GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 031020
GSENet
GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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{*} EPA MAKES FINAL DECISION ON DIOXIN IN SEWAGE SLUDGE
{*} MASSIVE HIGHLANDS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED
{*} DELBARTON JUST DOESN'T GET IT - YET
{*} NEPTUNE TWP. OFFICIALS REFUSE TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER
{*} SAVE BARNEGAT BAY FILES ZONING COMPLAINT IN COURT
{*} JUDGE BACKS ROXBURY REZONING
{*} ORADELL MUST LIMIT PLANS FOR BALL FIELDS
{*} $80G FOR SOURLAND MOUNTAINS PROJECT
{*} FORUM ADDRESSES PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AS AREA GROWS
{*} LAKE HOPATCONG AGENCY GETS $500,000 FROM STATE
{*} PEQUANNOCK RIVER COALITION ON BALLOT QUESTION NO.3
{*} GEMS WATER CALLED OK FOR SEWERS
{*} SOIL CLEANUP RESUMES AT FORT DIX
{*} FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO FUND HABITAT RESTORATION IN 2003
{*} BUILDERS SWAMP WETLANDS
{*} STATE LAND USE LAWS CAN HELP PROTECT BIODIVERSITY
{*} STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN WATER MONITORING EFFORT
{*} NEW HELP FOR NIMBYS
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Many thanks to our volunteers: Jerry Cullins, Jeff Hook,
Peter Montague, Paul Neuman, Phil Reynolds, 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.
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EPA MAKES FINAL DECISION ON DIOXIN IN SEWAGE SLUDGE
Date: 031019
From: http://yosemite1.epa.gov/
EPA MAKES FINAL DECISION ON DIOXIN IN SEWAGE SLUDGE
USED IN LAND APPLICATIONS
10/17/2003
Washington, DC - Today, EPA has made a final decision not to regulate
dioxins in land-applied sewage sludge. After five years of study,
including outside peer review, the Agency has determined that dioxins
from this source do not pose a significant risk to human health or the
environment. The most highly exposed people, theoretically, are those
people who apply sewage sludge as a fertilizer to their crops and
animal feed and then consume their own crops and meat products over
their entire lifetimes. EPA's analysis shows that even for this
theoretical population, only 0.003 new cases of cancer could be
expected each year or only 0.22 new cases of cancer over a span of 70
years. The risk to people in the general population of new cancer
cases resulting from sewage sludge containing dioxin is even smaller
due to lower exposures to dioxin in land-applied sewage sludge than
the highly exposed farm family which EPA modeled.
EPA's 2001 Dioxins Update to the National Sewage Sludge Survey
indicates that dioxins levels in treated sewage sludge have declined
since the last EPA survey in 1988. This downward trend is expected to
continue as regulatory controls are placed on additional sources of
dioxins in the environment, particularly on some combustion practices.
Dioxins are a group of highly toxic persistent compounds which are a
byproduct of certain combustion and chemical manufacturing processes.
Sewage sludge is the byproduct of the treatment processes which
purifies wastewater before it is released into local waterways. For
more information about this decision, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/biosolids/ . For more information on
dioxins, visit: http:// http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pbt/dioxins.htm .
BACKGROUND
EPA's 2001 Dioxins Update to the National Sewage Sludge Survey
indicates that dioxins levels in sewage sludge have declined since the
last EPA survey in 1988. The Agency believes that this downward trend
will continue as regulatory controls are placed on additional sources
of dioxins in the environment, particularly on some combustion
practices.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to promulgate regulations to
identify "uses for sludge, including disposal" and to specify
management practices and numerical limitations for toxic pollutants in
sewage sludge "which may adversely affect public health and the
environment." The CWA calls for two rounds of regulation: the first
round to address pollutants for which information was available when
the law was passed and the second round to address additional
pollutants not identified in the first round. Because EPA did not meet
the statutory deadline for promulgating Round One regulations, a
citizens suit was filed to require EPA to fulfill its mandate
(Gearhart v. Whitman). A consent decree was entered by the court,
establishing schedules for both rounds of sewage sludge rules.
EPA promulgated the first rule in February 1993. The rule allowed for
land application, surface disposal, and incineration in sewage sludge
incinerators and established requirements applicable to each of those
use and disposal methods for eleven metals and total hydrocarbons.
EPA proposed a second rule for use and disposal of sewage sludge
containing chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin, chlorinated dibenzofurans,
and co-planar polychlorinated biphenyls ("dioxins") on December 23,
1999. The proposed rule included a numeric limit of 300 parts per
trillion (ppt) toxic equivalents (TEQ) for dioxins in sewage sludge
applied to the land as well as monitoring, record keeping, and
reporting requirements. EPA proposed no additional regulation of
dioxins in sewage sludge disposed of by surface disposal or
incineration in a sewage sludge incinerator.
In December 2001, the Administrator gave final notice of EPA's
determination that numerical standards or management practices are not
warranted for dioxins in sewage sludge disposed of at a surface
disposal unit or incinerated in a sewage sludge incinerator. In that
notice, EPA also announced that a final action on the proposal to
amend the Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge for
sewage sludge applied to the land would be published later. The
consent decree in Gearhart v. Whitman was amended to extend the
deadline for final action on the land application Round Two rulemaking
from the original date of December 15, 2001, to a new date of October
17, 2003.
In June 2002, EPA published a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) and
requested comment on new information relating to dioxins in land-
applied sewage sludge. The NODA presented the results of a multimedia
risk assessment for dioxin in land-applied sewage sludge using current
and evolving science. EPA also presented the results of an analytical
survey conducted to determine the current levels of dioxin in the
Nation's sewage sludge.
WHAT IS THE BASIS OF THIS FINAL ACTION
EPA risk determinations are based on both toxicity and exposure
assessments. Regarding toxicity, dioxins have been shown to cause both
cancer and a variety of non-cancer effects in animals, and there is
strong evidence to indicate that humans are susceptible to the same
toxic effects. Although dioxins are found in extremely small
quantities in water and soil, they persist in the environment and
accumulate in the food chain. EPA evaluated the potential human
exposure and risk to dioxins from land-applied sewage sludge. This
evaluation was based on the potential exposure and risk to farmers
(and their families) who apply sewage sludge to their land and consume
a high percentage of their own agricultural products. This population
was selected in part because of their proximity to the land where
sewage sludge is applied and, more importantly, because of the portion
of their diet grown on land where sewage sludge is applied.
The results of the evaluation indicated that the modeled "highly
exposed" farm family is at very low risk of cancer from dioxins in
land-applied sewage sludge. Regarding non-cancer effects, there are
currently no dependable methods for calculating possible non-cancer
risks to either the highly exposed farm family or the general
population. EPA also performed a Screening Ecological Risk Analysis
(SERA) on the risks to wildlife due to exposure to dioxins from land-
applied sewage sludge. While the estimates are not without some
uncertainty, the SERA indicates that wildlife should not be
significantly impacted as a result of exposure to dioxins in land-
applied sewage sludge.
In summary, the information available today on dioxins exposures,
toxicity, and cancer risks supports today's decision that no numeric
limits or management practices are required to adequately protect
human health and the environment from the adverse health effects of
dioxins in land-applied sewage sludge.
For more information, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/biosolids/.
* * *
Contact: Cathy Milbourn 202-564-7824 / milbour...@epa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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MASSIVE HIGHLANDS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED
Date: 19 Oct 2003
From: Geoff Welch {gwe...@optonline.net}
Urgent, Please Attend Meeting in Tuxedo Monday Night
TUXEDO RESERVE
Tuxedo Reserve, a proposed approximately 1,195 unit development
project inTuxedo, Orange County, New York, is nearing the completion
of its Final Environmental Impact Study.
At an average of 2.3 people per household, we could have 2,748.5
residents plus proposed commercial development. This would be adding
nearly an equal sized community, wedged between Sloatsburg and Tuxedo
(both with populations of about 3,000).
All the run-off from the development would be into the watershed of
the Ramapo River via two, currently mostly pristine, streams.
A minimum of only 50 foot buffers alone the streams are to be
maintained. This falls far short of an adequate protective riparian
buffer. Nor is a 100-foot buffer around State listed wetlands actually
enough to preserve the surrounding ecosystem in the drainage basins of
the wetlands. Even then, over three acres of the inadequate wetlands
buffer would be disturbed according to the only materials now
available for review on the Tuxedo Reserve project. Non-state listed
smaller wetlands appear to have no minimum buffer maintained. Water
quality will most certainly be negatively affected by this level of
development.
Remember, the Ramapo River is the main source of recharge for the
Ramapo Valley Aquifer which hosts the well field for United Water NY,
the Village of Suffern, Mahwah, Oakland and Pompton Lakes. Ramapo
River water is pumped from Pompton lake to the Wanaque Reservoir at a
rate of up to 150 million gallons a day, contributing on average 25 %
of the total reservoir supplies.
The stream from the southern tract of the proposed Tuxedo Reserve
leads to the New York State designated Recreation River segment of the
Ramapo River. I believe that this project will cause unacceptable
negative environmental impacts on water quality and recreation use of
the Ramapo River. I am not assured by the standard boiler plate
language of the DEIS: "Soil erosion and sediment control plans will be
prepared and implemented to prevent heavy siltation loadings to
wetlands and streams. This is standard construction practice and
required by applicable regulations." As you can see from the current
horrible conditions at the construction site for Sterling Mine Estates
in Tuxedo, which has polluted a beautiful riparian wetland and Nakoma
Brook, these standard methods are not enough. Environmental
enforcement in Tuxedo at the Sterling Mine Estates site by the Town of
Tuxedo and the DEC has been non-existent or inadequate.
There are many other concerns about this project such as traffic
impacts on an already stressed Route 17.
We urge you to attend:
PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING REGARDING TUXEDO RESERVE
Monday, October 20 AT 7:30 p.m.
Tuxedo Elementary School Cafetorium
(Take Route 17 into Tuxedo turn right on Hillside Ave. Opposite Take-
a-Break ice cream stand).
We may be able to ask questions about this project. Our presence will
show concern for our public water supply and the preservation of the
Highlands!
* * *
Geoff Welch
Ramapo Director,
The Rockland County Conservation Association
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DELBARTON JUST DOESN'T GET IT - YET
Date: 17 Oct 2003
From: jockey hollow {jockey...@mac.com}
DEP SAYS MORRIS TWP. HAS SOME WORK TO DO ON ITS WASTEWATER PLAN
By Bill Swayze, Star-Ledger Staff, October 17, 2003
The state Department of Environmental Protection has rejected Morris
Township's plans outlining how all future sewer services will be
provided and has given local officials a lengthy to-do list to
complete before they can secure an approval.
That spells trouble for any developer trying to build in areas
without sewers, including the Delbarton School monks, who want to
connect their proposed $100 million retirement community on their
campus to a township sewage treatment plant a couple of miles away,
said Julia Somers, executive director of the Great Swamp Watershed
Association, which opposes the monks' plans.
The monks' spokesman, Tony Cicatiello, disagreed, calling the state's
move "part of the normal process between the state and the township,"
and noting, "We don't feel this will affect us."
Township Mayor Jan Wotowicz declined comment, saying he has not
received the letter yet.
The 13-page letter with yesterday's date from Kenneth Klipstein,
chief of the watershed management division's northern planning bureau,
states, "The substantial deficiencies noted in this letter must be
satisfactorily addressed before this wastewater management plan can be
judged.
"Pending resolution of those substantial deficiencies...the
department cannot conclude that the submitted wastewater management
plan is 'credible,'" the letter states.
The monks need a sewer line from their campus to the Butterworth
sewage treatment plant a couple miles away in order to build 200
apartment-style units, 40 cottages and space for 48 nursing home beds
and 24 assisted-living units on 41 of their 380-plus acres in the
Washington Valley section, they have said.
But the DEP has required that the township first have an approved
wastewater management plan in place.
The letter lists a dozen of substantial deficiencies in the proposed
plan, saying it lacks information such as water consumption data and
projected wastewater flows if the sewer service areas are built out.
Morris Township wastewater management plan also covers portions of
Harding, Randolph, Morris Plains, Morristown, Florham Park, Parsippany
and Madison, and those towns have to participate in this approval
process, providing agreements and satisfying environmental reviews,
the letter states.
* * *
Bill Swayze is a reporter in the Morris County bureau. He can be
reached at wsw...@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
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NEPTUNE TWP. OFFICIALS REFUSE TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER
Date: 18 Oct 2003
From: Brian Hegarty {bh...@optonline.net}
October 19, 2003
Neptune - The Shark River Cleanup Coalition Inc. (SRCC) announced
today it intends to petition Governor McGreevey and New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to upgrade the water
quality protection status of the Shark River Brook to Category 1.
Category 1 (C1) designation is the highest form of water quality
protection afforded by the state. C1 waters are protected from any
measurable change to existing water quality. The Shark River Brook and
the Manasquan River fill the Glendola Reservoir, which is already C1.
The Shark River Brook is used as a raw water supply source by New
Jersey American Water Company (NJAWC) for their treatment plant on Old
Corlies Ave. NJAWC withdraws on average 5 million gallons per day from
the Shark River Brook, treats it and distributes the water to
residents of Avon, Bradley Beach, Belmar, Neptune City, Neptune
Township, and part of Tinton Falls.
Brian Hegarty, President of the SRCC said, " The protection of our
drinking water supply from pollution is critical to our survival. The
Governor and the Commissioner of the DEP already recognize this and
are in the process of upgrading protection measures on the Manasquan
and Metedeconk rivers. We want them to include the Shark River Brook
as well."
The SRCC asked all of the towns named above to show their support for
upgrading the protection measures on the Shark River Brook by passing
a resolution supporting the change.
Wall Township, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, Tinton
Falls, Bradley Beach, Belmar, and Avon all passed resolutions
supporting upgraded protection measures in the last month. Neptune
City is having a special meeting October 20th to consider the
resolution.
Hegarty said, "Neptune Township Democrats refused to support
protecting our drinking water supply. I offered to conduct a workshop
meeting with them where I would bring officials from the DEP and an
environmental scientist to explain the protection measures but they
declined."
Peter Avaikian, Neptune Township Planning Board Engineer and John
Tikiana, Neptune Township Planner conducted the workshop instead.
" I listened to the tape of the workshop meeting and was shocked by
Avaikains presentation. He completely mislead the committee and led
them to believe that the protection measures would include sections of
the town that aren't even in the Shark River Brook subwatershed. He
clearly has a vested interest in further development in Neptune and
therefore a conflict of interest. Not once did he mention the Shark
River Brook is a drinking water source." said Hegarty.
Hegarty said he will petition state officials regardless of Neptune's
refusal and is confident the state will agree with the SRCC, Monmouth
County Freeholders and the other towns who support the protection of
the brook.
* * *
Brian Hegarty
Shark River Cleanup Coalition Inc.
732-775-7196
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SAVE BARNEGAT BAY FILES ZONING COMPLAINT IN COURT
Date: 17 Oct 2003
From: Wmde...@cs.com
SAVE BARNEGAT BAY FILES TRADERS COVE
ZONING COMPLAINT IN SUPERIOR COURT
October 17, 2003
Save Barnegat Bay today filed an eight-count complaint against the
Brick Township Zoning Board of Adjustment in Superior Court in Toms
River. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the granting of a use variance
that would allow the intensive development of Traders Cove marina.
The zoning board's action would allow Paramount Homes of Lakewood to
develop the eleven acre Traders Cove site with luxury condominiums, a
restaurant and an upgraded marina.
Although the variance was granted in April of this year, the Zoning
Board has yet to pass a resolution memorializing that fact. According
to Save Barnegat Bay's lawsuit, New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law
"requires that the Zoning Board of Adjustment adopt a resolution
within forty-five days of the date of decision."
The group's suit also alleges that the granting of a use variance is
illegal and should be reversed for numerous other reasons, including:
Violation of the rezoning of Traders Cove and other waterfront tracts
passed in June of 2002 at the urging of Save Barnegat Bay and Brick
Township's own planners.
Failure to meet the specified criteria for use variances as defined in
the Municipal Land Use Law.
Violation of Brick Township's Master Plan, which calls for open space
and recreation at this site.
Effectuating a rezoning under the provisions of New Jersey's Municipal
Land Use Law, rather than a variance.
"If the Scarpelli administration gets away with making Traders Cove
an intensive high-density condo development, how are you going to stop
the granting of variances to politically connected developers
throughout Brick's fifty-three mile waterfront?" asked William deCamp,
Jr., President of Save Barnegat Bay.
Traders Cove is located at the northwest foot of the Mantoloking
Bridge, on Mantoloking-Adamston Road, across the street from Beaton's
Boatyard and Winter Yacht Basin.
Save Barnegat Bay has advocated use of the site in a manner more open
to the public. The group's preferred use would be as a park for
passive recreation, fishing, crabbing, picnicking and launching of
boats. Save Barnegat Bay has pointed to Brick Township's Bayside Park
in Normandy Beach as an example of what could be done at Traders Cove.
"The County makes money running Forge Pond Golf Course," said deCamp.
"Why shouldn't they be able to make money running a modest marina
facility open to the public for boat launching, fishing, crabbing, and
picnicking? The public is getting walled off from the bay."
Save Barnegat Bay has assisted in making the adjacent "Herring Point"
tract part of the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The group
maintains that it is bad planning to place an intensive development
next to a National Wildlife Refuge.
DeCamp observed that dozens of Brick citizens and Cub Scouts have
hauled tons of trash out of the neighboring refuge over many years.
According to the group, it is a betrayal of the trust of these many
citizens to intensively develop the adjacent Traders Cove, especially
when the Master Plan calls for open space.
"The township has bent over backward to make this overly intensive
use of the waterfront happen," said deCamp. "We want to see Brick's
waterfront and all of Barnegat Bay used in a manner that is people-
friendly, not as a bankable asset for special interests."
Background information on the Traders Cove controversy is available
at http://www.savebarnegatbay.org.
* * *
William deCamp Jr.
Save Barnegat Bay
906-B Grand Central Avenue
Lavallette, NJ 08735
732-830-3600
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JUDGE BACKS ROXBURY REZONING
Date: 031019
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/
JUDGE BACKS ROXBURY REZONING, BLOCKING PLAN TO EXPAND MINING
By Margaret McHugh, Star-Ledger Staff, October 17, 2003
For decades, sand and gravel mining, explosives manufacturing and
concrete making gave Roxbury's Kenvil section an industrial face.
But times have changed, and with it the nature of Kenvil: Mining pits
turned into lakes, the 1,200-acre Hercules gunpowder plant went quiet,
and neighborhoods developed.
Superior Court Judge Theodore Bozonelis yesterday cited such changes
as reasons for upholding the township's decision to rezone 190 acres
from industrial to low-density residential. Another four-acre tract
was zoned open space.
John Crimi, the owner of County Concrete Corp., had sued the township
in May 2001, claiming the township singled him out when it changed the
zoning, after an update to the local master plan, which guides
development.
Crimi, who mines the 158-acre Gallo tract off Dell Avenue and
intended to start mining an adjacent 27 acres, argued that the area
remains industrial in nature.
"I don't think the plaintiff is looking at the significant changes in
the character that has taken place over the years," Bozonelis said.
"It simply no longer is industrial in nature," he said, noting the
changes have taken place over the last 10 to 15 years.
Bozonelis said the township had established grounds for changing the
zoning, such as protecting drinking water sources. The property is
within the Highlands region, and the state designated it
environmentally sensitive in the state Development and Redevelopment
Plan. There is no public water or sewer on his properties.
The township "wasn't singling out Mr. Crimi," the judge said.
Councilman James Rilee was grateful the township's master plan was
upheld.
Rilee noted that Kenvil's mix of residential and industrial has been
the source of many complaints, such as homeowners bemoaning truck
traffic.
"Unfortunately, it's gone back so many decades, it's not an easy
thing to correct," he said.
Crimi's attorney, Peter Manahan, said Crimi wanted to expand the
mining operation to a 27-acre tract off West Dewey Avenue that he
bought in 1994. Crimi, who began mining in the late 1970s, has 125
acres in Mine Hill, adjacent to the Gallo tract.
He completed mining the 81-acre Corwin pit, also off Dell Avenue,
which now is a lake with a playground and ballfields and belongs to
the township.
Manahan said he would discuss the option of appealing the ruling with
Crimi, who was out of town and did not attend the court hearing in
Morristown. The judge had listened to several days of testimony before
rendering his decision.
* * *
Margaret McHugh covers Morris County courts. She can be reached at
mmc...@starledger.com or (973) 539-7119.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.
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ORADELL MUST LIMIT PLANS FOR BALL FIELDS
Date: 19 Oct 2003
From: Bets...@aol.com
By Catherine Holahan, Record Staff Writer, October 17, 2003
Oradell - The borough must scale back plans to build ball fields in
woodlands off Ridgewood Avenue because much of the property is
environmentally protected wetlands, a consulting firm told a borough
recreation committee on Thursday.
That announcement was made by a representative from Boswell
Engineering, which was hired by the Borough Council in July to study
the 24.2-acre area and develop a plan for additional recreational
fields there.
A proposal by the recreation panel for the area in May had called for
a new football field, a soccer field, a regulation baseball diamond, a
softball field, scoreboards, additional parking spaces, and
renovations of existing Little League fields bordering the Ridgewood
Avenue woods.
The news was a relief to environmentalists, who had argued since
learning of the proposal in July that the woodland should be left
alone. "Forests are disappearing in Bergen County at an alarming
rate," said Mike Herson, chairman of the borough Environmental
Committee, who attended the meeting.
"If we do this, it will be the Oradell chainsaw massacre."
But the recommendation was a blow to plans by the recreation
committee, whose members argue that the borough is in dire need of
more space for its popular recreational programs.
Enrollment in football has risen to 215 players from 60 five years
ago. Cheerleading participation has increased to 150 from 60, and
basketball has risen to 440 from 390, according to July figures
released by Ken McGovern, chairman of the recreation panel.
Boswell recommended that existing ball fields be renovated before new
fields are carved into the woods.
In the company's presentation Thursday, engineering specifications
were unveiled showing two ball fields overlapping a diagonal soccer
and football field. The fields would be artificial turf and have
permanent lines for baseball, softball, soccer, and football. The
lines would be different colors to indicate the boundaries of the
various sports.
Boswell said additional fields could be constructed after the
renovations on two portions of the property not covered by wetlands.
Environmentalists were upset by that prospect.
"The whole area is a forest, a forest with a canopy," Herson said,
urging the crowd of nearly 50 residents who opposed and favored the
original proposal not to support additional fields. "Building there
would cut out the heart of the forest."
Herson said he supported the renovations.
By 9 p.m., the committee had not made a decision about whether it
would ask for additional fields. The committee is scheduled to meet
again next month to further discuss the field renovation and expansion
project.
* * *
Email: hol...@northjersey.com
Copyright (c) 2003 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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$80G FOR SOURLAND MOUNTAINS PROJECT
Date: 19 Oct 2003
From: "Steven Sacks-Wilner" {ste...@sacks-wilner.com}
By Robert Stern, Times, October 18, 2003
A broad effort - in the works for years - to prevent overdevelopment
along central New Jersey's Sourland Mountains, is finally under way
thanks to an infusion of $80,000 from the state.
A series of public meetings to discuss the future of the Sourlands
will be held in the next year, beginning with a meeting sometime this
winter, said Jennifer Bryson, smart-growth project manager for the
nonprofit Sourland Planning Council.
Protecting the character and resources of the Sourland Mountains is
critical because the chain is the largest contiguous forest in central
New Jersey, Bryson said.
The mountains cover about 60 square miles east of the Delaware River
from the Hopewells, the Amwells and Montgomery north into
Hillsborough.
The Sourlands are an important habitat for diverse wildlife,
including threatened or endangered species such as the barred owl, and
are a vital water resource for residents who live on or near the
range, Bryson said.
Historically, however, restraining development in the Sourlands has
been a largely inefficient affair lacking adequate coordination among
the communities the mountains encompass.
"Development in the Sourlands the way it's happening currently is
fragmenting the forest at an alarming pace and could eventually
compromise the aquifer," Bryson said.
"Unfortunately, because of just a fluke of history, the Sourlands are
divided among three counties and five townships and that makes it
especially difficult for comprehensive planning," Bryson said.
The $80,000 grant from the state aims to foster coordinated planning
to protect the Sourlands. The funds are primarily paying for a
planning consultant and hydrogeologists to study the Sourlands so a
long-term plan to prevent overdevelopment can be drafted, Bryson said.
Information the consultants are compiling includes an inventory of
natural resources and the maximum development potential within the
Sourlands under existing zoning.
"This grant provides a means by which for the first time all the
townships and counties in the Sourlands can come together and start
discussing them," Bryson said.
The overall objective is to protect the mountains' groundwater
supply, forest, history and recreational opportunities, she said.
* * *
Copyright 2003 The Times.
# # #
Steven L. Sacks-Wilner, Esq.
489 Dutchtown-Zion Rd
Skillman, NJ 08558-1307
ste...@sacks-wilner.com
Tel. & Voice Mail: 908.359.8884
Fax: 908.359.5550
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FORUM ADDRESSES PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AS AREA GROWS
Date: 031019
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/atlantic/
By Thomas Barlas, Staff Writer, (609) 272-7201
Press of Atlantic City, October 18, 2003
Mays Landing - The developer's standard plan goes like this: Cut down
the trees, clear the land, level it and put up a strip mall.
The result is a predictable-looking run of shopping centers devoid of
vegetation and other amenities that make the projects more attractive
and less intrusive to residents.
This creates a situation that won't be resolved anytime soon.
Desperate for new ratables to help keep property taxes under control,
many local governments do not impose too many aesthetic demands on
development projects for fear of losing a potential tax bonanza.
"It's a balancing act," said Richard Perniciero, director of Atlantic
Cape Community College's Center for Regional and Business Research.
"You can easily push a developer into the next municipality."
But it doesn't necessarily have to be that way - if those towns
become a little more inventive.
"You have to negotiate," said Susan Burrows, spokeswoman for New
Jersey Future, which promotes smarter land-use practices. "Towns too
often don't explore that alternative."
It can work, she said. Officials in one Washington community
negotiated Wal-Mart into building a new store whose street front
looked more like a row of different shops, and parking was hidden from
street view. The result was a new, large store that still fit in with
the rest of the neighborhood.
"You can still build," Burrows said. "But you do it smartly."
That's in part what officials from throughout Atlantic and some of
its neighboring counties were attempting Friday during Atlantic
County's annual regional planning summit at Atlantic Cape Community
College.
This year's focus was on striking a balance between conservation and
development, and highlighted efforts to preserve open space.
That's especially important in fast-growing Atlantic County, where
Hamilton, Egg Harbor and Galloway townships are struggling to keep up
with surging populations. The overall county population is expected to
increase from 252,551 in 2000 to an estimated 311,449 by 2020.
Some officials attending the summit said they have heard concerns
from residents who say razing everything in sight to build another
shopping center seems directly at odds with that concept of preserving
open space, and that much of the resulting commercial development just
adds stress to the region.
Egg Harbor Township Deputy Administrator Dale Goodreau said it is
becoming more important for towns to encourage development that
aesthetically fits into the neighborhood.
Municipalities are beginning to address that with better regulations
regarding setbacks and landscaping, he said. Egg Harbor Township did
that recently with a new bank, and the resulting structure looks more
like a neighborhood home, he said.
However, Perniciero contends that municipalities must not push too
hard, and often are restrained by land-use laws, those state
regulations that outline what developers can and cannot do.
Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said New Jersey's tradition
of home rule leaves most local development issues to municipal
planning and zoning boards. It would take some kind of countywide
zoning or planning regulations to bring more uniformity to the
process, he said.
Friday's forum was one way that many municipalities can begin to
share ideas and information regarding development, he said.
That's a good start, Burrows said.
"You can build up to your limit, but if you do it smartly, everybody
wants to live there," she said.
* * *
To email Thomas Barlas at The Press: TBa...@pressofac.com
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
LAKE HOPATCONG AGENCY GETS $500,000 FROM STATE
Date: 031019
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/
By Lawrence Ragonese, Star-Ledger Staff, October 18, 2003
Lake Hopatcong area officials joined with area legislators yesterday
to call for a permanent funding source starting next year for the Lake
Hopatcong Commission.
Standing in the parking lot of Lake Hopatcong State Park, in front of
two massive weed harvesters and holding an oversized ceremonial check
for $500,000 in state funds, officials thanked state Environmental
Commissioner Bradley Campbell for the money that bailed out the
fiscally faltering agency for the state's largest lake.
But state Sens. Anthony Bucco (R- Morris) and Robert Littell (R-
Sussex) said they will work to get a line item in the budget to put
the commission on a regular schedule for funds, rather than forcing it
to beg for leftover state money as it did this year.
The 11-member commission reluctantly ordered budget cuts in February
to keep the agency afloat after getting no state support since an
initial $3 million in start-up funding in 2001. Campbell said at the
time that he had concerns about excessive spending and urged the
commission to be much more frugal.
A state law enacted in 2001 established the commission to oversee
management of Lake Hopatcong, which straddles Morris and Sussex
counties. One of the commission's key tasks is to cut weeds that grow
from the lake bottom in warmer months and would otherwise suffocate
marine life and snag boat propellers and the intakes of personal
watercraft.
Jefferson Mayor Russell Felter said the commission's efforts on weed
harvesting and cleaning up the lakefront during the recent water
drawdown have helped improve the lake. He stressed that the lake is a
key component in his town's economy, explaining that there are 15
marinas and accompanying gas stations, restaurants and small stores
all dependent upon the boating industry.
The $500,000 combined with money still left in the commission's
budget will provide a total of about $1 million to allow the agency,
which has nine full-time workers, to continue operations through July
1, said officials.
"It's a big lake, 9.5 miles long, and it needs a lot of work," said
outgoing commission chairman Anthony Albanese. "Believe me, the
state's money will be well spent."
* * *
Lawrence Ragonese works in the Morris County bureau. He can be reached
at lrag...@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.
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PEQUANNOCK RIVER COALITION ON BALLOT QUESTION NO.3
Date: 17 Oct 2003
From: Pequan...@aol.com
STATEMENT OF THE PEQUANNOCK RIVER COALITION
ON PUBLIC BALLOT QUESTION No. 3:
On November 4th New Jersey voters will decide three ballot questions.
Our support for Question 1, providing additional funding for open
space, is a matter of record.
Question 3 is more controversial. Its intent is to allocate 200
Million "- for the purposes of providing financing for the restoration
and repair of dams, the dredging and restoration of lakes, the
cleaning and desnagging of streams to diminish flooding and property
damage therefrom, and providing financing for flood control projects,
water resources projects and wastewater treatment system projects-".
We recognize that many of our members live in lake communities where
dam repair funding would be welcomed. However, we would be remiss in
not noting the following points:
Our temperature monitoring has revealed that dams with spillway
outlets - and these are the predominant variety in our watershed -
have an enormous degrading impact on downstream trout-associated
waterways. Spillway dams elevate downstream temperatures substantially
in summer months by skimming the warmest upper surface water from
lakes, ponds and reservoirs. If the funded dam rebuilding on such
waterways included provisions for a bottom release and protection of
bypass flows we would view this ballot question more favorably. But it
doesn't.
Funding the "desnagging" and "cleaning" of waterways is extremely
detrimental. In our experience the flooding of waterways is almost
entirely due to overdevelopment of watersheds, not the condition of
the receiving waterway. Turning rivers and streams into drainage
ditches to "reduce flooding" does nothing to prevent this. Instead, it
simply shifts flooding problems to downstream areas and communities,
while severely degrading the health of the waterway "improved" through
such work.
In summary, we encourage our members to consider these points when
they vote on November 4th.
Thanks,
Ross Kushner
Pequannock River Coalition
POB 392
Newfoundland, NJ 07435
973-492-3212
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GEMS WATER CALLED OK FOR SEWERS
Date: 031019
From: http://www.southjerseynews.com/
EPA SAYS LANDFILL PLAN SAFE, CHEAPER
By Lawrence Hajna, Courier-Post Staff, October 17, 2003
Gloucester Twp. - The battle over the discharge of wastewater from
the GEMS Landfill to Camden County sewer mains stepped up a notch
Thursday.
And the situation began to look more desperate for environmentalists,
residents and lawmakers opposed to the controversial plan to clean up
contaminated water at the Erial Road Superfund site.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency, in response to
Democratic legislative candidates calling for the plan to be stopped,
insisted the discharge to the Camden County Municipal Utilities
Authority's sewer system is safe and cost-effective.
"EPA has the data on groundwater quality at the GEMS site and all
other necessary information needed to go forward with our cleanup
remedy - treating the effluent and discharging it to CCMUA," agency
spokeswoman Mary Mears said in a statement.
"This solution is protective of human health and is based on solid
science," she said. "In fact, the effluent that will be discharged to
CCMUA meets drinking water standards for radionuclides. There is no
basis to re-think our selected cleanup."
In Paulsboro attending a separate event, Department of Environmental
Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell expressed disappointment
with the EPA's stance.
"I'm disappointed that the EPA, in this case as in so many others
under the Bush administration, is unresponsive to the very strong
concerns that have been raised by the community," Campbell said.
"We'll continue to try to fight on the community's behalf, but
without the EPA's support, it's a much tougher battle," Campbell
continued. "We're trying to be as responsive as we can, recognizing
the EPA is the lead player at this site."
He would not comment on the possibility of the state being held in
contempt of a federal consent order that allows a trust of former
landfill users, including big chemical companies, to discharge
pretreated water to the CCMUA system for final discharge into the
Delaware River.
Last month, under pressure from local legislators and
environmentalists, Campbell reversed his initial support of the
discharge option.
In a strongly worded letter, he raised objections to a CCMUA project
permit, arguing the GEMS Phase II Trust had not provided groundwater
monitoring data needed to make an informed decision on the discharge,
which is expected to last up to 30 years.
He asked that the EPA consider reopening the consent decree to look
at other treatment options, and threatened to appeal any CCMUA
decision to issue the permit.
The permit has not been issued yet. The Camden County freeholder
board, meanwhile, wants an independent engineer to study options to
the discharge and costs, including construction of a full-scale plant
to remove all contaminants from the water and inject it back into the
ground at the landfill.
The EPA previously estimated the cost of full treatment and discharge
into a stream at the landfill at $5.3 million, plus $1 million in
operating costs each year. It did not evaluate the cost of full
treatment and ground discharge.
It does not consider this a viable option because of the area's
geology.
In comparison, partial treatment on site and discharge to sewers will
cost the trust $548,000 initially and $77,000 in annual operating
costs, the EPA calculates.
In addition to chemicals, solids, nutrients and other conventional
contaminants, the water contains low levels of uranium and radium,
which the EPA believes results from naturally occurring minerals
beneath the landfill.
But environmentalists remain unconvinced, arguing the source could be
man-made. Members of the Vote-Environment Committee of the New Jersey
Environmental Federation gathered near the landfill Thursday to
endorse Assemblyman Robert Smith, D-Washington Township, and his
running mate, Dave Mayer, in the 4th District Assembly election.
Jane Nogaki, a founder of the Environmental Federation, argued the
trust needs to make a public accounting of its financial situation and
explain why it cannot pay for a higher level of on-site cleanup.
"If things aren't done right here, there's going to be slippage at
every (cleanup) site in New Jersey and across the country. Things are
going to fall to the lowest common denominator," Nogaki said.
Smith said the GEMS discharge is the biggest environmental concern
for voters in his district. He vowed to reconcile differences in state
legislation that stalled earlier this year that sought to ban the
discharge.
"On Nov. 13, when we go back, I'm going to make sure the GEMS
legislation, which passed the Assembly, is worked on in the Senate so
we have a reconciled bill in both houses. It's the number one
priority," he said.
But Campbell doubts that the Legislature will have the authority to
intervene.
"I think there's an open question as to whether a state law can pre-
empt the federal decision in this case," he said. "While I recognize
the leadership we've had in the Legislature, I think it's going to be
very difficult for any legislative act to trump the EPA's decision as
sanctioned by a federal court."
* * *
Reach Lawrence Hajna at (856) 486-2466 or lha...@courierpostonline.com
Copyright 2003 Courier-Post.
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SOIL CLEANUP RESUMES AT FORT DIX
Date: 031019
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/
By Josh Bernstein, Burlington County Times, October 17, 2003
Fort Dix - Workers have resumed excavating radioactive soil at the
site of a 1960 nuclear-missile accident, nearly four months after a
funding shortfall stopped the cleanup project.
Air Force officials said work at the Boeing Michigan Aero-nautical
Research Center re-sumed Monday after the military allocated an
additional $1.8 million to dig up and remove an additional 1,800 cubic
yards of plutonium-laced soil.
In total, the cleanup will cost taxpayers about $13 million.
"The plan is to continue work until it's done," said Lt. Peter
Hughes, a McGuire Air Force Base spokesman.
"They're trying to be done by the end of the calendar year."
The former Air Force-operated site is on a portion of Fort Dix in
Plumsted, Ocean County, off Route 539.
The waste-removal contractor, Duratek Inc. of South Carolina, found
the contaminated soil in June on 3 acres at the fringe of the 75-acre
site. The area is near a drainage area west of Route 539.
Workers cleared the area of trees and other debris in early September
in preparation for the excavation, officials said.
As with the 17,300 cubic yards of soil and debris originally
excavated, the dirt will be packaged in steel containers and trucked
via a rebuilt road across Fort Dix to neighboring Lakehurst Naval Air
Engineering Station. At Lakehurst, the material will be loaded onto
railcars for shipment to a disposal site in Utah.
* * *
Email: jbern...@phillyBurbs.com
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO FUND HABITAT RESTORATION IN 2003
Date: 16 Oct 2003
From: "Nicole Maylett" {nmay...@estuaries.org}
Restore America's Estuaries announced today that 80 federal programs
are authorized to fund habitat restoration in FY2003. According to
Restore America's Estuaries' latest study, Funding for Habitat
Restoration Projects: A Citizen's Guide, programs have varying funding
levels that could be used for restoration. Programs range from the
Estuary Habitat Restoration Act, which provides $1 million to restore
degraded estuary habitats, to the Surface Transportation Program, a
$5.9 billion program which may be used for habitat restoration in
conjunction with transportation enhancements projects within the
National Highway System.
According to Mark Wolf-Armstrong, President of Restore America's
Estuaries, "This research clearly shows the breadth and depth of
opportunity for funding habitat restoration. Unfortunately, the
potential is far greater than the reality. Many of these programs have
the authority to spend for restoration, but do not. As our coastal
natural resources continue to decline, we need to push for more
resources directly applied to restoration."
The 80 programs fall under seven federal agencies: the Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Departments of Interior, Agriculture,
Commerce, Defense, Transportation, and Health and Human Services. The
funding guide provides a quick, comprehensive and accessible review of
the often hidden federal funds that may be used to implement on-the-
ground habitat restoration projects. Its design and layout provides
users with easy access to critical information about funding sources,
eligibility and contact. The guide is available online as a printable
PDF document and as an interactive database at
http://www.estuaries.org/policyandfunding.php.
Funding for Habitat Restoration Projects was originally created in
1996 in an effort to bring organization and order to the information
available regarding federal programs that fund (or could fund)
restoration activities. Today, it reaches farther to play a key role
in Restore America's Estuaries' National Strategy to Restore Coastal
and Estuarine Habitat. For more information, see:
http://www.estuaries.org} .
* * *
Nicole M. Maylett
Conference Coordinator
Restore America's Estuaries
3801 North Fairfax Drive
Suite 53
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 524-0248 (voice)
(703) 524-0287 (fax)
nmay...@estuaries.org
http://www.estuaries.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BUILDERS SWAMP WETLANDS
Date: 031019
From: http://www.truthout.org/
By Elizabeth Shogren, Los Angeles Times, 19 October 2003
Developers are taking advantage of a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that
removes 'isolated' waterways from any federal protection.
The views across grassy salt marshes and the Intracoastal Waterway to
a federally protected island wilderness are so picturesque that Home &
Garden Television chose the Cumberland Harbour housing development as
the location for its 2004 "dream home."
So far, HGTV's large, genteel Victorian with a private deep-water
dock is the only house constructed among the cypress and live oaks
dripping with Spanish moss. But on these 1,100 acres in southeastern
Georgia, the developer has plans for a gated community of 1,200
residences - plus streets, a yacht club, swimming pools and other
upscale amenities.
Potential home buyers may be eagerly anticipating the completion of
luxury housing on pristine waterfront property, but federal officials
charged with protecting rare plants and animals are worried: Two
endangered species, the wood stork and the Eastern indigo snake, rely
on these wetlands for habitat. But because these wetlands have been
designated "isolated," no federal agency has a say in what happens to
them.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that under the Clean Water Act,
the government can protect waterways that are navigable or tributaries
or marshes that drain into navigable waters - but can no longer
regulate "nonnavigable, isolated, intrastate" ponds, wetlands or mud
flats just because they provide a habitat for migratory birds.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction over the nation's
waterways, has interpreted that ruling to mean that isolated wetlands
no longer fall under the provisions of the Clean Water Act - and are
thus no longer protected from development.
Before the court's decision, Cumberland Harbour's developer would
have been required to seek a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers
before filling in or draining any of the wetlands. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service would have investigated the potential effect on rare
animals and plants. And the Army Corps of Engineers would have either
rejected the permit or, at the least, required the developer to make
up for the loss of each acre of wetland by restoring or creating
wetlands nearby.
Now, once a wetland area is determined to be "isolated," a developer
may not even have to notify state or federal authorities before
bringing in the bulldozers.
But the environment pays a price each time wetlands are filled, say
those who study them.
"Wetlands can release water slowly over time, even during drought
periods," said Keith Parsons, an environmental specialist with the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "As wetlands are being
developed, they're no longer acting as reservoirs."
President Bush has declared his commitment to a goal of "no net loss"
of wetlands, first set in 1990 during his father's presidency, but the
Army Corps of Engineers does not know how many wetlands and streams
nationwide are being lost or polluted as a result of the Supreme Court
ruling. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection
Agency are not keeping track, either.
Top officials in the Army Corps of Engineers downplayed the effect of
the ruling so far but conceded that it could grow in the coming years.
"The significant losses predicted immediately after [the court
ruling], from what we've been able to see, are not occurring," said
Mark Sudol, chief of the Corps' regulatory branch. "There may be [such
losses] in the future."
But regulators, environmentalists and wetlands experts in states like
Georgia and Texas, which have no programs to protect isolated waters,
point to projects where hundreds of acres of wetlands and streams have
been destroyed or are slated for destruction because they were judged
to be isolated.
Even in California and Washington, which are among the 18 states with
their own regulations for isolated waters, some wetlands and arroyos
that used to be protected are being obliterated, officials said.
Over time, the state officials and environmentalists warned, the
cumulative effect on water quality and wildlife could be significant,
especially if the Army Corps of Engineers takes a broad view of what
is considered "isolated."
On the Texas Gulf Coast, thousands of acres of wetlands are being
filled and drained near Galveston Bay to build housing developments,
shopping centers and a new port, aggravating a severe water-quality
problem that is decimating sea life and commercial fishing, according
to an official of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Near Vancouver, Wash., in preparation for the construction of a new
Costco, earth-moving equipment recently covered up a wetland that
local biologists say was a habitat for juvenile salmon.
In Southern California, the Army Corps of Engineers has continued to
protect "the vast majority" of the wetlands, arroyos and streams on
the coastal plain, officials said.
But in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, where there are many closed
basins, the Corps has stopped regulating many wetlands and ephemeral
streams, which run only after storms, said David Castanon, acting
chief of the regulatory branch at the Corps' Los Angeles district.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court said it would be a "significant
impingement upon a traditional state power" for the Army Corps of
Engineers to regulate isolated waters and wetlands just because
migratory birds depend on them. But, ironically, the majority of
states have indicated they want the federal government to find a way
to regulate as many of these areas as possible.
Local and state environmental officials say they are concerned that
the loss of wetlands and streams will affect water quality and
wildlife, but add that they do not have adequate resources to enforce
their regulations.
Among them are officials in California, which has lost more than 90%
of its wetlands to farming and development, according to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. The state has laws to protect the remaining
waters and wetlands, but it does not have the staff, programs or
funding to ensure compliance, said Michael Levy, senior staff counsel
for the State Water Resources Control Board.
The Bush administration contends that other federal and state
programs aimed at preserving and creating wetlands are making up for
any losses that may result from the court's decision.
"It is merely one component of a much more massive effort across the
federal government and states toward the goal of halting overall
wetlands loss," said James Connaughton, chairman of the White House
Office of Environmental Quality.
In January, the administration announced that in response to the
Supreme Court ruling, it would develop regulations clarifying the
definition of "waters of the United States" - those streams, water
bodies and wetlands that still will be protected by the Clean Water
Act.
In the absence of such rules, there have been dozens of lawsuits and
on-the-ground disputes over whether local Army Corps of Engineers
officials are making the right calls.
One involves a project in Brantley County, Ga., where as much as 177
acres of wetlands may be destroyed for a titanium mine.
Environmentalists believe the wetlands should be protected because
they are linked to other wetlands that connect to navigable waters.
Altamaha River Keeper, a Georgia environmental organization, is
considering legal action if the company developing the mine does not
agree to protect those wetlands.
"I'm getting even," said James Holland, a hulking 62-year-old with
thick gray hair who said he helped found the environmental group after
the destruction of coastal wetlands decimated his crabbing business.
"Can we afford to lose any more wetlands than we already have? I say,
'No!' I've given my life to say 'no.' "
On a recent afternoon, Holland watched as a steady stream of trucks
filled with dirt drove into the Cumberland Harbour development.
Environmentalists are considering their options here too, including a
possible lawsuit, he said.
"You only bring in dirt to fill in wetlands," Holland grumbled, as he
looked through binoculars at several wood storks flying around a
recently created man-made lake.
Development could be costly for these long-legged wading birds, which
forage in brackish and freshwater wetlands, and for the Eastern indigo
snake, which lives in burrows dug in these wetlands by the gopher
tortoise, a threatened species in Georgia.
Paul Beidel, a senior vice president at Land Resource Cos. which is
developing the property, said his company was committed to having a
"soft footprint" on the environment.
"Our goal is to kind of have zero impact to wetlands," he said,
adding that he was referring only to the so-called jurisdictional
wetlands, the ones that the Army Corps of Engineers has determined
have connections with navigable waters. He does not know, he said, how
many acres of isolated wetlands are being destroyed at Cumberland
Harbour.
Some students of wetlands believe that the Army Corps of Engineers'
interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling is not hurting the
environment.
David Crawley, a wetlands scientist and consultant for a housing
development in Rincon, a bedroom community of Savannah, believes the
regulations are sufficiently "protective."
Touring the Rincon development on a recent morning, Crawley pointed
out the 111 acres of wetlands - with hardwood trees that thrive in
soggy soil - that were designated as isolated. "I don't feel this
project is going to have a negative impact on the environment of
Effingham County," Crawley said.
But officials in the Army Corps of Engineers are having second
thoughts about whether those wetlands truly are isolated. They made
their determination in the middle of a seven-year drought, which
"skewed" the data, said Terry Kobs, regulatory specialist for the
Corps. Now, after an unusually wet year and a lot of pressure from
state officials and environmentalists, they are taking another look.
In Georgia and elsewhere, scientists, state ecologists and
environmental activists want the Army Corps of Engineers to more
narrowly interpret the court's ruling, since most waters have some
link to other waters.
"This whole idea of 'isolated wetlands' is such a piece of fiction,"
said Parsons, the state environmental specialist, who oversees Clean
Water Act regulations in Georgia. "Any reputable hydrologist or
ecologist is shocked at what the political [and] regulatory apparatus
is doing right now to our wetland resources."
Officials from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources visited Cumberland Harbour in April,
when large-scale earth moving was already underway. They were
skeptical, they said recently, when the Army Corps of Engineers
determined that large areas of wetlands on the property were isolated.
The development is on a tiny peninsula almost surrounded by navigable
waters.
"How the Corps made its jurisdictional determination is a mystery to
most people," said Parsons, who was on the tour. But since the area
had been altered before he saw it, he said he would "never know" if
his hunch was correct.
Parsons said that although he is disturbed by the Cumberland Harbour
development, his real concern is the impact of wetlands destruction in
many projects over the course of many years.
"There is a real potential for loss of endangered species, impacts to
coastal fisheries and increased flooding," he said. "There is a long-
term cumulative impact. Everybody knows it exists, but it's hard to
prove."
* * *
(c) t r u t h o u t 2003
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STATE LAND USE LAWS CAN HELP PROTECT BIODIVERSITY
Date: 031019
From: http://www.ascribe.org/
PROVISIONS IN STATE LAND USE LAWS CAN HELP
PROTECT BIODIVERSITY, BUT RARELY USED
AScribe Newswire, Oct. 16, 2003
Washington - Across the country, the health of ecosystems and the
species they sustain have declined dramatically since Europeans
settled North America. In 1992, the eminent biologist E.O. Wilson
warned that one of every five species on earth could become extinct by
the year 2020. The primary causes of this biodiversity loss in the
United States are habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation
- all of which are affected in part by state and local land use
planning decisions.
Planning for Biodiversity: Authorities in State Land Use Laws is the
first study to examine the laws that enable land use planning and
growth management in each of the 50 states. Focusing on the authority
to consider biodiversity protection in making land use planning
decisions, the report identifies a wide range of authorities related
to biodiversity protection, including planning requirements for
natural resources, open space, wildlife habitat, and critical and
sensitive areas.
"The authorities we identified in this report are potentially
powerful as conservation tools that state and local governments across
the country can use to protect biodiversity when making land use
decisions," said ELI Senior Attorney Linda Breggin. "Unfortunately,
they are currently underutilized."
Co-author Susan George, Field Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife,
agrees. "States have untapped power to protect the wildlife and
habitat within their borders," she said. "This report can be used by
citizens and government officials alike to protect these vital natural
resources."
The report is the third in the ELI series addressing the integration
of biodiversity and land use planning, funded by the Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation. The first report, Planning with Nature:
Biodiversity Information in Action, illustrates the ample authority at
the state level to require consultation with Natural Heritage Programs
on the impacts of proposed decisions on biological diversity. The
second, Conservation Thresholds for Land-Use Planners, provides land
use planners a review and synthesis of the most up-to-date scientific
literature on basic biologic thresholds. The fourth and final
installment in the series, Nature-Friendly Ordinances: Local Measures
for Biodiversity, will be released in early 2003. In addition,
Defenders of Wildlife published Integrating Land Use Planning and
Biodiversity in the spring of 2003, also supported by the Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation, a report highlighting numerous conservation
planning efforts currently underway in communities around the country.
Print copies of Planning for Biodiversity: Authorities in State Land
Use Laws can be ordered from ELI for $24.00 each plus shipping by
calling 800-433-5120; or downloaded for free at
http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=10917 or at
http://www.defenders.org/publications/stateplanning.
- - -
The Environmental Law Institute is an independent, non-profit research
and educational organization based in Washington, D.C. The Institute
serves the environmental profession in business, government, the
private bar, public interest organizations, academia, and the press.
Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization
recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for
biodiversity. With more than 440,000 members and supporters, Defenders
of Wildlife is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. For more
information on Defenders of Wildlife, please contact Brad DeVries at
202-682-9400 or bdev...@defenders.org. http://www.defenders.org.
* * *
AScribe Newswire / http://www.ascribe.org / 510-653-9400
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STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN WATER MONITORING EFFORT
Date: 17 Oct 2003
From: Delly...@epamail.epa.gov
JERSEY CITY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN
GLOBAL WATER QUALITY MONITORING EFFORT
October 17, 2003
New York, NY - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Director of
Environmental Planning and Protection, Walter E. Mugdan, today
celebrated World Water Monitoring Month and encouraged people around
the world to test the quality of their streams, lakes, wetlands, and
coastal waters. Mr. Mugdan taught 30 children from P.S. 30 in Jersey
City, New Jersey to use a water monitoring kit to assess the health of
the Hudson River.
"We want to ensure that Americans and citizens around the globe have
clean water," Mr. Mugdan explained. "Last year, we had 75,000
participants across the country help us gather information and help
characterize the conditions of our waters in the state. But the
environment knows no national boundaries, so we worked with our
partners in national and international associations to expand the
efforts globally."
World Water Monitoring Month recognizes the importance of being more
aware of the water we drink, swim in, shower with, use in
manufacturing or to water our gardens. The monitoring efforts foster a
better understanding of what activities can pollute our waters, how we
can check their health and, ultimately, help us to protect our waters
with greater vigor.
Around the world, volunteers of all ages are performing four key
tests in their local waterways this month to measure dissolved oxygen,
pH, turbidity/clarity and temperature. They are entering their
findings on a special Web page.
In 2002, the first National Water Monitoring Day was held to mark the
30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Due to the success of the
event, the program has been expanded to include other nations. Test
kits may be ordered and more information can be obtained through
America's Clean Water Foundation at
http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.
* * *
Terry Ippolito (212) 637-3671
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 2
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
290 Broadway - New York, New York 10007-1866
http://www.epa.gov/region2
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NEW HELP FOR NIMBYS
Date: 17 Oct 2003
From: "Karl Kehde" {ka...@valinet.com}
A new process for stopping unappealing land development projects is
available to NIMBY groups. The result of 12 years of grant funded
research, the Project Integration Procedure ends NIMBY frustration by
empowering these groups to set up their own team, which they then
invited the developer to join.
Emphasizing team building among the stakeholders and redesigning the
project expressly to include community-enhancing features, this do-it-
yourself, collaborative process is used to improve settled areas.
Karl Kehde, who was responsible for the research, says, "Never assume
that a developer won't join the team."
A complete step-by-step guidebook, SMARTER LAND USE, that includes
numerous testimonials and a CD with all the forms needed to implement
the voluntary procedure is available at http://landuse.org.
Thanks,
Karl Kehde
Director, Smarter Land Use Project
(908) 625-0638
ka...@landuse.org
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Phil Reynolds - Editor - reyn...@gsenet.org
Ivan Kossak - Executive Director - kos...@gsenet.org
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Back issues of the Garden State EnviroNews are available at
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