New protections for New Jersey rivers

On Earth Day, Environment New Jersey joined DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson to announce a major step forward for New Jersey’s rivers—upgrading protections for over 900 miles of the state’s most ecologically and recreationally significant waterways.

The protections, termed “Category One,” will ensure a 300-foot no-development zone around the rivers and strict pollution standards.

The waterways include portions of 15 rivers spanning 11 counties, including the Wallkill, the Musconetcong and the Ramapo Rivers in North Jersey, as well as the Salem River and Oldmans Creek in South Jersey.

The Toms River, also included in these protections, is the state’s largest canoeable river and the largest source of fresh water draining into Barnegat Bay. Environment New Jersey filed a legal petition calling for increased protections for the Toms and will lobby to finalize the protections.

Deciding New Jersey’s energy future

This fall, the Corzine administration will finalize a 15-year energy master plan for the state. At press time, a draft plan was expected to be released in September, with public hearings planned for November.

Unfortunately, energy companies are still lobbying to turn back the clock. They want to build more power plants, continue operating older, dirtier and unsafe power plants, and expand our reliance on dirty power from out of state.

Environment New Jersey has been leading the charge to make sure Gov. Corzine takes on the big energy companies. We’re calling on him to phase out aging nuclear power plants, prohibit new coal plant construction, cut our energy use in homes and businesses and maximize our use of clean, renewable, homegrown sources of energy.