Newsletter: March 2023
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers (SFSR) wants to thank our Advisory Committee, partner organizations, and community members for their enormous work in 2023 advocating for drastic reductions in Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and sewage-backed local flooding!

Some 2023 CSO permit-related highlights:
  • Our advocacy encouraged NJDEP to release five of seven draft NDPDES CSO permits/plans for public scrutiny. The release of these permits was a regulatory turning point. SFSR and the impacted communities wrote letters and testified at NJDEP hearings, calling for effective, equitable, transparent, and affordable plans for all ratepayers. Read SFSR’s comments on these drafts permits.

  • A BIG WIN! SFSR played a critical role in shaping NJDEP’s CSO Guide to Public Engagement to help municipalities and permit holders ensure the public is deeply involved in the rollout of these CSO plans.

  • We successfully completed Year 2 of our Community Leadership Action Program in Jersey City! Read more below.
2024 is off to a great start!

  • In January, SFSR and other stakeholders met with the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) to discuss their long-term control plans and find ways to work together.
  • NJDEP just approved the final permit and first five years of the long-term control plan for the North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) region, which is projected to reduce the wastewater being discharged into the Hudson River to 15%.
This is excellent news! However, these projects are slated to take 25 years to finalize. Our rivers and community can't wait for that long. We hope the permit holders can shorten the timeline by taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime federal funding to accelerate project implementation and do so in an affordable way for all ratepayers. 

An action you can take!: Reach out to NHSA and ask them: "How are you funding these projects? Are you utilizing federal funding through the IBANK and available grants through the EPA? Can I help you?"
On deck soon? We hope so.

  • Draft CSO permits for Perth Amboy and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission region.

  • CSO Supplemental Teams will be forming this year, and you can and should play a role. Each CSO region must form a team of decision-makers and community members to shepherd the projects to fruition. Take advantage of this chance to weigh in on decisions impacting flooding in your neighborhoods.

Look out for SFSR guidance on how to get your community engaged and effective on these teams!
The 2023 Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers
Community Leadership Action Program (CLAP):
A Great Success in Jersey City!
In December, SFSR successfully launched year two of our Community Leadership Action Program in Jersey City. Fourteen community residents and leaders came together to deepen their knowledge of local flooding and combined sewage overflow (CSO) issues, enhance their leadership and advocacy skills, build a local network of peers, and explore the best ways to take positive action for themselves and their city. Last year's program was particularly relevant, with precipitation and flooding increasing by the year. 
"I greatly enjoyed the opportunities for networking, brainstorming, and hearing from experts. I think this served as a major education session for community leaders as well."

 “Very engaging! Great speaker choices. Enjoyed the well-rounded topics and the detailed presentations, especially about successful community organizing and ways to participate in influencing the Jersey City council, and promote green infrastructure initiatives around JC.”

"This program allowed me to meet and network with local activists while gaining the knowledge needed to advocate for my neighbors."
A sample of success stories coming out of the CLAP program:
  • Dr. Grace Sanvictores, an amazing Jersey City middle school teacher, engaged her students in a curriculum to understand the impact of CSOs and flooding.

  • One student even interviewed an executive at the local wastewater treatment plant (Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority) and produced a Ted Talk for his school science fair. This was a connection that Dr. Sanvictores made through the CLAP program.
  • Several participating community organizations, partnering with Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers, are launching a project in Jersey City to raise awareness of the household impacts of flooding on overburdened communities in a combined sewer system (CSS).

  • All participants are ready and willing to advocate to NJDEP and Passaic Valley Sewarage Commission (PVSC) once their draft CSO draft permit is released and ready to participate on their CSO Supplemental team to influence decisions impacting the community. The CLAP program provided several opportunities to learn best practices in local advocacy from public officials and community activists.
Interested in applying to the spring 2024 cohort to tackle flooding and wastewater overflows in your NJ community?

Learn more here. Apply here.
Funding & Other Opportunities
> Technical Assistance Programs are available to address flooding and CSOs!
Let your municipal officials and wastewater treatment plant executives know that funding assistance is available!

Technical assistance (TA) programs help municipalities and water utility systems gain better access to the once-in-a-lifetime state and federal water infrastructure funding. Various programs are available in New Jersey for water utilities and municipalities looking to tap into the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. With many different utilities, having an array of programs to choose from is helpful.
> New Resource for Environmental Justice Funding
Local governments, nonprofits, and community groups can now get support to learn how to access and pursue environmental justice funding opportunities ranging from federal, state, and private foundation sources through the New Jersey-New York Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC).
> Youth Inclusion Initiative
Are you a community-based organization? NJDEP seeks to partner with up to five community-based organizations for the fourth year of its successful Youth Inclusion Initiative to help young people in overburdened communities get involved in environmental protection and support a more diverse workforce. Proposals are due by March 21 by 5:00 p.m.
> New Jersey Audubon Watershed Restoration and Community Empowerment Program
Provides funding for nonprofit partners and Tribal organizations doing conservation work in the Delaware River Watershed. Application deadline is March 22, 2024
EPA is allocating approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds to environmental and climate justice activities that benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. Deadline is November 21.

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About This Campaign
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers is a New Jersey campaign and coalition encouraging solutions to sewer overflows into rivers and dirty wastewater flooding into streets and homes through collaboration with community and statewide organizations.

Sign up for our newsletter and contact list to stay informed on CSO-related activity, related local flooding and actions!
Staff Contact Information
Suzanne Aptman, Program Manager
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers
New Jersey Future
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