City and state officials, along with the leaders of local and national environmental groups, announced on Thursday an agreement to improve the water quality of and mitigate marshland loss in Jamaica Bay with $115 million in new investments.

Mayor Bloomberg with DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway, left, and Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers President Dan MundyThe Natural Resources Defense Council, Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers, American Littoral Society and NY/NJ Baykeepers joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials for the announcement. The agreement follows months of intensive negotiations with New York City and state over alleged permit violations at four wastewater treatment plants, which discharge some of the highest nitrogen levels in the world into Jamaica Bay.

Specifically, the agreement-in-principle announced includes commitments from the city to:

• Upgrade four sewage treatment plants to drastically reduce nitrogen discharges to the bay.
• Spend at least $15 million on marsh restoration over the next five years, which could leverage nearly $30 million in additional federal funding through the Corps of Engineers.
• Resolve a long-running dispute over the city’s Clean Water Act permits by agreeing to new, stricter permit terms that will lock in the treatment plant upgrades, and the resulting water quality improvements, into the future.
• Improve water quality monitoring in the bay, which may include using new equipment to provide continuous, real-time information on conditions in the bay.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation will also exempt the City from $45 million in potential penalties for delays in nitrogen upgrades at other wastewater treatment plants and those dollars will be invested in future clean water projects.

For further background on Jamaica Bay, check out this book by NYLCV's Communications Director, Dan Hendrick.