URGENT: Easy Email Action for NJ’s Waterways by midnight tonight (April 3rd)!
Update, April 10, 2017: The deadline has now passed to submit public comments to the DEP. Stay tuned for more info on what actions the DEP takes regarding green infrastructure practices. In the meantime, consider calling your state legislators and urge them to introduce legislation that would implement green infrastructure practices in New Jersey. You can find your legislators’ contact info here.
New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is preparing to reissue stormwater regulations for the next 5 years that are not strong enough! These permits and regulations do not require green infrastructure practices that would soak up stormwater and toxic chemicals. Instead, these chemicals flow into waterways and onto beaches.
Helpful points to include in your comment:
- your concern about toxic chemicals and pollutants in waterways and on beaches after storms
- green infrastructure practices (like permeable pavements, rain gardens, vegetated swales and planter or tree boxes) can soak up stormwater and keep poisonous chemicals away from waterways and beaches
- experts in our very own Rutgers University system recommend these practices and describe them here. NJ taxpayers pay these experts to figure out how to solve the problem of poisonous stormwater. Why are we not taking their advice if we’ve paid them to come up with solutions?
- better stormwater standards are especially needed in New Jersey because we are the most densely populated and urbanized state in the country
Tips for Writing More Effective Public Comments:
- Write a personalized comment, don’t just send in a form letter. It doesn’t have to be long or eloquent. But we know from various sources that personalized comments are more effective.
- Explain your connection to the issue and why you care about it. In this case, mention if you live near a waterway or beach. Mention if you like to use NJ’s waterways and beaches for recreation. Mention if you are concerned about taking your children to NJ’s waterways and beaches after storms.
- Mention any technical expertise you might have on the topic.
- Include any research that supports your comment. In this case, consider including a link like this one: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs1197/