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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 040315

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Mar 15, 2004, 12:08:10 AM3/15/04

040315

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} STATE'S TALK TURNS TO ACTION ON HIGHLANDS
{*} OP/ED: OUR HIGHLANDS FOREVER WILD
{*} SOUTH CAMDEN RESIDENTS FEAR FORCED RELOCATION
{*} NJ LEGISLATORS OPPOSE VX WASTE DUMPING
{*} DELAWARE AUTHORITIES: MORE INFORMATION NEEDED ON VX
{*} TAXPAYERS CONTINUE TO FOOT THE SUPERFUND BILL
{*} BUSH EPA SEEKS WEAKER RULES FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE
{*} EPA SUED OVER SEPT. 11 CONTAMINATION
{*} EPA DATA ON WATER PURITY FAULTED
{*} NJ TO USE NEW STANDARD IN TESTING FOR BEACH POLLUTION
{*} HORSESHOE CRAB BOARD APPROVES ADDENDUM III
{*} SHELLFISH BEDS REOPEN IN SANDY HOOK BAY
{*} SOUTH BRANCH WATERSHED ASSOCIATION JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
{*} SALEM COUNTY 2ND ANNUAL WATERSHED WALK - APR 17

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STATE'S TALK TURNS TO ACTION ON HIGHLANDS

Date: 040314
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/

MCGREEVEY SEEKS CURBS ON GROWTH IN KEY AREAS

By Steve Chambers and Lawrence Ragonese
Star-Ledger Staff, March 14, 2004

In what may be the state's most ambitious environmental move since
the protection of the Pinelands, Gov. James E. McGreevey is seeking
the creation of a regional council with veto power over all large-
scale development on 350,000 acres of watershed lands in the northern
Highlands.

McGreevey also will ask the Legislature for environmental enforcement
powers in the region, enabling the state to squash most major
development on the forested ridges that provide drinking water to half
the state's residents.

Environmentalists are assembling, at McGreevey's urging, a hit list
of projects already in the pipeline that could jeopardize the resource
and should be stopped.

"The time for debate is over," McGreevey said in an interview Friday.
"Failure is not an option. Uncontrolled, ill-planned development is
having a direct impact on the quality of our water supply."

Top Democrats from the Senate and Assembly have pledged immediate
action and are scheduled to hold a news conference tomorrow in Trenton
to announce a timetable for bills ranging from the creation of the
council to a short-term building ban within the conservation areas
McGreevey refers to as the "core."

Unlike the Pinelands, the 750,000-acre, hilly region that cuts across
northwestern New Jersey is under severe development pressures. The
most environmentally sensitive lands are scattered across a seven-
county region. Its center is a vast forested region north of Route 80
in Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties that includes the Wanaque
Reservoir and other vital sources of drinking water.

In gatherings last week with environmentalists, McGreevey predicted a
fierce fight with building interests both in the Legislature and the
courts. He urged aggressive participation by his supporters in the
debate.

Some local and county officials said they were worried that a new
regional entity would usurp their powers, but there has been
surprising consensus about protecting the "core." Even some builders
support protection, but say they are disappointed that council powers
outside the core will be limited, with no mandatory growth areas
established as in the Pinelands.

McGreevey has criticized aspects of the million-acre Pinelands
protection effort in South Jersey, particularly the failure by the
state to prepare or assist towns designated for growth. But builders
say the war on sprawl being waged by state and local politicians is
driving up housing prices and shutting people out of the market.

Joe Riggs, regional president of K. Hovnanian Companies, the state's
largest residential builder, said that without setting up mandatory
growth areas and specifying densities, the recommendations will lead
to preserved areas surrounded by wall-to-wall sprawl.

"It is appropriate to designate preservation areas in the Highlands,"
Riggs said. "It is appropriate to designate growth areas in the
Highlands."

He said he objects, however, to making preservation mandatory and
growth voluntary.

CLOSED-DOOR MEETING

McGreevey's plan was unveiled yesterday in the form of
recommendations from the Highlands Task Force that he assembled six
months ago. The group, which included key environmentalists,
government officials, Riggs and other interested parties, approved its
recommendations in a closed-door meeting at the governor's mansion on
Friday.

The vote by the 19-member task force was 18 to 1, with only Riggs
casting a no vote, according to him and several other people in
attendance.

The task force included five cabinet members, including Bradley
Campbell, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
Members of McGreevey's staff worked closely with the group to ensure
the governor could act immediately.

Morris County Freeholder Director Jack Schrier, a Republican, said
task force members initially eyed one another cautiously but quickly
pulled together for a common cause.

"We all had something in common," Schrier said, adding that the
unifying goal seemed to be protection of the region's water supply.
"We all agreed we wanted to save the Highlands. That was a good
starting point."

By focusing on the core, McGreevey has attempted to build a coalition
of environmentalists, as well as local officials and residents angry
about overdevelopment and willing to go along with a plan that doesn't
rope off the entire Highlands.

About half the Highlands is being left outside the mandatory
jurisdiction of the regional council. Within the core, roughly 45
percent of the land has already been preserved and another 20 percent
is developed.

That leaves roughly 120,000 acres of prime, privately owned land
where the governor would like to halt development.

The 15-member council - a majority of whose members will be elected
local and county officials - will have 18 months to draft a regional
plan for the entire Highlands, with towns within the core required to
change their master plans to conform. It has not yet been decided who
will appoint the council members.

The state aims to preserve much of the undeveloped core lands, buying
some of it and using tough environmental regulations and the council's
veto power to shut down the kind of large-scale developments on
hillsides that increasingly dot the region.

The environmental regulations - including limitations on steep-slope
development, septic tank installations, wastewater treatment
extensions and building in forested areas - will be enacted in an
emergency fashion, eliminating a public comment period. And McGreevey
has asked lawmakers to order a freeze on the issuance of all state
development approvals until those regulations are in force.

BUYING LAND

The state also will focus on buying land in the core, using vast
resources raised by a 1998 open-space bond issue and an extra $50
million approved by voters in November. Pending federal legislation
could add another $100 million to the land-acquisition effort.

A pending bill (S196) sponsored by state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex)
also would allow state open-space monies to be used to take watershed
properties through eminent domain.

Campbell said the state would use condemnation as a last resort,
telling a gathering of environmentalists Wednesday night in Morris
Township that officials didn't want to use the "M-word," for
moratorium.

"I don't want to leave anyone with the wrong impression," McGreevey,
who participated in the meeting on a speaker phone, quickly added.
"This is about preservation, and we want to do the right thing. We
don't need to be apologetic about it."

Towns outside the core that decide to change their master plans will
be offered priority funding for state infrastructure spending. Within
the core, the governor will recommend that towns with vast preserved
land receive special aid, so-called payments in lieu of taxes that
McGreevey had axed in an effort to balance the budget the past two
years.

Those towns within the core also will be able to amend their
affordable housing plans. Such a move would eliminate a common
complaint by local officials that state guidelines on housing for the
poor sometimes force them to approve large-scale development.

A map of the core has yet to be completed, but the governor and task
force officials said it would include still-wooded areas that buffer
and protect streams feeding important reservoirs and aquifers. It also
will stress properties that provide links between parks, state forests
and other preserved lands.

The detailed outline of the core will be revealed when bills creating
the council are introduced, possibly later this month, according to
Curtis Fisher, a policy official in McGreevey's office who served as
liaison to the task force.

Jeff Tittel of the state Sierra Club chapter, a close ally but
sometime-critic of the administration, praised both the breadth of the
recommendations and the political strategy being employed. He
predicted victory after a monumental battle, and others agreed that
the legislative fight would not be easy.

"On one hand, this is a real watershed moment, but on the other hand
these recommendations don't amount to a hill of beans unless they are
implemented quickly and fully," said Tom Gilbert, an environmentalist
who served on the task force.

* * *

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OP/ED: OUR HIGHLANDS FOREVER WILD

Date: 11 Mar 2004
From: http://www.aimactionnews.com

By Dennis Miranda

As we were returning home from a family outing on a Sunday night
along Route 515, my daughter was marveling at the star constellations
when a different set of lights distracted us. Near the crest of
Hamburg Mountain, a series of white lights flickered while an ATV
motor's roar pierced the heart of a Norway spruce grove-a quick
reminder that preserving the Highlands does not automatically mean
that it is saved.

The next day I inspected the "speedway." I found deep ruts, exposed
tree roots, loose earth and beer cans, the regular aftermath of an ATV
outing. Fifteen years ago, this sport was practically unheard of.
Today, the Highlands are under assault by all sorts of intervention by
men and women that go beyond just buying and selling, preserving and
developing.

The conservation of the Highlands is primarily driven by the
unquenchable thirst of the millions that draw their water from this
region, but has the wilderness character of the landscape's region
been addressed adequately? I wonder if its natural resource values
will be protected as well.

A multitude of activities are increasingly undermining the integrity
of the Highlands at the height of the efforts to save the region. ATV
use is a scourge on the landscape; new trails are cut indiscriminately
through wetlands, across streams, in remote areas and even on steep
slopes. Freshly gouged soils sluice to the nearest streams muddying
the bottom with silt and dirt that choke the native trout's oxygen
supply. Noise pollution and emissions by ATV scare wildlife away and
disrupt breeding birds.

As if that weren't bad enough, the new "trails" provide the beachhead
for invasive plants to colonize in deep forests, far away from its
edge. These interlopers such as garlic mustard are quickly spreading
throughout the Highlands. They sprout sooner and grow faster than our
spring ephemerals such as Dutchman's breeches and trilliums, quickly
shading them out in the race to attract the sun's rays.

Japanese knotweed, a vigorous choking vine, is killing all native
plants near the forest edges. It is of no value to the creatures of
the forest bed and canopy, and it is working its way into the
interior. At the same time, the bright berries of the prickly barberry
attract birds that feed upon them and then scatter their seeds
throughout the forest spreading them further. The food the bright
barberry provides birds hardly counterbalances the damage it does to
other food sources and habitats-for birds and beasts-by encroaching
upon their land and pushing them out. In the wetlands, purple
loosestrife is converting our marshes and swamps of cattails and
sedges into woody monocultures that destroy habitat for bitterns,
rails and herons.

Our white tailed deer population is booming. With no predators to
keep the numbers down, the deer are eating our forests into oblivion.
Understory shrubs like viburnums and hollies, tree saplings, even
wildflowers and native grasses, are disappearing. And the deer
increase brings with it additional unwanted baggage, the ticks that
carry Lyme disease. Fifteen years ago, you could go bushwhacking in
the woods without ever tacking on a tick. Today, forget it!

The preservation of the Highlands alone will not preserve the
landscape and its fauna and flora. There must be a regional entity
with sufficient resources and professional expertise to manage and
restore the wilderness values of the Highlands. To ensure that there
is the political will to implement the necessary measures, we need
first to incorporate these laudable goals as law in the state of New
Jersey.

I recommend that the New Jersey Legislature consider the "Forever
Wild'" Amendment to New York State's Constitution. In 1894, New York
State adopted Article XIV, Section I to preserve the Adirondacks. It
reads, "The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired,
constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever
kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or
exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor
shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed."

This amendment has been used as a model for similar preservation
measures in states throughout the last century, including in Alabama,
where voters ratified it by an overwhelming margin of 83 percent.

While passing an amendment similar to this in New Jersey would not
guarantee that all of the Highlands afflictions would disappear
immediately, it sets a vision for what the character of the Highlands
ought to be: a wilderness area within an hour's drive of the greatest
city in the world to be enjoyed forever by millions for its water and
for its natural resources. The Highlands is our Adirondacks, an oasis
of nature at our front doorstep that could be forever wild.

* * *

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SOUTH CAMDEN RESIDENTS FEAR FORCED RELOCATION

Date: 040314
From: http://www.philly.com/

CAMDEN AND STATE OFFICIALS MAY DECIDE THE WATERFRONT
SOUTH AREA IS TOO POLLUTED FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE THERE

By Kaitlin Gurney and Dwight Ott
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers, Mar. 14, 2004

Camden - City and state leaders seem to have finally heard what the
residents of Waterfront South have told them for years.

That they eat and breathe heavy dust from the St. Lawrence Cement
plant.

That the stench from the county utilities plant makes it impossible
to step outside in the summer.

And that children play by Superfund sites to avoid diesel trucks
barreling down Ferry Avenue.

But neighborhood activists say they fear that officials will turn
their own words against them.

The city has asked the state Department of Environmental Protection
to determine whether the mostly black and Hispanic community is too
polluted for people to live there.

Because for years the state has approved industrial permits for this
neighborhood in the shadow of the Walt Whitman Bridge, activists
expect New Jersey to declare Waterfront South unfit for anything but
more industry.

City leaders - who deny that any decisions have been made - and
Camden residents will clash at a meeting tomorrow night that is
expected to draw more than 1,000 people.

"This is nothing more than an excuse to grab land for industry," said
the Rev. Michael Doyle, a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in
Waterfront South. "All we've ever asked them to do is to fix what they
started. It was government who put all the facilities here, and it's
their job to fix them.

"I've been here for 29 years, and this is the first time there's been
any talk about health."

While city officials await the DEP's decision, nearly $1 million in
grants to build and rehabilitate housing in this community of 1,700
have been revoked. Other Camden neighborhoods have begun to reap
development money from the state's $175 million takeover plan, but
Waterfront South has been condemned to "a slow, painful death," Doyle
said.

Melvin "Randy" Primas Jr., Camden's state-appointed chief operating
officer under the takeover plan, rejects assertions that he has a
grand plan for the neighborhood's demise. He said he was unlikely to
support new housing for Waterfront South, but would not isolate or
forcibly relocate people already there.

"I believe it is wrong and disingenuous to populate an area where
people can't breathe the air, where folks can't sit out back," Primas
said last week.

But activists from all over Camden, irate at what they consider the
city's plans to "redline" the Waterfront South community, say the
issue may lead them to withdraw their support from the city's recovery
plan. Camden Churches Organized for People, a powerful group that
lobbied lawmakers to enact the takeover plan in 2002, organized
tomorrow's meeting.

"This really is a defining moment for the recovery period," said CCOP
member Rosa Ramirez, who lives in East Camden. "CCOP fought hard to
bring these new resources to Camden.

"We're not going to let our neighborhoods be sold to the highest
bidder," she said.

Waterfront South is isolated by the Delaware River's South Jersey
Port Co. to the west, Interstate 676 to the east, the Walt Whitman
Bridge to the south, and "geography suggests that Waterfront South
should be the industrial corridor," Primas said.

"It's not practical to talk about moving the incinerator and the
cogeneration plant or the utilities authority - those are facts of
life," he said, adding that it could cost hundreds of millions for
full remediation of the area's environmental problems. He has
suggested that Heart of Camden, Sacred Heart's nonprofit arm, stop
rehabilitating houses and focus on "easing the burden" by providing
social services for residents who remain.

Waterfront South advocates have been critical of the city's past
relocation efforts in the area, a row of homes on Arlington Street and
a cluster known as the Terraces next to a thorium-contaminated
Superfund site. They say the city has waited until all but squatters
and the last few families left the area to relocate residents.

Primas said Friday that the city would develop a plan to relocate all
residents who desired - and then rescinded his statement later that
afternoon.

Not every Waterfront South resident is a critic of the city's
approach. The Rev. Al Stewart, who runs the Camden Rescue Mission on
Broadway Avenue in Waterfront South, was a vocal opponent of the St.
Lawrence Cement plant over the years. Now, the minister says
remediation "would be too little, too late," and residents' best hope
is to relocate.

But developer Tom Corcoran of the Cooper's Ferry Development Corp.
said he disagreed with the city's vision for Waterfront South and
believed the environmental concerns have been exaggerated.

"All the environmental issues can and should be remediated by the
people that caused them, the county and the state government," he
said. "The neighborhood around Sacred Heart cannot be cut off or it
will die."

Sacred Heart, with its housing efforts and a 250-student elementary
school, is the hub of the blighted neighborhood, drawing parishioners
from Philadelphia and New Jersey suburbs into the city. Heart of
Camden, at the urging of the late Sister Peg Hynes, rehabbed 120 homes
in the neighborhood and had plans for many more.

Carmen Almodovar bought one of those homes for $35,000 15 years ago
and says she's terrified that she'll be forced to leave.

"This place, problems and all, is where I want to live out my life,"
she said.

Waterfront South is no stranger to environmental protests.

In 1998, residents of a local activist group, South Camden Citizens
in Action, wore clothespins on their noses as they filed a lawsuit
against the county over the foul odor from its sewage-treatment plant.

In 2001, the same group delivered coffins to the DEP, accusing the
agency of environmental racism for approving a permit for the St.
Lawrence Cement plant in a neighborhood that already had 20
contaminated sites, two Superfund sites, the county's trash-to-steam
incinerator, and power plants. They fought the cement company all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear their case.

Last summer, neighborhood residents formed a human chain to block
trucks from cutting through Waterfront South on their way to I-676.

The South Camden group's leader, Geneva "Bonnie" Sanders, died of
cancer at 56 last month. When Doyle came to give her the last rites,
he said, she demanded that they instead talk about the neighborhood's
most important battle yet.

"She couldn't bear the idea that the city was writing off the
neighborhood, that they weren't just going to ignore the industry that
was already there, but actually wanted more of it," said Camden lawyer
Olga Pomar, who represented Sanders and other residents in court.

"The problem is what they'll do with the people here. The city won't
buy out all 1,700 people. They'll just let it become more intolerable
for the people who stay," she said.

* * *

Contact staff writer Kaitlin Gurney at 609-989-7373 or
kgu...@phillynews.com.
Copyright 1996-2003 Knight Ridder. All Rights Reserved.

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NJ LEGISLATORS OPPOSE VX WASTE DUMPING

Date: 12 Mar 2004
From: Green Delaware {gree...@dca.net}

GREEN DELAWARE ALERT #324

LEADERSHIP FROM NEW JERSEY

New Jersey legislators Jack Conners and Herbert Conaway introduce
resolution against dumping VX nerve agent waste into the Delaware
River

(Note: Assemblyman Conaway is a medical doctor)

ACTION: Ask Delaware legislators to act.

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp

# # #

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 13

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
211th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MARCH 11, 2004

Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JACK CONNERS
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman HERBERT CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS
Urges NJ Congressional Delegation to prohibit discharge of treated
nerve agent in Delaware River.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
AR139 CONNERS, CONAWAY

AN ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION urging the New Jersey Congressional Delegation
to prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX into the Delaware
River.

WHEREAS, Created in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, VX (which
refers to its U.S. Army codename) is a human-made chemical warfare
agent classified as a nerve agent; and

WHEREAS, VX, the only significant nerve agent created since World War
II, was manufactured for military use and is considered among the
deadliest of all chemicals, causing paralysis and death within minutes
when it is in its active stage; and

WHEREAS, VX is the least volatile of the nerve agents and is the
slowest to evaporate from a liquid into a vapor, therefore making it
very persistent in the environment; and

WHEREAS, VX should be considered a long term threat as well as a short
term threat because it evaporates so slowly, making it imperative that
any surface contaminated with VX be considered a long term hazard; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey has adopted several comprehensive water measures
in the past to ensure that its resources are protected from pollution;
and

WHEREAS, The United States Army is considering shipping VX waste to a
Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility in this State which, after treating
the waste VX, would discharge the treated waste into the Delaware
River; and

WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the State of New Jersey to
prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX in the Delaware River
in order to preserve our resources and environment from pollution and
contamination; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of New 31 Jersey:

1. This resolution urges the New Jersey Congressional Delegation to
prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX in the Delaware River
in order to protect and preserve New Jersey's waterways.

2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker
of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be
transmitted to the President and the Vice President of the United
States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the
Majority and Minority leaders of the United States Senate and the
United States House of Representatives, and each member of the United
States Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges the New Jersey Congressional Delegation to
prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX in the Delaware River
in order to protect and preserve New Jersey's waterways. The United
States Army is considering shipping VX waste to a Hazardous Waste
Treatment Facility in this State which, after treating the waste VX,
would discharge the treated waste into the Delaware River

VX is the deadliest nerve agent and the only significant nerve agent
created since World War II. It is the least volatile of the nerve
agents as it is the slowest to evaporate from a liquid into a vapor,
therefore making it very persistent in the environment. VX is
odorless, tasteless, and disrupts the communication of the nerve
cells. At a minimum level of exposure, symptoms can include increased
heart rate, salivation, and nausea. However, within a few minutes at a
higher level of exposure, symptoms can include convulsions,
respiratory paralysis and death.

# # #

Comment: Supporters of the VX dumping will quibble with some of the
wording of AR139, but the sense of it is exactly what is
needed-legislators providing leadership.

ACTION:

If you live in New Jersey, contact your legislators to support this
resolution.

If you live in Delaware or Pennsylvania, ask you legislators to
sponsor a similar resolution.

Membership Drive: If you find this information useful, please pass it
on to others who might be interested. To subscribe to our mailing list
send a message to greendel-...@yahoogroups.com

Green Delaware is a community based organization working on
environment and public health issues. We try to provide information
you can use. Please use it. Do you want to continue receiving
information from Green Delaware? Please consider contributing or
volunteering. Reach us at 302.834.3466, gree...@dca.net,
http://www.greendel.org, Box 69, Port Penn, DE, USA, 19731-0069

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

DELAWARE AUTHORITIES: MORE INFORMATION NEEDED ON VX

Date: 11 Mar 2004
From: Alan Muller {amu...@dca.net}

Green Delaware Alert #322

COVERAGE FROM INDIANA ABOUT DUPONT'S PROPOSED DELAWARE RIVER-DUMPING:
"DELAWARE AUTHORITIES: MORE INFORMATION NEEDED ON VX WASTE PLAN"

"VERMILLION COUNTY [INDIANA] RESIDENTS ARE OPPOSED TO SENDING TOXIC
WASTE TO POLLUTE ANOTHER STATE'S ENVIRONMENT."

March 11, 2004

Delaware media have done little to cover the proposed "treatment" of
VX nerve agent "hydrolysate" into the Delaware River. This probably
reflects the traditional DuPont influence - the Wilmington News
("Stooge") Journal was at one time actually owned by DuPont.

For example, Green Delaware did not receive a single call in response
to our Alert 320, which showed that DuPont and the Army were lying in
their claims that no VX nerve agent would be present in the
"hydrolysate."

(Note: the first version Alert 320 contained a confused paragraph
which both understated and understated the threat posed by the VX
stockpile in Indiana. A revised Alert is posted at
http://www.greendel.org/item.xhtml?name=alert_0320)

Similar problems exist in South Jersey, where the Today's Sunbeam
newspaper ran a DuPont press release as a news story:
http://
http://www.nj.com/news/sunbeam/index.ssf?/base/news-
1/1078482020208090.xml

The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute, Indiana, has been covering this
issue extensively for years and ran this article this morning about
the Delaware/New Jersey aspects:

http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2004/03/11/news/news04.txt

- - -

DELAWARE AUTHORITIES: MORE INFORMATION NEEDED ON VX WASTE PLAN

By Patricia L. Pastore, Tribune-Star, March 11, 2004

Delaware authorities say more information is needed to prove DuPont's
contention that DuPont can safely treat waste created by VX
neutralization at its treatment facility in Deepwater, NJ

Citizens in New Jersey, Delaware and Indiana are opposed to
transporting about 900 truckloads of the caustic, toxic waste across
the country to be treated at DuPont's Chambers Works Secure
Environmental Treatment Facility before being dumped into the Delaware
River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Environmental groups don't want the byproduct dumped in the already
polluted Delaware River. DuPont's studies have not convinced state
agencies the discharge won't harm people and the environment.

After reading the 350-page DuPont VX hydrolysate treatability study
issued March 4, some aren't convinced DuPont's hazardous waste
treatment plant can further break down nerve agent VX hydrolysate, the
byproduct of VX neutralization, into harmless substances..

"No decisions have been rendered at this point on the Army reports
and DuPont's reports," said Richard Greene, an environmental engineer
for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control. "We are looking at this from every angle possible to make
sure treating VX hydrolysate is not a problem and does not result in
unintended consequences."

Greene said the DuPont report is merely "a proposal." DuPont and the
Army are trying to demonstrate they can do it safely, he said. "There
are still some additional questions that need to be answered."

DuPont in its analysis admits that MPA and EMPA, toxic compounds
formed in VX hydrolysate, won't be broken down in the treatment it
utilizes.

Nerve agent VX is the deadliest of all Cold War chemical weapons,
according to Army reports.

"The biggest problem with the report is DuPont did no research on the
EMPA," said John Kearney, spokesman for the Delaware Clean Air
Council. "It has always been done by computer modeling based on MPA,
which is not acceptable because this is a military unique compound not
found in any other substance. DuPont's report said, 'No model or
experimental chronic hazard data were available for EMPA, therefore,
it was not possible to calculate the chronic risk quotients for
EMPA.'"

Kearns contends the reason DuPont did not conduct independent testing
is because "the results would not have been acceptable, showing damage
to the Delaware River ecosystems."

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection would be
grossly negligent if they allowed a militarily unique substance,
without any actual testing on it first, to be dumped into the Delaware
River, he said.

Fred Mumford , a media spokesman for the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, did not return repeated phone calls.

Perma-Fix of Dayton, Ohio had a contract with the Army's contractor,
Parsons Technologies, Inc., to treat VX hydrolysate. Ohio citizens
opposed bringing the VX hydrolysate to their community from Newport
and Ohio authorities refused to issue the permits necessary for Perma-
Fix to treat VX hydrolysate.

Parsons rescinded its contract with Perma-Fix last year.

A report issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
recommended that no waste from VX be dumped in any waterway until
further studies were done.

Kearney is hopeful the New Jersey and Delaware state environmental
agencies "will now make the same recommendations the Ohio EPA did," he
said Wednesday.

The DuPont plant in New Jersey dumps its waste streams into Delaware
waters in a portion of the river in the city of Wilmington, Del.

Kearney said he will work with the Wilmington City Council to ban the
dumping of the treated VX hydrolysate into Wilmington waterways.

A DuPont engineer believes the substance would be satisfactorily
diluted in the river.

"The amounts of EPA and EMPA and phosphonic acid to be released in
the river are within standards, said Todd Owens, a DuPont chemical
engineer. He admitted no studies have been done on EMPA and MPA
although they are part of other effluents that are put into the
Delaware River by companies whose industrial process uses phosphonic
acids in the making of detergents and pesticides, he said.

Once the effluent containing the MPA and EMPA is put into the river,
the water will further dilute it, Owens said. He said it will go into
the river below the salt line and is in the right environment for
biodegradation.

He admits he is uncertain how long it takes for total destruction of
the EMPA and MPA.

"I believe it's months, not years," Owens said. "The biodegradation
time is unknown. We aren't talking about generations."

Green Delaware, another environmental group, plans to file a lawsuit
if DuPont is given a contract to destroy VX hydrolysate.

Alan Muller, spokesman for Green Delaware, said DuPont's answer to
treating EMPA and MPA is dilution.

"You have heard of the old adage 'the solution to pollution is
dilution,'" Muller said. "The more people look at this, the more they
are going to realize how unacceptable it is. DuPont is doing a huge
number on the environment. This isn't harmless waste water."

Vermillion County residents are opposed to sending toxic waste to
pollute another state's environment.

Sara Morgan, spokeswoman for the Newport Citizens Against
Incineration, is appalled at what she read in DuPont's assessment of
hydrolysate treatment, she said.

"I am not convinced that DuPont can actually treat VX hydrolysate at
this time to the extent that the waste should be released into the
Delaware River, the bay and then to the ocean; therefore, I continue
to question the advisability of shipment," Morgan said. "More
information is needed since DuPont's report states that it is 'not
possible to quantitatively analyze for every compound that might be
present' in the hydrolysate. The report also states that two
hydrolysate byproducts - MPA and EMPA - are not destroyed by DuPont's
proposed treatment."

Morgan has repeatedly said VX hydrolysate is a Vermillion County
problem that should not be sent elsewhere.

"We made it here and we can treat it here," she has said.

The Speedy Neut plan to destroy VX ahead of the 1996 original target
date has been put on hold twice and is scheduled to begin this summer,
possibly in June, said Col. Jesse L. Barber of the Army's Chemical
Materials Agency alternative technologies and approaches project.

"Off-site treatment of the caustic wastewater [VX hydrolysate] is the
only option that allows us to start agent destruction operations in
2004," Barber said Wednesday in a news release.

Patricia Pastore can be reached at (812)231-4271 or
pat.p...@tribstar.com

- - -

Note from Green Delaware:

The comments in this story from DNREC technical people DO NOT mean
that DNREC will accept any responsibility for the situation. Agency
heads have a habit of rolling over for DuPont, and might claim they
lack jurisdiction...

* * *

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

TAXPAYERS CONTINUE TO FOOT THE SUPERFUND BILL

Date: 040314
From: http://www.ems.org/

SENATE FAILS TO MAKE POLLUTERS PAY FOR TOXIC WASTE SITE CLEANUPS

U.S. Public Interest Research Group, March 11, 2004

Washington, DC - The Senate rejected an amendment today that would
have reinstated Superfund's polluter pays fees. Senator Lautenberg's
amendment to the Budget Resolution would have reestablished a
dedicated funding source for cleanups at more than 1200 Superfund
sites across the country, protecting the health of millions of people
while making polluters foot the bill for toxic waste site cleanups.
U.S. PIRG commended those Senators who voted for the amendment,
including Senators Snowe (ME), Collins (ME), Nelson (NE), Bingaman
(NM), Bayh (IN), and McCain (AZ) who showed new support for making
polluters pay.

"By refusing to reinstate Superfund's polluter pays fees, the Senate
voted to extend a 4 million dollar per day tax holiday for polluters
and continue charging regular taxpayers for toxic waste site
cleanups," said U.S. PIRG Environmental Health Advocate Julie Wolk.
"Since Superfund's trust fund went bankrupt, toxic waste cleanup
competes with every other government program for scarce taxpayer
money," she continued.

Funding for the Superfund program decreased by at least 25 percent
between 2001-2004 compared with 1992-2000, with site cleanups slowing
down nearly 50% in the last three years. Last year, the Bush
administration cleaned up only 40 Superfund toxic waste sites compared
to an average of 87 sites per year in the middle and late 1990's. The
EPA Inspector General recently reported a $175 million funding
shortfall for fiscal year 2003.

Since Congress allowed Superfund's polluter pays fees to expire in
1995 and the trust fund is now essentially bankrupt, regular
taxpayers, who paid 18 percent of program costs in 1996, will pay for
virtually all cleanups at abandoned sites this year. Former Presidents
Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton all collected the polluter pays
fees or supported their reinstatement, but the Bush administration
opposes reinstating the fees.

"The Bush Administration continues to let polluting industries off
the hook and leave regular taxpayers to pay the cleanup costs,
allowing toxic waste sites to languish in communities around the
country," said Wolk. "Congress should reinstate Superfund's polluter
pays fees, re-fund the program, and demand that the Environmental
Protection Agency start listing and cleaning up more toxic waste
sites," she concluded.

- - -

Contact: Julie Wolk, 202-546-9707

U.S. PIRG is the national lobby office for the state Public Interest
Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public
interest advocacy organizations. http://www.uspirg.org/

* * *

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

BUSH EPA SEEKS WEAKER RULES FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Date: 040314
From: http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/

Greenwatch Today, March 12, 2004

If the Bush Administration has its way, radioactive waste will soon
be officially no different than ordinary trash - meaning it could be
dumped into your nearby town landfill.

Long a dream - and goal - of the nuclear industry, the Bush EPA is
actively considering a reclassification, or redefinition, of what
constitutes radioactive waste. The period for public comment on the
controversial proposal expires this Wednesday, March 17.

The nuclear industry has been pushing for such a redefinition of
contaminated "low-activity" waste for over a decade. Sending this
waste to an ordinary landfill or hazardous waste handler (if
radioactive material is mixed with hazardous waste) would be cheaper
than disposal at facililities licensed to handle radioactive
materials, which is what current EPA regulation requires.

In November, when the proposed deregulation was announced, a
coalition of prominent leaders from enviromental, recycling, and
nuclear watchdog groups wrote to EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt,
warning that this change "could significantly harm the environment and
public health." The group also noted that such a change could result
in "public outrage".[1]

"The scientific and medical communities agree that there is no safe
level of exposure to radioactive material," Ed Hopkins, director of
the environmental quality program for the Sierra Club, told
BushGreenwatch. "Radioactive wastes should be carefully contained and
isolated, not spread throughout the environment. Only the nuclear
industry benefits from deregulating and recycling radioactive waste."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's past efforts to reclassify
radioactive wastes to allow for cheaper disposal, which date from
1986, have prompted strong opposition. In 1992, Congress overturned
NRC waste reclassification policies, which went by the term "Below
Regulatory Concern". Between 1992 and 1996, 15 states passed laws or
regulations aimed at continued regulatory control over the disposal of
radioactive materials.[2]

The EPA reclassification proposal dovetails with complementary
proposals under consideration by other government agencies, including
the NRC, the Department of Energy, and the Department of
Transportation, to relax or remove regulations now governing the
transportation and disposal of radioactive materials.[3]

The proposed deregulation could also threaten the ability of states
to regulate radioactive wastes and protect their citizens.

TAKE ACTION

The deadline for comments is March 17th, so act quickly and spread
the word. Email EPA and let them know you oppose federal rules that
would deregulate and exempt nuclear materials from regulation. Send a
copy of your comment to EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt,
leavitt...@epa.gov .

- - -

SOURCES:
[1] Coalition letter to Mike Leavitt, Nov. 17, 2003.
[2] Diane D'Arrigo, Nuclear Information and Resource Service,
dia...@nirs.org.
[3] Ibid.

* * *

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

EPA SUED OVER SEPT. 11 CONTAMINATION

Date: 040311
From: http://www.planetark.com/

Reuters News Service, March 12, 2004

New York - New Yorkers exposed to dangerous debris from the Sept. 11,
2001, attack on the World Trade Center sued the Environmental
Protection Agency this week for failing to properly clean building
interiors.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, was filed in Manhattan
federal court by people who live, work or go to school near the site.
They charged that the EPA avoided responsibility for the interior
cleanup of buildings despite its legal obligations to do so.

The plaintiffs said that as a result of the EPA failure, they had
been exposed to hazardous substances for more than two years and faced
potentially serious long-term health effects.

They said the EPA had shown a "shockingly deliberate indifference to
human health."

The suit asks for unspecified damages and a court order the EPA pay
for medical monitoring and test buildings for hazardous materials.

The EPA said it had not seen the suit and could not comment directly.

The agency added in a written statement, "It is important to note
that EPA staff performed remarkable feats in the aftermath of the
World Trade Center collapse under the most trying of circumstances."

It said it responded moments after the hijacked airliners hit the
World Trade Center by monitoring and sampling air, dust and water and
overseeing the removal of hazardous substances. The EPA said it was
continuing its work.

* * *

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

EPA DATA ON WATER PURITY FAULTED

Date: 14 Mar 2004
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}

By David Nakamura, Washington Post, Mar. 12, 2004

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has overstated the purity of
the nation's drinking water in four recent years, potentially leaving
millions of people at risk, according to a new report.

From 1999 through 2002, the EPA announced that it met its goal that
91 percent of U.S. residents have access to safe tap water. But the
data the EPA used to make those conclusions were "flawed and
incomplete" because states did not report all violations to the
federal agency, stated a report released this week by Kwai Chan, the
EPA's assistant inspector general.

Despite that, the EPA trumpeted the inaccurate rates to the media,
giving a false impression to the public, Chan said. The EPA's
documents show that some agency officials believe that in 2002, only
about 81 percent of the jurisdictions monitored had safe drinking
water, far lower than the official agency estimate of 94 percent for
that year. The lower number would put roughly 30 million additional
people at potential risk.

Benjamin H. Grumbles, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for
the office of water, acknowledged in a letter responding to the
inspector general's report that the agency's records are incomplete.
He said the EPA has been working hard to improve compliance in
reporting from the states and has made some strides but still has a
long way to go.

Grumbles wrote that the EPA was not trying to mislead or lie to the
public with its reports but is simply "using the data that is
available to us through the national reporting system."

Chan's report, based on an independent analysis that the inspector
general's office began in June, was not prompted by the lead
contamination of drinking water in the District. However, Chan's
findings are important for the District because the city is one of two
jurisdictions - Wyoming is the other - that reports water problems
directly to the EPA. In all other areas, state governments have
primacy in overseeing local water agencies, and the EPA oversees the
states.

The EPA's oversight of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's handling
of the District's lead contamination problems has been criticized by
some local and federal leaders, who said the federal agency should
have demanded that WASA provide more information to the public after
the contamination was discovered two years ago.

A coalition of environmental groups met with high-level EPA officials
yesterday and harshly criticized WASA, according to Damu Smith, the
meeting's chairman and executive director of the District-based
National Black Environmental Justice Network. The coalition demanded
that the EPA determine whether low-income communities have experienced
worse lead contamination than other neighborhoods, he said.

"Our main message was that EPA has to take leadership in this
situation," Smith said. "The mayor and the city council don't have the
authority to force WASA to do what it needs to do. It's EPA that has
the power to do that."

Tom Voltaggio, EPA's deputy regional administrator, said that the
meeting was "excellent" and that more meetings will follow. "We want
to work with them and get their sense of where they think the best
place to put our time and energy is," he said.

WASA officials announced yesterday that they intend to release today
the results of hundreds of water tests conducted last month. The
agency also said it has retested two D.C. homes where water showed the
highest lead levels and found that the lead receded significantly
after the taps were flushed for 10 minutes.

A house on Evarts Street NE in the Bloomingdale neighborhood had lead
levels as high as 48,000 parts per billion, well above the federal
limit of 15 parts per billion. A house on Monroe Street NW had a level
of 24,000 parts per billion. Retests recently showed that the Evarts
house had a level of 6.7 parts per billion and the Monroe house 5.5
parts per billion after the taps were flushed, WASA officials said.

WASA Deputy General Manager Michael Marcotte said the high readings
at those houses probably were caused by partial lead service line
replacements done by WASA at both houses last year. When lead lines
are cut, the leaching of lead often increases because a protective
coating of lime on the pipes can become dislodged, officials have
said.

The EPA bases its statements about the quality of drinking water
across the country on data collected by states from their utilities,
which test for about 100 contaminants and pollutants, including lead,
arsenic, industrial chemicals and fecal matter.

The EPA inspector general's report states that the agency has a
verification program in which it reviewed 71 water systems where safe
drinking water violations were found. But of those, 17 had never been
reported by the states to the EPA's safe drinking water information
system, which is used to make the agency's official estimate of
jurisdictions with safe water. With 54,000 water systems nationwide,
it is difficult to determine just how many unreported violations take
place each year, the inspector general's report said.

Cynthia Dougherty, head of the EPA's safe drinking water program,
said the EPA does not know "what the right number is. The only number
we can use is what the states report. We have not figured out yet a
good way to come up with a different number."

Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an
environmental group, believes that the EPA's regulatory system is
"broken."

Federal authorities, he said, "don't even know the basic information
about public water systems."

The lead contamination in D.C. tap water, Olson continued, is only "a
very small part of the problem. There's a much more profound, serious
problem they're trying to paper over."

EPA officials said they are implementing more training for state
officials, simplified reporting formats and reduced complexity of
federal rules. But Paul Schwartz, national policy coordinator for
Clean Water Action, another environmental group, said the EPA is "not
really getting in there and aggressively [monitoring] these states.
The EPA has to take a far more proactive oversight role."

# # #

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

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

NJ TO USE NEW STANDARD IN TESTING FOR BEACH POLLUTION

Date: 040314
From: http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/

Associated Press, 3/14/04

Neptune - New Jersey will use a new standard this year to measure
fecal bacteria in coastal waters, a move that could lead to more
swimming bans than last year.

The new standard uses enterococci bacteria instead of fecal coliform
to measure the level of fecal pollution. It is required under a
mandate set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency under the
federal Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of
2000.

Nine states have already adopted the standard, and New Jersey is one
of 11 states that are in the process of adopting it.

Enterococci are a form of fecal streptococcus bacteria that live in
the intestinal tracts of humans and some animals. According to the
EPA, the risk of getting gastrointestinal illness can be better
predicted by testing for enterococci rather than for fecal coliforms.

Since the 1980s, county health officials in New Jersey have tested
for fecal coliform bacteria in water at more than 300 ocean and bay
beaches. When fecal coliform colonies have exceeded 200 per 100
milliliters of water - about four ounces - for two consecutive days,
swimming is banned until a follow-up sample drops below the 200 limit.

There were 80 ocean swimming bans at the Jersey Shore last year,
according to data provided by the state Department of Environmental
Protection. That was the highest number since 1988, when 803 were
recorded and were blamed largely on a malfunctioning sewage treatment
plant in Asbury Park.

Experts were divided on whether the new standard would result in more
swimming bans. But Shawn DeRosa, a consultant with the Aquatic Safety
Research Group in State College, Pa., said it will ensure people are
swimming in safer waters.

"I think it's a good thing that we're moving to a more stringent
standard," DeRosa told The Asbury Park Sunday Press.

* * *

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

HORSESHOE CRAB BOARD APPROVES ADDENDUM III

Date: 11 Mar 2004
From: Kerr...@aol.com

ASMFC HORSESHOE CRAB BOARD APPROVES ADDENDUM III
NJ, DE, AND MD FURTHER REDUCE LANDINGS

March 10, 2004

The Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved Addendum
III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab. The
Addendum seeks to further the conservation of horseshoe crab and
migratory shorebird populations in and around the Delaware Bay. It
reduces harvest, implements seasonal closures and revises the Plan's
monitoring requirements.

"Through its actions today, the Board continues to recognize the
unique relationship between horseshoe crabs and migratory shorebird
populations," stated Board Chair Bruce Freeman of New Jersey. "I want
to especially acknowledge the efforts of the States of New Jersey,
Delaware, and Maryland in taking steps to ensure the integrity of the
Delaware Bay ecosystem."

The Addendum responds to recommendations of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's Shorebird Technical Committee to reduce horseshoe
crab harvest in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The intent is to
increase the abundance of horseshoe crabs eggs to meet the energetic
requirements of migratory shorebirds that stopover in Delaware Bay.

Specifically, the Addendum caps annual harvest in New Jersey and
Delaware at 150,000 crabs/state and sets Maryland's annual quota at
its 2001 landings level (170,653 crabs). Further, it requires the
three states to prohibit the harvest and landings of horseshoe crab
for bait from May 1 to June 7. Addendum III also encourages states
with both bait and biomedical fisheries to allow biomedical companies
to bleed harvested crabs prior to their use as bait. This would
eliminate mortality associated with the process of bleeding and
returning crabs to the waters from which they were harvested.

Copies of the Addendum will be available by mid-April and can be
obtained from the Commission's website at http://www.asmfc.org or by
contacting the Commission office at (202) 289-6400. For more
information, please contact Braddock Spear, Fishery Management Plan
Coordinator, at (202) 289-6400 or bsp...@asmfc.org.

* * *

Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tbe...@asmfc.org
http://www.asmfc.org

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

SHELLFISH BEDS REOPEN IN SANDY HOOK BAY

Date: 12 Mar 2004
From: "Debra Hoover" {Debra....@dep.state.nj.us}

March 12, 2004

Trenton - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley Campbell today announced the reopening for
shellfish harvesting of part of southeastern Sandy Hook Bay. The area
is part of a larger area closed last year in March due to a broken
sewage main in Middlesex County.

The sewage main has since been repaired and subsequent sample
monitoring results show that these waters are now safe for harvesting.
The partial revocation returns the beds to their classifications prior
to the closure and is effective March 13, 2004.

A copy of the Notice of Partial Revocation is attached.

- - -

PARTIAL REVOCATION OF SHELLFISH BED CLOSURE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAND USE MANAGEMENT

Public Notice of Partial Revocation of Condemnation of Shellfish Beds

Pursuant to statutory authority granted the Department of
Environmental Protection appearing at NJS.A. 13:1B-4 and 58:24-1 et.
seq. and because of degraded water quality resulting from the release
of sewage in 2003 from a broken main into the waters of the Raritan
River in Middlesex County and the resulting impact on the waters of
Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Navesink River and Shrewsbury River in
Monmouth County, the Department ordered the condemnation and
prohibition of all shellfish harvesting from previously classified
Special Restricted and/or Seasonally Approved waters of Raritan Bay,
Sandy Hook Bay, Navesink River and Shrewsbury River. As a
precautionary measure prior to reopening the waters, shellfish tissue
samples were collected for heavy metals analysis and elevated lead
levels were detected in one sample from Sandy Hook Bay. That portion
of Sandy Hook Bay (described below) has remained condemned while
further studies of lead levels in shellfish were performed.

Those studies have been completed and, as provided for in the
aforementioned prohibition, having determined through extensive
follow-up monitoring that the waters of Sandy Hook Bay (specified
below) that were previously classified as Special Restricted are safe
for the harvesting of shellfish under New Jersey's Special Permit
Program, I revoke the prohibition on these waters and return them to
their prior classification effective March 13, 2004. Specifically,
this revocation applies to those waters in Sandy Hook Bay that have
the following section designations under New Jersey's Special Permit
Program:

Sections 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 10E and that portion of 10D that is south and
east of a line from the easternmost extent of the breakwater of the
Atlantic Highlands Marina, where it is marked by the navigation marker
designated as 'Flashing light 4sec 29ft 7M' (Fl 4sec 29ft 7M) bearing
73 degrees T through the cupola on Sandy Hook that is due east of
Spermaceti Cove.

* * *

NJ Department of Environmental Protection

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

SOUTH BRANCH WATERSHED ASSOCIATION JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Date: 12 Mar 2004
From: "Maria DuBois" {maria...@netcarrier.com}

PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Full-time (40 hours per week)

The South Branch Watershed Association is a non-profit environmental
organization dedicated to protecting the environment in the watershed
of the South Branch of the Raritan River. Our headquarters are located
in Clinton Township, Hunterdon County, NJ. SBWA assists
municipalities, schools, groups and residents with protecting natural
resources through education, training workshops, stream clean-ups,
community well testing, and the development of model land use
ordinances. SBWA also serves as a clearinghouse for public information
regarding local environmental issues and provides educational outreach
to local schools and the public.

SBWA is seeking a full time Program Director of Education and
Outreach who reports to the Executive Director. The candidate should
have experience in environmental education and outreach for students
and citizens.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Coordinate and expand current in-school environmental education
programs
Develop new environmental education programs and materials
Coordinate outreach programs including the annual Stream Clean-up
Coordinate volunteer stream monitoring program
Work with Executive Director to secure funding for programs

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

BA/BS Degree in Environmental Education or a closely related field
At least 1 year of related work experience
At least 1 year of experience in Program/Event Coordination
Experience working with students of all ages, teachers, as well as the
general public
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Organizational and multi-tasking skills a must
Experience in grant writing and grant management desirable
Flexible work schedule which may include nights and weekends (average
one night a month and one weekend every 2 months)
Experience in working or volunteering for a non-profit organization
desirable
1 year experience in Stream Monitoring/Field work

SALARY AND BENEFITS
SBWA offers competitive non-profit salaries commensurate with
experience.

APPLICATION
Please send a cover letter, resume, and a list of 3 professional
references to:

Attention: Dee Ely
Email: SB...@eclipse.net
Fax: 908-782-4473
Mail: South Branch Watershed Association
41 Lilac Drive
Flemington, NJ 08822

* * *

Maria DuBois
Program Director
South Branch Watershed Association
41 Lilac Drive
Flemington, NJ 08822
(908) 782-0422

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

SALEM COUNTY 2ND ANNUAL WATERSHED WALK - APR 17

Date: 14 Mar 2004
From: Nancy {waters...@netzero.com}

THE SALEM COUNTY WATERSHED TASK FORCE (ELMER, NJ) INVITES ALL TO
PARTICIPATE IN OUR 2ND ANNUAL WATERSHED WALK.

We are excited to announce that this year's walk is being held at
Supawna Meadows, a National Wildlife Refuge in Pennsville (Salem
County), New Jersey. It will be hosted by Supawna's field biologist
Linda Zembe. The walk will take us along the Delaware River watershed,
where we will learn about the diversity of the watershed and the
aquatic life and flora/fauna it supports. Participants should meet at
the parking lot on Lighthouse Road, just beyond the "Park
Headquarters" sign, at 9:45 a.m. Details are as follows:

Date: Saturday, April 17th, 2004

Time: 10:00 a.m. to noon

Location: Supawna Meadows, Lighthouse Road, Pennsville

Rain date: event will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain

Contact: 856-358-4138

* * *

Nancy L. Merritt, Vice Chair
Salem County Watershed Task Force
http://www.scwtf.org

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

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...@gsenet.org
Ivan Kossak - Executive Director - kos...@gsenet.org

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

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

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

Garden State EnviroNet, Inc.
19 Boonton Ave, Boonton NJ 07005
Tel: 973-394-1313 - Fax: 973-394-9513
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