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Current Issues
Keeping the Delaware River clean.
A case study - How local residents helped us make the river
cleaner.
A few years ago a number of sharp-eyed residents
complained to the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)
about oil slicks forming on the Delaware River around Columbia.
The oil slicks seemed to form after heavy rains and were clearly
visible from the shore. The complaints were passed on to the
Knowlton Environmental Commission which started to investigate.
After many phone calls and some site visits it was determined
that the slicks probably came from runoff from the parking lot
of a large establishment whose drains discharged directly into
the river. It seemed the Warren County Department of Health
had been trying for years to get the DEP to require the establishment
to treat the runoff but with no success. The Knowlton Environmental
Commission added its voice to the effort to persuade the DEP
to act, but to no avail. It appears that the discharge of runoff
was not illegal. In any event, the DEP did not act.
Things changed however, when the establishment came before the
Knowlton Planning Board for permission to make some minor expansions.
After consultation with the Environmental Commission, the Planning
Board required the establishment, as a condition of approval,
to install oil/water separators on the runoff from the parking
lot. The establishment readily agreed and will add the pollution
control devices when it makes its upgrades.
Although it took a few years and the efforts of a number of
different agencies combined with an establishment that recognized
its responsibility to the township and the environment, nothing
would have been accomplished if it hadn't been for local residents
who cared enough about their environment to call when they saw
a problem. That first step was the most important one and provides
an important lesson: individual action can make a difference.
You can help protect our environment.
Stormwater Management
Everybody's Responsibility
Most of us don't realize that almost everything
we put on the ground ends up in our water. If we fertilize our
lawns, some of the fertilizer gets washed off and ends up in
our streams, rivers and groundwater. If we pour used engine
oil on our driveways, it will make its way to the same place.
If we dump pesticides down a storm drain, they too will end
up in our surface or ground water. Realizing that stormwater
runoff (the runoff that results from precipitation) is a significant
source of surface and ground water pollution, the Federal Government
requires the states to create a stormwater management plan.
New Jersey's plan was announced last year. It separates New
Jersey's municipalities into two categories. Tier A municipalities,
which are the more heavily populated towns, are required to
take more remedial action than Tier B municipalities. Knowlton
is a Tier b municipality. As part of the plan we are required
to pass a stormwater management ordinance whose goal is to keep
stormwater emanating from new development, during and after
construction, as clean as possible. Knowlton's ordinance is
22 pages long and is based on a model ordinance provided by
the State.
Public education, another component of the plan, will attempt
to teach the public about the importance of keeping the stormwater
as clean as possible by following commonsense rules, such as
properly disposing of used oil and pesticides, avoiding over-fertilizing
and refraining from dumping anything down storm sewers. Knowlton
doesn't have many storm sewers but we must map the ones we have,
and place a special logo on each one advising residents not
to dump anything into them.
The Stormwater Management Plan is different from previous pollution
control plans because it recognizes that individual actions
by the public can have a large, cumulative effect on our environment.
You can make a difference - both for good and for bad.
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