Reappraisal Report of Shellfish Growing Area SE3 (Lakes Bay to Peck Bay) July 2013 NJ Department of Environmental Protection Water Monitoring and Standards NJ Department of Environmental Protection Bob Martin, Commissioner State of New Jersey Chris Christie, Governor Kim Guadagno, Lt. Governor
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Reappraisal Report of Shellfish Growing Area SE3
(Lakes Bay to Peck Bay)
July 2013
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Water Monitoring and Standards
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Bob Martin, Commissioner
State of New Jersey
Chris Christie, Governor
Kim Guadagno, Lt. Governor
Reappraisal Report of Shellfish Growing Area SE3
(Lakes Bay to Peck Bay)
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Water Resources Management
Michele Siekerka, Assistant Commissioner
Water Monitoring and Standards
Jill Lipoti, Director
Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring
Bruce Friedman, Chief
July 2013
Report Prepared by:
Julie Nguyen
Acknowledgements: Special acknowledgments were given to the Captains for their perseverance in collecting shellfish water quality sampling.
This study would not have been completed without the aid of the laboratory staffs at Leeds Point.
Cover Photo –by Julie Nguyen
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
GROWING AREA PROFILE 2 LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION 2 GROWING AREA CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY 3 EVALUATION OF BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES 4
SHORELINE SURVEY: EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL POLLUTION SOURCES 5 LAND USE 5 SURFACE WATER DISCHARGERS 5 MARINAS 6 SPILLS, UNPERMITTED DISCHARGES, AND CLOSURE 6 STORM WATER DISCHARGES 7
WATER QUALITIES STUDIES 7 SAMPLING STRATEGY 8
BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY 9 COMPLIANCE WITH NSSP CRITERIA 9
Rainfall Effect 9 Location of the Stations Impacted by Rainfall at Various Time Stage 11
SEASONAL EFFECTS 11 RELATED STUDIES 13
Nutrients 13 Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program 13 National Coastal Assessment 14 Environmental Monitoring for Public Access & Community Tracking (EMPACT) 15
CONCLUSIONS 15 RECOMMENDATIONS 15 LITERATURE CITED 16
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION 16
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1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Shellfish Growing Area SE3 is situated in southern New Jersey’s Atlantic Coastal Plain, between Atlantic and
Cape May County. This area also lies within the Great Egg Harbor Estuary Complex. The Great Egg Harbor
Estuary Complex includes the entire Great Egg Harbor River, Great Egg Harbor Bay, Peck Bay, and the
adjacent salt marsh habitat from the mouth of the river to the inlet. The Great Egg Harbor Bay is part of New
Jersey back-barrier lagoon system. This area is characterized by open water, salt marsh, and sandy shoreline
habitat.
The approximate size of this shellfish growing area is about 15,200 acres. The shellfish waters are classified
are Approved, Seasonally Approved, Special Restricted, and Prohibited. In 2009, 786 acres of water in Lakes
Bay were upgraded from Seasonally Approved to Approved year-round. The reclassification of shellfish waters
did not increase the overall percentage of harvestable shellfish waters for this area, but instead opened up more
waters for year-round harvesting. As the result, sixty-eight percent of shellfish waters in this area are classified
as harvestable and the remaining shellfish waters are either closed or require a special permit.
All of the adjacent city/municipalities are connected to city sewer system and are serviced by the Atlantic
County Utilities Authority (ACUA) or Ocean City Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (OCRWTF).
These facilities discharge its treated wastewater effluent to the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, there are no direct
discharges of treated wastewater effluent to shellfish waters. There are several facilities that possess a NJPDES
permits for stormwater and industrial discharge. One major surface water discharger is the Atlantic Electric-
BL England Generating Power Plant. This facility is permitted to discharge the plant cooling water to the
Great Egg Harbor Bay, which may contain chemicals such as heavy metals and PCBs. According to USEPA
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), the release of heavy metals and PCBs to surface water had declined
dramatically since 2004. The only chemical that is still being released to surface water is ammonia, at minimal
quantity.
This report was based on data collected from January 2008 to December 2012. There were approximately
5,512 samples analyzed for this report, which were collected from 170 sampling sites. This shellfish growing
area is divided into two sampling strategies. Stations in the north (Lakes Bay to Great Egg Harbor Inlet) are
sampled under the Adverse Pollution Condition (APC) strategy due to predetermine point source. Stations in
the south (Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Peck Bay) are sampled under the Systematic Random Strategy (SRS) due
to impact by non-point source. Based on the NSSP APC and SRS approved and special restricted criteria, the
majority of the sampling stations do meet their respective shellfish classifications. The annual total coliform
geometric mean trend continues to decline, which means water quality is continuing to improve. Stormwater
runoff still poses problems in certain areas. Trace of metals, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) were found to be presence in sediment and tissue samples. However, the contaminants levels were
below federal guidelines. The sediment qualities within this growing area were ranked as either “Good” or
“Fair”, depending on sediment location. Better sediment quality was found to coincide with area where there
is better waters quality.
Based on the data collected and analysis for this growing area, there are no upgrades or downgrades of shellfish
waters recommended at this time.
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GROWING AREA PROFILE
Location and Description
Shellfish Growing Area SE3 is located in southern New
Jersey’s Atlantic Coastal Plain, between Atlantic and
Cape May County. The primary waterbodies in this
growing area include: Lakes Bay, Shelter Island Bay,
Scull Bay, Steelman Bay, Great Egg Harbor Bay and
River, and Peck Bay. There are several large fresh water
tributaries that flow into the Great Egg Harbor Bay; and
they are, the Great Egg Harbor River, Patcong Creek, and
Tuckahoe River.
The Great Egg Harbor Bay is part of New Jersey back-
barrier lagoon system. This area is characterized by open
water, salt marsh, and sandy shoreline habitat. Water
depth varies from less than 3 feet in shallow areas to
greater than 33 feet in the deeper channel. Tidal influence
to this growing area is through the Great Egg Harbor Inlet.
Extensive sand flats and mudflats occur in the bay due to
the movement of sand through this inlet. This bay is also
influenced by the freshwater flow that comes from the
Great Egg Harbor River. The Great Egg Harbor River is
one of the longest rivers (approximately 59 miles) in New
Jersey and drains an area of about 304 square miles. It
originates in Camden County and is joined by tributaries
in Gloucester and Atlantic County before draining into
Great Egg Harbor Bay. The river is tidal up to the dam,
which is located in Mays Landing, Atlantic County.
(National Park Service)
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Growing Area Classification Summary
The approximate size of this shellfish growing area is about 15,200
acres. The current shellfish classifications are as follows:
Approved, Seasonally Approved, Special Restricted, and
Prohibited. The majority of shellfish waters in this area are
classified as Approved year round.
The Great Egg Harbor Bay, Scull Bay, Steelman Bay, portion of
Peck Bay, and Ship and Risley Channel are classified as Approved,
meaning harvesting of shellfish within these areas is permitted year
round. The Seasonally Approved (November to April) areas are
located in Lakes Bay, Peck Bay, and along the shoreline in Somers
Point and Ocean City. The only Seasonally Approved (January to
April) area is in the Great Egg Harbor River. This area is
approximately two miles upstream from its mouth on the Great Egg
Harbor
Bay.
Beach Thorofare, Great Thorofare, Back Thorofare,
Patcong Creek, Tuckahoe River, and section of
Great Egg Harbor River are classified as Special
Restricted. Prohibited areas can be found in the
upper portion of the Great Egg Harbor River.
The figure below illustrates the shellfish
classifications for this growing area. It is also on