 |
 SRP Publications Annual Reports 1999
I. Introduction
(cont.) Natural
Resource Damage Settlements Nearly $1.2 Million NJDEP settled eight natural resource damage cases in 1999 amounting
to nearly $1.2 million in recoveries as noted in Figure 3. The Site Remediation
Program works closely with the Office of Natural Resource Damages, part
of the Department's natural resource program, to reach these settlements
with responsible parties during oil spills and the remediation of contaminated
sites. Using monies from the new damage recoveries and previous settlements,
NJDEP expended $700,000 in 1999 for a variety of projects related to past
natural resource damages. These projects included: the purchase and protection
of 57 acres of aquifer recharge area and ecologically valuable land; funding
research in support of habitat restoration; endangered species management;
and, constructing permanent boom anchors at the mouths of five tributaries
to the Delaware River, allowing rapid deployment of booms to remote areas
during potential oil spills that will protect hundreds of acres of upstream
wetland ecosystems.
The primary mission of the Office of Natural Resource Damages is to provide
for the assessment and restoration of New Jersey's natural resources that
have been injured by the release of oil or other hazardous substances.
Restoration projects must have a demonstrable link to injuries caused
by specific releases.
|
Figure
3 – 1999 Natural Resource Damage Settlements |
|
Spills |
Injury
Category |
Damage
Recovery |
| Cibro Savanna | Wetlands, lost public use | $240,000 |
| Camden County MUA | Fisheries, lost public use | $25,000; Erosion control and endangered species protection implemented
by responsible party at $100,000 |
| Sun Pipeline | Small stream | Monitoring, stream revegetation and trash removal implemented by
responsible party at $75,000 |
| Vane Bros. | Wetlands | 3 sets of boom anchors and osprey nesting platforms implemented
by responsible party at $40,000 |
| New Ideal | Wetlands | $15,034 |
| Coastal Eagle | Wetlands | 3 sets of boom anchors implemented by responsible party at $25,000 |
| Spring Bee | Wetlands | $3,594 |
| Hazardous
Sites |
|
Chemsol
| Ground water | $650,000 |
A 1,200-foot
boom stretches across the Shark River Inlet from a permanent anchor
on the Belmar side to the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Avon during
a drill in October 1999 using rice husks to simulate an oil spill.
Overall, the boom project is designed to keep offshore oil spills
from impacting New Jersey's 12 inlets and connecting back bay environments.
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