NJAS Opinion: Summer, 1990
The recent spill of a half-million gallons of No.2 oil from a
leaky pipe at an Exxon facility on the Arthur Kill had direct
impact on hundreds of birds in the Kill waters and will have harmful
effects on marine organisms in the mud and wetlands of the Arthur
Kill tributaries for some time, with consequent impact on birds
and mammals higher up on the food chain. In the wake of the spill
have come numerous recommendations, among them the affirmation
of the Valdez principles in New Jersey law: improved detection
procedures and monitoring of the maze of pipes in the area, adequate
enforcement of existing laws, and compensation money which goes
directly back into the natural resources of the area to improve
water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities.
All of these NJAS heartily supports.
However, we remain very concerned about certain attitudes, reflected
in media coverage of the spill and its aftermath, about the Arthur
Kill and its tributaries. The most serious is the attitude that
the Kill and, by extension, other urban waters (like Raritan Bay,
the Hudson, and the Hackensack Meadowlands) are degraded, without
natural resource value, and are merely sinks into which we deposit
our by-products of consumption, or reservoirs for accidents waiting
to happen. This view is defeatist and quickly becomes a disincentive
to improve water quality, wildlife habitat, or recreational opportunities.
Furthermore, it is not in accord with the facts.
The Arthur Kill and its tributaries do support a surprising array
of wildlife despite the negative impacts on the water and wetlands.
Two major heronries exist on islands on the New York side, and
great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned night-herons, and glossy
ibis from these rookeries feed on a variety of fish and other
organisms on both sides of the Kill, Blue crabs, diamondbacked
terrapins, and several species of shrimp frequent these waters
as well, and so do five species of gulls in large numbers, depending
on the season of the year. Bonaparte's gulls, for example, are
found here in winter months and were among the birds found oiled
following the spill. Mallard, black, and other dabbling ducks
use the creeks and wetlands for feeding, and canvasbacks, scaup,
red-breasted mergansers, and two species of cormorant dive for
fish and other food in Kill waters. Migratory shorebirds find
the mud flats here every year during spring and fall migrations,
among others black-bellied plover, greater and lesser yellowlegs,
least and semipalmated sandpipers, and short-billed dowitchers.
Harbor seals are seen in the region in February. Among the fish
species important to recreational use of these waters is striped
bass. There is a significant resource here which needs to be protected
and compensated for when there is environmental damage.
The other attitude that needs changing is the notion that spills
won't happen. They do happen. We have seen spills in Prince William
Sound, the Moroccan coast, Arthur Kill, and Huntington Beach,
California, in just a year. The human error factor will never
be canceled out of the spill prevention equation. But, without
relaxing our efforts on spill prevention, we need to focus with
equal vigor on spill response readiness. Response time
is the critical factor in controlling environmental damage, and
in the Arthur Kill that means two things have to be done quickly
and simultaneously: contain the spill at the source, and in case
that doesn't work, block off the creek entrances with booms, so
that the damage doesn't extend to the shallows. But in order
to do that effectively; the booms and other containment equipment
need to be on hand in the Arthur Kill all the time, ready to be
deployed. It isn't good enough to fly the equipment in from
elsewhere. Since the Arthur Kill has a high density of industries
and pipelines, it has to be a priority area for storage of containment
equipment in anticipation of accidents. This thinking is analogous
to auto safety; inspections, laws, and penalties do not prevent
all accidents. First aid squads and ambulance details are continually
refining their response times and techniques through rehearsals
and drills. Similar preparation needs to enter into the Arthur
Kill situation: all equipment must be on hand and in working order,
and periodic drills must be required for deployment.
On a related matter, Exxon recently petitioned for a reclassification
of the tidal portion of Morse's Creek from the current SE-3 classification
to TW-4(a), for industrial uses. In comments to the New Jersey
Division of Water Resources, NJAS strongly opposed this lowering
of water quality standards in this tributary of the Arthur Kill,
Lowering standards is not a good step in the direction of cleaner
water, as mandated by the Clean Water Act. The thinking seems
to be that, since these waters are already stressed, it doesn't
matter if we lower the standard. We find this reasoning to be
defective and circular. The key to maintaining a water body is
the water quality of the tributaries flowing into it. Approval
of the Exxon petition by Water Resources would set a bad precedent
for lowering water quality standards in other parts of the Arthur
Kill complex and in urban industrial waters generally.
Even if stressed, these waters are needed for fish resources,
wildlife maintenance, and recreation. It is an injustice to people
and to natural resources that there is a double standard for water
quality maintenance, one for urban areas and one for everywhere
else. Migratory fish and birds cannot change their migratory patterns
out of deference to industrial practice. The only acceptable outcome
is improvement of the natural resource in the Arthur Kill area.
Richard P. Kane
Director of Conservation
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