Join LRWP Board Member Professor David Tulloch as he leads our second “Watershed Highlights and Hidden Streams” walking tour of 2019!
Professor Tulloch will help us connect the old constructed landscapes of the canal at Duke Island County Park through a new greenway / bikeway that has been developed along the Raritan and crosses over into the Duke Farms properties. Many area residents are likely familiar with individual pieces of these recreation spaces. Fewer have made the walk to connect them all.
We expect to traverse 3 municipalities (and a named community that locals assume is a 4th municipality), and learn about the role that James Buchanan Duke played in shaping the hydrology of the area including creating multiple dams on the Raritan River to channel water to man-made lakes on the Duke Farms grounds.
Professor Tulloch says: “With the pump house and former dam, I think this will really be more about history than the hidden streams. But there are some interesting spots along the river where small streams contort themselves to cross the greenway.”
Join us from 9-11 AM on Saturday May 18.
Please park at the lot marked as the Raritan River Greenway on Old York Road between Woodmere St and Chestnut St, just barely inside Raritan Borough.
Registration required.
As we will not enter into Duke Park lands, dogs are allowed on this walking tour.
Our April 17 meeting will focus on stormwater management, and will include a discussion of regional approaches to stormwater management.
The agenda will include an overview of federal expectations with respect to MS4 requirements, with Matt Klewin (NJDEP) presenting on “Update on Changes in the New MS4 Revision”. Manville Borough Administrator Andrea Bierwirth will speak about challenges to meeting MS4 requirements in the upper portion of the watershed.
The meeting will be held from 10-noon in the Middlesex County Planning Offices at 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, NJ – 5th floor mid-size conference room.
Parking is validated for those parking on floors 5 and higher in the RWJ Wellness Parking Deck located at 95 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Be sure to bring your ticket to the meeting for validation.
For more information contact Heather: hfenyk AT lowerraritanwatershed DOT org
Received today from Carl Alderson, NOAA Federal
To All Interested Government Agencies and Public Groups:
Under the National Environmental Policy Act, an environmental review has been performed on the following action.
TITLE: Restoration Plan/ Environmental Assessment Draft (RP/EA) for the American Cyanamid Co. Superfund Site, Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
LOCATION: The Millstone and Raritan Rivers, Somerset and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey.
SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the lead federal agency for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for projects brought forth to restore injured habitat for fish and other trust resources resulting from long-term hazardous substance releases from the American Cyanamid Co. Superfund Site in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. Projects identified in the RP/EA are compensatory for lost resources and fulfill an obligation to serve the public as required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), also known as Superfund Law. Superfund is a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants. The Draft RP/EA proposes removal of the Weston Mill Dam on the Millstone River as well as feasibility analysis and design of technical fish passage at the Island Farm Weir, located on the Raritan River.
As documented in the RP/EA, the selected projects are expected to have an overall beneficial impact on ecosystem function and species biodiversity. The project’s goals include benefits to various species, improvement of habitat function, and protection of existing habitat. Because the project is intended to restore natural resources, it is expected to cause a net increase to habitat productivity and improve ecosystem function.
INVITATION TO PUBLIC COMMENT: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Department of Interior, and the State of New Jersey invite public comment on a proposed plan.
The Draft RP/EA is available at the following website: https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardous-waste/american-cyanamid
The public comment period on this plan ends June 10, 2016.
One hard copy of the RP/EA will be available in each of the following public library locations:
Manville Public Library
Address: 100 S 10th Ave, Manville, NJ 08835
Phone: (908) 722-9722
Hours: Mon-Thurs 9:30AM–9PM
Friday-Sat 9:30AM–5PM
Franklin Township Public Library
Address: 485 Demott Ln, Franklin Township, NJ 08873
Phone: (732) 873-8700
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10AM–9PM
Fri-Sat 10AM–5PM
To request further information or an additional hard copy of this document or to submit your comments, please contact Carl Alderson at (732)371-0848, NOAA Restoration Center – Sandy Hook Office, JJ Howard National Marine Fisheries Science Center, 74 Magruder Rd, Highlands, NJ 07732 or by email at Carl.Alderson@noaa.gov. Please put “American Cyanamid Draft RP/EA” in the subject line.
