A great day in the life of the Hudson River and Harbor

Hudson RiverNet News from the Hudson River Estuary Program

Students in Yonkers look at an Atlantic silversides. Rebecca Houser

On October 16th, waterfronts up and down the Hudson River and the piers of New York Harbor were bustling with activity. Nearly 6,000 students and teachers armed with seine nets, minnow pots, and water-testing gear collected data and studied some of the Hudson River’s 200-plus species of fish and myriad invertebrates, tracked its tides and currents, and examined water quality and chemistry.

During A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor, schools partnered with environmental education centers and DEC using hands-on field techniques to capture a snapshot of the river’s ecology at more than 90 sites. Participating classes represent the diversity of the school population in urban and rural communities along the estuary.

These northern pipefish were caught in the East River at Ferry Point in the Bronx. Photo by Chris Bowser Fluctuations in fish catches and ranges are due to many factors including weather, tides and salinity. Most are young fish, evidence of the Hudson’s importance as a nursery habitat. One of the more unusual fish caught during the day was the northern pipefish, which blends in perfectly with long seaweed and debris. Like its cousin the seahorse, the male pipefish takes a major role in taking care of its eggs until they hatch.
A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor is sponsored by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program and organized with assistance from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Watch a clip about this year’s A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor and check out other clips on the NY Department of Environmental Conservation’s YouTube Channel.

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Greasy pizza boxes (and other stuff) you shouldn’t recycle

Workers at Gaeta Recycling, a transfer station in Paterson, pull out inappropriate items
from a conveyor carrying clean, shredded paper, still a sought-after material for recycling.
(Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

Steve Strunsky and Patti Sapone report for NJ.com:

You remember that greasy pizza box you almost threw out, but recycled instead? The cheese was stuck to the lid again, too, but the delivery kid kept the change and drove away so fast you didn’t have time to complain? Remember?

Well, you might have thought you were doing the right thing by flattening the box, folding it once and laying it on top of Sunday’s paper in the recycling bin — but you’d be wrong. You should have just chucked it. The recycling folks don’t want your greasy pizza boxes any more, or a lot of the stuff you thought you were helping save the earth by recycling.

One reason is that China, traditionally the world’s leader in processing paper, plastic and other materials for re-use, has gotten tougher on what it will accept, raising its purity standards for recyclables to cut down on the pollutants that are the byproducts of recycling soiled materials.

”To protect China’s environmental interests and people’s health, we urgently adjust the imported solid wastes list, and forbid the import of solid wastes that are highly polluted,” stated a July 18, 2017 World Trade Organization memo circulated to member-nations on behalf of the People’s Republic.

‘China’s so strict on cardboard right now

Michael Muyala, the plant manager at Gaeta Recycling in Paterson, said China has gotten
so strict it rejects loads of cardboard for being too damp.(Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

)

The restrictions are among variables in the global recycling trade that have trickled down to individual consumers, who now must adjust to changes imposed by their own local governments in response to demands by commercial recycling centers and reuse plants now faced with the possible rejection of compressed bails of cardboard, bleach bottles, and other items that consumers drop in their blue bins and place on the curb.

Pizza boxes are still fine if they’re clean, said Michael Muyala, plant manager at Gaeta Recycling in Paterson, but not if they’re grease-stained.

“China’s so strict on the cardboard right now,” said Muyala, whose customers include businesses and 29 municipalities in northern New Jersey. “They reject loads.”

Recycling full plastic bags on pile PS.jpg

(

Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

The changes mean industry officials must constantly update the local governments they do business with on just what types of materials are marketable. Public officials, in turn, have to pass along that information to their constituents, through notices mailed out with property tax bills or other public awareness measures.

“We put this on our township website, and we also have a TV station that we stream on,” said Mayor John Spodafora of Stafford Township, who led a local ban on plastic bags taking effect next month due their toll on the recycling process.

Spodafora, a retired cost analyst for the U.S. Army, said an analysis he conducted before imposing the ban found that plastic bags add as much as 30 percent to the cost of recycling because they constantly clog sorting machines and force operations to halt, a figure that Gaerta officials said sounded about right.

A truck dumps paper and cardboard in the main sorting area at Gaeta
Recycling in Paterson. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

The don’ts

The following is a list of less obvious items that recycling professionals, public officials and environmentalists say should not go in the blue bins. When in doubt, check your municipal web site or call town hall.

(Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

Plastic bags

Though made of plastic that might otherwise be recyclable, plastic grocery bags, trash bags or other types of bags should not be recycled, either on their own or to contain other recyclables. The bags clog the rollers of sorting machines, forcing plant operators to constantly halt operations to unclog them.

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New York State’s Bay Scallop Season Opens November 5

The NY Department of Environmental Conservation reports:

Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) are New York’s official state shellfish, and a highly anticipated local seafood option this time of year. They get their name from the shallow waterbodies they’re found in, such as the Peconic, Gardiners and Shinnecock bays here in New York’s marine waters. Shellfish, which include scallops, clams, oysters, and mussels, can be harvested from certified waters in New York year-round, with the exception of bay scallops. Bay scallop season opens on the first Monday of November, which this year is November 5th and closes on March 31st.To retain bay scallops, they must be over 2-¼ inches in length from its mid-hinge to mid-bill and also display an annual growth ring(pictured), which ensures they have been able to reproduce prior to being harvested.Bay scallops have a relatively short life expectancy, averaging about 20-22 months but could live up to 26 months. Spawning occurs from mid-May through October or early November. During these months, shell growth occurs at a rate of about 10-12 mm per month, but can vary depending on environmental factors, including their surrounding habitat, water temperature, and food availability.Annual growth rings form where the stoppage of growth during the winter meets new growth that resumes in the spring. The location of the annual growth ring on the scallop valve (shell) may vary and is sometimes confused with growth checks on the scallop shell so you need to carefully check scallops for the presence of an annual growth ring.The annual growth ring is typically raised and easy to see. You can also check for the annual growth ring by running your fingernail from the shell edge to hinge; if it catches, this can be a good indicator of where the annual growth ring is. The growth ring can also be associated with a change in shell color and can be seen easier on the bottom shell but this is not always the case.For more information, visit Shellfish Harvest Limits.Like this? Click to receive free updates

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Enviros want NJ Gov. to shake up Pinelands Commission

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

Many members of the body charged with protecting the million-acre preserve in South Jersey are holdovers from Christie administration

Jaclyn Rhoda

Jaclyn Rhoads, assistant executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, calls on governor to “fix and depoliticize” Pinelands Commission.

Top environmental organizations in the state yesterday pressed Gov. Phil Murphy to overhaul the Pinelands Commission, an agency they say fell short in protecting the preserve the past eight years.

The groups, in a rare show of solidarity, called on the governor to recast the commission, where many holdovers from the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie, all serving expired terms, remain in place 10 months after Murphy took office.

The 1-million-acre preserve, the largest intact coastal ecosystem between New Hampshire and Virginia, is widely viewed as a national treasure by conservationists. Home to rare plants and species found nowhere else, trillions of gallons of pristine water lie underneath the Pinelands.

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Its future, however, has come under scrutiny as decisions have undermined protections to preserve the forests and habitat there, environmentalists say. Critics, including four former governors, have railed about proposed gas pipelines through core preservation areas.

“Inherently, the Pinelands are New Jersey’s wilderness,’’ said Alison Mitchell, policy director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “They are still a wild place.’’

Whittling away at preserve

pinelands
Recent decisions by the commission are not only whittling away at the edges of the Pinelands, but also at its core, according to Mitchell.

“We call on Gov. Murphy to fix and depoliticize the Pinelands Commission now,’’ said Jaclyn Rhoads, assistant executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. “Swift action is crucial; as long as the current leadership continues, we will see further poor decision making, assaults on rational, open processes, and violations of the Comprehensive Management Plan.’’ (The plan details where and what developments are suitable for the Pinelands.)

The governor appoints seven of the 15 members on the commission; seven others are named by county freeholders from within the Pinelands region. One is a federal appointment by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Murphy has yet to make any Pinelands Commission appointments. Some of the holdover gubernatorial appointments are backed by environmentalists, although a few are looking to get off the commission after serving many years.

Rhoads said the groups have submitted names to the governor’s office, suggesting potential nominees. Murphy responded to the recommendations, saying his team is working on the issue, according to Rhoads.

The governor’s office did not respond to multiple emails requesting comment.

His lack of action on the Pinelands contrasts with other appointments Murphy has made on the New Jersey Highlands Council, where he replaced the executive director with a choice applauded by environmentalists.

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PFAS Task Force looks for ‘concrete’ actions in Pa.

Chris Ullery reports for the Bucks Courier Times:

The congressional task force, convened earlier this year by U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-8, of Middletown, consists of approximately a dozen people representing communities that have had their drinking water contaminated by toxic perfluorinated compounds, also known as PFAS, in recent years

The newly organized PFAS Task Force met for the first time in Newtown Township on Friday to discuss initial steps to advance remediation efforts stalled by bureaucratic gridlock between the Navy and Air National Guard.

Local officials from Warminster, Horsham, East Rockhill and West Rockhill attended Friday’s meeting, including Tim Hagey, manager of the Warminster Municipal Authority, and East Rockhill Supervisor Chairman Gary Volovnik.

State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151, of Horsham, and staff from the offices of state Reps. Kathy Watson, R-144, of Warrington, and Bernie O’Neill, R-29, of Warminster, also were in attendance Friday.

The contamination has been linked to the use of firefighting foam at former military installations in and around Horsham, Warminster, and Warrington, where contamination levels are at some of the highest concentrations in the country.

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Friday’s meeting was primarily an opportunity for Fitzpatrick and his staff to speak directly to local representatives, but the congressman said multiple times the ultimate goal of the task force is “concrete” legislative solutions.

A common frustration brought up by nearly everyone at Friday’s meeting is the slow remediation process, which Fitzpatrick, Hagey, Stephens, and others referred to as “finger-pointing” between the Navy and Air National Guard.

Remediation efforts for residents whose water supply is above an Environmental Protection Agency health advisory level for PFAS of 70 parts per trillion seems to be a more straightforward process than for those under that level.

Hagey said Friday residents don’t feel safe drinking water with any detectable PFAS contamination, but can’t get federal government assistance because they are under the advisory level. The township has made a commitment to remove PFAS from its water supply to nondetectable levels.

“70 (ppt) is their magic number, and anything below that they will not pay for,” Hagey said.

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NJ bill would let mayors pull the plug on some utilities

Two New Jersey legislators from Bergen County say towns should be able to pull the plug on utilities that fail to provide safe and adequate service.

An Assembly panel voted 8 to 0 today to advance a bill sponsored by Assemblymen Christopher DePhillips and Kevin J. Rooney, permitting municipalities to switch providers.

Several nor’easters earlier this year left hundreds of thousands of Orange and Rockland and JCP&L customers in North Jersey without power, some for weeks. Local officials and residents were furious with the utilities’ lack of preparation and communication.

“There’s no excuse for chronic incompetence,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen). “Keeping the lights on isn’t rocket science. People should be confident they’ll have heat or AC regardless of the weather. We’re putting utilities on notice. Mayors will be able to look elsewhere for more responsive, efficient service.”

“This bill will inject much-needed competition into the utility industry,” continued DePhillips. “Towns should not be stuck with the same utility forever against their will.”

The measure (A3736) allows towns to revoke a utility’s franchise for poor service, limits franchise contracts to seven years, and increases penalties from $100 up to $25,000 per day for violating BPU rules and regulations.

“The poor dissemination of accurate information was and continues to be unacceptable during power outages,” said Rooney (R-Bergen). “Elected officials and their customers rely on accurate information, when not given there’s a perception that their power utility is an uncaring corporation, interested in profit rather than in customers.”

Orange and Rockland has 300,000 electric customers in northern New Jersey and New York. JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties.

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