| DEP UPGRADES STANDARDS TO PROTECT SURFACE
WATER
(06/57) TRENTON - New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson today announced the final
adoption of regulations that will upgrade the state’s surface
water quality standards to achieve cleaner water statewide.
“With these upgraded standards, we can safeguard our public
drinking water supplies and protect critical habitats for threatened
and endangered species,” said Commissioner Jackson.
The newly adopted rules establish more stringent standards for
more than 100 toxic pollutants to protect human health and a broad
range of aquatic species. Discharge permits will be revised to
ensure compliance with these tougher standards, which are based
on updated scientific information.
With this adoption, five streams will receive a Category 1 (C1)
designation, which prevents any measurable deterioration in existing
water quality, limiting development impacts and discharges to streams.
The five streams, totaling 12 miles, received the upgraded classification
based on their trout production status. The designations were based
on stream sampling data collected by DEP’s Division of Fish
and Wildlife.
DEP’s Surface Water Quality Standards establish the water
quality criteria necessary to protect the state’s waters.
Each water body is assigned specific designated uses, a stream
classification and anti-degradation designation. The standards
are used to develop effluent limitations for wastewater discharges,
to identify protected areas under DEP’s stormwater management
rules and to determine the buffer to apply to wetland areas.
Under the new rules, DEP will apply new temperature criteria to
protect trout production streams. The adopted rules also establish
more stringent criteria for dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and total
suspended solids for all streams that receive upgraded protection
based on their ability to support trout populations. These more
stringent criteria apply to all dischargers who require a DEP surface
water discharge permit and are located on an upgraded water body.
The new rules also establish upgraded criteria for mercury and
PCBs, as well as a new monitoring requirement. Dischargers will
now be required to use more sensitive analytical methods for monitoring
mercury and PCBs, enabling DEP to better identify and track reductions
in PCB and mercury levels.
The following is a list of the streams that will receive a C1
designation on October 16.
- Beech Brook in West Milford
- A section of the Saddle River in
Upper Saddle River
- Stone House Brook in Butler
- A section of the Wanaque River
in Pompton Lakes
- Wanaque River Tributary in Hewitt
The Surface Water Quality Standards rules and
a copy of the adoption document can be found at www.nj.gov/dep/rules/.
The adoption will be published in the New Jersey Register on October
16, 2006.
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