NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY HARBOR ESTUARY PROGRAM (NY/NJ HEP)
Agencies
US Army Corp of Engineers
US Environmental
Protection Agency - National Estuary Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
US Fish and Wildlife Service
New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection
New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation
New York State
Department of State - Division of Coastal Resources
New York City Department
of Environmental Protection
Summary
The New York-New Jersey Harbor
Estuary Program (NY/NJ HEP) is one of twenty-one such programs formally
designated in the United States. The designation derives its authority
from the Clean Water
Act of 1987, and provides the region with a comprehensive management
plan for the estuary
- nominated by NY and NJ governors in 1988. The purpose of this national
status is to protect estuaries that are threatened by pollution, development,
or over use. For example, the NY-NJ program considers such issues as
toxic contamination, dredged material management, pathogenic contamination,
and floatable debris in its comprehensive plan for the estuary.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the Clean Water Act, designated the NY/NJ HEP, and invites the input and involvement of numerous other agencies in the region. Because of the far-reaching interactions between the harbor estuary and the surrounding ocean, Congress extended the restoration program to include the New York Bight, an area extending some 100 miles beyond the formal harbor region due in part to the economic and ecological importance of the harbor's fish habitat.
NY/NJ HEP also considers the relationship between the land and the estuary. The estuary is a recipient of drainage waters from 16,300 square miles of eastern New York, northern New Jersey, and border regions of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Rainwater carries with it a variety of substances that need to be monitored for their effect on the ecological balance of the estuary. Some of these substances include oil dumped into storm drains, pesticides, lawn fertilizers, gasoline from highways, sewage from broken septic tanks, and soil from construction.
Among other major issues, NY/NJ HEP also considers the health of the coastal tourism industry, a $40 billion dollar contribution to the region's economy.
Not surprisingly, the range of public agencies involved in NY/NJ HEP is broad. The agencies develop goals and objectives that can be found in a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The plan generally provides details of 1) agency involvement, and 2) the costs and benefits of various actions. For example, to protect human health, the plan may call for a reduction of toxics to protect fisheries. The plan then cites the cost of the actions ($6.4 million) and the ongoing annual expense ($1.8 million). Further, the plan identifies existing agency progress towards the goal.
The NY/NJ HEP is an active partnership of scientists, civic and environmental groups, business, industry, the fishing industry and all levels of government. To date, the program has spawned 300 action items, representing significant progress towards achieving the goals of the program. Agencies and organizations have committed to accomplishing 75% of these actions. The critical element that will define success for the program is the ongoing cooperation between these and additional organizations.
For further information, contact the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program, 290 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY, 10007, located in the offices of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
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