Ocean City Earns Blue Star Certification For Water Quality

Ocean City, NJ – Ocean City has been recognized for its efforts to improve water quality.

Clean Ocean Action (COA) awarded a Municipal Blue Star Certification to Ocean City at a Town Hall ceremony on Tuesday, the city announced.

“We feel blessed in Ocean City to live on the water, and the protection of our marine environment is vitally important,” Ocean City Mayor Jay A. Gillian said. “We’re proud to have achieved Blue Star Certification and thankful for Clean Ocean Action’s continued stewardship.”

The municipal Blue Star program encourages communities to promote healthy waters, resilient communities and environmentally-sound practices.

Ocean City earned the certification by completing various projects that protect community watersheds and climate mitigation. It far surpassed the necessary 75 points, reaching 100 points for the Municipal Blue Star certification.

Examples of the actions completed include Education for Sustainability Programs, Natural Resource Inventory, Community Forestry Plan and Tree Cover Goal, and Recycling Education and Enforcement.
In addition to Sustainable Jersey projects, towns are required to choose one of COA’s additional actions.

Ocean City completed an Innovative Water Quality Project that consisted of a bioswale installation with corresponding educational and outreach components to help engage community members in stormwater related issues and possible solutions.

Other actions completed included offering bulky rigid plastics recycling program, prescription drug safety and disposal program, conducting a natural resource inventory, and passing a habitat conservation ordinance.

The Blue Star program launched in September of 2014, and more than 20 towns have expressed interest in obtaining the certification. The development of the program was made possible by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

“The Blue Star Program was established by Clean Ocean Action to encourage towns along the coastal regions and beyond to prioritize water quality protection measures while achieving the Sustainable Jersey Certification, which harnesses the best of both programs,” Clean Ocean Action Executive Director Cindy Zipf said. “The Award is in recognition of a town taking significant and meaningful actions to improve and protect water quality.”

Any municipality registered or certified in the Sustainable Jersey program is eligible to work toward the Blue Star certification.

For more information about COA’s Blue Star Program, call 732-872-0111.

The attached image was provided by Ocean City officials: Clean Ocean Action Coastal Policy Attorney Zach Lees (center) presents Municipal Blue Star Certification to Ocean City Finance Director Frank Donato (left) and Ocean City Business Administrator Jim Mallon on Oct. 11, 2016. Ocean City is the first Cape May County town to achieve the honor.