NJWSA'S CURRENT NJDEP 319(h) GRANT PROJECTS

NJDEP 319(h) GRANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The New Jersey Statewide Nonpoint Source Program is responsible for administering the federal Section 319(h) Grant Program. Each year, New Jersey publishes a Request for Proposals (RfP) to solicit applications for Section 319(h) funds for eligible projects. The RfP serves as a guidance document that establishes criteria for projects based on federal requirements and state priorities; identifies specific administrative, procedural, and programmatic requirements for applicants; and provides timetables and deadlines for the grant application and related decision-making processes. A public notice is published in the New Jersey Register (NJR) announcing the availability of 319(h) pass-through grants.

Under the federal guidelines, each state may pass through a portion of 319(h) funds to other entities to reduce water quality impairment through implementation of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control projects. For the past few years, New Jersey's Nonpoint Source Program has targeted Section 319(h) grant funds on the development of watershed restoration and protection plans.  In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2006 and 2007, New Jersey began to include implementation of these plans in their 319 RfP.  

Watershed restoration and protection is a priority not only for New Jersey but nationally as well. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a handbook providing information on developing and implementing watershed plans designed to restore and protect water quality. (To obtain a copy of the federal handbook, click on the following link: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/watershed_handbook/.)

In SFY 2006, three projects were funded in the Raritan Basin:

Implementation of the Delaware & Raritan Canal Nonpoint Source Management Plan

The Delaware & Raritan Canal Tributary Assessment & Nonpoint Source Management Plan was one of the first watershed restoration plans approved by NJDEP in 2006. The project focused on the final eleven miles of the Canal, an important drinking water supply for residents of central NJ, and identified a number of priority issues:

• Protection of the Canal for drinking water supply and recreational uses.

• Identification and assessment of influent flows to the Canal and their impact on Canal aesthetics, water quality, and drinking water treatment.

• Development of a nonpoint source pollution management plan for each tributary area with significant pollutant loads, which will include conceptual designs of BMPs and other controls to reduce total suspended solids and associated pollutant loadings to the Canal.

A total of 68 infalls to the Canal and their drainage areas were identified by NJWSA in the project area.  Each infall’s drainage area was then modeled and analyzed to determine which contributes the most significant particulate phosphorus and particulate sediment loads to the Canal.  NJWSA worked with Princeton Hydro, LLC and Stormwater Management (SWM) Consulting, LLC to develop conceptual approaches for the management of nonpoint source loads for the top 15 priority drainage areas.

Four projects plus one alternate project were identified for implementation with SFY2006 funds.  The alternate project will be implemented if one of the initial four projects is found to be infeasible for any reason.  NJWSA also submitted an application for SFY2007 319(h) funding to implement additional projects.  The SFY2006 projects were chosen based on the feasibility of the recommended BMP location (public vs. private vs. easement availability) and willingness of project partners to commit to the project.  For these reasons, the first projects targeted for implementation were not necessarily the absolute highest priority projects identified by the watershed restoration plan, but all are within the 15 priority drainage areas.

Neshanic River Watershed Restoration & Protection Plan

The Neshanic River watershed covers 31 square miles and includes Walnut Brook, the First, Second and Third Neshanic River and the Neshanic River main branch immediately above the Back Brook entrance into the Neshanic River.  The New Jersey Institute of Technology is the lead for this project;  partners include the NJ Water Supply Authority, North Jersey RC&D, Hunterdon County Soil Conservation District, South Branch Watershed Association and Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

Based upon numerous monitoring sources including the NJDEP Ambient Biomonitoring Network, the NJDEP/USGS water quality monitoring network, and the Metal Recon Program, the Neshanic River and its branches are impaired for aquatic life, phosphorus, total suspended solids (TSS) and copper, and listed on Sublist 5 of the New Jersey 2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report.  A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for fecal coliform has been approved and adopted for the Neshanic River.  This TMDL requires 87% reductions in fecal coliform from medium/high density residential, low density/rural residential, commercial, industrial, mixed urban/other urban, forest, and agricultural lands.  Additionally, a TMDL for the total phosphorus in the Neshanic River will be completed in 2006.  Another concern in the watershed is the increasing occurrences of no/low base water flow in the Neshanic River in the later summer (Reiser, 2004). The goal of this project is to develop a watershed restoration plan that achieves the required fecal coliform TMDL reductions, the attainment of the water quality standards for the total phosphorus, TSS, and a reduction in aquatic life impairments to a non-impaired level and evaluate the possibility of restoring the base water flow in the Neshanic River.  Project kickoff is expected in Fall 2006.

Sidney Brook Watershed Restoration & Protection Plan

Sidney Brook is a Category 1 tributary to the South Branch Raritan River a short distance upstream from the Round Valley Reservoir intake. Although designated as a Category 1 stream by the NJDEP in April 2003, Sidney Brook’s existing water quality and ecological condition remain poorly known, with no specific listing of this stream in the 2004 Integrated List.  The Sidney Brook Watershed Protection Plan seeks to bring together the watershed stakeholders to first study and document the existing stream conditions and then to work together to develop recommendations that will both protect the water quality of Sidney Brook and enhance, where possible, the water quality and ecological integrity of this valuable stream resource.

The Union Township Environmental Commission will lead the group and has partnered with Franklin Township, the Hunterdon County Planning Board, the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, and the South Branch Watershed Association. Monitoring will include visual assessments and headwater mapping, water quality and bacterial contaminant sampling, measurements of stream temperature and flow over extended periods of time, and biological assessments using benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. Once these data have been collected and analyzed, the project team will examine both the non-point source problems and the vulnerable areas in the watershed to develop a series of recommended actions that will ensure the maintenance of the water quality and ecological integrity of Sidney Brook. In addition, the project team will look for opportunities to improve the water quality and overall conditions of the stream through watershed planning and educational outreach efforts. To facilitate the collection of scientific data and the transformation of these scientific data into useful planning recommendations, the Sidney Brook Watershed Protection Plan will contract with Princeton Hydro, LLC, to spearhead the collection and interpretation of the scientific data. In addition, the project team will contract with a professional planner in the region to guide the process of developing recommendations and planning tools that will be suitable and effective means of protecting the aquatic resources of the Sidney Brook Watershed.

NJDEP received approximately 30 applications for SFY 2007 319(h) funding.  Several of these applications are for implementation of  approved watershed restoration plans.  During the fall of 2006, applicants whose projects were deemed administratively complete and technically feasible will prepare full proposals for review by the NJDEP technical review committee.  Grant awards will be made by early 2007. 

For more information on the 319(h) grant application process, visit the NJDEP-Division of Watershed Management web page (http://www.nj.gov/dep/watershedmgt/319grant.htm) or contact Dave McPartland, the Section 319(h) Grant Program Coordinator at david.mcpartland@dep.state.nj.us.