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Hudson Raritan Estuary (HRE) NY and NJ Ecosystem Restoration Program

DESCRIPTION: The Hudson Raritan Estuary (HRE) is within the boundaries of the Port District of New York and New Jersey, and is situated within a 25 mile radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The HRE study area includes 8 Planning Regions: 1) Jamaica Bay; 2) Lower Bay; 3) Lower Raritan River; 4) Arthur Kill/Kill Van Kull; 5) Newark Bay, Hackensack River and Passaic River; 6) Lower Hudson River; 7) Harlem River, East River, and Western Long Island Sound; and 8) Upper Bay.

The study purpose is to identify the water resources problems, existing conditions and factors contributing to environmental degradation within the estuary in order to develop potential solutions aimed at ecosystem restoration, while building upon existing restoration efforts and management plans (e.g., Harbor Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan).

The HRE Ecosystem Restoration Program will enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), its non-Federal cost-sharing sponsors, and other regional stakeholders to restore and protect lost or degraded aquatic, wetland and terrestrial habitats within the HRE study area. These activities will be accomplished by implementing various site-specific ecosystem restoration projects formulated within the context of an overall strategic plan.

As a first step, the USACE, with participation of the regional stakeholders, has developed a Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CRP) that serves as a master plan and blueprint for future restoration in the HRE region. The CRP provides the framework for an estuary-wide ecological restoration program by utilizing restoration targets -Target Ecosystem Characteristics (TECs) developed by the region’s stakeholders. The CRP Program goal is to develop a mosaic of habitats that provide society with renewed and increased benefits from the estuary environment. Each TEC is an important ecosystem property or feature that is of ecological and/or societal value including restoration of coastal wetlands, shellfish/oyster reefs, eelgrass beds, water bird islands, public access, maritime forest, tributary connections, shorelines and shallow habitat, fish crab and lobster habitat, reduction of contaminated sediments and improvement of enclosed and confined waters. The CRP provides a strategic plan to achieve the TEC goals, identify potential restoration opportunities and mechanisms for implementation.

The HRE Feasibility Study will recommend specific restoration projects throughout the HRE Study Area that advance the CRP goals and provide solutions for water resource problems. Projects will be recommended for near-term construction and future feasibility study spin-offs (per Civil Works Transformation). Recommendations from the HRE- Lower Passaic River, HRE- Hackensack Meadowlands, Flushing Creek and Bay, Bronx River Basin, and Jamaica Bay, Marine Park, Plumb Beach Feasibility Studies will be incorporated into the HRE Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment.

AUTHORIZATIONS:

HRE, HRE-Lower Passaic River, and HRE-Hackensack Meadowlands

House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Resolution dated April 15, 1999, Docket Number 2596.

Flushing Bay and Creek

Congress Resolution dated 28 September 1994, Docket Number 2442.

Bronx River Basin

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Resolution dated March 24, 1998, Docket Number 2551

Jamaica Bay, Marine Park, Plumb Beach

Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the United States House of Representatives Resolution dated August 1, 1990.

STATUS: The USACE Reconnaissance Phase for HRE commenced in January 2000 and a Section 905(b) WRDA 86 Analysis was approved in June 2000. The Project Management Plans (PMP) and Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreements (FCSA) were executed as follows with the following local sponsors:

Feasibility Study	FCSA Execution	Study Sponsor	Study Cost
HRE	July 2001	PANYNJ	Total: $19,500,000 Federal: $10,000,000 Non-Federal: $9,500,000
HRE-Lower Passaic River*	June 2003	NJDOT	Total: $9,000,000 Federal: $4,500,000 Non-Federal: $4,500,000
HRE-Hackensack Meadowlands	April 2003	New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority (formerly Hackensack Meadowlands Commission)	Total: $5,200,000 Federal: $2,600,000 Non-Federal: $2,600,000
Flushing Creek and Bay	September 1999	NYCDEP and PANYNJ	Total: $2,876,000 Federal: $1,438,000 Non-Federal: $1,438,000
Bronx River Basin	November 2003	NYCDEP and Westchester County	Total: 4,489,996 Federal: $2,244,998 Non-Federal: Westchester- $864,324 NYCDEP- $1,380,674
Jamaica Bay, Marine Park and Plumb Beach	February 1996	NYCDEP	Total: $4,276,000 Federal: $ 2,138,000 Non-Federal: $2,138,000

*Note: The HRE-Lower Passaic River Feasibility Study was conducted in partnership with USEPA, NOAA, USFWS and the State of New Jersey to develop a comprehensive solution for restoration and remediation (in coordination with the Superfund Program). The USEPA and USACE are Co-Leads of the Lower Passaic River Urban Waters Federal Partnership.

Overall goals and restoration targets were established as a collaborative effort among the region’s stakeholders through a series of stakeholder workshops in 2005 through 2007. A Draft Comprehensive Restoration Plan was released in April 2009 and has been adopted by the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program (HEP) as the path forward for restoration in the future. Intensive public outreach to build consensus for the CRP was completed in July 2011 and the CRP has been updated based on stakeholder and Harbor Estuary Program Restoration Work Group (HEP RWG) comments and will be released in spring 2016.

For the feasibility study, the District has evaluated opportunities that would result in construction authorization for a subset of sites outlined in the CRP, as well as a list of restoration opportunities for future feasibility study (pursuant to Civil Works Transformation SMART Planning principles). To date, more than 24 sites are being evaluated at a feasibility-level (FS) of detail to be recommended for construction including:

Newark Bay, Hackensack River and Passaic River Planning Region:

· Hackensack River (2 sites): Meadowlark and Metromedia Marshes

· Lower Passaic River (3 site): Essex County Branch Brook Park, Dundee Island Park, Clifton Dundee Canal Green Acres

East River, Harlem River, Western Long Island Sound Planning Region:

· Flushing Creek (1 site)

· Bronx River (9 sites): Stone Mill Dam, Bronx Zoo and Dam, Shoelace Park, Muscrat Cove, River Park/West Farm Rapids Park, Westchester County Center, Bronxville Lake, Crestwood Lake, Garth Woods/Harney Road

Jamaica Bay Planning Region:

· Perimeter sites (6): Fresh Creek, Hawtree Point, Dubos Point, Brant Point, Bayswater State Park, Dead Horse Bay

· Marsh Islands: Elders Center, Duck Point, Stoney Point, Pumpkin Patch

Upper Bay:

· Liberty State Park- Previously authorized in WRDA 2007

Oyster Restoration:

· Governors Island, Naval Weapons Station Earl, Bush Terminal, Soundview Park, Hudson/Tappan Zee and Jamaica Bay

Feasibility activities include ecological functional assessments, preparation of additional restoration alternatives, FS-level engineering designs and cost estimates, NEPA Environmental Assessments and Cost Effectiveness/Incremental Cost Analysis (CE/ICA) for each site.

In addition, other restoration opportunities outlined in the CRP will be recommended for further feasibility study investigation which would require subsequent Congressional construction authorization. The Draft Interim Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment are expected to be completed by summer 2016.

CONTACT:

Ms. Lisa Baron, Project Manager,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

Phone: (917) 790-8306

E-mail: lisa.a.baron@usace.army.mil

26 Federal Plaza

New York, NY 10278-0090

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS:

New Jersey

NJ U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez

NJ U.S. Sen. Corey Booker

NJ-05 Rep. Scott Garrett