A752

ASSEMBLY, No. 752

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen SULIGA and DORIA

An Act concerning dredged material disposal and requiring a study of disposal alternatives.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that the flow of foreign and domestic cargoes to and from the ports of New York and New Jersey is vital and essential to the preservation of the economic well-being of the northern New Jersey-New York metropolitan area; that to maintain this vital flow of trade and commerce, it is necessary to dredge periodically the various navigational channels and ship berths to allow safe passage of vessels; and that analysis of the material to be dredged from these channels and berths has revealed trace levels of contaminants, the ocean disposal of which is believed by some to present a potential for environmental degradation.

The Legislature further finds and declares that the current practice of disposing of dredged material in the ocean at the site designated for such disposal and commonly referred to as the Mud Dump Site, located approximately six nautical miles east of Sea Bright, New Jersey, will have to be discontinued because of lack of capacity; that near-term alternatives are necessary to serve these disposal needs, including the possible use of existing borrow pits located in the Ambrose Channel and of geotextile bags, which have been used effectively by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Mobile, Alabama, and in Marina del Rey, California; that the appointment by the Governor of a Dredged Materials Management Team (DMMT) in the summer of 1994 resulted in a final report issued in January 1995, which recommended the construction of underwater pits that would not be useable for at least two years at a potential cost of $120 million; and that, despite the efforts of the DMMT, the port region has been left without a recommendation for a viable solution to the harbor dredging crisis.

The Legislature therefore determines that maintaining the viability of the shipping, fishing, and trade industries, and the thousands of jobs associated with these industries throughout the port region, requires swift and immediate action; that other alternatives must be evaluated and, if viable, implemented within the next 12 months; and that the Office of the Business Ombudsman, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, is best suited to coordinate and report back to the Legislature with recommendations, based on a thorough review of the scientific literature and comparative cost benefit and risk assessment analyses, of the alternatives for dredged material disposal that can be implemented immediately.

2. The Office of the Business Ombudsman, established pursuant to Executive Order No. 15 of 1994, within the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall conduct a study to compare the feasibility of disposing of category III material by depositing geotextile bags filled with category III material in existing borrow pits located in New York harbor and at the Mud Dump Site site with the construction of new borrow pits in Newark Bay pursuant to the recommendations of the Governor's Dredged Materials Management Team in its report of January 1995. As used in this act, "category III material" means dredged material which fails to meet federal standards established for toxicity or bioaccumulation for one or more species or for the community, and which is deemed unsuitable for unrestricted or unconfined open-water disposal. The study shall include:

a. A review of the existing scientific literature on each alternative;

b. A cost benefit analysis of each alternative, the focus of which shall be the potential impact of each alternative on the port area economy, which shall consider, but need not be limited to, the gain or loss of jobs related to the trade, shipping and fishing industries and any costs related to the design, construction or implementation of each alternative; and

c. A risk assessment analysis of each alternative, the focus of which shall be the potential impact on the environment and public health of each alternative, which shall consider, but need not be limited to, the projected mortality and morbidity rates of aquatic and human life that would result from implementation of each alternative.

3. a. In approving or disapproving permit applications for dredging, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey shall review, consider and base any final decision on the recommendations made pursuant to section 4 of this act.

b. To the extent possible, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and any other federal agency involved in the review of dredging permit applications, shall, in approving or disapproving permit applications for dredging, review, consider and base any final decision on the recommendations continued in the report submitted pursuant to section 4 of this act.

4. The Office of the Business Ombudsman shall submit a report on the study conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act, which shall include findings and recommendations for action. Within 90 days of the effective date of this act, the report shall be submitted to the Governor, the Legislature, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State the sum of $90,000 to effectuate the purposes of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would require the Office of the Business Ombudsman in the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to conduct a study comparing the feasibility of disposing of category III material using geotextile bags with the construction of new borrow pits in Newark Bay pursuant to the recommendations of the Governor's Dredged Materials Management Team in its report of February 1995. To determine the comparative feasibility of these alternatives, the Ombudsman would be required to consider the use and disposal of geotextile bags in existing borrow pits located in New York Harbor and at the Mud Dump Site, and to incorporate in the study: (1) a review of the existing scientific literature on each alternative; (2) a cost benefit analysis of each alternative, including any impact on jobs related to the trade, shipping and fishing industries and the costs of implementation; and (3) a risk assessment analysis of each alternative, including the potential environmental and health impacts.

The bill requires that the Office of the Business Ombudsman submit a report within 90 days of the bill's effective date, with findings and recommendations, to the Governor, Legislature, DEP, Port Authority of NY/NJ, the federal Army Corps and the EPA. The bill appropriates $90,000 to the Department of State to conduct the study and issue the final report.

The bill requires the DEP and the Port Authority to base any dredging permit decisions on the recommendations of the report submitted by the Office. The bill also provides that, to the extent possible, the federal agencies involved in dredging permit review base their decisions on the report's recommendations.

The recent decision by the Port Authority to proceed with the development and construction of borrow pits for the disposal of dredged material in Newark Bay, and the Army Corps of Engineers' designation of the east bank of the lower New York Bay as a potential disposal site underscore the need for a unified approach to solving this serious problem.

Requires Office of Business Ombudsman, with DEP, to evaluate near-term dredge disposal options.