In this CSO LTCP review workshop we will focus on reviewing the LTCPs and submitting comments to municipal and utility permit holders and then to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In this hands-on workshop we will use the LTCPs that have been submitted to the NJDEP and draft plans that have been made available to the public as well as the most recent updates on the remaining eight regional plans to guide participants through the evaluation process with a particular focus on environmental and engineering specifications, green infrastructure specifications, local job impacts, and financial analysis. NewarkDIG is hosting the workshop in partnership with the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign and the Jersey Water Works CSO committee.
In Part 1 of the CSO LTCP review workshop we focused on the nine requirements of the CSO Long Term Control Plans to guide participants through sections of the report. We discussed the regional gray infrastructure projects under consideration by the municipalities in the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Region. Michele Adams, founder of Meliora Design, explained private property opportunities for implementing green infrastructure (GI). Larry Levine, Director of Urban Water Infrastructure & Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council and member of the JWW Asset and Finance Committee, presented equitable and affordable ways to finance CSO LTCPs. Kim Irby, New Jersey Future Policy Analyst, presented the water workforce opportunities associated with green infrastructure, and Drew Curtis, Ironbound Community Corporation, led a brainstorm on how to conduct community engagement on these plans during COVID-19. You can watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UedgFOiC62E&feature=youtu.be
The coronavirus crisis has reminded us of the vital role of our water infrastructure and, accordingly, has highlighted the impact of when it fails. Regardless of a contagious and deadly virus, public health is threatened without safe and reliable water services, both drinking water and wastewater. Along with reminding us how important water infrastructure itself is, the pandemic has also underscored that the water workforce is composed of essential workers. Although office managers may be able to work from home, that flexibility is not afforded to plant operators and others who must work in the field to keep unseen, but critical, functions running.
In New Jersey, as the coronavirus threatens public health in the state with the second-highest number of cases and deaths, the water sector has to work even harder to ensure that services continue unimpeded, while also managing the issues of lead in drinking water, combined sewer overflows, and aging infrastructure in general. The crisis has spurred calls to include funding for water infrastructure in federal stimulus packages, some with an emphasis on sustainability. However, considerations for a shrinking and demographically homogeneous water workforce have largely been missing from these conversations.
Nationwide, the water workforce is anticipated to dwindle due to older professionals, most of which are white and male, retiring. It is estimated that within the next 10 years, approximately one-third of water utility operators in the U.S. will be eligible to retire. This presents a challenge to fill vacancies with qualified candidates who will ensure that we have safe, clean drinking water and reliable wastewater services. However, this also presents an opportunity to fill vacancies with demographically diverse, local candidates – ideally those who also understand the importance of investing in upgrades and sustainability like green infrastructure (GI). In Camden and Newark, there are water workforce programs that have been created relatively recently to try to address these issues by training residents of communities that suffer from a combination of economic, health, and environmental burdens in GI maintenance and/or connecting them to professional opportunities in the water industry.
Camden
PowerCorps Camden is a training program for opportunity youth ages 18-26 who have a high school diploma. It blends environmental stewardship with support services, provided by a nonprofit called the Center for Family Services (CFS). Nearly half of the funding for the program is sourced from the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) and a little more than half is leveraged through matched dollars from other funders. Every six months, 30 members learn how to maintain green infrastructure, develop professional skills, and receive counseling to improve their confidence and guide them through the transition to working full-time.
In Camden, the PowerCorps program has succeeded as a second of its kind, as the original one started in Philadelphia. This shows that a workforce training program of this sort is not only replicable, but adaptable to a given city’s circumstances. For instance, the City of Camden was unable to manage the program alone, but the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) and the non-profit CFS, along with other partners, have been able to both secure funding from a federal agency and administer the variety of services necessary for the program.
Camden Works is a program open to any Camden resident looking for employment. It is not a technical training program like PowerCorps; rather, the focus is on helping participants refine their professional skills and connect them to local job opportunities. Similarly to PowerCorps, the Center for Family Services (CFS) serves as the resource for both professional development and social support. There is no educational requirement; if an individual wishes to get their GED, the program can help them do so.
Both PowerCorps and Camden Works offer services to their members on a personal level. For example, if a member is dealing with childcare or transportation issues that will hinder their ability to get a job, the programs will help them mitigate the issues as much as possible so that when they get a job offer, they are ready to start without worrying about those types of hurdles. Additionally, members have control over what they want to prioritize and which barriers they want to address. Ultimately, the programs prepare their participants so that when the time comes, they are ready to fully dive into employment.
Newark
In Newark, the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) has trained 21 Newark residents to take the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP). Certification requires a high school diploma or equivalent and completion of a GI training course. ICC owns a training license to do this and is the only certified trainer in the state. This is part of a larger job training program, funded through EPA Brownfields Grants, in partnership with the County of Essex.
Besides the green infrastructure installation and maintenance classroom training, residents receive basic literacy training, as well as OSHA-10, OSHA-40, and OSHA Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response certifications. Due to COVID-19, they are delayed in delivering the second cohort of this training that would include hands-on training in installing and maintaining green infrastructure on several Blue Acres sites in the Ironbound that were bought out after Superstorm Sandy.
As a multi-service, community-based organization, ICC blends early childhood education and social services with community organizing and advocacy work to serve as a neighborhood anchor organization for the predominantly low income residents of color in the community. One of their goals is to “address unmet needs and service gaps, particularly for under-served individuals and families.” Another goal is to help “develop self-esteem, self-efficiency, and civic participation.” Though ICC’s other services are not directly tied to the NGICP, residents that participate in the training would have access to those social support services all the same.
On June 9, NewarkDIG (Doing Infrastructure Green), in partnership with Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers and the Jersey Water Works Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Committee, held a workshop to help community advocates around the state prepare for reviewing the CSO Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) now due on October 1, 2020. Watch the workshop here.
In 21 NJ communities, CSO Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) decisions are being made alongside a flood of other political, social and environmental storms. Nicole Miller, NewarkDIG chair, explained how the CSO LTCPs fit in the context of our current realities. “This is absolutely an environmental justice issue, and so when we think about the world we are living in right now and all of the things that are happening, this is also part of that conversation. We hope that all of you take this seriously. We hope that you are thinking about the communities that are affected like Newark, where I live, Trenton, Camden, Paterson. These are communities that have cumulatively been impacted by environmental damage. So we want to make sure we are providing healthy safe water and waterways for people to recreate and live and sewage free streets at the very least.”
Speakers emphasized the importance of communities having a voice in the plans that will include the multi-million dollar projects selected to reduce sewage overflows, a timeline for implementation, what will be prioritized, costs, and the financial capability of the municipality or utility to be able to pay for the plans. Presenters discussed what’s new, where to focus and what to look out for in these plans. A major component of the plans that has not been sufficiently communicated to the public are the regional alternatives, like the very large tunnels and parallel interceptors being considered for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Region. Participants expressed concerns about the cost of these large projects and how the City of Newark would specifically be burdened by the construction.
Michele Adams, founder of Meliora Design, touched on another issue that has not been part of the plans: private property opportunities for implementing green infrastructure (GI). She explained how the City of Philadelphia updated its stormwater ordinance to capture the private property opportunities for new and redevelopment projects as part of their Long Term Control Plan. She stressed that the most cost-effective time to implement GI is when you are building something and that the ordinance has not stopped development or redevelopment. This is especially relevant in New Jersey as the state just released a new stormwater rule and all of the CSO municipalities are now in the process of revising their stormwater ordinances.
Larry Levine, Director of Urban Water Infrastructure & Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council and member of the JWW Asset and Finance Committee presented on equitable and affordable ways to finance CSO LTCPs. “Do not take the existing rate structure for granted. Evaluate more equitable rate structures, which can reduce burdens on low-income customers, or on residential customers generally” said Levin. He suggested that community groups and advocates ask utilities if they are considering equitable financing options like a stormwater utility fee. Even within the context of the presentation there were debates about the use and efficacy of a stormwater utility.
Another aspect of ensuring that these plans benefit CSO communities is through a focus on water workforce development. Connecting water workforce opportunities with local hiring and the local economy was one strategy proposed in the workshop. Green infrastructure projects, more than any other alternative, lend themselves to towns working with local contractors. Prioritizing green infrastructure training in these communities along with local hiring ordinances that are tied to municipal contracts would bring money back into the community.
While the new deadline extension allows more time for public outreach, the limitations of physical distancing require new tactics and strategies for gathering feedback from the public on the selection of alternatives to CSOs. The group discussed the importance of continuing public outreach and using multiple methods for outreach including online and offline tactics.
The presentation discussed these things and more. Feel free to watch the presentation at the link above or view the slide deck on the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers website. A second installment of this workshop will be held in August. Please join us as we focus on reviewing a draft of the LTCP with the express purpose of developing useful comments from community groups for NJDEP consideration.
The submittal deadline for the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) has been postponed until October 1, 2020. The submittal deadline was extended because of the impacts of Covid-19. Public outreach on the plans has come to a standstill but it should not stop. In fact, municipalities and utilities now have more time to inform and engage the public in the selection of solutions to stop sewage overflows.
The need to upgrade archaic combined sewer systems that dump sewage into our waterways onto streets needs to be addressed. Residents who are impacted by flooding and sewage overflows still need a say in the final Long Term Control Plans. Questions still remain as to whether these plans will be affordable, keep residents healthy, invest in local jobs, businesses and neighborhoods, and create more green spaces that promote climate resiliency. Stay involved to make sure that these multi-billion dollar plans deliver community benefits and are not decided behind closed doors.
Email and call your CSO permit holder and ask them to hold a series of public virtual meetings on your combined sewer overflow Long term Control Plans before the October 1, 2020 submittal deadline.
Ask your CSO permit holder to release their draft CSO LTCP to their supplemental CSO team and the public for comments 60 days before the plans are due. This will allow for CSO permit holders to review the public input and incorporate it into their plans before they are submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
Participate in the June 9, 2020, CSO LTCP Review Workshop hosted by NewarkDIG in partnership with the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign and the Jersey Water Works CSO committee and learn how to review the plans and submit comments.
Follow the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news on the CSO LTCPs.
The Covid-19 crisis has had a severe impact on all of our communities and utilities. The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign would like to thank the CSO permit holders for requesting an extension and the NJDEP for granting it. Now, let’s use this time to ensure that the people who live, work, and run businesses in these cities have a say in these plans.
In a matter of months, Covid-19 has changed our world dramatically. The lessons we are learning have as much to do with what our world looked like before the coronavirus as what it looks like now.
We are learning that:
Water and wastewater utilities and workers are essential. The Covid-19 crisis has made clear what and who is essential: those treating patients and keeping our hospitals running, our grocery stores open, and our utilities functioning. Water utilities and workers not only deliver a basic necessity for hydration but especially during Covid-19 deliver a necessity for hygiene when sheltering at home. In March, Governor Murphy stepped in to ensure that no New Jerseyan would be left without water during the Covid-19 crisis and called on water utilities to suspend water shut-offs. We are also learning how many households are on the brink of having water, a basic necessity, shut-off.
Our crumbling water infrastructure needs to be repaired before we have a crisis. Water main breaks in New Jersey have left communities without water needed for hygiene and hydration during a health crisis. Combined sewer systems that needed to be repaired before the crisis will need to be repaired after it. The need to upgrade our water infrastructure remains during COVID-19, only now CSO communities, many of which are economically distressed, are faced with budget gaps, in addition to the cost of upgrading their water infrastructure.
Our environment impacts health outcomes. Worldwide stay-at-home orders have given us a glimpse of how the environment can regenerate when polluting industries are put on hold. Here in New Jersey, we have seen a significant drop in pollution levels that cause much of the health problems associated with unhealthy air quality. At the same time, our history of poor air quality has been associated with higher levels of Covid-19 fatalities. Air pollution is not spread evenly, low-income residents and people of color are disproportionately exposed to health-threatening environments in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. We are learning that the pandemic is not just a health crisis, it’s an environmental justice crisis.
Water main break
The pause caused by Covid-19 has made room for reflections on what needs to be done when we hit the start button. This crisis has magnified the inequalities in our society. Now we need to amplify these lessons in the solutions that are implemented in the recovery.
NewarkDIG, in partnership with Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers and the Jersey Water Works CSO Committee, is hosting a workshop to help community advocates around the state learn how to evaluate this complex document and develop comments for submission to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). This understanding is also crucial to advocacy organizations helping to spread the word to residents, business owners, and other stakeholders about the stormwater infrastructure changes that will be decided upon by the 21 CSO communities this year.
The submittal deadline for the final CSO Long Term Control Plans has been postponed 90 days due to the COVID-19 crisis and now must be submitted by October 1, 2020. Draft plans will be made available to the public for comment before the plans are submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Using a draft of the Newark LTCP, this workshop will guide participants through the evaluation process with a particular focus on environmental and engineering specifications, green infrastructure specifications, local job impacts, and financial analysis.
The virtual workshop is being held on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020 from 10 am-noon.
The coronavirus is changing the world rapidly but some things remain the same—toilet paper is the only thing that should be flushed. Anything else clogs our sewers during a time when our water infrastructure is already in need of repair.
NorthJersey.com reporter, Alexis Shanes, interviewed wastewater experts about the impacts of flushable wipes on our sewers during the coronavirus in her article, “Coronavirus cleaning: Flushing that disinfectant wipe? Think again, experts say.” In the article, Shanes describes how flushed wipes can clog sewers. “Flushed items go first to waste pipes in homes and then to town sewer lines that run beneath streets, which can be as small as 18 inches. The flushed wipes eventually end up in larger pipes owned and operated by county utilities, which are as wide as 96 inches. Sewer systems rely mostly on gravity. If wipes collect in a system, they can prevent water from flowing, like leaves in a yard drain.”
An important reminder for people who are using “flushable” wipes to disinfect groceries and take-out orders from the coronavirus is that “flushable” wipes are not biodegradable and will clog sewers and cause sewer back-ups.
Walter Marlowe, Executive Director at Water Environment Foundation, makes another important point about keeping our sewers clean during COVID-19 in Shane’s article, saying, “being self-quarantined at home can be tough. Being self-quarantined at home with a backed-up sewer is much, much worse. Do not flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.”
Plastic gloves littered across a Walmart parking lot. Photo Credit: Hudson TV page member.
On Monday, April 6, Hudson TV posted a photo on its Facebook page of plastic gloves that customers used as protection from the coronavirus, littered across a Walmart parking lot with the caption, “Please, throw away used gloves to a trash container.” Similar posts of images of gloves and masks littered on city streets in New Jersey have been posted recently on Facebook. If these plastic gloves get into our sewers they will also cause clogs and back-ups, and put an additional strain on our water infrastructure and essential wastewater workers.
On March 27, ABC News reported on back-to-back water main breaks in Jersey City during the coronavirus. Workers were sent out to repair the water main break and a water truck was sent to neighborhoods without running water. The water main breaks sparked concerns about sanitary conditions for residents left without running water, a necessity year-round, but especially during a pandemic. While the timing of this water main break was unfortunate, it was not surprising as New Jersey’s water infrastructure is in need of repair.
Water and wastewater workers are deemed essential. They continue to repair and operate our aging water infrastructure during the coronavirus. Let’s help them keep us (and themselves!) safe and keep our sewers clean.
From the outset of the combined sewer overflow permits issued in 2015, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) encouraged collaboration between waste water treatment plants and their member municipalities (whose sewage they treat). Of the 25 permits issued, 9 were issued to waste water treatment plants and 16 to municipalities, resulting in 9 regional collaborations. Municipalities and waste treatment plants have been working regionally on water quality monitoring, modeling of the sewer systems and public participation as well as regional alternatives like sewer treatment plant expansion and regional storage tanks.
What does this mean for the final Long Term Control Plans?
Proposed regional alternatives #3 from Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission’s Development and Evaluation of Alternatives Report
The plans will include regional alternatives that involve upgrades to waste water treatment plants and the sections of the collection system that they own and operate and could serve one or more municipalities. The plans will also include municipal alternatives that involve upgrades within the collection system that municipalities own and operate and on municipal land. Regional and municipal permit holders will submit regional Long Term Control Plans that may include chapters or appendixes that focus on the municipal alternatives.
Who is collaborating on regional plans?
The sewer treatment plants and combined sewer overflow municipalities they serve are working together to develop the regional plans. These include:
Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCMUA)
Hackensack
Ridgefield Park
Fort Lee
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA)
Camden
Gloucester
Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties (JMEUC)
Elizabeth
Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA)
Perth Amboy
North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority (NBMUA) – Woodcliff Sewage Treatment Plant
Guttenberg
North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA)* – Adams Street Wastewater Treatment Plant and River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC)
Bayonne
East Newark
Harrison
Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA)
Kearny
Newark
North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority (NBMUA)
Paterson
*NHSA owns the pipes and the treatment plant. The following cities are served by NHSA but are not permit holders: Hoboken, Union City, West New York, and Weehawken.
What are the regional alternatives?
The regional alternatives are infrastructure upgrades that the sewer treatment plants can make such as increasing the amount of flow to the plants and the plants’ treatment capacity. Bypass of secondary treatment, also known as wet weather blending, effluent blending, or high-rate treatment is being considered by most of the wastewater treatment plants to increase the capacity of the plant. Learn more about this option in this fact sheet developed by the Clean Waterways, Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative organized by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. Improvements to sewer infrastructure that the plants operate and own are also being considered like increasing the size of the pipes, pumping capacity and regulator modifications to increase the flow to the plants. Regional storage tanks and tunnels are also under consideration by the Bergen County Utilities Authority, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission and North Hudson Sewerage Authority to store flow during wet weather and pump it back to the treatment plants during dry weather.
North Hudson Sewerage Authority is the only sewer treatment plant that owns the plant, sewer system, and outfalls. Their plan includes sewer treatment plant upgrades and more municipal focused infrastructure upgrades like green infrastructure, and inflow and infiltration upgrades. Find a full list of the regional alternatives being considered from the Development and Evaluation of Alternatives Reports at the end of this post.
The municipal alternatives that are being considered by municipal permit holders include: storage tanks, sewer separation, inflow and infiltration reduction, treatment of CSO discharge, green infrastructure, water conservation, and sewer system optimization. Regional and municipal alternatives will be combined in the Long Term Control Plans so that both municipal and regional permit holders meet requirements to reduce combined sewer overflows and water quality standards.
Who will be held responsible?
Although the municipalities and sewer treatment plants have been working collaboratively for the last five years, each permit holder will be issued their own permits and will be held individually responsible for meeting permit requirements.
Both regional and municipal alternatives to combined sewer overflows will have community impacts and benefits. It is important for residents to review the Development and Evaluation of Alternatives Reports (DEARs) and look at both the regional reports and the municipal reports or appendixes that include municipal alternatives to understand the options that are being considered. A list of regional alternatives is also at the end of this post and the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign developed fact sheets for nine of the reports. Permit holders are now in the process of selecting infrastructure upgrades from the alternatives they evaluated in the DEARs and will decide what they will include in their Long Term Control Plans. Ask your CSO contacts for more information on the options they are considering and to release their draft Long Term Control Plans to the public for comments before they submit their plans to the NJDEP.
List of regional and municipal alternatives from the DEARs:
Bergen County Utilities Authority, Hackensack, Ridgefield Park, and Fort Lee:
Expansion of water pollution control facility capacity
Wet weather blending
Regional storage
Utilize inline storage in interceptor for CSO
Municipal alternatives include: green infrastructure, sewer separation, treatment of CSO discharge, storage tanks and tunnels.
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA), Camden and Gloucester City:
Expand wet weather treatment capacity of waste water treatment plant to 220 million gallons daily (MGD) via effluent blending
An additional 130 MGD wet weather capacity at or near the CCMUA wastewater treatment plant through a dedicated process train using ballasted flocculation or other high rate treatment process to address Cooper River outfall
Municipal alternatives include: restoring the City of Camden’s collection system, green infrastructure, satellite treatment, storage, and sewer system optimization.
Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties (JMEUC) and the City of Elizabeth
Satellite treatment facilities (Actiflo with PAA)
Effluent blending at wet weather treatment plant
Municipal alternatives include: sewer separation, storage tanks, tunnel storage, green infrastructure, and inflow and infiltration reduction.
Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) and Perth Amboy
High-rate treatment with disinfection
Municipal alternatives include: storage tanks, storage tunnels, pump station expansion, treatment of CSO discharge, and green infrastructure.
North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority (NBMUA) – Woodcliff Sewage Treatment Plant and Guttenberg
Woodcliff Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade and expansion, and wet weather blending to allow for wet weather flows of 10 MGD
Municipal alternatives include: inflow and infiltration reduction, sewer separation and green infrastructure.
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC), Bayonne, East Newark, Harrison, Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA), Kearny, Newark, North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority (NBMUA) and Paterson
Regional storage tanks and tunnels
Secondary bypass treatment
Plant expansion
Newark regulator modifications
Hudson County force main
Parallel interceptor (Newark, Kearny, Harrison, East Newark)
Jersey City pipe
Municipal alternatives include: treatment of CSO discharge, storage tanks, sewer separation, green infrastructure, sewer system optimization, and inflow and infiltration reduction.
North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) – Adams Street Wastewater Treatment Plant
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) held an environmental justice listening session in the City of Paterson. Riché Smiley Outlaw, the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice opened the listening session. According to the Office of Environmental Justice website, the office “aims to guide the DEP’s program areas and state agencies in working to achieve environmental justice, empower residents who are often outside of the decision-making process of government, and address environmental concerns to improve the quality of life in New Jersey’s overburdened communities.
This listening session is part of the DEP’s efforts to support environmental justice in New Jersey. DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe and Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh greeted a full room of Paterson residents to hear and about the environmental issues facing the community. Commissioner McCabe engaged residents by saying that, “we need you to point us to where we need to focus here in Paterson.” She brought representatives from her department and other departments integral to supporting environmental justice, such as the Department of Economic Development and the Attorney General’s office, to answer questions brought up by community members.
Commissioner Catherine McCabe responds to community concerns.
Several community members raised concerns about flooding. One resident described a sewer stench during rainstorms. Susan Rosenwinkle, Bureau Chief from the Division of Water Quality explained that Paterson is one of 21 cities with combined sewer systems and that the City of Paterson is working on a plan to reduce combined sewer overflows. She also committed to looking into the specific source of the odor.
Illegal dumping was another major concern that was raised as well as air pollution, water quality, and the impacts of contaminated sites on surrounding neighborhoods. The DEP stressed the importance of identifying problems and making them aware of it. Although the DEP could not address every issue raised, they said that they would work with the City of Paterson to address these issues and that this would be part of a continued effort.
New Jersey Communities Discuss Climate Change Impact on Multi-Billion Dollar Sewer Improvement Plans
In New Jersey, 21 fast-growing communities with outdated sewer systems that combine rainfall with industrial and domestic sewage are finding they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. When it rains in these communities, raw sewage pours into rivers and backs up into basements and onto streets, known as Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). Increased flooding from sea level rise, more intense storms, and extreme heat due to climate change are compounding the existing environmental and health concerns in New Jersey’s CSO communities.
New Jersey Future hosted this event in partnership with the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign and the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance on January 28 in the city of Elizabeth to discuss the importance of the state’s CSO communities incorporating climate change as a critical factor in planned upgrades to wastewater infrastructure systems.
Attendees were concerned about the impact of climate change on their communities.
Approximately 80 community members, engineers, utility directors, environmental advocates, students, design professionals, and media attended the forum at which CSO and climate change experts discussed integrating climate change solutions into CSO Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs). The communities’ LTCPs are due to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) by June 1 and will be implemented over the next 30-50 years while towns are simultaneously battling climate change. Governor Phil Murphy recently signed Executive Order 100, which requires the integration of climate change and sea level rise into the state’s regulatory and permit programs, including CSO permits.
Forum panelists included New Jersey Future Executive Director and panel moderator Pete Kasabach; Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage; Dave Rosenblatt, New Jersey’s first Chief Resilience Officer; Janice Brogle, Acting Director of Water Quality for NJDEP; Dr. Marjorie Kaplan, Associate Director of the Rutgers Climate Institute; Andy Kricun, Executive Director and Chief Engineer for the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority; Alan Cohn, Managing Director of Integrated Water Management for the NYCDEP; Kim Gaddy, Environmental Justice Organizer for Clean Water Action; and Jackie Park Albaum, Director of Urban Agriculture for Groundwork Elizabeth.
The panelists discussed adding green infrastructure to towns as a solution to help reduce CSOs as well as flooding and extreme heat due to climate change. The need for creative solutions to address the impacts of climate change related to CSOs was highlighted, as was the importance of environmental justice and engaging communities in solutions. Cost was a prominent topic of discussion, given that the wastewater infrastructure improvements are expected to cost billions of dollars. Implementing the plans will have significant effects on residents and business owners in the CSO communities for generations to come.
Go Home and Ask Questions
Attendees were urged to continue the conversation started at the forum in their own communities and with their elected officials and utilities by asking them how they are considering climate change in selecting alternatives to CSOs. Three important questions residents can ask are:
How are the alternatives to CSOs being designed to withstand the impacts of sea level rise and increased precipitation caused by climate change?
How are social vulnerabilities to climate change being taken into consideration? For example, are maps being developed that show flooding and combined sewer outfalls in relation to income, minority status, race, and age?
Are the communities who will be impacted by climate change being taken into consideration in the selection and siting of alternatives to CSOs?
New Jersey Future is a state leader in the area of wastewater infrastructure, including CSOs, as part of its mission to make smart investments in infrastructure to increase New Jersey’s competitiveness and support healthy communities where people want to live and work.
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers– Community engagement and outreach resources on combined sewer overflows and contact information for municipal and utility permit holders.
Groundwork USA Climate Safe Neighborhoods – Maps that show the connection between housing discrimination and climate change and how Groundwork communities are using maps and data to build resilience to extreme heat and flooding.
In this CSO LTCP review workshop we will focus on reviewing the LTCPs and submitting comments to municipal and utility permit holders and then to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In this hands-on workshop we will use the LTCPs that have been submitted to the NJDEP and draft plans that have been made available to the public as well as the most recent updates on the remaining eight regional plans to guide participants through the evaluation process with a particular focus on environmental and engineering specifications, green infrastructure specifications, local job impacts, and financial analysis. NewarkDIG is hosting the workshop in partnership with the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign and the Jersey Water Works CSO committee.
