Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan Version 1.0 Volume I June 2016 and In partnership with Contributing Organizations Government • Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District • City University of New York • The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey • Cornell University • National Park Service • Dowling College • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • Harbor School • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources • Hudson River Foundation Conservation Service • Hunter College • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Kean University • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Liberty Science Center • Empire State Development Corporation • Manhattan College • New Jersey Department of Environmental • Montclair State University Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife • New Jersey City University • New Jersey Department of Transportation • New Jersey Marine Science Consortium • New Jersey Meadowlands Commission • New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program • New York State Department of Environmental • Queens College Conservation • Rutgers University and Institute of Marine and • New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Sciences Coastal Resources • State University of New York at Stony Brook • New York City Mayor’s Office • State University of New York – College of • New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Environmental Science and Forestry • New York City Department of Environmental • Stevens Institute of Technology Protection • St. John’s University • New York City Department of Health • The New York Academy of Sciences - Harbor Project • New York City Economic Development Corporation • Virginia Institute of Marine Science • New York City Soil & Water Conservation District Non-Profit Organizations • Middlesex County Planning Department • American Littoral Society • Hudson County, New Jersey • Bayonne Oyster Gardeners • Union County Planning Department • Bergen County Audubon • City of Elizabeth, New Jersey • Brooklyn Botanical Gardens • City of Jersey City, New Jersey • Citizens Advisory Committee • City of Newark, New Jersey • City of New Brunswick Planning Department • Clean Air Campaign Inc., Open Rivers Project • Little Ferry Boro, New Jersey • Clean Ocean Action • Township of Weehawken, New Jersey • Clifton Environmental Commission • Village of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey • Concerned Citizens of Bensonhurst • Crossroads of the American Revolution Academia and Research Foundations • Downtown Boathouse • Brooklyn College • East Coast Greenway ii Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan - Version 1.0 June 2016 • Edison Wetlands • Sebago Canoe Club • Environmental Defense Fund • Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association • Evergreen Environmental, LLC • The Gaia Institute • Friends of Liberty State Park • The Natural Areas Conservancy • Gateway Bike & Boathouse • The Nature Conservancy • Going Coastal • Trust for Public Land • Gowanus Canal Conservancy • Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy • Hackensack Riverkeeper • Washington Park Association • Highland Park Environmental Commission • Waterfront Alliance • Hoboken Cove Community • Wildlife Conservation • Hudson River Fishermen’s Association • Wildlife Trust • Hudson River Park • Working Harbor • Hutchinson River Restoration Project Others • Interstate Environmental Commission • AECOM | URS Corporation • Ironbound Community Corporation • AKRF, Inc. • Jamaica Bay EcoWatchers • Battelle • Jamaica Bay Task Force • Biohabitats • Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan Advisory • ConocoPhillips Committee • eDesign Dynamics, LLC • Lower Passaic Watershed Alliance • ExxonMobil • National Fish and Wildlife Federation • GEI Consultants, Inc. • National Parks Conservation Association • Great Ecology & Environment • National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy • HDR, Inc. • Natural Resources Protective Association • Hartz Mountain Corporation • New Jersey Audubon Society • Hydroqual, Inc. • New York/New Jersey Baykeeper • Jaffe Communications • New York City Audubon • Line Design, LLC • New York State Museum • Louis Berger • Outside New York • New Jersey Transit • Passaic River Boat Club • Parsons • Passaic River Coalition • Princeton Hydro • Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission • Public Service Electric & Gas • Raritan Baywatcher • PS&S Integrated Solutions • Raritan River Initiative • RBA Group • Raritan Riverkeeper • Robins Reef Yacht Club • Red Hook Boaters • The Elm Group • Regional Plan Association • Weston • Rockaway Waterfront Alliance Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan - Version 1.0 June 2016 iii Table of Contents Contributing Organizations ..................................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Maps ..........................................................................................................................................................................viii List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................................... ix Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................................................xii 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Study Background ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Restoration Goals and Targets .................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.3 Public Involvement and Achieving Consensus ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.0 Existing Conditions .................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 History of Habitat Degradation and Losses ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.1 Bathymetric Alterations ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.2 Shoreline Modifications ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.3 Hydrodynamic and Hydraulic Changes ................................................................................................................................................. 16 2.2.4 Water Quality and Sediment Degradation ............................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.5 Hurricane Sandy ................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 2.3 HRE Planning Regions ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 2.3.1 Jamaica Bay .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 Lower Bay ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 24 2.3.3 Lower Raritan River .............................................................................................................................................................................. 27 2.3.4 Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull ................................................................................................................................................................... 28 2.3.5 Newark Bay, Hackensack River, and Passaic River .............................................................................................................................. 31 2.3.6 Lower Hudson River ............................................................................................................................................................................. 36 2.3.7 Harlem River, East River, and Western Long Island Sound .................................................................................................................