New Jersey Meadowlands Environmental Improvement Program
Our team understands that environmental habitats face degradation from solid waste and industrial pollution due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs. There is also immense habitat pressure from real estate development projects.
For the New Jersey Meadowlands, we authored the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) for inclusion in the Special Area Management Plan (SAMP). The EIP planned for the closure of CSOs, abandoned landfills, cleanup of legacy pollution, provision for passive recreation opportunities and community engagement, and compensatory mitigation for impacts from various transportation and real estate development projects.
As the Environmental Lead for the NJ Meadowlands Commission, limited the development while generating one billion dollars in revenue to preserve and remediate the remaining wetlands and fund the EIP. The SAMP also incorporated Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), an innovative approach to compensate owners of properties delegated for conservation. In addition, we worked with government agencies and stakeholders to negotiate funding and agreements, acquire properties for preservation, and develop a comprehensive wetlands conservation, restoration, and management plan.
Additionally, co-founded the Meadowlands Interagency Mitigation Advisory Committee (MIMIC) and the Meadowlands Interagency Regulatory Committee to guide to facilitate and expedite projects’ planning and construction while protecting and restoring 3,500 acres of degraded wetlands. Conceived and promoted the development of the Marsh Resources Wetlands Mitigation Bank on the Williams Energy facility property and served on the interagency committee to review and approve design and credit distribution. Supervised restoration of over 200 acres of intertidal wetlands.
As the lead scientist for the Meadowlands Commission, developed the Indicator Value Assessment (IVA) method to assess project impacts and ecological uplift resulting from restoration projects. Obtained an EPA grant to construct a Hydrogeomorphic Model (HGM) for the Lower Hackensack River and supervised the implementation of the grant.
Location:
New Jersey Meadowlands District: Hudson and Bergen Counties
Services Provided
Conservation Planning
State and Federal Agency Collaboration
Wildlife Habitat Restoration & Management
Wetland, Tidal Marsh & Stream Restoration
Project & Program Management
Environmental Assessment & Site Selection
Environmental Permitting, Monitoring & Enforcement
Wetland & Wildlife Restoration
Interagency Coordination
Compensatory Mitigation Planning, Implementation & Monitoring
Compensatory Credit Purchases & Marketing
Combined Sewer Overflow Closures (CSOs)
Wetland Delineations, Permitting & Functional Analyses
Public Outreach & Education
Green Infrastructure Retrofits
Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Model
Passive Recreation & Parkland Development
Regulatory Compliance
