January 20, 2022
Goals for 2022!
This year will be a significant year for addressing combined sewage flooding. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is aiming to finalize the combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs) and issue a new five-year CSO permit in 2022. The forthcoming permit will indicate what projects will be implemented in communities with combined sewer systems and provide the schedule for the next five years. The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign has identified four goals to work toward in 2022!
  1. Strong requirements for the next combined sewer overflow permit. The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign submitted recommendations for strong public engagement, environmental justice, climate change, and green infrastructure requirements in the next permit and is participating in the NJDEP’s CSO Permit Stakeholder Engagement meetings taking place this winter. 
  2. Equitable funding for implementing solutions to combined sewage flooding. Where the money will come from and who will pay more to implement these projects will be a major issue in 2022. The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign will be advocating for financing and programs that will take the burden off residential rate-payers, small businesses, and lower-income households.
  3. Equitable implementation of the combined sewer overflow plans. Now that projects have been selected to stop combined sewage flooding, we need to ensure that the people who are impacted by these projects, especially Black and Brown community members, have meaningful input regarding their implementation. 
  4. Raising awareness about combined sewage flooding challenges and solutions! There is still a need for education, outreach, and engagement on combined sewage flooding. The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign will continue to work with our partners to develop outreach materials and resources to get the word out about CSOs.

Share your goals for addressing combined sewage flooding in 2022 with the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign, and we will feature them in our February newsletter.
(Stormwater stories interviews at Paterson Falls. Sheila Baker Gujral interviewing Eva Razak)
“My problem is every time it rains, I get water in my basement, and then the sewers smell,” said Yolanda Mateo, a Paterson resident. “This last time, the flow looked like a river coming down and into my basement where I have the line of the electric. I was scared.”

Yolanda was one of many Paterson residents who shared her story at the Dec. 4, 2021 Stormwater Stories Open Mic at Paterson Falls. Struck by the devastation of Tropical Storm Ida, the Paterson Green Team, Waterspirit, the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, and Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers collaborated to record firsthand accounts of how Paterson residents are impacted by flooding. These stories revealed that although Tropical Storm Ida severely impacted residents, it was not the first flood and will not be the last one. The flooding issues in Paterson have been occurring for decades. Learn more here.
The NJDEP is hosting a series of stakeholder meetings to discuss various topics that will be included in the next CSO permit. Thus far, meetings have been held on public engagement and environmental justice. Climate change, metrics, and possible additional topics will be discussed at meetings in February. The purpose of these meetings is for the NJDEP to gather feedback from stakeholders on overarching permit language for the forthcoming CSO permit. Meeting agendas, as well as comments from stakeholders, can be downloaded from the website.
CREWS in the News
This month we are featuring what one of the CREWS partners plans for 2022. The Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange, a practitioner network supporting green infrastructure communities, is planning to work with partners to develop a “National State of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Report.” According to the Exchange, the report “will aim to create a shared vision for future investments needed to accelerate equitable implementation of GSI.” Find out more about the report and the Exchange’s plans for 2022 here.

The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign is funded by a generous grant from The Kresge Foundation to New Jersey Future. As part of an initiative that funds 24 grantees, the Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative is a program working to transform stormwater and wastewater systems with climate-resilient water management practices that emphasize equity. 
Get Involved and Spread the Word!

Got something we should include in this newsletter?

About This Campaign
Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers is an action-oriented campaign that empowers community organizations to engage residents and small business owners to shape their communities’ solutions to reduce localized flooding and the raw sewage dumped into rivers and streams due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs). It is organized by its partners and an advisory board, with the support of New Jersey Future.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter!