Current Projects
The Bureau of Environmental Analysis, Restoration and Standards is responsible for conducting and coordinating environmental stewardship, water quality analysis and restoration, water quality standards development, water quality management planning and other activities designed to protect, maintain and enhance water quality for all waters of the State in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act, New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act, and New Jersey Water Quality Management Planning Act.
BEARS provides the scientific foundation for restoration and protection of New Jersey’s water resources so that all of the state’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters are fishable, swimmable and support healthy ecosystems and so all of the freshwater resources are clean sources of drinking water.
Development of a Lake Protection and Watershed Management Plan for Twilight Lake, Ocean County, NJ
Grantee: Borough of Bay Head
Funding amount: $85,000
Twilight Lake is a saline, tidally influenced waterbody located in the Borough of Bay Head, Ocean County. Twilight Lake is a tributary of Bay Head Harbor and ultimately, Barnegat Bay. The lake is enjoyed by locals as a spot for kayaking, paddle boarding, and fishing for crabs, catfish, and white perch. In recent years, Twilight Lake has experienced excessive aquatic plant and algae growth, pockets of accumulated sediment, and significant shoreline erosion.
Additionally, the tributary connecting Twilight Lake to Bay Head Harbor is subject to a fecal coliform TMDL to address non-attainment of the shellfish harvesting designated use. The outcome of this project will be a Twilight Lake Protection and Watershed Management Plan, based on the nine minimum elements of EPA-approved watershed management plans. This plan will enable the Borough of Bay Head to properly identify, design, and implement future restoration activities in Twilight Lake, which will address existing impairments and emerging threats to water quality
Lighthouse Center Enhancement & Rejuvenation Program: Shoreline Stabilization and Rejuvenation
Grantee: Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey
Funding amount: $300,000
The Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education (LHC) is an environmental education and research center located in Ocean Township, Ocean County, and is situated on one of the last undeveloped bayfront tracts in Barnegat Bay. Through a lease agreement with the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, the LHC is operated by the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey (NREFNJ), a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation.
The LHC encompasses 194 acres of diverse coastal habitats, which have suffered extensive degradation over the past 50 years, predominantly due to historic mosquito control practices,
sea level rise, significant climatic events such as Hurricane Sandy, and chronic boat wake action. Along portions of the shoreline, the rate of shoreline loss since 1995 has averaged approximately 3-4 feet per year.
Shoreline degradation has also increased the LHC’s vulnerability to severe storm events. This grant will fund execution of a living shoreline project on the LHC property, design for which has already been completed by NREFNJ and received partial grant funding from The Nature Conservancy.
This living shoreline project will restore salt marsh habitats along the LHC waterfront, which will in turn help to protect a sensitive brackish impoundment from coastal storms and storm surge; enhance water quality by promoting ecosystem services furnished by filter feeding bivalves and stands of bayfront vegetation; protect habitats of migratory birds, fish and near-shore marine species; and provide opportunities for public involvement and student training in the employment of natural infrastructure for the protection of Barnegat Bay.
Mechanical removal of HABs in lakes using air micro nano bubbles from a specialized floating platform
Grantee: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Funding Amount: $500,000
This proposal will implement a mobile floating platform to mechanically remove HABs by air flotation using air micro-nano bubble generators. This project aims to deploy a customized multifunctional floating platform in Branch Brook Lake and Deal Lake, two of the HABs-affected lakes in New Jersey in 2019. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) will implement a 3-year project to install and study a mobile floating platform to mechanically remove HABs by air flotation using air micro-nano bubble generators.
This project will deploy a customized multifunctional floating platform in Branch Brook Lake and Deal Lake, two of the lakes affected by HABs in the summer of 2019. This in-situ algal removal technology aims to clarify HAB-affected waterbodies, including the surface and water columns as deep as 4-6 ft. Additional objectives include a long-term HAB strategy for Branch Brook Park Lake and evaluation of additional water quality improvements achieved by the platforms for parameters such as dissolved oxygen and turbidly.