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Nov 19, 2002, 11:37:13 PM11/19/02

021120

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} MORE CLOUDS FORMING OVER WHITMAN'S EPA TENURE
{*} WATER PLAN TO RECOMMEND USE THRESHOLDS
{*} DEP FINES ELIZABETH FIRM FOR LEAKS INTO RIVER
{*} AVALON, EPA TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RISING SEA LEVEL
{*} BUILDER FILES LAWSUIT OVER BRANCHBURG LAND USE
{*} BYRAM FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST A SPARTA DEVELOPER
{*} LARGEST PRIVATE LAND CONSERVATION DEAL IN NJ HISTORY
{*} GORMELY ADDS PLEASANTVILLE TO PLAN FOR PINELANDS
{*} SOUTH JERSEY BECOMING MAJOR GOLF DESTINATION
{*} BRIDGEWATER TO OPEN SECOND DEER HUNT, WITH STATE BLESSING
{*} BIOTECH CORN MIXES WITH BEANS
{*} RUSSELL A. COOKINGHAM SCHOLARSHIP
{*} SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL - FEB 20-21
{*} GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONET'S FALL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN: NOV 4 - DEC 8
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The Garden State EnviroNet (GSE) gratefully acknowledges volunteers
Gerald Cullins, Bambi Dingman, Jeff Hook and Paul Neuman for their
contributions to today's issue. If interested in helping out, please
send an email message to mai...@gsenet.org.

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MORE CLOUDS FORMING OVER WHITMAN'S EPA TENURE

Date: 021119
From: http://www.philly.com/

By Chris Mondics, Inquirer Washington Bureau, Nov. 19, 2002

Washington - When Christie Whitman took over as head of the
Environmental Protection Agency two years ago, some environmentalists
saw her arrival as a sign that the Bush administration would take a
tough line on enforcing pollution laws, even if it pursued a pro-
business agenda elsewhere.

Whitman had launched a hugely ambitious land-preservation program as
governor of New Jersey, and she had said many of the right things
about air and water pollution.

But for many, that initial optimism has turned to deep
disappointment. In case after case, says a widening chorus of
environmentalists, state and local government agencies and former EPA
officials, Whitman has proved to be a passive administrator.

Rather than building on the EPA's established clean-air and clean-
water programs, they contend, she has bowed to aggressive efforts by
power companies, mining interests and other industries to win
relaxation of laws governing their businesses.

"I feel a bit sorry that Gov. Whitman doesn't have the kind of
support within the administration that would make her an effective
administrator," said William Becker, head of the State and Territorial
Air Pollution Program Administrators, which represents more than 300
environmental agencies. "It appears that others beyond the EPA are
calling the shots."

The issue has taken on renewed intensity now that the EPA is about to
release proposals to control emissions from coal-fired power plants
that critics say will greatly increase air pollution.

It is playing out against a backdrop of renewed speculation that
Whitman, beleaguered from the start by environmentalists on the left
and industry lobbyists on the right, will step down around the end of
the year. Her staff says she has no such plans, but several names,
including those of departing Gov. John Engler of Michigan and David
Struhs, head of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, are
circulating as potential replacements.

With much of the disappointment over Whitman's tenure now focused on
the power plant issue, nine Northeastern attorneys general are
fighting the EPA's plan, as is Becker's group.

The stakes are particularly high in eastern Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, downwind of some of the dirtiest power plants in the country.

"It is a betrayal of the basic understanding that was established by
the framers of the Clean Air Act," said Bradley Campbell, commissioner
of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. "It is
inexplicable how this dramatic weakening of rules" can be squared with
Whitman's earlier promotion of clean-air policies.

Whitman's endorsement of President Bush's conservative, business-
friendly approach to environmental protection has won lavish praise
from Bush. And her decisions to clean up PCBs in the Hudson and uphold
a Clinton-era plan to control diesel exhaust were applauded by
environmentalists.

EPA spokesman Joseph Martyak described as "outrageously false" any
suggestion that Whitman did not call the shots in the agency. "This is
a very convenient statement for some of these groups to make for their
own fund-raising purposes," he said.

In June, Whitman proposed revamping a program called New Source
Review, which requires utilities to install state-of-the-art
pollution-control technology if they make renovations resulting in
increased pollution.

Under the unofficial proposal - heatedly opposed by environmentalists
- utilities would be exempt if renovations cost less than a
predetermined amount. As an example of a potential threshold, the
proposal mentioned up to 15 percent of the plant's replacement cost.

While Whitman contends the changes will allow utilities to do routine
maintenance, thus making plants more efficient and cleaner-burning,
opponents say they will permit utilities to keep outmoded plants on
line indefinitely, making the air dirtier.

Whitman is expected to release the official proposal for public
comment in the next few weeks. Other initiatives expected at the same
time, including a controversial revision in the way refineries
calculate allowable emissions, will be final.

Campbell and other critics accuse Whitman of flip-flopping -
endorsing a crackdown on polluting Midwestern power plants when she
was governor of New Jersey, then backing off after joining the EPA.

In 1999, as governor, she sued the power companies that owned those
plants in an effort to get them to install the latest pollution-
control equipment. But as EPA administrator, critics say, she is about
to release proposed regulations that will make it harder for the
government to crack down on them.

Meanwhile, an EPA enforcement program designed to force cleanups at
older coal-fired plants in the South and Midwest has produced only one
settlement since she took office.

"Whitman is not a fighter" for the agency, says Eric Schaeffer, who
quit as the EPA's head of civil enforcement earlier this year,
concerned that the agency was becoming lax. "I don't think there are
enough issues where she is able to say, or is willing to say, 'I am
not going to do that.' "

Schaeffer and other former senior EPA officials described briefing
Whitman before White House meetings on staff proposals, then finding
that the proposals subsequently were revamped in ways that tilted
toward regulated industries.

To Whitman's critics, those reversals suggest that she has not made
the transition from the role of governor - in which she was accustomed
to making the final decision on staff recommendations - to that of an
advocate who must push her agency's agenda.

Aggressive advocacy is essential at the EPA, insiders say, because it
is the target of virtually every business lobbyist in town, as well as
other agencies.

For a short time after Bush's announcement in December 2000 that
Whitman would head the EPA, it was assumed that meant the agency would
pursue a middle-of-the-road course on environmental regulation. Coal-
and utility-industry lobbyists worried that her statements on reducing
carbon-dioxide pollution from power plants, thought to be a cause of
global warming, augured tighter regulation that would cost billions.

But within weeks of taking office - after promising European
environmental ministers that the United States would take tough
measures to combat carbon-dioxide pollution - she had been publicly,
humiliatingly overruled by Bush.

That initial setback, her critics say, has set the tone for her
tenure at the EPA, where she repeatedly has been forced to retreat.

"From our standpoint and from the standpoint of every organized
environmental group, there has been real disappointment," said Frank
O'Donnell, executive director of the Clean Air Trust. "Whitman does
not have the juice of [former EPA administrator] Carol Browner.

Browner "had to fight the entire cabinet," O'Donnell said. "They were
all lined up and opposed to her and she amazed her entire staff by
hanging tough. I know of no similar issue in this administration where
Whitman has taken a similar stand."

* * *

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WATER PLAN TO RECOMMEND USE THRESHOLDS

Date: 021119
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

By Luis Puga, Staff Writer, (856) 794-5111
Press of Atlantic City, November 19, 2002

Vineland - Once upon a time in Atlantic City, you could set up a
fountain and the water level in the aquifer below it would make water
spurt up.

Now, since the water level hovers at 100 feet below sea level, you
need a pump.

That's a minor effect of declining water levels in aquifers in
southern New Jersey, which are the main source of water throughout the
region.

But other problems include saltwater intrusion, contamination from
residential and agricultural runoff, and a lack of water for areas
with too much development.

And since people also drink it, state officials are hoping that a
statewide plan to set thresholds on use will be able to help sustain
water into the future.

That plan, the New Jersey Statewide Water Usage Plan, was the focus
of most of the evening at a water supply seminar at the Ramada Inn on
Monday.

Hosted by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions,
the American Littoral Society and the New Jersey Conservation
Foundation, the evening was designed to educate attendees on the
state's water supply and hopefully inspire action to preserve it.

For Atlantic, Cumberland, Ocean and Cape May counties, water comes
almost exclusively from the ground, with little from the surface or
reservoirs, according to Anthony Savoy, assistant district chief of
the U.S. Geological Survey.

"I know I painted a pretty grim picture of each aquifer," he said
after listing problems in each one. "Each has its problem areas. But,
there is groundwater available. The problem is to use it in such a way
that sustains it."

One such way will be through a plan being authorized by the state
Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The $2 million to $3 million plan is required by law, and the last
one was drafted in 1996. Implementing all its recommendations is
another thing.

"(The law) is silent on implementation," said Bob Kecskes, of the
DEP.

Kecskes said what has improved since the 1996 plan is the ability to
measure how much water should be used and project how much will be
left in the future.

That will be important for setting standards on the amount of
development an area can sustain in worst case scenarios, like the
drought this past summer.

The plan will also make recommendations to change the law to better
regulate water. Kecskes noted one revision the department would like
to see is implementing water use restrictions during drought warnings
instead of waiting for emergencies.

"I think most people want to see it implemented," he said. "You can't
have an area that can't withstand a drought."

But restrictions have been successfully fought off in the past.
Kecskes noted a watershed rule that was opposed and defeated by
developers and environmentalists two years ago. The rule set minimum
lot sizes and restricted development to areas that had existing sewer
capacity.

He said the department will move to have that rule instituted again
and believes this time it will be successful. He noted a more
cooperative state administration.

"They've been good so far," he said.

Attendees asked mostly about possible solutions to increase the water
supply, such as treating wastewater or saltwater for use. For
saltwater, the cost can be prohibitive and for wastewater, the stigma
prevents its wider usage.

"Re-use (of wastewater) occurs like crazy in California and Florida,"
said Kecskes. "If they can accept there, we can accept here."

While they are viable options for some, long-term solutions point
toward conservation from industry and residents. And, how much anyone
wants to set thresholds for water use can be a delicate subject.

"These are tough questions," said Navoy. "There are scientific
answers, but also political and institutional answers. The final
answer is probably some combination of the three."

Don Kirchhoffer, of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, noted
that the evening was intended to educate, but attendees had to take
the next logical step.

"You have to do something with this data," he said. "I urge you to
set priorities. We need to set priorities. Good night and do
something."

* * *

To email Luis Puga at The Press: LP...@pressofac.com

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DEP FINES ELIZABETH FIRM FOR LEAKS INTO RIVER

Date: 021119
From: http://www.nj.com/

STATE SAYS WAREHOUSE DISCHARGED CHEMICALS

By Wayne Woolley, Star-Ledger Staff, November 19, 2002

The operator of an Elizabeth chemical warehouse was fined $50,000 for
illegally discharging hazardous pollutants into the Elizabeth River,
according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The sanctions against Cycle Chem Inc. follow at least three occasions
since May 2001 when DEP inspectors found the company in violation of
rules that call for preventing chemicals stored outdoors from coming
in contact with rainwater.

During a DEP inspection during a rainstorm in March, regulators found
chemically tainted water running through the company's South First
Street property, down a drainage ditch and into the river, a short
distance from the Arthur Kill.

"The storm water was visibly gray in color, with a noticeable red and
green sheen and chemical odor," according to an administrative order
filed by the DEP in October.

Yesterday, DEP officials said that the company has since taken steps
to prevent tainted water from flowing into the river. The company has
asked for an administrative hearing to contest the charges.

Michael Presico, Cycle Chem's president, did not return a phone call
yesterday. Another company official said the company would not comment
on the sanctions.

The DEP has determined that at least some of the chemicals that
poured into the river are hazardous. But agency officials said they
are unable to assess the damage done by the discharges.

That's partly because it is unclear how long chemical runoff flowed
into the river unabated, said Amy Cradic, a DEP spokeswoman.

The picture, she said, is also complicated by the variety of
chemicals stored at Cycle Chem.

The company does not manufacture chemicals. Instead, the company
collects myriad chemical wastes for disposal or reclamation at other
facilities, according to the DEP.

According to federal Environmental Protection Administration data
gathered by the Right-to-Know Network, a Washington, D.C.-based
environmental group, at least two of the compounds stored by Cycle
Chem in 2000 were toxins: mercury and ethylene glycol.

During a DEP inspection of Cycle Chem on May 2, 2001, agency
officials found 100 55-gallon drums full of chemicals in an outdoor
staging area. At least one of the drums was leaking.

The inspectors also found batteries and mercury light bulbs stored
outdoors on pallets.

* * *

Wayne Woolley can be reached at wwoo...@starledger.com or
(908) 527-4012.
Copyright 2002 The Star-Ledger

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AVALON, EPA TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RISING SEA LEVEL

Date: 021119
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

AVALON, EPA TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE, PLANS ABOUT RISING SEA LEVEL

By Madhusmita Bora, Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Press of Atlantic City, November 19, 2002

Avalon - The Borough Council last week voted to forge a partnership
with the Environmental Protection Agency for monitoring and dealing
with rising sea levels.

The agreement provides for an exchange of information between the EPA
and the borough, and for the discussion of measures to mitigate the
effects of future rises in sea level.

"It's time to begin taking sea-level rise seriously," Mayor Martin
Pagliughi said.

Pagliughi said the agreement doesn't call for immediate action but
allows the partners to discuss the subject with the best information
available. It does not ask the borough to commit to any specific
action or major policy decisions.

The borough will review maps made by the EPA that suggest areas that
will probably be defended and those where the rising water may be
accommodated.

Sea-level rise currently averages approximately four millimeters
every year.

"At that rate, we are looking at a seven-inch rise in 50 years and
over a foot in the next century," Pagliughi said. "It is not too soon
to begin watching this issue and to plan for the protection of our
town."

EPA officials and Ken Smith of the Coastal Advocate drafted the
document. It was revised to omit the state of New Jersey's
participation due to the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection's desire to incorporate land use and regulatory
requirements into the plan. The DEP objected to the "protection only"
nature of the plans, borough officials said. The DEP could not be
reached for comment, Monday.

"We are interested in how to protect what we have, not why,"
Pagliughi said.

EPA spokesman Jim Titus said the agreement works well for both
parties.

"The locals get the benefit of the cutting edge science from the EPA,
and the EPA has a vehicle for assuring that the locals are aware and
serious about the issue," Titus said.

Titus said the program is under way in other coastal states also. He
said due to lower grades in back-bay areas the impact of sea-level
rise will be seen in the back bays before any effect is noted along
the ocean side. According to the agreement, Avalon will investigate
grade-raising volumes and costs to raise infrastructure.

"There is no need to panic," Pagliughi said. "We will do this
incrementally, over a number of years."

* * *

To email Madhusmita Bora at The Press: MB...@pressofac.com

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BUILDER FILES LAWSUIT OVER BRANCHBURG LAND USE

Date: 021119
From: http://www.c-n.com/

By Crissa Shoemaker, Staff Writer, Courier News, November 19, 2002

When Branchburg officials look at the River Lea Farm off Route 202,
they see open space preservation. Toll Bros. sees 200 acres of
developable property.

The Pennsylvania-based developer has filed a lawsuit against the
township, its Planning Board and the New Jersey Council on Affordable
Housing, challenging Branchburg's affordable housing plan and seeking
permission to build a development on the South Branch Road farm.

"Branchburg's land-use scheme is unconstitutionally and unlawfully
discriminatory against lower-income households," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 6 in state Superior Court in Somerville, goes
on to say that the township has not gotten approval for its plan to
provide affordable housing. It also criticizes COAH for not releasing
the latest figures on what the municipality's fair share will be.

"We don't agree with the allegations," Branchburg Mayor Thomas Young
said Monday. "We characterize their issue more with COAH than with us.
If they have an issue with us, then they have an issue with a lot of
towns."

Young said the township submitted its affordable-housing plan for
certification, but it was challenged by Branchburg Builders, who filed
suit against the township in 1998 over the denial of a plan to build
600 condominiums on 200 acres in the northern part of Branchburg. That
lawsuit, Young said, is close to being settled, and the settlement
would include open space.

The attorney for Toll Bros., Carl Bisgaier, did not return calls for
comment Monday. But in the lawsuit, he asks a judge to require COAH to
release its latest, long-delayed figures and to approve development
plans for the farm.

E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for the state Department of Community
Affairs, which oversees COAH, said the state has not been formally
served. But he said the latest housing numbers should be released
sometime next year.

"We want to make sure that everything is done properly," he said.
"This is a priority. We are continuing to develop those numbers."

The township had been trying to acquire the development rights to the
farm, and Young said it still could be condemned for open space. He
estimated that 140 houses could be built on the property.

"It's such a marquee piece of open space for our town," the mayor
said. "The Township Committee is very committed to getting it."

Young said the township's affordable housing plan includes working
with the Midland School to provide low-income homes to disabled adults
and affordable senior housing.

"What we're interested in doing is providing affordable housing to
people who live in our community," he said. "We're not looking to
create a bunch of apartments so we get a whole mass of people who come
move here. We're looking to stabilize what's going on."

* * *

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BYRAM FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST A SPARTA DEVELOPER

Date: 19 Nov 2002
From: "Dawn Gremer" {dawn....@earthlink.net}

By Kate Brex and Becky Schmoyer, Herald Staff Writers, Nov 19, 2002

Newton - Byram Township filed a preliminary injunction in Superior
Court Monday against a Sparta developer who ignored township
regulations and began construction on a proposed subdivision denied by
the Township Planning Board.

After eight hearings, the Byram Planning Board unanimously rejected
an application by One Main Street Sparta, L.L.C. last month, which
called for the construction of a 37-home subdivision on 85 acres on a
hilltop above Lake Mohawk.

According to township attorney Kevin Kelly, residents recently became
aware that the developer was constructing roadways on the tract of
land after denial of the application.

"The developer has no approvals for any construction activities at
the site," said Kelly.

The lawsuit claims the developer "immediately began significant
construction activities on the subject property."

Heavy construction equipment was noted on the property as well as
tree and earth removal, the lawsuit said.

Kelly said he was asked last week to file the lawsuit on behalf of
the township to prevent further construction activities.

With over half the property's acres on slopes of over 25 percent and
much of the land covered in rock outcroppings, the application for the
Stone Hedge Manor subdivision was denied because the land is
environmentally sensitive, said former Mayor Michael Marotte, who was
also the Planning Board member who made the motion to deny the
application. Marotte said that at the time of the project's denial,
the board listed over 15 reasons why the project should not move
forward, including that the run-off from the development would drain
directly into Lake Mohawk.

Over 70 township residents attended a meeting of the Township Council
Monday to express anger that One Main Street continued work at the
site. Township resident Kevin Spellissy, whose home is located near
the site, said about 200 mature trees have been clear cut on the
property, leaving a swathe over 400 feet wide.

Engineer Lawrence G. Palmer, of Schoor Depalma, Inc. of Parsippany,
evaluated the construction at the site and found that the owner
cleared trees and excavated 1,000 feet of the subdivision's proposed
Catalina Drive.

"The clearing of the site involved at least the full 50-foot right-
of-way width of the proposed drive," a letter from Palmer said. "There
were no soil erosion and sediment control measures in place to protect
the steep slopes above Lake Mohawk."

According to Palmer, the developer promised to initiate soil erosion
measures but failed to do so, clearing trees and removing dirt in
sharp contrast to what had been indicated. Subdivision improvements
without a certified soil conservation plan or measures is a violation
of Sussex County's soil conservation regulations.

On Nov. 8, Byram Manager and Zoning Officer Ronald F. Gatti learned
that Kittatinny Forest Management of Stillwater was working on the
property without a zoning permit, according to a statement attached to
the lawsuit.

The contractor was asked to stop construction by Byram Public Works
official Adolf Steyh, and complied, according to Gatti, but resumed
work again after the Veterans Day holiday. The township has issued six
summonses for violating zoning permits to the developer and work has
continued unabated, Gatti said in his statement.

Each summons carries a maximum penalty of $1,250, said Megan Ward,
Kelly's law partner.

On Nov. 15, Gatti sent a stop work order to the contractor until a
zoning permit and soil conservation certificate is obtained.

An assistant for Debra Nicholson, attorney for One Main Street
Sparta, L.L.C, said since Nicholson had not as yet spoken to her
client she could not comment.

* * *

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LARGEST PRIVATE LAND CONSERVATION DEAL IN NJ HISTORY

Date: 18 Nov 2002
From: "Stephanie" {step...@njconservation.org}

NEW JERSEY CONSERVATION FOUNDATION OPTIONS TO PURCHASE
10,000-ACRE PINE BARRENS PROPERTY

November 18, 2002

Far Hills - New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) has signed an
option to purchase the nearly 10,000-acre DeMarco Farm, one of the
largest privately owned tracts of land in New Jersey.

The spectacular property has 1,500 acres of reservoirs and thousands
of acres of wetland and upland forests including 600 acres of Atlantic
white cedar swamp. Fourteen tributaries of the West Branch of the
Wading River originate on or pass through the property. The land has
exceptional habitat for native and endangered species including bald
eagles and the unique Pine Barrens tree frog. The farmed portion of
the property includes 800 acres of cranberry bogs and 300 acres of
blueberry fields.

The property is located in the "Heart of the Pine Barrens" in
Burlington County, surrounding the Village of Chatsworth in Woodland,
Tabernacle and Bass River Townships. It connects five state-owned
properties: Brendan Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State
Forest), Wharton State Forest, Bass River State Forest, Greenwood
Wildlife Management Area and Penn State Forest.

"This is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to permanently preserve
the heart of the Pine Barrens," said Michele Byers, Executive Director
of NJCF and former Pine Barrens resident. "In the grand scheme of the
efforts to protect the Pine Barrens, underway since the 1970's, the
preservation of the DeMarco Farm will be one of the most important
accomplishments in a generation."

NJCF is working closely with Garfield DeMarco, President of A.R.
DeMarco Enterprises - the farm's owner - to make the deal happen, but
has only five months to raise the money needed to purchase the
property.

To help ensure the property's preservation, the family has generously
decided to give half the value of the property to NJCF as a gift. "My
family and I want to see this unique and beautiful property preserved
in its natural state for all the people of New Jersey," stated Mr.
DeMarco. "I know my father, who loved this land every bit as much as I
do, would want this as well," he continued. "We look forward to
working with New Jersey Conservation Foundation to bring this project
to a successful conclusion."

"Purchasing this property is a big challenge for NJCF," added Ms.
Byers, "but the landowners have given New Jerseyans an amazing
opportunity and we will do everything we can to raise the necessary
funds."

Anyone interested in helping save this property can send a tax-
deductible gift to NJCF's "Heart of the Pine Barrens" Fund.

* * *

Contact: Richard Ryan
Phone: 908-234-1225
ric...@njconservation.Org

New Jersey Conservation Foundation is one of the nation's premier land
conservation organizations. Since 1960, it has protected tens of
thousands of acres of New Jersey forest, farmland and open space -
from the Great Swamp, to Patriots' Path, to Wells Mills Park. NJCF has
been in the forefront of land preservation policy, including historic
laws protecting the Pine Barrens, farmland, water quality and every
Green Acres open space initiative. For more information, call 1-888-
LAND-SAVE, or visit their website at http://www.njconservation.org.

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GORMELY ADDS PLEASANTVILLE TO PLAN FOR PINELANDS

Date: 021119
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

By Pete Mcaleer, Statehouse Bureau, (609)-292-4935
Press of Atlantic City, November 19, 2002

Trenton - A plan to redirect Pinelands growth to Atlantic City will
now include Pleasantville as well.

Sen. William Gormley, R, Atlantic, announced the plan several weeks
ago in a letter to Gov. James E. McGreevey. Pleasantville officials
read about the plan in the newspaper and asked to be included.

"We couldn't find any disadvantage," Pleasantville City Administrator
John Bettis said Monday. "We could only find possible benefits to the
city."

Gormley and Assemblyman Frank Blee, R-Atlantic, made it all official
Monday, introducing a bill that amends the state Pinelands Act.

Along with Assemblyman Paul D'Amato, Gormley and Blee also introduced
legislation to increase education funding to school districts in
Pinelands growth communities.

Both bills aim to provide relief to Atlantic County's three Pinelands
growth communities - Egg Harbor, Hamilton and Galloway townships -
which have struggled to keep pace with development in recent years
because of the growth designation. The three townships accommodate
three of every four new homes built in Atlantic County.

The bill redirecting growth to Pleasantville and Atlantic City would
amend the Pinelands Act to allow developers to use Pinelands
development credits in those two municipalities.

In protected Pinelands areas, development credits are given to
property owners who are restricted from developing their land. The
property owner can sell the credits to the state or, in most cases, to
developers. Developers can then use the credits in Pinelands growth
areas to build more houses than they otherwise would be able to build.

The bill makes no mention of Atlantic County's three existing growth
areas and does not directly affect the growth mandate there. But it
does give developers two more options for redeeming development
credits.

"The bill is not a mandate for growth in Atlantic City and
Pleasantville, but it makes it more attractive and competitive,"
Gormley said.

Further enticing developers to build in Atlantic City, Gormley said,
is the opportunity to tap into redevelopment money controlled by the
Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, or CRDA. Casinos are
required by state law to invest 1.25 percent of their gross revenue in
redevelopment projects.

Pleasantville hopes to attract development in its marina district,
which is the focal point for a revitalization project. If the bill is
successful it could help the marina district spring back to life a lot
faster than originally planned, Bettis said.

Atlantic City has room for new development in the Inlet section
behind the Boardwalk.

The school-funding bill would establish a new category of state aid.

School districts whose average growth in residential enrollment over
a five-year period is twice the state average would be eligible for an
additional $220 per pupil. The aid would affect nine school districts
in the state, including Atlantic County's three Pinelands growth
communities.

Egg Harbor Township, the fastest-developing of Atlantic County's
three Pinelands growth communities, increased the school tax rate by
23-cents this year after McGreevey froze state aid to school
districts. The bill would have to pass through both budget
appropriations and education committees and get approval from
McGreevey.

Blee, who estimates the bill will add an additional $7.8 million in
state aid to the nine eligible districts, said he is hopeful the
governor will support the bill.

"Clearly, the governor is getting the message we need help," Blee
said.

Two months ago, McGreevey invoked his powers under the statewide
drought emergency to temporarily ban most new development in Atlantic
County's three growth communities. He declared the increased water
consumption in the townships a threat to the region's water supply.

Blee said Monday the moratorium is a first-step - and a temporary one
at that - to solving the growth problem. The new legislation could
provide a more long-term solution.

Atlantic County's three legislators also haven't given up on a timed-
growth bill that would ensure development doesn't get ahead of
infrastructure improvements.

"We've proposed a comprehensive package that involves smart-growth,
infrastructure and education," Blee said. "It's a tremendous idea
that's long overdue. This is as excited as I've been as a legislator."

If Gormley and Blee succeed in amending the Pinelands Act, the
changes would then require approval by the state Pinelands Commission
and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.

* * *

To email Pete McAleer at The Press: PMcA...@pressofac.com

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

SOUTH JERSEY BECOMING MAJOR GOLF DESTINATION

Date: 021117
From: jano...@cleanwater.org

GOLF FAST BECOMING TOURISM ATTRACTION

By Dan P. Lee, Staff Writer, (609) 272-7209
Press of Atlantic City, November 17, 2002

There are the casinos, the beaches, the boardwalks, the bars, the
water sports and the fishing.

And then there are the golf courses - lots and lots of golf courses.

Quietly but steadily, the region of Atlantic, Cape May and southern
Ocean counties is transforming itself into more than just
Philadelphia-area vacationers' "Jersey Shore," and now is becoming one
of the East Coast's major golfing destinations.

Some within the golf industry now calling the three-county region
"New Jersey's Myrtle Beach," after the South Carolina coastal area
that, with more than 100 golf courses, is home to the highest
concentration of courses in the country.

"South Jersey is easily becoming New Jersey's Myrtle Beach. It's
really just been unbelievable over the last several years," said Rich
Kennedy, of the New Jersey Golf Association, a nonprofit organization
of New Jersey member clubs and courses.

"Per square mile, you won't find anything like it in the rest of New
Jersey - and probably in the entire Northeast, for that matter," he
said. "And the quality of many of the courses is simply spectacular."

But not everyone is quite so excited.

Environmentalists worry about golf courses' effects on the
environment, saying they can be equally if not more intrusive than
other kinds of development.

Perhaps surprisingly, however, their concerns are being heard, and
are in fact helping to shape the landscape of the area's latest
attraction.

Leading the pack in the number of golf courses is Atlantic County,
home to Atlantic City's ever-burgeoning casino industry.

In the two-town span of neighboring Egg Harbor and Galloway townships
alone, there currently are 12 courses, many of them brand new or only
a few years old. Galloway Township - home to Galloway National Golf
Club, the state's most expensive and exclusive course, and Seaview
Marriott Resort, host of the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic - soon will
welcome No. 13.

In Cape May County, four courses have been carved out of Middle
Township's marshy woods. They include Sand Barrens Golf Club in the
township's Swainton section, which is widely regarded as being among
the finest public courses in the nation.

And in southern Ocean County's Little Egg Harbor Township - with a
population of only 16,000 - there currently are two golf courses.
Plans for a third have been broached but recently died.

Most likely driving the proliferation are several factors, including
the continuingly increasing popularity of golf as a low-impact sport
and the increasing attraction it is receiving from the aging baby
boomer contingent.

But the reason golf courses are exploding locally probably is more
due to the eagerness of town officials, who have welcomed and even
recruited their development as vital tools in the municipalities'
ongoing struggle with rapid residential development.

The officials - many of whom are avid golfers themselves, including
Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough, after whom the township's
own public course is named - have called golf courses a win-win for
everyone, as mechanisms of environmentally friendly open space and
low-impact tax revenue.

Galloway Township Manager Thomas Henshaw said in a recent interview
that golf courses also have positive trickle-down effects.

"Number one, it's a nice ratable," he said. "And you know with the
casino industry nearby, a lot of people who fly to the casinos also
take a drive to our golf facilities. So it brings people into the
community to golf and it also brings them in to spend more money for
our local economy. That's a good thing."

Egg Harbor Township Administrator Peter Miller concurred. He
acknowledged that the township has been especially welcoming of golf
courses, particularly for their environmental appeal.

"Each takes up almost 200 acres of land, on which hundreds of houses
could potentially be built," he said. "Basically, golf courses are
nice, clean and environmentally friendly ratables."

- - -

Some do not see golf courses in the same light, however, especially
when it comes to their significance as protectors of the environment.

Jane Nogaki, pesticide program coordinator for the New Jersey
Environmental Federation, a statewide environmental watchdog group,
said golf courses can take some of the heaviest tolls on the
environment, clear-cutting huge swaths of trees to make way for
fairways, straining a region's water supply and dripping huge amounts
of human disease-causing pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers into
the ground.

"Let me just say that they reduce the residential development, but
they put at least equivalent demands on the environment as far as
water consumption and polluted runoff from pesticides and herbicides
are concerned," she said.

"The water consumption for a golf course, for example, is from
100,000 to 300,000 gallons per day, which is the equivalent water use
of a 300-family - or 1,000-person - development," she added. "And,
pesticide use for the average golf course is 10 pounds per acre per
year, whereas the average pesticide use for a lawn or agricultural
setting is 2 pounds per year per acre."

Nogaki noted that a 1999 survey found that New Jersey golf courses
use 220,000 pounds of pesticides annually.

She said routine water sampling in areas around golf courses has
detected the low-level presence of 44 different pesticides, often with
five or six different ones in each sample. Although their individual
levels are believed to be safe, Nogaki said no one knows their
combined effects.

She said the issue is of particular concern in southern New Jersey,
under which runs the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, the region's major
source of water.

"The aquifer runs only 5 feet below the surface in some places, and
the surface is sandy and permeable," she said. "So the aquifer is
extremely vulnerable to pollution."

- - -

Nogaki's concerns apparently are not falling on deaf ears.

To a great extent, the realization of those risks in fact seems to be
playing a large role in how developers are approaching golf course
construction in southern New Jersey - partly because they must and
partly because they appear to want to.

Because so many of the courses - the majority in both Egg Harbor and
Galloway townships, for example - fall within environmentally
significant areas such as state-designated Pinelands zones or coastal
wetlands, the government often has some sort of jurisdiction over the
courses.

In Egg Harbor Township, the township's recently opened McCullough's
Emerald Golf Links - built over a sealed landfill - falls within one
of the township's Pinelands-controlled zones, meaning, like other
courses in Pinelands areas, the township is compelled to pay for
quarterly water testing in the vicinity of the course.

Miller said the course is a prototype for environmental friendliness,
with no pesticides ever being able to seep far into the ground
(because of sealing), lined ponds that collect rainwater that is then
recycled for irrigation purposes and minimal grading of the terrain
and tree removal in the first place.

"The environmental impact has become high on everybody's list of
things to be concerned about," he said. "All this is done not only to
satisfy Pinelands' requirements, but also because we are very much
cognizant of not wanting to degrade the environment."

Many other courses around the region are affected by the Coastal Area
Facilities Review Act and are also thereby forbidden to encroach on
certain areas and are required to conduct similar water testing.

But there also apparently is a shift in the attitude of many new
golfing developers, including Joseph Milza, owner of the Renault
Winery, soon to be home to Galloway Township's seventh golf course. If
Milza is any indication, developers now seem to be realizing that the
age-old lesson that working with nature is almost always more
productive than working against it is in fact true.

The course, to be called Vineyards Golf at Renault Winery, is being
designed by Ed Shearon, a well-known Pennsylvania golf course
architect who specializes in environmentally friendly courses. The
course, which falls within Pinelands zones, is taking that fact one
step further, being designed and constructed so that it can qualify
for a prestigious certification from the Audubon Society.

"We're moving less than 20 percent of the soil that a typical golf
course would move," Shearon said. "And we're doing all we can to
disrupt as little as possible the existing vegetation and woodland
areas. The whole goal is to contour the course to the landscape, not
contour the landscape to the course."

Among other things, the course will feature turf and grass that has
been determined through university research to be the best for the
area, so that less water and pesticides will need to be used. The
course also will feature a sophisticated drainage system so that water
can be collected and recycled.

Milza said the boom of golf courses in southern New Jersey, if
constructed with respect for the environment, can be a boon for
everyone - and for the environment.

"We're sitting next to some pristine area in (southern New Jersey),
and for us to continue to enjoy that, we're very concerned about
keeping it as pristine as possible," he said. "We're just happy that
the option is there for us now to make our course as environmentally
friendly as possible."

* * *

To email Dan P. Lee at The Press: DL...@pressofac.com

# # #

NJ Environmental Federation
223 Park Ave.
Marlton NJ 08053
Tel: 856-767-1110
Fax: 856-768-6662
Email: jano...@cleanwater.org
Web: http://www.cleanwateraction.org/njef/

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

BRIDGEWATER TO OPEN SECOND DEER HUNT, WITH STATE BLESSING

Date: 021119
From: http://www.c-n.com/

By Richard Quinn, Staff Writer, Courier News, November 19, 2002

Bridgewater - The hunt is on.

State wildlife officials have given the township permission to hold
its second professional deer hunt. At this month's Fish and Wildlife
Council meeting, the state board agreed to let paid sharpshooters kill
deer on three township tracts between Jan. 1 and April 15, said Al
Ivany, a council spokesman.

In the first hunt - earlier this year at Gene King Park, the Darby
tract near Van Holten School and Washington Valley Park -
sharpshooters killed 104 deer, including 44 does carrying 77 fetuses.

The state approval came with the suggestion that Bridgewater allow
sport hunters to help control a population estimated at 70 deer per
square mile.

"The council encourages towns - if they have huntable properties - to
bring in sports hunters," Ivany said. "It doesn't cost the town
anything."

John Ferraioli, township health officer and coordinator of the deer
hunt, said there are concerns that come with allowing sports hunters
on public land.

"The past position of the administration is they really don't see
providing sports hunting because of safety and liability issues,"
Ferraioli said. "I don't believe that's changed."

The professional deer hunt is the best available answer to control
herds that are more than three times the recommended size, Ferraioli
said. Sharpshooters from Deer Management System of Hampton will stake
out 30 acres in Gene King Park, off Frohlin Drive; 615 acres of
county-owned Washington Valley Park; and 120 acres on the Darby tract,
where hunting has drawn the most community backlash.

Last year's hunt came up short of its goal of 236 deer, but Ferraioli
said the program was hamstrung by timing, land availability and
residents upset with how close the hunters were to schools and houses.

Sharpshooters shot for 18 days - only three at Gene King Park -
between Feb. 19 and March 30.

This year's contract would call for 110 deer kills in 17 days of
shooting. The $26,000 contract can't be approved by the township until
it has official state approval in writing. Ferraioli expects the
contract to be approved next month.

* * *

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

BIOTECH CORN MIXES WITH BEANS

Date: 021114
From: http://www.gsenet.org/

By Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, November 13, 2002

The biotech company ProdiGene had grown the corn on a one-acre
experimental plot in 2001. Neither the company nor the U.S. Department
of Agriculture would say for what pharmaceutical purpose the corn was
intended. ProdiGene has several drugs in development, including an
insulin-making enzyme and vaccines for hepatitis B and traveler's
diarrhea.

In 2002 the field was planted with soybeans. However, stray corn
plants left over from the year before sprang up in the field. USDA
inspectors saw the corn plants and alerted the company.

Instead of removing them, the company allowed the field to be
harvested. It took 12 hours for USDA officials to track down the
beans, which were impounded and will likely be destroyed. ProdiGene is
facing possible fines of up to $500,000.

"As with any new industry and new regulatory program, we can always
do better," ProdiGene president and chief executive officer Anthony G.
Laos said in a release.

"We're absolutely certain that nothing has moved into the food
supply," says USDA's Cindy Smith.

But the shock waves of this minor infraction - involving at best a
few cupfuls of shredded corn leaves and stalks - have only just begun
to hit the industry.

Critics say it may bring about further government regulation of
companies working to produce pharmaceutical products in plants.

Jane Rissler, who follows the biotech industry for the Union of
Concerned Scientists, says stronger regulations won't mean much if
companies can't be trusted to do even the most basic confinement
measures.

The Grocery Manufacturers of America are calling on the biotech
industry to cease using food crops for pharmaceutical purposes
entirely. "This is an egregious error. They didn't just risk their
crop and their research and their integrity, they risked the integrity
of the U.S. food supply," says spokeswoman Stephanie Childs.

* * *

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

RUSSELL A. COOKINGHAM SCHOLARSHIP

Date: 18 Nov 2002
From: "FWLISTS" {FWL...@dep.state.nj.us}

New Jersey DEP Division of Fish & Wildlife and the
Partnership for Wildlife Volunteerism Announce the
RUSSELL A. COOKINGHAM SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is made possible by an endowment from Russell A.
Cookingham, former Director of the New Jersey DEP Division of Fish and
Wildlife. It is intended to assist qualified students in the
wildlife/fisheries or conservation education/communication field with
college and related expenses. The New Jersey DEP Division of Fish &
Wildlife and the Partnership for Wildlife Volunteerism, a non-
governmental organization, are partnering in the selection and award
of the scholarships.

If you have completed at least one half of the degree requirements
for a Wildlife/Fisheries or Conservation Education/Communications
major, you may be eligible for this $500.00 scholarship. (Conservation
Education/Communication majors must have at least 15 credits in the
biological sciences to be eligible). You must reside permanently in
New Jersey. New Jersey residents attending school out-of-state are
eligible. To apply, send an official transcript, two letters of
recommendation, your resume and a cover letter explaining why you
should be considered for this scholarship. Two $500.00 awards will be
made during the 2003 spring semester.

Send all information by April 1, 2003 to:

Cookingham Scholarship Fund
New Jersey DEP
Division of Fish & Wildlife
605 Pequest Rd.
Oxford, NJ 07863

Awards will be made by May 1, 2003.

Direct questions to: Mimi Dunne at dunn...@nac.net or Jim Sciascia at
Jim.Sc...@dep.state.nj.us.

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

SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL - FEB 20-21

Date: 11 Nov 2002
From: Gregory Shefler {gshe...@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU}

Cook College: Office of Continuing Professional Education

SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL
Feb 20-21, 2003
New Brunswick, NJ

The Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act of 1975 (Chapter 251)
requires that virtually all construction, development and mining
projects incorporate soil erosion, sediment and related stormwater
controls in accordance with a plan certified by the local soil
conservation district. The State Soil Conservation Committee of the
New Jersey Department of Agriculture modified the technical criteria
for soil erosion and sediment control plan with the Standards for Soil
Erosion and Sediment Control in NJ, which became effective May 2000.
This two-day program will explain both the basic and revised
standards, and it is designed for those with little or no previous
knowledge of the standards. Participants will learn how to:

- Prepare erosion control plans

- Obtain soils information

- Predict soil loss from development sites

- Select appropriate vegetative and structural controls

- Design sediment and detention basins

- Perform a channel stability analysis

- Design riprap and conduit outlet protection

- Use hydrologic modeling techniques to prevent off-site erosion &
sedimentation

- Use hydrology and hydraulics methodology to design bioengineering
practices

- Use and design stormwater runoff treatment as it pertains to
stormwater discharge

Course instructors will also discuss how the erosion and sediment
control standards are coordinated with requirements for wetland
protection, stream encroachment and the construction stormwater
discharge program. The program will also explain how the standards are
coordinated with the New Jersey Department of Community Affair's
(NJDCA) Uniform Site Improvement Standards and NJDEP regulations,
including the proposed draft Stormwater/NPS Best Management Practices
manual. New sessions have been added on how to comply with mosquito
control requirements and new requirements for low-impact development,
including planning and flagging the construction the construction.

This program will include problem-solving sessions, where students
will have the opportunity to work individually and in small groups
with course instructors. You are encouraged to bring information
pertaining to your own projects. This workshop is designed and taught
by the professionals who have designed, revised and are implementing
the new standards.

FACULTY

- James Sadley, Executive Secretary, State Soil Conservation
Committee

- Hunter Birckhead, PE, State Erosion Control Engineer, State Soil
Conservation Committee

- John Showler, Erosion Control Specialist, State Soil Conservation
Committee

- Dave Lamm, P.E., State Conservationist Engineer, USDA-NRCS

- Linda Peterson, P.E., Civil Engineer, USDA-NRCS

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

- Civil and Environmental Engineers

- Environmental Consultants

- Landscape Architects and Professional Planners

- Landscape Contractors and Excavators

- Soil Conservation District and NRCS personnel

- Soil Scientists and Resource Conservationists

- Watershed Association Leadership and Staff

- Anyone interested in land use, permitting and erosion control
issues

Participants will receive a copy of the revised Standards for Soil
Erosion and Sediment Control in NJ

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The registration fee for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control is only
$395 if you register on or before January 6, 2003. After January 6, a
fee of $425 will be applied. Multiple registrations from the same
company or agency will be charged a fee of $345.

This fee includes continental breakfast, lunch and course reference
materials. All registrants will receive confirmation of their
registration including a map and directions to the course site.
Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis and must
be accompanied by a proof of payment. We offer four convenient ways to
register:

Phone: (732) 932-9271, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Please
have your credit card number ready. We accept VISA, MasterCard or the
American Express card.

Fax: (732) 932-8726, 24 hours. Please include credit card information
or a copy of your check, money order or purchase order with all FAX
registrations.

Mail: Registration Desk, Cook College, OCPE, Rutgers, the State
University of New Jersey, 102 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, New Jersey
08901-8519.

Internet: Please visit our registration website at:
http://www.cook.rutgers.edu/~ocpe.

* * *

Gregory Shefler, Program Consultant
Office of Continuing Professional Education
102 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-932-9271 x622
Fax: 732-932-1187
Email: gshe...@aesop.rutgers.edu

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

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Date: 021118
From: tho...@mail.montclair.edu

Montclair State University
New Jersey School of Conservation
Branchville, NJ

Description:

Teaching assistanships provide field teaching opportunities leading
to an MA in Environmental Studies. Assistanships are for one year and
may be renewed at the discretion of the Dean and Graduate school.
Duties include teaching small groups of students and their teachers
environment-related courses and outdoor pursuits. Some evening and
weekends may be required. Teaching Assistants work closely with
faculty to develop teaching techniques that will foster environmental
literacy. Assistantships include room at board at NJSOC as well as a
monthly stipend of $500.

Contact Person: Dr William Thomas
Phone: 800.624.7780/973.948.5131
Email: tho...@mail.montclair.edu

Mailing Address: 1 Wapalanne Road
Branchville, New Jersey 07826

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tina Bologna - Editor - bol...@gsenet.org

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

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

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

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

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