(New York, N.Y.) The E.P.A. today announced that it has selected the Hudson River Foundation as the new host for the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program. The Harbor & Estuary Program, which has worked to protect and restore waterways throughout the New York-New Jersey Harbor for over 25 years, had been located at the E.P.A. Region two office in New York City. The E.P.A. determined that having the plan hosted by an outside non-federal organization would enhance the program's visibility, increase the opportunities for public-private partnerships and align the plan with the vast majority of estuary programs throughout the country, which are hosted by external organizations. Backing for each of the 28 National Estuary Programs was $512,000 last year.
"The New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Plan has played a critical role in protecting, restoring and enhancing waterways for decades," said E.P.A. Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "Under the new leadership of the Hudson River Foundation, the Harbor & Estuary Plan will continue to be an important resource in ensuring the health of the harbor for the people of New York and New Jersey."
The E.P.A. sought interest among organizations to potentially host the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Plan on June 11, 2013 and held a public information session on June 26. After receiving statements of interest from 3 organizations, the E.P.A. chose the Hudson River Foundation because it believes that the Foundation will be the most effective.
Congress established the National Estuary Plan in the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act. Its purpose is to promote the development and implementation of comprehensive management projects for estuaries of national significance that are threatened by pollution. At the request of the governors of New York and New Jersey, the E.P.A. accepted the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary into the National Estuary Plan in 1988. Since that time, it has been an effective partnership for advancing regional efforts to achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act for fishable and swimmable waters throughout the nation.
For more information on the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, visit:
http://harborestuary.org.
For more information on the Hudson River Foundation, visit:
http://hudsonriver.org.
Follow E.P.A. Region two on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page,
http://facebook.com/eparegion2.
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