NJ DEP Seeks Phosphorus Reductions in Wanaque Watershed   

New Jersey environmental regulators are seeking major reductions in the sewage discharge and lawn fertilizer runoff that have fouled the Wanaque Reservoir. 

DEP has proposed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to address phosphorus contamination entering the Wanaque Reservoir and over 200 river miles. Affected rivers within the Passaic River Basin include Pompton River, Ramapo River, Pequannock River, Wanaque River, Upper & Middle Passaic River, Whippany River, and Rockaway River. The proposal calls for reducing phosphorus going into the Wanaque from 57,574 pounds to 17,496 pounds per year. To achieve the DEP’s target, 42 wastewater treatment plants upstream of the Wanaque would have to reduce phosphorus discharges by 83 percent. Phosphorus levels in the Passaic River watershed, which includes the Wanaque, have been five to eight times higher than federally-set limits for more than a decade, officials estimate.

The proposal also calls for an 80 percent reduction in the phosphorus that washes off fertilized farms and lawns into streams and rivers during heavy rains. To meet the second goal, more towns in the Passaic  watershed would need to adopt low-phosphorus fertilizer ordinances and enact more controls against stormwater pollution. The proposal has been met with both skepticism and complaints. Environmentalists questioned whether the promised targets will ever be met. Sewage officials said the costs will not be shared fairly.

The Record ( Hackensack NJ ), 7/22/2005 

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2005/05_0101.htm