Towns seeking a share of the state's annual $25 million for shore-protection
projects have a new mandate to provide public
access to tidal waterways, beaches and shores, under broad new state rules
adopted Monday.
Oceanside communities must provide public restrooms every half-mile along the
beach as well as parking, according to a newly issued state Department of
Environmental Protection fact sheet. The requirements have been discussed for
more than a year in negotiations over beach replenishment projects, and
municipal officials say they have contributed to some of the recent resistance
to beach-building among seaside homeowners.
In their final form, the rules contain some modifications to address
complaints from private marina operators, and allay fears that public access
would be forced through bayside lagoon neighborhoods. In addition, the rules
specify that towns, counties and nonprofit organizations seeking state Green
Acres funding for sites along tidal waterways must provide public access, the
fact sheet says.
Advocates for environmental and recreational groups welcomed the announcement.
"Having access doesn't mean much if you don't have a place to park,"
said Thomas P. Fote, legislative chairman for the Jersey Coast Anglers
Association, which pushes for better waterfront access for fishermen.
It's a contentious issue for fishermen, even in places where public access was
promised in earlier shore-protection projects, he said.
"The state needs to enforce the access in places like Deal and Sea
Bright," Fote said.
Along the Point Pleasant Canal, neighbors have tried to block access,
"and we've paid for that bulkhead and the maintenance with our tax
dollars," Fote added.
In Sea Bright, Councilman Thomas E. Scriven said "We are deeply committed
to public access."
In September 2006, the DEP sued Sea Bright and several beach clubs in the town
over access. The borough maintained in a counterclaim filed in January that it
has kept its promise to provide more access and public parking under a 1993
agreement, even though it contends the state changed its interpretation of the
pact.
The newly adopted rules, Scriven said, address the same issues that the state
raised in the lawsuit. Beaches belong to all
Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter, commended DEP
Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson for the new requirements.
"I think the rules were the first big step in a long time to open up
access for the public to get to the beach," Tittel said. "The coast
is a resource that belongs to all of us, and these rules will help make that
so."
However, Harvey Cedars Mayor Jonathan S. Oldham said he favored more options
and flexibility for coastal towns.
"I'm disappointed that the state didn't seem to listen a whole lot to
what was said in the public hearings," Oldham said. "I think we have
most of our issues covered in the beach access plan we submitted to the state
two years ago."
That plan may fall just short of fulfilling mandated distances for parking and
bathrooms, but Harvey Cedars has all of that at its bayside public park a
couple of blocks from the ocean, Oldham said.
First proposed in November 2006, the rules seek to "maintain and
enhance" public access to the beaches and tidal waters. The rules take
legal justification from the public trust doctrine, a legal principle that
dates back to Roman civil law, which New Jersey courts have held to be a
guarantee of public access to and use of tidal waters.
The initial rule proposal surprised the marina industry, whose members said it
made unreasonable demands for round-the-clock public access to boat yards and
would expose them to liability from accidents.
As published, the rules would provide certain exceptions for some marinas, but
clearly indicate that public access will be required at marinas that also have
townhouse dwelling units and nonmarine commercial development.
The New Jersey Marine Trades Association asked the DEP to make changes, and
the group needs to examine the document before commenting, said Melissa Danko,
the organization's executive director. Other exceptions
Other exceptions to public access are specified to cover issues such as
military and homeland security, and natural resources problems, such as
closing a shoreside area to protect endangered species.
Mindful of the coming rules, some beachfront communities have begun to think
about meeting the new rule for public bathrooms every half-mile. Mantoloking
officials are looking into providing portable, "luxury grade"
lavatories that would be parked near the beach during the day and towed away
at night during the summer.
The bathrooms demand has alarmed some residents who worry about the prospect
of portable toilets like those used on construction sites. But the bathrooms
are a comparatively minor issue compared with controversy over the perpetual
easement access agreements the state wants from beachfront property owners
before proceeding with the replenishment project on Long Beach Island, said
Long Beach Township Mayor DiAnne C. Gove.
"The real step forward here is making sure that . . . access is usable by
providing pathways to the beach parking spaces and bathrooms," said Tim
Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society.
The rules are "a tremendous step forward in . . . really guaranteeing the
public that they can get to the ocean and to the beach and use it as their
right," he said.
Dillingham said he's a little concerned about one change in the rules proposed
Monday that would apply public access requirements only to the beach sections
getting additional sand.
But if towns want beach replenishment, they will have to provide public access
to that part of the beach, he said. It's an important issue because some towns
for years have tried to reserve part of their beach for private homeowners by
not building access ways, and "now they're going to face a real decision
as to whether or not they want to protect that real estate through beach
nourishment" he said.
The rules affect hundreds of miles of shoreline, including the 127-mile
oceanfront and 83 miles of shoreline along Raritan and Delaware bays,
according to the DEP documents. ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com,
and click on this story for a link to DEP's public access rules. Also join the
online conversation on this topic in Story Chat. Staff writer Nina Rizzo contributed to this story, which includes material
from Asbury Park Press archives. Todd B. Bates: (732) 643-4237 or tbates@app.com
MATAMORAS — Plans that could ease flooding on the Delaware River as well
as increase fishing and boating will be explained today by experts from the
Delaware River Basin Commission.
The proposal, called a Flexible Flow Management Plan, is the commission's
attempt to address concerns about flooding, recreational use, preserving the
river's ecology and maintaining a drinking water supply for as many as 15
million people, including New York City.
The sessions, one from 3 to 5 p.m. and the other from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.,
will be held at the Best Western Inn at Hunt's Landing on Routes 6 and 209.
Experts from the commission and the Delaware River Master will present the
plan in a Power Point display and take questions.
Another session will be held on Jan. 8 in Philadelphia, and the formal
public hearing to accept public comments is scheduled for Jan. 18 at the West
Trenton Volunteer Fire Company.
The commission, w created in 1961, is made up of governors' representatives
from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York and a representative of
the federal government. While the commission administers the river basin, the
flow management agreement was hammered out between the four states and New
York City, a requirement set down by a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision
dealing with how water from the river can be used.
New York City gets about half its drinking water from reservoirs on the
upper reaches of the Delaware River, piping it through aqueducts through the
Catskill Mountains. Numerous downstream cities, including Trenton and
Philadelphia, also draw water from the river.
Three major floods along the river in 18-months led state officials to look
at why the floods caused so much damage. Among the charges were that the
reservoirs were mismanaged and, some claimed, were prime cause of such high
water levels.
Although experts have shown the reservoirs played only a minor part in the
flooding, there was a move to look at how the water levels held by New York
City could be used to ease flooding in the future and how releases from the
reservoirs can keep river levels high enough for recreation, provide enough
cold, clean water to preserve one of the best trout-fishing areas in the
country and provide a flow strong enough to keep the ocean from inching
upstream toward the water intakes for places like Philadelphia.
The management plan calls for a 1,000-cubic-feet-per-second, or about 6
percent, increase in the flow of the river at Montague from mid-June to
mid-September to coincide with the summer recreation period when thousands of
people seek the whitewater of the Upper Delaware.
Under the Supreme Court's decision, New York City is allowed to take up to
an average of 800 million gallons of water a day from its three reservoirs:
Pepacton on the East Branch of the Delaware, Cannonsville on the West Branch
and Neversink Reservoir on the Neversink River which flows into the Delaware
near where the borders of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania meet.
In the past, the city has tried to keep as much water as possible in its
reservoirs, reasoning that a drought could start at any time. According to
critics, the fact the reservoirs were nearly full meant they could not absorb
the rainfall which, in turn, led to higher flood levels.
People concerned about the ecology of the river said that low levels lead
to warmer water, which kills off or weakens aquatic life that needs colder
water to survive.
The plan provides a set of charts to outline so-called mitigation releases
during certain times of the year to provide a water level suitable to protect
the ecology of the river immediately downstream of the three reservoirs and to
provide more of a void, or lower reservoir capacity, which would serve a a
kind of shock absorber in heavy rain or snowmelt events.
The commission will take testimony on the plan through the close of
business on Jan. 18. Details on how to submit written statements, as well as
the full flexible flow management plan, are available on the commission's Web
site at: www.state.nj.us/drbc./
24, 2007. This legislation would permanently codify the long-standing
exemption for incidental recreational boat discharges under the Clean Water Act.
Furthermore, it would grant the
Environmental Protection Agency authority to reinstate its thirty-four year
exemption for
recreational boats, which a U.S. District Court nullified in September 2006.
Boats will continue
to be heavily regulated for sewage, oil, garbage and other pollutants under
existing statutes.
The Recreational Boating Act of 2007 was last referred to the House Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure on May 24, 2007, where it awaits further
consideration. Although I do not serve on this Committee, I support the
legislation and will certainly support it should this bill come to the House
floor for a vote.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. Please feel free to do so again in
the future, and I encourage you to visit my website at www.house.gov/saxton
for up-to-date information on issues of importance to the Third District of New
Jersey.
[ Parts of the letter were trashed in the transmission -
Editor Byron]
A new policy in Camden could eliminate Cherokee Investment Partners' role in
redeveloping Cramer Hill, but the firm is still slated to handle a $1.2 billion
waterfront overhaul in Pennsauken.
Township officials named Cherokee as the master developer in May 2004 to
build more than 3,000 residential units, an 18-hole golf course, 300,000 square
feet of commercial and retail space, a hotel, a network of parks and a marina on
Petty's Island and 600 acres along the Delaware River shoreline.
Part of the project is tied up in litigation, with the state Supreme Court
slated to hear arguments from Vineland Construction, another developer that owns
a 137-acre parcel in the redevelopment zone.
Vineland, which seeks to develop its own parcel, contends in court papers
Cherokee used political influence to gain exclusive rights to handle the entire
project.
Attorneys representing Vineland cited a March 2004 e-mail from a lawyer who
represents Cherokee to a company principal, inquiring about the status of a
contribution on behalf of then-Gov. James E. McGreevey.
Two Cherokee principals made a combined $20,000 donation to the Democratic
State Committee in April 2004, according to filings by Vineland attorneys.
Cherokee Vice President David O'Neill denied the role of politics in the
company's selection.
The company was chosen after submitting "a comprehensive proposal and
statement of qualifications that highlighted Cherokee's commitment to
transforming an underutilized and environmentally compromised redevelopment area
into vibrant new communities," O'Neill said.
"Pennsauken had a previously adopted redevelopment plan for the
waterfront and Cherokee was designated redeveloper based on the strength of its
proposal and qualifications as a firm that has successfully invested in hundreds
of complex brownfield redevelopment properties worldwide," O'Neill said.
A divided Appellate Court panel ruled in favor of Pennsauken and Cherokee in
July, finding the township had a legitimate right to use a single developer for
the waterfront overhaul.
Lloyd Levenson, an attorney for Vineland Construction, declined to discuss
how Camden's decision to rescind its relationship with Cherokee could affect the
Pennsauken case.
Hope you are all well and
preparing for a joyous Holiday Season! Mary and I would like to wish you
all a Very Very Happy Holiday Season and please do not forget to keep our
Servicemen and Servicewomen in your thoughts and prayers, especially those not
being able to be home for the Holidays.
Now, the reason for this email is to please pass the information on to your
members and ask them to please contact their Congressman or Congresswoman and
ask them to please support this bill listed below, HR 2550. The link to Boat US HR 2550 will give you more information and I am sure our NJ Legislation Rep John Honer and NBF / PBA Rep Bob Williams will have more on this
for us at our next meeting. Again, Happy Holidays to you all
and hope to see you all soon!
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 13, 2007 --
Increasingly, recreational boat marinas and launch ramps, repair yards,
commercial fish docks, bait shops and other water-dependent businesses are being
pushed off the waterfront as a result of residential development pressures,
skyrocketing tax burdens and shortsighted planning. But a bill now in Congress,
H.R. 3223, would provide federal funding to coastal and Great Lakes states to
help preserve and expand water access and protect working waterfronts.
Introduced in June by Rep. Thomas Allen (D-ME) and co-sponsored by Rep. Lois
Capps (D-CA) H.R. 3223, the “Keep our Waterfronts Working Act” would provide
matching grants through state coastal zone management programs to support
“water-dependent commercial activities.” Local governments could use grant
funds to purchase a threatened marina outright, or a non-profit entity could
obtain a grant to buy development rights in order to keep a working boatyard,
public marina, fish wharf or crab wholesaler in business, rather than sell out
to a residential developer.
Boat Owners Association of The United States, (BoatU.S.) is urging recreational
boaters as well as any citizen with a desire to keep waterfront access available
for water-dependent businesses to contact their member of Congress and urge them
to co-sponsor the bill.
To be eligible, a state would have to develop a working waterfront plan and
appoint an advisory committee to oversee the program. Grants made under the
proposed legislation must “provide for expansion or improvement of public
access to coastal waters.” Purchases made through the Grant program would
require 25% of the total budget to come from non-federal funds. The Act would
provide $25 million, $50 million and $75 million to the states over three
successive years.
The bill reflects a number of key concepts explored during last July’s
“Working Waterways and Waterfronts Symposium” that was co-sponsored by
BoatU.S. and Virginia Sea Grant to address the loss of recreational boating
access.
“This legislation will place decision-making much closer to the people and
businesses that depend on our waterfronts,” said BoatU.S. Assistant Vice
President of Government Affairs Ryck Lydecker.
For more information or for help emailing a letter to your member of Congress go
to http://www.BoatUS.com/gov/workingwaterfronts
BoatU.S. is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters with over
650,000 members.
Dear Mr. Oehrle :
Thank you for contacting me about the "Recreational Boating Act of 2007" (S. 2067). Recreational boating is a vital and enjoyable activity for many people and families, and it also is an important element of the economy for coastal states like New Jersey
As you noted in your letter, a recent federal court case struck down an exemption from permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act for recreational vessels. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency has until September 2008 to develop a permitting system for all recreational vessels. Like you, I am concerned about the potential for many boaters such as those owned by families in New Jersey , to be burdened by onerous permitting requirements that will provide little additional protection for the environment.
I support Congressional action to address these concerns. That is why I am working with Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) to ensure that we protect small recreational boaters from overly burdensome permitting requirements while maintaining needed environmental and public health protections for our waters. I am confident that we can develop an appropriate solution to this problem.
Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue.
Exxon
Mobil said today that it plans to build a $1 billion floating natural-gas
terminal about 20 miles off the New
Jersey coast, a move it thinks could help deflect potential opposition
because of the project’s distance from shore.
The company plans to anchor a boat-like structure in the Atlantic Ocean to
process natural gas imported by cargo from faraway suppliers in the Middle
East, Europe or Africa.
The terminal, if approved, would connect to shore through an underwater
pipeline linking it to an existing network feeding New York and New Jersey,
two of the top consumer markets in North America.
This is the third offshore terminal proposed for the New York region in
recent years. Another proposal to build a natural gas terminal in the middle
of the Long Island Sound has drawn sharp concerns about its effect on fishing
and boating and is strongly opposed by local communities and politicians.
For Exxon, going so far offshore is an effort to curb vociferous opposition
that has dogged natural-gas terminals on both coasts of the United States,
particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The project, called BlueOcean Energy, would have the capacity to supply 1.2
billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, about 2 percent of the nation’s
natural gas consumption and enough to meet the needs of five million
residential customers.
The problem of finding sites for new facilities has become one of the
thorniest in the nation’s energy debate. Energy specialists and government
forecasters say more supplies will be needed in coming decades to meet the
growth in the nation’s consumption, especially of natural gas.
Exxon said its plant will be anchored about 30 miles from the coast of Long
Island and will not be visible from shore. It will also stay clear of shipping
lanes and recreational areas.
“We have tried to learn from our past experiences and that of the
industry in general,” said Ron P. Billings, Exxon’s vice president for
global liquefied natural gas. “In siting this terminal, we have tried to
take into account sensitivity and concerns about safety, security, and
environmental issues.”
The company said it would start the long process of seeking regulatory
approval from state and federal agencies, as well as the Coast Guard. Because
of the complex regulatory process, the plant would not be complete until the
middle of the next decade.
On Saturday February 23, 2008 The Delaware River Yacht Club will hold a Pennsylvania Boating Safety and Education Course.
The Pennsylvania Boating educational programs are the established criteria for Safe Boating Education in Pennsylvania and other States. The Pennsylvania program is excellent and has been emulated by several states. I took the course last year with instructors from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The one day class provided interaction learning that could only be achieved with classroom instructors.
When you successfully complete the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission boating course and take the examination you are issued a Boating Safety Education Certificate good for a lifetime. You should note it is mandatory to have past an accredited course to boat in New Jersey waters. This includes the Delaware River .
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will hold a Boating Safety Education Class at the Delaware River Yacht Club, 9635 Milnor Street . FBC Instructor Ryan Walt 717 705 7919
All boaters are invited to take the class. This would be a good refresher course for those who are certified. The class will be from 9am to 4:30 pm . Continental breakfast and lunch will be served. The cost of the food is $8.00 and the cost for taking the exam is $10.00. Make your reservation by e- mailing Art Friedman at art747@comcast.net
ART FRIEDMAN
Four Longford Street
Philadelphia Pa 19136
Cell 215 8173451
Fax 215 331 2803
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