2011 Annual Raritan Report: Appendix by Organization

Sustainable Raritan River Initiative

Table of Contents Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions ...... 2 Bound Brook, NJ ...... 2 Central Jersey Trout Unlimited ...... 3 Crossroads of the American Revolution ...... 5 Duke Farms ...... 6 Edison, NJ ...... 11 GreenVest, LLC ...... 14 Hightstown Borough, NJ ...... 18 Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership ...... 19 Middlesex County ...... 19 Middlesex County Improvement Authority ...... 20 MWH Americas, Inc...... 23 New Jersey Audubon ...... 24 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ...... 25 New Jersey Water Supply Authority ...... 26 No Water No Life ...... 32 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ...... 33 Raritan Riverkeeper ...... 42 Rutgers Preparatory School ...... 43 Rutgers-Ecological Preserve ...... 43 Rutgers University, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences ...... 44 Somerville, NJ ...... 53 South Plainfield, NJ ...... 53 Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Alliance ...... 55 US Fish and Wildlife Service ...... 57 US Environmental Protection Agency ...... 58

1 Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions Kerry Miller, [email protected]

As you probably know, ANJEC (in partnership with Riverkeeper, SRI, Crossroads of the American Revolution, Middlesex Co Planning and MC Improvement Authority) has been working under a grant from the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program and NEIWPCC (New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission) to raise public awareness of the Lower Raritan and opportunities to access it. Our approach is to work through environmental commissions in the municipalities along the main stem of the Raritan, particularly in Middlesex County. We held a kickoff meeting in late October 2011, attended by environmental commissioners, other municipal representatives, and interested stakeholders/organizations.

We are encouraging the commissions to do assessments of the access sites in their towns (including recommendations for improvements and signage), surveys of residents’ river awareness, river-related events and outreach, and also to incorporate the Raritan into their planning documents (environmental resource inventory (ERI), open space/trails plans, master plan, etc.).

Highland Park Environmental Commission has done a very thorough assessment of Donaldson Park that we are using as a prototype for other towns. The Commission also developed a detailed section in its new ERI on the Raritan, and will be participating in a Raritan bird count this spring. Work with the other towns and commissions is just ramping up now, so we don’t have firm commitments on other specific activities to report just yet.

Middlesex County Parks and Planning Depts. are spearheading way finding and instructional/interpretive signage improvements for County facilities along the Raritan, and funding from the HEP grant will pay for additional signage in non-County facilities.

ANJEC is developing a Google Earth map of the entire Lower Raritan, showing all access points, hazards, and the many recreational/historic/cultural resources adjacent to the river. We are also developing customized outreach brochures and displays for towns to use, as well as a comprehensive Lower Raritan River section on the ANJEC website.

Bound Brook, NJ Kerry Miller, [email protected]

Over the past year, Bound Brook did the following things that involve the Raritan in some way:

1. The Planning Board adopted the Economic Development Advisory Committee’s Downtown Urban Design Plan into the Borough’s Master Plan. The document includes a proposed Raritan River greenway with walking paths, and an access point or dock on the Raritan near the Queens Bridge. The Plan received planning awards from both Somerset County Planning Board and the New Jersey Chapter of the APA in 2012.

2. Bound Brook Borough held a 2012 Riverfest street fair, which is not on the river but near it. In addition to the name, the Raritan-related feature was walking tours that went from Main St., over the Raritan on the Queens Bridge, to the D&R Lock on the other side, in South Bound Brook. Participants

2 (about 34 throughout the day), received a pamphlet, produced by a local resident, with information about the Raritan River and the D&R Canal. NJ historian Doug McCray provided narrative about the history of the canal and lock.

3. Sherry Peck, of the National Park Service, will be meeting with town representatives to help us assess the potential for establishing a Raritan River Access Point near the Queens Bridge. (not 2011 – Jan 2012).

The Economic Development Advisory Committee publicized and hosted a presentation by Somerset Co. Hydraulic Engineer Carl Andreassen on the status and final stages of the flood control project in Bound Brook. This followed cleanup from the latest flood (from Hurricane Irene) which brought 2 – 3 feet of floodwater from the Raritan into Main Street buildings. Although any flooding is traumatic for the businesses, the levee project (then 90% complete) reduced the impacts significantly. An equivalent river rise without the levee system would have resulted in a 6 or 7 foot higher inundation on Main, Talmage and surrounding streets.

4. Bound Brook also hosted a presentation by Pfizer on the status of the Superfund cleanup at its site on the Raritan, just over our border in Bridgewater. In addition to the known contamination on the site, in 2012 a previously undetected benzene seep into the Raritan was discovered.

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited Lou DiGena, [email protected]

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited (CJTU) is one of New Jersey’s leading advocacy and conservation groups. Their mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and watersheds.

Our members represent a diverse cross-section of New Jersey and its surrounding areas, but all of us are joined together by a love of trout fishing and a commitment to preserve cold-water fisheries for future generations.

To achieve our goals, we conduct habitat improvement projects, stream clean-ups, and adult and youth educational programs. We strive to educate the next generation about the importance to preserve clean water and wild trout. While engaged in conservation efforts, we manage to have a lot of fun, whether at monthly meetings, chapter fishing trips or stream projects.

Our activities:

 CJTU is one on the major financial contributors and lead chapter in the Musconetcong Home Rivers Initiative:  The Musconetcong Home Rivers Initiative is focused primarily on: (1) protecting existing high- quality native and wild trout habitats through land purchases and conservation easements; (2) implementing “brook trout friendly” development practices for areas where land protection efforts are not possible; (3) restoring habitat by improving agricultural land management practices through activities such as stream bank fencing, riparian tree plantings, and dam removals; and (4) engaging communities, TU grassroots members, and youth (including numerous Trout in the Classroom programs) in the protection and restoration of the Musconetcong River.

3  Central Jersey Trout Unlimited is responsible for 18 public schools supporting the Trout in the Classroom program.  Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a science-based program that teaches children about the importance of cold water conservation through a hands-on approach to learning.

 Brook trout eggs are delivered to the schools by Trout Unlimited volunteers in the Fall and the trout are raised to be released into a stream or river approved by the NJ Department of Fish and Wildlife in the following Spring. The students follow a curriculum that includes not only feeding the developing fry, but also monitoring the tank water quality and performing chemical analysis to keep the tank chemistry within strict limits. Since trout are a cold water fish, a chiller is used to keep the temperature in the 50 degree Fahrenheit range.  Trout Unlimited volunteers standby throughout the school year to assist the teachers with any problems that arise, which includes equipment failures. They also visit the schools during the year presenting programs that foster a conservation ethic and a deeper knowledge of our state fish, the brook trout.  Through the process of raising brook trout from eggs to fingerlings, the size they are at release time, students learn about the importance of clean, cold water, not only for the brook trout they are raising, but also for the other organisms, including people  The Trout in the Classroom program began in New Jersey in 1991 and was known as the Brook Trout Bunch. There was one school participating in the program at the time. The Brook Trout Bunch ran for a few years, until the teacher coordinating the program moved. During the time that the program was active, the students successfully lobbied to have the brook trout named as New Jersey’s state fish.  Since 1987 CJTU has conducted river clean up on the South Branch of the Raritan and Musconetcong river conjunction with the South Branch Watershed Association and the Musconetcong Watershed Association.  CJTU volunteers conduct creel surveys and macro invertebrate studies on the South Branch of the Raritan and Musconetcong Rivers.  CJTU provided a grant to Dr. Karl Kjer for his Trichoptera study on the Musconetcong Rivers.  CJTU funded an Embrace Stream grant for a TU chapter in the Smoky Mountains for Brook Trout restoration.  CJTU volunteers work with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to electroshock the South Branch of Raritan River and the many tributaries of all the watersheds throughout the state including Farrington Lake in Central New Jersey. (Wendell Ozefovich worked with Pat H and Lisa Barno on these projects including all the tributaries during the Genetic Brook Trout Study) o Assisted with the Genetic Brook Trout Study of four major river drainages that identified through DNA analysis that there are genetically pure brook trout populations in 11 streams in 2 drainages in New Jersey.  CJTU volunteers in conjunction with New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and Hunterdon County Parks float stock the Point Mountain section of the Musconetcong River.  CJTU is a member of both the South Branch Watershed Association, and Musconetcong Watershed Association meeting and has a seat on both boards. (Nick Romanenko and Stuart Shafran)

4  CJTU volunteers conducted an educational getting started in fly-fishing program at the Pequest Hatchery education pond for years. They also conduct these programs for individual organizations such as the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and also at sporting goods stores here in New Jersey.  Every year CJTU provides volunteers for the Pequest Hatchery Open House to assist in fishing instruction at the educational pond.  CJTU raises fund and donates in kind labor to various state project, which protect, reconnect, and restore New Jersey cold-water fisheries.  CJTU partnered with the Musconetcong Watershed Association to aid in the removal, remediation, and restoration of Pump House Dam on the Musconetcong River.  CJTU volunteers provided in kind labor in the Neshanic River bank stabilization project at the confluence of the Neshanic and Raritan rivers.  We’ve provided volunteers to the 3rd Annual Raritan River Conference at Rutgers University for fly tying and fly casting introducing participants to river activities and basic entomology.  CJTU conducted education programs for Boy’s Scouts of America to scouts earning their merit badge in Fly Fishing.

Crossroads of the American Revolution Martha Lieblich, [email protected]

Crossroads of the American Revolution learned of and joined the Raritan River Collaborative in late 2010. The Raritan River had been named an important National Heritage Area site in the Feasibility study prepared by the National Park that created the Crossroads of the American National Heritage Area. At the Third Annual Raritan River Conference on June 16, 2011, Crossroads presented a workshop entitled “Sustaining Heritage: The Role of Cultural and Recreational Assets for Economic Growth”.

Panelists shared their expertise and discussed the benefits of linkages and partnerships as a means of expanding our cultural and recreational assets into opportunities for tourism and economic development and growth. The panel consisted of Kevin Tremble, President of Crossroads; David Lange, chief of the National Park Service Northeast Region’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Division in Philadelphia; Joan Furlong, ASLA, a licensed landscape architect; Carlos Rodrigues, PP / AICP, an urban designer, planner and educator; Kerry Miller, assistant director of the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions (ANJEC); Mary Rizzo, Associate Director of New Jersey Council for the Humanities; and Martha Lieblich, Crossroads Board Member as Moderator.

5 Duke Farms Gene Huntington, [email protected]

Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Conservation efforts for 90 acres of WRP in the Farm Barn area, an approximate $500,000 project funded entirely by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service was completed fall 2011.

Fig. 1: Wetland Reserve Program in Farm Barn Area

The area had been cleared and drained for agricultural use over 100 years ago. Conservation applications in the field included sub soiling, drainage disruption, invasive plant removal/control, vernal pool installations, etc.

Fig. 2: Vernal pool & sub soiling Fig. 3: Bio-swale installation Fig. 4: Drainage disruption

These changes in the landscape foster the land to return to what it was and what it wants to be; functioning shallow water wetlands that will provide important habitats for species of fishing birds, amphibians, mammals, etc. Additionally, the wetlands act as a natural water filtration system, helping to cleanse water and promote absorption of run-off into the aquifer.

True to our mission to “inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land”, NRCS conducted an onsite tour of the project for farmers and landowners that was well attended. Duke Farms plans to use

6 this area to continually educate visitors and land owners on the benefits and what it takes to implement the WRP.

Fig. 5: Fall Aerial view of WRP in progress

Habitat Regeneration. Our land stewardship plan continues to solidify in the field as we now have over 300,000 native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants added to our core habitats. Many of these were planted by volunteers as they learn how to become stewards of the land. Native pollinator meadows have been seeded as per our Habitat Regeneration Plan funded with monies from the sale of the WRP easements.

Fig. 6: Native Pollinator Meadow Seeding

Duke Farms continues to foster constructive relationships with conservation groups such as the Raritan Piedmont Wildlife Habitat Partnership (funded in part by DDCF Environment Program), New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, NJ Audubon, Raritan River Collaborative, Rutgers and most recently the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. Next steps include finishing

7 areas of landscape and habitat that visitors will be able to explore, as well as develop programs that combine sustainable agriculture with wildlife ecology.

Additional/Supporting Information; WRP Farm Barn-

Trees (100)  Black willow  River Birch  Pin Oak  Shagbark Hickory  Swamp White oak Shrubs (1000)  Arrowood Viburnum  Elderberry  Bayberry  Grey Dogwood  Blackhaw Viburnum  Red Osier Dogwood  Spicebush  Speckled alder  Winged Sumac  Winterberry Holly Grasses (planted on disturbed soils/lakeshores)  Deertounge  Little bluestem  Redtop  Switchgrass  Canda Wildrye  Oats  Big bluestem 5 Mallard Duck nesting tubes added by Eagle Scouts to pools, wood duck boxes to be added to snags

PSEG Wetland Mitigation Project

In the 4th quarter of 2011 PSEG finished a wetland mitigation planting project on approximately 10 acres in the “Lowlands” riparian area next to the Raritan River at Duke Farms. This project was the direct result of a line extension in this area by PSEG to augment their power delivery capabilities by adding 3 additional power lines on (mostly) existing poles. In order to accomplish this, new arms were extended on the existing poles to carry the lines, in some case necessitating wetland mitigation to occur. PSEG worked in cooperation with Duke Farms staff to incorporate the conservation work, resulting in 1,335 large 2” caliper native trees, 1,700 native shrubs and 60 acres of native pollinator meadows seeded. This conservation “gift”, funded by PSEG was a major contribution to the Riparian area along the Raritan River. Thanks PSEG!

PSEG Wetland Mitigation project provides important habitat at Duke Farms

Additional/Supporting Information; PSEG Mitigation Plantings-

 Acres of land mitigated with wetland trees/shrubs;

8 o 8.2 acres of forested wetland created to make up for the the removal of 4 acres of existing forested wetland to add additional power line capacity  Number of trees/shrubs; 1335 trees (2” caliper, with deer protection and stakes), 1,700 shrubs, o Trees/shrubs species (planted individually according to soil/water conditions at site).

o Red Maple o Northern spicebush o Canadian Serviceberry o Black Gum o River Birch o American Sycamore o American Hornbeam o White Oak o Shagbark hickory o Swamp White Oak o Common Hackberry o Pin Oak o Sweet Pepperbush o Black Willow o Alternate leaf Dogwood o Black elderberry o Common Persimmon o American bladdernut o Common Winterberry o American basswood

 All trackout/rutted areas re-graded and seeded with native wetland seed; o Fox Sedge, PA Ecotype (Carex vulpinoidea, PA Ecotype) o 25% Virginia Wildrye, PA Ecotype (Elymus virginicus, PA Ecotype) o 12% Lurid (Shallow) Sedge, PA Ecotype (Carex lurida, PA Ecotype) o 6% Hop Sedge, PA Ecotype (Carex lupulina, PA Ecotype) o 4% Blue Vervain, PA Ecotype (Verbena hastata, PA Ecotype) o 3% Soft Rush (Juncus effusus) o 3% Cosmos (Bristly) Sedge, PA Ecotype (Carex comosa, PA Ecotype) o 3% Flat Topped White Aster, PA Ecotype (Aster umbellatus (Doellingeria umbellata), PA Ecotype) o 3% Zigzag Aster, PA Ecotype (Aster prenanthoides (Symphyotrichum p.), PA Ecotype) o 3% Green Bulrush, PA Ecotype (Scirpus atrovirens, PA Ecotype) o 2% Common Sneezeweed, Northern VA Ecotype (Helenium autumnale, Northern VA Ecotype) o 2% Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) o 2% Seedbox, PA Ecotype (Ludwigia alternifolia, PA Ecotype) o 1% Great Blue Lobelia, PA Ecotype (Lobelia siphilitica, PA Ecotype) o 1% Purplestem Aster, PA Ecotype (Aster puniceus (Symphyotrichum puniceum), PA Ecotype) o 1% Giant Ironweed, PA Ecotype (Vernonia gigantea (V. altissima), PA Ecotype) o 1% Woolgrass, PA Ecotype (Scirpus cyperinus, PA Ecotype) o 1% Boneset, PA Ecotype (Eupatorium perfoliatum, PA Ecotype) o 1% Grassleaf Goldenrod, PA Ecotype (Euthamia graminifolia (Solidago g.), PA Ecotype) o 1% Swamp Milkweed, PA Ecotype (Asclepias incarnata, PA Ecotype)

9 Progress on Floating Islands at Duke Farms

In 2010 Duke Farms installed several floating islands, engineered and fabricated by Princeton Hydro, as a test to see if the islands would absorb nutrient loads significant enough to reduce algae on the 75 acre lake system. In September and October of 2011, Princeton Hydro reported from data they had collected that the islands were absorbing enough nutrients to reduce the potential algae content “downstream” by 33 tons in just 2 months of data!

10 Additional/supporting information: Floating Islands-

“The floating islands are foam mats made from recycled plastic bottles that are planted with native wetlands plants. These mats serve to filter excess nutrients from the water taken in to the lake system at duke farms, reducing the growth of algae and pondweeds that can have adverse effects on water quality.

Plants planted on the floating island include;

 Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)  Iris versicolor (harlequin blueflag)  Aster novae-angliae (New England aster)  Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed)  Leersia oryzoides (rice cutgrass)  Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed)  Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp mallow)  Scirpus tabernaemontanii (bulrush)  Carex crinita (fringed sedge)  Juncus effuses (common rush)

The aim of the floating island is to act as a surrogate for a natural freshwater floating-mat wetland, with the foam offering a greater surface area than a natural wetland (250sq ft equals 1acre of natural wetland!). This greater surface area allows for more microbial and aquatic plant uptake of excessive nutrients in the water. We have nearly 900sq ft of floating wetland (nearly 3 acres worth) that removed a total of 60.2lbs of phosphorus from the lake system in 2011, which in turn reduced 66,220lbs of potential algae biomass in the lake system. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150233347835005.469821.306047635004

Edison, NJ Chris Mazauskas, [email protected]

 To demonstrate the Township’s commitment to green/sustainable planning, Edison was one of the first of 34 NJ communities, statewide, to achieve Sustainable Jersey Certification. It also created the volunteer-based, Edison Sustainable Jersey Green Team (ESJT), to review and comment upon local green/sustainable plans and initiatives, in addition to the previously- established Environmental Commission and Open Space Advisory Committee. The ESJGT is currently in the process of developing its application to achieve 2012 Sustainable Jersey Silver Level Certification.

 Edison developed a Municipal Carbon Footprint, with technical support from Rutgers/NJSSI, as a prime component of its Sustainable Jersey certification.

 Edison received the Smart Workplace Award from Keep Middlesex Moving (KMM) for three consecutive years and is the only NJ municipality to achieve Gold Level Status.

 Edison’s Community Forestry Management Plan for 2010-2014 was recently approved by NJDEP. The Township was designated a Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation, during 2009.

 The Edison Department of Public Works (EDPW) was presented with a Recycling Award from NJDEP for Outstanding Achievement In Municipal Recycling by NJDEP during October 2009. EDPW consistently achieves one of the highest levels of recycling in Middlesex County, as well as NJ.

11  The Township utilizes recycled paper products for its office, maintenance and sanitary needs, as well as recycling such waste paper, as applicable. Dept. of Recreation notices and forms are now posted on the Township of Edison Website.

 Edison received a Certificate of Environmental Stewardship from the 2009 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards Program for Green Building Implementation and Renewable Energy Use.

 With the support of a grant from the Middlesex County Department of Economic Development Sustainable Economic Improvement Grant Program and NJBPU CORE Program, the Township performed a variety of green/sustainable renovations (e.g. Roof-Mounted Solar Electric; Energy Efficient Hot Water Heater; Energy Efficient Circulating Hot Water Boiler; Energy Efficient Fans; Energy Efficient Replacement Windows and Doors) to the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter (EMAS). As a result, EMAS is the first such green/sustainable municipal animal shelter in the state of New Jersey.

 Edison is in the process of utilizing USDOE EECBG grant funds for the design, fabrication and installation of a Solar Thermal Hot Water System, to be installed on the roof of the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter (EMAS). This initiative shall realize a reduction of energy consumption and cost savings for the production and use of sanitary hot water for the EMAS.

 Supported by USDOE EECBG grant funds, Edison developed its first Master Energy Conservation Plan, with the technical support from Rutgers/NJSSI and input from the Edison Sustainable Jersey Green Team.

 With combined USDOE EECBG and NJBPU CLEAN ENERGY DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM grant funds, Edison will perform energy-saving lighting retrofits at the Minnie E. Veal Recreation Center.

 Following a $10K ANJEC Smart Growth Planning Assistance Grant Program award, the Environmental Commission of the Township of Edison (ECTE) recently completed its first Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) since 1992. It was presented to and adopted by the Edison Planning Board for inclusion as an Element of the new Master Plan. Copies of the official document have been provided to the public via physical copies at the Edison Public Library, Office of the Town Clerk, Dept. of Planning & Engineering, Dept. of Public Works, Dept. of Administration, Dept. of Health & Human Services. A link to the ETEC ANJEC ERI has also been established at the Edison’s Website.

 Edison conducted two energy audits, which enabled it to pursue and develop grant resources for local, energy-efficiency and green/sustainable initiatives.

 Based upon a lighting audit, Edison retrofitted 98% of its interior lighting fixtures, lamps and controls with energy efficient units. It also received a NJBPU grant to reimburse 75% of those costs.

 EDPW negotiated an agreement with PSE&G to replace exterior lighting (e.g.: Municipal Parking Lot) with energy efficient fixtures and lamps, for reduced energy consumption and costs.

 Utilizing grant funds from Keep Middlesex Moving and the NJ Department of Transportation, Edison purchased and installed bicycle racks in key locations to encourage non-vehicular transportation.

 Over the past two years the public restrooms on the first and second floors of the Edison Municipal Complex have been retrofitted with motion-sensor controls on the faucets, commodes, urinals, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers, to conserve water and paper resources.

12  The Edison Department of Health and Human Services continues to sponsor numerous anti- litter and recycling programs in Edison’s Elementary and Middle Schools under its Clean Communities Program, funded by NJDEP. Recently, 16 environmental education programs were presented to 1760 students, as well as to attendees at the annual Edison Family Day. Twenty three (23) public land and water clean-ups (e.g.: parks, cemeteries, roadways, ponds, brooks), involving 360 volunteers from 6 different groups, were sponsored during 2010, as well as continuing litter enforcement. Literature on environmental education and awareness was presented at Edison’s Annual Family Day. The Tzu-Chi Foundation also supports and participates in these activities, on a volunteer basis.

 With the support of USDOE EECBG grant funds, Edison is in the process of installing a 165kW PVSE on the roof of the Edison Municipal Complex before the end of 2011. This shall reduce the building’s annual grid electricity consumption by 7% (210kW/$25K), as well as generate annual SREC proceeds. Over the next 15 years, total energy and cost savings will amount to 3,150,000kW or approximately $1,000,000.00.

 Edison also developed an Energy Efficiency Conservation Strategy, as a plan to effectively utilize EECBG funds for viable and effective municipal energy efficiency projects, as well as a Master Energy Conservation Plan – both supported by USDOE EECBG funding.

 Middlesex County provided Edison with grant funding to help improve the safety and connectivity of its pedestrian and bicycle pathways from public transportation points (NJT Edison RR Station) to municipal centers (Edison Public Parks; Edison Municipal Complex). Edison is also in the process of updating its pedestrian and bicycle path maps.

 A Smart Growth Planning Grant from NJDCA helped Edison to develop a Vision Plan for traffic control and redevelopment on Oak Tree Road (County Road 604).

 Re-established during 2008, the Edison Jersey Fresh Farmers Market (EJFFM), located in the Clara Barton section, began its fourth year this past June. The EJFFM continues to successfully operate to this day, with more than 12 vendors and thousands of customers, from June to October annually.

 The Edison Greenway (a free-access, lineal park along an abandoned RR right-of-way) shall be completed this year with $1,000,000+ of Middlesex County funds. The project is led by the Edison Greenways Group, Inc., in-kind support from the Township of Edison and the Edison Open Space Advisory Committee.

 Edison Dept. of Public Works (EDPW) is a voluntary participant in the NJDEP Diesel Emission Reduction Retrofit Program, to reduce and control particulates emitted from municipal, solid waste vehicles.

 The Edison Township Environmental Commission and the Edison Sustainable Jersey Green Team re-established its Annual Earth Day Celebration with a public event presented at the Oak Tree Park Pond, this past April. With 100 volunteers, the event attracted 300 visitors to Earth Day activities and exhibits.

 Edison’s Green Challenge/Survey is posted on its website, to assess the voluntary green/sustainable practices of its residents and businesses. To date, it has approximately 200 committed participants.

 Supported by a Conservation Resources Inventory (CRI) grant and municipal funding, the Edison Riverwalk was established during 2010, adjacent to a former landfill on the banks of the Raritan River. It utilized composite, recycled materials in its approximately 1800 lf construction. The free site is accessible to the public on a daily basis, as passive recreation.

13  Solar lighting was incorporated in the design and construction of the Inman-Grove public crosswalk, to power the pedestrian warning beacons.

 Energy-efficient, exterior light fixtures, lamps and controls were utilized in the design and reconstruction of the Pop Warner Edison Jets Football Field.

 Edison is continuing its efforts to utilize the NJDCA Reverse Auction Pilot Program to reduce the annual costs of electricity and gas consumption of all of its municipal facilities.

 The Township has one of the largest fleets of hybrid vehicles (39) in the State of New Jersey.

 Edison is in the process of replacing all 15 of its MAN (Municipal Area Network) internet servers with 6 virtual, energy efficient units, completely supported by USDOE EECBG funds.

 Edison TV is in the process of replacing all of its existing studio lighting with new, energy- efficient equipment, supported entirely by USDOE EECBG funding.

 Working in partnership with a wide variety of intercultural, public and private volunteers, the Edison Sustainable Jersey Green Team developed a highly replicable model for the Edison Urban Greenhouse Project, which will operate at two initial sites, concurrently.

 The 20 year old commercial coffee machine at the Edison Senior Citizens Center was replaced this year by a new and more energy-efficient unit, with the support of a grant from the Exxon- Mobil Chemical Plant, located in Edison.

 Licensed NJ Health Inspectors of the Edison Dept. of Health & Human Services were trained and certified in the use of an XRF Lead Paint Analyzer. Both the XRF Lead Paint Analyzer and NJDCA-certified training were funded by a grant from the NJDCA LIFT Program.

 The Edison Dept. of Health & Human Services regularly conducts free, on-site, Lead Safe Practices workshops and seminars at local pre-schools and child day-care centers.

 As part of the Mayors’ Wellness Campaign, the Edison Dept. of Health & Human Services sponsors, develops and presents a number of free workshops and seminars, covering a wide variety of environmental and health issues, free to local residents, businesses and agencies, annually.

 The Township has initiated efforts to collect used print cartridges from all of its offices for recycling.

 The Edison Department of Health and Human Services provides free, bio-degradable bags for pet waste collection at its Pooper Scooper Stations throughout Edison’s municipal parks.

Contact: Chris Mazauskas, Resource Development Officer TOWNSHIP OF EDISON Department of Administration Edison Municipal Complex 100 Municipal Boulevard 2nd Fl. Edison, NJ 08817-3302 732-248-7356: Office Telephone; 732-287-6679: Fax

GreenVest, LLC Brett Berkley, [email protected]

14 GreenVest, LLC is an “eco-preneur” whose core mission is to create “ecological assets” in the form of tradable "credits" generated through the preservation, enhancement, restoration or creation of ecosystem services. GreenVest’s team of scientists, ecologists; real-estate, legal, planning & regulatory compliance professionals license land rights and purchase degraded land for the purpose of conducting restoration. Once restored these systems and the ground upon which they sit are preserved in perpetuity.

GreenVest, through our NJ urban restoration initiative, has contributed to improving the economic and ecological health, vitality and sustainability of the Raritan River Basin. In 2011, this was accomplished through successful implementation of an 18.5 acre urban tidal marsh restoration project located at the confluence of the Lawrence Brook and Raritan River (WMA 9) in New Brunswick. In 2012, GreenVest plans to begin construction on its approved 138 acre Cranbury Wetland Mitigation Bank, located in the headwaters of the Millstone Basin (WMA 10). Utilizing private capital, these two projects have advanced, and will continue advancing achievement of many of the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative (SRRI) Action Plan Goals and Checkpoints.

Lawrence Brook, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, New Brunswick, NJ (Phase I completed July 2011; Phase II slated for construction during 2012) . Located at the confluence of the Lawrence Brook and Raritan River (WMA 9) in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, the site possesses over ¼ mile of frontage on the Raritan River and over ¾ mile of frontage on the Lawrence Brook. . Historically the site was used for salt hay production and was later severely ditched for mosquito control. The site was also cut off from all landside access and further impaired by construction of the New Jersey Turnpike in the early 1950’s. . This site and project represents a unique case study in primary succession in urban, tidal freshwater and estuarine systems previously dominated by nearly 100% cover of the invasive/exotic Common Reed (Phragmites australis). . The site is comprised of 25 acres of degraded salt and freshwater tidal marsh (Phase I - 18.5 acres; Phase II - 6.5 acres). . The restoration project provided compensatory mitigation for the remediation and redevelopment of the Sayreville Seaport, located on the former National Lead site situated on the southern bank of the Raritan River in Sayreville, NJ. The remediation of the former National Lead site has contributed significantly to improving water and sediment quality in the lower stem of the Raritan River. . Restoration activities involved: eradication of a mono-typic stand of common reed (Phragmites australis) and re-establishment of a diverse native plant community; establishment of appropriate grades within wetland restoration areas to achieve optimal freshwater tidal marsh elevations; and enhancement of wildlife, TE and fish habitat. . This project sets a positive example that success can be achieved in complex urban environments. . The largest observed wildlife usage increases occurred at the base of the food chain for prey species such as green and fiddler crabs and mummichogs. This project greatly

Lawrence Brook. Pre-construction. 100% cover Phragmites australis. 15 (9/2010) improved habitat for wading birds, waterfowl and fisheries by improving connectivity between the Lawrence Brook and the restored marsh plain. Creative habitat enhancement elements resulted in improved Critical Wildlife Habitat; over 40 avian species have been observed since restoration was completed. . Several plant species emerged from the historic seed bank locked under the dense stand of common reed. Among these plants were several that have not been seen in the Raritan Basin since the turn of the Century. . This project has and will continue to contribute to improving local/regional water and sediment quality in an urban setting embedded in the State’s largest Wetland creation area, post-herbicide application/Phragmites australis estuarine/freshwater interface and removal. Native recruitment. (5/2011) mixing zone. In addition to the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative, this project supports the objectives of: NJ Wildlife Action Plan, Hudson- Raritan Estuary (HRE) Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CRP), NJ Audubon Society, Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership, NY/NJ Baykeeper, Raritan Riverkeeper and NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program.

Wetland enhancement area approximately 1 month after completion of planting. (8/2011)

16 Cranbury Wetland Mitigation Bank, Cranbury Township, NJ (commencement of construction, fall 2012) . Located at the headwaters of the Raritan River at Indian Run (Millstone-Raritan, WMA 10), in Cranbury Township, Middlesex County. . Decades of agricultural operations, development and transportation systems have impacted water quality, destroyed habitat and impaired functions within this watershed and on this site. . This project will permanent converts approximately 80 of the 138 acres from agricultural use to a restored forested headwater system. Forest interior will be re-established on the remaining 60+ acres in addition to other wetland functions and values. . Restoration activities involve: increasing plant diversity and reestablishment of native plant communities; restoration of surrounding headwater forest and riparian zone, as well as riparian and non-riparian wetlands and buffers. . As a headwater of the lower Raritan River, these wetland systems are critical to improving or sustaining downstream chemical, physical and biological integrity. . This project will reestablish a large upland and wetland headwater forest complex, an increasingly scarce resource in the upper reaches of the Central Piedmont Plain. This represents an exemplary opportunity to reestablish a headwater continuum and associated zero – first order Cranbury Wetland. Pre-construction conditions. (2008/2009) stream system which will reconnect the ditched and channelized upper reaches of Indian Run with the Millstone River. . This project will improve habitat quality for two Threatened and Endangered species (wood turtle and barred owl) and a species of Special Concern (spotted turtle), and enhance habitat for an existing meta-population of wood frogs an obligate vernal pool species. Vernal pools provide seasonal breeding habitat for a rare group of amphibians and reptiles, including wood frogs, which rely solely on these ephemeral basin depressions for survival. . This project will result in improved local/regional water quality and groundwater recharge/discharge, as well as restored natural nutrient/sediment cycling. . This project will set another example that urban restoration, as well as preservation of scarce urban resources and the wildlife which depend on them, can be successfully achieved. . This Bank will help advance the programmatic goals of the Raritan Basin Organization, Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, Raritan River Initiative and the Hudson Raritan Estuary (HRE) Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CRP).

17 Hightstown Borough, NJ Darek Hahn, [email protected]

Here is a bulleted list of how we got to where we are today for the Hightstown Bridge Project:

 Three years ago bridge was removed due to deterioration of cement  Two years ago Taylor Bell (then 9) told council she wanted to raise money to replace the bridge  I spoke with previous mayor about creating a committee to make Taylor's dream a reality  Committee met for the first time in April of 2010 and spend 5 months putting together a plan  In September of 2010 we presented the plan to the council and they agreed  Plan was basically this: o Replace bridge with prefab metal bridge o Raise approximately $75K to pay for it  By March of 2011 we had raised $20K which allowed us to get a matching grant from a family that use to live in town (donated their $20k in the name of their father)  With the pace of the fund raising we started looking at the design and came up with the attached design (design detail card)  The medallions were all purchased by a group of people in town and donated to the bridge fund  In August 2011 we found out through the engineers that the original bridge, built in 1923, was not built at the right height (1' too low). It was allowed to stand by the State because of the open railings. Since the new bridge wouldn't have open railings, due to ADA requirements something had to be done...  In the meantime, Irene visited Hightstown and with her the committee took a break so the town could recover  During the break the engineers spoke with the State who gave us two options: o Raise the bridge by a foot (in place) o Extend the bridge over the current abutments and land on the sidewalk, doubling the length of the bridge  In December 2011 the committee reconvened and decided to go with the longer bridge as it also solved the added cost of handicap ramps as the bridge now lands on the sidewalk instead of the abutments (which have steps down to the sidewalk)  In January of this year we reevaluated the cost of the change and where we were at, here's the status: o Raised approximately $67K to date o Due to the change of the bridge we had to raise the goal to $95K o Agreed to two more fundraisers this spring:  Presented our status to the council this month and received councils full support for direction  Artist rendering can be seen here: http://eastwindsor.patch.com/articles/hightstown- pedestrian-bridge-one-step-closer-to-reality  Next steps: o Engineers selected to set footings, design bridge, layout site according to artist rendering o Goal to complete this by end of May o Bridge bid/purchase in June o Instillation sometime in 3rd quarter this year

18 Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership Alan Godber, [email protected]

 Public Outreach –Took part in 9 Community Day activities in all five watershed communities including: East Brunswick Community Day, Raritan River Festival, Nth.Br. Heritage Day, Milltown 4th July Parade, Rutgers Day, Earth Center open houses, Raritan River Float.  Five Nature Walks – Thompson Park, Keystone Pk, Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve, Davidson Mill Pond Park, North Brunswick Park.  Fundraisers - TGI Friday’s, George Street Playhouse  Four Waterway Cleanups – Milltown (2), New Brunswick (with Rutgers Students & NJ-PIRG) and 9th Annual Farrington Lake cleanup.  Environmental Advocacy – Issues w/proposed Concrete Batch Plant & Oil Repackaging in Fresh Ponds Rd. Sth. Br. adjacent to Category 1 area. Ongoing support for three protected farms. Natural Resource, & Open Space protection. Flooding issues in whole watershed. Brownfield reuse in

 Environmental Protection – Expanding monitoring water quality & starting program to study land use throughout the watershed.  Promoting for 7th year, use of Organic Home & Garden Products to protect the environment and human health. Organic Gift Baskets.  Environmental Education –Talks to 4th to 6th Graders at YMCA Summer Camp. 18 1 hour sessions. Watershed topics. 5 instructors.

85 Washington Avenue, Milltown, NJ 08850 Telephone: (732) 249-LBWP (5297) www.LBWP.org

Middlesex County Mirah Becker, [email protected]

We have accomplished much. Just today we received the official NJDEP letter that states that our Manalapan Brook Watershed Restoration and Preservation Plan has been approved and that we can move into the implementation phase of the initiative, which involves 5 BMP design projects. While not the Raritan River per se, it is a significant water resource milestone. We have made significant progress in getting the riparian buffer ordinance in towns that front the Lower Raritan. The individual towns that have met this milestone should be added to the website.

We are involved in the signage project and are vested in the notion that each town should develop its own public access plan which can form the basis for our comprehensive plan.

19 Middlesex County Improvement Authority Denise Nickel, [email protected]

Access commitment

In Middlesex County, facilitating community interest and follow-through in Highland Park, Perth Amboy and Edison to participate in the Lower Raritan River Public Access Project. Facilitated local paddle group / club development in Highland Park, Perth Amboy, and at Rutgers University. Researched methods for site / facility improvements for paddle boating on the river and fishing, birding, and photography opportunities on the river, streams, and adjacent uplands. Researched Water Trail development resources. Applied for funding for recreational water trail planning and implementation and interpretive signage at public access sites. Informally surveyed some community members in the three communities on interests in paddling and related stewardship activities. Will broaden the survey in the near future. Encouraging local Environmental Commissions to apply for county funding to implement access improvements. Collected past studies of boating, marina, and ferry needs in the Raritan River and Bay. Working to improve coordination of planning and implementation for pedestrian, bicycle, and water trails. Researching characteristics of and issues with riverfront parcels (currently in Highland Park, Edison, and parts of East Brunswick). Working to develop MCIA mapping capacity and products for these. Encouraged public sector response to proposed NJDEP Public Access Rule changes. Encouraging Edison to apply for brownfields investigation funding for expansion of waterfront recreational facilities and other redevelopment plans. Conducting brownfields investigation work for proposed waterfront development in Perth Amboy.

Habitat commitment

Facilitated numerous Watershed Ambassador presentations, and facilitating public training by the Ambassador on water quality monitoring in WSA9. Encouraged community input to HEP King Tide photo documentation for flood and climate change planning. Researching aerial photos of siltation flows from major storm events for public education. DELETE THE FOLLOWING: Encouraging BMP of stormwater in the county transportation plan element update. Assisting County Planning to identify funding for storm water demonstration projects.

Remediation and Pollution Prevention commitment

Analyzed existing data and mapped specific brownfield sites in Perth Amboy, Highland Park, Woodbridge, Middlesex Borough, South Amboy, and Milltown. Investigated and/or prepared remedial action work plans for specific sites in Middlesex Borough, South Amboy, and Milltown. Encouraged green building approaches with developers and municipalities. Adding GIS analysis capacity for brownfield and redevelopment sites. Posted brownfield grant site information on the USEPA ACRES on- line public information tool. Working with public entities to eliminate disincentives in the NJDEP’s new LSRP to public sector brownfield initiatives. To add to brownfield site listings, the MCIA is securing copies of NJDEP Site Remediation Reform Act Conformance Letters sent to property owners regarding May, 2012 mandatory deadlines.

20 Balance redevelopment commitment

Researching available studies on economic value accrued from water trails, riverfront walkway/bikeways, and freshwater-based recreational activities. Montgomery Township, NJ

Lauren Wasilauski, [email protected]

Hazardous sites & sediment cleanup

 Finished clean-up and demolition of buildings at former State hospital site (North Princeton Developmental Center – NDPC). The Township acquired the property from State in 2007 and completed demolition of over 90 buildings and removal of above-ground steam pipe in 2007.  Demolition of final 20 buildings completed in 2011. Also received NFA for soils in 2011. Demolition of Powerhouse at former North Princeton Developmental Center, September 2011. Water quality, storm water and infrastructure

 Upgrades to Pike Brook Wastewater Treatment Plant to increase capacity and meet DEP’s effluent limitation.  Upgrades to Skillman Village Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet effluent limitations.  Both upgrades will make use of a highly efficient treatment system (membrane bioreactor technology) and reduce the amount of chemicals Demolition of Smalley Theater at the former North Princeton Developmental Center site, August 2011. needed for wastewater treatment.

Habitat preservation and resource stewardship / Greenways, recreation and public access

 Township sold former State hospital (North Princeton Developmental Center) to Somerset County as parkland (see above for demolition information). The new Skillman Park is over 250 acres.

21  Open Space Committee and Shade Tree Committee volunteers and a contractor worked on invasive species removal on open space & parkland (Russian olive, Bradford pear, Ailanthus).  The Township and Montgomery Friends of Open Space purchased a 16 acre landlocked property in the middle of existing “Cherry Brook Preserve”. The Preserve is now over 375 acres of contiguous open space with extensive pathways Mayor Mark Caliguire signs closing documents to transfer ownership network. The newly-acquired of Skillman Park to Somerset County. Somerset County Freeholder parcel is bordered on the south by Patricia Walsh, Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman, Committeeman Ed Trzaska and former mayor Ted Maciag look on. the Cherry Brook; this acquisition will serve to further protect the surface water quality of the stream.  Open Space Committee worked with a consultant and the Public Works Department on beautification of street views of open space. o Planting projects at Orchard Road, Dutchtown-Harlingen Road, Hobler Park and Sunset Park o Installation of fencing o Parking area improvements  The Environmental Commission was awarded a grant to create a “Green Map” with Hillsborough, Princeton & Lawrence Townships. The regional map of the Route 206 corridor will show networks of open space, preserved farmland, parks, pathways, bike lanes, opportunities to shop locally etc.  The Recreation Department added a number of new programs in 2011 to their already extensive list of offerings. The new programs included: Kindergarten enrichment; an after-school multisport camp that teaches self-esteem, team building and sportsmanship; a mother/son sport event; and Zumba programs for kids and adults Clem Fiori (Open Space Committee Chairman) and Mary  The Public Works Department lined a new Penney (President, Montgomery Friends of Open Space) visit multipurpose field due to increased the newly acquired open space parcel at the Cherry Brook demand for playing space from flag Preserve. football, Pop Warner and lacrosse leagues.

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Map of Cherry Brook Preserve, with recent addition shown in red. Other

 The Township Environmental Commission hosted the 6th annual Earth Day Fair in April. The Fair attracted over 55 exhibitors/presenters, and over 1,000 attendees. There were opportunities to recycle electronics and batteries, donate old eyeglasses, bicycles, and tennis racquets. Exhibitors had information on a variety of topics including septic maintenance, open space, native plants, recycling, and food waste (composting).

MWH Americas, Inc. John Jengo, [email protected]

Raritan River Dam Removal Project

The demolition of the 73-year old Calco Dam in Bound Brook, the lowermost obstruction to migratory fish passage on the main stem of the Raritan River, was successfully completed in July-August 2011. This project, which took over three years to plan, permit, and execute, is the most significant dam removal thus far in the Raritan River watershed and it has advanced several of the river restoration goals set forth by the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative. Demolition of the Calco Dam eliminated the most significant barrier to fish passage along 6.1 miles of the main stem of the Raritan River between RM 20.9 and RM 27.0 (up to the Nevius Street Dam in Raritan) and the lower 1.5 miles of the Millstone River (up to the Weston Causeway Dam), thereby restoring access to historically significant spawning grounds for American shad and other migratory fish whose populations are in a steep decline along the Atlantic coast. This dam removal provided immediate public safety, water quality, and physical benefits as well; for example, the natural river process of transporting and depositing sand, nutrients, gravels

23 and woody debris was restored, enabling the Raritan to again provide the diversity of habitats necessary to support thriving fish, bird, and invertebrate species populations. The Calco Dam removal project is considered to be regional significance because of its long-term, watershed-wide benefits, and this specific project has long been of interest to a diversity of parties, including federal (represented by Carl Alderson of NOAA), state (Dave Bean of NJDEP), and private partners (John W. Jengo of MWH, on behalf of the El Paso Corporation, who is funding the project).

Highlights of the dam removal can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuoc5c32v5E.

New Jersey Audubon Nellie Tsipoura, [email protected]

Together Green ™ grant funding provided by Toyota and distributed through National Audubon has allowed New Jersey Audubon to partner with Raritan Valley Community College on a project that aims to preserve biodiversity by providing links between existing urban wetland habitats and people. We plan to conduct stewardship activities (clean-ups) and improve understanding of natural systems through public education and participatory research.

Our specific objectives of our work include:

• Undertaking clean-ups along tidal portions of the Raritan River with student volunteer effort. Data collected on water pollution in the form of plastic debris will be shared with other stakeholders in the Raritan watershed • Train urban Citizen Scientists, including students, to inventory and monitor bird species and the factors that threaten them, in their communities. • Provide students at Raritan Valley Community College with the opportunity to gain integrative real- world experience of pressing biological and environmental issues in central New Jersey, and to translate their learning into actions taken to address these issues through the NJACT Institute.

While we are mostly still in the planning stages of this project, we do have achievement to report:

1) The NJ ACT Internship Program is designed for students who desire experience in the fields of Environmental Education and Conservation. Through the efforts of Kelly Wenzel, Urban Education Project Coordinator at New Jersey Audubon, we have started the selection and recruitment process for this program. Up to 8 students will be chosen for the NJ ACT Internship Program. Awardees will meet weekly and demonstrate that they have completed at least 80 hours of work between April 5 and June 28, 2012. Through class meetings and hands-on, self- directed work, students will take the literature, data, report and poster compiled for their chosen project in either “Environmental Field Studies” or “Ornithology” to create an education and outreach plan. The education and outreach plans will then be implemented either at RVCC or in the surrounding community.

2) Dr. Jay Kelly who teaches an Environmental Field Studies class at Raritan Valley Community College, has structured his class around watershed related issues so his students can work directly on activities related to the “Connecting Urban wetlands” project. Beach and campus clean-ups in Fall 2011, implemented identical data sheets at both site to categorize the specific

24 types of trash and be able to compare what is turning up at the top and bottom of the watershed. A total of 65 people attended the beach and 45 the campus clean-up. Trash collected included 5,286 pieces of trash at the beach and 2,634 on campus as well as 10,592 plastic resin pellets at the beach.

3) NJ Audubon’s Citizen Science program, led by Nellie Tsipoura, PhD, engages volunteers in the collection of ecological data through citizen participation, on the abundance distribution, and demography of avian species. We are in the process of completing a map of existing habitats along the Lower Raritan and establishing survey points. Map will be available on our website, http://www.njaudubon.org/SectionCitizenScience/WhatisCitizenScience.aspx. We are working closely with ANJEC to identify community partners and will be launching our first survey this spring.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Jill Lipoti, [email protected]

During 2011 The AmeriCorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program (NJWAP) administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Water Monitoring and Standards completed its 11th program year of service. The NJWAP is designed to raise awareness about watershed stewardship throughout NJ's 20 watershed management areas. For more information about the NJWAP and to reach an Ambassador, please go to http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bear/americorps.htm

Selected highlights of partnership projects within the Raritan Basin in 2011 are presented below:

WMA 7 Rain Barrel Workshop, Elizabeth NJ. The Ambassador partnered with the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless to build 12 Rain Barrels which were installed at apartment buildings in Elizabeth used to house transitional residents participating in the partner's program. Project contributes to restoration of the Elizabeth River.

WMA 8 South Branch Annual Stream Cleanup. The Ambassador partnered with the South Branch Watershed Association to cleanup of 21 sites directly along 21 miles of the South Branch Raritan River. A total of 545 people attended resulting in nearly 3 tons of debris removed from along the River.

WMA 9 Hoffman Park Riparian Buffer Restoration. This partnership project was with the NJ Water Supply Authority along the Mulhockaway Creek. Nearly 500 feet of streambank were planted with native vegetation to prevent the runoff of polluted stormwater from entering the stream.

WMA 9 Sidney Brook Riparian Restoration Project. Also, through a partnership with the NJWSA the Ambassador worked to plan and restore nearly 1,200 feet of the stream with native trees and vegetation to prevent stormwater pollutants from entering the waterbody.

WMA 10 Rain Barrel Workshop, Pennington NJ. The Ambassador partnered with the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association and the Sourlands Planning Council to conduct the Workshop in which 10 rain barrels were constructed. Follow-up e-mails indicated that two or more of the rain barrels were installed at the homeowners respective homes. These residents live in Hopewell, Titusville and Princeton part of the Sourlands Region wherein their aquifer is vulnerable to stormwater runoff and is in

25 the headwaters for the Stony Brook. The installation of the rain barrels helps to restore more than 1/2 mile of Stony Brook by preventing polluted stormwater runoff from entering storm drains that empty into the Brook.

WMA 10 Stony Brook-Millstone 5th annual Watershed Wide Stream Clean Up. This partnership project included the NJWAP, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and local environmental commissions from Cranbury, East Windsor, Franklin, Hightstown, Hopewell, Millstone, Monroe, Princeton, South Brunswick and West Windsor over two consecutive weekends. As a result of this effort a total of 10,728 pounds of garbage was removed from along the Stony Brook and Millstone Rivers.

New Jersey Water Supply Authority Kenneth H. Klipstein, [email protected]

Operations In late August, Hurricane Irene caused a breach of the Delaware & Raritan Canal embankment adjacent to the Workhouse Spillway in Hopewell Township in Mercer County.

The heavy rainfall of late summer including Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee caused sloughing of the western embankment in Stockton to a point where the embankment came precariously close to breaching.

The Canal Flood Guard embankment was breached from Hurricane Irene in the vicinity of Quaker Road and Province Line Road at the border of Princeton and Lawrence Townships in Mercer County. The Port Mercer Dike, that separates the Stony Brook in the Raritan Basin from the Shipetaukin Creek in the Delaware Basin, was also breached and suffered extensive scouring along its length.

The breach adjacent to the Workhouse Spillway began to drain the 32 mile section of the Canal between the Lambertville and Kingston Locks. Stop Logs were installed at Lower Ferry Road and flow was diverted into the Canal from Carnegie Lake to meet the contractual needs of down Canal water customers. The Raritan River flooded the Ten Mile Pumping Station causing equipment damage that could not be repaired until the river elevation dropped, which allowed access to the pumping station. The Ten Mile Pumping Station was restored and placed in service to supplement the Carnegie Lake diversion.

The flow in the Canal from the Delaware River was restored on November 10, 2011. Through the efforts of Authority staff, there were no flow disruptions to all public and investor owned utilities.

Dam Inspections In accordance with the State Dam Safety Regulations, Authority staff conducted the annual dam inspection at the Manasquan Reservoir on September 13, 2011. Authority staff conducted the annual dam inspections at the Spruce Run and Round Valley Reservoirs on September 27, 2011. All embankments at the Manasquan, Spruce Run and Round Valley Reservoirs were characterized as “safe” and only minor routine repairs were recommended. The Authority also continued its program of quarterly inspections of the dams, dikes and appurtenances in accordance with the Authority’s Internal Management Program.

26 Asset Management Planning Asset management planning is designed to prioritize rehabilitation programs at a facility to maximize use of financial resources while ensuring longevity of the equipment.

The Authority developed an asset management plan for the Manasquan Water Treatment Plant (MWTP) in 2008. The asset management plan development included a thorough evaluation of the condition of the existing equipment and an analysis of proposed legislation or changes in regulations that could impact on plant operations.

The asset management plan provided the Authority and the Monmouth County Improvement Authority (MCIA), predecessor of the Southeast Monmouth Municipal Utilities Authority (SMMUA), current owners of the MWTP, a projected capital expenditure plan for the MWTP over the next twenty years. The asset management plan was presented to the customer communities for their acceptance so essential projects such as the replacement of the ozone system, the instrumentation, the chemical storage tanks, improvements to the sludge lagoon and recycle system and construction of new finished water storage could proceed.

The South Branch Pumping Station was completed in 1965 as a part of the Spruce Run/Round Valley Reservoirs Complex in the Raritan River Basin. It is located on the South Branch Raritan River, about 3 miles downstream from the Spruce Run Reservoir.

It is used to pump water from the South Branch Raritan River to the Round Valley Reservoir. Ten 40 mgd pumps, each operated by a 2,000 HP motor, can transfer up to 350 mgd to the Reservoir through a 3.2 mile long, 108-inch diameter force main.

A program is being implemented to refurbish/rehabilitate the main pumps and motors including replacement of the base plates for the refurbished units. The grout beneath the base plates has failed and the units are vibrating and alignment between the pumps and motors cannot be maintained. Two units will be rehabilitated in 2012. Additional units will be rehabilitated in subsequent years.

Dredging of the D & R Canal Flow in the 10.5-mile section of the Canal, Franklin Township, Somerset County between Route 27 and Amwell Road, near Millstone Borough, is being impeded by sediment accumulation. This is compounded by the growth of weeds during the summer months when flow demand is the greatest. The water surface elevation is typically raised during these periods, which causes water to discharge over the lower elevation spillways.

A program is being developed to remove an estimated 270,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Canal. Development of the program includes a proactive public participation element including meetings with stakeholders along the Canal and the setup of a website to keep the public informed about the status of the project. The website can be accessed at http://www.njwsa.org/html/canal_dredging.html.

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An initial open house and public meeting was conducted on December 13, 2010 to introduce the project to interested parties.

The project includes sediment sampling and characterization, identifying staging areas, dredging and dewatering activities, sediment disposal options, and the preparation of an Environmental Information Document (EID). The project schedule is as follows: 1) Evaluation of dredging methodologies completed, 2) Design work complete by December 2010, and 3) funding in place by November 2012. Two construction periods are expected starting in 2013.

The Consultant considered four alternatives for the proposed dredging project; mechanical excavation (in dry), mechanical dredging (in wet), hydraulic dredging with geobags, and hydraulic dredging mechanical.

After reviewing the alternatives, two technologies were dismissed from further consideration for varying reasons including cost (Mechanical Dredging and Hydraulic Dredging with mechanical dewatering).

While uncertainties exist in all of the alternatives evaluated, the degree to which potential risk elements could be controlled varies between other alternatives. Mechanical excavation in the dry will necessitate draining various reaches of the waterway while the dredging takes place. This may pose difficulties in providing water to the customers. The mechanical excavation in the dry will significantly increase truck traffic on the Canal towpath and other local roads that are not intended to carry the heavy truck traffic. This alternative will necessitate the construction of a number of access ramps to the Canal bed which will disturb additional wetlands and natural and historic resources.

Another major drawback of this alternative is weather, since the reach being dredged must be dewatered and runoff into the Canal from precipitation events will continue making it difficult to keep the reach dry. Hydraulic dredging reduces these concerns since the slurry will be conveyed in a pipe in the Canal that will convey the material to a temporary staging area where it will be dewatered using geobags. The staging area will be selected to minimize truck traffic on local roads.

After reviewing the alternatives, the recommended methodology being pursued is the hydraulic dredging with geobags. Staff presented its preferred alternative to the Governor’s Authorities Unit, the Authority Commissioners and the water users. A second public open house and public meeting was held on September 15, 2011 to discuss the preferred dredging methodology.

The Authority submitted a letter of intent to the NJEIFP for funding during the Fiscal Year 2013 funding cycle.

Capital Improvements - Manasquan Water Treatment Plant The raw water supply for the MWTP contains significant levels of color, organic compounds, and iron and manganese. There is also potential for the formation of taste and odor causing compounds. Ozone is used as the predisinfectant at the plant.

28

The Authority completed a project to improve and optimize the ozone system, thereby achieving the following benefits: reducing operations and maintenance costs, correcting system deficiencies, extending system life and facilitating compliance with current and future water quality regulations. This project encompassed the installation of an entirely new ozone system including conversion of the ozone system to pure oxygen rather than the dried air as supplied to the original ozone system.

The New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program (NJEIFP) is providing a low interest rate loan to SMMUA. A construction contract in the amount of $3,360,000 was awarded for the ozone system project. The new system was completed and went on line in July of 2011. The MWTP is seeing reduced maintenance costs. Staff is analyzing operations costs to determine savings being realized.

The asset management plan also highlighted the need to upgrade the instrumentation at the MWTP. The instrumentation at the plant is outdated and replacement parts are difficult to obtain. Any failure of the instrumentation system has the potential of shutting down the treatment plant. The NJEIFP provided a low interest rate loan to SMMUA. A construction contract in the amount of $1,115,000 was awarded for the upgrade of the instrumentation system.

Construction upgrades occurred in 2011. The system is functioning well and providing data collection and improved operator visibility and documented operational efficiencies.The asset management plan also identified the need to rehabilitate the existing caustic and zinc orthophosphate chemical storage and feed system and to construct new finished water storage and a filter-to-waste system. The Authority is proceeding with these improvements.

A consultant was retained and worked with engineering and operations throughout the year to design this next plant improvement. Work included developing recommendations for the sizes of the chemical storage tanks, the location and size of the finished water storage tank and enhancing the residuals handling systems through the addition of settling tanks and another drying bed. The finished water storage tank will allow the plant to shut down for brief periods of maintenance while still providing water to our customers.

The Authority has submitted documentation to the NJEIFP for funding during the 2012 funding cycle.

Watershed Protection Programs Unit Watershed Protection Program is a coordinated framework for implementing prioritized and integrated water quality protection and restoration strategies driven by environmental objectives. The Authority’s Watershed Protection Programs Unit’s core activities are funded by the source water protection component of the Authority’s rate. This dedicated portion of the rate has given the Authority the ability to design programs that will effectively minimize increases in our customer’s future treatment costs by protecting against the introduction of potential contamination. Not only do these programs add a margin of safety; they also help to raise community awareness of the risks of drinking water contamination and

29 provide information and practical strategies for stakeholder groups to implement for the protection of their drinking water sources.

Based on the results of a detailed watershed planning performed by the Watershed Protection Programs staff in the Raritan Basin and the Manasquan River Watershed, high priority areas and issues of concern include: Agricultural runoff in the upper Raritan watersheds; Erosion and sediment transport rates in the Lockatong and Wickecheoke watersheds; Sediment transport and deposition in the last 11 miles of the D&R Canal directly upstream of some of the major water supply intakes; Peak runoff rates in the Peter Brook and other watersheds with a high percentage of impervious coverage; and Chemical processes that result in a yellow coloration of the source water in the Manasquan River.

The Authority has made a significant commitment of resources to target and reduce agricultural runoff in Raritan Basin watersheds where agriculture is the dominant land use. Our commitment is matched by a $750,000 grant from the NJDEP and additional financial and staff support from the US and NJ Departments of Agriculture. In 2011, our agricultural assistance program continued to work with farmers to develop nutrient management plans. The River Friendly Farm Certification Program administered through North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council has 41 farms participating in the program representing 3,900 acres of farmland.

The Authority is working with funding from a $952,500 grant to implement innovative stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) in roadside drainage systems and other drainage areas designed to reduce sediment transport in the Lockatong and Wickecheoke Creek watersheds. In 2011, four ISCO monitoring units were installed and activated at selected sites where BMP will be constructed in order to establish baseline conditions from which BMP effectiveness can be assessed. From May thru September, nine storms were sampled at points along the hydrograph for nutrients, solids,chlorides, and turbidity. Project partners are working with Authority staff to modify runoff and loading models currently being used to simulate storm-runoff events based on the new data. BMP design work is underway and it is anticipated that implementation in some of the project sites will begin in 2012.

The Authority’s study of all stormwater infalls that flow into the last 11 miles of the canal resulted in a $2.2 million non-point source grant from the NJDEP to address the largest sediment contributors in that segment. In 2011, we completed the designs and awarded a construction contract for “Infall 21” located in South Bound Brook Borough. Work will begin in early 2012. Progress on designing and advancing the implementations of additional priority projects has been slowed by reluctance on the part of the stormwater infrastructure owners (municipal, county or state agencies) to agree to a long- term maintenance commitment of the recommended BMPs. The Authority is now working through the issue with the appropriate parties and expects to have a resolution in 2012.

Addressing urban stormwater runoff is challenging for a number of reasons – two of the biggest are 1) the cost to retrofit existing urban infrastructure and 2) the expense to maintain stormwater infrastructure with higher removal rates. Many cities have begun to look at more innovative and low cost approaches to address the problem. The most common programs involve promoting the disconnection of residential

30 roofs and paved areas from storm drain pipes and diverting the water to rain barrels and rain gardens. The Authority has adopted this approach on a watershed basis in the Peters Brook with promising results. The Authority donated 18 rain barrels with automatic diverters for installation in the nine new Habitat for Humanity homes in Bridgewater.

Beginning in the fall of 2010, the Authority began working with Rutgers University to understand the chemical makeup of the seasonal yellow coloration of the Manasquan River source water. In 2012,the Authority will be utilizing the ISCO monitoring units to assist in the identification and tracking of the persistent summertime coloration of the source water.

Policies and Economic Growth Strategies of the State of New Jersey The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq. protects drinking water for over 5.4 million people and helps preserve New Jersey's dwindling open space. Approximately 17 percent of the Raritan Basin is in the Highlands, providing nearly all of the water stored in Round Valley and Spruce Run Reservoirs. During 2011, the Authority committed $1,150,000 to purchase and preserve along with its partners, 667 acres within Raritan Basin. To date, more than 4,400 acres are either closed or authorized to be preserved.

One of the stated goals of the NJDEP is to ensure that adequate, safe and reliable water supplies are provided to the people of the State of New Jersey. Specifically, the State ensures that surface and ground water diversions do not exceed the sustainable yield of available water resources. The Raritan Basin Safe Yield Model was developed based on the results of the Authority's operations model, and the Manasquan Reservoir System Safe Yield Model, currently under development, will be used in support of future water allocation permit applications and System operations.

During 2011, the Authority's operations continued to support the sustainability of the State's water resources through its operation of the reservoir systems, through managing passing flow requirements at certain stations along the river system, and through continuous maintenance and dredging of the Delaware and Raritan Canal to assure adequate flow and the long-term integrity of that structure.

Annual Review of Authority Operations Each year during the budget process, senior management of the Authority reviews operations to identify inefficiencies and cost savings which, when implemented, will provide direct benefit to the Authority's customers. During 2011, the Authority undertook several steps to implement cost savings measures totaling $886,644. The Authority reviewed staffing levels and determined to eliminate funding for one position within Executive Office and those duties were either eliminated or consolidated in the Engineering Department. This resulted in an annual savings of $88,415. Funding for insurance was reduced for an additional savings of $36,200. Insurance brokerage and risk management services are in the second year of a three year contract, which, when rebid, saved the Authority $8,000 in 2011.

31 Management raises were again deferred in 2011 saving $39,000. Titles were restructured in the Manasquan System after the retirement of a long-term employee, saving $28,044. The capital equipment budget request was reviewed carefully, and $38,500 in expenses was trimmed for 2011. A review of the general operations and maintenance budget revealed savings of $136,900 composed of maintenance supplies, service and maintenance contracts, staff training and travel recognizing there hasn’t yet been a lift on the out-of-state travel ban, and special and professional services. Finally, the Authority identified $600,000 in excess funds which were used to offset the rate paid by the contract customers in 2011.

No Water No Life Alison Jones, [email protected]

The biggest news for No Water No Life documentation of the Raritan River Basin is the 2011 release of our No Water No Life video presentation: “New Jersey’s Raritan River Basin: A Sustainable Perspective”, as screened at the Rutgers conference in June. The link to our description of that video on our website is: http://nowater-nolife.org/watersheds/raritan/SustainablePerspective/index.html.

If you want them in a larger size, please contact my office manager Jasmine Graf at info@nowater- nolife.org. She’s in today and Friday.

Other than that: Here’s a blurb about our mission as it relates to the Raritan and our video. Feel free to shorten if you need.

No Water No Life ® is a nonprofit that combines the powers of photography and science to raise public awareness of our freshwater crisis and sustainable management strategies. NWNL expeditions are documenting African and North American watersheds so as to educate the public, change behaviors and protect fresh-water resources. Using scientific research, NWNL creates still and video documentation of the values and vulnerability associated with its 6 case=study watersheds, of which the Raritan is one.

For 5 years, NWNL has been interviewing Raritan stakeholders and stewards involved in conservation of the Raritan’s upstream and downstream ecosystems and communities. Resulting materials are publicized, shared with other watershed stewards and used as educational tools on an on-going basis. Products from all NWNL expeditions are disseminated via print and online media, exhibits and lectures. Expedition results are shared with other NWNL watersheds as a reference for global solutions.

In 2011, NWNL released the second of its video presentations: “New Jersey’s Raritan River Basin: A Sustainable Perspective”. This 3-minute film, was created with Associated Pictures to raise awareness of the many values of the Raritan River as it flows through the nation’s most densely-populated state. The film highlights centuries of degradation to the Raritan watershed now being addressed by the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative. NWNL is proud to be a member of this collaborative of more than 70 organizations, businesses, academic groups and environmental organizations working to restore and protect the Raritan River Basin and all of its tributaries. The film was screened at the 3rd Annual Raritan River Initiative in June at Rutgers University. http://nowater- nolife.org/watersheds/raritan/SustainablePerspective/index.html

32 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Lisa Rosman, [email protected]

NOAA incorporated Raritan River watershed data into the Newark Bay database and mapping project. This product serves as a visual tool for contaminated sediment management and restoration planning in response to an expressed need of the Raritan River Collaborative. EPA and NJDEP’s sediment and tissue data from several federal and state hazardous waste sites and from NJDEP’s Raritan River fish tissue monitoring effort have been imported into the database. NOAA’s collaborative partnership with EPA and NJ DEP will allow for the continued receipt of electronic contaminants-based sediments, fish tissue, and toxicity data from the Raritan River and its tributaries. These data will be incorporated into NOAA's Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) Newark Bay website which NOAA currently makes public along with other regional database and mapping projects including ones for the Delaware River and the Hudson River. The database was updated in November 2011. (http:response.restoration.noaa.gov/querymanager)

Geographic Information System (GIS)/Google layers and maps will be developed as part of this effort. In addition, NOAA along with EPA and the University of New Hampshire may develop an Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) for NY/NJ including the Raritan River that seamlessly aggregates diverse spatial datasets into a Web-based mapping application. ERMA combines static base layers with real-time streams of data into a user friendly GIS for complex environmental resource and response issues. This new tool has been used in response to the Gulf Oil spill. NOAA was available at the 3rd Sustainable Raritan River conference to demonstrate ERMA. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/maps-and-spatial-data/environmental-response-management- application-erma The following federal Superfund sites and Federal Facilities in the Raritan River watershed are represented in the current version or will be incorporated into pending updates to the NOAA's Newark Bay database and mapping project:

 American Cyanamid  Horseshoe Road  Kin-Buc Landfill  Cornell Dubilier  Raritan Bay Slag  Edison Landfill (adjacent to  Raritan Arsenal Superfund site)  Woodbrook Dump

The following NJ sites have records in NOAA's database:

 Wyeth Holdings  JIS Indust Serv JCP&L Lebanon TWP  Ward Products  Imperial Oil Co  USDOE Middlesex Plant  Hercules Inc  Sayreville Boro Redevelopment  HATCO Corp  Reagent Chemical Res Inc  Chevron  PSEG Central Gas Plant  AT&T The database also includes

 NJDEP Raritan Toxics Fish Monitoring 2006  EPA EMAP 1990-1992  EPA REMAP 1993, 1994, 1998

33  Mussel Watch: Middle Atlantic 1986-2009  National Coastal Assessment (EMAP 2000-2002)  NOAA National Status and Trends Hudson Raritan 1991 and 1993  NY/NJ CARP Sediment 1998-2001 and Tissue 1999-2000

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) has and continues to develop and use tools that improve our ability to evaluate risk, and to develop protective remedies and restoration strategies for contaminated sediment sites in the Raritan River watershed. NOAA currently works on at least 6 federal Superfund Sites and one federal facility.

NOAA continues to work with EPA to develop remedies at the American Cyanamid Superfund Site, located adjacent to the Raritan River in Bound Brook, NJ, that will be protective of habitats (e.g., surface waters, sediments, wetlands) and biota (e.g., fish and invertebrates) they support. NOAA is in the process of importing site data to the Newark Bay database and mapping project.

NOAA continues to work with EPA to develop a remedy at the Horseshoe Road/Atlantic Resources Corporation Superfund Sites, located adjacent to the Raritan River in Sayreville, NJ, that will address metal and PCB contamination in the river and adjacent wetlands. Horseshoe Road Contaminant results for sediment, plants, and biota from 1997-1999 and 2004 have been imported into NOAA’s Newark Bay database and mapping project.

NOAA continues to work with EPA on assessing ecological risks from PCBs and other contaminants in the Bound Brook Corridor adjacent to and downstream of the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund Site in South Plainfield, NJ

NOAA continues to work with EPA to develop a remedial investigation of the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund Site in South Plainfield, NJ, that will assess ecological risks in Bound Brook and adjacent wetlands. Data will be entered into the database once sampling coordinates become available.

NOAA continues to work with EPA on evaluating post-construction monitoring and supplemental sampling data collected at the Kin-Buc Landfill Superfund Site in Edison, NJ. Data from Edmonds Creek, Edmonds Creek Marsh and the creeks’ confluence with the Raritan River will be used to assess the efficacy of the remedy and evaluate whether PCB concentrations are declining and if there are any on-going sources of contamination. Monitoring and supplemental sampling data will be incorporated into the publically available Newark Bay website upon receipt. There is also an on-going effort to obtain the historic data for inclusion in the database.

NOAA continues to work with EPA to develop a remedial investigation/feasibility study of the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund Site in Old Bridge and Sayreville, NJ that will address metal contamination along the beach, jetty, seawall and adjacent wetland areas. Metal contamination in sediment, plant, and biota collected in2008 from Raritan Bay Slag was imported into NOAA’s Newark Bay database and mapping project. Sampling conducted post-2009 will be incorporated into the database in 2012 upon receipt.

NOAA continues to work with NJDEP and USACE to assess risks and develop a remedy at the Former Raritan Arsenal Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in Edison, NJ that will be protective of habitats in the adjacent Raritan River. Former Raritan Arsensal data will be incorporated into the publically available Newark Bay website as it becomes available.

34 The Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative was conceived through a partnership between NOAA and NJDEP to make the Raritan River and its tributaries passable to anadromous fish and the American eel and to provide a healthier habitat for all users of the river. In October 2008, NOAA and DEP held their first stakeholder meeting in Trenton. NOAA and NJDEP coordinated initial effort resulted in the development of a restoration opportunities data base and mapping product. Subsequently, the lowest dams in the watershed were prioritized for removal or passage. Efforts have centered on locating funding for feasibility study of 7 priority dams in Phase 1. Phase 2 will address 7 additional dams. Of the seven Phase 1 dams, only the USGS Gauge Station Dam on the North Branch of the Raritan does not have an active program for fish passage. Six of the Phase 1 dams have received some level of funding towards assessment, engineering and design or removal. The priority dams are the Calco Dam at Bound Brook, the Nevious Street Dam at Raritan, the Roberts Street Dam and Heads Gates dam both in Hillsborough and Blackwell Mills Dam and Weston Causeway Dam on the Millstone River currently under study by the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association.

In 2009, American Rivers/NOAA Community-based partnership grant program and NJDEP funded the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association feasibility study of the Blackwell Mills Dam. The Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association won another grant in 2010 from the American Rivers/NOAA partnership grants to continue design phase activities. The Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association also funded and completed a feasibility study of the Weston Causeway Dam. In the same grant round, NJDEP was successful in their application to receive funding to perform a feasibility study at the Head Gates Dam, the fourth dam on the main stem Raritan River.

In September 2010, NOAA and its Raritan River Collaborative partners met with executives of NJDEP to improve coordination, streamline and facilitate the permitting process for implementing fish passage projects in the state of New Jersey. NJDEP worked successfully with a responsible party to remove the Calco Dam, the first dam on the main stem Raritan at River Mile 20.9, as part of its natural resource damage settlement. The Calco dam was built in 1938 and demolished in 2011. Removal of the dam opens up 7.6 miles of river (Raritan and Millstone Rivers, combined) restoring access to historical spawning habitat for shad and other migratory fish.

35 Princeton Hydro Mark Gallagher, [email protected]

Quakertown Preserve Dam Removal and Riparian Wetland Restoration

Hunterdon Land Trust with Princeton Hydro, LLC. Location of the Project: Franklin Township, Hunterdon County

The Quakertown Preserve’s riparian wetland restoration project serves as an excellent example of a floodplain enhancement project and watershed based stewardship.

The Quakertown Preserve is an undeveloped 28-acre, wooded property adjacent to working farms. The property is important for watershed protection as it contains a spring that feeds this first order tributary of Capoolong Creek (aka Cakepoulin Creek), a designated C-1 stream, as well as a mix of cedar and hardwood forest. The Hunterdon Land Trust (HLT) had acquired full ownership of the property with funding from the New Jersey Green Acres Program.

The project sought to restore 2.35 acres of floodplain wetland, wetland transition area and riparian area adjacent to the tributary of Capoolong Creek. The floodplain wetland was previously occupied by an offline, spring-fed, manmade pond created by an earthen berm encompassing approximately a quarter acre or 10% of the project site. The berm was approximately 5 feet high and 300 feet long, disconnecting nearly one third of an acre of floodplain wetland from the adjacent channel, resulting in a net loss of flood storage that has ultimately increased flooding risks up and downstream of the pond. The pre‐development 100 year storm did not overtop the dam while the post restoration floodplain floods during one year rainfall events. Restoring the connectively of streams to their floodplains is an important element of watershed based stormwater management as it serves to maintain the stability of stream channels as well as the water quality.

The project removed most of the earthen berm to restore the impoundment area to the riparian wetland; re-connected the floodplain to the stream in order to increase volume storage during storm events and reduce erosive forces in the downstream reaches; enhance the nutrient removal capacity of the floodplain wetlands; removed invasive plant species proximate to the site; and converted lawn are to woodland. To establish a complex wetland system, the wetland area was unevenly graded to create hummock-hollow micro- topography and planted with a variety of native plants species. Completed in mid-May, 2011, the restored spring fed wetland was dominated by a variety of desirable native plant species including several from the site’s own seed bank by mid-July.

36 The project was funded through a grant from the New Jersey Wetlands Mitigation Council and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through a Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) Grant. The funding though the wetland mitigation council was the first time the council funded a project that assisted in the removal of a dam and the restoration of an impoundment. This serves as a valuable precedent for other small dam owners and land trusts to remove small impoundments and restore the historic ecological functions of floodplains and riparian zones.

The Hunterdon Land Trust, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, partnered with Princeton Hydro LLC to implement this project. The HLT has demonstrated an enduring professional commitment to natural resource restoration projects. The impetus for this project arises from HLT’s greater mission of preserving, protecting, and enhancing environmental resources and promoting the conservation and appropriate management of woodlands and open space.

Partnering with HLT, Princeton Hydro LLC is a full-service, award-winning water resource firm founded in 1998. The firm specializes in innovative design solutions for water, soil and wetland resource management. Throughout New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region, Princeton Hydro has successfully implemented multiple wetland restoration and mitigation projects.

Other Project partners included Richard Pfauth Jr. & Son General Excavating who served as the chief contractor to complete the clearing, excavation, and site grading and the Natural Resources Conservation Service who contributed technical assistance to produce conceptual plans and cost estimates.

Partners Hunterdon Land Trust is the project’s lead organization. HLT staff and volunteers contributed a substantial amount of time coordinating various aspects of the project including the preparation of a plant stewardship index (PSI), over 100 hours of volunteers focused on the removal of invasive plant species and the planting of desirable native plants.

37 Princeton Hydro LLC was responsible for coordinating site survey, preparing engineering design and planting plans, securing permits, over-seeing construction and assisting with plant installation.

Richard Pfauth Jr. & Son General Excavating was the contractor selected to complete the clearing, excavation, and site grading. They were responsible for compliance with all permits during construction including, for example, erosion and sedimentation control.

Natural Resources Conservation Service has contributed approximately 32 hours of technical assistance to produce conceptual plans and cost estimates. In addition, NRCS has contributed $5,280 to off-set certain project costs to HLT. It is anticipated that NRCS will provide technical assistance to progress the design.

Comprehensive watershed protection and restoration plan for the Manalapan Brook watershed

Princeton Hydro was contracted by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA) to develop a comprehensive watershed protection and restoration plan for the Manalapan Brook watershed. The plan was completed in February of 2011. The development of the plan entailed a comprehensive watershed characterization, in-stream water quality monitoring, and a detailed Stream Visual Assessment (SVA). The SVA included over 100 stations throughout the 43 square-mile watershed and was used in the identification and prioritization of restoration projects throughout the watershed. Princeton Hydro applied the ArcView Generalized Watershed Loading Function Model (AVGWLF) to quantify the TSS and nutrient loads within the watershed. The AVGWLF results were used in concert with the SVA to identify and prioritize potential restoration projects necessary to attain the target TSS load identified as part of the plan.

The development of the plan included the design of five projects in the watershed to specifically address TSS load reduction. These projects included stormwater wetland retrofits, dry detention basin retrofits, and both shoreline and streambank stabilization/restoration projects. In addition to the five design projects, two demonstration/implementation projects were designed and constructed as part of the plan implementation. The implementation project entailed the construction of a large rain garden constructed in Thompson Park in Jamesburg. This park is heavily used and, along with Manalapan Lake, is a community focal point in the watershed. The retrofit rain garden treats runoff from the adjacent parking areas and provides aesthetic amenity for the heavily used public park. The rain garden was constructed by the Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation with assistance from the Rutgers Rain Garden Workshop Certification Class, who used the project as a hands-on demonstration and training location. In addition to the rain garden, approximately 150 feet of an actively eroding section of the Manalapan Lake shoreline was revegetated using native plants. The completion of both demonstration projects was only possible through close coordination and cooperation with the NJWSA,

38 Middlesex County Planning Department, Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Rutgers Water Resources Program.

The 2011 Raritan River Studio

The students of the 2011 Raritan River Studio, Christine Bell, Michael Cassidy, Kaitlynn Davis, Marcus Ferreria, Laurie Sobel and Andrew Tivey, prepared an action plan for the Rutgers Ecological Preserve and Teaching Area entitled “Restoring a Forest, Realizing a Resolution”. This multifaceted report described the current status of the preserve and presented their clients, Rutgers University Facilities and Capital Planning and the School for Environmental and Biological Sciences, with a stewardship focused action plan. The “report echoes the sentiments of faculty and students articulated to the Board of Governors of 1976; that the Rutgers University Ecological Preserve and Natural Teaching Area still holds tremendous potential for the University, neighboring communities, Raritan river and the greater New Jersey region”. The report discusses the importance of stewardship and the restoration of the ecological value of this unique 316+ acre forest. Recommendations were also provided that express the need to implement deer management practices and how the preserve can serve as a valuable location to study urban forest restoration. A key recommendation of the studio’s study was to link the restoration of the preserve with the establishment of a Restoration Ecology degree program. As the State University of New Jersey and a major research institution, Rutgers University would benefit from introducing the first Restoration Ecology degree in the Northeast. In New Jersey, urbanization, suburbanization, and the introduction of invasive species has led to extensive ecosystem degradation throughout the Garden State. The Rutgers Ecological Preserve and its unique location within the greater New York metropolitan area and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean would provides students with the unique opportunity to practice restoration techniques in a suburban setting in close proximity to the Rutgers University campus. The report identified the need to manage deer as the first step to restore the Preserve’s forest. The unmanaged

39 deer population within the Rutgers Ecological Preserve has a led to a multitude of negative effects on the forest in a way that not only threatens the current condition of the forest, but also threatens its continued existence well into the future. As indicated above, if the impact of deer on the preserve is not significantly reduced, the shrub layer will cease to exist in just twenty years. Currently, deer are devastating the forest’s understory vegetation by eating plants and herbs, and are destroying native plants on the forest floor. The removal of the shrub and forest floor vegetation has a direct impact on bird species. This is because less ground coverage due to deer devastation translates into less nesting options for birds, as well as a loss of a habitat for birds to live in. In New Jersey, this is especially true for neotropical migrant birds.

The report also discussed the value of forest restoration as it relates to stormwater management. Having a multi-layered forest is important to stormwater management for the following reasons: Multiple forest layers intercept more water than a single canopy layer, because each layer intercepts a certain percentage of rainwater meaning that less water reaches the ground via stemflow or throughfall. In fact, more water may be intercepted by a healthy forest floor than by the canopy. A recent study of a deciduous beech forest Huewelerbach, Luxembourg, found that the canopy intercepted 7% of rainfall in the winter and 15% in the summer, whereas the forest floor intercepted 20% and 19% in the winter and summer, respectively. Roots from multiple forest layers increase plant absorption of water, through ultimately releasing more rainwater as transpiration, further reducing the amount of water absorbed into the ground and released as runoff. The report provided a clear vision for the Rutgers Ecological Preserve and its value to the university as both as research forest and its potential to serve as an example of the value of sound ecological stewardship.

Raritan Headwaters Association Lauren Theis, [email protected]

Mission: To ensure the protection of the natural resources of the Raritan Headwaters through education, advocacy, land preservation and stewardship.

 On October 1, 2011, the South Branch Watershed Association (SBWA) and the Raritan Headwaters Association (RHA) joined together to become the Raritan Headwaters Association (RHA). Both of our 52-year-old organizations worked for 18 months to accomplish a complete restructuring. The leadership of both organizations believed that a merger would strengthen the capacity of each through shared resources, programs and personnel as well as through the acquisition of a broader base of constituents and supporters. They understood that the organization conceived from the merger would be a leading voice in advocating for the state's

40 water supplies and in a stronger position to address today's water quality issues and the enormous challenge to protect and provide clean drinking water for future generations.

 RHA established a Friends of the Preserve Program engaging neighbors of preserved parcels to monitor, inventory and conduct stewardship projects such as trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and riparian buffer plantings. RHA staff members hold an annual meeting to educate and train volunteers that essentially adopt and steward the preserve. Volunteers upload monitoring and natural resource data along with activity reports to a central database maintained at RHA’s offices. This past year the Association focused on the Fox Hill Preserve (Tewksbury), the Rolfes Tract (Bernards Twp.) and the Burnt Mills tract (Bedminster). (3.4, 4.1)

 Through the Central Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team (CJISST), RHA raises awareness about the need to protect habitats of all native flora and fauna from new invasive plant species. Over the past year, the Association has conducted workshops, volunteer training and developed an interactive website to share information with project partners and the public. (3.4, 4.1)

 RHA holds a monthly information breakfast called “Wake Up Call”. The series offers education and outreach on subjects that promote sound environmental planning and increase environmental awareness. Notices go out to the mayors and environmental commissions from each of the watershed’s 23 municipalities and it is well publicized in local newspapers, Constant Contact, RHA’s newsletter and website. In recent months, speakers included: Judy Shaw, Sustainable Raritan River; MacKensie Hall, Conserve Wildlife; Emile DeVito, NJCF; Tom Gilbert, Keep It Green; Julia Somers, NJ Highlands Coalition; Melissa Almendinger, CJISST, Julie Jurusz, NJ Beekeepers Association. (3.4)

 RHA coordinates annual stewardship events through Corporate “Days of Caring”, School Community Service Events, Scout Projects, Stream monitoring training workshops and Community Stream Cleanups. Each event includes an educational component, hands-on training and a take-away. Examples of this past year’s stewardship events include: a riparian restoration project with Centenary College students; a 3- town stream cleanup (75 citizens); an invasive plant removal project with Johnson & Johnson; trail maintenance, invasive removal and water monitoring along the North Branch with Bernards High School students; establishing a rain garden with the Raritan Highlands Compact and scout volunteers. (3.4, 4.1)

 RHA’s GIS staff has established an Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) for the entire 194 square mile Raritan Headwaters Region. The inventory presents 28 data layers including Land Use-Land Cover, Steep Slopes, SSA’s, HUC 14’s, Surface Water Quality Standards, Contaminated Sites, Critical Sub-Watersheds with Impervious Surface Less than 10% and Highlands Water Availability. GIS maps are available through RHA’s website and provided to citizens and municipal partners upon request. (3.5, 6.1, 6.2)

 RHA holds 33 conservation easements on 880 acres, owns and manages 11 preserves (450 acres), and has partnered with others to preserve 100’s more acres that protect water supplies. This past year, RHA partnered to preserve 86 acres of open space along the Middle Brook in Bedminster and added 6 acres of grassland habitat that is contiguous with the Association’s Fox Hill Preserve located in the Cold Brook Watershed, Tewksbury. RHA is in the process of developing a conservation plan that identifies priorities and preservation goals for source water protection throughout the Raritan Headwaters. Preserved 4 properties in partnership with other organizations -- a total of 534 acres of critical habitat and water resources (3.7, )

41  RHA participates in the Raritan Piedmont Wildlife Habitat Partnership (RPWHP) a diverse group of organizations executing the goals of the New Jersey State Wildlife Action Plan in the Central Piedmont Plains. RPWHP has developed a Grassland, Forest and Wetlands/Riparian Conservation Plan for the region. RHA also participated in Keep It Green, Sustainable Raritan Collaborative, NJ Highlands Coalition, Watershed Watch Network, ANJEC Environmental Summit, Raritan Basin Alliance, NJ Land Council, Alliance for NJ Environmental Education (5.3, 9.1)

 Between June 15th and 30th, RHA’s staff and trained volunteers collect habitat and biological data along Rockaway Creek, Peapack Brook and the North Branch of the Raritan River at 28 monitoring points. This past year, the stream monitoring program expanded to points along the Lamington River. The 2010 Stream Monitoring Report was published and posted on the Association’s website. Annually and in preparation for this year’s monitoring, RHA submitted a Quality Assurance Project Plan to the NJDEP Division of Watershed Protection. (7.3)

 Engaged 900 residents from 11 municipalities in our Community Well Test Program to identify potential pollutants and assess ground water quality

 Lead 700 citizen volunteers in stream cleanups at 27 sites throughout the watershed region

 Enhanced and improved 300 acres of wildlife habitat with the assistance of more than 250 volunteers

2012 - RHA’s goals for next year include the launch of a watershed-wide Conservation Plan (CP) to provide strategic guidance for the delivery of programs and activities. www.RHA.org will be upgraded to deliver the interactive components of the CP and improve the delivery of educational resources. The Association’s strategic plan identifies an objective to establish monitoring points in each HUC 14, as well as a status report, photography, public access information, etc. to share with local citizens and municipalities (goal to engage stakeholders in watershed protection). Assessments of two HUC 14’s are targeted for completion in 2011. (2.4, 3.3, 7.3).

Raritan Riverkeeper Bill Schultz, [email protected]

Stewardship- Took an active part in blocking Liberty Natural Gas from routing a natural gas pipeline through Perth Amboy, Woodbridge & Carteret passing nearby to schools, residential and high hazard industrial areas. Delivered presentations on the status & health of the Raritan River to; fishing club, homeowner’s association, U.S. Power Squadron. Monitored 23 osprey nest sites and reported survey results to the Endangered & Nongame Species Program of the NJDEP. Active member of three US Coast Guard committees in NY Harbor.

Public Access & Recreation- Exhibited at a fishing flea market, Paddlesport (biggest canoe & kayak show on east coast)Raritan River Symposium, screening of the film “Rescuing the River: the Raritan”, Raritan River Festival in New Brunswick, NJ Boat Sale & Expo. Did a second printing of the Raritan River Access Map. Consulted with several organizations nationwide who may use our map as an example for their projects. Conducted kayak tours of the Raritan River. Assisted with conducting the “Rutgers Float” from New Brunswick to Sayreville. Assisted ANJEC with their public access project and

42 conducted tours of access points for committee members. Assisted with conducting the D&R Canal Race.

Remediation & Pollution Prevention- Active member of Raritan Bay Slag Site CAG, active member of Woodbrook Road Superfund Site CAG, heavily involved in the American Cyanamid site in Bridgewater. Filed law suit against NJ DOT & NJ Turnpike Authority for pollution from highway bridges on the lower Raritan River. Filed a law suit against “The Point” in Sayreville over polluted river sediments from the old National Lead site in Sayreville.

Water quality & water quantity- Received an award for assisting with the removal of the Calco Dam. Involved in a legal battle over combined sewer overflows in NJ

Balanced redevelopment- Arguing for balance redevelopment on the American Cyanamid site in Bridgewater and also at “The Point” in Sayreville, (the old National Lead site).

Rutgers Preparatory School Kevin Merges, merges@rutgersprep

The big highlight is our shift to the "zero landfill" dinning commons. We have reduced the overall landfill output of the campus by over 40%. I forgot to mention that we had a student study ecological restoration last year and then continue her work throughout the summer. She researched native species, started them in our greenhouse and then moved them outside to our wet basin and the stream that feeds the wet basin.

Rutgers-Ecological Preserve Rick Lathrop, [email protected]

1) Principles of Natural Management (PNRM) class. The EcoPreserve served as the focal point for the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources' new Principles of Natural Resource Management class (a required course for all majors). IN addition to adding to the Preseve's natural resources inventory database, the class restored one section of degraded trail, initiated a stream restoration project on the northern stretch of Buell Brook, installed one bat house and established four experimental deer exclosures along with planting 300 red oak saplings and assorted native shrubs as part of a "sentinel seedlings" deer browse experiment. Many thanks to Dean Rick Ludescher for providing the funding for the class to construct these projects.

2) Held a trails cleanup on September 23. Students from PNRM, the RU Outdoors Club and the US Marines ROTC particpated. We held several additional tree clearing events (Oct 28, Nov 18 and Dec 2) to clear downed trees from Hurricane Irene and the Oct 29 storm. Students from the PNRM class and the Naturalist Club participated.

3) The Delaware Valley Orienteering Association held an orienteering meet on Sunday Sept 25 and the RU Recreation Dept held the RU Down & Dirty Mud Run on Friday September 30 in teh Preserve. Both events were well attended; over 400 for the Mud Run.

43 4) I met with students with the Helyar House Coop to form a volunteer trail patrol. 5 student interns will start weekly patrols of the Preserve this coming spring 2012 semester. I am working with several students in Civil Engineering and the RU Outdoors Club to design and build a bridge across Buell Brook this coming Spring.

5) On a less positive note, the ongoing construction on Livingston Campus has resulted in some soil runoff and sedimentation of Buell Brook. I have alerted the RU Planning Office and hopefully the situation has been rectified. I'll be keeping an eye on it. A new stormwater wetland is under construction on the edge of the EcoPreserve (south of Avenue E). We'll have to keep an eye out for any adverse impacts.

6) I applied for and received a $8,509 grant from the NJDEP Recreational Trails Program to support trails development in the Rutgers Ecological Preserve and Natural Teaching Area. For more Info http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0143.htm Judy Shaw also secured funding for the construction of additional deer exclosures.

I will need to raise some additional money to be able to hire some students to form a trail crew to assist in the trail and deer exclosure construction. Any help on where to raise this money would be much appreciated.

7) The trails map and brochure has been published. Please see attachment. The brochure has some nice photos taken by the RUEP research intern, Liz Garvey. If I can find funding, I'll get multiple copies printed. It will be posted on the ecopreserve.rutgers.edu website. Over winter break, I'll also be posting a signboard with the map at each of the 5 main entrances to the preserve.

8). I have been working with the LA department student Brian Curry to design a trailhead kiosk for the new gateway to be constructed in the NW corner of the preserve. We met with RU Planning Office staff to go over plans on Nov 2. The kiosk is being funded by a bequest for the parents of Charlie Kontos.

9) I have been asked by President McCormick (along with committee members Steven Handel and Judy Shaw) to serve on an EcoPreserve task force to examine long term conservation of the Preserve.

Rutgers University, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences Department of Environmental Sciences

John Reinfelder, [email protected]

Concentrations of total mercury in the Raritan River during high discharge in the spring of 2011 ranged from 3.4 to 14 ng/L (pptr) for the freshwater portion and 1.5 to 9 ng/L for the estuary. Methylmercury, the form of mercury that biomagnifies in aquatic food webs, varied from 0.3 to 0.8 ng/L in the freshwater Raritan and 0.5 to 0.9 ng/L in the estuary. The US EPA's Criterion Continuous Concentration for mercury in freshwater (12 ng/L) was exceeded at only one site (Bakelite Park, Piscataway). Total mercury concentrations in the spring of 2011 were lower than those measured by the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program in 1995, but were similar to those reported by the USGS for Bound Brook in 2005 and 2006. Methylmercury concentrations throughout the Raritan were elevated with respect to the 2005-

44 2006 USGS values. While total mercury concentrations were correlated with river discharge and total suspended solids, other factors likely control methylmercury.

Nine water bodies in the Raritan watershed including Raritan Bay are listed on New Jersey's 303(d) list for Hg impairments (total Hg in fish tissue >0.07 µg/g, wet weight). Although most of the mercury in the Raritan watershed comes from atmospheric deposition, land use and water quality management may help reduce methylmercury production in its water bodies.

Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences

Bob Chant, [email protected]

Overview

Chant’s group is in the middle of a one-•‐year characterization of aspects of the physical and chemical properties of the Raritan River. This field effort started in late March 2011 and will continue through April 2011 with funding from the Mushett family Foundation. These efforts will be extended through 2012 with funding from New Jersey Sea Grant. The characterization is based on data that we are collecting that includes shipboard and moored observations as well as the analysis and interpretation of existing data sets and publications. Other data sets include sea-•‐ level and meteorological data obtained by NOAA, water quality data from the New York/New Jersey Harbor Discharge group and river discharge from the United

States Geological Survey. In addition Chant’s group is working closely with Lisa Rodenburg who is measuring metal and organic contaminant concentration both in the water column and in the surficial sediments. In particular Chant’s group participates in all of Rodenburg’s cruises and it is from Chant’s budget that

Rodenburg’s shiptime is covered.

Shipboard Surveys:

To date Chant’s group has collected data from approximately monthly shipboard surveys of the Raritan River. Most of these surveys included measurements of salinity, temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, Chlorophyll-•‐a, Nitrate, and optical backscatter (a proxy for suspended sediment concentration). Table 1 notes the dates of these surveys. A major objective of these surveys is to determine the location of salt-•‐water intrusion into the river as a function of river discharge. The salt field is fundamental in a number of critical processes. For example, the salt field controls vertical mixing and thus plays a critical role in determining levels of dissolved oxygen and the dispersion of pollutants within the estuary. The salt field also controls sediment transport because sediments tend to move down stream in the fresh water regions of the river but are trapped by the salt front in the lower estuary where lower layer flows tend to be upstream. Since many of the contaminants of concern in the river tend to be in the particulate phase this trapping mechanism also tends to trap contaminants in the lower reach. Bottom grabs of the river conducted in September found the lower reach primarily silt and clays and consistent with the findings of Dean and Haskins (1964), while upstream the bottom becomes is composed of sand and gravel. The transition between these regimes coincides with the location of the river flow during moderate flow regimes and appears to be controlled by channel morphology as discussed below.

45 Date River Flow (m3/s) Tidal Range (m) Salt Intrusion (km)

Range (m) March 30, 2011 36 1.1 11.6

April 29, 2011 95 1.1 2.8

May 24,2011 57 1.1 8.5

July 7, 2011 9 1.5 19.5

July 21, 2011 5 1.2 13.7

Sept, 23 2011 34 1.2 9.1

Sept, 25 2011 103 1.6 4.4

Nov 04, 2011 49 1.1 7.8

Nov 15, 2011 17 1.1 8.2

An example of the shipboard data collected during times of low river discharge is shown in figure 1 from a survey on July, 23rd 2011 when the river discharge had been below 10 m3/s for approximately 2 weeks. During this low-•‐flow period salt intrusion extended beyond New Brunswick. Dissolved oxygen was relatively low (around 120 µM or 4 mg/l) in the lower layer in southern half of the estuary due to the combination of enhanced stratification and the higher organic content in the finer sediments in the lower reaches of the estuary. Nitrate levels were high and exceeded 100 µM in the freshwater end member at New Brunswick.

We note that these nitrate levels far exceed levels in the Hudson discharge and likely contribute to plankton blooms in Raritan Bay as discussed below. Moreover, our observations reveal that during low flow conditions significant (such as the July 2011 sections) there is significant nitrate uptake in the River itself and this may fuel the low dissolved oxygen apparent in figure 1.

We also note that both nitrate levels and dissolved oxygen levels that we have observed in our surveys are consistent with those obtained from the Harbor Discharge Group which points to regions of relatively low levels of dissolved oxygen in the lower layer of the lower reach of the Raritan River. However, our data set is of much higher spatial resolution. For example we conducted an August 2011 survey of the eastern portion of the Bay that revealed a region of low dissolved oxygen that included readings below 2.0 mg/l which are extremely stressful to aquatic life (Figure 2). While the Harbor Discharge group’s data also reveals relatively low values of dissolved oxygen in this region it is only their station number 29 that falls into the low DO region. Moreover, recent studies of hypoxia regions suggest thatdaily variability in oxygen levels can be significant and need to be resolved by higher temporal sampling with moored instrumentation. We are planning to obtain such data next summer with moored oxygen sensors in the western portions of the bayand possibly in the lower Raritan River.

46 Response of salt field to River discharge

As stated above a major objective of the proposed work it to characterize the response of the salt field to variations in river discharge. Using the 9 shipboard sections listed in table 1 together with other salinity data collected in the Raritan as part of other projects or classes that we have compiled we have found a clear relationship between river discharge and salt intrusion length (figure 3). Salt extended almost 20 km up river to New Brunswick when the river discharge was below 20 m3/s, while when river flow exceeded 100 m3/s the salt field was pushed within 7 km from the mouth. The trend is approximately linear—which is not completely expected given the behavior of other estuarine systems that are are often less responsive to river discharge (Monismith et al , 2002). More importantly, however is the clustering of points between km 9 and 12 which contains the reach of the river just upstream of the widening of the river by Sayerville (km 8-•‐9). Upstream of this reach the river begins meandering and is complicated by the confluence of the main stem of the Raritan River with the Washington canal (km 11) and with South River (km 13), between which lies a deep hole that often is seen to trap the salt front during the ebb tide. This is the region that separates the sand and gravel generally found upstream of km 10-•‐12 with the silts and clays rich in organic matter in the reaches downstream of km 9. Thus for moderate discharge the salt front appears to be locked into bathymetric features with the downstream portion accumulating fine sediments.

We suspect that as the discharge exceeds 200 m3/s the salt field may be completely washed out of the river and under such conditions sediment and associated contaminants are likely transported into Raritan Bay. We anticipate capturing such events over the next few months as we complete this year’s sampling in the spring. In addition, a moored data at the mouth of the river is recording salinity and recently captured a high flow event that occurred on December 7th,

2011 where the discharge at Bound Brook exceeded 500 m3/s. In our research in the Passaic River (Chant et al, 2011) characterizing the discharge that the river turned completely fluvial was critical in determining a sediment budget for the Passaic River. We anticipate quantifying this critical river flow in the Raritan as part of this project and that it will be equally important in determining a sediment budget for the river.

Moored observations

We recently recovered and redeployed an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling current meter from the mouth of the Raritan River. The deployment lasted from September 23rd, 2011 until December 6th 2011 and collected vertical profiles of currents and acoustic backscatter at 25 cm resolution every 10 minutes during the entire deployment. The mooring was placed adjacent to the main shipping channel in 8 -•‐10 meters of water. To the best of our knowledge this is the first moored ADCP data to be collected in the Rartian River. Figure 4 shows the 10 minute depth averaged data (black curve) along with the daily averaged (low frequency) near surface and near bottom flow together with the river discharge from Bound Brook. The tidal currents are strongly ebb dominated in that the ebb tidal velocities greatly exceed the flood tidal velocities.

We note that the river discharge is insufficient to account for this tidal asymmetry. For example the ebb tide velocity during the high flow event on November 23rd is similar in magnitude to other spring tide ebb flows (Nov 1, Oct 1). This tidal asymmetry is likely to have an important impact on sediment transport and should favor a transport of sediment from the river to the Bay. Moreover, this tidal period

47 behavior is inconsistent with NOAA’s tidal current predictions nearby this site (across the channel by the railroad bridge) that predict that spring tides ebbs should be more like 50 cm/s and floods 75 cm/s.

Not only do these observations show stronger currents than the tidal predictions but they indicate an opposite in the tidal asymmetry with the observations showing stronger ebb while the predictions indicate a stronger flood. Whether this is due to outdated tidal current predictions or due to remarkable spatial variability. There are presidents for the former, such as a NOAA program to obtain new current meter data in the Hudson River due to a dramatic change in tidal current speed and timing. While given the sinuous nature of the channel it is also likely that there is significant variability in tidal current speeds across the channel— and this issue we will address in the spring of 2012 with additional moorings and shipboard surveys.

The low frequency flow (red and blue lines) show the expected and persistent upriver flow at depth (red) and seaward flow at the surface (blue). This near bottom upriver flow tends to move sediment up river and thus competes with the seaward transport tendency associated with the tidal flows.

Finally, the ADCP also records acoustic backscatter that, as mentioned above, we will calibrate against in situ suspended sediment measurements. Using a calibration obtained from another estuarine system figure 5 presents current velocity along with estimates of suspended sediment concentration over a two day period around the spring tide in early October, 2011. Please note that this data is extremely preliminary and is presented to describe tidal period variability rather than precise suspended sediment estimates. The data reveals elevated turbidity during peak currents, as expected, but with weaker flood/ebb asymmetry than expected based on the tidal current speed alone. Thus with the stronger ebbing currents it seems that the net sediment transport would be seaward during these events which is contrary to limited published accounts of sediment transport which would suggest that the mean sediment transport is towards the river (Renwick and Ashley, 1984, Bokuniewicz and Ellsworth, 1986)

Tasks to be completed

Develop estimates of sediment fluxes in the Spring of 2012 by the addition of a second mooring in Raritan River and the calibration of acoustic baskscatter with in situ estimates of total suspended sediment. We have conducted similar analysis in both the Passaic River and the Delaware River (Chant et al, 2011).

Develop estimate of nitrogen loadings to the river based on a combination of our data and the Harbor discharge group’s data. This involves developing an empirical model by correlating nitrate concentration with river discharge from which annual loadings can be obtained. These two tasks will be completed after the field work is complete in the Fall of 2012.

Figure One: Nitrate concentration (upper panel) and dissolved oxygen (lower panel) along with salinity (contours) from a July 2011 survey. Distance is in km from New Brunswick.

48

Figure Two: Bottom dissolved oxygen (mg/l) from August 23, 2011 suvery. Note that mean value is shaded area is 2.9 mg/l which is considered extremely stressful to aquatic life

Figure Three: Position of salt front as function of river discharge. Distance is km from mouth of river.

49

Figure Four: Raw depth averaged along channel flows (black line) and low frequency (daily averaged) surface (blue) and near bottom (red) currents. Positive is flooding.

Figure Five: Time Series of velocity (contours) and suspended sediment (color) during spring tide condition in October 2011. Vertical axis is distance from bottom. Thick contours is slack water, solid lines flooding currents and dashed lines ebbing currents.

50

References

Chant R.J. . D. Fugate and E Garvey.2011 “The role of evolving dynamics and geomorphology in shaping an estuarine superfund site” Estuaries and Coasts DOI: 10.1007/s12237-•‐010-•‐9324-•‐z

Dean, D and H.H. Haskins, 1964, Benthic repopulation of the Raritan River following pollution abatment, Limnology and Oceanography. 9(4), pp. 551-563.

Bokuniewicz H. J. and J.M Ellsworth, 1986, Sediment Budget for the Hudson System, Northeast Geology, Vol 8 156-•‐164

Monismith, S.G., W. Kimmerer, J.R. Burau, M.T. Stacey, 2002, Structure and flow-•induced variability of the subtidal salinity field in northern San Francisco Bay. Journal of Physical Oceanography,32:3003-•‐ 3019.

Renwick, W.H. and G.M Ashley. 1984, Sources vs storage and sinks of fine-•‐grainedseimement in a fluvial-•‐estuarine system. Geol. Soc. Ameri. Bull 94. 1343-•‐1348

Somerset County

Laurette Kratina, [email protected] Peters Brook Residential Rain Barrel Rebate Program

Peters Brook Residential Rain Barrel Rebate Program is a pilot study funded by NJ Water Supply Authority and administered by Regional Center Partnership that was launched in July 2011 to encourage residents of Bridgewater Twp and Raritan and Somerville Boroughs living within the Peters Brook watershed to purchase and install rain barrels to capture rainwater runoff from their rooftops; NJWSA determines which rebate applicants meet the program’s criteria (location, type of rain barrel, proper installation); residents applying for a rebate of up to $200 per resident/household . The objective is to establish a critical number of rain barrels in the Peters Brook watershed to theoretically contribute to a reduction of some quantifiable level in the pollution/sediment load of the Peters Brook as it feeds into the Raritan River. The objective is to assess by September 2012 the level of success

51 achieved in the pilot study; if determined to be successful by NJWSA, the rain barrel program may be expanded, depending on funding availability.

Robert O’Neil of NJWSA reported that as of Oct 21 that the rain barrel rebate program generated 54 inquiries of which NJWSA determined that 32 were in the targeted area and eligible for participation. Interest has been particularly keen in Bridgewater and Somerville. Of the 32, six property owners have installed a total of ten rain barrels and the program has issued $760 in rebates. Notices have been issued to homeowners to disconnect barrels in the fall and we expect to generate additional interest in the rebate program when spring arrives.

The program is currently in winter hiatus and will resume in March 2012 when weather gets warmer.

More information on the Peters Brook Residential Rain Barrel Rebate program can be found at http://www.regionalcenterpartnership.org/peters-Brook.html

Regional Center Partnership Challenge Grant program

Challenge Grant program offered each year by Regional Center Partnership exclusively to the three Regional Center municipalities (Bridgewater, Raritan and Somerville) for projects that help implement the objectives of the Regional Center Strategic Master Plan.

The following projects pertain to water quality management within the Regional Center of Somerset County were or are currently being funded through RCP’s Challenge Grant program, and were either recently completed or are nearing completion:

Grant year: 2008 Municipality: Bridgewater Township Grant amount: $25,000 Project: Finderne Infiltration/Inflow Study Status: completed

Grant year: 2008 Municipality: Raritan Borough Grant amounts: $25,000 Project: Raritan Borough Sanitary Sewer Assessment Status: nearing completion

Grant year: 2009 Municipality: Raritan Borough Grant amounts: $25,000 Project: Sanitary Sewer Assessment and Mapping (Phase 2) Status: nearing completion

Grant year: 2010 Municipality: Raritan Borough Grant amount: $20,000 Project: Environmental Sustainability and Master Plan Element Status: completed

52

Grant year: 2011 Municipality: Raritan Borough Grant amount: $20,000 Project: Orlando Drive/Raritan Greenway Implementation Plan Status: ongoing

To see the complete list of all RCP Challenge Grant awards from 1999-present for Somerville, Raritan and Bridgewater, including several redevelopment-related planning initiatives in Somerville, Raritan and Bridgewater, visit http://www.regionalcenterpartnership.org/challege-grants.htm .

For additional information, contact James Ruggieri of the Somerset County Planning Division (908) 231- 7021 or [email protected] .

Somerville, NJ Kevin Sluka, [email protected]

This is a large area abutting Rt 206 to the west and the NJT station in the NE.It has been under intense remedial investigation for the past 21/2 years and now has an approved cleanup plan in place. The center piece of this proposed cleanup is the “Green Seam” which is the name residents have given the unnamed tributary of the Raritan River that runs through the site. Currently it is seasonal and considered a giving stream which means its water flow seeps into the ground water table. The water table (ground water) is contaminated mainly from off-site sources however we have to rectify this and will be doing so in the near future as funds become available.

Additionally, we will be re-engineering the stream to isolate it from the “fill” and allowing it to become a receptor for the remediated ground water as it is returned from the pump and treat system we will be installing. The result of this is we will be returning water to the Raritan that id free of any contamination. When complete this green seam will be 40 acres of open space within the urbanized community and will contain walking/biking trails, educational stations and possible active recreation areas. Ultimately it will link to the Boroughs Peters brook greenway and the Somerset County Raritan River greenway.

South Plainfield, NJ Alice Tempel, [email protected] Walnut Street Park Stream Restoration Project – Bound Brook Tributary

In 2011, the Borough planted 80 tree saplings in the flood plain along the upper reach of the Bound Brook tributary that drains the northwest corner of the Borough. In the fall of 2010, the Mosquito Extermination Commission desnagged the stream and removed sediment from the streambed. The stream corridor was cleared, and then reseeded with MEC’s standard erosion control grass mix. In the spring of 2011, the Environmental Commission approached the property owner for permission to plant trees to improve the habitat quality and ecosystem functioning along that part of the stream. The saplings were donated by the NJ Conservation Foundation, and were installed by volunteers working

53 with Borough public works employees. In the fall, a local volunteer installed “breather tubes” to aerate the soil near some of the saplings. This is an experimental treatment to observe effects of aeration on sapling growth and survivorship in the flood plain.

This planting was the latest stage in an ongoing effort to rehabilitate the condition of the stream corridor, which five years ago was stagnant, with eroding banks choked by Japanese knotweed and multiflora rose. The overall project goals were to remove invasive weeds and trash in order to clear the stream channel, and to control erosion of the banks to reduce silting of the stream bed. A chronology of the project follows.

Tributary 14-14-2-2 enters Borough near Grant Avenue. It is piped underground beneath the Franklin School ball fields, surfaces on the other side of Franklin Avenue, then is piped again under the residences on Tooz Place and under Clinton Avenue. It outfalls at the end of McDonough St. into Walnut Street Park. It then flows as a stream under New Brunswick Ave into Piscataway, where it joins the Bound Brook just upstream of New Market Pond.

In April 2007, 9” of rain filled streams and raised the water table in this low-lying portion of the Borough. Sump pumps in the area ran continuously for weeks and people’s lawns did not dry out. The Public Works Department received many complaints that the stream was backed up and stagnant. Because of the difficulty in obtaining NJDEP stream cleaning permits, no action was taken. Residents grew increasingly annoyed.

In June, 2007, local resident Larry Murrell and neighbors waded into the stream and removed a major blockage near Fox Place downstream of Walnut St. Park. Mr. Murrell also contacted Chris Obropta’s group at Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station for advice. With help from the Clean Communities Coordinator, a volunteer cleanup was organized and neighbors, scouts, and members of the governing body did a cleanup of the Walnut St Park reach. They removed large amounts of trash from the streambed and Japanese knotweed that was choking the banks.

On Dr. Obropta’s advice, Mr. Murrell researched methods of Japanese knotweed control and initiated a suppression project along the stream corridor from McDonough to New Brunswick Ave. He enlisted help from neighbors and used his own funds to pay two assistants. The borough paid for herbicide and supplies. Using extensive networking nationally and internationally, Mr. Murrell developed protocols for injecting Rodeo directly into stems (see www.stopknotweed.com) and was able to achieve good control.

Mr. Murrell brought the Middlesex County Mosquito Extermination Commission into the project. John Kranz worked with Mr. Murrell on the Walnut Street Park section of the stream, into Piscataway. He also said they wanted to clean the Tompkins Avenue to Franklin Avenue reach, but needed the Borough to obtain the NJDEP stream cleaning permits.

In Oct. 2007, the Borough funded the purchase of native plants to replace the Japanese knotweed. Neighborhood volunteers planted 250 plugs of grasses, sedges and wildflowers and 100 shrubs along the banks in Walnut Street Park.

In December 2007, Dr. Obropta provided written recommendations for the entire length of the tributary. These were primarily with regard to removal of debris, suppression of invasive exotics, erosion control and revegetation with native species. Dredging of some sections was recommended but he noted that state permits were difficult to obtain.

54 In May, 2008 another 250 plugs of grass and wildflowers and 90 more shrubs were planted in Walnut St Park and downstream. Coir matting was installed before planting on one particularly steep, eroded bank near Fox Place.

In March, 2009 Mr. Murrell obtained permission from Piscataway to extend the stream clearing and Japanese knotweed control into Piscataway. In July, he also began work along the Franklin Avenue reach.

In October 2009 a grant from the Edison Wetlands Association Supplemental Environmental Project for the Raritan Basin funded the purchase of additional native plants. Volunteers planted 329 seedlings in Walnut Street Park. Some of these filled in areas of mortality from previous plantings, as had been anticipated. We also noted that once the Japanese knotweed was suppressed, we saw natural regeneration of many native plants such as jewelweed and skunk cabbage. Mr. Murrell’s team has had to repeat herbicide treatments every year to keep the Japanese knotweed suppressed, but regrowth is progressively less extensive.

In 2010, Mr. Murrell began researching methods of improving soil fertility and reducing anaerobic conditions of soil in residential subdivision experiencing high water table with consequent damage to lawns. He developed and began field-testing a method of injecting air into compacted, biologically inactive soil which improves porosity and allows healthy soil microbial activity. This treatment allows plants to colonize even barren shale subsoil. He began installing breather tubes in the stream corridor from Walnut Street Park to New Brunswick Avenue. Results were apparent quickly. For instance, an erosion gully that had been growing deeper every year began to revegetate.

In May 2010, the governing body authorized the Mosquito Extermination Commission to desnag the Tompkins to Franklin reach, 1,350 linear feet. The Borough obtained NJDEP General Permit No. 26 for sediment removal from 500 linear feet of stream, the maximum allowed under this kind of permit. That fall, the MEC desnagged the entire reach but was able to remove sediment only from 300 feet between Baker and Franklin School, and from 100 feet between Tompkins and Baker. Vegetation was cleared from both sides of the stream.

In the spring of 2011, the NJ Conservation Foundation donated 150 sapling trees to the SP Environmental Commission. Volunteers and Borough employees planted 80 saplings in the floodplain along the Tompkins – Baker reach.

In the fall of 2011, Mr. Murrell installed breather tubes in the Tompkins – Baker flood plain. He established an experimental design to compare growth of saplings with and without breather tubes. We hope to see results during the 2012 growing season.

Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Alliance Amy Soli, [email protected] Upgrade Current River Access Points and Develop a Plan for Future Recreational Uses

The SBMWA has supported the Hightstown Triathlon for several years now through monitoring for pathogen contamination. The Hightstown Triathlon uses Peddie Lake for the swimming portion of the triathlon and also hosts Friday Night Swims so the triathlon participants can practice swimming in the

55 lake. Members of the Hightstown Triathlon collect the water samples and drop them off at a certified lab for analysis for fecal pathogens. The Watershed has funded the lab analysis; in addition, we received the results of the analysis and compare the results to the NJ State Criteria. The Watershed then relays the information to the Triathlon- whether or not the pathogen levels exceeded the state's criteria- and make recommendations on whether or not they should cancel the Friday night swims and/or the Triathlon. We have made recommendations on several instances that the Friday night swim should be cancelled (due to temporal increases in pathogen levels), but have not yet had to recommend the swim portion of the Triathlon be cancelled.

The SBMWA is committed to continuing this partnership. We have submitted a grant proposal to the USEPA to complete a source tracking study to identify the source(s) of the pathogens in order to reduce inputs. We have also contacted the Peddie School and are trying to partner with them to complete water quality studies.

Protect and Preserve Habitat and Biodiversity in Our River Ecosystem

The SBMWA has a StreamWatch Volunteer program that monitors approximately 38 sites in our Watershed through chemical monitoring. In addtion, we have a 14 sites at which we complete biological (macro invertebrate) and 13 sites at which we complete bacterial (pathogen) monitoring. We use this data to support initiatives, such as working with Townships to adopt ordinances to for stream protection, source tracking for pathogens, and stream restoration projects.

Maintain and Manage Preserved Open Spaces

The SBMWA, in conjunction with several partners, purchased the Thompson Tract in Hopewell. The Thompson tract is a 70-acre property, the purchase of which expanded the Watershed Reserve to 930 acres and consolidating the property into one contiguous parcel. This purchase also completes a continuous 5-mile conservation corridor between Hopewell Borough and Pennington. In addition, the SBMWA and our partners at the NJ Conservation Foundation, Friends of Princeton Open Space, Kingston Greenways Association, Princeton Township, and Mercer County, have preserved the 14-acre Ricciardi tract on the environmentally sensitive Princeton Ridge.

Remediate Contaminated Sites

The Watershed Association has served a key role in supporting the Cranbury Township Planning Board in their defense in a law suit and proposed site plan application to develop approximately 400 acres of a former munitions manufacturing site. The Watershed Association continues to advocate for protection of the nearly 200 acres of wetlands on site that include habitat for the threaten wood turtle and two unnamed tributaries to the Millstone River.

Prevent Future Pollution

The SBMWA has a River Friendly program that reaches out to residents, businesses, schools, and golf courses in our watershed to promote River Friendly practices to reduce pollution, conserve water, restore habitat for wildlife, and educate the public about becoming better environmental stewards. In addition, our Education Department hosts numerous educational events each year in which water quality protection is addressed. Through these measures, the SBMWA hopes to reduce/prevent future

56 pollution of our rivers, streams, and ponds through changing the behavior of those in the watershed. In addition, our Advocacy department hosts annual Stream Cleanups in a number of municipalities in the watershed. These Stream Cleanups usually engage approximately 400 volunteers that remove thousands of pounds of garbage; also, the general public is educated about stream pollution through news coverage of these events. The Advocacy Department also works with municipalities to protect water resources and prevent pollution by supporting or assisting with ordinances. For instance, at this time, the Advocacy Department is working with Hightstown to develop a stormwater ordinance that will improve stormwater management in a developed community as they redevelop. They are also working with Hopewell Township to develop a woodlands ordinance to prevent clear cutting; this ordinance is in draft form and is expected to be introduced next month.

Significantly Reduce Stormwater Runoff

The Watershed was one of several sponsors of a stormwater management seminar for South Brunswick Township last year. The seminar’s topic was “Stormwater Detention Basin Maintenance and Retrofits: A Presentation for Municipal Environmental Commissions, Shade Tree Commissions and Public Works Departments in the Millstone and Lawrence Brook Watersheds” and consisted of a presentation by the Water Resources Research Institute at Rutgers University.

Promote Restoration and Protection Plans to Address Local Sub-Watersheds .

The SBMWA hosted a student intern from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) of Princeton University during the summer of2011. Our intern completed a hydrologic study for the main branch of Harry’s Brook in Princeton to model stormwater flow through the Brook. Through this model, we were able to identify sources of significant stormwater inputs and calculate desired reductions in input to reduce stream erosion and stream flow. The SBMWA is now developing an education and outreach program to promote the use of non-structural stormwater management techniques, such as rain barrels, rain gardens, and green roofs, among residents, business, and schools. It is our goal to achieve the desired reduction through the adoption of stormwater management practices in the watershed. Through the reduction in stormwater inputs, we hope to reduce stream erosion, improve water quality, and lessen the impact of localized flooding associated with lower-intensity storm events.

US Fish and Wildlife Service Elizabeth Cuizio, [email protected]

Wetland restoration is alive and well along the Raritan River. After years of planning and coordination, a project to restore 500 acres of marginal agricultural lands to beneficial wetlands was implemented in 2011. The Duke Farms Foundation, located along the Raritan River in Hillsborough Township, formed a partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to restore and permanently protect wetlands through enrollment in NRCS’s Wetland Reserve Program.

Duke Farms, NRCS and the USFWS worked together to design a restoration plan that restores wetland functions and ecosystem services while dealing with issues of annual scouring floods and storm water runoff from a major road nearby. Restoration goals were to reverse years of compaction and drainage of the land and restore the water storage capacity, topography and wetland vegetation native to the site.

57 Creative techniques were utilized to achieve desired ecological endpoints. Sub-soiling reduces soil compaction; ditch-plugging allows the site to hold water; and excavation provides shallow water habitat for birds and other wildlife. These restoration activities will jump-start the restoration process, after which the site will be allowed to go through natural succession to a climax community of riparian forest land. The photo below shows the site immediately after completion of restoration activities in the fall of 2011.

US Environmental Protection Agency Robert Nyman, [email protected]

The following projects are being supported by the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program in partnership with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission utilizing funding from the Federal Clean Water Act Section 320.

Stewardship of the Lower Raritan River – Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions

ANJEC, working with its project team, will promote stewardship of the lower Raritan River by helping municipal environmental commissions to develop signage at river access points and local outreach programs to encourage use of the river and abutting trails and parks. We will give them tools to educate their communities, including display boards, website information, and handouts reinforcing and expanding the information on the signs. The goals of this project are to: Increase awareness of the lower Raritan River, leading to its recreational use and stewardship; Help environmental commissions in municipalities bordering the Raritan to increase their understanding of the river’s natural functions and the need for stewardship; Build the capacity of municipal environmental commissions to educate their local officials, green teams, other local groups and residents about the River’s natural resources and how to care for them; Increase River access and use by incorporating river access points and riverside trails into municipal master plans, open space plans, and redevelopment plans; Build awareness of the historic and cultural resources along the Lower Raritan River Water Trail. ($20,000 from HEP)

Lawrence Brook Fish Passage Project - Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership

HEP is funding a project to look at the possibility of fish passage over two obstructions on the Lawrence Brook, a tributary to the Raritan River. The group will work with Princeton Hydro to analyze the first two blockages: Westons Mill Pond Dam and Westons Arch Dam. These dams are owned by the City of New Brunswick and sill function as drinking water supply reservoirs. Removal was therefore not considered to be an option in this case. The installation of fish passage over these dams would provide an additional three miles of open, unobstructed habitat. If passage were provided on the other blockages upstream, an additional nine miles could be added in the future (12 in total). The grant funding provided for this project will cover an initial analysis of the possibilities for fish passage, as well as a fishery survey, safe yield analysis, and habitat suitability analysis. ($47,000 from HEP)

Climate-ready public access sites project – Great Ecology, Inc.

58 HEP plans to support a project analyzing the vulnerability of public access sites and adjacent natural resources (e.g. wetlands and riparian habitats) to sea level rise and coastal storms at three or four public sites in the harbor estuary (including, but not limited to, Middlesex County and the Raritan River). This project is intended to provide case studies for planning for climate change at the site scale, and to work with municipalities and county planning offices on these issues. A public access site is defined as a publicly-owned area supporting access to the waterfront, into the water, and/or access to docking/landing from the water. NOAA Coastal Services Center will be providing some sea-level rise mapping for the project, and the Harbor Estuary Program has hired a contractor to assist with the study and ultimate recommendations. ($29,000 from HEP)

NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Signature Program for Seniors - New Jersey Audubon Program

New Jersey Audubon will engage senior citizens in learning about the Raritan Watershed and estuary through a series of programs at community centers and assisted living facilities. Programs and field trips will focus on regional natural history, resource conservation, stewardship initiatives and environmental issues. ($14,500 from HEP)

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