DEP SIGNS AGREEMENT
WITH WILDWOOD TO SPUR REVITALIZATION OF THE CITY
Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bob Shinn today signed a five-year partnership
agreement with Wildwood City to accelerate revitalization
efforts through an integrated plan that will help achieve
the city's key redevelopment and environmental improvement
goals.
Shinn signed the agreement with Mayor Duane
Sloan at a ceremony on the boardwalk. Wildwood is the first
municipal government in southern New Jersey to sign an agreement
initiated by Shinn to spur environmental progress throughout
the state.
"We are using this new 'place-based'
approach to environmental management to strengthen partnerships
with local governments to improve the quality of life. I
commend Wildwood officials for their leadership in joining
with us to link economic development with environmental
enhancements in a holistic manner," said Shinn.
"We are extremely pleased that Commissioner
Shinn and the DEP have taken a strong interest in the revitalization
efforts of our community. The City recognizes the importance
of preserving our valuable natural resources and has a long
tradition of maintaining the balance between environmental
quality and economic growth," added Mayor Duane Sloan.
Some of the focus areas of the agreement
are: beach enhancement, open space preservation, stormwater
and water quality management, mass transit and pedestrian
improvements and brownfields redevelopment.
The city will be pursing the availability
of government grants and loans and has been approved for
a $15,000 grant from DEP for a feasibility study to eliminate
existing stormwater outfalls on the beach to improve water
quality.
The first step under the agreement will
be the formation of an action plan that outlines the city's
environmental issues and goals. A project schedule will
be developed to help DEP and the city reach their goals
in an expeditious manner.
Wildwood officials will solicit stakeholder
input in developing an action plan to meet its goals and
timelines. A team leader at DEP will work with the city
to develop a project schedule and help the city reach its
goals.
The agreement includes a greenhouse gas
reduction component, which calls for Wildwood to identify
strategies to reduce emissions from the combustion of fossil
fuels within the city. The plan is modeled after New Jersey's
Greenhouse Gas Action Plan to improve air quality by having
private and public sectors agree to reduce air emissions
from permitted facilities. More than 75 entities have agreed
so far to work in partnership with the state toward this
goal. Wildwood will analyze its energy and fuel usage and
identify ways to reduce usage and increase efficiency.
This is the fifth Performance Partnership
Agreement Commissioner Shinn has signed with a local government;
the others were with Bayonne, Hudson County, Perth Amboy
and Burlington County. The agreements are modeled after
the National Environmental Performance Partnership System
between DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) which uses long-term goals and performance indicators
as measures of environmental progress.
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