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The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers (SFSR) campaign awarded six organizations a total of  $7,750 in capacity building grants in the spring of 2021. The purpose of these grants is to support efforts by partner organizations to conduct public outreach on combined sewer overflow (CSO) impacts, solutions, challenges, and financing. The latest round of grants focused on small business outreach and the expansion of initiatives’ reach among residents. Here is a summary of some of the activities that were organized by our partners with the support of the capacity building grants: 

Paterson outreach efforts got a boost. The Passaic River Coalition (PRC) worked with Paterson Green Team member Martha Arencibia to reach small businesses in Paterson through mailers and in-person outreach. PRC Executive Director Laurie Howard reported receiving the most interest from automotive repair and junk yards.  According to Howard, “no one was aware of the CSO plans, but they did express interest in any improvements.” The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) partnered with the Paterson Green Team to organize a virtual public outreach meeting and presentation on the benefits of green infrastructure to the reduction of CSOs. The GSWA and Paterson Green Team recruited 40 more residents to adopt catch basins and distributed kits that included grabbers, gloves, vests, masks, flyers on CSOs, and tools for documenting the trash collected from catch basins. These kits were distributed at an adopt-a-catch basin give-away meetup, as well as at other events. 

Newark small businesses, elected officials, and community members learned about CSOs. La Casa De Don Pedro distributed materials developed by the SFSR campaign to 88 small businesses located along the Lower Broadway commercial corridor, and community outreach staff presented on CSOs at several Lower Broadway Neighborhood Association meetings. In addition, La Casa De Don Pedro translated outreach materials into Spanish. COVID restrictions made in-person outreach difficult, so staff members used their email and social media networks to reach over 600 Lower Broadway residents and local elected officials with information on CSOs. Newark DIG is developing a Newark-focused outreach brochure that will inform small- and medium-sized businesses about the CSO issue, what steps the city is taking to correct the problem, the possible financing solutions the city is considering, and how business owners will be affected (as well as how they can get involved and informed). These brochures will be printed and distributed to small businesses in Newark.

The Greenville Neighborhood Alliance (GNA) spread the word about CSOs among residents of the Greenville neighborhood and beyond. GNA distributed information on CSOs at local events, including the Black Business Matters Juneteenth Festival and Ward F Block Party, and organized a networking barbeque for small businesses. SFSR coordinator Mo Kinberg, as well as Sustainable Jersey City, presented at the barbeque. GNA also placed an ad on CSO challenges and solutions in “The Frederick Douglass Juneteenth Celebration Memorable Journal.”  The ad ran all day on June 19, 2021  and was shared via social media (across 5 pages and over 20 groups) and emails to all networks.

Future City Inc. expanded its outreach efforts on CSOs to regional residents. The organization utilized informational materials and presentations to improve awareness regarding CSOs not only in Elizabeth, but in other blueway municipalities as well. Future City Inc. wanted to target non-CSO residents  so that all could understand the impacts of combined sewer systems on the region. Educational materials developed and shared included a crossword puzzle, a bilingual flyer, pictures of local sewers and CSOs, and a  map portraying all the official locations of CSOs within the municipalities along the blueway. Future City Inc. presented information about CSOs, storm drains, and gray infrastructure, as well as their impact on communities along the Arthur Kill Blueway, as part of the Waterfront Alliance and NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program’s 14th Annual City of Water Day event. It will present the same information at the City of Elizabeth’s 2021 Estuary Day in October 2021.

Many of these efforts are ongoing. Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers will continue to partner with these organizations, as well as campaign partners and any groups interested in conducting outreach on CSO solutions, challenges, and financing. 

Flooding is bad for business. Luckily, solutions are coming to communities with combined sewer systems that would boost the health of residents and businesses by upgrading stormwater and wastewater infrastructure. Use this new outreach brochure to inform small businesses about the combined sewer overflow (CSO) issue, how it impacts their business, what’s being done, and how much it will cost.  

The brochure designed by MnM Consulting and MOKOJUMBIE implements graphics and text to describe the problem, solutions, and funding options that municipalities are considering to pay for sewer upgrades. The estimated costs to upgrade New Jersey’s combined sewer systems range from $2.4 to $3.4 billion.  

The brochure demonstrates how each option will impact residential and business rate-payers. For example, it explains that “some towns will raise sewer rates for existing customers for the next 20-40 years. This means residents and small business owners will pay more every year for stormwater improvements and maintenance.”

Option 2 illustrates how a stormwater fee is a more equitable way to charge property owners for hard surfaces that burden our sewer systems with stormwater runoff. A fee based on paved surfaces would ensure that all property owners who are contributing stormwater to our overburdened sewer systems pay a fee based on the amount of stormwater runoff they contribute to a system. Currently, large party owners are not paying their fair share. If we do not correct this, residential rate-payers will disproportionately pay for the sewer upgrades.

Option 3 shows how a blanket increase through property taxes would result in residents, small businesses, and warehouses paying the same increase despite differences in how much they contribute to the problem.

Small business owners are urged to take action by visiting SewageFreeNJ.org/ NoStatusQuo and taking a short survey so we can connect them with local decision-makers, the New Jersey Stormwater Utility Resource Center, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Stormwater Utility Guidance website. Check out all the resources that the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign has developed to assist you with engaging residents and small business owners in shaping their communities’ solutions to reduce localized flooding and the raw sewage dumped into rivers and streams due to CSOs.

Specific requirements for public participation, green infrastructure, environmental justice, and climate change were recommended in a letter that Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers (SFSR) partners sent to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on August 4, 2021. SFSR partners and members of the Jersey Water Works (JWW) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Committee collaborated to review the technical comments that the NJDEP sent to the CSO permit holders on their Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs). Both groups submitted letters with recommendations to the NJDEP that were based on their technical response letters and focused on requirements for the next CSO permit. 

SFSR’s letter built off the NJDEP’s comments and included specific recommendations to ensure that:

• Future public participation is inclusive, accountable, and transparent. 
• Plans are implemented within 20 years and address flooding and the impacts of climate change.
• Green infrastructure is implemented within the first five years of the plans, and gray infrastructure projects with the greatest impact are prioritized.
• Environmental justice is part of the implementation and decision-making processes. 
• Costs for rate-payers are reduced through cost sharing between regional utilities and municipal permit holders, utilizing the I-Bank, and evaluating stormwater utilities.

Read the SFSR letter and detailed recommendations here. 

Additionally, the groups asked the NJDEP to jointly host a series of public meetings—within the next six months—with the regional, utility, and municipal permit holders for each of the regional LTCPs. The purpose of the public meetings is for the permit holders and the NJDEP to respond to comments and questions from the public on the CSO LTCPs and to enable the public to provide input on public participation in the next CSO permit. The groups also asked the NJDEP Office of Environmental Justice and the Division of Water Quality to coordinate efforts related to the CSO permit and rulemaking for the New Jersey Environmental Justice Law. 

All of the NJDEP’s technical comments on the CSO LTCPs have been sent to the CSO permit holders and posted on the NJDEP website. The CSO permit holders have 60 days from the date that the letters were sent to respond to the NJDEP’s comment letters. 

After both technical issues and implementation schedules are adequately addressed, the NJDEP Division of Water Quality will make a decision on the LTCPs. SFSR partners are advocating for changes to the proposed LTCPs and requirements for the next CSO permit that are needed to ensure equitable wastewater infrastructure investments. 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has been working around the clock to review the combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) and issue response letters to the permit holders with comments, questions, and requests for clarification. On May 7, 2021 the first response letters were sent to a few of the permit holders and were posted on the NJDEP Division of Water Quality CSO website.  A few more were posted in mid-May, and we expect the remaining letters to be posted by the end of June. These letters are technical response letters that are specific to each plan, but there are some responses that apply to multiple (and possibly all) permit holders.

Here are some of the overarching themes that appear in multiple letters and relate to the issues that the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign raised in its comments on the CSO LTCPs.

The NJDEP states in all the letters we’ve reviewed that, “Public participation will continue in the next NJPDES [New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System] permit and could include three primary goals: inform, educate and engage.” Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers has been advocating for continued public participation throughout the implementation of the plans, as well as stronger requirements in the next CSO permit.

In multiple letters, the NJDEP asks the permit holders to “address how the selected CSO control alternatives address climate change and sea level rise.” This is an important question from the NJDEP, and we look forward to the forthcoming answers. In our comments, we recommend that permit holders update their rainfall model with the latest data every five years. This will ensure that permit holders are using the most recent data in their models and designs.

And in a few of the letters the Department noted that “the financial capability and economic conditions are critical components of the LTCP review.” In the same paragraph, the NJDEP explains that it is simultaneously working on the rulemaking for the Environmental Justice Law, and it acknowledges that there is a relationship between the environmental justice rulemaking,combined sewer overflow LTCPs and permits, and the financial capabilities assessment. Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers strongly advocates for equitable financing of the plans so that the costs do not fall primarily on residents of environmental justice communities who have endured decades of sewage overflows and exposure to other industrial pollutants.

The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign is working with the Jersey Water Works combined sewer overflow committee to review all the response letters. We will release further analysis of the letters in the coming months. Once the municipal and utility permit holder has received the letter, they have 60 days to respond. This begins a negotiation process, which will result in the NJDEP making a final determination to approve or reject the plan. If approved, a new five-year CSO permit will be issued.

The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign submitted a letter to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) Board of Commissioners on Monday, May 10, 2021. The 37 signatories asked that the costs of the regional upgrades be distributed among 48 municipalities in the PVSC region.

The PVSC is one of the largest sewer treatment plants in the country and serves 48 municipalities, eight of which have combined sewer systems. To meet requirements to reduce sewage overflows, PVSC and the eight communities with combined sewer systems submitted a regional combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The plan, which is currently under review by the NJDEP, proposes upgrades to the municipal sewer systems, as well as regional upgrades that will increase the capacity of the treatment plant. PVSC and the eight CSO municipal permit holders are engaged in ongoing negotiations regarding how the costs of a regional plan will be shared.

We are asking the board to:

• Ensure that the cost for these upgrades is shared equitably between the PVSC and all 48 towns in the service area, including the eight CSO municipal permit holders (Newark, Jersey City, Bayonne, Harrison, East Newark, Kearny, Gutenberg, and Paterson).
• Recognize the full hydrological benefit that the regional CSOLong Term Control Plan will create.
• Consider the environmental justice impacts of these plans in light of the benefits of reducing combined sewer overflows for the region, the necessary associated construction harms that the plans will require, and whom will ultimately be impacted by the cost.
• Reduce the cost to the City of Newark based on the burden from pollutants, odors, and traffic associated with the sewer treatment plant located within the city limits. The cumulative impacts of other industries located within the city’s limits, in addition to the construction of the interceptor, will contribute additional pollution and result in years of disruption in the daily lives of Newark community members.

Read the full letter here.

Stormwater fees have been implemented across the country to fund upgrades to combined sewer systems. A stormwater fee is a tool recently made available to all New Jersey communities to help mitigate flooding and pollution. Communities with combined sewer systems may utilize this tool to ensure that every property contributing to sewage overflows pays for wastewater infrastructure upgrades. Now that the state has authorized New Jersey communities to implement stormwater utilities,  a multitude of resources are available to assist municipalities with implementation.

Two resources to take a look at:

1. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Stormwater Utility Guidance website provides an overview of the process of establishing a stormwater utility. The site goes through the steps for establishing a stormwater utility fee, requirements for fees, credits and exemptions, how to use the fees, and developing an asset management program. The resource page includes a glossary of terms,  frequently asked questions, and links to stormwater utilities established outside of New Jersey.
2. New Jersey Future’s New Jersey Stormwater Utility Resource Center explains the importance of stormwater management. The site dispels common myths and includes resources such as mapping tools and best practices for establishing a stormwater utility. The resource page links to many resources from inside and outside of New Jersey, including case studies and consulting assistance.

Now that we have the resources needed to establish stormwater utilities, New Jersey municipalities with flooding and pollution issues should take advantage of this tool to ensure that wastewater infrastructure is financed equitably.

Multi-billion dollar plans to stop sewage overflows have been submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and communities and stakeholders have reviewed the plans and have sent in comments to the NJDEP. Now what?

Step one: Review by NJDEP Division of Water Quality

Currently, the NJDEP Division of Water Quality is reviewing the combined sewer overflow Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) and the public input that were submitted. The NJDEP Division of Water Quality is also thinking about what happens next and is coordinating an additional stakeholder meeting to solicit input on a future public participation process.

Step two: Finalize the CSO Long Term Control Plans

Once the NJDEP Division of Water Quality has finished its review, it will issue technical comment letters back to the municipal and utility combined sewer overflow permit holders. These letters will be posted on the NJDEP website. The technical comment letters will require that the permit holders update their LTCPs and submit them back to the NJDEP. After both technical issues and implementation schedules are adequately addressed, the NJDEP Division of Water Quality will make a decision on the LTCP.

Step three: Issue the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) CSO permits

The Division of Water Quality will prepare a draft five-year New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) combined sewer overflow permit, based on the approved Long Term Control Plan. Releasing the draft permit will trigger a public comment period which will allow for public input. The Division of Water Quality will respond to all public comments as part of a final NJPDES permit action. After this public comment period, the NJDEP will finalize the permits and the first five years of implementing the Long Term Control Plans will begin.

Community groups submit recommendations to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the combined sewer overflow Long Term Control Plans.

TRENTON, 2021 – The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign, a coalition of community organizations from towns with combined sewer systems, is advocating for the Long Term Control Plans developed by municipal and utility permit holders to include equitable solutions to combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Twenty-four municipal and utility permit holders submitted combined sewer overflow Long Term Control Plans to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on October 1, 2020, kicking off a four-month comment period during which many community groups, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders weighed in on the plans, including the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign and its partners.

“These plans represent billions of public infrastructure dollars,” said Nicole Miller, principal, MnM Consulting and co-chair, NewarkDIG. “Our residents and business owners deserve the maximum benefit from each dollar spent. We hope NJDEP will take our concerns into consideration when preparing responses to the permit holders.”

“We are hopeful that the NJDEP’s commitment to environmental justice will be reflected in their review of these plans and that the final Long Term Control Plans will promote equity in affordability and in the implementation of solutions to sewage overflows,” said Mo Kinberg, New Jersey Future community outreach manager.

“The Clean Water Act is intended to ensure that our nation’s waters no matter where you live, color of your skin, or economic situation are free of sewage and toxins with the ultimate goal of zero pollution discharge over time,” stated Amy Goldsmith, NJ state director, Clean Water Action. “Approving, funding, and enforcing the best Long Term Control Plans possible is key to ensuring water justice for all.”

The plans detail large wastewater infrastructure projects that will impact communities for decades and will be paid for primarily by taxpayers. Comments by the coalition focus on water quality, environmental justice, green infrastructure, public participation and climate change. “We are elated to see these plans move forward after over five years of community input and discussion,” stated Drew Curtis, Ironbound Community Corporation. “We want to see these plans address many of the issues facing environmental justice communities like Newark, such as abating stormwater flooding and increased green infrastructure. And, we want to see the plans paid for in an equitable manner. Newark, as the host community for PVSC, already bears the brunt of the negative impacts from the plant; other, more affluent communities within the PVSC service area should pick up more of the financial costs of these plans.”

“There has been an enormous effort by the CSO permit holders and NJDEP over the last five years to get us to this critical point of addressing CSOs through the adoption of the Long Term Control Plans,” stated Rosana Da Silva, New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program and technical advisory board member to the campaign. “These plans specifically focus on the reduction of CSOs. Implementation will improve water quality in the Estuary. But this process is also an opportunity for stakeholders, including ratepayers and local government officials, to envision the future of their communities and how they can best benefit from cleaner waterways.”

The coalition is asking the NJDEP and permit holders for innovative solutions that put the health and wellbeing of the residents of these communities first. “It is time to address the impacts of CSOs with a sense of urgency,” stated Greg Remaud, NY/NJ Baykeeper. “Our urban communities have suffered the public health and environmental insult of raw sewage flowing freely into their streets and waterways after it rains for far too long. This will require the leadership and cooperation on the local, state and federal level that has yet to emerge.”

What more local advocates are saying:

“As a resident of the South Ward of Newark and an environmental justice organizer, it is extremely important that residents have meaningful participation in the Long Term Control Plans and their voices are heard in their communities’ plan,” stated Kim Gaddy, director, South Ward Environmental Alliance.

“We see what happens during a ‘normal’ rainfall event in Camden: raw sewage floods the streets and residential homes. Residents should be the first priority. We must develop an equitable public outreach and engagement plan to ensure ALL residents have a voice and are heard.“—Shaniqua Biles, Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers Advisory Board member and Camden resident.

“Bayonne’s Long Term Control Plan is inherently inequitable in its financing, lacking in public input and nearly devoid of green infrastructure. Bayonne inexplicably failed to consider more equitable means of funding for this project, resulting in an unconscionable economic plan that will exacerbate income inequality and reward polluters.”—Jill Pustorino, Morris Park Neighborhood Association

“I find it very disturbing to have to wait until 2040 to address some of the worst flooding in Paterson. The flooding that is coming into our homes and cars has raw sewage in it, which creates health issues.”—Martha Arencibia, Paterson Green Team Chair

“There is an urgent opportunity for Jersey City to reduce costs of its Long Term Control Plan by investing in green infrastructure,” stated Debra Italiano, founder, Sustainable Jersey City.  “Grey infrastructure costs could be brought down by prioritizing green infrastructure first. The City of Jersey City indicated it would consider participation in a Regional Plan if ‘adaptive remedies’ were available in the agreement, like a green infrastructure first strategy—municipal alignment around this focus is needed.”

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Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers is an action-oriented campaign that empowers community organizations to engage residents and small business owners to shape their communities’ solutions to reduce localized flooding and the raw sewage dumped into rivers and streams due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs). These solutions were submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on October 1, 2020, and will be adopted in the next CSO permit.

For more information on the campaign and our partners visit SewageFreeNJ.org

Organizations, individuals, coalitions and collaboratives, worked tirelessly to submit comments on the combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) before the January 31 deadline. The people who live, work, and own businesses in these communities experience the impacts of these antiquated sewer systems and will pay for the upgrades. And they have a lot to say about these plans.

The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign submitted general comments, endorsed by 21 organizations from across New Jersey, focused on the following issues:

• Improving water quality and access.
• Making environmental justice part of all aspects of these plans.
• Ensuring equitable financing of these plans.
• Implementing a green infrastructure first approach.
• Informing, engaging, and empowering communities.
• Using the most recent climate change data in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of these plans.

Other collaboratives such as the Jersey Water Works CSO committee, and municipal action teams like Perth Amboy SWIM (Stormwater Infrastructure Management), JC START (Jersey City Stormwater Treatment and Resiliency Team), and NewakDIG (Doing Infrastructure Green) also submitted comments. Community-based organizations in Jersey City came together to submit joint comments, and many individual organizations like New Jersey Future, New Jersey Clean Water Action, NJ/NY Baykeeper, the Passaic River Coalition, Morris Park Neighborhood Association, South Ward Environmental Alliance, the Urban Systems Lab, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions submitted comments.

Read comments submitted by the following organizations:

• Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions
• Jersey Water Works CSO committee
• Jersey City group comments
• Morris Park Neighborhood Association
• NewarkDIG
• New Jersey Future
• New Jersey Tree Foundation
• The Passaic River Coalition
• Perth Amboy SWIM (Stormwater Infrastructure Management)
• South Ward Environmental Alliance

The NJDEP is now considering the public comments that were submitted as they complete their review of the CSO Long Term Control Plans. The NJDEP may ask CSO permit holders to make changes to their plans before they are approved. Once the plans are approved, the NJDEP will issue another round of five-year CSO permits based on the final LTCPs. The need for public input does not end here. There will be an official public input period for the next round of CSO permits and the people who live, work, and own businesses in these communities must have a voice in the implementation of these plans.