[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35214-35215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14879]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7512-9]


New Jersey State Prohibition on Marine Discharges of Vessel 
Sewage; Final Affirmative Determination

    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.
    No changes to the determination are necessary based on the comments 
received.
    Barnegat Bay is a shallow, lagoon-type estuary characteristic of a 
back bay system of a barrier island coastline. Barnegat Bay is bordered 
by two barrier islands, Island Beach and Long Beach Island. These 
islands are approximately 64 km in total length, are oriented north-
south and separate the bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The NDZ will 
include Barnegat Bay Complex and its navigable tributaries. The 
boundary lines have been defined for the Point Pleasant Canal, Barnegat 
Inlet and Egg Harbor Inlet as lines between the following points:

 
Point Pleasant Canal..................  40 04.030 N                          40 04.068 N
                                        74 03.281 W                          74 03.278 W
Barnegat Inlet........................  Inside South Buoy                    Inside North Buoy
                                        39 45.457 N                          39 45.525 N
                                        74 05.519 W                          74 05.519 W
Egg Harbor Inlet......................  39 30.521 N                          39 30.476 N
                                        74 18.389 W                          74 17.322 W
 

    Barnegat Bay provides recreational, economic, and aesthetic 
benefits to the coastal users of New Jersey. The estuary is productive 
for shellfish harvesting, recreational activities such as fishing, 
kayaking, swimming and boating. The bay supports hard clam harvest and 
blue crab landings. NJDEP Bureau of Marine Water Classification and 
Analysis has divided the State into 36 Shellfish growing water reaches. 
The bay complex is identified as Reaches 7 through 13 which are as 
follows:

Reach 7--Barnegat Bay (Bay Head to Seaweed Point)
Reach 8--Barnegat Bay (Seaweed Point to Mathis Bridge)
Reach 9--Toms River
Reach 10--Barnegat Bay (Mathis Bridge to Forked River)
Reach 11--Barnegat Bay (Forked River to Main Point)
Reach 12--Manahawkin/Little Egg Harbor Bay (Main Point to Long Point)
Reach 13--Long Point to Beach Haven Inlet

    Information submitted by the State of New Jersey indicate that 
there are sixty-six existing pumpout facilities and three pumpout boats 
available to service vessels throughout the Barnegat Bay Complex. The 
typical facility is available to the boating community from April 
through November with hours of operation from 8:00AM until 5:00PM, 
seven days a week. Seven facilities are available all year. Sixty-three 
of the existing pumpout facilities are connected to municipal sewage 
lines. Sewage from these facilities is routed to the Ocean County 
Utilities Authority where it undergoes secondary treatment. Three 
pumpout facilities (Ocean Gate Yacht Basin, Ocean Beach South and 
Causeway Boat Rental and Marina) store their waste in holding tanks for 
disposal by a septic waste hauler.
    According to the State's petition, the vessel population for the 
waters of Barnegat Bay Complex is approximately 15,587 vessels which 
are docked at private residences and 12,900 vessels docked or moored at 
marinas or yacht clubs. The total vessel population is 28,487. The 
ratio of boats to pumpout facilities has been based on the total number 
of vessels which could be expected. With sixty-six shore-side pumpout 
facilities and two pumpout vessel available to boaters, the ratio of 
docked or moored boats (including transients) is approximately 420 
vessels per pumpout. Standard guidelines refer to acceptable ratios 
falling in the range of 300 to 600 vessels per pumpout. If the EPA 
calculation is employed (as listed in the guidance manual entitled, 
``Protecting Coastal Waters from Vessel and Marina Discharges: A Guide 
for State and Local Officials--April 1994''), it estimates that twenty-
four pumpouts are needed to provide adequate facilities.
    Commercial vessels which operate in and around Barnegat Bay are 
engaged in fishing activities exclusively. Most of the operators will 
use the pumpout facilities where they dock or obtain fuel. The larger 
fishing vessels do not operate in the bay, but dock in the vicinity of 
Barnegat Light and fish the Atlantic Ocean.
    The EPA hereby makes a final affirmative determination that 
adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the Barnegat Bay 
Complex in Ocean County, New Jersey.

    Dated: May 30, 2003.
Jane M. Kenny,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 03-14879 Filed 6-11-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P