12th District legislators Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon today hailed an agreement between the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), operator of Monmouth Racetrack, and the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority (TRWRA) to increase the amount of wastewater runoff handled by the Authority by up to 200,000 gallons a day, depending on weather conditions, thereby lessening the amount of wastewater running directly into Branchport Creek.
“This agreement is a tremendously positive step toward cleaning up Branchport Creek”, said O’Scanlon. “The NJSEA, the racetrack and the TRWRA are all to be commended for sitting down and coming up with a common sense short term solution to begin to improve the conditions of the creek. In conjunction with the other steps being taken, I am confident that there are effective long term solutions in place to initially reduce, and ultimatley eliminate, excessive levels of contaminants being released into the Creek.”
The original agreement between the two authorities, struck in 1994, called for the TRWRA to take 110,000 gallons of wastewater on “dry,” or non-rainy days, and 210,000 gallons on rainy days. The new agreement would increase each of those numbers by 100,000. Runoff above the agreed limit runs directly into the Creek unfiltered.
“The ultimate solution is a multi-year investment in track infrastructure which is in the works”, said O’Scanlon. “But we also had to work to maximize what could be done right now - so we could help improve the quality of the creek’s neighbors lives now, not next year or three years from now. This agreement is the culmination of that initial effort. No one should assume that there won’t still be some bad days in the area around the creek - there will be. But we’ve turned a corner and things will only get better from here.”
Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon said that this was another in a series of actions the Racetrack and the NJSEA had taken in recent months after prodding by the municipality and the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
“Seventeen of Monmouth Park’s sixty acres are covered by roofs. Three of those seventeen acres have had new gutters installed, with the clean rainwater running directly into the Creek instead of filtering through the grounds and the organic matter which pollutes the Creek. The other 14 acres are scheduled to be guttered this fall. When this is complete, combined with the increase in capacity agreed to by the TRWRA, I believe it will go along way toward improving the quality of water in the Creek.”
Beck noted that the legislators had participated in a conference call with DEP officials who had pledged their support and cooperation.
“Addressing the pollution problems in Branchport Creek is a multi-stage, multi-year and multi-agency project. DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson has assured me personally that while DEP will continue to fulfill its oversight and enforcement role, they are committed to addressing all issues concerning Branchport Creek in a timely fashion. I am confident that this spirit of cooperation will continue throughout the project from all concerned parties, so that we can achieve our common goal: reducing contaminated runoff into Branchburg Creek and making it a health body of water once again.”
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