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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 040519

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May 19, 2004, 2:22:40 AM5/19/04

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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} SENATE DELAYS VOTE ON HIGHLANDS BILL UNTIL THURSDAY
{*} OFFICIALS HAIL GARBAGE-TO-GOLF AT MEADOWLANDS
{*} TRANSIT GROUP COUNTERS RT 92 DRAFT EIS
{*} OP/ED: REDEVELOPING ROUTE 30
{*} FRANKFORD SEEKS OK OF MALL IN PROPOSAL FOR A TOWN CENTER
{*} HILLSBOROUGH TWP TREE FUND PLAN APPROVED
{*} WORLD WAR II AND SUPERFUND
{*} WAL-MART SETTLES CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATIONS FOR $3.1M
{*} DEP UNVEILS PLAN TO DREDGE, RID WRECK POND OF POLLUTION
{*} WOODSTOWN STILL SEEKING SOLUTION TO WATER SODIUM PROBLEM
{*} CONSERVATION 'NEEDS WIDER VIEW'
{*} FROGS AND FISH: NOT THE BEST OF FRIENDS
{*} WATERSHED AWARENESS CAMPAIGN NEARS COMPLETION
{*} DIRTY HOMES BUG HYGIENE SCIENTISTS
{*} WATERSHED INSTITUTE WORKSHOPS - SPACES STILL AVAILABLE
{*} HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER TALK ON BIRDING - MAY 20
{*} INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY - NY - MAY 27
{*} NJDEP AIR COMPLIANCE COURSE - JUN 16-17

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>>DEADLINE IS MAY 31, 2004<<
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SENATE DELAYS VOTE ON HIGHLANDS BILL UNTIL THURSDAY

Date: 040518
From: http://www.nj.com/news/sunbeam/

By Terrence Dopp, Today's Sunbeam Trenton Bureau, May 18, 2004

Trenton - After a two-week deadlock, environmentalists on Monday
adopted a more conciliatory tone toward the South Jersey Democrat they
accuse of stifling Gov. James E. McGreevey's Highlands conservation
bill.

Senate lawmakers for the second time put off voting on the bill after
Sen. Stephen Sweeney expressed opposition, rescheduling the vote for
Thursday.

Environmentalists who have waged a highly publicized campaign against
Sweeney's resistance to the bill said they are "cautiously optimistic"
the latest changes to the measure will appease him.

"Sweeney will get what he needs to protect South Jersey. But also
what we need to protect North Jersey," said Amy Goldsmith, state
director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

The plan, which would carry a price tag estimated between $300
million and $800 million, is a centerpiece of Gov. James E.
McGreevey's environmental agenda.

It seeks to protect water quality in a 1,200-square-mile area arcing
through the state's seven northernmost counties. Its boosters have
said over 4 million New Jerseyans draw water from the region's
aquifers.

The Highlands proposal would build on the scheme used 30 years ago to
curb development in the South Jersey Pinelands, a combination of
regulation and land acquisition.

Over the past two weeks, Sweeney has repeatedly said the bill needs
to change before he will support it.

He has asked for more state money shunted to quickly growing school
districts and a cost estimate for the bill, as well as changes to the
original bill crafting the Pinelands area. Sweeney has also called for
assurance that passage of the bill does not sap open space money from
the rest of the state.

"We'll get there. But we're not there yet," said Sweeney, D-3 of West
Deptford, an outspoken opponent of the original plan and sponsor of
several amendments to it.

"The bill is silent on how we're going to fund all this and do all
this. That leaves a lot to the imagination. You have to start
questioning where it all will come from," added Sweeney, vice chairman
of the Senate Environment Committee.

A joint hearing last Monday of environment committees from both
houses was adjourned when it became clear that Senate support for the
measure had evaporated.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, has called
Sweeney the main obstacle to the bill's passage in the Legislature.
But on Monday he said he is confident a solution will be worked out
with the lawmaker.

"Right now, it's kind of wait and see," he said. "The fact that we're
talking and the fact there will be a vote Thursday is encouraging. I
think right now we're fairly close."

McGreevey, who has watched the bill become mired in controversy,
called a meeting of legislative leaders Monday morning to break the
impasse.

"It is one of his highest legislative priorities," said McGreevey
spokesman Micah Rasmussen. "This legislation is complex, and if there
are even minor clarifications that need to be resolved, that's what we
intend to do."

Environmentalists took heart in one development Monday: The Assembly
Environment Committee voted unanimously to release the controversial
measure. Despite the passage, McGreevey will still need to navigate
the bill through the Senate and past Sweeney.

"I think the Assembly stood straight up and has been counted," said
Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club. "My sense is that we need to
just get the bill moving, so I'm glad the Assembly is doing what
they're doing."

According to a report by the U.S. Forest Service, the region is home
to 250 endangered or threatened species and attracts almost 14 million
tourists each year - more than Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon
national parks combined.

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OFFICIALS HAIL GARBAGE-TO-GOLF AT MEADOWLANDS

Date: 040518
From: http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/

Associated Press, 5/18/04

Lyndhurst - Consistent with the remaking of the Meadowlands from dump
to destination, and with a golf industry trend, state officials
announced Tuesday that four capped landfills will be transformed into
a residential and business complex surrounding two 18-hole courses.

EnCap Golf Holdings LLC of Raleigh, N.C. will develop a $1.1 billion,
785-acre site, which will include two hotels - totaling 750 rooms -
and 750,000 square feet of office space. The project also calls for
100,000 square feet of retail space; 1,130 units of senior housing,
and another 850 market rate units.

Cleanup of the landfills is expected to take four years, and it will
take at least another three years to complete the golf courses and
other work. Both golf courses will be open to the public

The development, which will be spread over parts of Rutherford,
Lyndhurst and North Arlington, was approved by the New Jersey
Meadowlands Commission, the agency that controls the 30-square-mile
region overlapping Hudson and Bergen Counties. In January, the
commission adopted its first new master plan since its creation in
1971, codifying a shift in emphasis in recent years from decades of
encouraging development and solid waste disposal to fostering
conservation and ecotourism.

EnCap revealed details of the project earlier this month, after
closing on a deal in which it has paid the commission $13 million for
the site and put another $3.75 million into escrow. The state's
Economic Development Authority issued $150 million in bonds to finance
the cleanup, which will take place whether the site is developed.

About 70 of the nation's nearly 16,000 golf courses were built on old
landfills, strip mines or industrial brownfields, a concept that began
40 years ago and is picking up steam despite higher development costs,
experts said. Although the trend preserves land, some
environmentalists oppose the approach, cautioning that blighted land
requires constant monitoring and poses unknown health risks.

Gov. James E. McGreevey went to the site Tuesday for an official tee-
off of the project, which he said will provide 2,400 jobs and $19
million in property taxes.

"This $1.1 billion Garbage-to-Golf project will protect the
environment, create jobs and help taxpayers," McGreevey said in
statement.

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TRANSIT GROUP COUNTERS RT 92 DRAFT EIS

Date: 040518
From: http://www.zwire.com/

ISSUES OWN REBUTTAL REPORT

By Matthew Kirdahy, South Brunswick Post Staff Writer, 05/13/2004

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign is challenging the need for
Route 92.

It says a traffic study included in the Army Corps of Engineers'
draft Environmental Impact Statement still does not show a need for
Route 92.

The 6.7-mile toll road would connect Route 1 at Ridge Road in South
Brunswick with the Turnpike at Exit 8A. The Turnpike Authority, along
with proponents of the highway, say the proposed road would alleviate
traffic problems on the roads called local and secondary east-west
roads in the study. These roads include Route 571, Cranbury Neck
Road/Route 615, Route 614/Plainsboro Road, Scudders Mill Road/Dey Road
and Route 522/Ridge Road.

The Army Corps released its draft EIS April 21. The study looked at
traffic and environmental impacts the road would have. According to
the EIS, Route 92 will take traffic off local and secondary east-west
connector roads. The report shows that the highway would improve wait
time at four township intersections, and have no effect on 10
intersection. The Corps will host a public hearing on the draft EIS
May 20 at the Raddisson on Route 1 in South Brunswick.

However, Tri-State - a group of environmental and planning groups
that support transportation alternatives and says money should go to
fixing existing roads - said Wednesday in a press release that two
studies conducted by independent agencies hired by the government show
that there will be little demand for Route 92 and that the new toll
road would attract few cars and trucks.

The Army Corps based its Route 92 study on transportation and traffic
issues in three towns in southwestern Middlesex County and two towns
in northeastern Mercer County. The study area was bounded by the NJ
Turnpike in the east, Route 27 and the Delaware and Raritan canal to
the west, Route 610/Deans Lane to the north and Route 571 in the
South. The area included South Brunswick, Plainsboro and Cranbury
townships in Middlesex, and West Windsor and East Windsor townships
and Hightstown in Mercer.

According to Tri-State, a recent review of two earlier traffic
studies shows that the new highway will not meet any pressing
transportation needs. Tri-State reviewed traffic demand findings for
Route 92 from a 1997 Environmental Partners report solicited by the
state Department of Environmental Protection and a 1998 report
prepared by Hagler Bailly, Inc., a firm hired by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.

Tri-State said the DEP report found that the Turnpike Authority did
not demonstrate that there was a demand for the construction of Route
92. The traffic data the DEP's consultant relied on was submitted by
the Turnpike Authority in its Freshwater Wetlands Individual Permit
Application, Tri-state says. According to the report, the DEP under
Gov. Christie Todd Whitman "did not release that consultant's report
and instead issued environmental permits to allow it to proceed."

In the press release, Tri-State said the Hagler Bailly report showed
similar results.

"The Route 92 potential market is only 18 percent of all trips with
either an origin or a destination in the study area," the report said.
"Route 92 will only remove 9 percent of all internal-external and 9
percent of the external-internal trips from east-west local roads."

Tri-State says the EPA report concluded that Route 92 would remove
just 3,309 daily through-trips from the local east-west roads,
representing 5 to 7 percent of all the current through-trips using
local east-west roads. The draft EIS does not show this conclusion or
even present an overview of the traffic data it contains, according to
Tri-state.

Tri-State says an east-west connector like Route 92 would only serve
a small segment of the area's trips.

"North-south demand is far strong," Tri-State said in the press
release. "East-west traffic issues can be addressed by a series of
low-cost bottleneck elimination projects to the existing roadway
network."

The Army Corps EIS notes that the main highways that pass through the
study area run north-south. The highways include the NJ Turnpike, with
interchanges at Exits 8 and 8A along the study area's eastern edge,
Route 130, Route 1 and Route 27. Route 32 connects between Route 130
with the Turnpike Exit 8A.

In addition, the EIS said the major peak hour traffic lows in the
traffic study area are the north-south flows along the NJ Turnpike,
Route 1 and Route 130. The study did not say what times the peak hours
are.

The study says that north-south travelers frequently use these local
and secondary east-west roads in an effort to bypass congestion on
Route 1 in North Brunswick. The study says these roads are serving
traffic that they were not designed to serve.

Some of the traffic numbers are then compared to traffic numbers the
report says would exist if Route 92 is not built, and existing roads
remain as they are. According to the EIS, local and secondary east-
west roads that have become clogged on peak hours were used as a basis
for traffic flow times in the study. The peak hours include a two-and-
a-half-hour period in the morning and a three-hour period at night.

The study uses computer models that track vehicles traveling at a
"free-flow" speed, the speed at which traffic can operate if
unhindered by surrounding traffic.

The EIS says the construction of Route 92 would result in a 17
percent reduction in peak-hour truck volume on the local and secondary
east-west roads in the traffic study area and along Route 27 in
Kingston

Peak-hour travel times are projected to decrease by an average of 10
percent if Route 92 is built, the report said. Travel times between
Route 1 in Plainsboro and NJ Turnpike Exit 8A are expected to improve
by about 30 percent, the report says.

The engineers who conducted the study for this portion of the EIS
used an industry standard 20 years after the time the toll road would
be built. Assuming the road is completed by 2008, all of the traffic
numbers are measured between 2001 and 2028.

By the year 2028, morning westbound peak hour travel demand in the
study area is projected to exceed the capacity of east-west roads by
25 percent.

A peak-hour "network model" of the area developed for the study shows
that the capacity of Plainsboro Road will be exceeded by 120 percent
and that the capacity of Cranbury Neck Road will be exceeded by 84
percent. The effects would mean stretches of bumper-to-bumper traffic,
extensive delays and blocked driveways and intersections.

For example, the amount of time it takes drivers to travel from the
intersection of Route 130 and Dey Road to the intersection of Route 1
and Washington Road during peak hours is projected to be double, from
20 minutes to 40 minutes. Area-wide, morning peak hour travel times
are expected to increase by about 50 percent. Almost all intersections
in the area will be unable to process peak hour demand in the future
without significant delays, according to the report.

The study says it would take a motorist 49.7 minutes during morning
peak hours to get from the center of South Brunswick - along Route 522
in the vicinity of Kingston Lane - to Princeton Junction along Route
571 in the vicinity of the Northeast Corridor Rail Line. The same trip
took 28.5 minutes in 2001, according to the traffic model. The same
trip that took 27 minutes during evening peak hours in 2001 and would
take 36.3 minutes by 2028.

According to the study, delays at intersections in the study area are
expected to increase a median 85 percent by 2028. That includes a
increase in travel time at the intersection of Route 27 and Raymond
Road in Kingston from 10 seconds during morning peak hours in 2001 to
just under 3 minutes, 70 seconds, during morning peak hours in 2028.

The study also shows that three intersections in South Brunswick
would have a decrease in wait time during morning peak hours by 2028.
The intersection of Route 1 and Major and Sand Hills roads showed a
decrease in wait time from about 4 minutes, 259 seconds, to 3 minutes
and 18 seconds by 2028.

The intersection of Route 522 and Kingston Road had a 5 minute 23
second wait in 2001, and is expected to decrease to 5 minutes by 2028,
according to the study. The intersection of Route 1 and Route 522 will
go from about 11 minutes and 43 seconds in 2001 during morning peak
hours to about 8 minutes and 26 seconds.

The Army Corps also graded intersections in the study, with crossings
with getting grades on a letter scale, from A to F. The grades
indicate the intersections' level of service, or LOS. LOS is based on
the average delay per vehicle for criteria that includes speed, travel
time, maneuverability and safety at each intersection. A road that has
received an F, has reached its capacity, traffic flow is interrupted,
maneuverability is restricted and significant traffic exists.

The Army Corps compares the current status of intersections like
Route 27 and Raymond Road and Route 1 and Major and Sand Hills roads
with conditions in 2028.

According to the report, the intersection of Route 27 and Raymond
Road received an F for morning traveling, and a B for evening peak
hours. If Route 92 is built, the intersection would remain an F for
morning peak hours and drops from B to E during evening peak hours.

The intersections of Route 27 and Route 522, and Route 1 and Major
and Sand Hills roads, Plainsboro Road and Route 535 and Georges and
Kingston roads all showed improvement with Route 92.

The study says another expected impact of constructing Route 92 is
that trucks traveling between NJ Turnpike Exit 8A and Princeton could
find it easier to use Ridge Road between Route 27 and Route 1 in
combination with Route 92. The report estimates that during each peak
hour, an additional 20 trucks would use this portion of Ridge Road
compared if Route 92 is built.

The study says that on average, trucks comprise more than 5 percent
of the total traffic using east-west local and secondary roads. One in
five of these trucks are using local roads to travel through the towns
the roads serve, without servicing the towns. The report said it would
be good to get these trucks on to nonlocal routes. Without any changes
in the traffic network, future increases in truck volumes on local
east-west roads are predicted to increase by approximately 35 percent.

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(c)PACKETONLINE

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OP/ED: REDEVELOPING ROUTE 30

Date: 040518
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/

COOPERATION IS KEY

Press of Atlantic City, May 18, 2004

Sometimes it seems easy to predict the future.

As you drive along Route 30 in western Atlantic County, for instance,
the unrealized potential of that corridor is like a premonition.

A short drive to Atlantic City and the rapidly growing areas of
Galloway and Egg Harbor townships, with land that is still
comparatively affordable, the western Route 30 corridor is ripe for
redevelopment. If you try, you can almost see the stores, malls, and
housing that will surely sprout up.

At least officials in Egg Harbor City, Mullica Township and Hammonton
can see it. They say developers are showing increased interest in the
14-mile stretch of Route 30 that runs through the three
municipalities.

But seeing that future and controlling it are two different things.
Uncontrolled growth can lead to overcrowded schools, soaring property
taxes and a host of other problems that many Atlantic County towns are
dealing with.

That's why the three municipalities should be commended for joining
in a study to see how they can work together to manage and shape
growth along Route 30. The study will look for ways to preserve the
character of the corridor while allowing growth, and for ways to
create a common feel along the roadway with landscaping and signage.

The municipalities aren't all looking for the same level of
development. Rural Mullica Township has different priorities than its
more developed neighbors. Hammonton and Egg Harbor City, with existing
downtowns and rail access, offer an attractive alternative to the
suburban sprawl that is changing the character of so much of southern
New Jersey. Redevelopment here simply makes sense.

And it makes sense that theses municipalities are cooperating to talk
about growth and redevelopment in western Atlantic County before it
happens. That can make all the difference. Just ask eastern Atlantic
County.

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FRANKFORD SEEKS OK OF MALL IN PROPOSAL FOR A TOWN CENTER

Date: 040518
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/sussex/

By Rebecca Schmoyer, Star-Ledger, May 18, 2004

A town center proposal for Frankford Township is on its way to
Trenton and the inclusion of a large-scale outlet mall has residents
calling for a referendum.

"Why can't we have a referendum on this?" resident Sandra Toriello
asked at a joint meeting of the township committee and land-use board
last night. "Why do we have to do it this way? We should put it on the
ballot and let people decide."

The meeting held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds had to be moved to
roomier quarters after a considerable crowd gathered to voice concerns
about a proposal to build a Woodbury Commons-style shopping village as
part of the township's 2,183-acre town center plan.

Secaucus-based developer Sussex Commons has put forth the proposal,
which calls for a 493,200-square-foot shopping hub featuring 90 to 100
retail outlets. If built, the mall would encompass substantially more
than half of the proposed town center's 680,000 square feet of
commercial space.

On May 26, the township will go to Trenton to review the town center
proposal with the Plan Implementation Committee in the Office of State
Planning after the township committee and land-use board voted last
night to authorize the town center plan be submitted with the mall
proposal.

Committeeman Bob McDowell, who cast the only dissenting vote on the
committee, said he felt the outlet center concept should have been
kept out of the town center plan.

"I don't want to vote against the town center. But you are forcing me
to vote against it because you have the mall in there," he told the
committee and land-use board. "I think the mall is too big. And my
real fear is that we are going to shoot ourselves in the foot with the
state. They have clearly said they don't like the mall in the town
center."

Proponents of the plan cited the tax money the center would bring in
and the jobs it could create. They also say a retail center would
provide a regional resource to visitors to other area attractions such
as Skylands ballpark and the New Jersey State Fair.

"There would be approximately 900 to 1,000 jobs created by this
center - and that's good for the county," said David Troast, the
township's planning consultant.

About 600 of those jobs would be full-time.

Troast said about 60 percent of Sussex County residents leave the
county to go to work.

It is estimated the shopping village would bring in $4.1 million in
tax revenue. About $2.9 million of the tax revenue would go to the
township's school system and another $350,000 would go to the
municipality. Along with jobs, the outlet center would bring
residential development into the township. The state currently
mandates that for every two full-time jobs created, one unit of
housing be built.

People who live in the area fear the outlet center, which would be
near the junction of Routes 15, 206 and 565, known as Ross Corner,
would create a traffic nightmare. Many longtime residents worry a
large-scale mall would transform the township they moved to years ago
to escape more congested parts of the state.

In addition, residents are concerned that an outlet center would
bring crime to the township and force the township to create its own
police department. Frankford has no police department and relies on
the State Police to patrol the township.

* * *

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HILLSBOROUGH TWP TREE FUND PLAN APPROVED

Date: 040518
From: http://www.zwire.com/

By Roger Alvarado, Hillsborough Beacon Staff Writer, 05/13/2004

The Township Committee unanimously passed an ordinance creating a
fund and procedure for handling the township's tree mitigation funds.

Hillsborough's tree ordinance, passed in 2000, prevents developers
from clear cutting land before construction projects in an effort to
protect the number of trees in the township. The ordinance requires
builders to establish the number of trees in an area set for
development, and prepare a tree management plan.

Developers can replant trees to offset those that are cut down for a
new project, or make a contribution to the township's tree fund, which
is used to plant trees throughout the township.

As per the language of the new ordinance, a special bank account will
be designated "Tree Mitigation Trust Fund" and used to hold money for
planting trees or buying equipment to plant trees in reserve.

The unanimously approved ordinance also creates a special advisory
committee to advise the township Planning Board when tree mitigation
issues arise.

The five-member tree mitigation advisory committee's members will
determine how the money will be used and will be made up of five
members appointed by the Township Committee by resolution, according
to Mayor Sireci. The appointments will be made at the May 25 Township
Committee meeting.

One member will be Deputy Supervisor of Parks Rick Resavy while two
of the other four members must have professional certification or
occupational or educational credentials as a landscape architect,
arborist, forester or a directly related area of expertise.

* * *

(c)PACKETONLINE

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WORLD WAR II AND SUPERFUND

Date: 18 May 2004
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}

COURT SAYS GOVERNMENT AGREED TO PAY FOR
COMPANY'S FUTURE LIABILITIES IN 1940 CONTRACT

By Cheryl Hogue, Chemical & Engineering News, May 17, 2004

During World War II, many companies, including chemical giant DuPont,
made goods for the military under contract at government-owned
facilities. Now, six decades later, these companies may get the
government to pay for their Superfund cleanup liability from those war
efforts.

A federal appeals court recently found that the military agreed to
indemnify - to pay for any loss or damage - DuPont for costs
associated with an ordnance plant the company operated during World
War II. This includes costs that the company incurred because the
facility, in Morgantown, W.Va., eventually became a Superfund site,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled ("E.I. Du Pont
de Nemours, et al. v. U.S"). DuPont was among the companies that
formerly operated the facility and helped pay to clean up chemical
contamination at the site.

Under a November 1940 contract with the government, DuPont built the
facility, initially to produce anhydrous ammonia for use in ordnance.
The plant was expanded between 1941 and 1945 to make methanol,
formaldehyde, hexamine, and benzol, according to information DuPont
provided to the Environmental Protection Agency about the Superfund
site. DuPont's manufacturing at the site ceased in 1945, at the end of
World War II. DuPont was released from accountability for the property
and equipment by the government in 1946.

In the postwar period, the federal government leased the Morgantown
facility to various chemical and coke manufacturers until the late
1950s, according to John McGahren, partner in the Newark, NJ, office
of Latham & Watkins, who represents DuPont. The facility was shuttered
around 1958 because industrial technology shifted from using coal to
natural gas as a raw material to make ammonia, McGahren tells C&EN.

The closed facility included contaminated land, but cleanup there did
not begin until after Congress in 1980 passed the federal Superfund
law, which is aimed at cleaning up polluted, abandoned industrial
sites. In 1984, EPA began the process of listing the Morgantown
facility as a Superfund site. EPA eventually sought funding for the
cleanup from the companies that ran the facility in the 1940s and '50s
- including DuPont.

The cleanup work at the facility moved forward and was completed in
late 2003, according to EPA. McGahren says DuPont has spent about $2
million thus far in connection with the Morgantown site Superfund
cleanup.

DuPont did not lodge its lengthy - and expensive - legal effort
through the federal court system merely to get the Pentagon to
reimburse it for that $2 million, McGahren points out. The appeals
court's decision applies specifically to DuPont's liabilities at the
Morgantown site. The ruling likely will have broader ramifications for
other companies that operated government-owned plants under contract
during World War II and that have Superfund liability for those sites,
say attorneys who are tracking the case.

"A lot of companies did work for the government" during that war and
received indemnification similar to DuPont's, says Michael W.
Steinberg, special counsel at the Washington, D.C., office of Morgan
Lewis. And a lot of polluted industrial sites around the U.S. have
contamination that dates back to World War II, he notes.

DuPont ran about 20 government-owned, contractor-operated plants
during World War II, McGahren says. Other chemical companies ran these
types of facilities too, churning out synthetic rubber or compounds
used in munitions, he says. They could seek reimbursement from the
military for Superfund costs associated with operations at those
plants. And the court's ruling may apply to businesses outside of the
chemical industry, as well - General Motors and Ford are asking the
military to cover their Superfund cleanup liabilities for World War
II-related pollution, he adds.

The Appeals Court essentially rejected the government's arguments
against covering World War II contractors for Superfund liability. The
Justice Department had contended that a law called the Anti-Deficiency
Act barred the government from reimbursing DuPont for costs incurred
decades after it ran the Morgantown plant.

The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits the government from making
commitments to pay indeterminate sums of money in the future, explains
Leslie A. Hulse, counsel to the American Chemistry Council. This law
bars the government from including open-ended indemnity clauses to
cover future costs that don't carry a specific dollar figure - such as
possible Superfund liability - in contracts.

However, the appeals court determined that the indemnity the
government gave DuPont in the Morgantown contract is exempt from the
Anti-Deficiency Act. The court found that the indemnity provided to
many contractors of the era by what were then the War Department and
the U.S. Navy continues without a time limit, says Richard P. Bress,
partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Latham & Watkins. Bress,
who argued DuPont's case before the appeals court, says the court also
found that even if the basis for a contractor's liability - such as
the Superfund law - did not exist for decades after the contract
ended, the government's broad indemnity still covers the company.

How this decision will play out with the Pentagon, DuPont and other
World War II contractors, and EPA remains to be seen. But the federal
appeals court seems to have given these companies strong legal backing
to cover their Superfund liabilities.

* * *

# # #

Rachel's Environment & Health News
Environmental Research Foundation
POB 160
New Brunswick NJ 08903-0160
T: 732-828-9995
F: 732-791-4603
E: e...@rachel.org
W: http://www.rachel.org

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WAL-MART SETTLES CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATIONS FOR $3.1M

Date: 040513
From: http://www.ens-news.com/

By J.R. Pegg, Environment News Service, May 13, 2004

Washington, DC - Retail giant Wal-Mart will pay a $3.1 million civil
penalty to settle violations of the federal Clean Water Act's storm
water runoff provisions at 24 construction sites across nine states,
federal officials said Wednesday. The penalty is a record for storm
water construction permitting violations, officials said, and is part
of a renewed federal commitment to enforce the regulations.

"We are not stopping with Wal-Mart," said Thomas Sansonetti,
assistant attorney general of the U.S. Justice Department's
Environment and Natural Resources Division. "We are going to continue
to bring more of these types of enforcement actions nationwide."

The complaint filed against the world's largest retailer included
allegations of failure to obtain a permits, to control polluted runoff
and to install appropriate sediment and erosion controls before
starting construction.

"Complying with the storm water portions of the statute is not that
difficult," Sansonetti said. "It requires low cost technology and Wal-
Mart's contractors were not doing it."

Wal-Mart, with annual sales of some $245 billion, has more than 4,800
stores and builds more than 200 stores a year across the United
States.

This is not the first time Wal-Mart has been found wanting in its
compliance with storm water regulations.

In 2001, the company paid $1 million in civil penalties in a similar
storm water settlement with federal officials - that case centered on
violations at 17 sites across four states.

The violations that prompted Wednesday's settlement were found in
part due to inspections related to the 2001 case.

"Developers like Wal-Mart must share responsibility with their
construction contractors to ensure compliance," Sansonetti said. "It
is everyone's job at construction sites to comply with the law."

The settlement requires Wal-Mart to comply with storm water
permitting requirements and to establish a nationwide compliance
program for its 150 contractors.

Sansonetti that Wal-Mart will be required to use qualified personnel
to oversee construction, conduct training and frequent inspections,
report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and take
quick corrective actions.

The Justice Department may still pursue individual contractors
involved in the alleged violations, Sansonetti said.

The agreement also calls on Wal-Mart to spend $250,000 on a
supplement environmental project to help protect sensitive wetlands or
waterways in one of the affected states, which are California,
Colorado, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas and Utah.

Tennessee and Utah are parties to the settlement, which was lodged
today for a 30-day public comment period in the U.S. District Court
for Delaware.

Wal-Mart and federal officials both said the company hopes to become
a "trend setter" in compliance with the program.

Federal officials told reporters at a press briefing that others
would be wise to follow the new commitments pledged by the retailer.

"This is important because it publicly kicks of a campaign by the
federal government to enforce compliance of storm water runoff
regulations," said Thomas Skinner, acting assistant administrator of
EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

Skinner noted that runoff from construction sites is "a primary
contributor to the impairment of water quality in the nation."

Storm water discharges from construction sites contain mud, sediment,
oil, grease, algae-producing nutrients, trash and heavy metals.

Polluted storm water runoff can harm or kill fish and other
wildlife - sedimentation can destroy aquatic habitat and high volumes
of runoff can cause stream bank erosion.

Current storm water regulations, known as Phase II, apply to
construction sites from one to five acres in size.

These sites must obtain authorization to discharge storm water via a
federal permit - most states are authorized to implement the program.

The EPA does not have statistics on compliance with the new
regulations - they came into effect last year. But the agency
estimates that only 30 percent of sites met the previous standard,
which covered sites of five acres and more.

"Of that third, there is a significant amount of noncompliance with
the permits they actually obtain," Skinner said.

That is a worrying statistic - given that there are some 400,000
annual construction starts that fall under the new regulations.

Skinner said enforcement of the regulations is "daunting, but
doable."

"The whole goal here is voluntary compliance," said Skinner. "We are
not going to get to 400,000 sites a year."

"We are going to rely to some extent on an education campaign and to
get the word out that we may not get to all 400,000 but we will get to
you," he told reporters.

Neither Skinner nor Sansonetti would reveal other commercial
developers and contractors under investigation, but said more cases
would be forthcoming.

"This issue is a national priority for the EPA," Skinner said.

* * *

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DEP UNVEILS PLAN TO DREDGE, RID WRECK POND OF POLLUTION

Date: 040518
From: http://www.app.com/

By Dan Kaplan, Asbury Park Press Coastal Monmouth Bureau, 5/18/04

Spring Lake - The state Department of Environmental Protection last
night unveiled a four-point plan to remedy environmental problems at
Wreck Pond, the source of almost all recent beach closings in the
state.

Most crucial to the restoration plan, DEP Commissioner Bradley M.
Campbell said, will be an expected $13 million to $15 million dredging
of the 48-acre pond, which is bordered by Sea Girt, Spring Lake,
Spring Lake Heights and Wall. The public meeting was held at borough
hall and attended by local officials and environmental activists.

The dredging, which could begin as early as the fall, will reduce
sediment that "serves as storage" for fecal coliform bacteria and
enterococci, Campbell said. The dredging also will eliminate nutrients
that allow algae and microorganisms to grow, according to a 22-page
report detailing the plan.

The cleanup proposal also calls for an approximately $5.2 million,
250-foot extension of the pond's discharge pipe into the ocean, to
disperse the pond's discharge farther offshore and reduce exposure to
swimmers; a plan to control and reduce the waterfowl population, whose
droppings contribute to the bacteria in the pond; and development of a
regional stormwater management plan.

Stormwater management will "help to focus local resources and to
address the long-term issues affecting the pond," according to the
report.

LOCAL ENFORCEMENT

Nancy Maclearie-Hayduk, chairwoman of the Wreck Pond Watershed
Association, said that for the plan to work, municipalities must set
laws limiting commonly used products such as fertilizer and mulch from
entering the stormwater system.

"It's all going in the storm drain and ending up in that pond," she
said. "The state can't regulate all the things the municipalities
can."

Campbell agreed, saying it is imperative that municipalities and the
state work together.

The report said Wreck Pond pollution shut nearby ocean beaches 109
times during the past three summers - 35 incidents in 2001, 16 in 2002
and 58 in 2003.

The state is considering a few options for the dredged sediment,
which may take 35,000 truck trips to dispose of, Campbell said.

A SEDIMENT ISLAND?

John Garofalo of the the DEP's Office on Construction and Engineering
said the state is considering building an island in the middle of the
pond with the dredged sediment to create a habitat for wildlife.

"The other question, does it increase the geese population?" he asked.

As part of the wildlife management portion of the plan, the state
plans to work with GeesePeace, a Virginia-based organization that uses
humane methods to control the Canada goose population.

Campbell said another possible use of the sediment is to build up the
dunes along the Spring Lake beach to provide additional storm
protection.

Walter Kimm, a Spring Lake councilman, said during the meeting that
he hopes the plan will change the stigma of Wreck Pond.

"It's made out to be like the most toxic site in the state of New
Jersey," he said. "I think perspective needs to be put in here. It's
not a toxic waste dump. It's an incredible environment."

* * *

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WOODSTOWN STILL SEEKING SOLUTION TO WATER SODIUM PROBLEM

Date: 040518
From: http://www.nj.com/news/sunbeam/

By Erin L. Boyle, Today's Sunbeam Staff Writer, May 18, 2004

Woodstown - After borough council passed two ordinances to meet state
requirements for borough water, it had to rescind those ordinances
following the state's request to re-examine its solution.

"I'm spending so much money on bottled water," she said.

Borough officials told her they understood her concern and have been
investigating methods of reducing sodium levels in the borough's water
supply. The borough water supply's above-average sodium level comes
from the PRM aquifer, where the borough draws the majority of its
water. The sodium level has existed since the borough has records of
it, to the 1940s, according to officials.

Borough officials have stressed that the sodium level is not
dangerous and has always existed.

At the end of last year, the borough passed the two ordinances
amending borough code, in accordance with the Department of
Environmental Protection's Safe Water Bureau requirement that the
borough lower the sodium level in its treated water. Those ordinances
called for the on-site dwelling reverse osmosis systems to be
installed in all new homes constructed and, in existing homes, on an
as-medically-required basis. The borough would have then been
responsible for maintaining those units.

But those ordinances' future hinged on the DEP's approval of the
reverse osmosis system. At a recent meeting with the DEP, the borough
learned it had to continue researching solutions.

Because the borough's original plan is no longer an option, borough
officials are examining other solutions. Councilman Mark Robbins said
a viable alternative option is treating Well 4 in the Mount Laurel
acquifer, where the borough receives water from, through filtration.
Another option was putting another well into the Mount Laurel aquifer,
but the best option seems to be treating the existing well, according
to Robbins.

* * *

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CONSERVATION 'NEEDS WIDER VIEW'

Date: 040517
From: http://www.envirolink.org/

By Julianna Kettlewell, BBC News Online science staff, 13 May, 2004

Global conservation efforts should focus strongly on whole ecosystems
as well as individual species, two US scientists argue in the journal
Nature.

Anthony Ives and Bradley Cardinale modelled extinctions and found
they could have unpredictable effects on the animals and plants left
behind.

Remaining species could thrive because they had lost a competitor;
and they could also struggle with future change.

The team says protection programmes must take a broad view of
conservation.

CONFLICTING FORCES

Some researchers fear that, due to climate change and habitat loss,
our planet is facing its sixth mass extinction.

Currently, most conservation programmes aim to boost the numbers of
so called "charismatic" animals, such as tigers and gorillas.

There is nothing wrong with this approach - indeed history has shown
it can be very effective. For example, the cirl bunting, a sparrow-
sized farmland bird, was recently brought back from the brink of
extinction in the UK.

But should we be looking at the problem of conservation in a slightly
different way?

No animal is an island: nearly every organism lives in a complex
interacting web of other species.

One creature's extinction can affect the other members of its
ecosystem. That creature may not be well known or cuddly, but its
departure can have a wide-reaching influence, say scientists.

A pair of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US,
have been looking into what happens when a "community" is put under
stress - by acid rain, say, or climate change - and species start to
decline.

They found that, as individual species disappear, two conflicting
forces begin to act on the ecosystem as a whole.

One of those forces makes the community more tolerant of present
conditions, while the other force makes it less so.

GOOD AND BAD

When an environment is damaged, some species will be more sensitive
than others - and will struggle and decline first. For their immediate
competitors, this is - in the short term at least - good news: it
means more resources to go round.

That is why, temporarily, the remaining species may seem tolerant of
the environmental damage.

"They don't like the change, but they like their competitor - or
predator - even less, so they do well," Professor Ives told BBC News
Online.

"This is called a compensatory response. And whenever you have food
webs, with strong interactions between species, these compensatory
responses are likely."

However, observers should not suppose an ecosystem is doing fine,
just because an extinction has provided an initial "boost".

"This idea of compensation works if you hate your competitors,
because while they are decreasing that release from competition will
be good for you," explained Professor Ives. "But after your
competitors are extinct, you are exposed only to the negative impacts
of the environment, so you too may begin to decrease."

In other words, if an animal does not have many competitors or
predators left, more extinctions will not do it much good. At this
point an ecosystem really hits trouble.

"As more and more species go extinct, the effect of compensation will
get less and less," said Professor Ives.

HARD TO PREDICT

Although scientists know how ecosystems tend to react to negative
forces - first they compensate, then they begin to collapse - it is
much harder to predict the fate of individual species.

"You don't know down the road which species will compensate when
another species declines," Professor Ives said. "It's hard enough to
try to predict how species are interacting with each other as it is.

"To then ask, when species go extinct, how do those interactions
change? It's almost impossible."

Unpredictability is the main reason, according to these researchers,
why conservationists should operate on the scale of the ecosystem
rather than the species.

"We can't just go out and conserve one species," said Bradley
Cardinale, the other co-author, "because we have no idea what species
may make the community resistant in the future; we would be prudent to
conserve as many as we can."

* * *

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FROGS AND FISH: NOT THE BEST OF FRIENDS

Date: 040518
From: http://www.nytimes.com/

By Henry Fountain, NY Times, May 18, 2004

The worldwide decline in frogs and other amphibians has been well
documented, though the reasons for it are less clear. Scientists have
suggested many possible factors, including climate change, disease and
increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation and pesticides.

But for some species, a major reason could simply be that they are
being eaten - by predators introduced into their habitat. A researcher
at the University of California at Berkeley has shown this to be the
case for a frog in the Sierra Nevadas. The researcher, Dr. Vance T.
Vredenburg of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the university,
demonstrated that rainbow and brook trout, introduced over the last
century for sport fishing, are largely responsible for the decline of
the mountain yellow-legged frog. He reported the finding in the
current issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
But Dr. Vredenburg wanted to show the effects of the fish without
harming more frogs, which exist almost exclusively in declining
populations in California mountains. "I had two choices," he said.
"One was to actually introduce fish into a frog lake and watch what
happens. But I couldn't do that in any conscionable manner."

Instead, Dr. Vredenburg studied what occurs when the trout are
removed. Beginning in 1997, he laboriously removed the fish from five
lakes in a remote region of Kings Canyon National Park in the central
Sierra Nevada. In a year or two, Dr. Vredenburg found signs that frogs
were returning.

To determine exactly how the fish affect the frogs, he conducted
another experiment, placing a few rainbow trout in small cages in the
lake and introducing some frog eggs. The trout, he found, ate the
tadpoles emerging from the eggs. "The fish would sit there and pick
them off one by one," he said. Taken together, Dr. Vredenburg said,
the two findings provide strong direct evidence of the trout's role.
"The fish in this case obviously are a major player in the decline of
this frog," he said.

The solution is easy. If you want to restore the frog, just remove
the fish, which the National Park Service has begun to do. "The most
exciting thing about this," Dr. Vredenburg said, "is that this is one
study of frog decline where we can actually do something about it."

* * *

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WATERSHED AWARENESS CAMPAIGN NEARS COMPLETION

Date: 040518
From: A...@NJAudubon.org

The Watershed Partnership of New Jersey is educating Jersey drivers
about the state's watershed systems, one sign at a time.

In a project to be completed in May, a total of 153 watershed
identification signs will be posted along New Jersey State roads and
highways, thanks in part to a grant from the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection. The project's completion is designed as part
of the state's celebration of:

WATERSHED AWARENESS MONTH

The project began last year with the posting of nearly 90 watershed
identification signs and the development of a series of educational
public service ads. The signs and ads are part of The Watershed
Partnership for New Jersey's (WPNJ) Watershed Awareness Campaign to
increase awareness and understanding of the state's 46 watersheds. The
campaign is designed to educate the public about the importance and
presence of New Jersey's watersheds, while informing residents of
their `Watershed Address'.

"The purpose of posting the watershed signs is to identify the
boundaries of the different watershed regions in New Jersey. With
this, it is our hope that people will begin to identify with the word
`watershed' and start asking questions about what watersheds are and
why they are important," explains WPNJ Executive Chair, Colleen Gould.

Watersheds are defined as areas of land where all of the water, both
above and below ground, drain into a large common body of water, such
as a major river. High points in the landscape determine watershed
boundaries. Major New Jersey roadways, such as Route 206, take drivers
through several of the state's watersheds, now identifiable through
the signs. The road signs are a visual reminder of the connection
between the state's watershed systems, and how human actions can
affect the water quality of a community.

The Watershed Partnership of New Jersey's mission is to enhance
watershed awareness through education and community involvement and to
create a statewide network of watershed resources.

For more information and to find your Watershed Address, please visit
http://www.WPNJ.org.

* * *

Contact/Article Written By:

Amy E Messeroll
Watershed Partnership for NJ
423 Quarry Lane
North Brunswick NJ 08902
P: 732-763-0211
F: 732-292-4670
E: A...@NJAudubon.org
E: wpn...@lycos.com
W: http://www.WPNJ.org

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DIRTY HOMES BUG HYGIENE SCIENTISTS

Date: 18 May 2004
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}

PEOPLE 'MISLED' BY THEORY OF PROTECTION THROUGH EXPOSURE TO GERMS

Sarah Boseley, Guardian (UK) health editor, May 18, 2004

Scientists today launch a major demolition of the "hygiene
hypothesis" which suggests that our clean, sterile modern homes could
be a cause of rising allergies in the UK [and the U.S.], and warn that
tolerating dirt could lead to a rise in harmful bugs and infectious
diseases.

Allergy and asthma rates have been soaring over the last few decades.
Many different theories have been advanced, but the most popular for
some time has been the hygiene hypothesis, suggested by the
epidemiologist David Strachan in 1989.

He suggested that the rise in allergy could be linked to the
decreasing exposure of children to microbes, partly because of cleaner
homes and partly because of smaller families. In larger families,
younger children were less likely to become allergic, he pointed out,
suggesting that their immune systems were too busy fighting off minor
infections brought home by older siblings.

As the hypothesis was developed, other scientists looked at different
ways in which our contact with microbes has lessened, such as the move
from farms to town living and the improvements in water supplies,
sanitation and vaccines. But a key aspect of the hypothesis, say
researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
is that too much cleanliness is not good for you.

Today the infectious diseases experts strike back, alarmed at the
implications for disease. Their review, they say in a report published
at the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, finds "there is
no justification for a relaxation in hygiene procedures aimed at
preventing infection transmission in the home".

It is not possible to allow "a bit of beneficial dirt" back into our
lives, say Ros Stanwell-Smith and Sally Bloomfield, honorary professor
at the school's hygiene centre. "In practice, any attempt to provide
'controlled dirtiness' in the environment would inevitably raise the
risk of invasive infection.

"'Controlled dirtiness' is not a feasible concept, raising questions
such as: how often should people wash their hands or clean chopping
boards; or how long washing should be delayed after exposure to dirty
environments?" They cite the 1991 cholera outbreak in South America,
which involved 350,000 cases, as an example of the authorities failing
to take on board the risks of halting chlorination of the water
supply.

Focusing on the link between increased allergies and decreased
exposure to microbes "ignores the ongoing presence of infection as a
cause of disease and tends to promote an impression that the infection
battle is over," they write. "The hypothesis can thus too easily be
viewed as a call for a retreat against the army of infection to allow
some of it back."

Bugs have not been eliminated, they say. Their review looks at the
evidence for the rise of MRSA infection - the so-called superbug - in
hospitals as microbes become resistant to antibiotics. E coli 0157,
which can cause severe illness and is transmitted from one person to
another in the home, is also a cause for concern. Tuberculosis has
increased in Europe and more virulent strains, resistant to
antibiotics, are rising. In the former Soviet Union, diphtheria cases
rose 50-fold between 1989 and 1995.

It is also not certain when exposure protects people - it may only be
important immediately after birth or in infancy.

The researchers call for the hygiene hypothesis to be renamed in
order not to deter people from cleaning their houses and protecting
themselves from disease - they suggest microbial exposure hypothesis
instead.

* * *

Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

# # #

Rachel's Environment & Health News
Environmental Research Foundation
POB 160
New Brunswick NJ 08903-0160
T: 732-828-9995
F: 732-791-4603
E: e...@rachel.org
W: http://www.rachel.org

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WATERSHED INSTITUTE WORKSHOPS - SPACES STILL AVAILABLE

Date: 17 May 2004
From: Laura Alex {la...@thewatershed.org}

Spaces are still available for The
Watershed Institute Workshop Series:

STRENGTHEN YOUR ORGANIZATION: STRATEGIES FOR LASTING SUCCESS;
FOUR WORKSHOPS TO ENHANCE INTERNAL CAPACITY

The first workshop is May 19th on grant writing. Each workshop ($25)
includes dinner and registering for all four is $50 - a 50% discount.
You will not only gain knowledge through the workshops themselves but
also networking among each other. These workshops are available to any
environmental organization, for more information and a registration
form please visit The Institute's website -
http://www.thewatershedinstitute.org or contact Laura Alex at
609.737.3735.

WHY ATTEND AND WHAT WILL YOUR GAIN?

Healthy watersheds depend on healthy and strong organizations. Around
our state, environmental organizations are implementing quality
programs and advocating for the protection and preservation of the
environment. The difficulty is balancing the needs of a growing
organization's financial challenges against an ever growing "to do"
list. To help maintain this balance organizations need the tools to a
build solid foundation to ensure lasting success.

SPACES ARE LIMITED REGISTER TODAY!

May 19 - TAP INTO AVAILABLE FUNDS
June 9 - CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET
June 16 - FOCUS ON THE ATTAINABLE - IT STARTS WITH A PLAN
June 26 - INCREASE YOUR REACH THROUGH MEMBERSHIP

- - -

TAP INTO AVAILABLE FUNDS

Date: Wed., May 19, 2004
Time: 6-9 pm
Place: Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve, Nature Center
Classroom, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, NJ 08534

Does tapping into deep pockets sometimes feel just out of reach?
Understanding the different funding sources and developing a
compelling solicitation package is not difficult to grasp, if you know
the tools of the trade. This grant writing workshop walks you through
the process of writing proposals to various funding sources. Exercises
and resources will be provided to help improve your organization's
success for funding projects that will improve the health of your
watershed.

Presenter: Leslie Loysen from Consulting Services for Non-Profit
Organizations is a leader in fundraising training and will share his
knowledge to enhance your organization's success in obtaining grants.

- - -

CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET

Date: Wed., June 9, 2004
Time: 6-9 pm
Place: Manasquan Reservoir Environmental Center, Georgia Tavern
Road, Manasquan, NJ

No organization can stay around for the long haul unless it is
financially sound. Not until you take a hard look at your finances
will the crystal ball of your organization's future become clear. The
magic will not stop there - these new powers can also lure potential
funders. Open your mind to this workshop and discover the tools for
successful financial management.Exercises and case studies will help
participants plan and develop a realistic financial picture for your
organization.

Presenters: Dick O'Malley and Russ Smith, consultants with the
National Executive Service Corps, will share their knowledge and
experience to provide participants the tools for good financial
management.

- - -

FOCUS ON THE ATTAINABLE - IT STARTS WITH A PLAN

Date: Wed., June 16, 2004
Time: 6-9 pm
Place: Ramada Inn, 2216 W. Landis Avenue & Route 55, Vineland,
NJ 08360

Are you being pulled in too many directions, thinking each issue and
project must be undertaken for the sake of your mission? Taking on too
many tasks and not having the resources could hinder your
organization's ability to succeed in the future. Strategic planning is
a tool that can identify and ensure that your organization's energies
are focused toward achieving goals. A clear, realistic plan can shape
and guide your organization and provide a mechanism to communicate
your organization's mission to the community and potential funders.

Presenter: Paul Mott Jr. is currently a consultant for Partners in
Philanthropy. Paul recently retired from F.M. Kirby Foundation after
12 years as Executive Director and has spent many years developing and
implementing strategic plans.

- - -

INCREASE YOUR REACH THROUGH MEMBERSHIP

Date: Sat., June 26, 2004
Time: 9am - 3pm
Place: Schooley Mountain Lodge, Washington, NJ

The economic uncertainty of the past few years is hurting everyone -
including foundations! Membership can play a key role in expanding and
diversifying funding for your organization. Increasing your membership
base also helps validate your group's credibility and harness
invaluable volunteer time. How do you persuade people to join your
cause and stay involved? This membership marketing workshop will
provide new perspectives and ideas in membership development. It is
also an opportunity to share, network, and learn successful strategies
from other groups.

Presenter: Marian Sroge, Certified Association Executive and Senior
Associate in League Services at The Association of Junior Leagues
International. She has trained and consulted for more than 15 years in
membership marketing, direct mail, and member services and surveys.

Visit the Institute's website for a copy of the brochure with more
detailed information on each workshop.

* * *

Laura Alex, Program Coordinator
The Watershed Institute
c/o Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
31 Titus Mill Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
la...@thewatershed.org
609.737.3735
609.737.3075 fax
http://www.thewatershedinstitute.org
http://www.thewatershed.org
http://www.giscenter.org

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HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER TALK ON BIRDING - MAY 20

Date: 18 May 2004
From: "Lisa Kelly" {li...@hackensackriverkeeper.org}

HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER SPONSORS FREE TALK
ON BIRDING IN MEADOWLANDS BY NJ AUDUBON'S FREIDAY

As part of a major collaboration with the New Jersey Audubon Society
to promote birding and eco-tourism in the Meadowlands, Hackensack
Riverkeeper is presenting two special talks on Thursday, May 20, by
Don Freiday, Director of New Jersey Audubon Society's Scherman-Hoffman
Wildlife Sanctuary in Bernardsville. Both talks will discuss bird-
watching opportunities in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Freiday's
organization expertly stewarded Cape May's growth as a major birding
and eco-tourism destination.

At 7 p.m. at the Secaucus Public Library, the public is invited to
Freiday's free talk on "Birding in the NJ Meadowlands: The Next Cape
May?" He will discuss the vast and varied bird-watching opportunities
in the Meadowlands. The Secaucus Public Library is located at 1379
Paterson Plank Road, Secaucus, NJ.

At 2 p.m. that same day, Freiday will make a presentation to members
of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce on "Capitalizing on
the Potential of Bird-Watching in the NJ Meadowlands." This talk will
take place at the Meadows Office Complex on Route 17 in Rutherford.

A New Jersey native, Freiday's degree in Natural Resource Management
and Applied Ecology is from Rutgers University, where for several
years he taught Wildlife Ecology to undergraduates. Freiday has worked
in the field of nature interpretation and/or wildlife biology for over
20 years, during which time he has led numerous nature tours to
Arizona, Colorado, California, Montana, Texas, and Wyoming, among
others. He has sought birds and wildlife in Mexico and Kenya, and is a
member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee.

Freiday is an author and columnist on nature, with two books to his
credit: A Precious Place: a Naturalist Explores New Jersey, and Wild
Journeys: Migration in New Jersey, which he co-authored with Brian
Vernachio and Dale Rosselet. He lives on an old farm in Hunterdon
County with his wife, three children, and sundry pets.

For more information, please call Hackensack Riverkeeper at
201-968-0808.

* * *

Lisa Kelly, Development Director
Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc.
231 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-968-0808, x104
201-968-0336 (fax)
http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org
li...@hackensackriverkeeper.org

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INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY - NY - MAY 27

Date: 18 May 2004
From: James Quigley {james....@bcc.cuny.edu}

The Center for Sustainable Energy invites you join in a light lunch
and series of informational seminars at Bronx Community College. We
offer these as a service to our community and invite your
participation in discussions to follow each of the presentations
listed. We seek collective input in exploring outcomes that are
beneficial to the community and the College to advance renewable
energy development, energy conservation, alternative fuels and
sustainable employment opportunities. Please review the schedule below
and RSVP to ma...@csebcc.org or call 718-289-5332 if you wish to
attend.

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Thursday, May 27th

"INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY: ITS IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE BRONX AND THE NEW YORK CITY AREA"

What are the trends in how money is being invested in the development
of wind, solar, hydrogen and related renewable energy industries? How
much is being invested and where is it going? How might these
investments be effecting workforce trends? What kinds of skills will
the employees of these enterprises need? How can we get these
industries located in New York?

Speaker: Marc Brammer, Senior Analyst, Innovest Strategic Value
Advisors, New York, NY, http://www.innovestgroup.com/

Mr. Brammer is a Senior Research Analyst with Innovest Strategic
Value Advisors, and has been with the company since 1997. His main
responsibilities have included analyzing many industry categories such
as global manufacturing, agriculture, foods, pulp & paper, and
utilities for environmental management performance and social
accountability. In addition to project development, training, and data
management, Mr. Brammer has also written several research reports on
climate change and its financial impacts. Mr. Brammer holds a Masters
degree in Political Science from the Graduate Faculty of the New
School University in New York, with a focus in Comparative Politics
and Political Theory. Prior to joining Innovest, he worked with the
Maryland International Institute for Ecological Economics at the
University of Maryland. He is a member of the Green House Network
speakers network on global warming and is a the Executive Director of
New York Climate Rescue.

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Thursday, June 17th

"HUMMERS AND HOT TUBS FOR CHINA: WHEN WILL OIL DEMAND
EXCEED SUPPLY AND WHAT WILL THAT MEAN FOR NEW YORK?"

Chinese auto production increased about 50% last year, and is going
to do the same this year. In general, demand for petroleum is
increasing rapidly in China and India. Will they catch up to how the
West uses oil? As these demand dynamics affect regional and global
markets, what will be the consequences for the US? How long can
petroleum supplies meet demand, and at what price? What does all of
this mean for New York?

Speaker: Alfred Cavallo, Ph.D., author and energy consultant, New
York, NY.

Dr. Cavallo received his degree from the University of Wisconsin
(Madison) in 1978 in plasma physics, and then spent the next six years
in Europe. He worked first for the Max Planck Institute for Plasma
Physics in Munich and then the French Atomic Energy Commission in
Paris on nuclear fusion experiments. He returned to the Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory in 1981, where he continued in the
experimental fusion program. He then moved to the Center for Energy
and Environmental Studies at Princeton University, working on indoor
air quality and on renewable energy integration issues, and developed
the concept of the oversized wind turbine array combined with
compressed air energy storage (CAES) to deliver affordable,
dispatchable energy from an intermittent resource. He has since become
interested in resource constraints on fossil fuels, particularly
petroleum and natural gas, in an attempt to understand how renewable
energy can compete with such resources, and any impact such
constraints might have on US security.

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