 to serve as an advisor to the citizens, governments, and businesses of the Passaic River Basin on land and water resource management and public health. www.passaicriver.org Ella F. Filippone, Executive Director Anne L. Kruger, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Allyson Salisbury, Environmental Specialist Jason Chen, Summer Intern Alicja Trzopek, Summer Intern Environmental Resource Inventory City of Summit, Union County, New Jersey 2011 Table of Contents Section Page Preface i Accomplishments of the Summit Environmental Commission ii I. Introduction to Summit, New Jersey 1 II. Geology 4 III. Geography 8 IV. Water Resources 12 Surface Water 12 Ground Water 15 Recharge Areas 17 Flood Plains 19 Riparian Buffers 19 Water Supplies 21 Water Quality 22 Preservation of Water Resources in Summit 27 V. Wetlands 30 Wetlands in Summit 31 VI. Climate and Weather 34 VII. Soils 37 Importance of Soil 37 Soil Characteristics and Properties 37 Soil Erosion 38 Soil Types in Summit 40 VIII. Vegetation 44 Native Vegetation 44 Street Trees 47 Invasive Plants 47 IX. Wildlife 50 White-Tailed Deer 53 Canada Geese 53 Northeastern Bats 54 Asian Long-Horned Beetle 55 X. Land Use 56 Planning 56 Existing Land Use 57 1994 Master Plan Good Neighbor Guidelines 59 Open Space and Recreation, City Open Space Plans 60 Union County Parks 61 XI. Historic Preservation 65 XII. Environmental Pollution in Summit 71 Sites in Summit with known contamination 71 Section Page Emerging Contaminants 72 Noise 75 Outdoor Air Pollution 75 Indoor Air Pollution 80 XIII. Sustaining Natural Resources in Summit 81 Local Improvement Efforts 81 Improving Storm Water Management 81 Developing a Regional Approach to Protect and Enhance the Recreational 83 Use of the Passaic River Corridor in Union County Introducing a Green Building Checklist into the Requirements for Site Plan 84 Review Implementing an Unused Medicine Disposal Education Program 84 Protecting the Floral and Faunal Diversity of Wildlife Habitats 84 Adopting and Enforcing Ordinances to Protect Natural Resources 85 Continuing Involvement in Sustainable Jersey 85 Appendix A: Summit Riverfront Analysis 87 Appendix B: New Jersey American Annual Water Quality Reports 91 Appendix C: Growing Native Plans 93 Appendix D: Native Trees and Shrubs of the Piedmont Region of NJ 94 Appendix E: Landmark Trees of Summit 95 Appendix F: Street Trees in Summit – 2000 96 Appendix G: Invasive Plants 97 Appendix H: Bird Species Seen in Summit 99 Appendix I: Animals of New Jersey 100 Appendix J: Passaic River Visioning Meeting, November 30, 2009 106 Appendix K: NJDEP Guidelines for Disposing of Unused Medication 107 Appendix L: Green Building Checklist 108 Figures and Tables Figure Page I-1 Aerial Photography of Summit (2007) 3 II-1 New Jersey’s Physiographic Provinces 4 II-2 Terminal moraine of the last Wisconsin glaciation 6 II-3 Bedrock Geology of Summit 7 III-1 Topographic Map of Summit 10 III-2 Elevation Contour Map of Summit 11 IV-1 Surface Waters in Summit 13 IV-2 Watershed Management Areas around Summit 14 IV-3 Aquifers in Summit 16 IV-4 Recharge Capacity of Soils in Summit 18 IV-5 100-year Flood Plains in Summit 20 IV-6 Minimum Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Levels in the Passaic River at Chatham 25 IV-7 Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Levels in the Passaic River at Chatham 25 IV-8 Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN) Levels in the Passaic River at Chatham 26 IV-9 Water Resource Values 29 Figure Page V-1 Wetlands in Summit 33 VII-1 Soils in Summit 43 VIII-1 Landscape Project Conservation Areas in Summit 49 X-1 Land Use in Summit in Summit 58 X-2 Open Space 64 XI-1 Historic Sites in Summit, Map 1 67 XI-2 Historic Sites in Summit, Inset Map 2 68 XII-1 Known Contaminated Sites and Well Head Protection Areas in Summit 73 XII-2 Nitrogen Oxide Air Quality, Newark, 1990-2008 78 XII-3 Ozone Air Quality, Jersey City, 1990-2008 78 XII-4 Particulate Matter2.5, Newark, 2000-2008 79 XII-5 Sulfur Dioxide Air Quality, Newark, 1990-2008 79 XII-6 Carbon Monoxide Air Quality, Newark, 1990-2008 80 A-1 Summit Riverfront and Potential Greenway, Part A 91 A-2 Summit Riverfront and Potential Greenway, Part B 92 Table Page IV-2 Impaired Waterbodies, 2008 24 IV-3 TMDL Stream Segments in Vicinity of Summit 26 IV-5 Categorization of Criteria for Water Resource Lands 28 VI-1 Canoe Brook Weather Station Monthly Averages (1931-2010) 35 VII-1 Characteristics of Soils in Summit 41 X-1 Key to Open Space Map 63 XI-1 Historic Sites in Summit Map Key 69 XII-1 Known Contaminated Sites in Summit 74 B-1 Detected Contaminants, Short Hills System 2009 90 B-2 Detected Contaminants, Raritan System 2008 91 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF SUMMIT PREFACE The purpose of this Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) is to familiarize the public with the City of Summit’s natural history, land, water, air and living resources, and also with methods for sustaining these resources. The 2010 Revision of the 2005 Environmental Resource Inventory of Summit has been written to provide updated information, acknowledge new programs, and record accomplishments. Specifically: • New and updated data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and other sources is available and has been incorporated into this inventory. • The New Jersey Energy Master Plan calls for energy conservation as a major initiative toward environmental sustainability. Summit has demonstrated leadership in promoting environmental sustainability, and the Environmental Commission has been re-configured as the coordinator for these efforts, such as Sustainable Jersey and as a Community Partner with the Board of Public Utilities Office of Clean Energy. Summit’s 2006 Master Plan Re- Examination Report states their goal is to “encourage sustainable building practices, energy conservation, recycling and educational outreach on relevant topics.” Recent Gateway zone land use ordinances include provisions for LEED, shared use vehicles, transit zones, and other “green” building practices. • NJ DEP regulations have resulted in several improvements in Summit’s environmental planning and engineering efforts, including adopting or updating: o Storm Water Management Plan o Community Forestry Management Plan o Fertilizer Ordinance. • Summit is partnering with Berkeley Heights Township and the Passaic River Coalition in a regional project to protect and enhance the recreational and resource values of the Upper Passaic River. The revision of this ERI is made possible through a grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, with generous support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. i ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF SUMMIT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE SUMMIT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION The Summit Environmental Commission (EC) was established in 1975 and underwent a major revision in 2009, to serve as the coordinating body for the city’s various environmentally-focused groups. All of its members are volunteers. The EC attracts residents with a wide diversity of ages and interests. Since its formation, the EC has been concentrating on nature preservation and environmental sustainability, as well as environmental awareness and education. Since 2005, some of Summit’s major accomplishments include: • Annual city-wide Earth Day Clean Up started in 2006. It brings over a hundred volunteers into the parks and wooded areas around the city to remove trash, recyclables and invasive plants, and to plant desired species and maintain pathways. It has developed into Summit Goes Green, an annual spring calendar of events starting with Daffodil Day at the Reeves- Reed Arboretum. • A new Shade Tree Ordinance was approved in 2006. It aims to protect city and private property trees. This new effort addressed an ongoing concern of residents when large trees were cut down for development. • In 2007 Summit committed to a four-year Community Forestry Management Plan. Some of the objectives in the plan include: o Promoting and preserving trees within the city o Prompt removal of dead and hazardous trees o Maintenance of tree replacement programs o Public education. • The 2008 Total Maximum Daily Load Report for the Non-Tidal Passaic River Basin requires the adoption of a fertilizer ordinance by watershed municipalities, including Summit. The new fertilizer ordinance adopted in Summit restricts where, when and how residents apply fertilizers. • The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which urges the U.S government to pass bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation and pledges to make an effort to lower the climate changing pollution levels to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012, was signed by Summit’s Mayor. The Action Plan for a Sustainable Summit addresses these goals. • Summit became a Community Partner with the NJ Board of Public Utilities, and set up the Clean Power Team. The team won two awards: an Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, and an Office of Clean Energy Leadership Award for successful promotion of Clean Power Choice, a statewide program that allows residents to upgrade to renewable energy. The result was an increase of enrollment from 55 to 130 Summit households in less than a year.