DEP to issue Barnegat Bay study results November 17 at OCC

The results of a multi-year study of Barnegat Bay's water quality and overall health - and how the data will be employed - are to be disclosed November 17th at Ocean County College in Toms River.

Barnegat Bay Partnership, housed on the OCC campus, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) host "What Lies Beneath - Barnegat Bay: A Public Outreach Forum" in the Gateway Building, 9 AM until 3:30 PM.

Registration is required. Email Terri.Tucker@dep.nj.gov to do so, or call Terri's office, 609-984-6070.

See directions to the OCC campus here.

DEP officials say that the results identify "stressors on the bay" and outline new methods to manage the waterway.

In prepared remarks, DEP Barnegat Bay research coordinator Thomas Belton said, "Environmental research poses and answers important human health and ecological questions for managing Barnegat Bay, fills in critical data gaps, and supplies valuable information for modeling, water quality criteria, and enforceable standards based on sound and defensible science. All of these Barnegat Bay research projects are designed to assist decision-makers to answer applied regulatory questions."

The roots of the study date back five years. DEP created and funded 11 research projects that included estuary and wetlands assessments, analysis of boating impacts on environmentally-sensitive spots, and studies of marine life.

See details about the DEP's comprehensive action plan for Barnegat Bay here.

Scientists examined estuary water quality standards and algae bloom impact, collected data about natural resources that support fisheries, and projected environmental impacts of the impending 2019 closure of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Lacey.

Additionally, they developed projections of algae growth and jellyfish populations, as well as ecological models to support commercial and recreational fishing management.

See ecological assessments gathered between 2012 and 2014 here.

Dr.Gary Buchanan of DEP's Division of Science, Research and Environmental Health presents the findings along with researchers from Rutgers, Monmouth, Rider and Montclair Universities, and scientists from Drexel, Villanova, and Louisiana State Universities and the University of Maryland.

See the full agenda of research topics and ongoing studies here.