Camden Pollution Won’t Be Solved by Picking up Trash

DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe will help kick off the South Jersey Scrub event on Saturday, April 6. The Scrub is a week-long volunteer cleanup of the Delaware Estuary Watershed. Opening ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. at Camden’s Gateway Park. This is the second annual regional cleanup of trash and debris from the Delaware River and Bay and their tributaries.

“Commissioner McCabe is helping to pick up trash along the banks of the Delaware River meanwhile this area has serious environmental problems. The city of Camden has some of the worst environmental and public health problems of any city in the country. They have lead and toxins in their drinking water, and some of the worst air quality in the nation. Major polluters including an incinerator and a cement plant get dumped into Camden because no one else wants them. They continue to be impacted by pollutants from a leaking sewer plant, and there’s no enforcement of illegal pollution and dumping. Dozens of toxic sites have not been cleaned up. This is an environmental justice community, and for too long in New Jersey we have seen low-income or minority communities like Camden endure a disproportionate burden from pollution. While they’re cleaning up litter the state is not addressing serious health problems in Camden,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “It is a good photo-op for the commissioner, but Camden has much bigger concerns than trash.”

The Delaware Estuary stretches from the mouth of the Delaware Bay at Cape May Point to the Falls at Trenton. The estuary watershed covers about half of South Jersey’s land area. The South Jersey Scrub is modeled after DEP’s Barnegat Bay Blitz cleanup campaign.

“Picking up litter is good, but it does little to address Camden’s pollution problems that have a major impact on public health. A portion of south Camden near the industrialized waterfront includes a cement plant, a metal scrapyard and a sewage treatment plant. An estimated 330,000 trucks pass through that area each year, adding to the pollution. The incinerator generates greenhouse gases and toxic ash, and raises particulate levels. Without enforcement illegal pollution and dumping continues. Several schools in Camden have been located on some of the dozens of toxic sites that have yet to be cleaned up,” said Tittel. “Camden needs environmental justice, not a cleanup day.”

Under former Gov. Jon Corzine, DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson launched an environmental enforcement sweep in Camden to combat effects of pollution on public health that have received too little attention. Today’s DEP should follow that model.

“Lisa Jackson came in very differently when she was DEP commissioner. Instead of picking up trash she went after polluters in Camden with an enforcement sweep. We need more efforts like that out of DEP but under McCabe we are not seeing enough progress. There have been some positive steps recently in going after polluters to pay for cleanup and proposing tougher standards on drinking water. We need DEP to step up and give real help to environmental justice communities like Camden that continue to suffer disproportionately from pollution,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

(See DEP advisory below)

COMMISSIONER McCABE TO HELP KICK OFF WEEK-LONG CLEANUP OF DELAWARE ESTUARY WATERSHED

(19/P25) TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe will be on hand this Saturday for the kickoff of the South Jersey Scrub, a week-long volunteer cleanup of the Delaware Estuary.

Commissioner McCabe will deliver remarks during opening ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. at Camden’s new Gateway Park along the Cooper River, a tributary of the Delaware River. Coordinated by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, this is the second annual regional cleanup of trash and debris from the Delaware River and Bay and their tributaries.

“The Delaware estuary is an important part of the identity of South Jersey,” said Commissioner McCabe. “Residents have a deep source of pride for the estuary. We thank the many volunteers, including many from the DEP, who will be helping to protect this treasure throughout the week, improving wildlife habitats and restoring waterways to their natural beauty.”

A “scrub” is a strategic, organized cleanup initiative that targets a watershed, county, or region. Individual community scrubs will be held at different times throughout the week-long cleanup and will be held in communities from Trenton to Cape May.

An estuary is a river and/or bay system where fresh water mixes with salt water. The Delaware Estuary stretches from the mouth of the Delaware Bay at Cape May Point to the Falls at Trenton. Its watershed spans nearly half of southern New Jersey’s land area.

The bay region is globally renowned for its ecological assets, including being an important stop for shorebirds during epic annual migrations and is rich in maritime history and culture. The bay and river have played an important role in the nation’s development and are important drivers of the regional and national economy.

A significant ecological challenge for the estuary is litter and debris along shorelines, much of it carried by stormwater runoff through aging urban stormwater and wastewater infrastructure known as combined sewer outfalls. This litter and debris is not only unsightly, it affects wildlife habitats and can impact water quality.

The goal of this year’s South Jersey Scrub is to prevent trash from reaching the Delaware River by targeting communities in the lower Delaware River watershed. Hundreds of DEP employees will be participating in cleanups on Wednesday, April 10.

Next week’s cleanups include focused efforts on Burlington Island, one of the largest islands in the Delaware River, and kayak-based cleanups of Cumberland County’s Maurice River, which flows through pristine salt marshes to the Delaware Bay. Partners include the DEP, the AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, and New Jersey Clean Communities.

The South Jersey Scrub is patterned after the DEP’s successful Barnegat Bay Blitzes and the Schuylkill Scrub in Pennsylvania. People who live in southern New Jersey can register their own community cleanup at www.SJScrub.org  Volunteers can sign up for one or more cleanups by visiting SJScrub.org and clicking on the “Join a Cleanup” link. Data about items collected from each event will be displayed on this website.

Gateway Park is located at 2798 Admiral Wilson Boulevard (U.S. Route 30). Cleanups will conclude on Saturday, April 14.