New Jersey Friends of Clearwater
New Jersey Friends of Clearwater (NJFC) is a grass roots organization, fully non-profit, volunteer-run and staffed. Since 1974, this organization has been actively educating children and adults on the importance of clean, clear water and to urge citizens to be responsible custodians of our domain: the estuaries of the Raritan, Passaic, Hudson, Delaware, and other NJ Rivers, the Jersey Shore coastline, its inland waterways, and the land of New Jersey.
Over 40 years ago, Pete Seeger realized a dream by getting the 106' Sloop Clearwater launched and spreading the word for a cleaner environment by word, music and action. A seed from that endeavor took root in the form of Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater when popular folksinger Bob Killian brought the idea to Monmouth County in 1974. NJFC will always continue its close affiliation with Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., as a Clearwater Sloop Club. Our new name, New Jersey Friends of Clearwater, reflects our goals, growth and outreach in this new Millennium.
Our credo: It is the aim of New Jersey Friends of Clearwater that each member in their own way touch the people immediately surrounding them and in their community, and by word or deed convey the importance of conservation and reparation of the earth.
Urgent Appeal for the NJ Friends of Clearwater Festival
The NJ Friends of Clearwater Festival has been a Jersey Shore tradition since 1976. Many generations have enjoyed its music and message. However, without urgently needed funding, we will be unable to hold the Festival this year. We still need to raise a minimum of $12,000 to go forward.
The Festival is the largest and longest running environmentally-themed festival in New Jersey. The festival has been held on weekends in August for 36 years. For the past 11 years, the festival has been held at Sunset Park in the City of Asbury Park and all previous years at Sandy Hook.
We are working to bring our 37th annual festival to Asbury Park this August 11th; but we are in critical need of those financial donations. Unlike many organizations, this is the first public appeal for help we have ever made.
We have had great sponsors and supporters in the past but costs have increased and raising money has gotten extremely challenging in this economy. Most, not all, of our sponsors have necessarily cut back or worse. Your donation can make a huge difference.
We have made changes and updated the festival. We have reduced costs drastically. Thankfully, nearly all of our artists volunteer or work at a steep discount--True Friends of Clearwater.
By eliminating the entry "donation", we have seen a big increase in attendance the last two years. NJ Friends of Clearwater, true to its Pete Seeger tradition, is dedicated to bringing its environmental message to as many people as possible.
We are proud to have been part of Asbury Park's revival. We will again present our Annual Environmental Justice Roundtable. Running an environmental festival in an urban center, is a challenge, but we believe that it is, in itself, a positive act of environmental stewardship.
The good news: We are a group of dedicated volunteers ready to run another wonderful event. We are hoping to bring great music on 2 simultaneously-run stages, kids activities, environmental awareness programming, as well as craft and food venders. We love doing it. We hope you'll join us in making the 37th annual NJ Friends of Clearwater Festival possible and a huge success. Make a donation of your money and time.
You can donate or volunteer in a number of ways:
1. <<Paypal Link under Construction>--Until then use one of the following:>.
2. Our Mailing address: Urgent Festival Appeal, c/o NJ Friends of Clearwater, P.O. Box 303, Red Bank, New Jersey, 07701.
3. Or call us at 732.581.0197.
We are a 501(C)3 Charity. All donations are tax-exempt.
Thanks for your support and we look forward to seeing you on August 11th.
Sincerely,
Ed Dlugosz, Director Environmental Action
NJ Friends of Clearwater
Latest News
Fort Sewage Pipes May Be Tied to Wampum Pollution
22 Apr 2012 by Nicole Antonucci, Staff Writer EATONTOWN — Federal and local officials are trying to determine whether broken sewage pipes throughout Fort Monmouth could be a contributing factor in the pollution of Wampum Lake. According to Brian Charnick, chairman of the Eatontown Sewerage Authority and member of the Fort Monmouth Restoration Authority Board (RAB), recent monitoring reports have shown an increase in sewage flow in Fort Monmouth infrastructure. "We are trying to get some grant money or somebody to analyze if the [fort's] deteriorated sanitary sewer lines could have contributed to the contamination in heavy metal pollution of that lake," Charnick said in an interview on March 22.
He explained that monthly reports from the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority have shown that the sewage flow on Fort Monmouth has gone up since the base closed. Most of the increase occurs when it rains, he said. "This is generally a sign that there is infiltration into the pipes. Rainwater is getting in there and they are processing rain water instead of sewage," Charnick said. "As rain water goes into the ground, into these pipes, it could flush out poisons and things that are in that sewer pipe and end up in the lake."
He explained that the pipes, which run underground to a sewage treatment facility in Monmouth Beach, normally don't have a long life, and if the pipes are not maintained or replaced, they start to disintegrate. "Apparently the [fort] has had a lot of deteriorating underground pipes, and now when it rains, the rainwater goes down into the pipes and washes stuff in the pipe out someplace else into the soil," Charnick said, adding that the matter was brought up at the last RAB public meeting. "I questioned the Army about their sewer flow going up when nobody is there, which means the pipes are severely broken and contaminated. The Department of Environmental Protection was at this meeting and they took note of this also," Charnick said. "The Army said they would look into it." The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) has also expressed concern about the deteriorated underground sanitary sewer lines on the fort property and is looking into how to have the lines repaired as soon as possible, he said. FMERA officials could not be reached for a statement.
The pollution of Wampum Lake has been a cause for concern for several local municipalities. On Feb. 2 the Oceanport Borough Council passed a resolution authorizing the borough's Environmental Commission to partner with the Eatontown Environmental Commission to apply for grants and funds for further investigation of the pollution of Wampum Lake. According to Ed Dlugosz, chairman of the Eatontown Environmental Commission, the independent study would prove Fort Monmouth is [among] the causes of the pollution.
"We have been attempting to make Fort Monmouth [and any other responsible party] to take responsibility for the pollution of the lake. It's [0.2 of] a mile from the border of Fort Monmouth," he said during an environmental commission meeting on March 15, adding that three streams run through the fort and empty into the lake. "In two out of the three streams that run through the fort and run into the lake, two of them are solely on Fort Monmouth, so contamination could not come from anywhere else."
Dlugosz said there is evidence that the third unnamed stream is also a leading pathway for carrying contaminants toward the lake. "Eatontown and New Jersey Friends of Clearwater also provided evidence that the Army had not acknowledged the existence of a third, unnamed stream that serves as another pathway for carrying contaminants toward the lake," Dlugosz said. "The rush of that unnamed stream has been captured in photos and video supplemented by GPS-defined locations."
He explained that in 1990 the Monmouth County Health Department did a study of 20 lakes in Monmouth County, testing for the presence of 13 heavy metals. He also outlined a second study by former Monmouth University professor Donald Dorfman. [Mr. Dlugosz presented charts to the councils that featured] a chart of the heavy metals present in the lake, including arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver and zinc along with the potential health repercussions. "We have found each of those streams carries the same exact contaminants that were measured on the fort property," Dlugosz said. 
According to the FMERA website, Michele Siekerka, chairwoman of the Environmental Staff Advisory Committee, said on Feb. 15 that the DEP did discuss the concerns of the committee and the host municipalities regarding Wampum Lake. She stated that should the DEP find a link between the contamination in Wampum Lake and the fort property, it will be recorded and will be brought to the attention of the committee and the host municipalities. According to the website, Siekerka said the Army would be responsible to clean up any contaminated areas within the fort footprint and outside of the footprint if the Army caused the contamination.
Dlugosz said he plans to perform testing on the streams in three different locations: at the same sites of the previous studies, downstream and upstream. The studies will be done in two phases: the first phase is projected to cost approximately $50,000; the second phase, including downstream waterways, would cost at least $100,000, he said. After each phase, there would be a remediation design and engineering and legal strategy phase to determine a cost and liability impact to those responsible for damages, he said, adding that the last phase would be oversight and testing during actual remediation.
"I see that cost in millions because there probably would be dredging, depending on the remediation design," Dlugosz said.