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(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association October 2000 Newsletter)
Below is a press release from Clean
Ocean Action about the march from Cape May to Sandy Hook.
The purpose of this march was to draw public attention to the need to end
ocean dumping. Because of other commitments,
I was only able to walk two days. On Tuesday
I was joined by Gary and Samantha Caputi, Kenny and Jeremy Kaufman from Canyon Gear, Phil
Celmer, and Al Ristori. Congressman Saxton
joined us at Island Beach State Park after walking Long Beach Island on Monday. On Friday, we were joined by Congressman Pallone,
Congressman Holt and Senator Torricelli. What
made the walk really special was seeing infants in baby carriages and young children with
their parents joining us in this cause. Two
mothers carried their infants (8 & 10 weeks old) in baby slings. They’re the ones we do this for. Senior citizens who can remember Island Beach past
and the other beaches many years ago also joined us.
Absent were Vice President Gore, Governor Whitman and Congressman Robert
Menendez. Beachgoers and car passengers alike
cheered us on. The overwhelming response is
what we need to end ocean dumping now. JCAA
wants to thank Cindy Zipf and Clean Ocean Action for organizing this march and for being
in the forefront of the campaign to end ocean dumping.
Friday, September 1st, Day 8:
“DUMP NO MORE, MARCH FOR THE SHORE”
COMMEMORATES THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE
1997 FEDERAL PROMISE TO END OCEAN DUMPING OF CONTAMINATED MUCK
Protesters have traveled the entire
Jersey Shore. Over 500 citizens have marched
and thousands more have participated in rallies to protest the accelerated dumping of
contaminated muck into our ocean. The Ocean Lifeline Banner is more than 500 feet long and
demonstrates coastal solidarity against the current ocean dumping.
Sandy Hook- The Ocean Defense Campaign’s
week-long, 125-mile “Dump No More, March for the Shore” ended today, September 1st,
at Sandy Hook, to protest the continued ocean dumping of toxin-laden muck. The Ocean Lifeline was unfurled at the rally on
Sandy Hook as a symbolic rescue of the ocean from ocean dumping. September 1st marks the anniversary of
the 1997 federal promise to end ocean dumping of contaminated dredged materials. The march started on Friday, August 25th,
at Cape May Point.
This unprecedented action is in
response to the latest ocean dumping actions taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—the
approval of nearly 750,000 tons of contaminated muck dredged from federal channels and the
acceleration of that dumping by the agencies.
“Walking along the Jersey coast
for more than 100-miles has proven that the ocean is the heart and soul of New Jersey. The Ocean Lifeline symbolizes our united
opposition to this muck dumping and our demand for a clean ocean.” said Cindy Zipf,
director of Clean Ocean Action. “It’s
time for the federal agencies to do as they promised and change their dirty definition of
‘clean’ to a definition of clean that will restore our ocean’s health. Elected officials must stand up and defend our
ocean,” she added.
Highlights of the “Dump’ No
More, March for the Shore include:
The Ocean Lifeline, made up of items
donated by municipalities, groups, and individuals against the ocean dumping, is over 500
feet long (~ 1 ½ football field-lengths). Nearly every coastal municipality donated an
item to the Lifeline, such as municipal flags or pennants.
Over 500 marchers statewide donated
time from their workweek to march. Marchers ranged from 2 years old to more than 75 years
old. A 75-year old man joined the March in
Holgate at the Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge on bicycle; this marked his dedication to a clean
ocean and the first time in 35 years that he was on a bicycle. Thousands of citizens
signed petitions and contributed signed, blue ribbons to the Ocean Lifeline.
Elected officials including Senator
Robert Torricelli, Congressman Frank Pallone, Congressman Jim Saxton, and Congressman Russ
Holt, city mayors and committee members joined the march at its rally points.
Regional, national and international
organizations participated, including Alliance for a Living Ocean American Littoral
Society, Center for Marine Conservation, Friends of Island Beach State Park, Greenpeace
International, Jersey Coast Angler’s Association, Monmouth County Friends of
Clearwater, NY/NJ Bay Keeper, Save Barnegat Bay, Surfers’ Environmental Alliance, and
the Surfrider Foundation.
A flotilla of boats from the
Highlands, flying “Dump No More” flags and banners, cruised to the ocean side of
Sea Bright and escorted the marchers into Sandy Hook to the final rally point.
In one of his first actions as
Executive Director Elect of Greenpeace International, John Passacantando announced
endorsement of the “Dump No More, March for the Shore.”
Background
The coalition of groups, known as the
Ocean Defense Campaign, is fed up with the failure of federal and state government to stop
the dumping of toxin-laden muck off the Jersey Shore.
On September 1, 1997, ocean dumping of contaminated material was prohibited. Thereafter, only clean cap material would be
placed in the ocean to cover the large polluted ocean floor caused by the previous 100
years of ocean dumping. In effect, a clean
band-aid would be placed on this wound on the seafloor.
However, last year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Army
Corps of Engineers approved highly polluted material as cap material that was as bad or
worse than the polluted ocean floor.
Ocean advocates responded by sending
over 150,000 signed petitions to Vice President Al Gore and Governor Christine Todd
Whitman, organizing protests on land, sea, and air, testifying at public hearings and
writing thousands of letters. Nearly 50 NJ
communities passed resolutions opposed to the dumping of the polluted muck.
The ocean advocates have made it
clear that they are not opposed to dredging, only to the current ocean dumping practice. However, on August 14, 2000, the federal
government responded to ocean advocates with an acceleration of dumping allowing nearly
1,000,000 tons of muck in the ocean.
“David vs Goliath”: The muck is
generated by dredging the channels of the New York/New Jersey Harbor, one of the most
polluted harbors in the United States. The
material is saturated with toxins and has been dumped into the waterways over the last
centuries. In the early 1900’s, the mud
started to be dumped just off Sandy Hook as a disposal method. This “dump and dash” technology of
ocean dumping remained largely unchanged until 1997 when newer technologies began to
emerge. Today, technologies are readily
available to treat the mud, making it useful for purposes including landfill closures. However, these alternative technologies are more
costly than ocean dumping. The ocean
advocates are pressuring the large corporate giants of the port to invest in these
technologies and spare the ocean from the toxic goo.
Quality of life, public health, shore tourism, fishing, commercial fishing,
and real estate values depend on a clean, healthy ocean.
The investment in alternatives to ocean dumping is a mere fraction when
compared to the economic, environmental, and public health benefits.
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