Millstone Bypass Alert! Coalition
Comments on Draft Environmental Assessment Prepared by NJDOT for
Millstone Bypass Project
National Trust for Historic Preservation
"The State We're In" Michele S. Byer's weekly column
Princeton Environmental Action
Preservation New Jersey's 2001 Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey
NJ Sierra Club Calls for More Funding for Transportation
NJDOT's Proposed Millstone Bypass: Assessment of Environmental Disturbance
New Research on Population, Suburban Sprawl and Smart Growth from Cornell University
Stony Brook Millstone Watershed
Letter to NJDOT Bureau of Environmental Services, October 10, 2002
A Primer on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by George Hawkins
"Impacts of and Alternatives to the Millstone Bypass"
"Current and Potential National Historic Sites Impacted by the Millstone Bypass"
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
"Millstone Bypass Environmental Assessment Found Wanting"
Mobilizing the Region , A weekly bulletin from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association Letter
October 10, 2002
Anthony B. Sabidussi, Section Chief
Bureau of Environmental Services
New Jersey Department of Transportation
PO Box 600 Trenton NJ 08625-0600RE: Penns Neck Area EIS Review
Dear Mr. Sabidussi:
The enclosed information was previously provided to NJDOT, but we wanted to ensure that this data is included in the on-going development of the Penns Neck Area Environmental Impact Statement.
In a recent presentation to the Roundtable by Harris Engineering in September 2002, a review of the NJDEP Natural Heritage Database identified that no threatened or endangered species were recorded in this database for the study area. However, the Millstone Bypass Issue Paper prepared by the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association in January 2000, provided documentation of sightings of the following species in Appendix A of the report.
Latin Name Common Name Comment Ardea herodias Great Blue Heron Threatened species Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier Endangered species Buteo Lineatus Red-shouldered Hawk Threatened species Pandion haliaetus Osprey Threatened species Lutra canadensis River Otter Dr. Michael Van Clef, a trained ecologist, prepared the second report included in this submittal. His work was conducted in July and August of 2000, and he concludes that many species may not have been observed because of the seasonal variations. Dr. Van Clef provided a list of 44 rare and endangered plants that could potentially be found along the Millstone River because of the suitable habitat (Table 1). He also identified a great diversity of plant species along the Millstone River, including 157 species (Table 2) Table 3 in his report compared plant species recorded in the disturbed areas near the Rte 1 corridor to those in the more secluded undisturbed areas. Invasive and weedy species provided 80% of the site cover in area 1, within 200-300 feet from Rte 1. While invasive and weedy species only covered 16-18% of the site in the more secluded areas. His work demonstrates that disturbing the area can impact habitat and the diversity of native plant species, allowing for invasive species to overwhelm the plant community.
Please ensure that this information is included in the Penns Neck Area EIS and the assessment of alternative road alignments and their potential impacts.
Sincerely,
Noelle MacKay, Director
Watershed ManagementCopy:
Millstone Bypass Roundtable
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh,
West Windsor Township NJDEP, Natural Heritage Database ProgramLetter from Dr. Michael Van Clef, ecologist
Major Findings in Issue Paper on the Proposed Millstone Bypass
Distributed by the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
The following is a summary of impacts that will be caused by the construction, use and maintenance of the proposed Millstone Bypass.
1. Traffic Flow, Public Safety and Access
NJ DOT proposes that the Bypass be a single lane in each direction and include three traffic lights. Because of the intense pace of development in the surrounding area, the Bypass will be over capacity by 2006 after its completion, with serious congestion, traffic back-ups, and the resulting increases in air pollution, noise, visual impacts and everyday commuter headaches. This almost immediate failure of the Bypass raises the prospect that NJ DOT will need to consider widening the road to two lanes in each direction. With that foreseeable need for expansion, DOT should assess the impact of such a road now. Access to Princeton Medical Center, a key concern, will not be improved, and may become more difficult. While the public safety of citizens in Penns Neck probably will be improved by this Bypass, the public safety of all other users of the Millstone River corridor will be placed in greater risk. As for access, West Windsor residents can now walk, jog or bicycle directly to the D&R Canal State Park. The Bypass would take away this access. In effect, the bypass will move traffic problems from one location to another.2. Historic Resources
Delaware & Raritan Canal
The proposed Bypass is aligned parallel to and within 470 feet of the D&R Canal State Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Approximately 650,000 people hike, bike, jog, canoe or kayak or fish along the canal each year. Approximately one million people use the canal as their source of drinking water. No surfaced roadway or development currently intrudes along the park from Washington Road and Harrison Street. The construction of a major roadway will have significant impacts to the water quality, storm drainage, historic, visual and natural quality of the park. These impacts are very likely to violate a number of park regulations adopted in February, 1999, concerning stormwater, pollutants in run-off, noise, visual impacts, and air pollutants from vehicles. The NJ DOT has already requested a waiver from strict compliance with the Canal Park regulations governing stream corridors. The alignment intrudes into the corridor of the Millstone River. Due to the unique nature of the park, the impacts of a major roadway cannot be mitigated. Obviously, there is no way the park can be recreated anywhere else. What makes this area so unique is not only its extraordinarily heavy use and enjoyment by citizens of Princeton, West Windsor and other surrounding communities, but the fact that no roadways or other development intrudes.Washington Road Elm Allee
The design of the proposed Bypass will destroy at least 15 of the 67Princeton Elms near the canal. These trees, developed after many trials to find an American Elm superior in both vigor and beauty, are on the State and National Register of Historic Places. Destruction of the elms, a landmark known and appreciated by countless residents and visitors, is a significant creates the risk of significant sedimentation to the Millstone River and D&R Canal during storm events, and leads to the need for additional treatment to make the water potable. Sedimentation can also degrade the aquatic ecosystem by interfering with photosynthesis, clogging fish gills and causing suffocation, transporting heavy metals and pesticides that can be toxic to aquatic life. NJ DOT must demonstrate that their design and construction plans have been developed to minimize the threat of sedimentation, and document the control measures that will be implemented during the course of the project, especially measures to control sedimentation during flooding.Since the Millstone River is already experiencing fluctuations in its dissolved oxygen levels, it is important to keep additional pollutant loads from further degrading water quality. Along with the loss of surrounding wetlands and their function of filtering out nutrients and other pollutants, the increased impervious surfaces that increase stormflow, and the heightened erosion due to increased stormflow to these areas, increased runoff due to impervious surfaces would add to the already burden of the Millstone River areas surrounding the proposed Bypass.
NJ DOT should evaluate current water quality, analyze what contaminants will enter the Millstone River, D&R Canal and nearby streams during construction and use of the Bypass, outline how runoff will be contained and what the impact of the runoff will be on the wetlands and river, and determine if the wetlands and river can support any additional degradation given the existing water quality.
6. Wetland/Habitat Fragmentation
The Bypass calls for construction to encroach upon approximately 72 acres of land. Of this amount, over one acre of wetlands and nearly 13 acres of woodlands adjacent to the Millstone river and Little Bear Brook will be directly impacted-filled and covered. Many more adjacent areas will be impacted by increased runoff. The area sited for the Bypass is home to more than 100 species of plants and animals. Studies have shown that the presence of wetlands in floodplains can reduce peak` flood levels by 80 percent, slowing water velocity and regulating flow to downstream areas. New Jersey lost 60 percent of its wetlands since the between 1870 and 1980 -- an estimated 580,000 acres.The construction of the Bypass will significantly impact the unique wetlands that exist in this area To determine the extent of the impact, NJ DOT should compile an inventory of the plant and animal species present in the area surrounding the proposed road. Each plant and animal species has particular environmental requirements that are needed to reproduce and flourish. An inventory is the only way to understand the biological and chemical needs of the plant and animal life present in the area and how fragmentation will affect the species present.
Appendix A: Partial List of Species in Penn's Neck Woods
and Adjacent to Millstone RiverComplete Millstone Bypass Issue Paper
NJ Sierra Club Calls for More Funding for Transportation
From Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter, February 28, 2002
Princeton - The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, at its last Board meeting unanimously passed a resolution calling for increased transportation funding. The Sierra Club believes the only way that we can get the monies that is necessary for transportation is through raising the gas tax. The resolution called for the Governor and the Legislature to increase the gas tax by ten cents a gallon. This would increase funding available for mass transit, which would reduce traffic congestion and fix bridges that are falling down.
New Jersey has the worst air quality in the nation when it comes to ground level ozone and there is not a county in the state that meets air quality standards. Air pollution from automobiles, SUV's and trucks not only pollutes the air we breathe but also causes serious health problems, especially in children. The state of New Jersey needs to invest in mass transit including trains, light rail, and clean buses. This not only would help decrease air pollution but it would reduce traffic congestion as well.
The Sierra Club firmly believes that the gas tax is the fairest and most equitable way to fund transportation projects. New Jersey currently has the forth lowest gas tax in the nation and has not had an increase since 1986. We are calling for an increase of at least ten cents or more per gallon, because of the serious lack of funding for transportation in New Jersey. Currently every penny from the gas tax goes to pay debt service on transportation bonds because of the Whitman Administration funding scheme.
New mass transit projects in urban areas will help to revitalize our cities and older suburban communities, thus helping to limit sprawl development that is chewing up our countryside. "Alternate forms of transportation don't have a chance when the automobile is subsidized
so heavily", said Bob Johnson, Transportation Coordinator for the Chapter. We also have dangerous roadways and dilapidated bridges in our urban areas that need to be fixed and we should not allow for any of these monies to go for new highways that induce sprawl in our rural
and environmentally sensitive areas.For more information, contact:
Jeff Tittel, Director
NJ Chapter Sierra Club
609-924-3141
jefft1@voicenet.com
Web site: http://www.enviroweb.org/njsierra/
Preservation New Jersey's 2001 Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey:
Vanishing Villages of Rural New Jersey
The Bergen Archways and Erie Cut
Jersey City, Hudson CountyCliffside Park Post Office
Cliffside Park, Bergen CountyCamp Glen Gray
Mahwah Township, Bergen CountyRoosevelt Hospital
Edison Township, Middlesex CountyJockey Hollow Section, Morristown National Historical Park
Morris CountyKip's Castle
Verona/Montclair, Essex CountyFlemington Fairgrounds
Raritan Township, Hunterdon CountyNew Jersey's Grand Shore Hotels
Quarry Stone Houses
Franklin Township, Somerset CountyPreservation New Jersey announces its seventh annual list of the ten most endangered historic sites in New Jersey. The act of listing these resources acknowledges their importance to New Jersey and draws attention to their plight. We hope that listing these historic sites will result in positive actions being taken to preserve them.
The selection of sites for this annual list becomes more and more difficult each year because of the growing number of treasured resources in jeopardy. This year?s nomination process yielded the highest volume to date. One interesting commonality in this year?s list is the persistent development pressure on sites across the state. For every listed property, there are other worthy and significant candidates ? this list is only the ?tip of the iceberg.?
Our main criteria for our selections are: 1) historical significance and architectural integrity, 2) the critical nature of the threat identified, and 3) the likelihood that inclusion on the list would have a positive impact on efforts to protect the site. We also consider geographic and thematic diversity among the properties nominated.
We hope that our year 2001 list of the ten most endangered historic sites will be a catalyst for the preservation of New Jersey?s heritage.
For Further Information on Preservation New Jersey?s 2001 10 Most Endangered
Sites and who to contact to get involved call:Pat Pizzini Huizing,
Executive Director
Preservation New Jersey, Inc.
30 S. Warren Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
609-392-6409
FAX: 609-392-6418
http://www.preservationnj.org/
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