Thursday, August 26, 2010

Feed Your Family with Local Produce

Farmer’s markets and farm stands have croppes up all over New Jersey.  Food tastes best when it is fresh, and fresh is exactly what you’ll get when you buy produce, meat and eggs that have been grown locally and harvested just before they are brought to your local farmer’s market or farm stand!  Many farmers who participate in local markets use sustainable farming practices and thereby help to protect and preserve natural resources.  There are a number of farmer’s markets within and close to the Upper Raritan watershed.  If you haven’t yet ventured out to one, we encourage you to do so - most will be open through late September!  To help you locate one near you, follow these links:

Hunterdon County:
Lebanon Farmers’ Market
Corner of Main Street and Cokesbury Road, Lebanon
Open Saturdays month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
mmlogan9235@gmail.com

Pottersville Farm Market
2090 Black River Road, Pottersville Reformed Church, Pottersville
Open the fourth Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
pottersvillefarmmarket@embarqmail.com

Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers' Market
111 Mine Street, Flemington
Open Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
http://www.hlta.org/dvoor_market.php

Morris County:
Chester Farmers’ Market
Chester Village Square Parking Lot
Open Sundays month from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
http://www.ilovechester.com/

Somerset County:
Bernardsville Farmers’ Market
Route 202 and Clairmont Road, Bernardsville
Open Saturdays month from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
christahat@comcast.net

If you are travelling and would like to find a farmers’ market while you are away from home this summer, check out these web sites. They’ll help you locate a market or farm stand so you can eat fresh food wherever your travels take you, in state or out!

New Jersey Department of Agriculture Jersey Fresh Campaign

Local Harvest

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Wastewater Facilities Want NJ to Relax Measures Designed to Protect Water Supplies

Wastewater treatment companies recently asked the Christie administration to allow more pollutants to be discharged into New Jersey's rivers and streams.  URWA and a coalition of 17 other groups are opposing the proposed change in state Surface Water Quality Standards because we believe such a change would violate both the federal Clean Water Act and our state Water Pollution Control Act.

The wastewater facilities want to discharge effluent that exceeds human health criteria for nitrates and total dissolved solids as long as the health standards are met at the point of intake for drinking water use. In New Jersey, rivers are a supply source for major drinking water. By extending the "mixing zone" where pollutants exceed potable limits from the wastewater facility discharge pipe to drinking water intake points, the proposal would make longer stretches of rivers and streams unsuitable for swimming and fishing and would threaten the aquatic life that lives in these areas.

Nitrates are known to cause "blue baby syndrome", which can be fatal. Cumulative discharge of nitrates also has significant downstream ecological effects on bays, estuaries and the ocean, contributing to excessive eutrophication and oxygen free "dead zones".  Besides nitrates and dissolved solids, the proposal will also increase the amount of pesticides and other chemicals as well as un-metabolized pharmaceuticals, none of which are screened out of treated wastewater.

Under the state Administrative Procedures Act, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has 60 days from its July 19 publication in the New Jersey Register to grant, deny or seek an additional 30-day extension to render a decision on this wastewater petition, which was submitted by the Association of Environmental Authorities.  We urge all of our members and friends to read the petition and our letter of objection to the DEP, and then contact DEP to offer your own comments regarding the inadvisability of granting the petition and allowing more of our state's waters to become polluted.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

URWA Supports Full and Dedicated Funding for The Land and Water Conservation Fund

The U.S. House approved the CLEAR Act late last week, including full, dedicated funding for The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Historic Preservation Fund!  URWA is grateful to the following Representatives from New Jersey who supported the CLEAR Act:  Adler, Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Rothman and Sires.

The Senate was expected to consider similar legislation this week. Senator Majority Leader Reid announced late Tuesday (August 3rd) that consideration of oil spill legislation (which includes full funding for LWCF) will be postponed until after the August recess.  This provides more time to continue to build support and momentum for passage of legislation that includes full, dedicated funding of LWCF (and the Historic Preservation Fund).  We encourage all of URWA's members and friends to thank the NJ House members who supported the CLEAR Act and Senators Lautenberg and Menendez for their leadership on this effort, and urge them to finish the job when they return in September.