[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 77 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19775-19779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10094]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6321-9]
Hackensack Meadowlands Special Area Management Plan
AGENCY: White House Council on Environmental Quality, Department of
Defense (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Environmental Protection
Agency, Department of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration), and the Department of the Interior (U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service), the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission,
and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
ACTION: Notice of proposed changes.
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SUMMARY: The Federal and State agencies that have been partners in the
development of the proposed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) for the
Hackensack Meadowlands are providing this notice of their intention to
complete the SAMP by September 15, 1999, and to make modifications to
the proposed SAMP to reflect: developments subsequent to publication of
the July 21, 1995 Notice of Availability of the draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS); the agencies' further review of the pertinent
scientific issues; and input from meetings with interested members of
the public.
The changes focus primarily on reductions in the fill of wetlands
acreage proposed previously, to more effectively preserve the integrity
of the Hackensack Meadowlands ecosystem as a whole, while providing
greater regulatory certainty for development projects likely to
proceed. This will be achieved through three major changes to the
proposed SAMP: (1) A significant reduction in overall acreage of fill,
with reductions focused on the largest wetlands fill proposal; (2) more
extensive measures to protect remaining acreage from development; and
(3) modifications in methodologies and regulatory products to conform
to these proposed changes.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert W. Hargrove, Chief, Strategic
Planning & Multi-Media Programs Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency--Region 2, 290 Broadway, New York, New York 10007, (212) 637-
3504, E-Mail: [email protected].
Joseph J. Seebode, Chief, Regulatory Branch, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers--New York District, Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, New
York, New York 10278-0090, (212) 264-3996, E-Mail:
Joseph.J.S[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background:
The Hackensack Meadowlands District (District) is a 32-square mile
area that includes portions of 14 municipalities in two counties in
Northeastern New Jersey. The District, which once contained
approximately 17,000 acres of wetlands, has lost nearly half of these
wetlands as a result of hydrologic and environmental alterations,
primarily filling and draining for development. The remaining
undeveloped areas within the District are mostly wetlands
(approximately 8,500 acres including open water) and are under
substantial development pressure.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) regulations for implementing
NEPA; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) procedures for
the voluntary preparation of EISs on significant regulatory actions,
and the 1980 Amendments to the Coastal Zone Management Act, a draft EIS
was issued in June 1995 on a proposed SAMP for the District. The SAMP
is a comprehensive plan providing for natural resource protection,
remediation of pollution, and reasonable economic growth in the
District. It presents a comprehensive statement of policies and
criteria to guide future land use and environmental management in the
District, including preservation, restoration and enhancement of the
District's environmental resources, and meeting economic and social
needs. The public comment period on the draft EIS closed on December 1,
1995.
Update:
During the comment period, we received over 1000 comments, most of
which were highly critical of the preferred alternative presented in
the draft EIS. A number of constituent groups, ranging from
environmental organizations to prospective permit applicants, raised
concerns and were offered an opportunity to expand upon their comments
in meetings with the relevant agencies. In addition to concerns
expressed by many environmental stakeholders, the Department of the
Interior (DOI) identified the Hackensack Meadowlands SAMP as a
candidate for referral to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) if
its concerns could not be resolved. Although there was a great deal of
overlap in the concerns raised, they highlighted the need to make some
substantial revisions to the SAMP prior to the release of the final
EIS. The
[[Page 19776]]
concerns raised most frequently include:
Growth Needs;
Out of District Alternatives;
Hybrid elements and process;
Environmental Improvement Program funding mechanisms;
404 Issues vs. SAMP Goals;
Environmental Improvement Program linkage to SAMP;
Regulatory Products/General Permit;
Community Facilities/Cost of Public Services;
Transportation Components;
Wetland Impacts/AVID vs. IVA; and
Fisheries Impacts.
Since the close of the comment period, the involved agencies have
been evaluating the comments received and have been working to address
these comments. In some subject areas, additional field work, re-
evaluation, and re-analysis have been necessary.
Since late June 1997, CEQ, the federal SAMP partners (EPA, USACE
and NOAA), the DOI, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have
been meeting with a view towards resolving public concerns about the
SAMP. These meetings have been closely coordinated with the Hackensack
Meadowlands Development Commission (HMDC) and the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Moreover, CEQ has also held
meetings with the involved federal and state agencies, representatives
from environmental groups and representatives from the business
community.
These consultations have resulted in a series of proposed changes
to the proposed SAMP to address concerns about the following issues:
the Projected Development Needs; the amount and distribution of the
projected acres of wetlands fill; the Environmental Improvement Program
(EIP); the Wetland Indicator Value Assessment (IVA) Methodology; the
Alternatives Analysis; and Regulatory Products. Our progress in
discussing and resolving the issues surrounding these topics is
outlined below.
Needs Analysis
The Needs Analysis for the District is an economic development
projection for the next 20 years. In response to comments received on
the draft SAMP/EIS, the HMDC has proposed substantial reductions to its
projected development needs for the next 20 years. Most significantly,
HMDC has proposed to reduce its projected housing and primary office
space needs by close to 80 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
In an effort to ensure that the methodology used in projecting the
development needs is appropriate, the federal agencies sent HMDC a
comprehensive list of concerns about the Needs Analysis and its
supporting documentation. The federal concerns were identified through
the deliberations of the EIS Subcommittee and subsequent meetings. The
federal agencies met with HMDC and its consultants to discuss their
preliminary responses to our concerns. We have reviewed HMDC's written
response to many of the questions asked and received a revised Needs
Analysis. While the need for various kinds of development has been
established by HMDC, the parties to this notice have agreed that all
the development needs, and particularly the need for housing units, may
not be fulfilled. HMDC has agreed to remove the majority of the zoning
for housing units that was proposed in the draft EIS. It is assumed
that the municipalities will meet their low and moderate income housing
requirements through the Council on Affordable Housing.
Projected Acres of Wetlands Fill
One of the most significant and widely shared concerns raised
during the draft EIS comment period was the amount of wetlands fill
projected for the preferred development plan for the District. In
addition to concern about the amount of wetlands fill, several parties,
including DOI, expressed concern that the distribution of wetlands fill
would have significant detrimental impacts on the overall habitat
quality of the District because of fragmentation, regardless of the
quality of the wetlands on the property. Specifically, concern was
expressed that because the District represents one of the last
remaining large open space parcels in the New York metropolitan area,
the loss of the wetlands and open space projected in the draft EIS
could have significant adverse effects on wildlife's ability to
effectively use the landscape. Accordingly, the parties to this notice
agreed to explore opportunities to further reduce the amount of
wetlands fill associated with the development proposed under the SAMP.
The plan proposed in the draft EIS called for 842 acres of wetlands
fill (for development and transportation projects) and approximately
3,400 acres of compensatory mitigation. As a result of the HMDC's
proposed modifications to its projected development needs, strict
application of the HMDC's open space policies and sound land use
planning principles, expected fill reductions through the Section 404
permit review process, and the recognition that some projects have
already been approved, the wetlands fill associated with the SAMP was
reduced following the close of the draft EIS comment period. Despite
these efforts to reduce the wetlands fill associated with the SAMP,
however, the parties to this notice believe that the importance of the
Meadowlands as one of the last major wetlands ecosystems in the region,
the compelling water quality and habitat concerns affecting the
Hackensack River watershed, and the deleterious effects of further
fragmentation of wetlands parcels that would result from wetlands fill,
militate for further steps to reduce permissible wetlands fill in the
District--even where the wetlands may be degraded in their current
state.
The parties to this notice have undertaken a further review of the
scale and distribution of further acreage reductions that would be
appropriate for a comprehensive plan for the Meadowlands resource base,
primarily to avoid excessive disruption of an integral wetlands
landscape at the center of the District where the Empire tract is
located. In evaluating the scale and distribution of further acreage
reductions, the SAMP process evaluates the functions and values of the
aquatic ecosystem on a comprehensive basis. This approach may identify
proposals for development that are different from those that would
result from case-by-case permit decisions by the USACE or zoning
decisions by other agencies in the absence of a final SAMP. Within this
context of planning, proposed development under the SAMP approach, the
parties to this notice have identified the need to substantially reduce
the acreage proposed in prior SAMP drafts for the Empire Tract. Based
on consultation to date, the parties to this notice are proposing a
limit in the range of approximately 80 to 90 acres of fill (net
buildable area after minimization) for the Empire Tract; mitigation
requirements would be scaled accordingly. (This limit assumes that a
further four to seven acres of fill may be appropriate for passive
water control infrastructure to protect waters of the United States
from polluted runoff.) This proposal would focus development on areas
of the property, in proximity to existing industrial and commercial
development, where wetland values have been significantly diminished.
This proposed reduction would not otherwise affect the fill acreage
for development proposed for other tracts, nor would it affect the fill
associated with transportation projects anticipated as part of the
final SAMP. The following
[[Page 19777]]
table presents the current projections for wetlands fill under the
SAMP.
SAMP Projected Wetlands Fill
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Acres
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Empire, Ltd. (Site 4).......................................... 90.5
Berry's Creek Center (Site 7).................................. 23.1
U.O.P. Site (Site i)........................................... 15.0
Murray Hill Circle (Site w).................................... 28.4
Bellemeade (Site x)............................................ 29.8
North Bergen (Site v).......................................... 17.5
Rutherford Landfill (Site bd).................................. 35.6
Guarini Tract (Site be)........................................ 34.8
F.D. & P. Site (Site as)....................................... 53.5
SK Services, Inc. (Site bh).................................... 17.9
General Permit Sites (approx. 25 sites)........................ 67.7
Transportation Projects........................................ 51.9
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Total...................................................... 465.7
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As shown in the above table, the total amount of wetlands fill
associated with development and transportation projects under the SAMP
has been greatly reduced. In recognition of this reduction, the parties
to this notice propose to establish a cap of 465 acres on the wetlands
fill associated with development and transportation projects under the
SAMP. Except for the Empire, Ltd. and F.D. & P. Projects, further
reductions of wetlands fill may be realized through site-specific
minimization. It must be noted, however, that some activities outlined
in the EIP (e.g., closure of orphaned landfills, remediation of
hazardous waste sites, and some habitat enhancement measures, which
could require the construction of uplands in existing wetlands) may
impact (e.g., through fill and/or material extraction) minor wetlands
areas. Exact wetlands impacts of these activities will be evaluated in
the final EIS. Moreover, these activities, while fully supported by the
SAMP, will have to obtain all state and federal regulatory approvals.
We are specifically inviting public comment on this aspect of the
proposal prior to completion of the SAMP.
In considering this proposal for the SAMP, the public should note
that because the USACE has an individual permit application for the
Empire tract under evaluation, the USACE must proceed with its permit
review process concurrent with continued development of the SAMP.
Pending regulatory decisions, approvals, and related actions by parties
to this notice also will proceed concurrently, until the SAMP is
finalized. The USACE's evaluation process, and that of other agencies,
will consider all information and alternatives developed during the
SAMP process.
Enhancing Conservation
There are a series of measures put forth in the draft EIS to ensure
that the fill proposed in the SAMP document constitutes full build-out
for the District, including: deed restrictions, zoning, conservation
easements, and the use of a conservancy. Since the draft EIS was
issued, the HMDC has taken positive steps to implement some of these
mechanisms. Most significantly, the HMDC has acquired over 1000 acres
of wetlands over the past three years, and is currently exploring the
possibility of acquiring an additional 600 acres. A Hackensack
Meadowlands Conservancy has been approved by the New Jersey State
Legislature, and was signed into law by Governor Whitman on March 2,
1999. Furthermore, in light of the particular development pressures in
the Meadowlands District, the parties to this notice agree that
wetlands preservation of otherwise developable properties may be an
appropriate part of mitigation strategies, where that approach is
consistent with national policy and appropriate to support further
reductions in wetlands fill. Similarly, the agencies will assign
priority to encourage acquisition as an element of Supplemental
Environmental Projects developed in the context of enforcement actions.
To ensure full realization of the SAMP's wetlands preservation goals,
including that development activities will not result in unacceptable
adverse effects to aquatic resources, EPA will consider the use of its
veto authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act.
Furthermore, the Federal agencies will work with the State of New
Jersey and local government agencies to pursue other tools and
resources to ensure permanent preservation of wetland acreage not
identified for development as part of the SAMP. In particular, the DOI
will work with the State of New Jersey on a joint proposal for
acquisition of wetland acreage through the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act for submission in August 1999. Moreover, the FWS is
reviewing a request that it consider the establishment of a National
Urban Wildlife Refuge that would encompass portions of the District.
In addition, President Clinton's budget for Fiscal Year 2000
includes two new tools to support collaborative work by Federal, state,
and local agencies to preserve wetlands in the Meadowlands. The first
is a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative--the largest one-year
investment ever in the protection of America's land resources. This FY
2000 budget proposal--a 125 percent increase over FY 1999--expands
federal efforts to save America's natural treasures, and provides
significant new resources to states and communities to protect local
green spaces like the Meadowlands. Second, the budget includes a total
of $700 million over five years for tax credits to finance Better
America Bonds. This funding will support federal tax credits enabling
state, local and tribal governments to issue $9.5 billion in bonds over
5 years to preserve open space. Federal agencies will provide
assistance to State and local government agencies in New Jersey in
developing proposals to qualify for this new funding, once approved by
Congress.
Governor Whitman's Open Space Program, which was approved by New
Jersey voters in November 1998, is an additional tool which will be
pursued in attempting to preserve wetlands in the Meadowlands. This
program constitutionally dedicates approximately $1 billion over the
next ten years from state sales tax revenue for the purpose of
acquiring and preserving 1 million acres of open space in New Jersey.
Environmental Improvement Program (EIP)
The HMDC's EIP provides a comprehensive, multi-media set of
programs designed to remediate existing pollution and to prevent future
pollution. The federal agencies have identified five concerns about the
EIP: (1) the relationship of the EIP to the land use development
alternatives; (2) the identification of essential and non-essential EIP
projects; (3) the prioritization of projects within the EIP; (4) the
security and stability of future EIP funding; and, (5) the measurement
of EIP success.
The parties to this notice have met to discuss these issues and
have resolved most of the issues. In particular, a new approach of
conducting separate analyses for the EIP and the development
alternatives, including the Section 404(b)(1) compliance analysis has
been agreed to, and updated information on EIP projects and the
proposed funding mechanisms has been requested from HMDC.
Wetlands Indicator Value Assessment (IVA) Methodology
The IVA methodology will be used to compare the wetland impacts of
alternative development scenarios. The federal agencies have discussed
the sufficiency of the IVA in its current form for comparing wetlands
impacts at the programmatic level. Consensus was reached that the IVA
is sufficient for addressing water quality improvement
[[Page 19778]]
and social significance functions. Consensus was also reached on a way
to supplement the existing IVA wildlife habitat attribute to provide a
greater level of detail.
The federal representatives on the IVA work group, in cooperation
with biologists from the HMDC and the NJDEP, are working to supplement
the existing general fish and wildlife attributes of the IVA method
with attributes that are more precisely defined to represent species
groups that the agencies agree are of management concern in the
District. These groups include waterfowl, wading birds, migratory
shorebirds, passerine birds, and juvenile anadromous and forage fish.
The method has been revised to incorporate these modifications. The
supplemental methodology is being reviewed by independent experts; we
expect the independent expert review to be completed by April 1999.
To address the need to augment the IVA method with site-specific
field data for individual Section 404 permit reviews, we are developing
a protocol for field work requirements. This protocol will allow
applicants to better anticipate the type and amount of field data that
will be required for processing applications for USACE permits, and
will also improve the quality of the information used in making permit
decisions.
In addition, the federal agencies, in cooperation with the HMDC and
the NJDEP, are developing a comprehensive wildlife management plan for
the District. This plan will help guide future wildlife management
decisions in the District and help in the establishment of goals and
performance standards for wetland mitigation projects. Thus far, the
agencies have reached consensus on the priority species groups of
management concern in the District, which include the above-mentioned
wetland dependent groups as well as grassland birds, raptors, and
State-listed species. The FWS is currently preparing a revised draft of
the wildlife management plan that identifies the specific management
objectives for these species groups and identifies broader landscape
level management objectives. The next step, to be completed by June 1,
1999, will be to identify specific management strategies to meet these
objectives.
Alternatives
The federal agencies want to ensure that the full range of
practical alternative land use scenarios for future growth and
environmental preservation are evaluated and meet the requirements of
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and NEPA, while being respective of
property rights.
Based on our discussions, we intend to perform an alternatives
analysis that evaluates the following scenarios: no action; uplands/
redevelopment; the FWS's February 1997 proposal; the HMDC's preferred
development configuration; and an out-of-District alternative. For the
out-of-District alternative, we have agreed on a process to evaluate
potential sites. We have agreed on a 25 acre parcel size and several
criteria for the exclusion of sites from consideration (e.g., wetlands,
active camp sites, parkland, and cemeteries). We will then be
conducting a second level evaluation to look at land use compatibility,
implementability/feasibility, and environmental impacts. The out-of-
District analysis will be available for public review during the
outreach efforts outlined in the project completion schedule at the end
of this notice of proposed SAMP revisions, and will be included in the
final EIS.
Regulatory Products
At the time of publication of the draft EIS, two major regulatory
products were proposed to enhance efficiency, while providing needed
environmental protection measures in the Hackensack Meadowlands. First,
a General Permit (GP) authorized by section 404(e) of the Clean Water
Act was proposed to allow authorization of: (a) development with less
than 15 acres of wetland fill; (b) transportation projects with less
than one acre of wetland fill; and (c) wetland mitigation projects and
banks. The second regulatory product, aimed at addressing development
projects entailing over 15 acres of wetland fill, and larger
transportation projects, was an Abbreviated Processing Procedure (APP).
The APP would streamline the permit review process for projects
consistent with the SAMP.
A substantial number of comments were received in response to the
draft EIS, opposing the proposed GP, and implementation of the APP.
These comments must be considered, however, in light of the significant
wetlands fill reductions that are proposed by this notice. Consistent
with the acreage reduction goal, the USACE, in consultation with the
parties to this notice, has proposed modifications to both regulatory
products to address environmental concerns. The wetlands fill
associated with development projects under the GP would be reduced to a
10 acre threshold, and require that all wetland impacts be fully
mitigated.
The parties to this notice have decided to retain the APP for SAMP-
consistent development projects involving wetlands fill greater than 10
acres. The APP would streamline time frames normally required for
evaluating an individual permit application by tiering off information
made available through the SAMP process. The APP continues to require
the full public interest and federal agency review process now
employed, including development/implementation of appropriate value-
for-value mitigation. Permit applications under the APP may utilize
data developed in the SAMP towards documentation of compliance with the
section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, analysis of out-of-district alternatives,
and NEPA documentation. As such, no additional off-site analysis will
be required. However, data/information developed to support the APP
(e.g., the out-of-District alternatives analysis) will have to be
updated every five years.
We expect that these regulatory enhancements will substantially
reduce the processing time for section 404 permits for projects that
are consistent with the SAMP. Specifically, assuming an applicant
follows the process that will be outlined in the SAMP, projects subject
to the GP would be authorized in less than six months; projects subject
to the APP would be authorized in less than a year.
In addition to the aforementioned regulatory products, the parties
to this notice have established a joint coordination framework to
evaluate proposed wetlands mitigation, habitat restoration, and
mitigation banks proposed for the District. The Meadowlands Interagency
Mitigation Advisory Council (MIMAC) was established by written
agreement in 1997, and has been meeting on a monthly basis since early
1998. The MIMAC Agreement established coordination procedures that will
be implemented as part of the SAMP; however, it was recognized that
those procedures would be immediately useful in coordinating the
planning, implementation, and monitoring of compensatory mitigation
projects in the District. To date, the MIMAC has provided comments to
the USACE on numerous mitigation projects in the District, and two
mitigation banks have been permitted and are under construction.
Under this proposal, any SAMP-consistent project that has HMDC
General Plan approval would be exempt from the development moratorium
that is intended to be imposed as part of the SAMP implementation
process. The application review process could proceed immediately
following publication of the Record of Decision for
[[Page 19779]]
the SAMP; project construction could begin upon receipt of required
permits.
The regulatory products proposed for SAMP-consistent projects are
intended to provide a high degree of certainty to the affected public
concerning future regulatory decisions. As such, the parties to this
notice acknowledge that, upon completion of the SAMP and in the absence
of new information (i.e., information unavailable at the time of the
final SAMP), there will be a heavy presumption against adverse agency
comment and/or action (including but not limited to elevation or veto
of section 404 permits pursuant to sections 404(q) or 404(c) of the
Clean Water Act, respectively, or referral to CEQ under NEPA) for SAMP-
consistent projects. This presumption will not limit the parties' to
this notice right to comment (either through the MIMAC or as individual
agencies) on site-specific minimization and/or mitigation aspects of
individual section 404 authorizations.
Effect of this Notice: In this proposal, the parties to this notice
have taken a more comprehensive approach in evaluating the scale and
distribution of further acreage reductions, as is appropriate for a
comprehensive plan for the Meadowlands resource base, and consequently
their conclusions may differ from the conclusions that might be reached
in the context of an individual regulatory decision, such as a decision
on an individual permit application. Therefore, nothing in this Federal
Register notice shall be construed to affect any agency's discretion to
evaluate all reasonable alternatives and to render final regulatory
decisions including, without limitation, the USACE decisions pursuant
to section 404 of the Clean Water Act and section 10 of the River and
Harbors Act if the SAMP is not timely completed. If the SAMP is not
completed, the USACE and other agencies will continue to render final
permit decisions based on applicable criteria. Those permit decisions
may not comport with statements in this notice or prior drafts of the
SAMP.
Coordination with Stakeholders: The federal agencies intend to hold
meetings with stakeholders, including the Citizens Advisory Committee,
to keep the stakeholders informed of the status of activities.
Schedule for Completion of SAMP/EIS
April/May 1999--Conduct public outreach on the SAMP/EIS, including
Congressional briefings, constituent meetings, and public information
sessions
July 15, 1999--Issue Final EIS
August 15, 1999--Close Final EIS comment period
September 15, 1999--Issue SAMP Record of Decision
July 1, 2000--HMDC completes revisions to Master Plan and zoning
regulations; NJDEP submits these documents to NOAA for approval as a
Coastal Management Plan revision
September 1, 2000--NOAA acts on New Jersey Coastal Management Plan
revision
Dated: March 25, 1999.
Jeanne M. Fox,
Regional Administrator, EPA--Region 2.
William H. Pearce,
District Engineer, USACE--New York District.
Jane M. Kenny,
Chairperson, Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission.
Robert C. Shinn, Jr.,
Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Jon C. Rittgers,
Acting Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service
Northeast Region.
Ralph C. Pisapia,
Acting, Regional Director, USFWS--Region 5.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Associate Director for Toxic and Environmental Protection, White House
Council on Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 99-10094 Filed 4-21-99; 8:45 am]
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