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 Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 020418

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Garden State EnviroNet

unread,

Apr 19, 2002, 2:11:27 AM4/19/02

020418

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} ARE WE MAKING OUR CHILDREN SICK - MAY 10
{*} CUMBERLAND COUNTY JOINS LEAD PAINT SUIT
{*} U.S. UTILITY POLLUTION KILLS 5,900 A YEAR
{*} DO YOUR BIT TO FIGHT TOXIC POOL POLLUTION
{*} CAMDEN COUNTY ASKS TO DELAY HAVING TO TREAT TAINTED WATER
{*} TAINTED WATER TRANSFER TO GET PUBLIC HEARING
{*} WASTE WATER CLEANING UP STREETS IN STAFFORD
{*} SIERRA CLUB PRAISES SENATORS CORZINE AND TORRICELLI
{*} EPA TO CONFISCATE FILES IN WHITMAN-SPOUSE MATTER
{*} GOVERNOR URGED TO INCREASE RIVER SAFEGUARDS
{*} LOSS OF WATERSHED AID VIEWED AS UNFAIR BY TOWNS
{*} STOP DELBARTON FROM TURNING OFF THE AQUIFER
{*} NJ CONSERVATION FOUNDATION SAVES 127-ACRE FARM
{*} VANDALISM IN THE DREW ARBORETUM
{*} RAMAPO COLLEGE EARTH WEEK EVENTS CALENDAR
{*} HACKENSACK RIVER CLEANUP AT LAUREL HILL PARK - APR 20
{*} NJCWA UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
{*} HOOKED ON THE HUDSON - APR 27
{*} NJ ENVIRONMENTAL LOBBY ANNUAL AWARDS RECEPTION - APR 28

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

ARE WE MAKING OUR CHILDREN SICK - MAY 10

Date: 18 Apr 2002
From: "Jim Kelly" {ad...@savthebay.org}

KIDS AND CHEMICALS, A SPECIAL REPORT

NOW WITH BILL MOYERS TRACKS THE SCIENTIFIC SEARCH FOR ANSWERS ABOUT
HOW ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS AFFECT AMERICA'S CHILDREN

Premieres Friday, May 10 at 9:00 (ET) on PBS (check local listings)

It is a medical mystery marked "urgent." Across America growing
numbers of children are suffering from asthma, childhood cancers like
leukemia, as well as learning and behavioral disabilities. Scientists
are searching for clues to the causes of these illnesses, and a
growing body of research suggests that everyday environmental
toxins-what kids eat, drink, and breathe-may put them at risk.
Equipped with new technology and more sophisticated analysis, these
scientists are asking compelling questions about the health risks to
children growing up exposed to an ever-increasing number of untested
chemicals in our environment.

Kids and Chemicals, a special edition of NOW with Bill Moyers to be
broadcast on PBS, Friday, May 10 at 9 p.m. (ET), features medical
investigators and health officials engaged in the latest research on
links between childhood illness and environmental contamination. The
program looks at families around the country who are coping with the
consequences to their children of potentially toxic exposures.

"The disturbing increases in childhood illness in America cannot be
ignored," says Bill Moyers. "How does the exposure affect children's
health? The new research is studying how chemicals enter the human
body, and posing questions that they could never ask before: Do
chemicals affect children, babies and unborn fetuses more than adults?
What factors increase toxicity, and how can we protect children from
harm?" Kids and Chemicals' producers Gail Ablow and Greg Henry go to
Fallon, Nevada, a small desert town that has had 15 recorded cases of
childhood leukemia in just five years. Alarmed, Dr. Mary Guinan, who
was one of Nevada's top health officials, called in the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the potential links
between this childhood cancer and the environment. Could toxic
substances in water, food, air, schools, homes or the ground in Fallon
be responsible for this "cancer cluster"? If so, which chemicals?
Without clear evidence of a specific cause, everything-from jet fuel
emissions to pesticides to naturally occuring arsenic in the water-is
suspect.

As Moyers and his team learn in Fallon, research on cancer clusters
once focused mainly on gathering environmental samples because
investigators simply didn't have tools sensitive enough to measure
which toxins had been absorbed into people. Dr. Richard Jackson, the
director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains how his
laboratories are using the latest instruments. His research scientists
are using sophisticated blood and urine analysis to test for minute
traces of toxins in the bodies of the sick children and their families
in Fallon.

This work is part of a larger movement in children's environmental
health unfolding nationwide. Dr. Phillip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine in New York City works with scientists around the
country to understand how kids are affected by exposure to chemicals.
"Of the 3000 high production volume chemicals in use in this country
today, only 43% have been even minimally tested," he tells Moyers.
"Only about 10% have been thoroughly tested to examine their potential
effects on children's health and development."

Speaking with Landrigan, Moyers learns that children are potentially
more vulnerable to chemicals than adults. "First of all they're more
heavily exposed pound for pound," says Landrigan. "They eat more food,
they drink more water, they breathe more air. Then, of course, kids
play on the ground. They live low, they put their hands in their mouth
and so they transfer more toxic chemicals into their body than we do."

Traveling to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Moyers meets Dr.
Linda Sheldon of the Environmental Protection Agency's National
Exposure Research Lab. Sheldon demonstrates how her team of scientists
is gathering evidence of exposure to everyday chemicals in nursery
schools, homes and daycare centers.

In New York City, a groundbreaking study led by Dr. Frederica Perera
at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, follows more
than 500 expectant mothers. These women are wearing air quality
monitors in backpacks to trap the environmental toxins they breathe.
As their children are born and as they grow, Dr. Perera and her team
will look for links between the chemicals that the mothers were
exposed to while their babies were developing in the womb and asthma,
cancer risk, and learning disabilities.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber, a biologist at Cornell University, joins Dr.
Landrigan in asserting that exposure during pregnancy doesn't, by
itself, mean a child will get ill. What matters is the intensity of
the exposure and when it occurs during fetal development. A chemical
exposure occurring early in pregnancy might cause a miscarriage, argue
the researchers. If it occurs later on, it might cause physical birth
defects. Later still, it might damage brain cells. Scientists are
trying to precisely identify these "windows of vulnerability." Says
Dr. Steingraber: "Maybe certain problems that we understand . . . as
attention deficit disorders, hyperactivity, the inability to pay
attention, aggressive and violent behaviors, might have their origins
during those windows of vulnerability during pregnancy and these
questions are just being asked. Data is just beginning to come in."
Dr. Perera's team at Columbia is also studying the way that chemicals
can actually bind to human DNA in the womb and cause a mutation called
an "adduct." Work by Dr. Perera has shown that the greater the number
of adducts, the greater the risk for cancer. "And that's the missing
link in all of this," says Dr. Steingraber. "That's the link we're
beginning to fill in."

To place the current studies in a public health policy context,
Moyers revisits the firestorm over lead research; recalling the
revolutionary work of Dr. Herbert Needleman, who correlated low-level
lead exposure to lower IQ's in children in 1979. Twelve years later,
Needleman's work was attacked by the lead industry as it tried to
protect its economic stake in lead products. Ultimately, the validity
of Dr. Needleman's work was fully vindicated, and new public policy
required unleaded gasoline and restrictions on lead paint. And many
scientists believe that, as a result, children's IQ scores have risen,
on average, three points. Yet, as Moyers points out, lead remains the
number one environmental threat to children's health; many old houses
and even many school buildings are still testing positive for lead
today.

In Herculaneum, Missouri, lead contamination is a very current issue.
The community is up in arms about the astonishingly high levels of
lead to which their families have been exposed because the town's
primary industry, the Doe Run lead smelter, failed to comply with EPA
standards. "Doe Run played a really good game," Robyn Warden, a
mother, tells Moyers. "They told people everything was under control
and we were safe. And people weren't educated enough to know any
different. It took people actually investigating lead to figure out
that we were being lied to."

Dr. Steingraber knows the importance of informed parenting. Even in a
seemingly pristine environment in rural New York, she knows there are
possibilities of risk. "Just because there are no smoke stacks visible
around us, just because you live a long way from the source of these
chemicals, doesn't mean that nature won't bring them to you in some
way," she says. A mother who breast feeds her infant son, Dr.
Steingraber also realizes that she passes toxins directly to her baby
every time she nurses. "No woman has uncontaminated breast milk on
this planet," she states. Dr. Steingraber tries to reduce her
children's exposure at home by using non-toxic products. "But we can't
shop our way out of our current situation," she warns. "We still need
to take action. It's time that our public policy takes action to get
our kids out of harm's way."

There are unknown answers to many questions. Moyers reports on a
proposed new project called "The National Children's Study," which
will track 100,000 children from the womb to age 18 if it receives
full funding from Congress. This long-term study may provide the
definitive answers necessary for new regulations and laws protecting
children from exposure to toxins. "Without conclusive science," Moyers
says, "it is a constant fight to protect children's health."

Find out more about how scientists are studying environmental toxins
and join the ongoing discussion about the critical issues covered in
NOW online at http://www.PBS.org/now.

* * *

Save the Bay
50 Washington Ave
Keansburg NJ 07734
Tel: 732-787-5591
Email: ad...@savthebay.org

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

CUMBERLAND COUNTY JOINS LEAD PAINT SUIT

Date: 020418
From: http://www.nj.com/

By Pete McCarthy, Staff Writer, 04/18/02

The freeholders have selected a Vineland attorney to represent the
county in a class action suit against paint manufacturers responsible
for making lead paint.

Cumberland County will join with about a dozen government bodies
throughout the state. All of those have been consolidated into the one
class-action suit being handled by a judge in Middlesex County.

In a resolution approved last Thursday, the freeholders appointed
Michael Testa Sr. to join in the statewide lawsuit.

"I am honored by the confidence shown by the freeholders in selecting
me to handle this complex case," said Testa. "I am also pleased to
know they decided to select an attorney who practices law in
Cumberland County."

Originally, a law firm in Phillipsburg had signed the complaint on
behalf of the county.

"We felt confident with someone closer," said Freeholder Director Jim
Sauro. "They will all be grouped together, but it will be better for
us to have someone right here to answer our questions."

The money from the suit will be used to repay costs to the county for
removing lead paint in many of the old structures, according to Sauro.

Lead paint contamination can cause neurological and soft tissue
damage in people, said Mark Wiley, the senior sanitary inspector for
the county health department.

"It has the ability to mimic iron in the blood system and can
incorporate itself into the blood system and circulate through the
entire system," said Wiley. "It can be potentially fatal depending on
the level of exposure to the body. It could be fatal because iron no
longer brings oxygen into the blood and could cause the child
literally to suffocate."

He stressed that would only happen in a case of high levels of lead
paint contamination.

Congress first became strict on selling lead paint products in 1978
when they would not allow it to be sold on the open market.

However, these products can still be imported from around the world,
he said.

"Foreign countries use lead abundantly in a variety of different
products," said Wiley. "So, we are still importing poison which has
the propensity to still cause harm."

This is not the first time Testa has worked on a case of this
magnitude. He was part of the lawsuit filed against the tobacco
industry.

Testa will only be paid for his services if he is victorious in the
suit. At that point, he will be guaranteed 25 percent of any of the
money recovered.

* * *

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

U.S. UTILITY POLLUTION KILLS 5,900 A YEAR

Date: 020418
From: http://enn.com/

By Chris Baltimore, Reuters, April 18, 2002

Washington - Air pollution from eight utilities targeted in federal
lawsuits during the Clinton administration causes an estimated 5,900
deaths a year, a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
enforcement chief said Wednesday.

Airborne pollution from the coal-fired plants also was blamed for
about 140,000 asthma attacks and 14,000 cases of acute bronchitis
annually, according to a report from a group headed by Eric Schaeffer.

Last month Schaeffer resigned from the EPA's Office of Regulatory
Enforcement to protest what he said was the Bush administration's move
to weaken pollution laws.

A utility group, the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council,
dismissed Schaeffer's study as wrongly attempting to link deaths to
utility pollution and ignoring other factors.

Schaeffer's report centered on the utilities accused of violating the
EPA's so-called "new source review" rule. The rule sets how far a
utility can go to enlarge or upgrade an old coal-fired plant before
investing in expensive devices to control smog, acid rain, and soot.

The Bush administration has ordered the EPA to reconsider the new
source rule. Meanwhile, settlement talks in pending cases have
screeched to a halt as utilities sense changing political winds.

Schaeffer and other critics say the administration has failed to
weigh the health impact of relaxing pollution rules. "Many children
and families suffer the misery of asthma, bronchitis, and even
premature death because of the pollution coming from these eight
utilities," Schaeffer said.

EIGHT UTILITIES ANALYZED

In November 1999, the Clinton administration sued nine Midwestern and
Southern utilities to enforce the new source review portion of the
1970 Clean Air Act.

Schaeffer's study singled out eight utilities which have not yet
settled the lawsuits filed by the Justice Department.

American Electric Power Co. was identified in the report as the
company responsible for the most deaths at 1,400 annually. It was
followed by Southern Co. at 1,200 and the Tennessee Valley Authority
at 780. The study also had a state-by-state breakdown of deaths likely
caused by emissions from the eight utilities. Pennsylvania topped the
list with 550 annually, followed by Ohio with 480 and North Carolina
with 400.

The study was done by Abt Associates Inc., a consulting firm used by
the EPA for its own analyses, Schaeffer said. "This represents the low
end of the range we could have used (on mortality)," Schaeffer said.
"These companies would be a lot closer to cleaning up their acts if
the White House could find the courage to say no to the energy
lobbyists and enforce the law."

The utility industry attacked the report's methodology and called its
intent "spiteful."

"There's no generally accepted model that can produce the kind of
causation that is implied by this study," said Scott Segal, a
spokesman for the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council. The
council is a lobbying group that includes Southern, FirstEnergy Corp.,
and Duke Energy Corp., also named in the study.

Other companies named in the study were Vectren Corp.'s Southern
Indiana Gas & Electric Co, Dynegy Inc.'s Illinois Power, and Cinergy
Corp.

The federal government did settle a lawsuit last year with TECO
Energy Inc. TECO agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine and invest $1
billion in new pollution controls over a decade.

After leaving the EPA last month, Schaeffer joined the Rockefeller
Family Fund, a New York advocacy group active in environmental and
women's issues.

* * *

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

DO YOUR BIT TO FIGHT TOXIC POOL POLLUTION

Date: 18 Apr 2002
From: Science News Online {alan...@comcast.net}

By Janet Raloff, Science News, April 13, 2002

Ever wonder why swim centers ask users to shower before entering the
pool? The standard argument is that dirt, including flecks of dead
skin, can react with the water's chlorine and limit how much of the
chemical is available to kill germs. There's another good reason for
the showers: Dirt-chlorine reactions create potentially toxic chemical
by-products. A British study now shows that the concentrations of
these so-called disinfection by-products in pools generally increases
with the number of swimmers and the grunge that they bring into the
water.

Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen of Imperial College of Science, Technology,
and Medicine and Hilary Chu of the Royal School of Mines, both in
London, sampled water at least three times in as many weeks at each of
eight local pools. They measured total organic compounds-the grunge-
and trihalomethanes (THMs), a group of volatile, potentially
carcinogenic disinfection by-products that includes chloroform.

Concern about the uptake of these compounds by people isn't
hypothetical. Previous work by other researchers has shown that an
hour's swim can boost blood concentrations of chloroform 10-fold or
more (SN: 1/7/95, p. 5). Moreover, some studies have linked a woman's
ingestion of THMs in drinking water with elevated risk of birth
defects and miscarriages.

In the April Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the London
researchers report that chloroform was by far the predominant THM in
the pools. The concentrations of chloroform reported in the study
varied broadly day to day but clustered around 110 micrograms per
liter. These THM concentrations are higher than in earlier studies,
most of which were of single pools.

Because the London researchers visited many pools, each on multiple
occasions, they claim they could tease out what factors most
influenced THM production. Nieuwenhuijsen says he was surprised to
find that these include elevated water temperature, large numbers of
swimmers, and high concentrations of organic compounds. This suggests,
he says, that swimming in cool water after a good shower deters
generation of toxic pollutants.

* * *

http://www.sciencenews.org/20020413/note18.asp
Copyright (c) 2002 Science Service. All rights reserved.

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

CAMDEN COUNTY ASKS TO DELAY HAVING TO TREAT TAINTED WATER

Date: 020418
From: http://www.philly.com/

IT TOLD A FEDERAL COURT IT WOULD LIKE MORE DETAILS ON
LOW-LEVEL RADIATION UNDER A GLOUCESTER TWP. LANDFILL.

By Joseph A. Gambardello, Inquirer Staff Writer, Apr. 18, 2002

Camden - Camden County went to federal court yesterday to delay plans
to use the county sewer system to treat water tainted by low levels of
radiation from the GEMS Landfill Superfund site in Gloucester
Township.

Freeholder Director Jeffrey Nash said the request for the restraining
order did not dispute the merit of the plans, but sought time for
officials - and the public - to learn more about them.

"We don't know whether it is safe or unsafe, whether there are any
risks whatsoever about the process they are proposing," he said.

The county filed its action in U.S. District Court in Camden, where
Judge Jerome B. Simandle has been overseeing the GEMS cleanup.

Rich Cahill, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency,
said that the federal agency "supports the public knowing what's going
on," and that it was willing to work with the county in whatever forum
"would suit the situation."

Cahill said EPA specialists believe the radiation is from natural
elements in the ground, not from dumped material. He noted that the
U.S. Geological Survey had found natural radiation in the
Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which lies under much of South Jersey, at
levels higher than state and federal standards for drinking water.

About 300 firms that dumped asbestos, solvents and heavy metals at
the 60-acre landfill have agreed to pay $30 million to clean up the
site and its contaminated groundwater.

State and federal environmental agencies had asked the Camden County
Municipal Utilities Authority to start treating water from the
Superfund site this summer.

Officials said the landfill filtering system, combined with dilution
by millions of gallons of sewage, would make the tainted water safe
before it was treated and fed into the Delaware River.

But environmentalists have questioned the plans and how safe the
water would be, especially in the event of a sewer backup.

Officials have said the 10 to 20 feet of earth between the land
surface and sewer mains would shield the public from radiation. And
the utilities authority planned to equip pumping stations and perhaps
its South Camden treatment plant with radiation-detection devices.

It also planned to clean out mains frequently so solids containing
radioactivity do not build up in the system.

* * *

Contact Joseph Gambardello at 856-779-3868 or
jgamba...@phillynews.com.
(c)1995-2002 Knight Ridder Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

TAINTED WATER TRANSFER TO GET PUBLIC HEARING

Date: 020419
From: http://www.courierpostonline.com

By Lawrence Hajna, Courier-Post Staff, April 18, 2002

Camden - Environmental officials will hold a public hearing on a
controversial plan to transfer water containing low levels of
radioactivity from a Gloucester Township Superfund site through Camden
County sewer mains, Rep. Rob Andrews said Wednesday.

It will be on May 15, said Andrews, D-NJ, adding a location and time
could be announced today.

"It is my intention to make sure they make this an interactive public
hearing," Andrews declared.

Hundreds of letters, faxes, e-mails and phone calls have flooded the
offices of county freeholders and the Camden County Municipal
Utilities Authority since the Courier-Post first reported the plan
March 30.

They've expressed fears over the CCMUA's plan to pipe water tainted
with low levels of radium and uranium from under the GEMS Landfill
Superfund site to its South Camden treatment plant, where it would be
diluted with other effluent and discharged into the Delaware River.

The water would flow through mains under Gloucester Township,
Runnemede, Bellmawr, Mount Ephraim, Gloucester City and Camden.

Earlier Wednesday, the Camden County freeholder board filed a motion
for a restraining order in U.S. District Court. It complained the
CCMUA did not adequately inform the public about the plan, designed to
assist in cleaning up the GEMS Landfill.

The freeholders asked for an order directing a public hearing
involving the CCMUA, the state Department of Environmental Protection,
the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a trust of past users
paying for cleanup of the closed dump.

The petition states the freeholders want the hearing to address the
"potential risks of harm to the environment and the public."

Freeholder-Director Jeffrey Nash said he is troubled by a lack of
information about the process, including whether it' s been done
elsewhere.

"I don't know if this is reasonable or not," he said. " That's the
problem."

CCMUA Deputy Director Andrew Kricun defended the plan, saying the
public won't be exposed to radiation and it's better than leaving the
water under the landfill to contaminate drinking water supplies.

The CCMUA, under an agreement with the DEP, EPA and the landfill
trust, plans to transfer the ground water for a six-month trial
period. The transfer could last up to 10 years if the process proves
successful and officials don't decide to order another treatment
option. The DEP and EPA could order upgrades to a treatment facility
built at the landfill by the trust.

Federal environmental officials believe the uranium and radium
isotopes found in the water beneath GEMS result from naturally
occurring radioactive minerals. They want to treat the water because
it also contains industrial pollutants from the landfill, which closed
more than two decades ago.

Gloucester Township resident Patricia Iacovelli opposes the plan. She
said the CCMUA sewer main wraps around her Woodland Avenue property,
less than 100 feet from her house. She worries water tainted by
radioactivity could leak into her well water supply.

But, she said, "I have a feeling that it's already been determined,
no matter what's said at the hearing."

* * *

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

WASTE WATER CLEANING UP STREETS IN STAFFORD

Date: 020418
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

By Derek Harper, Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015
Press of Atlantic City, April 18, 2002

Stafford Township - Don't drink the street sweeper water.

The township recently became the first in the state to use treated
water from its sewage plant to clean the streets, Councilman Fred
Seeber said.

That said, "I'm not going to say I'm going to take a glass and take a
sip, though," Seeber said.

Although the water is not good enough to drink, it poses no health
hazard, said Seeber, a doctor. He estimated that it is 90 percent as
clean as the water in Stafford's taps.

Stafford's waste-treatment plant on Recovery Road draws sewage from
as far south as the Mystic Islands section of Little Egg Harbor and as
far north as Berkley Township.

The town treats it and dumps this treated water, hundreds of
thousands of gallons annually, into the ocean through an outflow pipe
underneath Eighth Street in Ship Bottom.

"It's a tremendous amount of water," said Seeber, the council's
Public Works liaison. "And with it going out to the ocean, it is good
enough to clean the streets with."

The town has been off of street-sweeper duty since earlier this year
when Gov. James E. McGreevey and Department of Environmental
Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell issued separate orders
banning the use of drinking water from street sweepers.

Last month, the Ocean County Utility Authority asked the DEP to allow
the use of the effluent labeled "drought reuse water" on the streets.
The DEP agreed, as long as the authority keeps enough chlorine in the
water.

Stafford actually got approval to start doing this about a week ago
and has been using it since.

Tuesday the trucks patrolled homes near Mermaid Lane in Ocean Acres.
There was no noticeable smell coming from the water as it sat on the
hot baking asphalt in Wednesday's summery heat.

The water is good for keeping the dust down, especially in sections
of town where there is ongoing construction. By keeping the streets
swept, the town prevents anything getting washed into its storm sewers
and clogging them.

And this could be just the beginning, Seeber said. Drought
restrictions limit how much the township can use drinking water to
garden with or wash their cars.

"Hey, I'm sure there are other uses for this water," he said.

Seeber, who grew up in Jersey City, said the waste-treatment business
has progressed greatly since he was a child. "What they pumped into
the Hackensack River then you don't want to know."

* * *

To e-mail Derek Harper at The Press: DHa...@pressofac.com

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

SIERRA CLUB PRAISES SENATORS CORZINE AND TORRICELLI

Date: 020418
From: http://www.enn.com/

SIERRA CLUB PRAISES SENATORS CORZINE AND TORRICELLI
FOR PROTECTING ARCTIC REFUGE

From Sierra Activist - NJ Chapter Sierra Club Conservation Committee

April 18, 2002

Princeton - The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club praised
Senators Corzine and Toricelli for providing a big victory to
Americans and the environment by rejecting a proposal to drill for oil
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate Democratic
leadership prevailed in safeguarding this national treasure and native
people who depend on it, despite heavy lobbying by the Bush
administration and the oil industry.

"Today's vote is a big victory for America's environment, and we're
thrilled that Senators Corzine and Torricelli stood up to save the
spectacular landscapes of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," said
Dennis Schvejda, Conservation Co-Chair for the Chapter. "It feels
great to have won this vote to protect the Arctic Refuge, but the oil
industry isn't finished with its attempt to destroy this natural
treasure. The public said they want the Arctic Refuge protected for
future generations, and their Senators heard them loud and clear."

"Drilling proponents resorted to a string of desperate schemes to
push their proposal through, but the truth prevailed. Drilling the
Refuge would do nothing to reduce America's oil dependence. It would,
however, forever destroy a pristine national treasure and the wildlife
that depend on it," continued Schvejda.

While the Senate staved off attempts to include Arctic Refuge
drilling in its version of the energy plan, the House version includes
a drilling provision; this discrepancy would have to be reconciled in
a conference committee. Despite the Senate's rejection of Arctic
Refuge drilling, its energy bill in its current form fails to provide
a strong plan for meeting America's energy needs, and should not be
passed unless this problem is fixed.

Arctic drilling will do nothing to deduce our dependence on foreign
oil or increase our national security. Government estimates indicate
that there is less than a six month supply of oil in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge and even the oil industry admits it would
take ten years to make it to US markets.

Drilling proponents make a disingenuous claim that only a 2000-acre
area will be affected. In reality, oil drilling and production will
not be concentrated in one area and if development were to occur,
thousands of miles of pipelines and roads, gravel drilling pads and
waste pits would sprawl across the entire 1.5 million acre coastal
plain.

The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a
national treasure -home to polar bears, wolves, and countless
migratory birds. The coastal plain is also the birthing grounds for
the 129,000-member Porcupine River caribou herd and it is sacred land
to the Gwich'in Indians, a native people whose traditional lifestyle
depends on the caribou.

"The Senate energy bill began as a promising vehicle for meeting our
nation's energy needs," Schvejda said. "But polluters have plundered
the bill, removing the oil-saving fuel economy measures and weighing
it down with giveaways to the energy industry. As it stands now, the
Energy bill will do next to nothing to reduce our consumption of
foreign oil, to increase our energy security, to protect families from
electricity price gouging, or to safeguard our environment. Unless the
current bill is fixed, it is unacceptable as energy policy."

- - -

For more information, contact:

Dennis W. Schvejda
Co-Chair NJ Chapter Sierra Club Conservation Committee
973-427-6863
Den...@SierraActivist.org
Web site: http://SierraActivist.org

* * *

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

EPA TO CONFISCATE FILES IN WHITMAN-SPOUSE MATTER

Date: 020419
From: http://www.washingtontimes.com/

By Audrey Hudson, Washington Times

The Environmental Protection Agency today will begin confiscating
files that may be embarrassing to its administrator, Christie Whitman,
according to an agency investigator.

Ombudsman Robert J. Martin is investigating a possible financial
conflict of interest between Mrs. Whitman's husband and polluters at
two cleanup sites, said Hugh B. Kaufman, chief investigator for the
ombudsman.

Mr. Martin's investigative files have been under a protective court
order since Jan. 11, but the order was rescinded April 12. Mr. Martin
sought continued protection of the files in an appeal to the Merit
Systems Protection Board, but that decision will not be made until
Friday.

"Whitman's office told the inspector general to seize [Mr. Martin's]
files immediately, and that's what they are in the middle of right
now," Mr. Kaufman said, accusing officials of using the small window
of opportunity during which the files are unprotected to see what the
ombudsman has uncovered.

Mrs. Whitman has ordered a bureaucratic shuffle, combining the
independent ombudsman's office with the inspector general's office,
effectively ending the ombudsman's investigation.

The former New Jersey governor directed the move to be completed by
Monday, and the inventory must be completed by today. Under the
reshuffle, Mr. Martin is being assigned to answer a hot line. He plans
to resign in protest, Mr. Kaufman said Gary L. Johnson, assistant
inspector general said he spoke with an official in Mrs. Whitman's
office after the court rescinded the protective order last Friday.

The official "made it very clear the goal of the administrator was to
complete the relocation of the ombudsman function to the [inspector
general's office] no later than April 22," said the e-mail.

"We need to complete this inventory no later than Thursday to effect
the physical move of ombudsman staff and records by Monday 4/22 as
discussed with the administrator's office," the e-mail said.

The EPA did not return a call for comment.

While Mr. Martin was out of town yesterday, employees from the
agency's inspector general's office entered his office at 8 a.m. and
attempted to remove the files.

They were turned away by another employee for not having proper
paperwork. The inspector general staff said they would return in the
afternoon, but the file inventory was delayed until today.

FBI agents interviewed Mr. Kaufman last week regarding the
ombudsman's investigation of the potential conflicts of interest.

"One thing I was told to do was to go through those files and make
copies of our primary source to help the FBI. Now I can't do that,"
Mr. Kaufman said.

John Whitman, Mrs. Whitman's husband, is the managing partner of a
venture capital firm controlled by Citicorp, a subsidiary of
Citigroup.

Additionally, Citigroup stock valued between $100,000 and $250,000
are listed in Mrs. Whitman's financial disclosure statement.

Citigroup is responsible for the original botched cleanup of the
Shattuck Superfund site in Colorado and will pay one-fifth of the $35
million cost. A Citigroup financial partner is also responsible for
the cleanup at the Marjol Battery in Pennsylvania.

Also under investigation were mishandled pollution cleanups by the
EPA during both the Clinton and current Bush administrations,
including air quality issues at the ruins of the World Trade Center.

Mr. Martin's investigations are supported by Senate Republicans and
House Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who has asked the ombudsman office to
investigate air quality at ground zero, criticized the move.

"They are files that provide damning evidence against her performance
as administrator, and the sooner she can control those files and take
them out of the hands of the ombudsman, the sooner a coverup of the
facts can begin," the New York Democrat said.

Sen. Wayne Allard, Colorado Republican, is sponsoring legislation to
make the ombudsman completely independent of the EPA and answerable to
Congress.

His spokesman criticized attempts to gain control of the files but
said they are pleased the issue is starting to gather bipartisan
support.

"For more than a year now, the Democratic-controlled Senate has stood
idly by while this important legislation was ready to move," said Sean
Conway, Mr. Allard's spokesman. "Senator Allard believes these actions
might spur our Democratic leadership to take this issue seriously."

* * *

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

GOVERNOR URGED TO INCREASE RIVER SAFEGUARDS

Date: 020418
From: http://www.app.com/

By Todd B. Bates, Environmental Writer, Asbury Park Press, 4/18/02

Environmental activists are looking for Gov. McGreevey to announce
strengthened protection for some threatened waterways on Monday, the
32nd anniversary of Earth Day, activists said yesterday.

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, the Manasquan and Metedeconk rivers,
both of which are sources of drinking water for thousands of people,
are among the waterways that need more protection, according to
activists.

"To get the ball rolling, we're looking for some waterway upgrades
now," said David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey
Environmental Federation, who met yesterday with members of the Asbury
Park Press editorial board in Neptune.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club's New Jersey
chapter, and Dena Mottola, acting director of the New Jersey Public
Interest Research Group, also met with the board.

Rich Lee, McGreevey's deputy press secretary, said McGreevey is
"strongly committed to the environment. In terms of a specific
announcement, "I really couldn't comment at this time," he said.

McGreevey will be "doing some things to mark Earth Day as he does
throughout the year," Lee said.

Activists want McGreevey to direct the Department of Environmental
Protection to upgrade classifications for a significant number of New
Jersey's 30 most threatened waterways, allowing the state to apply
"anti-degradation" policies, according to a March letter to McGreevey
from activists. Pollution from many sources must be regulated under
the policies.

Aside from the Manasquan and Metedeconk rivers, the 30 include the
Manasquan Reservoir, Swimming River and Swimming River Reservoir,
according to activists.

Activists also want McGreevey to direct the DEP to develop a rule
that strengthens the state's stream classification program, among
other actions outlined in their "Defend New Jersey's Waterways"
campaign, according to the letter.

Such a rule would provide protection for more waterways that serve as
public water supplies, contain habitat for endangered and threatened
species and/or have "significant natural features."

During last year's gubernatorial campaign, McGreevey vowed to
strengthen environmental protection by fighting sprawl, setting strict
limits on pollution, developing plans to protect drinking water,
improving air quality and increasing enforcement of environmental
laws, among other things.

* * *

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

LOSS OF WATERSHED AID VIEWED AS UNFAIR BY TOWNS

Date: 020418
From: http://www.nj.com/

LOSS OF WATERSHED AID VIEWED AS UNFAIR BY HARDEST-HIT TOWNS

By Tom Hester, Star-Ledger Staff, April 18, 2002

Gov. James E. McGreevey's decision to cut $3.4 million in state aid
for 56 municipalities where watershed land is protected from
development will force those towns' property owners to pay higher
taxes, local officials said yesterday.

The elimination of "watershed moratorium offset aid" would mean an
increase of up to $100 in the average property tax bill in West
Milford, which stands to lose $1.14 million, and Hardyston, which
would lose $292,309, town officials said.

Stafford Mayor Carl Block, president of the New Jersey State League
of Municipalities, told a joint hearing of the Legislative Budget
Committee in Camden yesterday that cutting the aid would be unfair to
towns that have given up potential development.

"The benefits - clean, fresh water - are enjoyed throughout the
entire watershed and statewide," Block added. "Our current drought
conditions accentuate the importance of the moratorium. We hope that
they would also accentuate the fairness of holding the taxpayers of
these municipalities harmless from the cost of protecting a vital
resource."

Other hard-hit towns would include Jefferson, where losing the
watershed aid would mean an average residential property tax increase
of $46; Rockaway Township, projecting a $20 tax increase; and Vernon,
facing an average increase of $37 or more, municipal officials said.

The moratorium was initiated by the state in 1989, in part to halt a
push to develop land that borders unspoiled watersheds, mainly in
Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties, that provide drinking water for
Newark, Jersey City and surrounding towns. To replace the potential
property tax revenue lost due to the development ban, the state
allotted the aid.

Although McGreevey eliminated the aid, the building ban remains in
effect, according to Al Ivany, a state Department of Environmental
Protection spokesman. "The department would certainly not compromise
on water quality issues. It is important to protect water quality and
the wildlife habitat."

Seven of the towns stung by the aid loss are in the district of Sen.
Robert E. Littell (R-Sussex), co-chairman of the Senate Budget
Committee. He sponsored the watershed moratorium aid legislation 13
years ago.

"It has to be restored, it is essential to the municipalities,"
Littell said. "They gave up the right to zone for development."

Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D-Camden), chairman of the Assembly
Budget Committee, said he plans to ask state Treasurer John McCormac
"how the decision was made and the rationale behind it." But Greenwald
maintained that for the aid to be restored, municipal officials should
be prepared to offer alternative cuts.

McCormac is set to appear before the Senate budget panel in Trenton
on Monday.

Jefferson Administrator James Leach, who raised the issue before the
budget committees at a hearing last week in West New York, said about
4,000 acres of watershed land owned by Newark sprawls within his
township's borders. The mammoth Oak Ridge Reservoir straddles
Jefferson's borders with West Milford and Hardyston.

"I would like to see the spirit of the moratorium honored," Leach
said. "Jefferson is being forced to subsidize water for other
municipalities."

West Milford Manager Kenneth Hetrick said there are 16,000 acres of
Newark watershed land within his township. "By the state denying aid,
this could lead to developers and maybe the towns pushing the state to
lift the moratorium," he said.

* * *

Tom Hester covers state government. He can be reached at
the...@starledger.com or (609) 292-0557.
Copyright 2002 The Star-Ledger

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

STOP DELBARTON FROM TURNING OFF THE AQUIFER

Date: 18 Apr 2002
From: geissw...@yahoo.com

DEVELOPMENT AND SPRAWL CONTINUE... ON AND ON.
STOP DELBARTON FROM TURNING OFF THE AQUIFER. *THE TAP*

You can't just shut down (cover in impervious surfaces..) an aquifer
that 1.2 million NJ residents get their drinking water from, can you?
Our vernal pools have 'dried up'.. Streams are dry up here in Jockey
Hollow.

.....Normally 'filled' ponds are filled with rotting fish and dead
frogs.

No water = no development?

http://www.jockeyhollow.com

But Delbarton is committed to this destruction, why?

Maybe it's because Delbarton has spent over 1 MILLION dollars trying
to influence Morris Township Local Government in their quest to turn
OFF THE TAP.

Delbarton cannot and will not show that they will not damage the
Whippany River Headwaters... Category-1 waters/Trout breeding
stream... Pristine Aquifer. Endangered Species, Steep slopes, Old
Growth Forest Planning Area 5 Environmentally Sensitive OPEN SPACE.

# # #

From Editorial in Morris NewsBee, April 18, 2002

ST. MARY'S ABBEY'S PROPOSAL TO BUILD A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY (CCRC)
EVOKES AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE FROM SOME SUPPORTERS.

Their impassioned arguments are heavy with appeals to emotion, but
light on facts. I believe that an examination of the facts will
provide historical context and prevail over "name calling" and loaded
words, which preempt a rational examination of issues.

Fact 1 - Because the CCRC site is a prime ground recharge area with
less than 15 percent impervious coverage such as parking lots and
buildings and is the headwaters of the Whippany River; contains a
trout production stream that provides some of the purest water sent
from the Whippany River as part of the drinking water for some 1.2
million people, and contains numerous endangered species, steep slopes
and wetlands, it is designated a State Plan Planning Area 5, the most
sensitive and most subject to run-off, siltation and degradation if
construction were to proceed.

Fact 2 - Aware of the above, confirmed by a level 3 environment
review, public input, and a concern for secondary development, the
state in 1996 only allowed limited extension of sewers to 109 existing
homes because their failing septic systems posed a possible health
threat. The abbey's request to be served by this publicly funded and
maintained sewer (its aging sewer, also a potential health risk,
required expensive repair and upgrade) was granted after they agreed
to a limit of 35,000 gallons per day for the abbey and Delbarton only
and gave public assurance that they would not seek to expand their
facilities beyond current zoning. Morris Township also agreed not to
rezone the area beyond those restrictions. (But members of the Morris
Twp gov't are currently trying to change the zoning to suit
Delbarton's whim.

Fact 3 - Since the above restrictions prevented accommodation of a
CCRC, the abbey, despite its earlier agreements, asked that its CCRC
be connected to Morristown's sewer line. Both the Office of State
Planning and the Department of Community Affairs confirmed that
extending sewers to Planning Area 5 would violate the one-year-old
state plan that seeks to protect such sensitive, exceptional areas
from encroaching "sprawl" by encouraging development where
infrastructure already exists in regional centers such as Morristown.

Morristown decided not to sewer the CCRC, realizing that it would
likely lose its center designation as well as state funding if it did
so. The abbey with the support of the Morris Township Planning Board
has now asked for Morris Township Committee approval to build a
separate sewer line to serve its CCRC.

Fact 4 - The following state agencies refuse to support the extension
of a sewer line to the proposed CCRC: The State Planning Commission,
the state Department of Community Affairs, and the state Department of
Environmental Protection.

In addition, local and regional governing bodies and private
organizations such as the Town of Morristown Council; Morris Township
Environmental and Historic Preservations Commissions; the Washington
Association; the National Park Service; state chapter of the Sierra
Club; Great Swamp Watershed Association, and the Association of New
Jersey Environmental Commissions have all gone on record against this
development.

Fact 5 - On March 4 of this year, Sue Ostergaard, former mayor and
committeewoman of Morris Township expressed her opposition to the
proposed CCRC sewer extension in a letter to present, Mayor Jan
Wotowicz. Quoted with permission, it reads in part: "I believe that
the monks like everyone else are entitled to develop the full value of
their property, but only (a) within the law, (b) within the scope of
previous agreements, (c) with respect for the community and (d)
without placing a burden on the township or township residents." And
"As one who forged those agreements I have very strong feelings that
they should be honored." Finally, "Even though this additional line
will be put in at the expense of the applicant (The Abbey), it will
ultimately become the responsibility and burden of the township to
maintain."

The abbey, already the beneficiary of a connection to a public sewer
line, now chooses to renege on its agreement, violate its assurances,
and saddle the public with maintaining a new sewer line.

Facts may be uncomfortable, especially if they do not match one's
view of what was, is or should be. Facts and evidence don't fit one or
two word phrases, and they may take time and effort to uncover and
understand. But their distinct advantage over "shoot from the hip"
emotionally charged attacks and innuendo such as calling those opposed
to this proposal, "fear mongering," "anti-abbey" or "anti-senior
citizen," is that they can be checked, corroborated and documented.

Transparent attempts by some to discredit opponents through appeal to
emotion rather than facts only undermine their already tenuous
position. I invite opponents and those who are unconvinced or
uncommitted to examine the relevant state and town agency reports,
documents and other public records from the organizations cited in
"Fact 4."

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

NJ CONSERVATION FOUNDATION SAVES 127-ACRE FARM

Date: 020418
From: in...@njconservation.org

April 18, 2002

HARMONY TOWNSHIP PROPERTY IS THE "HEART" OF 850+ ACRES
OF PRESERVED FARMLAND AND OPEN SPACE

New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) is pleased to announce the
preservation of a 127-acre Magyar farm in Harmony Township, Warren
County. The property, located on Harmony Station Road at Buttonwood
Lane, consists of rolling fields of prime farmland.

NJCF worked closely with the Township, the State Agriculture
Development Committee (SADC), and the County to save this critical
Highlands agricultural property Ä which was under contract to a major
developer and had preliminary approval for a 44-house subdivision. It
brings the total amount of protected land in the western quadrant of
the Township to 850 acres.

Harmony Township is thrilled to see the Magyar Farm preserved," said
Mayor Charles Vegh, "it's located in the heart of this outstanding
area of farmland and open space, and was a major part of the
Township's plan to preserve significant portions of this beautiful and
productive farmland community."

"NJCF is pursuing many additional land preservation projects
throughout the Highlands region," adds Alison Mitchell, NJCF's
Assistant Director, "and we'll need the level of local cooperation and
support we've received on this project in order to be successful."

- - -

New Jersey Conservation Foundation's (NJCF) mission is to preserve New
Jersey's land and natural resources for the benefit of all. Since
1960, NJCF has protected tens of thousands of acres of New Jersey
forest, farmland and open space, and has been in the forefront of land
preservation policy. As a leading innovator and catalyst for saving
land, NJCF: protects strategic lands through acquisition stewardship
and cooperative efforts; creates and promotes strong land use
policies; and develops leaders, educates the public and forges
creative partnerships.

For more information on NJCF, call 1-888-LAND-SAVE, or visit their
website at http://www.njconservation.org.

* * *

New Jersey Conservation Foundation
170 Longview Rd.
Far Hills NJ 07931
Tel: 908-234-1225
Fax: 908-234-1189
Email: in...@njconservation.org
Web: http://www.njconservation.org

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

VANDALISM IN THE DREW ARBORETUM

Date: 18 Apr 2002
From: Mark B Newell {mne...@ramapo.edu}

[Forward]

From: Sara Webb {SW...@drew.edu}

I'm sorry to report that Drew's Arboretum has suffered serious
vandalism; many of our nature trail signs were destroyed last
Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Also campfires have been set in the
woods, something that is prohibited and especially dangerous during
this drought year.

So I'm asking the Drew community to stay alert and help protect our
campus natural areas. Help spread the word that are sensitive places,
and that students have invested much time in research projects and in
the nature trail. If you see any suspicious behavior, please call
campus security or myself. If you know the culprits, shame them into
behaving with respect toward the forest.

We are about to install three benches in the Arboretum, in honor of
the former Professors Zuck. I hope we can bring this vandalism to a
stop now so the benches will be safe and available to enhance your
enjoyment of the Arboretum.

Happy spring,
Sara Webb
Professor of Biology
Director, Zuck Arboretum

# # #

Mark Newell
Ramapo College of New Jersey
American/International Studies
505 Ramapo Valley Rd.
Mahwah, NJ 07430
mne...@ramapo.edu

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

RAMAPO COLLEGE EARTH WEEK EVENTS CALENDAR

Date: 18 Apr 2002
From: "Katherine Baker Skafidas" {kbska...@earthlink.net}

EARTH WEEK 2002

Friday 4/19:
10-4 PM: Music circles by the Arch

Monday 4/22:
Focus: Environmental Education

Poetry and Art Contest
All poetry and art entries for contest due by 5pm to Env. Alliance
table, They will be judged by the Poetry and Art Clubs and prizes will
be given on Friday night at the coffeehouse.

12-5 PM:
Location: Arch Tables
Environmental Alliance - Mug Fundraiser, Literature
Women United - Canvas Bags to Paint and more
3-5 PM Nursing Club - Plants

Cahill Center - Environmental Careers Info Table
Physics Club - Solar and Wind Technology w/ Bill Makofske
Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority - "Who Lives on Our Campus?" - Wildlife at
Ramapo - contact: Melanie
Amy Bravo/Cahill - Beaded Jewelry Demonstration
12-2 PM:
Env. Alumni Table Ramapo Horticultural Display
Env. Study Abroad Opportunities

Speaker
2 PM: Rob Young - Environmental Careers: What to do with an Env.
Studies Degree after you graduate? Q and A Session

Refreshments
Environmental Alliance/Community Builders Coalition
Time: 12-3

Tuesday 4/23:
Focus: Outdoor Experiences

9:30 AM: Earth Yoga, by the Grandfather Tree behind the Mansion
Sponsored by The Yoga Experience Club

11 AM: Chuck Stead "Ecomythology"
Location: Grandfather Tree behind the mansion

2-5 PM: Bandshell Front Lawn
Games sponsored by ROC and the Cahill Center:
Volleyball Tournament
Ultimate Frisbee
Rock Climbing Wall
Recycling Game
More:

Tables
2-5: ISO - Flower Sale

5-6 PM: Interfaith Earth Service
Sponsor: Campus Ministries Council
Location: TBA

Wednesday 4/24:

10 AM: Earth Stories being read to children at Child Dev't Center,
Sponsored by Community Builders Coalition

2 PM: "Wildman" Steve Brill - Wild Edibles Tour around the Campus!
Meet at the Arch and bring your appetite.

4 PM: "McHungry?" Movie and Discussion, n/c
Location: TBA

6 PM - 9 PM: World Sustainability Lecture Series: "How Can We Use the
Media to Help Awaken a Radical Sustainability Movement?"
Location: Friends Hall
Speakers -
Carolyn Raffensberger, The Science and Environmental Health Network
Robert Hennely, Environmental Journalist

Thursday 4/25:

Vendors
12-5 PM, SC upstairs, Pipestone Indian Crafts
Erik Laracuete - herbal pillows/eye bags,

12-2 PM: Environmental Racism, Video and Discussion with Jessica
Himinez and Howard Horowitz
Location: TBA

1:30 PM: Outdoor Yoga with the Yoga Experience Club
Location: Grandfather/Copper Beech Tree

4-6 PM: Ramapo Indians

Friday 4/26:

9:30 - 5:00 PM: Ramapo Watershed Conference
"Geology of the Ramapo Watershed"
Location: York Room

6:30 PM - 9PM: "Totally Organic Coffeehouse"
Location: J. Lee's
Open Mic for poetry and music
Art submissions to be displayed around walls
Gift Certificates awarded to poetry and art contest winners.
Organic coffees/teas and desserts

* * *

Skylands CLEAN, Inc.
153 Skylands Road
Ringwood NJ 07456
Tel: 973-962-7599
Fax: 973-962-7711
Email: cl...@skyclean.org
Web: http://www.skyclean.org

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

HACKENSACK RIVER CLEANUP AT LAUREL HILL PARK - APR 20

Date: 020418
From: cap...@keeper.org

COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO CLEAN UP RIVER

April 17, 2002

Secaucus Ä Hackensack Riverkeeper, in its mission to protect,
preserve and restore the Hackensack River and its living resources,
announces the first of seven river cleanups planned for the summer and
fall seasons. On Saturday, April 20th at 12 noon, friends and
supporters of Hackensack Riverkeeper will come together to clean up
Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus, NJ. We are inviting the community
to actively work on restoring the beauty and health of the Hackensack
River watershed through this personal effort.

Laurel Hill County Park, completed in 1997, is one of the first parks
to be built in Hudson County in 50 years. The park is a jewel hidden
away on the edge of the Meadowlands, and sits across the river from
the Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area. We will remove some of the
refuse that mars the beauty of the area, while educating the public
about environmental issues surrounding the river. Using canoes, we
will be cleaning the section of the river between the swing bridge to
the south and the elevated bridge to the north, as well as picking up
any stray litter that may have been washed up onto the banks of the
river. If anyone is interested in assisting with the cleanup, by land
or by water, he or she is welcome to show up at the park at any time
between 12 noon and 4pm. We will officially begin at noon in the
parking lot by the public boat launch where Hackensack Riverkeeper
houses our Canoe Project. Laurel Hill County Park is at the end of New
County Road in Secaucus. Refreshments and supplies will be provided.

In addition to Laurel Hill County Park on Saturday, we have six other
river cleanups planned for the coming season:

May 19, Pascack Brook County Park, River Vale/Westwood 9am. to noon

June 22, Lincoln Park, Jersey City 9am to noon

July 14, new Park off Industrial Ave., Ridgefield Park 9am to noon

August 17 Overpeck Creek County Park, Leonia 9am to noon

Sept. 22 Hackensack River County Park, Hackensack 9am to noon

October 19 Snipes Park, Secaucus, 9am to noon.

If you would like to volunteer to clean up our watershed, or have any
questions, please contact Kathy Urffer
kat...@hackensackriverkeeper.org, 201-692-8440, or
Lisa Ryan fle...@aol.com, 201-373-1152.

For other Hackensack Riverkeeper events and programs, visit our
website, http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org.

* * *

Contact: Captain Bill Sheehan, Riverkeeper and Executive Director
Kathy Urffer, Operations Director

Hackensack Riverkeeper
1000 River Road - T090C
Teaneck NJ 07666
Tel: 201-692-8440
Fax: 201-692-8449
Email: cap...@keeper.org
Web: http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org

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

NJCWA UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Date: 19 Apr 2002
From: {calt...@thewatershed.org}

04/17/2002

APRIL

APRIL 24
The Natural Lands Network presents: The New Generation of Master
Plans, a four part series; This is the second session of the series
entitled Gathering the Right Data, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, at The Stony
Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve, in Pennington. For more information
call 609/737-3735.

APRIL 24
The Morris Land Conservancy and ANJEC present: Open Space Planning in
Passaic County, 7:30 pm, Township of Wayne Department of Parks and
Recreation. For more information call Morris Land Conservancy at
973/541-1010 or ANJEC at 973/539-7547.

APRIL 27
The Upper Delaware Watershed Management Project, in conjunction with
the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, presents: Is Preservation of
Your Land Right for You? A Workshop for Landowners, 9:00 am - 12:00
noon, Hardwick Township Municipal Building. For more information call
908/996-0017.

APRIL 30
ANJEC presents: Using the State Plan to Achieve Local Objectives, The
Opportunities of the New Plan Endorsement Process, 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm,
West Deptford Public Library. For more information call 609/278-5088
or 973/539-7547.

MAY

MAY 1-2
The Watershed Institute and NJ Department of Environmental Protection,
Division of Watershed Management presents: The Watershed Management
Program of the NJ Water Environment Association,What is watershed
management and how does it affect you?, Atlantic City. For more
information call The Watershed Institute at 609/737-3735.

MAY 8
The Steering Committee of the Morris County Greentable presents: a
forum highlighting an alternative choice for Morris County
municipalities to expand their open space dollars. This workshop will
focus on bonding strategies to leverage acquisition dollars. 8:00 am,
Haggerty Education Center at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. For more
information call 973/829-8120.

May 11
Natural Lands Network hosts a "Guided Wetland Tour" at the Stony
Brook-Millstone Reserve in Pennington. This FREE program combines a
field trip with a lecture on wetlands, their role in environmntal
health, regulations and protection. Dr. Robert Tucker will lead this
discussion and hike. The program is scheduled for 9-12am. To register
please call Chris Altomari at 609-737-3735.

MAY 14
The Monmouth Conservation Foundation presents: Preserving Family
Lands: Current Estate Planning Issues and Tax Code Provisions, A
program for attorneys, accountants, estate planners, realtors, and
landowners presented by Stephen J. Small, Esq. 8:30 am - 12:00 pm,
Freehold Township Municipal Building. For more information call
732/671-7000.

MAY 22
The Natural Lands Network presents: The New Generation of Master
Plans, a four part series; This is the third session of the series
entitled The Conservation Element: Protecting Your Resources, 4:00 pm
- 6:00 pm, at The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve, Pennington.
For more information call 609/737-3735.

MAY AND JUNE
Rutgers Cook College Continuing Professional Education Programs
presents: Wetland Delineation Certificate Series, including the
following courses: Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delimitation
will be held in South Jersey May 7-8, and in North Jersey June 13-14
and June 27-28. Hydric Soils will be held May 16-17 and June 20-21.
Methodology for Delineating Wetlands will be held May 15 & 18 and June
19 & 22. For more information call 732/935-9271.

* * *

Christine Altomari
Watershed Specialist
Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
31 Titus Mill Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
PHONE: (609) 737-3735
FAX: (609) 737-3075
E-MAIL: calt...@thewatershed.org
http://www.thewatershed.org

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

HOOKED ON THE HUDSON - APR 27

Date: 020418
From: 201-492-8440

AMERICORPS WATERSHED AMBASSADORS GET HOOKED ON THE HUDSON
YOUTH SERVICE DAY PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON WATERSHED EDUCATION, FUN

Fort Lee Ä On Saturday April 27, 2002, New Jersey Watershed
Ambassadors from the northern region of the state will sponsor a
"Wonderful Watershed Read-a-long" as part of National Youth Service
Day. The event will take place at "Hooked On the Hudson" the annual
celebration of the Hudson River sponsored by the Hudson River
Fishermen's Association (HRFA) at the Ross Dock Area of the Palisades
Interstate Park in Fort Lee. from 9am to 3pm. The New Jersey Watershed
Ambassadors Program is a community-oriented environmental program of
Americorps, the national public service initiative, designed to raise
awareness about watershed issues in New Jersey. Through this program,
AmeriCorps members are placed in each of the twenty watershed
management areas across the state to serve their local communities.

An entire day's worth of activities are planned for Hooked on the
Hudson: Stories will be read and puppet shows presented; the
Ambassadors will provide hands-on environmental education through the
use of an Enviroscape (R) watershed model that displays how non-point
source pollution happens; there will be opportunities for children and
adults to take nature walks, learn tree identification and go on a
scavenger hunt. Children will also get a chance to take a close look
at the fish and macro-invertebrates that reside in fresh water lakes,
streams, and rivers and play the "bottom dweller game". Plenty of
information will be available for adults and children alike.

In addition to the educational opportunities, HRFA Director Charles
Stamm said, "Hooked on the Hudson showcases the recreational use of
Hudson River. There will be a shad bake, free fishing contest,
displays from environmental groups, free canoe `rentals', kite flying
and more. And we have it all in the beautiful shadows of the
Palisades?

"The Hudson River Fisherman's Association pioneered community
involvement through its fishing education programs," said Capt. Bill
Sheehan, the Hackensack Riverkeeper (and HRFA Life Member), "Those
programs have helped the club mature into the strongest sportsmen's
association working on Hudson River issues today."

All across the state, Watershed Ambassadors will take part in Youth
Service Day. The Watershed Ambassadors of the southern region of New
Jersey will have a presence at Bayfest 2002 in Somers Point, NJ. That
event will be held on April 27 from 11:00AM - 5:00PM on Bay Ave., in
Somers Point's Bayfront Historic Preservation District.

On Sunday, April 28 at 11am, the Watershed Ambassadors in the central
region of New Jersey will be partnering with the New Jersey State Park
Service to host the Bayshore Watershed Festival and Tree Planting at
Cheesequake State Park in Old Bridge.

* * *

Contact: Marianne Butler 201-492-8440

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

NJ ENVIRONMENTAL LOBBY ANNUAL AWARDS RECEPTION - APR 28

Date: 19 Apr 2002
From: "James Curry" {jimc...@hotmail.com}

The New Jersey Environmental Lobby will be holding its annual awards
reception Sunday, April 28 at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in
Morristown, NJ. Receiving the awards will be Terry Moore, currently
with the National Park Service and long-time executive director of the
Pinelands Commission, and Bob and Mary Owen of West Long Branch, long
time volunteers and environmental activists.

Please come join us in honoring these outstanding individuals. The
event is a great way to mingle and network with others in the
environmental community. Light refreshments will be served.

Tickets are available until the day of the event; the cost is $35 per
ticket for members and $40 for non-members. Sponsorship is available
as well: $100 for individuals, $200 for nonprofits, $400 for corporate
sponsors and $750 for event benefactors.

You can pay at the door or send checks with your name, address and
phone number to:

New Jersey Environmental Lobby
204 W. State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608

Feel free to phone us with any questions and for directions to the
event.

* * *

Jim Curry
Environmental Education Fund / New Jersey Environmental Lobby
204 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
609-396-3774
http://www.njenvironment.org/
njelc...@aol.com

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

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

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

=END=

0 new messages