Environmental assessment section on physical resources, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

The Hudson River is part of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary (a designated Estuary under tl’.e federal Clean Water Act Amendments of 1987). The New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary includes waters of New York Harbor and the tidally influenced tributaries. The core area includes the New York and New Jersey shared waterways of the Hudson River, Upper and Lower Bay, Arthur Kill (a Dutch word meaning stream). Kill van Kull, and Raritan Bay (the latter three are located in Staten Island and New Jersey). New York waterways include the East and Harlem Rivers and Jamaica Bay, New Jersey waterways include the Hackensack, Passaic, Raritan, Shrewsbury, Navesink, and Rahway Rivers, and Newark and Sandy Hook Bays (Figure 7-7) (CCMP 1996).

Activities in and discharges to surface waters are controlled by federal, state, and local agencies through a number of permits and approvals, reflecting legislation and regulations promulgated at all levels of government. The State of New York classifies water quality for its surface water resources; issues permits for discharge to state waters; identifies and protects wild, scenic, and recreational waters; and oversees the state’s coastal zone management program. At the federal level, a number of programs address activities in navigable waters and protect the environment of those waters. New York City regulates discharges to its sewer system, which then discharges to surface water bodies under the aegis of New York State.

The federal Clean Water Act establishes objectives to provide “fishable and swimable waters for the enjoyment of all.’’ To this end, the NYSDEC has a system of use classifications and discharge standards as defined imder 6 NYCRR Part 701. Use classifications are assigned to the state’s water bodies to set attainment goals, but do not necessarily indicate existing water quality conditions. The WTC is adjacent to the Hudson River within the lower Hudson River basin. Segment NY-1301-0006-1998. This segment has been classified as Class I, which is suitable for secondaiy contact recreation (i.e., fishing and boating). Priority organics in contaminated sediment are identified as areas of concern and the designated use is fish consumption.

Article 15, Section 15-2701 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), the Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers System, authorizes the NYSDEC to protect the outstanding natural, scenic, historic, ecological, and recreational resources of certain designated river corridors. The implementing legulations are set forth in 6 NYCRR Part 666. The Hudson River has not been classified as a wild and scenic river, and no permits related to Article 15, Section 15-2701 are necessary. The New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources, has developed a map showing significant coastal fish and wildlife resources (Figure ^-4).

According to the year 2001 annual report for New York New York Harbor, water quality continues to improve in New York Harbor for parameters measur'^d including lowered fecal coliform levels and higher dissolved oxygen levels. Sampling data indicate a resurgence of micro- and macro-aquatic organisms. While water quality has improved dramatically in the twenty years since passage of the Clean Water Act, impairments remain in the Harbor/Bight (CCMP 1996). Health advisories are in effect to avoid or severely limit consumption of certain species including striped bass, eel, blue claw crabs.

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