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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 040706

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Jul 6, 2004, 1:25:25 AM7/6/04

040706

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} URGENT - GOV, VETO EZ PASS FOR POLLUTERS BILL
{*} FAST-TRACK LEGISLATION DRAWS FIRE FROM CONSERVATIONISTS
{*} DEVELOPMENT IN PINELANDS ISN'T OVER YET
{*} COURT DECISION DISAPPOINTS OFFICIALS
{*} MORRIS TOWNSHIP VS. THE HIGHLANDS
{*} THESE BIRDS HAVE FLOWN
{*} GOP FREEHOLDERS ENDORSE $10M BOND FOR FARMLAND
{*} COLORADO TO MAKE DECISION ON HAZARDOUS WASTE SHIPMENT
{*} FEDERAL AGENCY SEEKS LOCAL INPUT ON PIPELINE
{*} EPA WILL RECONSIDER AIR POLLUTION RULE
{*} OFFICIAL - NO CASH TO CLEAN LAKE HOPATCONG OF WEEDS
{*} MORRISTOWN WOMAN DIGS IN TO SAVE TREES FROM SLOW DEATH
{*} BREAKING THE LAWN-CARE PESTICIDE CYCLE
{*} TORONTO BANS ALL PESTICIDES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY BY 2007
{*} EDITORIAL - A GREEN PRAGMATISM
{*} POSITION AVAILABLE - RARITAN-HIGHLANDS COMPACT
{*} GREEN ACRES FUNDING FOCUS OF WORKSHOP - JUL 21

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URGENT - GOV, VETO EZ PASS FOR POLLUTERS BILL

Date: 02 Jul 2004
From: NJ Environmental Federation {jvic...@cleanwater.org}

Dear NJ Environmental Federation Member & Activist,

In an unprecedented, undemocratic and anti-environment move, New
Jersey's Democratic leadership railroaded the EZ Pass for Polluters
bill (S.1368) through the NJ Legislature in less than 72 hours with no
debate and essentially no public input! This bill would severely
weaken environmental protections in the state, accelerate sprawl and
add more pollution to areas that are already suffering from the
effects of too much pollution.

As a result and in response to the concern of our members, allies and
public at large, NJEF's board has unanimously voted to pull out all
the stops (as has a diverse coalition of labor, civil rights,
religious and environmental groups from across the state). We urge you
in the strongest terms to call the Governor right now at 609-292-6000.
Leave a message with the receptionist urging the Governor to veto
S1368. When you call, be prepared to 1) call again during business
hours if you can't leave a message during "off hours", and 2) tell the
receptionist if s/he tells you the Governor's going to sign it that he
should change his mind!

The provisions of this legislation are so wide ranging and
threatening that a few bullets will not do justice for this unjust
bill. So here are our top 10 objections to S.1368:

a. Closes the courthouse doors to the people, the state and the
environment - Polluters can appeal permit decisions but the public
and the state cannot. It's easier for the polluter to get a permit
denial overturned. So much for due process.

b. Silences the public again - From roads and toxic waste site clean-
ups to discharge of radioactive and chemical weapons waste into
state waterways and security at the state's high risk chemical
plants in a post 9/11 world, the bill's 45 day timeline prevents
meaningful public participation just as the legislative process
did.

c. Rams bad permits through in the same way this bill was rammed
through the legislature - NJDEP would have a gun to its head:
automatic permit approval if the agency doesn't take action within
45 days, regardless of a permit's complexity and other
circumstances.

d. Allows polluters with cash to approve their own permits -
Permittees can hire consultants to write and approve their
applications without appropriate government oversight. Talk about
the fox watching the hen house and a conflict of interest.

e. Violates the state constitution and federal law - Violates federal
Clean Water Act agreements and the public's right to due process.
This will encourage lawsuits that will seek to block this bill's
implementation, bringing more, not less, uncertainty into the
permitting process.

f. Increases traffic congestion - DOT and NY/NJ Port Authority will
get expedited DEP permit review for a wide variety of large-scale
roadway, ports, airport and other projects. Fast-tracking highway
projects will certainly lead to more sprawl, less cohesive
planning, and less community involvement - hardly "smart growth".

g. Weakens environmental protections and standards - Protections for
waterways large and small will be diminished. Sewer expansions and
water allocations will be allowed without respect to water quality
impacts along the coast, the Highlands and Pinelands, the state's
sprawling suburbs, and beyond.

h. Violates the Governor's Environmental Justice Executive Order -
Communities that have been most burdened by pollution and
contamination in the past will continue to bear that burden in the
future.

i. Benefits millionaire builders at the expense of non-profit
community developers and small business - The wealthy will have the
money to fast track their permits, while the "mom & pops" don't.
The NJDEP will be stretched beyond capacity to respond to a large
volume of major permits, putting public health and the environment
in jeopardy.

j. Puts too much power in the hands of a single, new, unelected
bureaucrat - S/he will have the power to veto environmental, labor
and public health protection measures thereby preventing the NJDEP
and others from fulfilling their responsibility to increase
protections.

So again, we urge you in the strongest terms to call the Governor
right now at 609-292-6000 and leave a message with the receptionist
urging the Governor to veto S.1368. When you call, be prepared to 1)
call again during business hours if you can't leave a message during
"off hours", and 2) if the receptionist tells you the Governor's going
to sign it, then tell him/her to tell the Governor to change his mind!
Thank you!!!

* * *

Jenny Vickers
Organizer & Communications Coordinator
NJ Environmental Federation
Ph: 732-280-8988
Fax: 732-280-0371
jvic...@cleanwater.org
http://www.cleanwateraction.org

New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJEF) is a non-profit 501 (c)(4)
organization fighting to protect natural resources and drinking water,
reduce the use of pesticides, and clean up pollution. NJEF is the
state chapter of Clean Water Action and has 100 member groups and
70,000 individual members. NJEF empowers people to make democracy
work. NJEF employs a professional staff of organizers, door to door
and phone canvassers to activate our members and allies.

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FAST-TRACK LEGISLATION DRAWS FIRE FROM CONSERVATIONISTS

Date: 1 Jul 2004
From: "William Honachefsky" {william.h...@sprintmail.com}

By Joe Tyrrell, Star-Ledger Staff, July 01, 2004

Less than three months after environmentalists and local officials
from Hunterdon and Warren counties gathered on the banks of Spruce Run
Reservoir to praise Gov. James E. McGreevey, they came yesterday to
sink his reputation.

In April, a small but enthusiastic gathering organized by the New
Jersey Conservation Foundation stood in a drizzle to tout the
governor's "leadership" in pushing the Highlands bill intended to
protect water supplies.

Yesterday, even bright sunshine couldn't add cheer to a smaller and
decidedly unenthusiastic group gathered under the auspices of the
Sierra Club to deplore the "fast-track" bill designed to speed
development outside zones protected by the Highlands bill.

The meeting was one of scores being organized around the state to
highlight local impacts of fast-track approvals, which would short-
circuit environmental and planning regulations, said Kelly McNicholas
of the Sierra Club.

It came a day after a McGreevey spokesman dismissed a call from 27
environmental organizations to veto the bill. They said its 45-day
timeline is too short to ensure proper review of toxic waste, sewage
discharge, wetlands development and other sensitive permits.

"The governor wanted the Highlands to be his legacy, but if he signs
this bill, his legacy is going to be pollution and congestion and
sprawl," McNicholas said.

"This truly is 'pay-to-play,' 'pay-to-build,'" said Nick Corcodilos,
a member of the Clinton Township zoning board.

The bill paves the way for large-scale development in southern Warren
County even if local municipalities object, said Mike King of the
Phillipsburg Riverview Organization.

"There are 5,000 acres outside Phillipsburg that have been
reclassified" by the state into planning areas that can accommodate
growth, he said. "Most of them used to be farms."

In Hunterdon County, the new bill could revive the 911-home Windy
Acres development proposed in Clinton Township, as well as spur growth
along Route 22, according to local residents.

Route 31 and feeder roads could be widened, because the new bill
"treats putting in a new traffic light the same as putting in an
expressway," McNicholas said.

Hunterdon Freeholder Director Marcia Karrow said environmentalists
should have paid more attention as the Highlands bill was written to
include the seeds of the fast-track process. Even if McGreevey changes
his mind and vetoes the fast-track bill, the Highlands bill must be
amended to remove similar language, she said.

"The whole process with all these bills has been outrageous and anti-
democratic," she said.

* * *

Joe Tyrrell covers Hunterdon and Somerset counties. He can be reached
at jtyr...@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.
Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.

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DEVELOPMENT IN PINELANDS ISN'T OVER YET

Date: 040705
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/

By Paul Leakan, Burlington County Times, July 2, 2004

Tabernacle - Although many have decried the amount of development
that has already occurred in the protected Pinelands, the region's
growing pains are far from over.

Members of the new 20-member Pinelands Housing Task Force began
grappling with that reality during their inaugural meeting at
Tabernacle's Town Hall yesterday.

The state Pinelands Commission, which oversees the million-acre
reserve in South Jersey, authorized the creation of the task force
last November.

The group is reviewing updated estimates on housing demand inside and
outside of the seven Pinelands counties through the year 2020 by
looking at factors such as the current population, vacant developable
land and anticipated housing units.

During the meeting, an economist with the commission quoted New
Jersey Department of Labor figures projecting that 162,280 housing
units would need to be built by the year 2020 to meet rising
populations in Burlington County and the other six counties in the
Pinelands.

Of those new units, the commission estimates 40,380 could be built in
the regional growth areas throughout the Pinelands by 2020.

According to the projections, Burlington County would need a total of
31,060 new housing units by 2020 to accommodate an estimated
population increase of 82,306.

The commission estimates 5,280 of those units would be constructed in
the county's designated Pinelands regional growth areas by 2020.

Pinelands Executive Director John Stokes cautioned that housing
projections are more of a "reasonable starting point" the task force
can use in its deliberations regarding recommended housing densities
in regional growth areas.

The task force will hold seven more meetings.

The 15-member Pinelands Commission will consider the task force's
recommendations before ultimately deciding whether to revise housing-
density regulations and approve new ways to apportion growth in
regional growth areas.

There are 24 regional growth areas in the Pinelands.

In Burlington County, parts of Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes,
Pemberton Township, Shamong, Southampton and Tabernacle are located in
re-gional growth areas. The Pine-lands Commission can super-cede
municipal boards on questions of housing density in the areas it
regulates.

Under the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, higher densities
of housing and commercial development are assigned to regional growth
areas so that ecologically sensitive sections of the reserve - such as
Bass River, Washington and Woodland in Burlington County - can be
preserved and protected.

* * *

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COURT DECISION DISAPPOINTS OFFICIALS

Date: 040705
From: http://www.nj.com/news/

By Jerome Montes, Bridgeton News, July 03, 2004

Millville - Thursday's Superior Court decision vacating Millville
1350's General Development Plan for the Preserve at Holly Ridge came
as a disappointment to city officials, many of whom are convinced that
environmental activists are hamstringing the city's prospects for
economic progress.

The proposed development called for the construction of over 900
"active adult" homes and an 18-hole golf course on a tract of land
currently owned by a Conectiv subsidiary. The city's planning board
granted approval for the General Development Plan last August.

But the proposal was successfully contested by a coalition of
environmental groups spearheaded by Citizens United to Preserve the
Maurice River and its Tributaries. These groups contended that the
board failed to conduct necessary research on the impact the
development could have on the community and the local environment.

City economic development director Don Ayres said the court's
decision is especially frustrating because environmental opposition
against the project seems to be steeped more in politics than fact. "I
think it's a wonderful project that addresses any environmental
concerns," Ayres said.

City officials have pointed out that only about 400 of the
approximately 1,300 acres on the tract will be developed under the
plan, leaving over 900 acres to be preserved.

But the coalition opposing the project contends that fragmenting the
greenway created by the protected lands would detrimental.

Jane Galetto, president of Citizens United, took issue with critics
who characterize environmentalists as obstructionists of development.
"We're not doing anything illegal, only participating in the
democratic process to protect an important, contiguous forest,"
Galetto said.

She noted that many of the leaders of environmental groups opposed to
the project are respected scientists and naturalists "I put a lot of
weight in the knowledge of professionals," Galetto said. "These
leaders are biologists, they're experts in flora and fauna."

City officials note that the application was not rejected on general
principle but simply ruled incomplete, and hope Millville 1350 will
reapply again.

The project's supporters say the development would bring in huge tax
revenues, introduced an active-adult population with disposable
income, and create a city ratable estimated to be worth between $200
and $300 million.

Opposition to the General Development Plan is not the only hurdle the
project faces.

Environmentalists and the state Department of Environmental
Protection are seeking to block the sale of the land tract through the
state's Board of Public Utilities.

* * *

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MORRIS TOWNSHIP VS. THE HIGHLANDS

Date: 4 Jul 2004
From: "Mr. jockey hollow" {jockey...@mac.com}

MORRIS TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE OPPOSED HIGHLANDS LAW

Letter to the Editor, Star Ledger, 040704

In the controversy surrounding the Highlands law, it is important
that residents of Morris Township know where their local elected
officials stood on this issue. At the Morris Township Committee
meeting of May 5, all five committee members voiced opposition to the
Highlands proposal.

As the Highlands law serves to protect our drinking water and many of
our environmentally-sensitive lands, the committee's unanimous
opposition to this law is truly curious. After all, environmental
preservation has been a major movement for many years by Republican-
held Morris County. The committee's opposition to the Highlands law
seems to lie in Committeeman Jan Wotowicz's lasting distress that the
Southgate Corporate Park on South Street was unable to expand due to
the existence of those pesky wetlands. His current distress is the
likely doom of the CCRC due to the existence of that pesky Great
Swamp.

The township committee's resoluteness to build the CCRC retirement
village shows its willingness to destroy whatever environmental
inconveniences stand in the committee's way, including the New Jersey
Highlands.

- Edward Benoit, Morristown

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THESE BIRDS HAVE FLOWN

Date: 040705
From: http://www.nj.com/news/

AS JERSEY'S GRASSLANDS DISAPPEAR, SO DO THE
ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT CALL THEM HOME

By Alexander Lane, Star-Ledger, July 04, 2004

Just off Route 287, a few minutes into Franklin Township, is a vast
expanse of grass.

Not a ballfield or a farm, but an unruly meadow, flecked with
wildflowers, flickering with butterflies and noisy with the trills,
twitters and tweets of little brown birds.

Flat, dry, treeless - a developer's dream.

"They used to call at least once a month," said Melba Battin, whose
family owned much of the 165-acre tract before the town bought it last
year.

Wild grasslands like this are vanishing from New Jersey, and not just
because of builders. Those that escape the bulldozer may be mowed for
ballplaying or plowed for farming. Those left alone are often ravaged
by deer and overrun by invasive shrubs.

The disappearance of grasslands has had its most measurable impact on
the birds that depend on them, known as grassland species. These
mostly small brown songbirds account for 41 percent of New Jersey's
endangered bird species, even though they represent less than a tenth
of all bird species in the state.

Species such as the vesper sparrow, the eastern meadowlark, the
grasshopper sparrow, the bobolink, the American kestrel and the upland
sandpiper have all declined dramatically or stagnated at meager
numbers in recent years.

"Grassland species have a better chance of being eliminated from this
state in the next 10 years than any other species," said Troy Ettel of
the New Jersey Audubon Society.

How to stop that is widely discussed among environmentalists and
regulators. Farmers and builders are increasingly concerned that all
the talk will lead to new restrictions on their businesses.

"We're waiting with bated breath," said Helen Heinrich, a consultant
for the New Jersey Farm Bureau. "It's a situation where hopefully
something can be worked out to the benefit of everybody."

NEGLECTED STEPCHILDREN

Unlike the thick mats of sod that grow on lawns, the wild grasses
found in New Jersey - like switch grass, Indian grass and little
bluestem - grow in clumps, interspersed with wildflowers, clovers and
other plants.

Grassland birds evolved to nest at the base of these clumps, far from
tree- dwelling predators. They eat the grass seeds and scratch patches
of bare ground for insects.

These habitats have always been somewhat fleeting. Left alone,
they'll grow into forests. In the past, woolly mammoths, forest fires,
beavers and agriculture did their share to create grasslands. But
development and forest fire suppression have greatly reduced the
process.

Suburban lawns and ballfields, or even small meadows of just a few
acres, have little appeal for grassland birds, wildlife biologists
said. Hay meadows, abandoned farm fields, power line rights of way and
the often-unkempt fields near airport runways can make suitable homes,
but none is nearly as desirable to the birds as a wild meadow.

But even when grasslands are purchased for conservation, they often
don't get the expensive management they require, said Larry Niles,
chief of the state's Endangered and Nongame Species Program. They
often grow shrubby, then woody - a process hastened by deer that feast
on native grasses, enabling invasive shrubs to take over.

"Grasslands are definitely the neglected-stepchildren habitat of New
Jersey," said Eric Stiles of the Audubon Society.

That is starting to change.

There are two federally funded programs - the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service's Landowner Incentive Program and the Department of
Agriculture's Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program - that provide money
to farmers and other landowners willing to preserve and manage
wildlife habitat. Grasslands are a high priority in both programs,
state and federal officials said.

The former program, administered by the state, is in the formative
stage. The latter has been around since 1998 and led to the management
of about 15,000 acres of grasslands in New Jersey, said Timothy Dunne,
a wildlife biologist who manages the program in New Jersey for the
federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"I'm disappointed in that number," Dunne said. "I don't feel we're
having a huge impact on the landscape in New Jersey with that 15,000
acres."

Many of the preserved tracts are too small to attract many grassland
birds, Dunne said.

GROWING CONTROVERSY

The incentive programs cater mainly to farmers. For example, if a hay
farmer switched from high-yielding imported grasses - which are not
suitable habitat for grassland species - back to native grasses, the
programs would pay for the decrease in income, Dunne said.

That sort of arrangement may be appealing to "gentlemen farmers,"
whose land is more estate than farm, but it is less popular among
dirt-under-the-nails farmers, said Heinrich, the farm bureau
consultant.

"It's underfunded, and I don't believe it makes up for the income you
could be making on field crops," Heinrich said.

Furthermore, Heinrich said, farmers fear new rules on threatened and
endangered species expected later this year from the Department of
Environmental Protection could restrict farmers known to have
grassland birds on their property.

Niles said farmers shouldn't worry about new rules. "I think the only
hindering it will do is it will hinder development," he said.

Builders are none too happy about that. Just about every other type
of land - coastal land, wetlands, steeply sloped land - already falls
under strict regulations.

"There'll be nothing left to build on," said Leonard D. Sendelsky,
chairman of the board of the Central Jersey Builders Association and a
builder in Middlesex and Union counties. "I guess they want to put
builders out of business completely in this state."

Sendelsky said he, like everyone, is worried about birds. But he's
more worried about people, and the economy.

"Where are employees going to live? Where are policemen, firemen,
teachers going to live?" he said.

Ettel, of the Audubon Society, countered that the birds were here
first.

"Grassland birds have been residents of New Jersey longer than humans
have been residents of New Jersey, and that alone deserves our
respect," he said.

* * *

Alexander Lane covers the environment. He can be reached at
al...@starledger.com or (973) 392-1790.
Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.

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GOP FREEHOLDERS ENDORSE $10M BOND FOR FARMLAND

Date: 040705
From: http://www.nj.com/news/

Today's Sunbeam, July 02, 2004

Pennsville Twp. - Salem County's Republican freeholders Thursday
unanimously endorsed a $10 million bond issue to accelerate farmland
preservation and called for a special meeting as soon as possible to
vote on the resolution.

In a joint statement released Thursday, Freeholders Sue Bestwick, Ben
Simmermon, and Dave Sparks said they would present the resolution at
the special meeting.

"We're ready to vote. We're ready to allocate $10 million to preserve
farmland and critical open space, which is what a bipartisan group of
mayors has asked us to do. If one Democrat is willing to stand up and
vote with us on this resolution, we can pass this measure and begin
preserving acreage. Work. It's time to quit talking and act. An
overwhelming majority of voters told us two years ago at the polls
that they are willing to support the equivalent of a two cent tax to
make sure farmland and open space are preserved. We know what we need
to do," the three said in the press release.

The bond funds would be used to preserve farmland and critical open
space through the program directed by the County Agriculture
Development Board, which also partners with Green Acres.

The Republican freeholders said the resolution they will present to
the full board will require the county tax bill to identify in a
separate line item the funds dedicated for farmland and open space
preservation.

Bestwick, Simmermon, and Sparks also said they will present a
companion measure allowing Salem County voters to determine whether
the county should support an additional $3 million bond issue to
assist municipalities with Town Center plans, according to the
statement.

"Providing funds for this purpose is not traditionally a county role.
If we are going to move in this direction, we think it wise to allow
voters to voice their opinion in a non-binding referendum, just as we
did with farmland preservation," the Republican freeholders said in
their joint statement."

* * *

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COLORADO TO MAKE DECISION ON HAZARDOUS WASTE SHIPMENT

Date: 040701
From: http://www.nj.com/

COLORADO ORDERED TO MAKE DECISION ON HAZARDOUS WASTE SHIPMENT

Associated Press, 7/1/2004

Canon City, Colo. - The state health department must decide by July 9
whether 24,000 tons of contaminated soil can be shipped from New
Jersey to a Cotter Corp. uranium mill, a judge said. State District
Judge Herbert L. Stern set the deadline Tuesday for a decision on
storing the thorium-tainted soil from a Superfund site in Maywood, NJ

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had planned
to include a ruling on the 24,000-ton shipment in its decision on what
material Cotter can accept under 2003 state law that gave the
department more say over the mill south of Canon City.

Stern said the department had to consider the issues separately
because Cotter sought permission to accept the 24,000 tons before the
law was passed.

Cotter is seeking permission to accept a total of 470,000 tons of
soil from the New Jersey site.

Cotter's attorney, John Watson, was pleased with Stern's ruling.

"The judge ruled they couldn't hold the Maywood decision hostage
anymore," he said.

Gary Baughman, the health department's director of hazardous
materials and waste management, said he was surprised by the ruling
but did not feel it would set a precedent on whether Cotter can accept
the entire 470,000 tons.

"This order is pertaining to a request for a fairly discrete chunk of
material from the Maywood site," Baughman said. "I think that's as far
as that would go."

* * *

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FEDERAL AGENCY SEEKS LOCAL INPUT ON PIPELINE

Date: 040701
From: http://www.nj.com/

By Patricia Parente, Times, July 01, 2004

Bordentown Township - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has
launched its "pre-filing" environmental review of Williams' Transco's
plan to expand a natural gas pipeline through the township and is
seeking input from residents, officials and anyone else interested in
the project.

FERC representatives met with officials from the township, the county
and the state to tour the site of the proposed 3.5-mile pipeline
expansion on Tuesday afternoon, and that evening held a "scoping
meeting" at the Ramada Inn on Route 206 to gather public comments.

Alisa M. Lykens, an environmental biologist with FERC, noted that the
project "is still in the design phase." She said the regulatory
commission, which is charged with determining whether or not proposed
interstate pipeline projects are necessary, wants to learn about
issues concerning the expansion plan before Transco's application is
filed in August.

Lykens said FERC is also continuing to accept written comments about
the proposed project.

Alex J. Dankanich with the U.S. Department of Transportation Office
of Pipeline Safety and representatives from Transco also attended
Tuesday night's meeting.

Transco, which operates a natural gas pipeline system between the
Texas Gulf Coast and New York City, is planning to build the new 3.5-
mile pipeline that would run through Bordentown and Mansfield
townships to meet regional service needs by connecting sections of an
existing 36-inch diameter pipeline.

Transco officials considered several different routes for the
expansion, including two on the west side of the New Jersey Turnpike
near the Williamsburg Village neighborhood, and three on the east side
near an existing utility corridor.

The company's preferred route "is a variation of one of the routes on
the east side," according to Transco officials, who said the route was
moved closer to the Turnpike, within an existing Public Service
Electric and Gas easement, in response to comments from township
officials and residents. The preferred route is not yet final and may
still be altered, company officials said.

Meanwhile, township officials have voiced concern about the effect
the expansion plan would have on residents, the municipality's open
space program, and future commercial growth in the area. Concerns
about construction noise, safety and property values have also been
raised.

Only three people from the public spoke during Tuesday night's
meeting.

Julie Gandy, Burlington County's open space coordinator, echoed
concerns raised by township officials about a roughly 70-acre horse
farm off Old York Road that has been protected under the farmland
preservation program, and a 90-acre site that fronts Georgetown Road
that was preserved as open space.

Committeeman George Chidley reread a list of questions about the
project he posed to Transco officials during last week's committee
meeting. They included questions about the total number of acres that
would be affected by the project, the amount of soil that would be
displaced, what the environmental impact would be, what steps would be
taken to control dust and noise during construction, and what would be
the duration of the project.

Williamsburg Village resident Pat Lovas said she opposes any plans
that would put the pipeline on her side of the highway, a sentiment
that has been voiced by fellow neighborhood residents.

After the meeting, Mayor Gerald Boyer said the township committee
remains concerned about Transco's plans.

Boyer, Chidley and other local, county and state officials toured the
proposed expansion site with FERC representatives and Transco
officials Tuesday afternoon.

"We haven't gotten enough information nor seen a proposed route that
would be satisfactory," he said.

FERC is planning to prepare an environmental assessment of the
proposed expansion project and additional comments will be accepted,
Lykens said. After the report is completed, FERC will gather comments
for another 30 days before the commission determines whether or not to
grant approval, she said.

* * *

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EPA WILL RECONSIDER AIR POLLUTION RULE

Date: 1 Jul 2004
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}

EPA TAKES 2ND LOOK AT FACTORY RULE

A CHANGE COULD INCREASE COSTS FOR POWER PLANTS

By Traci Watson, USA TODAY, July 1, 2004

Washington - The Bush administration said Wednesday that it will
reconsider a controversial 2003 rule that exempted industrial plants
from installing costly new controls on air pollution.

Without the exemption, power plants, refineries and other facilities
would have to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade
their technology to curb pollution. It's too early to say whether the
administration will decide to revamp the rule, which was finalized
less than a year ago.

The regulation has been a centerpiece of the Bush administration's
environmental agenda and has garnered praise from many industry
groups, but it has also led to criticism. The Sierra Club, for
example, featured the rule change in TV ads attacking President Bush's
environmental policies.

Before the rule was finalized last August, any facility that upgraded
its equipment - a step that can lead to higher levels of air pollution
- was required to install the latest technology for controlling
emissions.

The policy, which was developed by the Environmental Protection
Agency, relaxed that requirement: It exempted upgrades that cost less
than 20% of the cost of replacing the plant.

Refineries and some larger factories are bound by the rule, but power
plants are most affected because they're more likely to do major
upgrades.

The exemption is especially useful to dozens of aging power plants in
the Midwest. Such plants need upgrades to extend their useful lives
and to become more efficient. But having to update their pollution
controls at the same time would be hugely expensive.

In December, a federal appeals court stopped the rule from taking
effect. Environmental groups and states that had sued to stop the rule
had "demonstrated...(a) likelihood of success" in doing so, the court
wrote.

The EPA said Wednesday that it would reconsider both the 20% limit
and its legal rationale for rewriting the rule, in response to a
request from environmentalists and five states. The agency will accept
public comment for 60 days and make a decision in January.

"Because there has been such high-level attention to this issue, we
wanted to be sure that...we received all the information we needed,"
said James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality.

Industry groups downplayed the announcement, saying the EPA just
wants to be careful.

Those who asked the agency to reconsider had a different spin.

"It's an acknowledgement that the whole...regulation is in peril,"
said Judith Enck, a spokeswoman for the New York state attorney
general's office, which was among those that asked the EPA to
reconsider. "It's a small step in the right direction."

* * *

# # #

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

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

OFFICIAL - NO CASH TO CLEAN LAKE HOPATCONG OF WEEDS

Date: 040705
From: http://www.nj.com/news/

By Sally Goldenberg, Star-Ledger, July 02, 2004

The group that yanks excessive weeds out of New Jersey's largest
freshwater lake may end its operations in August in the absence of
state funds, according to its director of field operations.

For the third year in row, the Lake Hopatcong Commission has
requested money from the state budget to no avail, and it says it
cannot continue cleaning the lake, which is being choked by plant
growth.

Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection
Bradley Campbell said yesterday the department may transfer money from
another account to stabilize the commission, which received $3 million
in start-up funds in 2001 and $500,000 from a DEP cash transfer in
October.

The commission requested nearly $1 million from the state budget,
which took effect yesterday, in hopes of buying equipment that would
retard the flow of algae- producing nutrients into the water.

"We intend to sit down with them in the next few weeks and determine
what funding they need to continue operation and fund them at that
level if we can," Campbell said.

The commission, the first of its kind for a lake in New Jersey, has
laid off staff and delayed buying new equipment as its funds have
dwindled. Its bank account currently has $260,000, said Bill Clark,
director of field operations.

Clark said he doubts the verbal commitment Campbell made yesterday.

"That's the first I've ever heard of anything from Mr. Campbell's
office, but that's good news, I guess. He's said things to me
personally before, which didn't hold to be true," about funding, Clark
said. "I'm skeptical."

Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris), who sponsored a bill to fund the
commission with $1.5 million, said the DEP's promise mirrors past
commitments that are financially insufficient and untimely. The bill
is now lodged in a legislative committee.

"It's frustrating as a legislator to see the problems that are up
there that could be corrected with some funding," said Bucco. "My God,
put a line item in there, keep it in every year, and let's work
together to make Lake Hopatcong a premier jewel in the state of New
Jersey."

Clark said the commission needs at least $969,000 to install
underground devices to trap solids and nutrients before they flow into
the lake. The traps would reduce the growth of algae and weeds and
postpone the eventual death of the lake, Clark said.

The towns surrounding the lake generally were established as summer
communities. Most environmentalists agree they are not outfitted for
year- round use because many houses have septic systems, which allow
solids to flow into the lake, and unfiltered storm water often flows
directly into the body of water.

"Cutting and harvesting the weeds is considered to be a Band- Aid
approach," Clark said. "If we don't keep the weeds in check, the lake
will not be able to be used for recreational purposes. It also would
result in fish kills, and it would drastically reduce the water
quality."

The 11-person commission, armed with a nine-member staff, questioned
the state Legislature's funding decision to neglect a deteriorating
body of water that would provide drinking water during a drought.

"It seems like we're in very dire straits," said Commissioner Eric
Grove. "It's very ironic. We're talking about the Highlands and
protecting water and resources, and Hopatcong is used in times of
emergency as a reservoir."

The Highlands is an 800,000-acre tract of land in northern New Jersey
slated for environmental preservation due to the significance of its
water resources.

Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club voiced mixed feelings. While the lake
should be better cared for, the commission spent too much money too
quickly and did not carry out long-term improvement plans, such as
installing the underground basins to clean the water flowing into the
lake, Tittel said.

Clark said the commission spent a lot of money early on, assuming
funds would be restored annually in the state budget, and has not yet
had a chance to do long-term improvements.

Despite some concerns, Tittel said the state should fund the
commission. "If they had the resources, they can do an okay job," he
said.

* * *

Sally Goldenberg covers Hopatcong, Jefferson and Mount Arlington. She
can be reached at sgold...@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.

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

MORRISTOWN WOMAN DIGS IN TO SAVE TREES FROM SLOW DEATH

Date: 3 Jul 2004
From: "Rebecca P. Feldman" {rapid...@verizon.net}

By Navid Iqbal, Daily Record, 07/03/04

The "volcano mulch" may not be a dormant catastrophe waiting to
happen. But it can certainly devastate your lawn, experts say.

Like a modern-day Pliny, who helped evacuate Pompeii before the
volcano erupted, Rebecca Feldman is trying to save Morristown from the
dangers of the "volcano" mulch epidemic she says is threatening the
town's trees and shrubs.

Feldman, who sits on the Morristown environmental commission and
planning board, started an email and telephone campaign to let friends
and neighbors know that applying too much mulch - too thick and too
close to the center of plants - will cause trees and shrubs a slow,
fungi-choked and vermin-chewed death.

Although, when done correctly, mulching is a good thing, many
horticultural, landscaping and tree experts throughout the Garden
State agree that over-mulching is a growing problem.

"A thin layer of mulch is OK," said Bruce Hamilton, associate
professor of landscape architecture at Rutgers University and director
of the Rutgers Garden in New Brunswick.

"A volcano of mulch is evil."

Feldman, who describes herself as "plant-aholic" learned about over-
mulching the hard way. The trees she planted when she first moved into
her house a little over six years ago began decaying quickly. After a
little research, she realized what she was doing wrong and decided to
get active.

"I care about our total urban landscape," Feldman said "We plant
trees for our future generations."

She informed her neighbors and friends, who often "blamed their
spouses" for putting up too much mulch. She also brought the problem
to the attention of local officials and landscaping personnel at
various institutions.

But while walking with her husband and two children around her
neighborhood, she noticed an old tree on municipal property that a
landscaping contractor had completely covered with mulch.

Feldman got on her hands and knees and tried removing as much mulch
away from the trunk as she could.

"But somebody else walking by rolled their eyes and I realized that
you can't help one tree at a time," Feldman said. "I'm passionate
about the environment, but I'm not an extremist. My husband was
relieved when I started emailing and phoning people instead."

ROOTS MUST BREATHE

Mounding mulch around a tree's trunk like a mountain - or volcano -
will suffocate the tree's roots, said Bill Porter, executive director
of the New Jersey Shade Tree Federation, a nonprofit coalition of
local shade tree commissions.

Roots need to breathe and a thick layer of mulch over soil will
prevent them from getting air. If roots don't get oxygen, they begin
to take up too much water and nutrients, which will lead to decay.

When mulch lines up against a tree trunk, the living tissue or phloem
just inside the outer bark is obstructed, preventing an exchange
between oxygen and carbon dioxide. When that happens, the tree's roots
can no longer receive their nourishment from the leaves.

Over-mulching kills trees, Porter said, but people don't notice the
problem because the death is slow.

Deep enough layers of mulch also are the perfect breeding ground for
rodents that might chew on weakened tree trunks and insects that also
might harm trees. Although some commercially sold mulches come with
pesticides, landscapers suggest not using them because they could harm
trees, too.

Smooth-barked trees such as young maples are particularly susceptible
to infection and hampered by too much mulch, according to Hamilton.

A COMMON PROBLEM

One of the things Feldman noticed is that homeowners look to
professionally manicured landscapes for ideas. Many of those places,
such as office complexes, hospitals and shopping centers, often are
mulched incorrectly, or appear to be.

Hamilton said the problem is common throughout just about every
county in the state, but particularly in developing communities.

"It's common in developing areas, such as where farms are sold to
developers," Hamilton said. "Developers are required to put up a
certain number of shade trees. They subcontract that work to
professional landscapers, who make the mistake of over-mulching."

Some landscaping professionals say mulch on commercial properties may
only look like they were heaped on because those trees are planted on
higher grades.

"What a lot of people end up doing is mulching too high," said Drew
Madlinger, landscape designer for the landscaping architect company
William Benkendorf of Mine Hill. "We usually try to make a ring around
the tree, almost like a reservoir."

DONUT SHAPE BETTER

One of the benefits of mulching is that it helps soil retain water.
Landscapers at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township suggest
that, before applying mulch, home gardeners should water the ground.

Experts suggest applying mulch 6 inches from the tree trunk and
working outward to the edge of the tree's dripline, the farthest reach
of branches. A donut-shaped mulch, where there is little contact
between the mulch and the trunk, is better than a volcano mulch.

Also, the layer of mulch should not be thicker than 2 to 4 inches.

Mulch also can prevent soil compaction, add organic matter to the
soil - which is good when soil is not deep - help reduce damage from
drought and pests and regulate temperature.

Mulch also serves to reduce weed growth and keeps lawn equipment away
from trees and plants, which is one of the most common uses for it.

"It is good at helping to maintain moisture and keeping weed growth
down," said Pete Nitzsche, the Morris County agricultural agent for
the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. "For landscapers, mulch keeps their
employees away from the trunk of the tree when they use a line-
trimmer."

CLASSES IN SPANISH

The Rutgers Cooperative Extension trains landscapers in proper
mulching procedures. Since most landscapers in New Jersey, according
to Nitzsche, are Spanish-speaking, classes are bilingual.

Feldman said she would like to see informational pamphlets about
proper mulching translated into Spanish.

Porter said the Shade Tree Federation plans to translate one of its
pamphlets. Morristown Councilman Richard Tighe said the town plans to
produce its own informational pamphlet for the fall season, a common
season to mulch.

The best types of mulch to use are those made of shredded tree barks,
pine needles, year-old wood chips or shredded leaves that have been
composted for at least three months, tree experts said.

Fresh grass clippings or other fresh organic mulch or woodchips, are
generally not recommended. Sawdust, peat moss, pebbles, rocks, bricks
or ground-up rubber tires may also be harmful to trees.

DYES POISONOUS

Hamilton, who directs the 50-acre Rutgers Garden in New Brunswick,
which will host an open house on July 29, warned that some dyes used
to color mulch could be poisonous for trees.

Manufacturers have produced blue, black and orange mulch, which
happens to be the most popular selling type, Hamilton said.
Ironically, Hamilton said, orange also happens to be the least popular
according to various studies.

"A lot of the mulch that is dyed pieces of wood could be toxic to
your plants. It's an extraordinary feat to market something that's
poisonous," he said "and orange."

* * *

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

BREAKING THE LAWN-CARE PESTICIDE CYCLE

Date: 040705
From: http://www.enn.com/

By Jane M. Bradley, E/The Environmental Magazine, July 02, 2004

Elise Craig lives in a garden apartment in Portland, Oregon, where
children roll in the grass and run barefoot across lawns in the summer
light. A year ago, she realized that whenever the landlord spread
lawn-care chemicals on the grass, her six-year-old son, Michael, lost
bowel and bladder control for weeks afterward.

"Michael's symptoms came back every time they treated the lawn," said
Craig. "They told us it was safe after a day, so I kept him off the
grass for a week or two. Michael still got sick. We were ultimately
successful in organizing our community to go organic, but we are about
to move, and I may face this battle in our new home with new
neighbors."

Kids often play on lawns treated with toxic herbicides, pesticides,
and fungicides - and some of them get sick.

In Portland, where Craig organized teams of weed-pulling parents at
her son's school (with help from a principal who's an organic farmer),
the city has put up billboards that say, "Is Your Lawn Chemical-Free?
Maybe It Should Be."

Each year, Americans apply more than 80 million pounds of chemical
products - including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides - to
their lawns and gardens.

RISKY ROULETTE

Homeowners often don't realize the myriad health hazards associated
with lawn-care pesticides sold under such innocuous names as Weed &
Feed and Bug-B-Gon. These products contain pesticides such as 2,4-D
(linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and MCPP (associated with soft-
tissue cancers).

People think the government would warn them if these widely sold
chemicals were known to damage their nervous systems, harm fetuses, or
give them cancer. None of these long-term adverse health effects are
required by law to be listed on product labels.

"Forty years ago, in the enormously praised and fiercely criticized
book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson demonstrated the dangers of
pesticides," said H. Patricia Hynes, director of the Urban
Environmental Health Initiative at Boston University and author of The
Recurring Silent Spring. "Lawn chemical usage has nearly doubled
since 1964."

Pesticides used solely on lawns are not required to undergo the same
rigorous testing for long-term health effects as those used on food.
No federal studies have assessed the safety of lawn-care chemicals in
combination, as most are sold.

Because of industry lobbying, the identities of "inert ingredients"
are protected as trade secrets under federal law. Pesticides may
contain up to 99 percent inert ingredients, some of which are
suspected carcinogens, while others are linked to nervous system
disorders, liver and kidney damage, and birth defects.

"More than 90 percent of pesticides and inert ingredients are never
tested for their effects on developing nervous systems," said John
Wargo, director of the Yale Center for Children's Environmental Health
and author of "Risks from Lawn-Care Pesticides," a report from
Environment and Human Health. "Children are more affected by exposure
to such chemicals because they are smaller and their organs are not
mature."

Wargo added, "Streams and groundwater in the Midwest are contaminated
with atrazine, a widely used herbicide linked to sexual mutations in
fish and amphibians. Is this the price we pay for green lawns?"

The Natural Resources Defense Council is suing the Environmental
Protection Agency for failing to protect the public from environmental
and health threats posed by atrazine, which is banned by the European
Union.

"Atrazine poses a serious cancer risk for millions of Americans,"
said Jay Feldman, director of Beyond Pesticides. "Companies, federal
and state regulators downplay the hazards of commonly used
pesticides."

STEPS TO PESTICIDE FREEDOM

Try natural alternatives. Chrysanthemum-derived pesticides,
diatomaceous earth, and boric acid are sold in garden centers.
SharpShooter (citric acid) is an effective insecticide. Or make your
own solution of three to six tablespoons of dishwashing soap (without
degreaser) per gallon of water.

Squirt weeds. Instead of RoundUp, use BurnOut (lemon juice and
vinegar) to kill weeds along walkways. And what's so terrible about
clover anyway?

Get rid of grubs. Beneficial nematodes and milky spore kill them.

Choose native plants. Replace grass with ground covers or
wildflowers.

Know your insects. Some bugs are beneficial. Ladybugs eat aphids;
lacewings eat caterpillars; and praying mantises eat all insects (even
each other).

Go organic. Agricultural extensions often analyze soil for a small
fee. Organic care nourishes the soil for a lawn that's naturally
luxuriant, disease-resistant, and pest-free.

- - -

Jane M. Bradley is a medical and science writer in West Hartford,
Connecticut.

* * *

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

TORONTO BANS ALL PESTICIDES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY BY 2007

Date: 04 Jul 2004
From: "Patricia D. Hastings" {hast...@AESOP.Rutgers.edu}

Country Folks Grower, June 2004

Toronto, Canada - On May 21, 2004, Toronto's city council narrowly
voted to ban all pesticides on private property by 2007.

Homeowners will be allowed to apply pesticides to their own property
until 2007, but the controversial decision strikes a blow to the
region's professional lawn care industry. Lawn care companies will be
fined for applying pesticides starting in September 2005.

No one has yet determined how this will effect golf courses,
cemeteries, or lawn bowling greens.

The lawn care industry had initially proposed a move to reduce
pesticide usage by seventy percent. Herbicides, for example, could not
be used unless five percent or more of the lawn area was infested.
Last minute politicking, however, resulted in a total ban.

* * *

Patricia D. Hastings
Program Associate in Pest Management
Pest Management Office
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of New Jersey
hast...@aesop.rutgers.edu
See PMO websites at http://www.pestmanagement.rutgers.edu
See Farm Safety website at http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/farmsafety/
Phone: 732-932-9801 (messages); 732-932-4271 (direct)

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

EDITORIAL - A GREEN PRAGMATISM

Date: 040705
From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Washington Post, July 4, 2004

At the end of its long march from the fringe to the mainstream, the
international environmental movement confronts a challenge. Now that
the world has accepted the basic message that the environment
matters, campaigners have to move beyond denouncing everything that
has an environmental cost; they have a duty to say which costs are
most serious and how the expense of mitigating them should be
apportioned. The difficulty of rising to this challenge is illustrated
by the fractious relationship between the environmental movement and
the World Bank. The most recent clash between the two sides -
centering on the bank's lending to extractive industries, especially
oil - shows that some environmental groups continue in a utopian,
denounce-everything mode. The bank is rightly fighting them.

The latest clash begins with an independent commission set up at the
bank's behest, which recently published recommendations on mining and
oil projects. Many were reasonable: The commission stressed the
advantages of using renewable fuel; it pointed out that extractive
industries have often stoked corruption; and it emphasized that people
living around such projects, who put up with the environmental risks,
should be consulted during project design and should benefit from the
proceeds. In responding last week, the World Bank's management
accepted these ideas. But it refused one of the commission's demands:
that it should completely cease lending to oil and coal projects.

This last demand overlooks the facts that poor countries need energy
and that the alternatives to oil and coal may not be preferable. More
than 1.6 billion people have no access to electricity, and 2.3 billion
depend on wood and other "biomass" fuels, which cause deforestation
and pollution. Another potential fuel source is hydropower, but the
environmental movement has resisted construction of dams. Other
options include wind and solar power, but telling poor countries to
solve their problems by those means is hypocritical, given that rich
countries have taken only baby steps in that direction. Oil and coal
will remain central to development, with or without the World Bank's
backing. To pretend otherwise is to imply that the poorest countries
in the world must shoulder the cost of fighting global warming.

By getting involved in oil and coal projects, moreover, the World
Bank can improve the chances that they will be well managed. In Chad,
for example, the bank has overseen the development of an oil field
that environmental groups predicted would be disastrous. The
construction of a subterranean pipeline has been completed safely,
with minimal damage to the rain forests it travels through or to the
people who live in the region. The World Bank has also overseen the
creation of an institution controlled partly by Chadian
nongovernmental organizations and partly by the government to ensure
that oil revenues reduce poverty; if Chad's government proposes to
spend oil money on something that won't benefit the poor, the new body
theoretically has the power to veto it. It is too soon to say whether
this experiment will succeed in disciplining Chad's corrupt and
autocratic rulers. But the bank is at the forefront in grappling with
the curse of oil in developing countries; mandating its withdrawal
from the sector would be misguided.

A quarter-century ago, when environmentalists first attacked the
World Bank, they had the moral high ground. The bank had almost no
environmentalists on its staff, a crazy position for an institution
that financed risky infrastructure projects in a hundred countries.
But having pushed the bank to set up a large environmental department
and to embrace stringent environmental safeguards, the NGOs ought to
understand the scope of their own victory. Today the bank's
involvement in energy projects represents the best hope that these
will be responsible; but, partly for fear of NGO criticism, the bank
has financed only one new investment in coal production in the past
three years. The real worry is not that the bank is doing too many oil
and coal projects. It is that it should be doing more of them.

* * *

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

POSITION AVAILABLE - RARITAN-HIGHLANDS COMPACT

Date: 2 Jul 2004
From: bspi...@heimmcenroe.com

PART TIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: RARITAN-HIGHLANDS COMPACT

POSITION: Newly formed regional watershed coalition seeks a part-time
executive director to facilitate and coordinate the organization's
activities. The Raritan-Highlands compact is a joint venture of nine
municipalities in the Upper Raritan River basin, the County of Morris,
Morris Tomorrow, the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority, the
New Jersey Water Supply Authority, The Upper Raritan Watershed
Association and the South Branch Watershed Association. Director's
duties will include preparation for Compact meetings, communications,
negotiation of contracts, identifying grant opportunities and
preparation of grant applications, working with executive committee,
attending monthly Compact meetings with full membership, public
outreach, engaging and working with consultants, and the compilation
and preparation of an overall watershed master plan. Job will require
35-50 hours per month and will start in September 2004.

QUALIFICATIONS: Candidate must be willing to work independently and
will be the sole paid staff member. Candidates should have a
bachelor's degree in public policy or related field, minimum 5 years
experience with municipal or other government, prior grant writing
experience, strong administrative skills and knowledge of watershed or
environmentally-based planning.

COMPENSATION: Compensation is commensurate with experience and will
reflect the part-time nature of this position.

TO APPLY: send resume, cover letter and three professional references
to,

Att: Mayor Ben Spinelli
Raritan-Highlands Compact
Chester Township Municipal Building
1 Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930

or submit via email in Word format to bspi...@chubb.com.

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

GREEN ACRES FUNDING FOCUS OF WORKSHOP - JUL 21

Date: 040705
From: http://www.nj.com/news/

Gloucester County Times, July 04, 2004

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres
Program and the Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program will
hold one of its eight informational workshops in Gloucester County
this month to assist municipal and county officials as well as
nonprofit groups in applying for state funds through the successful
program, state officials said.

The event will be held July 21 at Gloucester County College in
Deptford Township. Anyone interested in attending the workshop must
register before the event with the DEP's Green Acres Program by
calling (609) 984-0570.

Green Acres funding for land preservation and park development,
elements of a land transaction, changes in use, historic preservation
trust funding and the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure
Financing Program (EIFP) are several topics which are expected to be
discussed, organizers said.

Established in 1961, Green Acres was created to fund projects geared
to recreation and conservation. Since it began, nearly over 540,000
acres of open space have been protected, officials said.

For more information go to http://www.nj.gov/dep/greenacres

* * *

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

Many thanks to our Volunteers:
Tricia Aspinwall, Michele Cooklin, Jerry Cullins, Peter
Montague, Paul Neuman, Mary Paist, Penny Pollock-Barnes,
Phil Reynolds, Pat Rolston, and to all you folks out
there who contribute in so many ways. If you have a
couple hours a week, and would like to help out,
please email us at: mai...@gsenet.org

George-Therese Dickenson - Editor - dick...@gsemail.org
Scott Olson - Executive Director - ol...@gsemail.org

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

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