Meeting Minutes

May 15, 2002

Watershed Area 17 Meeting Notes

The Watershed Management Area (WMA) 17 Task Force met at 7:00 p.m. on May 15, 2002 at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Offices and 4H Building in Deerfield Township. Summarized below are the meeting’s major discussion items.

1. Robert Brewer, Director of Planning, Cumberland County Department of Planning and Development opened the meeting. He welcomed attendees and noted that it was approximately one year ago that WMA 17 held its first public meeting. He briefly summarized the previous two Task Force meetings that have been held to date.

Mr. Brewer reviewed the purpose of the project. He indicated that this is not a data collection effort. The purpose of the study is to work with existing data currently available from a variety of sources, compile and map it, and present it to members of the Task Force in order to draw conclusions about conditions in WMA 17 and make recommendations about the direction of the study effort.

The watershed characterization developed from the compiled data will be available to the public on the watershed website in the near future. CDs with the information will also be made available. A Task Force member asked if the information would be available cross-platform (i.e., for Macintosh-based systems, frequently used in schools). Mr. Steve Epstein responded that the study team would work to ensure that the information was available in this format.

Mr. Brewer concluded his opening remarks by stating that the study is proceeding on schedule.

2. Steven Epstein, with Perks Reutter Associates (PRA), presented a study update. He reported that the primary purpose of the meeting is to present the Watershed Baseline Characterization to the Task Force, and to obtain comments and suggestions for refinement of the Characterization.

Mr. Epstein began by explaining that the WMA 17 Characterization is different from other more traditional characterization efforts because of it’s interactive format. The Characterization is composed of many layers of information drawn from the larger data base of information collected over the past year. Characterization users will soon be able to access combinations of data and data layers for specific geographic areas within WMA 17, and for specific watershed issues. Mr. Epstein provided an example of how information may be accessed from the interactive Characterization by sub watershed. Eventually, users will be able to request combinations of information from the WMA 17 study team, tailored to the users’ individual needs and unique interests.

Based on information that has been collected to date, Mr. Epstein was able to provide examples of conclusions that can be drawn from preliminary analysis of the data represented in the Characterization. This information was provided for illustrative purposes in order to demonstrate how the Characterization and the underlying data will be used to take the study process to the next level.

Mr. Epstein also posted a list of data collection efforts and studies in progress, that the study team will incorporate into the Characterization when they are made available. These include:

a. REMAP Study by the U.S. Geological Survey

b. City of Millville data made available through the city’s Engineering and Planning departments

c. Riparian Corridor Assessment Protocol and Mapping Project being performed by NJDEP

d. NJPDES Database at NJDEP

e. Rutgers Study being conducted by Dr. Guo

f. AMNET Data for Lower Delaware

g. Quarterly Sampling Program being conducted by NJDEP

Mr. Epstein requested that information about additional data collection efforts not included on this list be directed to his attention.

3. Ray Ferrara of WMA 17 study team member TRC Omni Environmental presented the Characterization. Mr. Ferrara described the computer-based, interactive format of the Characterization, which makes massive amounts of data and information readily accessible and usable. A more traditional paper document would have been extremely large and unwieldy, and difficult to use for data recovery, review and analysis. By graphically mapping and representing the data base information in the interactive Characterization, the Watershed Management Study will end up with a living document that will fulfill a variety of needs for watershed residents. The Characterization will be updated as new information becomes available.

Mr. Ferrara was asked which party or agency would eventually be responsible for maintaining and updating the data base and Characterization. Mr. Ferrara explained that, in the long term, the answer is unknown. One of the outcomes of the study is to identify additional funding sources so that when the contract period for this project has expired, the work can continue.

Mr. Ferrara reviewed the organization of the Characterization, and demonstrated in some detail it’s interactive features and uses. He presented the following Characterization menu items:

- General information about the watershed,

- New Jersey’s Watersheds- containing information about New Jersey’s watersheds,

- Watersheds of WMA 17 - where the user can obtain specific information about waterways in WMA 17, and

- Characterization Elements - including physical characteristics, political/cultural identity and environmental data.

Mr. Ferrara explained that the analysis of the data in the Characterization will begin shortly. There is a significant amount of data available in the data base, and decisions will need to be made regarding the level at which the analysis will be performed. A Task Force member suggested that this decision should be addressed within a Task Force subcommittee.

4. Jason Stanwood, Coordinator, AmeriCorps representative to Cumberland County coordinating citizen volunteer training for NJDEP’s Biological Assessment TeamS (BATS) and River Assessment TeamS (RATS) programs, notified the meeting attendees of an upcoming BATS event scheduled for June 15, 2002. The BATS program allows citizens to gain skills and the experience needed to monitor local waterways using biological identification techniques. The information that is gathered will be used by the New Jersey DEP in it’s larger, state-wide data collection effort. For more information about the June 15 event and other upcoming events, contact Mr. Stanwood at Watershed17@hotmail.com.

5. The Task Force addressed the next item of business - the organization of subcommittees. Mr. Epstein kicked off the discussion by proposing five subcommittees that were based on the results of the subcommittee survey distributed several months ago, and their timliness for formation at this point in the study. The Task Force discussed whether subcommittees should be established by specific issue, or by sub watershed areas. Persuasive cases were made for both approaches. After a thorough discussion, consensus was reached and the following four subcommittees were proposed:

a. Water Supply / Water Quantity

b. Water Quality / Non-Point Source Pollution

c. Watershed Characterization and Assessment / Data Collection

d. Strategic Planning / Action Now Projects

Sign-up for the committees was held after the meeting adjourned. Details will follow regarding composition of the subcommittees and subcommittee meeting dates.

6. Jay Springer, NJ DEP’s manager for WMA 17, announced a monitoring initiative that will take place in WMA 17. In one month stakeholders will be asked to meet to select sites for monitoring water quality monitoring within the watershed. In October, intensive monitoring of each of the selected sites will begin. Mr. Springer is seeking volunteers from each of the sub watersheds (or HUC 11 areas) in the watershed. The program will not address tidal waters. Information will be posted on the DEP website (www.state.nj.us/dep/) and on this WMA 17 website. If you are interested in volunteering, you may call (609.633.1441) or email (j.springer.DEP.state@nj.state) Mr. Springer.

7. There being no additional business, the meeting was adjourned.