SierraActivist » New Jersey

Susquehanna-Roseland Line: Does Delay Mean Going, Going, Gone?

Dennis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:30:33 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 30, 2010
Contact Jeff, Tittel 609-558-9100

Susquehanna-Roseland Line: Does Delay Mean Going, Going, Gone?

Trenton – PSE&G in its second quarterly earnings report announced it will be delaying the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission lines until at least 2015. The report says that the eastern portion of the project could be complete by 2014, but the western part would not be done until 2015. Half of a line won’t be able to transmit any power.

PSE&G was able to get approval from the Board of Public Utilities because of supposed reliability issues that needed to be addressed by 2012, which is when the line was supposed to be completed. The delay further demonstrates the many reasons why this power line should not go forward. The line should be put on hold and reassessed by the BPU and PJM because it is unnecessary now and will be more unnecessary by 2015.

“When PSE&G talks about these power lines and reliability, they lie and re-lie again and again. These lines are not necessary,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director.

PSE&G admits in its report that people are buying less energy and energy efficiency is working. In the next three to five years there will be a whole range of renewable energy sources online. In addition to solar and wind, there will be more energy efficiency, combined heat and power, and cleaner-burning natural gas.

The Sierra Club believes that the delay will go on even longer than anticipated. There are additional permits on the state and federal level that PSE&G has yet to obtain, including a permit for constructing the line through Picatinny Arsenal . This will no doubt put completion of the project past the 2015 date that PSE&G anticipates.

“The delay shows that this line is completely unnecessary and will undermine New Jersey’s attempts at clean and renewable energy. This line is a waste of money and would cause destruction to environmentally sensitive areas and public lands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” Tittel said.

Sprawling Out as Fast as We Can

Dennis — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:36:14 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 28, 2010
Contact Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club Director, 609-558-9100

Sprawling Out as Fast as We Can

A report recently released by Rowan University with help from Rutgers University shows New Jersey continues to sprawl out at an alarming rate. According to the report, between 1986 and 2007, New Jersey saw a 26 percent increase in the amount of developed land. In the last five years, our population has gone up 1.2 percent and the amount of land loss has increased by 7 percent.

New Jersey now has more urban than forested land and more than half of the growth is occurring in rural and environmentally sensitive areas. The report, like previous reports, should serve as a wake up call that New Jersey is on a path to be paved over within a generation, resulting in severe impacts to our environment, economy, and quality of life.

“This report is an alarm bell showing New Jersey is not properly managing growth,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said. “We’re paving over farm fields and environmentally sensitive areas at a higher rate now than at any time in the past.”

The report provides a lot of very good data, however, it does not look at the direct impacts growth has on the population. Those impacts are troubling. Out of every state in the nation, New Jersey has the highest percentage of streams that are impaired for water quality. We are the only state in the nation where every county is out of compliance for ground level ozone. In some of our urban counties, the air quality is 20 times the health base standard for certain air toxins.

We have experienced five major floods in the last decade, causing billions of dollars in damage and resulting in a loss of life. We’ve also seen major droughts that have impacted our water and economy. Dissolved oxygen levels in our bays and oceans are dropping due to an excess of nutrients. The Barnegat Bay is turning into New Jersey’s largest stormwater detention basin and its whole ecology is changing. Jellyfish and sea nettles are dying and we may loose our clamming industry because of this poor water quality. Beaches on the Raritan Bay have been designated as Superfund sites.

New Jersey is loosing farmland as a percentage of the state faster than any state in the nation. In 1950, we had 2 million acres of farmland. That has dropped to a little over a half million acres. The fastest growing counties for urbanization include southern parts of the state like Cumberland and Atlantic counties, where once rural and environmentally sensitive lands are now being paved over. While we are destroying our last remaining open spaces, we are allowing our cities to decline instead of focusing on redevelopment. Because of overdevelopment, New Jersey runs the risk of depleting its drinking water supply and lacking proper sewer capacity. Traffic gets worse and worse each year.

“These are the consequences of many failed policies over the years in trying to reign in sprawl,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said.

New Jersey has made many different attempts to manage land use, including the Highlands Act, Pinelands Act, State Planning Act, Sewer rules, and a robust open space program. We’ve tried to protect water supplies through Category One stream designations and buffers. Unfortunately, many of these programs have come late with much of the state already lost to sprawl and urbanization.

Now, under the Christie Administration, these programs are under attack. Christie’s policies will make things much worse:

* New sewer rules that would limit sprawl and development in certain environmentally sensitive areas have been set aside.

* A process to undermine the Category One stream program and weaken the storm water program has begun.

* Highlands and Pinelands laws and regulations are being attacked.

* Under the guise of “red tape,” the administration is attempting to streamline permitting and eliminate environmental protections to make development on our last remaining open spaces even easier.

* A bill that would prohibit New Jersey standards from exceeding federal standards is being pushed.

“The Christie Administration is dismantling key environmental program and regulations, which will sprawl us out quicker, adding pollution and overdevelopment,” Tittel said.

The report says only half the development is occurring in areas designed as environmentally sensitive and rural by the State Plan. However, the report doesn’t explain that there are many important areas designed for growth in the State Plan. The State Plan is a longstanding policy fraud that is used as an excuse for sprawl while failing to encourage revitalization.

The State Plan has designated growth areas fifty feet from major water supply reservoirs in endangered species habitats on trout streams without sewer or water supply. The State Plan has designated more than 300,000 acres of environmentally sensitive areas for growth. The development occurring there is not center-based or transit oriented.

New Jersey should follow the lead of states like Oregon, where 35,000 acres in their growth management plan have been designated for new development, which will create a half a million jobs and attract a half a million people. In Oregon, the average one-family house is built on a quarter acre, whereas in New Jersey it is built on two acres. Oregon is redeveloping its cities with light rail to accommodate growth and ripping down highways for a waterfront park, while we continue to sprawl out and widen our highways through environmentally sensitive areas.

Even in the Pinelands, where a growth management plan has worked, there are major problems with sprawl in some of the growth areas. In the Highlands, there are thousands of units to be created through exemptions and other loopholes. The Highlands and Pinelands laws, which help protect import areas but are not as limiting to growth as some have said, are under attack by the Christie Administration and are subject to weakenings.

New Jersey has severe water problems. Many of the rules put in place in the last five years have helped but have not solved the problem. We may be the first state in the northeast to run out of water. We have come close to this predicament during drought conditions, especially in Northeastern portions of the state, like Bergen County. Attacks by the Christie Administration to loosen protections on drinking water will only make matters worse and will undercut protections we have fought for over the last seven years.

We believe there are several steps New Jersey should take to handle growth.

* Direct growth to the right places. There are more than 300,000 vacant areas for growth located in sewer service areas that are not environmentally sensitive. There are 75,000 fractured acres of environmentally sensitive designated for growth that are not connected to larger environmentally sensitive tracts. More than 100,000 acres of brownfields are ready for redevelopment as well as 100,000 greyfields, which are closed shopping centers and abandoned parking lots.

* Develop growth management boundaries outside of the Highlands and Pinelands to channel growth in appropriate places. We must develop regional planning in areas like the Delaware Bayshore, where we are seeing development at alarming rate. We also need to enforce the rules in place so that we are actually protecting our natural resources instead of sprawling out.

* Find a stable source of funding for open space.

* Strengthen and eliminate the loopholes in our coastal law, CAFRA.

* Develop statewide programs to limit impervious cover and protect steep slopes.

* Establish better programs to manage stormwater and retrofit urban areas

* Invest in infrastructure in urban areas so there is enough water and sewer capacity for the growth we need to direct there

* Improve mass transit in urban and suburban areas, allowing people to get to work in an environmentally sound manner while encouraging redevelopment

“In New Jersey we’re paying the price for bad land use decisions like sprawl, overdevelopment, traffic, and air and water pollution, all while paying the highest property taxes in the nation. This is the result of failed land use policies,” Tittel said.

The legislature itself has been complicit in following the builders’ agenda, passing more than a dozen bills that promote sprawl and undermine good planning, such as Time of Decision, Permit Extension and the New Jersey Stimulus Bill that allows developers to keep 75% of tax money to pay for development.

“Under the guise of red tape and a bad economy, the Governor and Legislature are undermining key environmental programs while spending millions of tax dollars to subsidize sprawl,” Tittel said. “New Jersey has had many successful programs in the past and we need to build and improve on those so we can ensure future generation will have adequate open space, clean water and a better quality of life.”

Commissioner Martin: Don’t Sell New Jersey’s Water Supply Short

Dennis — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:21:11 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2010
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club Director, 609-558-9100

Commissioner Martin: Don’t Sell New Jersey’s Water Supply Short

New Jersey should be deeply concerned with proposals for shale drilling and hydro fracking in the Delaware River Basin. The Delaware River is the source of drinking water for three million New Jersey residents. Currently, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has a moratorium in place on new wells, however, we are concerned with the position New Jersey is taking on this issue.

In a letter sent July 13 to the DRBC, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin makes a number of troubling assertions regarding fracking in the Marcellus Shale. In the letter, Commissioner Martin says he believes Pennsylvania should have primacy over the rules and regulations on fracking in the Marcellus shale. However, fracking will have serious impacts on the Delaware River, which provides drinking water for both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“What happens in Pennsylvania affects the entire river basin, especially New Jersey. Pennsylvania should not have primacy over decisions impacting the river basin,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said. “The DRBC was created to regulate water for the region and these decisions should not be made by one state. New Jersey plays a very important role in the DRBC and New Jersey should be standing up for its own interests, not Pennsylvania’s.”

Pennsylvania has some of the worst water problems in the nation that they repeatedly fail to deal with. It has fought against strengthening standards and eliminating pollution from waterways. Pennsylvania is constantly opposing land use regulations that protect water and pushing for more dumping. Furthermore, Pennsylvania is leasing public lands for well drilling and therefore has a conflict of interest because they are looking to make money through fracking.

“Pennsylvania has consistently done a poor job protecting its water. They do not need to be in the business of protecting New Jersey’s drinking water,” Tittel said.

Hydro fracking is the process of extracting natural gas from wells thousands of feet deep. This process involves the use of many chemicals, which are mixed with water and injected into the ground. The average frack uses between one million and six million gallons of water each frack and many get fracked three or four times before going into production. Additionally, each frack needs maintenance fracking afterwards.

Fracking fluid is water mixed with numerous chemicals, many which are hazardous and toxic, including benzene, components of salt, and other volatile organic chemicals. This process can contaminate streams and rivers through the discharge of fracking fluids or accidental spills. Much of the fracking fluid injected into the ground does not get removed and could contaminate our aquifers, posing a serious threat to our ground water.

Each Marcellus shale well will destroy 15 acres of forest and require a half mile of roadway. There are currently over 10,000 wells seeking permits. The entire Delaware River Basin could see as many as 50,000 wells. This could result in the removal of a million acres of woodlands and farmland and the construction of 30,000 miles of road and pipelines. The runoff and pollution will cause irreparable damage to the Delaware River Watershed. Thanks to Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force and the Bush Administration’s changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act, fracking fluids are now exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act. The largest company looking to drill in the Marcellus Shale happens to be Halliburton.

In his letter, Commissioner Martin also says he wants the DRBC to complete its rules on fracking by the end of September. Because fracking is a very complex issue with a tremendous amount of environmental impacts, the Sierra Club believes we should not be rushing to put rules in place without a complete understanding of the impacts this process will have on the Delaware River in New Jersey. The Commissioner’s letter and recent actions, including the approval of the Tenaco gas pipeline through the Highlands to transport gas from the Marcellus Shale, are cause for serious concern regarding fracking and the quality of our drinking water.

Thanks to Congressman Rush Holt, the EPA has just received public money to study the impacts of fracking on our water. We believe it would be prudent to wait for the results of that review before moving forward with drilling. Rules should not be put in place until the EPA releases its study that assesses the impacts Marcellus Shale drilling will have on water quality and quantity.

The DRBC currently has a temporary and incomplete moratorium on fracking that will expire before the EPA’s impact study is released and full regulations are in place. The moratorium does not include previously permitted drilling projects or related projects like Stone Energy’s application to withdraw 700,000 million gallons per day from a major tributary. The state of Delaware opposed this project but New Jersey supported Pennsylvania in approving it.

The Delaware River is a critical natural resource that not only provides drinking water for millions but is also an important recreational resource. Many people come to the region to kayak, boat, tube and enjoy various water activities. Because of this, the river is the center of a very strong economy for river towns like Lambertville and Frenchtown. If the Delaware River is polluted, it will destroy not just the water, but the economies of these towns as well.

“We do not want to see the Gulf of Mexico in Pennsylvania,” Tittel said. “There have been a series of spills, explosions and even deaths with Marcellus Shale drilling already in Pennsylvania and other places. We’re concerned that unless this is strictly and properly regulated, what has happened to the Gulf of Mexico could happen to the Delaware River.”

DEP to Hold First Public Meeting of Passaic River Flood Commission

Dennis — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:41:48 +0000

From NJDEP:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 20, 2010

Contact: Lawrence Ragonese (609) 292-2994
Lawrence Hajna (609) 984-1795

MEDIA ADVISORY
***Wednesday, July 28***

DEP TO HOLD FIRST PUBLIC MEETING OF PASSAIC RIVER FLOOD COMMISSION

TRENTON – On Wednesday, July 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Department of Environmental Protection will hold the first public meeting of the Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission at St. Mary’s Parish Carnevale Center, 10 Lenox Avenue, Pompton Lakes.

The public is invited to provide comments regarding Passaic River flooding to the Advisory Commission, which is chaired by DEP Commissioner Bob Martin and includes Assemblyman Scott Rumana, Pompton Lakes Mayor Kathleen Cole, Little Falls Mayor Mike DiFrancisci and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes. A second public meeting will be held in August, on a date yet to be determined, in Little Falls.

The Carnevale Center is located on Lenox Avenue, at the corner of Wanaque Avenue and Hamburg Turnpike in Pompton Lakes. For specific directions go to: http://www.stmarys-pompton.org/directions.cfm

Closing the Door on Open Government – Eliminating notice takes away citizens right to know

Dennis — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:41:15 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 19, 2010
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club Director, 609-558-9100

Closing the Door on Open Government

Eliminating notice takes away citizens right to know

The Sierra Club opposes the passage of S2072, a bill that allows local, county and state governments to meet publication requirements for legal notice through postings on official government Web sites.

The Sierra Club supports the posting of legal notices on official Web sites so citizens with internet have an additional ability to learn about potential government actions. However, we are concerned that this method of notification in many cases will take the place of published notices in a local newspaper, eliminating the right of citizens without internet to know what their government is doing.

“The more government does without public scrutiny, the more it undermines the public perception of government and government itself,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said.

We are concerned that this bill is part of an ongoing process to not only weaken environmental protections but to also take away the rights of citizens to be informed about what their government is doing. Even citizens with internet access may not check their town’s Web site on a regular basis to find out about important notices regarding contaminated wells, local development, and zoning changes. People who have a newspaper delivered are more likely to check the legal notices than go on the internet. We feel this bill will lead to citizens lacking information that affects their lives, property, and families.

Many small newspapers rely on these legal advertisements to keep afloat and without them, local newspapers may close, resulting in less scrutiny of local government and a citizen’s right to know. We believe governments should be required to post notices both online and in the newspaper and should also set up facebook, twitter and email alert systems to better inform the public.

“They’re using the budget as an excuse to close the door on open government,” Tittel said. “Sunshine is the best disinfectant for what’s wrong with our government.”

Tennessee Gas Pipeline: Sellout Deal Approved – State House Commission Violates Public Trust

Dennis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:58:37 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 15, 2010
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club Director, 609-558-9100

Sellout Deal Approved

State House Commission Violates Public Trust

Trenton – The State House Commission today approved a lease of public lands for the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, agreeing to a deal that rips off taxpayers, violates public trust, and sacrifices environmentally critical lands. The Commission approved a 24-year lease that allows Tennessee Gas to use public lands for a pipeline for the meager sum of $185,000. This is just another example of the State House Commission giving away public lands for development for pennies on the dollar without listening to public input.

“This is the worst deal on land since the Indians sold Manhattan Island. Not only is this a violation of public trust because the lands will be used for a pipeline, but the amount of money received violates public trust as well,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director.

The $185,000 price is not per year, it is for the entirety of the lease. At a time when New Jersey is in a fiscal emergency the state is giving away this land, basically for free.

“This is a deliberate attempt by the DEP to violate the public trust by going around the law with a sweetheart 24-year lease. Who is DEP working for – the people of New Jersey or the Tennessee Gas Company?” Tittel said.

The state of New Jersey is using a loophole in the law that undermines the public and state’s ability to get real market value for the property. By leasing the land for 24 years, the state trying to get around the Rooney-Ogden bill, which requires two public hearings, public notice and increased scrutiny. Most significantly, if the state were to lease the property for 25 years, an examination of the intended use of the property being diverted for private use would be necessary. That phrase is critical because the State of New Jersey can then charge free market value for the pipeline, not an appraisal based on open space.

“The lease is for 24 years but the pipeline will last for 50 years. The last lease was for 50 years. This is just a scam to get around the law,” Tittel said.

In doing appraisals, the state of New Jersey failed to do due diligence. In fact, the company that completed the appraisal formerly worked for utilities, including Tennessee Gas.

The state is buying the property in the areas around the pipeline for one price and diverting the land for far less. The state helped buy the Woggish property in Ringwood in 2009 for $46,000 an acre but the lands being diverted are only valued at $3,000 an acre. The average property purchased in the Highlands Preservation Area was done so for approximately $25,000 an acre. Camp Todd in Oakland went for $105,000 per acre in 2005. Morris property in Ringwood was purchased for $100,000 an acre; Facciglia for $86,000 an acre. Yet the state believes that with a pipeline on these properties, each acre is only worth $3,000.

“This is worse than a giveaway; it’s a rip-off,” Tittel said.

The state is not being adequately compensated for lands that will be destroyed during development of the pipeline. Tennessee Gas will use 17 acres in the Hamburg Mountain wildlife management area. The pipeline will use 3 acres and 14 acres will be a staging area. The state will not receive any compensation for the 14 acres although they will be degraded by construction.

There is little confidence that the state government can adequately manage this lease. An audit released earlier this week by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services shows yet again the state is not doing its job when it comes to leases on public lands.

The Office of Leases is responsible for handling all leases of the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Bureau of Parks and Forestry. A 2009 audit reveals that 112 of the 236 leases on the Land and Building Asset management are expired. More than half of the leases reviewed could not be validated for fair market value. Some leases on state lands to utilities go back to the 1930s, collecting only a dollar an acre. Audits in the past have exposed the same problems that still exist now.

The pipeline will cut a 23-mile trench through the Highlands, impacting dozens of state parks and one of the region’s most environmentally-sensitive areas, including the watersheds of North Jersey’s largest water supply reservoirs. 2.5 million people get their drinking water from the Peqquanock, Monksville and Wanaque reservoirs. This is only the first half of the project. It was stopped at Monksville because the company needs permission to go through a reservoir. The pipeline will disturb and destroy more than 230 acres of critical lands in the Highlands, cutting through numerous Category One streams, exception resource value wetlands, critical forest habitats, habitats of threatened and endangered species, and conservation priority areas as designated by the Highlands.

It will cut through the state’s only 50,000 acre hardwood forested area that is in tact. This region is home to hundreds of different threatened, endangered and rare species. The pipeline will cut through several parks throughout the state including Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge, Long Pond Ironworks State Park, Ringwood Manor State Park and many others. The pipeline will also destroy an additional 500 acres during construction to create roads to bring in the necessary equipment. Furthermore, the massive digging during this project will result in a high amount of silt entering these critical waterways and reservoirs.

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company has agreed to buy land for mitigation but this will replace only 20 acres of parklands while this 23-mile scar impacts thousands of acres. Replacement lands do not include areas impacted by road construction or heavy equipment damage. “This is like taking a box-cutter to a line of 100 parked cars and only fixing one of them,” Tittel said.

In addition, the replacement lands are in the Highlands Preservation Area and have limited or no development potential. You can’t mitigate for what you destroy by taking lands that are already undeveloped and cannot be developed.

The Sierra Club is also concerned that the gas in the pipeline would come from drilling in the Marcellus Shale, in Pennsylvania and New York. Development of those gas fields will hurt the environment in the Poconos and the Catskills, polluting the Delaware River and affecting New Jersey’s water supply. This is only one of seven possible pipelines cutting through New Jersey for Marcellus shale.

Pequannock River Coalition Park Restoration Continues – Sunday July 18th – Help Remove Invasive Japanese Knotweed

Dennis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:56:58 +0000

Japanese knotweed has become a major problem in northern New Jersey and many other places, driving out native vegetation, and creating a useless sea of inedible greenery for our wildlife. Not good!

On Sunday, July 18th we will continue removal of these invasive weeds from Riverdale’s Appelt Park. The goal is to eventually replace them with native trees and shrubs. Our first session in June made a big dent. Please help us to continue this successful work! Drinks, tools and gloves will be provided, but extra shovels are welcome.

There will be tasks to suit everyone at every age or energy level. These efforts will not only restore the park, but are helping to spread the word on the danger these invasive plants pose.

Appelt Park is on the east side of Hamburg Turnpike in Riverdale, about 1/2 mile north of Rt. 287. The work session begins at 10:00 AM and ends at 1:00 PM.

Thanks!

Ross Kushner, Executive Director
Pequannock River Coalition
P.O. Box 392
Newfoundland, NJ 07435
www.pequannockriver.org
(973)492-3212

Almost 30 volunteers turned out today for our first restoration event at Appelt Park. This park, like many other areas along waterways in New Jersey, had been taken over by an invasive plant – Japanese knotweed. Forming dense stands up to 12 feet tall, this weed has been gobbling up the park. No more! Our hard-working folks liberated more than a half-acre of ground from thickets of knotweed. Stacked for disposal, the pile of removed weed was 30 feet long, 15 feet wide and almost 6 feet tall. Incredible!!

Press – The Bergen Record: Japanese Knotweed is not wanted: Aggressive plant no match for determined volunteers

Don’t Let Newark’s Water Go Down the Drain

Dennis — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:19:53 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 14, 2010
Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100

Trenton — The City of Newark is proposing to eliminate its water department and set up a municipal utility authority. The Sierra Club is strongly opposed to this concept as a way of undermining the water supply for the people of Newark. This proposal is a financial gimmick to get around local finance laws, bonding authority, public scrutiny and the recently enacted 2% property tax cap.

Municipal utility authorities and other independent agencies for years have been a dumping ground for patronage and political appointees with many wasteful spending practices. Under these authorities rates go up and services and water quality go down. The city of Newark is doing this as a way to get money for the city’s budget, not as way to improve water service and quality for the people of Newark.

“This is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that will make rates go up and service and water quality go down for the people of Newark,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director

The Sierra Club is concerned that this will lead to even more problems as the City of Newark will later decide to privatize the water and sell it to some foreign multinational conglomerate.

Part of this proposal is to bond an additional $223 million of the water utility. Of that, $127 million will go to balance this year’s budget and only $28 million will go to fix the water pipes. This is a shameful abuse of government power and a waste of money.

The state is looking to borrow from the Environmental Infrastructure Trust. This could be the biggest use of the EIT since Encap.

The Sierra Club is also concerned that the City of Newark will use the water authority as a way to get around the recently enacted property tax cap law. The city will use the water authority to balance its budget. Instead of the City of Newark buying a new water truck, it will have the water department buy a new truck. Instead of the city hiring new staff, it will have the water authority hire staff.

“The ink isn’t even dry on the cap law and Newark is already trying to get around it,” Tittel said.

Instead of the city attorney covering meetings with a water company or doing the legal work, the City of Newark will pay an outside legal firm $500 per hour and a half a million dollars a year to do the same work. The city will hire out consulting engineers and others, and this will all lead to pay to play. City attorneys and engineers don’t give five-figure contributions, but utility authority consultants do. This authority will end up being staffed by relatives of elected officials and politically-connected others.

The Passaic Valley Sewage Authority has been the subject of recent scandals with overpaid executives and money wasted. There have been continuous problems with waste and accountability in the Delaware River Port Authority, the Essex County Improvement Authority, the Bergen County Utility Authority, the Monmouth County Sewage Authority, and the list goes on and on. Now the City of Newark wants to head down the same path.

“These utility authorities have been one scandal after another and we believe that this proposal will turn Newark water into a pay-to-play pit and a patronage drain that will put Newark’s water at risk,” Tittel said.

A serious concern is that this proposal will lead to Newark selling its water to the suburbs, taking water needed for redevelopment of the city. Water lines will be put in environmentally sensitive areas and cause more pollution in the regions own waterways. Jersey City has already done this and Trenton attempted to.

The water company will be raising fees on its consumers to help balance the budget for the City of Newark. Utility fees are not tax deductible but property taxes are. By shifting utilities, the people of Newark will be paying more but they won’t be able to deduct it from their taxes. This is a bad deal for the people of the City of Newark.

The Sierra Club is also concerned about the 38,000 acres the City of Newark owns in the Pequannock watershed. This is one of the most environmentally important areas in New Jersey. It is the largest piece of intact hardwood forest in the state. Under the guise of a utility authority, this land could be leased for development or timber extraction, putting this critical watershed in jeopardy.

“This is nothing but a financial gimmick that will put the drinking water for the people of Newark at risk and potentially jeopardize the Pequannock watershed, one of the gems of New Jersey,” said Tittel.

Christie’s Bear Hunt: Unbearable

Dennis — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:16:50 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 13, 2010
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club Director, 609-558-9100

Today the Fish and Game Council finalized its bear management plan, which calls for a hunt this year. In March, DEP Commissioner Martin signed off on the plan, so the Council’s latest action is one of the last hurdles in finalizing plans for the hunt.

“With the budget cuts there is no funding to implement the management plan, there is only the hunt,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said.

“This management plan is just a charade. Even though the plan says it is a management plan, there is no management,” Tittel said. “New Jersey has cut all funds for bear management and alternatives to hunts. The state has eliminated funds for education, programs that deal with garbage, bear aversion therapy, bear wardens, conservation officers, and other non-lethal methods of management.”

The Sierra Club opposes the bear hunt and will continue to fight for a strong bear management plan that actually works. The public agrees. The public comments against the hunt were overwhelmingly against it.

Christie promised Republican voters in Sussex County that there would be a hunt and after that promise, he was endorsed by pro hunting groups. “This is not about sound science or a way of managing bears, it’s about politics,” Tittel said.

Throughout this process, Commissioner Martin did not meet with groups that are working on non-lethal management plans. Since 1988, the Fish and Game Council has been trying to push a bear hunt, even when New Jersey only had 150 bears. In 2004, the state Supreme Court stopped the Division from trying to have a hunt.

The hunt will not stop the problem of nuisance bears. Human-bear interactions and bear-related complaints can often be attributed to a singular nuisance bear within a region. These bears are living behind sheds and under decks and will not be targeted by the bear hunt. The bears that will ultimately pay the price of a hunt will be those living in the forests that do not venture into neighborhoods and communities. Eliminating these docile bears is not part an effective bear management plan.

This is a recreational hunt. Most of the hunting will occur in public lands in the middle of the forests, not in the areas where Category II, or nuisance bears, are living. A real management hunt would be a zonal hunt where hunters start at the perimeter of each of zone and move from where the development is toward the center of the zone, trying to eliminate bears living closest to human populations.

The most important component to an effective bear management plan is education. More than half a million New Jerseyans live in bear country, but many of them do not have the experience to understand bears and know how to avoid confrontations with them. At the most basic level, people must be taught that bears are wild animals and should be treated with respect and from a distance. People should be educated that feeding bears as they would pets is dangerous and will lead to aggressive behavior in the future.

The current policy of getting rid of problem bears is working. The bears proved to be aggressive are euthanized, eliminating bears that are the biggest threat to the public or property. People in bear country need to bear proof their property, removing bird feeders and putting electric fences around compost piles.

Whether or not there is a hunt, New Jersey must deal with garbage or we’ll keep creating nuisance bears. Without a concerted effort to codify and enforce requirements on garbage, other bear policies will fail. Garbage is a source of food for bears. If an abundant supply of trash is readily available, the bear population will increase and bears will become more aggressive as they learn that houses are good places to find food.

“The state needs to mandate no garbage out at night, bear-proof containers and locking dumpsters. If we don’t do something about garbage, no matter what there will always be bear problems in New Jersey,” Tittel said. “This plan is GARBAGE since it fails to deal with the most important issue – garbage.”

What New Jersey needs to do to manage its bear population:

· Protecting habitat: Every year the state loses 8,000-10,000 acres of land in bear country. The more we build houses in the middle of the woods where bears live, the more conflict we will see between bears and humans.

· Non-lethal methods of dealing with conflicts between bears and humans: One of the most important programs that has been cut is bear aversion therapy, which trains bears to be afraid of humans and, thus, to avoid them.

· Bear-proofing important public areas: The state should work with towns and municipalities to put up fencing and take other steps to keep bears out of key areas, such as playgrounds.

· Working with farmers: The state needs to cooperate with the agricultural sector to provide small grants to farmers that allow them to bear-proof their properties and protect them from potential damage.

· Conservation officers: The state should have conservation officers and bear wardens to address bear complaints and educate the public about bears.

· Garbage: The state must mandate no garbage out at night, as well bear-proof containers and locking dumpsters.

· Education: People living in bear country need to be educated about bear-proofing and how to deal with a bear on their property.

“The black bear is a symbol that we still have wild places in New Jersey and the whole state has not been paved over with subdivisions and strip malls,” Tittel said. “As New Jersey continues to suburbanize, we should be managing bears and protecting habitat instead of getting rid of the bears. We shouldn’t have a hunt just because it may be hard to sell condos in Vernon to people in Brooklyn because there are bears in the area.”

Video: NJN – Paterson Gearing Up to Transition Great Falls into a National Historical Park

Dennis — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:10:10 +0000

Paterson is gearing up to transition the Great Falls into a national historical park. Members of the Great Falls Youth Corps reported for their first day of work.

Alert: Stop Unregulated Gas Drilling in the Delaware River Watershed

Dennis — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:34:41 +0000

An unregulated drilling technique is putting the water supply for Trenton, Phillipsburg and many South Jersey towns at risk and we need your help to protect it. (Click this link to send an e-mail message and to take other actions!)

Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale (PA & NY) is threatening to pollute New Jersey’s drinking water for a million and a half people and to deforest the Delaware River watershed. A new process called hydrofracking , injects chemicals into millions of gallons of clean water to drill horizontally for natural gas. The chemical mixture that remains is difficult to treat and risks seeping in to our drinking water.

Come join the NJ Sierra Club and the Delaware Riverkeeper next Wednesday (7/14/10) to rally outside of a Delaware River Basin Commission Meeting on this important issue. Until federal regulations for hydrofracking are set our organizations are asking for a complete moratorium on all natural gas projects in the Marcellus Shale.

What: Rally at Delaware River Basin Commission Public Meeting

When: 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 14

Where: West Trenton Volunteer Fire Company http://www.wtvfc.org/directions.htm

40 West Upper Ferry Road, Ewing, NJ 08628-2714 (609) 883-0325

Why: We need a complete and total moratorium on all natural gas projects in the Delaware River Watershed until the comprehensive study of the cumulative impact of gas projects is completed and all regulations are adopted. It’s urgent that we act to preserve the high water quality of the Delaware River.

The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf is a daily reminder what can happen when energy companies go unregulated. Tell the DRBC we don’t want the same to happen in the Delaware River.

Let us know if you can join us at the hearing or send a letter to the commission.

Thank you for your support,

NJ Sierra Club Staff

P.S. There are carpools being organized in the Philadelphia area and a car shuttle running from the West Trenton Septa Train Station. To get more info on carpools or train pick up, contact DRN at 215-369-1188 ext. 110.

More information:

- The Delaware River Watershed supplies drinking water for 15 million people including one million New Jerseyans. Hydrofracking can, and has, contaminated drinking water supplies and streams and rivers.

- Each fracking well will destroy 15 acres of forest and need a half mile of roadway. There are currently proposals for more than 50,000 wells. This could mean the removal of 750,000 acres of woodlands and the construction of 25,000 miles of road. The runoff and pollution will cause irreparable damage to the Delaware River Watershed.

- The EPA is currently researching a comprehensive report due in 2012. The federal government has not yet passed the Frack Act to force the drilling companies to reveal the hundreds of toxic chemicals injected into the wells and comply with the Clean Air and Water Acts and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

- The DRBC has placed a temporary and incomplete moratorium. The current moratorium will expire before the EPA’s impact study is released and full regulations are in place. The moratorium does not include previously permitted drilling projects or related projects like Stone Energy’s application to withdraw 700,000 million gallons per day from a major tributary.

- Consequently, it is essential that the DRBC act by adopting a total moratorium on gas projects while conducting a thorough analysis of the cumulative impacts of extended gas development and then adopts comprehensive regulations to protect and preserve the Delaware River Watershed for us and future generations.

Xanadu Bail Out: Ugly Deal for Taxpayers

Dennis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:12:34 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 9, 2010
Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9800

Trenton — At a time when the state is broke and towns are laying of police and fire and hospitals are closing, the Christie Administration wants to throw more public money at Xanadu. Xanadu is a national symbol of pay to pay and incompetence. New Jersey will be throwing millions more good money after bad.

During the campaign, candidate Christie criticized this project as one of the worse deals in the state’s history. Now he is trying to bail it out with more tax money.

“Xanadu is proving, once again, to be a taxpayer money pit,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director.

Under this proposal, Xanadu would be able to keep 75% of its tax revenue to subsidize developers to pay for this monstrosity. This subsidy will be at least $180 million. Instead of giving rebates to seniors, we’re giving rebates to billionaire developers. Instead of giving money for school aid, we’re giving out sprawl fare.

Xanadu is going to need services from the towns in the area – police, fire and ambulance. Now the state is going to impose 2% property tax cap and leave it up to towns to deal with providing these services. Between the cap and tax breaks, there won’t be any money, further squeezing these services and homeowners’ wallets.

“The only thing uglier than the building is this ugly deal that subsidizes billionaire developers at a time when we’re cutting essential services for the people of New Jersey,” Tittel said. “Rebates for the rich developers, not our seniors.”

The state just robbed $158 million from the Clean Energy Fund which would help people better insulate their homes, buy renewable energy and create 4,000 jobs. The state is borrowing money for the Transportation Trust Fund for transportation projects but subsidizing roads for Xanadu. Parks are being cut by 40% but money is being given to a giant mall. Now the state is going to bail out Xanadu on top of the well over $900 million in public subsidies and tax breaks its already gotten:

* $100,000,000 of roadway improvements

* $31,000,000 of taxpayer tolls for turnpike access Xanadu

* $150,000,000 for a rail line to Xanadu

* $300,000,000 in property tax exemptions

The Xanadu project, which comprises 6.5 million square feet of office and commercial space, will generate more than 120,000 cars a day, gridlocking an area of the state already overburdened with traffic. It has already filled in priority wetlands and will become, when completed, the largest producer of greenhouse gas in the state. Xanadu will also add storm water pollution, impacting the Hackensack River, and use more energy and produce more greenhouse gases than any building in New Jersey.

When it rains millions of tons of nonpoint pollutants – suspended solids, oil and petroleum, lead and heavy metals, asbestos, antifreeze and other chemicals – will end up in the Hackensack River, either untreated or partially treated. In addition to a lack of stormwater infrastructure, Xanadu did not do onsite sewage treatment. When inflows of rainwater combine with sewage flows from Xanadu the Bergen County sewer system will put partially treated sewage discharge into the river system. Xanadu also filled in seven acres of EPA priority wetlands and part of an estuary, putting direct discharge of fill into important waters. In addition, 39 barrels of toxic waste were found on the Xanadu site that taxpayers had to pay to remove.

“This project is so bad that even the Bush Administration – both the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – opposed it,” noted Tittel.

“Even with all these subsidies, it doesn’t mean that Xanadu will work. New Jersey needs another mall like it needs another Super Fund site. Not only is this site toxic, it’s toxic to the taxpayers,” Tittel said.

Heat Wave and the Christie Administration Unhealthy for the Environment

Dennis — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:21:30 +0000

For Immediate Release
July 7, 2010
Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100

Trenton – As record temperatures plague New Jersey and the DEP issues air quality advisories throughout the state the state may be heading into another drought, the environment and public health are at risk. The Christie Administration and the legislature have dismantled environmental programs through budget cuts and bad bills, putting the health and safety of the people of New Jersey in jeopardy.

“It is not just the weather that is putting the public at risk; it is the Christie Administration’s weakening of protections for air, water and toxins and dismantling protections on global warming and the Highlands. We can easily say that not only is the air unhealthy, so is environmental protection in New Jersey,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director.

Rivers and streams throughout the state are approaching record water temperatures of near 82 degrees. Round Valley, the state’s deepest reservoir is at 85 degrees. This could have a devastating impact on water quality and water supply. New Jersey is in serious jeopardy of a drought and there have been daily forest fire warnings throughout New the state. Lawns and woods are turning brown in early July. The impacts of the heat wave and potential drought are magnified as the Christie Administration and some in the legislature put the environment and public health at risk.

In the state’s rivers, the amount of water will drop and the amount of pollution will increase because there is less dilution from sewers and industrial discharges. Warm water will cause bacteria and algae to grow and clog filters. Treating this with chlorine will lead to an increase of toxic chemicals, such as trihalomethane, in the water supply. The state is doing nothing to deal with the drought. There have been no real conservation measures.

The legislature recently passed a bill that extends the waiver for new car inspections for five years and eliminates safety inspections for certain motor vehicles. Extending inspections of new cars from four to five years means cars will go longer without maintenance, making them unsafe and inefficient. This extension will result in an increase in air pollution and automobile accidents.

New Jersey Transit subsidies were cut, resulting in a record-high fare hike and cuts to bus service. Transit ridership has already dropped 6% and will continue to decline. This will lead to an increase in traffic and air pollution.

The governor’s Executive Orders gave authority to government officials to weaken environmental protections in favor of developers, undermining state and federal regulations. EO 1 put a moratorium on all rules which prevented the implementation of more than 28 environmental rules. EO 3 set up a task force to look at government regulations that is made up of all business people and no one from the environmental community.

EO 5 set up red tape task force whose job was to find more creative ways to weaken protections. The Red Tape task force recommended getting rid of the Highlands Council as an unnecessary board. The findings of the task force attacked beach access rules taking side of marina owners and businesses over the public’s right to go to the beach. The task force recommended extending rules from 5 to 7 years. This will delay updating of rules based on scientific findings having a direct impact on the environment and public health.

The Governor’s Administrative Order extended the DEP implementation of Water Quality Management Planning Rules that are more than 13 years in the making

The governor slashed funding to the Highlands that was critical in implementing the Highlands Act. The Highlands Act was passed to protect the drinking water for more than half of the people in New Jersey. Governor Christie’s budget cuts put that drinking water at risk. These cuts will not only undermine preservation in the Highlands they will mean more sprawl and therefore more pollution in the state’s waterways.

Governor Christie’s budget cuts money for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and $68 million in programs funded by RGGI will be eliminated. RGGI, a compact with multiple states in the Northeast, was established to create programs that reduce the greenhouse gas footprint. Programs help pay for clean energy programs that reduce carbon and create jobs.

The budget slashes the Clean Energy Fund by a total of $52 million – $42 million in direct cuts and $10 million in diversions. These cuts will significantly reduce the amount of money available to reimburse residents for solar installations and high efficiency appliances, like furnaces and air conditioners. This program helps to reduce air pollution in the state by supporting clean energy and energy efficiency. This would also help prevent brown outs during a heat wave.

The Burzichelli bill would prohibit New Jersey rules and regulations from exceeding Federal standards. New Jersey has stricter rules for air toxins, including mercury, nitrous oxide and sulfur. Federal rules are widely considered to be the floor, and the federal government allows the states to adopt rules and standards that are stricter. New Jersey is a small state with the highest population density in the nation. Standards for air and water pollution need to be strict.

The Board of Public Utilities approval of the Susquehanna-Roseland power line upgrade project will import more dirty coal energy from Pennsylvania. This will lead to an increase in levels of air toxins and water pollution in New Jersey. Instead of bringing more coal energy to the state, New Jersey should be targeting its own coal plants for conversion to natural gas or to be closed.

Throughout the state public lands are being sold or leased for development. Environmentally sensitive areas that are critical to maintain air and water quality have been handed over to private companies. The State House Commission is on the verge of leasing hundreds of acres in the Highlands to Tennessee Gas for pipeline. This region provides drinking water to over 2 million New Jersey residents.

With air and quality at risk throughout the state, now is the time to make decisions to protect the environment and public health.

“Nature may bring the weather, but it’s DEP policies that make the impacts worse. Instead of weakening environmental protections, the state needs to ensure that adequate funding and programs are in place to move New Jersey forward, not only in protecting the environment but providing clean energy and green jobs to promote economic growth,” Tittel said.

###

Alert: Support Good Planning and Environmental Policy. Call NJ DEP Today!

Dennis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:24:42 +0000

Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right! Don’t Let PSE&G Undermine Environmental Policy and Good Planning. Tell the DEP NOT to Allow Piecemeal Applications.

We need your help to stop PSE&G from piecemealing its DEP Freshwater Wetlands and Flood Hazard permit applications for the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission lines. PSE&G recently submitted these permit applications to the DEP. The applications were incomplete and flawed, and the DEP responded with a four-page letter requiring PSE&G to provide substantial additional information, make numerous adjustments to the project, and provide mitigation for all loss of forests. In response, PSE&G is trying to split the project into two separate application areas to circumvent the DEP process.

The applications for the project are to be divided at Hopatcong, so that PSE&G can begin construction on the eastern portion of the project – from Hopatcong to Roseland – this summer. In the western portion of this proposed “split” lies the Delaware Water Gap. The National Parks Service hasn’t issued its scoping document for the Delaware Water Gap, as part of the NEPA process. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision-making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions. By splitting the application, PSE&G is undermining the NEPA process.

The Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line expansion is an unnecessary project proposed by PSE&G and its Pennsylvania counterpart, PP&L that is fueled by greed, not need. The project consists of adding 500 kV power lines to the already existing 230 kV. To achieve the increase in transmission capacity they will need to build 75 195-ft towers and create 80 access roads. Environmentalists have been opposing this project from the onset because of serious ecological impacts, negative affects on air and water quality, reduced property values and public health concerns.

Please help us oppose PSE&G’s piecemeal application and support good environmental policy and planning:

Call DEP Commissioner Bob Martin on Thursday, June 10, 2010 and urge him NOT to allow PSE&G to piecemeal its application and undermine the National Park Service.

Today seven organizations are asking their members to do the same thing. Let’s make sure Bob Martin hears the message loud and clear!

DEP Phone Number: (609) 292-2885

Thank you for your help on this important issue!

Sincerely,

The Sierra Club Staff in Trenton

Say NO to Offshore Drilling! Join Hands Across the Sand on June 26th

Dennis — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:09:11 +0000

In response to the Deepwater Horizon spill and growing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Sierra Club and our partners are organizing a day of action at coastal beaches in New Jersey, and across the United States.

On Saturday, June 26th people all across the country will join hands on the beach with one simple message: “NO to offshore oil drilling and YES to clean energy”

For more information, visit handsacrossthesand.org.

In New Jersey there will be three key events: Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, and Atlantic City. In addition people all along the coast are creating their own small events.

Please save the date to spend Saturday June 26 on the beach with other people around the country who are ready to move into a smarter, safer energy future.

Who Anyone and everyone

What: A national event with participants joining hands at beaches and shorelines.

Message: “No to offshore drilling and yes to clean energy.”

When: June 26, 2010. Arrive at the beach at 11am. At noon join hands for 15 minutes.

Where: Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, Atlantic City, and more (Visit http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/new-jersey/ for a full listing)

RSVP: On our Facebook pages

Seaside Heights: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=125558947478411

Asbury Park: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=132480546769181&ref=ts

Atlantic City: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=130651916961088

Interested in volunteering? We could use a few good people. Email grace.sica@sierraclub.org

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to seeing you on the beach.

Sincerely,

NJ Sierra Club Staff

SierraActivist » New Jersey

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