Federal Register: June 12, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 113)]
[Notices]
[Page 35214-35215]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12jn03-44]

Notice is hereby given that EPA has made a final affirmative determination regarding the petition dated March 27, 2002 that was received from the State of New Jersey. The Regional Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to section 312(f) of Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 95-217 and Public Law 100-4 (the Clean Water Act), has found that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the waters of the Barnegat Bay, Ocean County, New Jersey. This petition was made by the New Jersey department of environmental Protection (NJDEP) in cooperation with the Barnegat Bay Estuary Program, New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, Ocean County Planning Board and Ocean County Vocational-Technical School. Upon the receipt of this affirmative determination, NJDEP will completely prohibit the discharge of sewage, whether treated or not, from any vessel in the Barnegat Bay Complex in accordance with section 312(f)(3) of the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 140.4(a).
On April 1, 2003, EPA published a receipt of Petition and Tentative
Determination and accepted comments from the public for a thirty (30) day period. EPA received letters from the following individuals:
1. A. Jerome Walnut, Chairman, Ocean County Planning Department,P.O. Box 2191, Toms River, New Jersey 08754.
2. Christopher Claus, President, Ocean Nature and Conservation Society, 21 Winding River Drive, Toms River, NJ 08755-5122.

3. David J. McKeon, Assistant Planning Director, Ocean County Planning Board, P.O. Box 2191, Toms River, NJ 08754-2191.
4. William deCamp, Jr., President, Save Barnegat Bay, 906-B Grand Central Avenue, Lavallette, NJ 08735.
5. Angela C. Andersen, South Jersey Coordinator, American Littoral Society, P.O. Box 1306, Tuckerton, NJ 08097.
6. Cindy Zipf, Executive Director, Clean Ocean Action, P.O. Box 305, Highlands, NJ 07732-0505.
EPA received emails from the following individual:
1. Bob Scro, Barnegat Bay Estuary Program Director, Ocean County
Planning Department, P.O. Box 2191, Toms River, New Jersey 08754.
Mr. Scro identified some typographical errors made in the original petition submitted to EPA: ``Ocean County Vacation and Technical School'' should read as ``Ocean County Vocational-Technical School'' and ``Ocean County Municipal Utilities Authority'' should read as ``Ocean County Utilities Authorities''. Mr. Scro also commented that since the petition was submitted, a third pumpout boat had been purchased and is servicing boaters in Barnegat Bay. These corrections have been made to this Final Determination.
Several of the commenters expressed support for the establishment of a No Discharge Zone (NDZ) and commented that this Final Determination was an important step in protecting the water quality of Barnegat Bay and its marine resources. The Ocean County Planning Board forwarded a Resolution, passed by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, supporting the NDZ. Many of the commenters, especially the Ocean County Planning Board, stated that there were a number of threats to Barnegat Bay including non-point source pollution and that this designation was just one of many action items in the Barnegat Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.

The American Littoral Society (ALS) expressed support for the establishment of the NDZ, but asked several questions Regarding education, enforcement, water quality improvements and legislative
issues. Regarding the issues of education, ALS commented that a mechanism should exist to inform boaters about the requirements of a
NDZ. As part of the petition, an education program is outlined. This program is part of the New Jersey Clean Vessel Act Program and the Barnegat
[[Page 35215]]Bay Estuary Program. Regarding the Enforcement of the NDZ, the U.S.Coast is responsible for the enforcement and the state of New Jersey has a Memorandum of Understanding, with the Coast Guard, designating the New Jersey State Police as the lead law enforcement agency. The petition submitted to EPA states that the State Police will enforce the boating safety standards and marine sanitation device regulations. ALS raises a question regarding improvements in water quality and whether EPA or NJDEP will attempt to quantify the improvements in water quality as a result if this designation is approved. Certainly, improvements in water quality can be demonstrated through routine ambient sampling.
Since there are several ongoing programs to improve the water quality in the estuary, it is difficult to attribute these improvements to a specific program. Currently, EPA is undertaking a national study to evaluate the efficacy of the NDZ Designations and will publish the results when they are available. ALS asked whether EPA is aware of a legislative bill that was introduced by Congressman Saxton that would eliminate NDZ restrictions for vessels that use state of art treatment devices. ALS raised certain concerns about this bill and asked if EPA had comments or concerns. In response, EPA is aware of the legislative bill but chooses not to comment on the bill at this time.