Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 020613

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Garden State EnviroNet

unread,

Jun 14, 2002, 1:20:07 AM6/14/02

020613

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} EDISON COUNCIL ALLOTS $22 MILLION FOR LAND PURCHASE
{*} STUDY TO HELP 2 PINELANDS TOWNS FACING GROWTH
{*} MCGREEVEY MAY HELP PINELANDS AREAS SLOW GROWTH
{*} GOVERNOR HOLDS OFF ON ROUTE 92 DECISION
{*} NJ TO PA ON DREDGING - TAKE YOUR RIVER MUCK SOMEWHERE ELSE
{*} EPA COMPLETES ORDANCE REMOVAL IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
{*} EPA ANNOUNCES STEPS TO INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
{*} EPA CHIEF WAS LEFT IN THE DARK ON US CLIMATE REPORT
{*} NEW JERSEY BANS THE IMPORTATION OF DEER AND ELK
{*} TPL'S NEWARK CITY SPACES PROGRAM
{*} TIME TO PULL OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND
{*} RESCHEDULED - A WALK ALONG THE WATERFRONT - JUN 20

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EDISON COUNCIL ALLOTS $22 MILLION FOR LAND PURCHASE

Date: 020613
From: http://www.nj.com/

By Joe Tyrrell, Star-Ledger Staff, June 13, 2002

The Edison Township Council did its part last night to finance the
purchase of Oak Tree Pond and properties along the Raritan River and
Silver Lake, authorizing the use of $22 million from an open space
bond ordinance approved last year.

Aside from the $5.6 million to purchase the pond property from
developer Jack Morris, township officials described most of the
parcels as small strips along waterways.

"These are places where the bank may plunge 30 to 50 feet down to the
river," Councilman William Kruczak said. "We're taking 35 feet from
one guy, 25 from another."

The plan is to protect waterways without taking back yards or other
usable land from property owners along with them, Council President
Anthony Massaro said.

The total price will depend on negotiations with numerous property
owners, including possible donations from some, local officials said.

Though most parcels probably will not cost much, the deal for the
five-acre pond site means "it's a lot of cash" involved, Massaro said.

While the township expects to finance most of the pond purchase with
money from the state and Middlesex County, it is important to specify
a local funding source as well for all the acquisitions, he said.

On Monday, the township planning board is scheduled to consider plans
for a bank on a one-acre portion of the pond site retained by Morris.

The pond property was excavated before the township agreed to buy
most of it. A scheduled restoration will not happen in time for a
celebration marking the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Short Hills
on June 28-30.

"It's just dirt; it looks like a moonscape," said Councilman Robert
Diehl, adding it could not be replanted with trees until next year.

But the township's first re-enactment of the Revolutionary War battle
will include a flag ceremony, he said. During a controversy over
whether to preserve the pond area, local historians argued that it
played a prominent role in the fighting.

* * *

Joe Tyrrell covers Edison. He can be reached at
jtyr...@starledger.com or at (732) 634-6482.
Copyright 2002 The Star-Ledger

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

STUDY TO HELP 2 PINELANDS TOWNS FACING GROWTH

Date: 020613
From: http://www.philly.com/

By Thom Guarnieri, Staff Writer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun. 13, 2002

New Lisbon - Two Pinelands townships are set to take part in a study
designed to help them deal with the growth pressures they are facing.

A committee of the Pinelands Commission has recommended that Winslow
in Camden County and Hamilton in Atlantic County share in a $187,000
grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Both are regional growth communities, where the Pinelands master plan
has directed development in order to keep it out of more
environmentally sensitive areas.

The study, the first of its kind, involves hiring a consultant who
"will help each community develop a specific vision of its future and
prepare concrete proposals for zoning, subdivision, site planning
and/or infrastructure improvements," according to a commission
statement.

The full Pinelands Commission is to vote tomorrow on awarding the
grant.

Winslow Mayor Sue Ann Metzner said she wanted to focus on open space
and storm-water management issues, as well as the township's
commercial base.

In Hamilton, township administrator Edward Sasdelli said, "We're
hoping the planners bring in specific recommendations to manage the
growth."

The Pinelands Commission has estimated the number of homes needed
throughout the area and apportioned them among regional growth
communities. Hamilton's share is 18,000 homes, said Sasdelli, which
could mean many lot sizes of less than a quarter-acre.

The regional growth areas were established when the 1.1 million-acre
Pinelands National Preserve was created two decades ago. They comprise
about 77,600 acres, commission spokesman Francis G. Rapa said, and
include about 20 communities.

* * *

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

MCGREEVEY MAY HELP PINELANDS AREAS SLOW GROWTH

Date: 020613
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

By Jack Kaskey, Staff Writer, (609) 272-7213
Press of Atlantic City, June 13, 2002

Pleasantville - The Governor's Office is considering whether to issue
an executive order to slow development in Pinelands growth areas, but
no decision has been reached, Gov. James E. McGreevey said Wednesday.

McGreevey, at a meeting with the editorial board of The Press of
Atlantic City, also said he will not make any appointments to the
Pinelands Commission before June 30, when the state budget is filed.

State Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, sponsored a bill that would
slow development in designated growth areas, including Egg Harbor,
Hamilton, Galloway and Stafford townships, so school and road
improvements could keep pace with new homes.

The bill died in the Senate last month, and Gormley has since worked
with the McGreevey administration on an executive order that would
provide some sort of development reprieve.

"The governor's counsel is doing a review for what, if anything, can
be done for growth relief in the Pinelands growth areas," Gormley
said. "Obviously, I'd like to see something that is parallel to the
legislation I introduced."

But McGreevey said Wednesday that nothing is imminent.

"I have not received any final recommendation from the governor's
counsel," McGreevey said. "It is clearly an area that merits serious
review."

Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough said he'd like the state
to help pay for the extra police, teachers and schools that his
community's growth designation requires.

But giving the township a legal mechanism to slow the issuance of
building permits would be welcome, too.

"If I can stop issuing building permits, or at least phase in the
growth, that would be a big help," McCullough said.

The Pinelands' leading watchdog group, the Pinelands Preservation
Alliance, said McGreevey is making a mistake by delaying appointments
to the 15-member Pinelands Commission.

Six of the governor's seven appointments to the commission are
serving on expired terms, and the seventh expires this month.

"Right now the commission is divided and weak," said Carleton
Montgomery, executive director of the alliance. "Half (the
commissioners) don't know if they are going to be on the commission
next week."

Because of the summer recess, any appointments made after June won't
be confirmed by the Senate until the fall, he said.

"The governor can't wait until next fall to get the situation
clarified on the commission," Montgomery said. "It makes it hard for
the commission to function."

Helping the growth areas is one of several important issues that
could be affected by the delay, he said.

* * *

To e-mail Jack Kaskey at The Press: JKa...@pressofac.com

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

GOVERNOR HOLDS OFF ON ROUTE 92 DECISION

Date: 020613
From: http://www.zwire.com/

MCGREEVEY AWAITS REPORT FROM THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

By Brian Shappell, Staff Writer, South Brunswick Post, 06/13/2002

Gov. James McGreevey is going to wait for a report from the Army
Corps of Engineers before deciding whether or not he supports Route
92.

The New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in May
that the release of its long-awaited environmental impact study of
Route 92, a proposed 6.7-mile, limited-access toll road linking Route
1 and NJ Turnpike Exit 8A, will be delayed until September. The report
will focus on the potential effects the spur will have on the area.

Department of Transportation spokesman Micah Rasmussen said the
governor will not take a side on the issue despite receiving a letter
two weeks ago from several local mayors, including Debra Johnson of
South Brunswick, urging him to oppose and essentially halt the
project.

Route 92 has been vehemently opposed by officials from South
Brunswick, Franklin, Montgomery, Manville, Hillsborough, the
Hopewells, Pennington and Rocky Hill. The road, however, has been
supported by the governments of Plainsboro, Cranbury, Monroe, West
Windsor and the Princetons.

"We're eagerly awaiting the results of the report just like everyone
else involved," Mr. Rasmussen said. "It wouldn't make sense to make
any kind of statement now. It would be premature."

The environmental impact study has been in the works since February
2000, when the Army Corps' New York District office concluded that the
road could have environmental impacts and that an environmental impact
statement was required.

The Army Corps became involved after the federal Environmental
Protection Agency rejected a permit request from the Turnpike
Authority nearly four years ago that would allow it to fill some
wetlands along the highway's proposed route.

EPA representatives said at the time, and during Army Corps hearings
on the project, that Route 92 would cause significant environmental
impacts and that other, less intrusive alternatives existed.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued its own
environmental permits several months later, triggering the review by
the Army Corps.

* * *

(c)Packet Online 2002

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

NJ TO PA ON DREDGING - TAKE YOUR RIVER MUCK SOMEWHERE ELSE

Date: 020613
From: http://www.newsday.com/

By David B. Caruso, Associated Press Writer, June 13, 2002

Philadelphia - As economists and engineers argue the pros and cons of
cutting a deeper shipping channel in the Delaware River, the decision
whether or not to dredge may come down to a simple fact of politics:
New Jersey doesn't want another 23 million cubic yards of river muck
piled on its shores.

Especially not muck from the port of Philadelphia.

"The days of New Jersey being abused by either New York or
Pennsylvania with dredging spoils or garbage are over," Sen. Robert
Torricelli, D-NJ, said at a news conference this week.

At issue is a plan to deepen the Delaware channel from 40 feet to 45
feet, thus allowing bigger cargo ships to plow the 108 miles up the
river to Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia and Camden, NJ

Environmental groups have long expressed concerns about whether
disturbing the river bottom could cause pollutants to leak into the
river's watershed, or change salt levels in a way that will hurt
wildlife.

Recently, some opponents have also questioned whether the project is
worth its $311 million cost. The dredging was put on hold after a
General Accounting Office report said the deeper channel might produce
a smaller economic benefit than initially projected by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.

But the bigger long-term sticking point has been the mud that the
dredgers pull from the river - and the perception of many in New
Jersey that the state is too often asked to accept the scraps of its
metropolitan neighbors.

Early on in the project's planning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
identified 12 potential soil disposal sites - all in New Jersey.

The plan, while never ratified by the Delaware River Port Authority,
outraged New Jersey lawmakers who said that it was unfair to ask the
state to take the majority of the silt, while the bulk of the benefits
would go to the larger ports in Pennsylvania.

"This is a no brainer for someone living in New Jersey," said New
Jersey state Sen. Steve Sweeney, a Democrat. "We in New Jersey are
trying to develop our waterfront also, you know. And once you pile
this stuff up, you are killing the area for 50 years.

"If this is so safe, why not stockpile it at Philadelphia
International Airport?"

Politicians have weighed in along state lines, with Torricelli and
Sen. Jon Corzine, D-NJ, opposing the dredging plan and Sen. Arlen
Specter, R-Pa., supporting it.

The Port Authority insists that the dredge spoil is safe. Authority
spokesman Joseph Diemer said dredge spoils have been used to build
golf courses and public parks, including the Palmyra Cove nature
preserve in Burlington County, NJ

"The Army Corps did millions of dollars of testing on this, and has
found no evidence in the river channel that there is any
contamination," he said.

Still, authority officials have also been exploring the possibility
of sending more dredge spoil to locations in Pennsylvania, including
using it to fill in old mines.

Dennis Rochford, president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware
River and Bay, which represents shippers and terminal operators, said
that if the fight stops the dredging, it could hurt the region's
seaport business.

"If this doesn't happen, we are going to be the only port on the
Atlantic coast restricted to 40 feet, and that will have a direct
impact on our ability as a regional port to remain competitive," he
said.

- - -

On the Net:

Delaware River Port Authority:
http://www.drpa.org/

Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay:
http://www.maritimedelriv.com/

Delaware Riverkeeper Network:
http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/

* * *

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EPA COMPLETES ORDANCE REMOVAL IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

Date: 13 Jun 2002
From: Delly...@epamail.epa.gov

EPA COMPLETES SUPERFUND REMOVAL OF BURIED WWII ORDNANCE
IN UNDEVELOPED AREA OF LITTLE VALLEY IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

June 13, 2002

New York, N.Y. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
completed the removal and disposal of the buried bombs, fuzes and
related material from World War II it uncovered at the 70-acre
Washington Township Ordnance site in Little Valley, Morris County, New
Jersey. The site, near the intersection of Fairmount Road and Parker
Road, was operated by United Wallpaper Factories Incorporated for the
manufacture of incendiary bombs during World War II. Unused and/or
discarded ordnance and associated materials were buried at the site
and several hundred burned bomb canisters and fuzes have been found
there over the years.

"The potential for finding live, unexploded bombs and/or fuzes
triggered our action to protect public health and safety," EPA
Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny stated. "We found and disposed of
more ordnance than we suspected was there."

Fort Monmouth ordnance experts and the US Army Corps of Engineers
personnel visually inspected the site in the summer of 2000, in
response to a request from Morris County Emergency Services, and did
not find ordnance that contained explosives. The New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) alerted EPA, which investigated
the site in 2000 using geophysical techniques to survey the area for
metal anomalies related to ordnance items. EPA began the cleanup of
the site late last year under its federal Superfund authority. During
its operations, EPA restricted public access to the site, which was
frequented by hunters, hikers, dirt-bike riders and equestrians.

EPA worked closely with local authorities throughout the
investigation and cleanup effort. "We thank everyone involved for
their support and assistance. We also appreciate the cooperation of
local residents and officials during this very successful operation,"
Ms. Kenny said. The project cost a total of $1.8 million, which was
financed by the federal Superfund Trust.

The site consists of an active chemical manufacturer, a residence,
and undeveloped land. Discarded ordnance was identified at all three
properties; however, the greatest concentration of ordnance was in
remote locations on the parcel of undeveloped land, mostly open fields
and woodlands.

EPA utilized the services of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) specialists to
address the buried ordnance at the site. The work included
identifying, removing, and disposing of any ordnance-type material.
EPA divided the site into a number of grids, each measuring exactly
100' X 100'. The surface of each grid was inspected and then
specialized equipment was used to identify where the ordnance
materials were buried. UXO specialists manually excavated areas
suspected of containing buried ordnance. Trenches and burial pits
containing a large quantity of ordnance items were discovered in the
wooded undeveloped area of the site. Soil was excavated from these
trenches and pits and screened to recover fuzes and bombs. Any
ordnance material discovered on the surface or buried below was
removed and secured on-site for detonation and/or disposal.

The specialty firm detonated any UXO on the site property rather than
attempt to remove live shells. Access to the site was carefully
controlled and the detonations were performed under very secure
conditions. Stringent health and safety protocols were in place to
eliminate any health and safety issues for the specialists posed by
the ordnance. Inert ordnance materials were recycled as ordnance
related scrap at appropriate off-site facilities.

The total number of ordnance items recovered included: 22,766 empty
M-69 bomb casings, over 650,000 inert fuzes, 4 inert M-2 rockets, 267
live M-69 bombs, 99 M-50 live bombs, 730 live fuzes and 31 M-1 fuze
primers. All of the live ordnance found, a total of 1,127 UXO items,
were destroyed in a series of 19 detonations. Following the removal of
ordnance material, the area was reevaluated to ensure that a major
threat to the public health and safety has been addressed. All areas
disturbed during the investigation and cleanup work were restored.

EPA is advising the owners to use caution during any excavation
activity at their properties in the event that some small amounts of
ordnance may remain at the site.

The NJDEP is conducting its own investigation of the site to address
soil and ground water contamination from several chemical and
industrial facilities that operated there after bomb manufacturing
stopped at the end of WWII.

* * *

Rich Cahill, (212) 637-3666

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 2
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
290 Broadway - New York, New York 10007-1866
http://www.epa.gov/region2

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EPA ANNOUNCES STEPS TO INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Date: 020613
From: http://yosemite1.epa.gov/

EPA ANNOUNCES STEPS TO INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ENCOURAGE EMISSIONS
REDUCTIONS

ACTS ON BROAD-BASED BIPARTISAN CALL FOR COMMON-SENSE IMPROVEMENTS TO
NEW SOURCE REVIEW, CLEAN AIR PROGRAM

June 13, 2002

Acting on the broad-based, bipartisan call for improving the New
Source Review (NSR) program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today announced steps to increase energy efficiency and
encourage emissions reductions. The EPA today submitted a report on
NSR and recommendations for reform to President Bush to encourage
pollution prevention projects, energy efficiency improvements, and
investments in new technologies and modernization of facilities.

EPA's review found that the NSR program has impeded or resulted in
the cancellation of projects that would maintain or improve
reliability, efficiency or safety of existing power plants and
refineries. There is overwhelming support for reform from a diverse
group of people and organizations.

The improvements that EPA is recommending today are the culmination
of a 10-year process. During this period, EPA implemented pilot
studies and received thousands of comments from state and local
governments, environmental groups, private sector representatives and
concerned citizens. Over the past year, EPA met with more than100
environmental and consumer groups and public officials from across the
political spectrum, held public meetings around the country, and
evaluated more than 130,000 written comments to assess the effect of
NSR on the energy sector. Last summer, the nation's governors and the
state environmental commissioners - on a bipartisan basis - called for
reform of the NSR program. Today's report and recommendations support
this call for NSR reform.

"EPA is taking actions now to improve NSR and thereby encourage
emissions reductions," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "NSR
is a valuable program in many respects but the need for reform is
clear and has broad-based support. Our review clearly established that
some aspects of the NSR program have deterred companies from
implementing projects that would increase energy efficiency and
decrease air pollution."

The following reforms that EPA is moving to finalize were originally
proposed during the previous Administration in 1996 and has been
subject to extensive technical review and public comment:

Pollution Control and Prevention Projects: To encourage pollution
prevention, EPA will create a simplified process for companies that
undertake environmentally beneficial projects. NSR currently
discourages investments in pollution control and prevention projects,
even if they reduce overall emissions.

Plantwide Applicability Limits (PALs): To provide facilities with
greater flexibility to modernize their operations without increasing
air pollution, a facility would agree to operate within strict
sitewide emissions caps called PALs. PALs provide clarity, certainty
and superior environmental protection.

Clean Unit Provision: To encourage the installation of stateoftheart
air pollution controls, EPA will give plants that install "clean
units" operational flexibility if they continue to operate within
permitted limits. Clean units must have an NSR permit or other
regulatory limit that requires the use of the best air pollution
control technologies.

Calculating Emissions Increases and Establishing Actual Emissions
Baseline: Currently, the NSR program estimates emissions increases
based upon what a plant would emit if operated 24 hours a day, year-
round. This makes it impossible to make certain modest changes in a
facility without triggering NSR, even if those changes will not
actually increase emissions. This common-sense reform will require EPA
to evaluate how much a facility will actually emit after the proposed
change. Also, to more accurately measure actual emissions, account for
variations in business cycles, and clarify what may be a "more
representative"period, facilities will be allowed to use any
consecutive 24-month period in the previous decade as a baseline, as
long as all current control requirements are taken into account.

EPA is also proposing three new reforms that will go through new
rulemaking and public comment processes before they are finalized.
These include:

Routine Maintenance, Repair and Replacement: To increase
environmental protection and promote the implementation of necessary
repair and replacement projects, EPA will clarify the definition of
"routine" repairs. NSR excludes repairs and maintenance activities
that are "routine," but a complex analysis must currently be used to
determine what repairs meet that standard. This has deterred companies
from conducting needed repairs, resulting in unnecessary emissions of
pollution and hazardous conditions at these plants. EPA is proposing
guidelines for particular industries to clearly establish what
activities meet this standard.

"The NSR program needs to be clarified to adequately define the
concept of "routine maintenance" to avoid the regulatory uncertainty
facing industry. Such clarification would allow companies to repair
their facilities and maintain reliable and safe electric service for
consumers and workers without being subject to the threat of federal
government lawsuits for allegedly violating vague NSR requirements." -
Letter to Administrator Whitman, May 13, 2002, from a bipartisan group
of 26 Senators.

Debottlenecking: EPA is proposing a rule to clarify how NSR applies
when a company modifies one part of a facility in such a way that
throughput in other parts of the facility increases (i.e., implements
a "debottlenecking" project). Under the current rules, determining
whether NSR applies to such complex projects is difficult and can be
time consuming.

Aggregation: Currently, when multiple projects are implemented in a
short period of time, a difficult and complex analysis must be
performed to determine if the projects should be treated separately or
together (i.e., "aggregated") under NSR. EPA's proposal will establish
two criteria that will guide this determination.

"Reforming NSR will promote energy efficiency, plant safety and
modernization at refineries, power plants, and other industrial
facilities across the country," said Administrator Whitman. "Our
common commitment to environmental protection need not be an obstacle
to having the most modern and efficient energy infrastructure in the
world. Unfortunately, some elements of NSR have discouraged
modernization and the development of new technologies. These reforms
will bring clarity and greater opportunities for pollution prevention
and energy efficiency."

To see a copy of the report and recommendations as well as other
information on the New Source Review program, visit EPA's website at:
http://www.epa.gov

NEW SOURCE REVIEW (NSR) - REFORM EXAMPLES

Plantwide Applicability Limits (PALs):
Using a PAL type permit, a computer chip manufacturing facility used
pollution prevention techniques to lower its smog forming volatile
organic compound (VOC) emissions by 70% from 190 tons/year to 56
tons/year, while at the same time increasing production significantly.
The PAL permit provided flexibility to allow quick and timely process
and equipment changes that enabled the facility to significantly
reduce VOC emissions without triggering costly and time-intensive
permitting actions. New generations of computer chips are introduced
every 12 to 24 months, and this company typically needed to make 150
to 200 equipment and operational changes per year. In the absence of
the PAL type permit, the company would need to examine each change
individually to determine whether it triggered NSR.

Clean Unit Test:
A company that manufactures chemical and specialty products for home
care, personal care, home storage and insect control operates a plant
in an ozone non-attainment area. All of the plant's aerosol
product-filling and packaging operations underwent non-attainment NSR
in the early to mid-1990s. The NSR permitting process required the
installation of very stringent emission controls. Under the current
NSR program, many routine projects designed to maintain or improve
operating efficiencies, improve safety, and reduce operating costs at
this facility could trigger NSR, even though very stringent controls
are in place, emissions would remain well within permit limits, and
the offsets previously secured were based on maximum permitted
capacity. In many cases, projects designed to improve operating
efficiency would also result in decreased line scrap and waste
generation, providing a pollution prevention benefit.

Calculation of Emissions:
A refinery wanted to install a heat exchanger that would recover
waste heat from one of its gasoline-producing units. As a result other
heaters and boilers would need to be used less, reducing energy usage
and emissions. However, because of how NSR currently measures future
emissions (i.e., assumes future operation is at full capacity,
although present operation is not) the project showed a "potential"
emissions increase that could trigger NSR. The facility determined
that NSR would make the project uneconomical, and it would not go
forward.

Pollution Control Project:
A facility that is equipped with boilers that currently burn fuel oil
wanted to change its boilers so they could burn natural gas, which
would reduce emissions of SO2 and NOX. It may also result in a fuel
cost savings. Although emissions of SO2 and NOX would decrease
significantly, the facility projected emissions of VOCs and CO to
increase slightly. These increases could trigger NSR, and the facility
is likely to conclude that the project is no longer viable and
continue to burn oil. This change would no longer be subject to NSR
because the exclusion for pollution prevention and control projects
includes fuel switching.

Routine Maintenance, Repair and Replacement:
For example, a manufacturer operates a process that includes a drying
system. It determined that the energy efficiency of the system could
be improved if the existing drier nozzles were replaced with
Teflon-coated nozzles. Because it could not readily determine whether
installation of the new nozzles would be considered routine
maintenance, repair or replacement, the company decided not to proceed
with the project. NSR excludes repairs and maintenance activities that
are "routine," but a complex analysis must currently be used to
determine what repairs meet that standard. This has deterred companies
from conducting needed repairs, often times resulting in unnecessary
emissions of pollution. The proposed changes would provide more
certainty for activities that qualify for the routine maintenance,
repair and replacement exclusion.

* * *

Contact: Joe Martyak, 202-564-9828

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Headquarters Press Release
Washington, DC

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EPA CHIEF WAS LEFT IN THE DARK ON US CLIMATE REPORT

Date: 020613
From: http://www.planetark.org/

By Tom Doggett, Reuters News Service, June 13, 2002

Washington - Christine Todd Whitman, the top US environmental
regulator, said yesterday she was not told in advance about a
controversial Bush administration report that concluded greenhouse gas
emissions produced by human activities were the primary cause of
global warming.

The report caused a stir last week among environmentalists because it
appeared to align the administration with scientists who believe
vehicle emissions and pollution from power plants and oil refineries
have caused global temperatures to rise.

The United States is the world's biggest energy consumer and
emissions producer.

President George W. Bush dismissed the report as a product of the
federal "bureaucracy." Bush said he had read the report, but the White
House later said the president was only briefed on the study.

The report was quietly posted on the Environmental Protection
Agency's Web site after it was sent to the United Nations.

Whitman, the head of the EPA, said she did not read the report in
advance and was not even aware of the study until news organizations
reported it.

"I knew about it when I read it in the paper," she told reporters
yesterday following a speech at an energy efficiency conference in
Washington.

Green groups have long questioned whether Whitman has a say in
setting administration environmental policies, or if those decisions
are made by White House officials. Her comments on the climate change
report raised more doubt.

'ABSENTEE LANDLORD AT EPA'

"It certainly creates the appearance that she's an absentee landlord
at EPA," said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the Clean Air
Trust. "It's starting to look like she's (EPA) administrator in a
ceremonial capacity."

Whitman said she was briefed on the EPA report after it was
published.

The report's conclusions were reviewed by the staff of the EPA, the
State Department and other agencies before it was published, Whitman
said. "Since nobody saw anything earth-shattering in what the
conclusions were ... they didn't think they needed to raise the red
flag," she said.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Wednesday he was out of the
country when the report was released and he did not read it in
advance, nor has he since been briefed on the study. Energy Department
staff helped write the report.

Whitman, along with White House officials, have tried to downplay the
controversy by citing a speech Bush gave last year when he stated that
human activities were a cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the administration's new report went a step further, saying
human activities were primarily to blame for global warming and have
caused "surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to
rise."

Environmentalists seized on the report as a major change in Bush
administration policy. In the past, green groups pointed out that the
administration had said the science was unclear on the causes of
global warning.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TO FIGURE IN ELECTIONS

With environmental issues likely to figure in November's
congressional elections, a group of Senate Democrats last week
demanded that the White House clarify if it stood behind the report or
not.

Democrats have accused the administration of trying to relax various
anti-pollution policies that are costly to industry. Republicans
maintain that more voluntary and market-based programs can achieve the
same results.

The Bush administration has been repeatedly criticized by the
European Union for not doing more to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
linked to global warming.

Green groups have urged the United States to re-sign the
international Kyoto treaty that seeks to reduce the world greenhouse
gas emissions by setting nation-by- nation targets.

The White House rejected the treaty as too expensive for US industry
and instead put forward a program encouraging American firms to
voluntarily curb heat- trapping emissions.

Whitman said the climate change report's conclusions would not alter
administration policy. "We certainly aren't changing our position on
Kyoto," she said.

Whitman said she would reiterate the administration's opposition to
the treaty at a UN- sponsored conference on world poverty and
environmental issues in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this summer.

* * *

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

NEW JERSEY BANS THE IMPORTATION OF DEER AND ELK

Date: 13 Jun 2002
From: "FWLISTS FWLISTS" {FWL...@dep.state.nj.us}

June 12, 2002

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell
and Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Bob McDowell have announced
an emergency measure to prohibit the importation of deer and elk into
New Jersey. The restriction is effective immediately and serves as a
precautionary step to prohibit the spread of chronic wasting disease
into the State's wild and captive herds of animals belonging to the
deer family.

"The emergency ban on the importation of deer and elk into the State
will reduce the risk of chronic wasting disease entering New Jersey
and will prevent wild deer herds from being exposed to this deadly
disease," Commissioner Campbell said. "New Jersey has a healthy deer
herd that plays an important part in our State's environment and
economy, and we are committed to work with other State agencies and
the federal government to put into place measures that will halt the
spread of this disease."

"New Jersey has a number of captive deer herds as well as a healthy
wild deer population," said Division Director Bob McDowell. "The ban
on importation is an essential disease control measure what will help
prevent the introduction of this destructive disease into New Jersey."

Chronic wasting disease has been diagnosed in captive elk or deer
herds in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota and in
Saskatchewan Canada. It has been confirmed in wild deer herds in
Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Wisconsin. There are no known cases of
the disease in New Jersey.

A relatively new disease, chronic wasting disease is not fully
understood at this time. The disease causes weight loss and is always
fatal. Its origin is unknown and it is transmittable between animals.
To date, it has been only found in members of the deer family. There
is no evidence that the disease is linked to disease in humans or
domestic livestock other than deer and elk.

For more information on chronic wasting disease visit the Division's
website at http://www.njfishandwildlife.com.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

TPL'S NEWARK CITY SPACES PROGRAM

Date: 020610
From: http://www.tpl.org/

Trust for Public Land, 06/06/02

TPL launched its Newark City Spaces Program in 1995 as a response to
the overwhelming need for additional safe playgrounds in the
underprivileged communities of New Jersey's largest city. TPL believes
that all children have a fundamental right to learn and play in safe,
accessible outdoor recreational areas. Parks and playgrounds are
proven anchors for community revitalization and must be included in
any strategy that aims to improve the quality of life for urban youth.

For decades, the City of Newark has suffered from a staggering number
of vacant lots, a declining population, and a weak tax base. While the
city is finally beginning to enjoy a boom in new office and housing
construction, its neighborhoods remain among the poorest in the United
States. In the city's quest to build a stronger tax base, meeting
Newark's public open space needs, especially for its youngest
residents, remains a critical challenge.

Playgrounds provide unmatched opportunities for children to explore
and learn according to their own tendencies and needs. Unstructured
recreation in safe open spaces helps kids develop their sense of
autonomy and provides a basis for understanding the natural world -
which is especially important for children who live in dense urban
environments like Newark.

Unfortunately, Newark suffers from an acute lack of recreational open
space. Much of the existing parkland is unsafe and in disrepair and
the city funds necessary to create and revitalize parks and
playgrounds are virtually nonexistent. Strong evidence, however, from
across the country shows that parks foster healthier communities and
can help trigger economic reinvestment.

Through private-public partnerships, TPL's City Spaces Program
provides safe recreational facilities for future generations of Newark
residents to enjoy. All sites include elements of the natural world,
playing fields, and equipment that meet specific community
demographics and needs.

TPL's innovative approach is designed to involve children and
community members integrally in the development of their new parks. We
select sites that have the greatest need for parkland, and where there
is an enthusiastic and able local partner available to assume
responsibility for long-term management and programming. TPL then
launches a unique participatory design process to elicit the direct
and active involvement of local students, teachers, parents, and
community volunteers in the establishment of new play spaces.

Throughout this process, teachers and school administrators are
trained in park design principles so they can take a leadership role
with student design teams and act as the liaisons to TPL staff,
contractors, and facility managers. Design teams meet weekly for
several months under the guidance of TPL staff. They conduct site
assessments, discuss possible layouts, and design models of their
future playground. TPL brings in a professional landscape architect to
work with the group to finalize design plans and hires contractors to
build the actual playground. Throughout, TPL keeps the community
intimately involved through on-site workshops about basic carpentry,
blueprint reading, landscaping, gardening, and stewardship skills.

With critical private support, TPL has leveraged public participation
to successfully create six new playgrounds at five schools to date. By
forging strong partnerships with Newark Public Schools (NPS) and local
community organizations, TPL has been able to ensure that competent
and committed stewards oversee the long-term management of each site.
Using this structure, TPL has established parkland that is anchored by
a school and effectively serves the open space needs of both local
schools and their surrounding communities.

St. Columba Peace Playground: Completed in 1995, this was TPL's first
acquisition and development project in Newark. TPL acted as the
general contractor from start to finish on this site, overseeing the
design and construction of the playground.

Maple Avenue School Playground: Developed in 1996, Maple Avenue was
the first site that TPL built in partnership with NPS. Based on the
overwhelming use and success of this site, TPL returned to develop new
amenities on an adjacent lot in 2000.

Louise A. Spencer School Playground: Also developed in partnership
with NPS, TPL created this 8,500 square- foot playground, which is
utilized by the 1,400 students who attend the Spencer School and the
community at large.

Quitman Street Community School Playground: This two-acre site is
TPL's largest playground to date. It was completed through a
partnership with the school's staff, students, and representatives
from the Community Agencies Corporation, who maintains a permanent
on-site community center

William H. Brown Academy Playground: In addition to now offering a
beautiful play area complete with outdoor classroom space and a jungle
gym, the Brown Academy Playground also boasts a large grassy field for
active recreation of the type that urban children rarely experience.

FUTURE PROJECTS

Building on our success, TPL will continue working closely with
Newark Public Schools to create new playgrounds, while also expanding
our scope to include the development of additional public parkland in
partnership with the City of Newark. TPL has recently completed a
comprehensive assessment of potential sites, and we are now moving
forward to build five new play spaces over the next few years.

* * *

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

TIME TO PULL OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND

Date: 020613
From: http://enn.com/

By David Suzuki, June 13, 2002

What is the biggest environmental challenge of the 21st century?
Global warming? The loss of biodiversity? Resource depletion?
Pollution?

No one really knows. Probably the sum of all these. But I'm beginning
to think one of the biggest challenges is overcoming the fact that
people are tired of all the depressing news about the environment.

The prevailing scientific opinion is that we're quite rapidly
depleting many of the resources we depend on for our well-being. We've
heard variations on these stories again and again to the point that
it's all become quite overwhelming. In fact, many people have stopped
paying attention, and the media has stopped reporting all but the most
frightening predictions.

Pundits and the public often lambaste the media for focusing on bad
news. But I think a real problem is not so much the focus on the
negative but the focus on conflict and controversy - especially in
science.

For example, while 99 percent of climate scientists think global
warming is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, the media
love to focus on the few who disagree.

Let me give another example. Earlier this spring a European
statistician wrote a book saying that the global environment is
healthy and actually improving. The many scientists,
environmentalists, and citizens who worry about most environmental
problems are misguided, he argued. They just don't understand nature
like he does.

In spite of the facts that this man is not an expert in the fields he
is critiquing and has been widely discredited by his peers, he has
become a media darling. He has had speaking engagements across North
America, front-page stories, editorials, and more.

Why is he so popular? Simple: He assuages our guilt about ecological
problems. Like a travelling tonic salesman, he tours the land telling
us what we would prefer to hear, making us feel better about ourselves
and the world.

Contrast that with the United Nations Environment Program's report,
"The State of the Environment: Past, Present, Future?" released last
week. It's pretty depressing stuff. According to the report, if we
follow current trends of putting the "market first," and emphasizing
unchecked economic growth, 55 percent of the world's population will
suffer from moderate to severe water shortages by 2032. We'll also
lose up to 11,000 species of plants and animals, including one-quarter
of all mammals!

The report is very comprehensive, offering a variety of near-future
scenarios put together by more than 1,000 scientists from around the
world. As Laszlo Pinter, one of the U.N. report's authors, told the
Globe and Mail, "This is not just one or two crazy scientists sitting
around a table somewhere."

Not surprisingly, it has not exactly piqued the media's interest. Oh,
it got its requisite billing as the "depressing environment story of
the day." But then it disappeared, shelved with many other such
stories in the "let's not worry about it right now" file.

How can we keep doing this? Are we so jaded as a society that we're
willing to stick our heads in the sand when it comes to environmental
problems, only to pop up when the soothing sounds of a Scandinavian
statistician tell us not to worry?

I hate depressing news as much as anyone. Lately, I've found myself
searching for good environment news, just to hang on to hope for the
future. As Holly Dressel and I document in our book Good News for a
Change, there are many examples of individuals, companies,
organizations, and governments trying to take a sustainable path into
the future. Even the latest U.N. report points out there is still time
to change.

We just have to stop ignoring the bad news and start taking the steps
necessary to avoid the fate of the dire predictions we all hate so
much. Maybe then, 20 years from now, the media will come to me looking
for a contrarian view: something bad to say about the environment when
the evidence shows that it has been improving for years. It's my hope
that all I could do then is sit back in my rocking chair, smile, and
have nothing to say.

* * *

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

RESCHEDULED - A WALK ALONG THE WATERFRONT - JUN 20

Date: 13 Jun 2002
From: Ron Hine {better.w...@verizon.net}

Fund for a Better Waterfront, Inc.

Thursday, June 20
7 p.m.
Meet at Pier A Park by fountain (1st Street & Sinatra Drive, Hoboken)

Join tour leaders John Imbiano of IQ Landscape Architects and Ron
Hine of the Fund for a Better Waterfront for a tour of Hoboken's newly
built waterfront parks.

Learn about how the citizens of Hoboken fought for a public
waterfront, preventing huge office towers and private enclaves at the
water's edge. Find out about the successful design of Pier A Park. The
tour will begin at Pier A Park, proceeding north to Sinatra Park and
Castle Point Park. We will visit and discuss the missing links along
the way: the Stevens Institute property, Union Dry Dock and Maxwell
House which potentially could unite Hoboken's full one mile length of
riverfront into a continuous, unimpeded linear public park.

The previously scheduled Walk Along the Water was postponed due to
rain.

For more information call the Fund for a Better Waterfront at
201-217-0500 or email f...@betterwaterfront.com. Also visit our website
at http://www.betterwaterfront.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Complete Calendar Listings at: http://www.gsenet.org/calendar.htm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Today's Issue Edited by Phil Reynolds - reyn...@gsenet.org

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Back issues of the Garden State EnviroNews are available at
http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/11gsn.htm

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Garden State EnviroNet, Inc.
19 Boonton Ave, Boonton NJ 07005
Tel: 973-394-1313 - Fax: 973-394-9513
mai...@gsenet.org - http://www.gsenet.org

EnviroNews mailing lists:
TEXT - subscribe-en...@gselist.org
HTML - subscribe-en...@gselist.org

0 new messages