GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 021114
Garden State EnviroNet
GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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{*} NO RUSH TO END STATE'S DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, DEP SAYS
{*} VALLEY RESIDENTS SHOULD TEST THEIR WELL WATER FOR ARSENIC
{*} ROUTINE FISH EATERS POISONED WITH MERCURY
{*} WATER FLUORIDE CHEMICALS CAUSE CAVITIES
{*} REQUEST FOR ACTION IN SUPPORT OF STRONG DIESEL STANDARDS
{*} 125 MILLION IN UPGRADES PROPOSED FOR ESSEX PARKS
{*} BYRAM BUILDER CITED FOR CLEARING OF LAND
{*} CONGRESS REJECTS ENERGY BILL
{*} LANDFILL GAS FUELS BURLINGTON COUNTY'S GREENHOUSE
{*} BEACH HAVEN FIRM GETS $2.5M FOR SOLAR-POWER PLAN
{*} REAL ESTATE INSURANCE VS ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS
{*} MCGREEVEY TOWN MEETING IN MORRIS COUNTY - NOV 14
{*} NJ COMMUNITY WATER WATCH EVENT - NOV 24
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The Garden State EnviroNet (GSE) gratefully acknowledges volunteers
Gerald Cullins, Bambi Dingman and Paul Neuman for their contributions
to today's issue. GSE is seeking an additional volunteer to assist
with the EnviroNews 3-4 hours/week. If interested, please send an
email message to mai...@gsenet.org.
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NO RUSH TO END STATE'S DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, DEP SAYS
Date: 021113
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
By Jack Kaskey, Staff Writer, (609) 272-7213
Press of Atlantic City, November 13, 2002
Tuesday's steady rains pushed much of southern New Jersey into a
precipitation surplus for the year, but the state's drought
coordinator says there is no rush to end the statewide drought
emergency and related water-use restrictions.
An end to the drought emergency also would bring an end to the 7-
week-old building moratorium in the Atlantic County townships of Egg
Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton.
By late Tuesday afternoon, 0.83 inches of rain had fallen at Atlantic
City International Airport, pushing the rainfall total since Jan. 1
out of deficit for the first time all year.
Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties now all have received
above-average rainfall for 2002, according to the National Weather
Service's Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center.
Despite the exceptionally soggy autumn, state Drought Coordinator
Dennis Hart said groundwater levels and stream flows, particularly in
southern New Jersey, remain a concern.
Monitoring wells maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey show
shallow aquifers in the region remain at record low levels. Because
groundwater is low, stream flows drop quickly after each rain ends,
Hart said.
"Slowly with each rainstorm we are building our way out of the
drought," Hart said. "But nobody should rush to end the emergency.
This is a four-year drought."
The drought technically dates to the summer of 1998, he said.
In New Jersey, ending the emergency would end any associated water-
use restrictions, including limits on lawn watering and power washing,
Hart said.
Ending the drought emergency also would end the building moratorium
in the three townships, where the governor claims overdevelopment is
threatening the region's water supply.
John Ferrie, an Egg Harbor Township landscaper and president of the
South Jersey Landscaping Association, said he has little faith that
the state will end the restrictions.
"If they drop the restrictions, how are they going to fine the golf
courses and everybody else?" Ferrie said. "The state needs the money."
The Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter supports permanent water-use
restrictions, Director Jeff Tittel said. But until permanent
restrictions are in place, the drought emergency needs to remain in
effect, Tittel said.
State Climatologist Dave Robinson said he expects the state
Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, will "err on the side
of caution" and not lift the drought emergency any time soon.
"My opinion is, you use prudence when going into a drought
(emergency), and you use prudence when coming out," Robinson said.
Although the drought is less severe, it is not climatologically over
until there are a full 12 months of average to above-average rainfall,
he said. Only if average rainfall continues for the next couple of
months should the drought be declared over, Robinson added.
Hart said that the DEP met Tuesday to review drought indicators and
that no announcement is imminent.
* * *
To email Jack Kaskey at The Press: JKa...@pressofac.com
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VALLEY RESIDENTS SHOULD TEST THEIR WELL WATER FOR ARSENIC
Date: 021112
From: http://www.gsenet.org/
By Aaron Edwards, CHS freshman, Guest Columnist
Princeton Packet, November 7, 2002
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has
pointed out that many rural communities like Hopewell Township have
dangerously high levels of arsenic in their well water.
Many Hopewell Valley residents have tested their well water and have
reported high levels of arsenic, confirming the NJDEP's concerns.
Hopewell Valley residents need to take action in order to prevent
consuming high levels of arsenic from their drinking water.
Arsenic is a metal and it is extremely hazardous. Long-term exposure
to arsenic has been known to cause skin, lung, and bladder cancers.
The most common way to be exposed to arsenic is through water
consumption. Arsenic is concentrated underground and it seeps into
public and private wells. The federal government has recognized the
seriousness of the threat of arsenic for some time. In response, they
decided to create a federal standard for arsenic in drinking water to
protect the public from high levels of arsenic. The federal standard
for measuring arsenic in drinking water is in parts per billion (ppb).
One ppb is roughly equal to a drop of arsenic in a 10,000-gallon
swimming pool. The federal standard was 50 ppb. The standard is the
maximum level a public water source can reach without being shut down.
The Clinton administration introduced a lower arsenic standard of 10
ppb. After much controversy, the Bush administration accepted the 10-
ppb arsenic level ordered by the Clinton administration. The new
arsenic level of 10 ppb will not take affect until 2006.
The first known reports of arsenic contamination occurred in
Bangladesh. In 1940-50, wells were dug in Bangladesh to provide water
to villages. What was not known at the time was that the wells in
Bangladesh had a very high concentration of arsenic. After 20 years,
the residents in the villages started to develop cancer. Many forms of
cancer were recorded, but the most common form was skin cancer. It was
found all over the bodies of many villagers who had been drinking from
the wells. Scientists were called in to assess the situation. They
investigated and found the cause of the cancer to be arsenic. The
incident was the first time in history that the dangers of arsenic
were realized. Very high levels of arsenic also have been recorded in
other parts of the world. For example, some areas in Taiwan, Japan,
and South America have levels of arsenic in their drinking water
ranging from several 100 parts per billion to several 1,000 parts per
billion.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 4,300 people
out of 10,000 will contract cancer at some point in their lives. Of
that number, approximately 2,200 will eventually die of that cancer.
Consuming drinking water that contains low levels of arsenic,
approximately 5 ppb, has been estimated to increase the death toll by
three people per 10,000. That risk would increase significantly with
more arsenic in groundwater. For example, 10 ppb would result in the
deaths of six people per 10,000, and as high as 60 deaths per 10,000
would result under the old standard of 50 ppb.
Hopewell Valley has a geology that allows high levels of arsenic to
seep into ground water. Hopewell Valley is part of the geological area
called the Piedmont Region, an area with high arsenic levels relative
to the rest of New Jersey.
Hopewell Township is providing many services to educate the people of
Hopewell about arsenic in drinking water. First, they have been
releasing booklets on arsenic in well water. They have also put out
several press releases. The Health Department also is keeping a
database of arsenic readings from wells throughout Hopewell Valley. In
conjunction with the NJDEP, the Hopewell Township department expects
to begin plotting areas of high arsenic levels on a map soon.
There are many ways for the public to protect itself against high
arsenic levels in well water. The first step is to conduct an arsenic
test. Arsenic tests can be done by sending a sample of drinking water
to a certified laboratory The laboratory will test the water for
arsenic for a fee of between $15 and $40. The method that is used to
detect very low levels of arsenic in drinking water is called
inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It will
take about two weeks to get the results. Hopewell Township
occasionally offers arsenic test kits for sale for $12.
If someone does have high levels of arsenic, there are several
methods of removing it with Point of Entry Treatment (POET) systems.
The POET system treats your water from the time it enters your home.
The POET method proven to be most effective is a process called
reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis uses a special membrane that extracts
95 percent of the water's contaminants including arsenic and other
minerals.
Other POET methods used to remove arsenic from drinking water are
water softeners and distillation. Water softeners mainly remove
minerals from drinking water. One drawback of water softener use to
remove arsenic is that if the system is not regularly maintained,
large amounts of arsenic can be released back into the water supply.
In the distillation method, water is heated until it turns to steam.
It is then cooled and the water is condensed as distilled or purified
water. The distillation method removes many undesirable contaminants
from water such as arsenic.
However, the distillation process is very slow and consumes high
amounts of energy. The POET systems described are currently the top
choices for arsenic removal in drinking water. The NJDEP is conducting
research into new, cheaper, and more efficient methods of arsenic
removal.
Arsenic is a threat and steps must be taken to prevent the Hopewell
Valley community from consuming it in dangerous levels. The NJDEP has
proposed that a new standard of 10 ppb go into effect in New Jersey
sooner than 2006. At a recent public hearing on the proposed new
standard, representatives from the New Jersey Environmental Federation
were pushing for an even lower arsenic limit of three ppb. The group
cites that "even at 10 ppb, arsenic may cause cancer in one of every
300 people who consume one liter of water per day during a normal
lifetime."
The New Jersey Private Well Testing Act that went into effect in
September 2002 requires that newly constructed wells for new houses be
tested, wells of houses being sold must be tested, and additionally,
wells in the Piedmont Region also must be tested for arsenic.
In accordance with this law, Hopewell Township's Public Health
Director Gary Guarino said, "We have required all newly constructed
wells for new houses for the last year to be sampled for arsenic.
Levels have been from none detected to a couple of high arsenic
readings."
Ted Stiles, chairmen of the Hopewell Township Environmental
Commission, suggests that" "Some wells could be designated for long-
term testing."
The public only now is awakening to the arsenic situation in
Hopewell. Residents can adequately protect themselves from the dangers
of arsenic in their drinking water by taking the steps outlined by
Hopewell Township Health Department.
* * *
(c) Packet Online 2002
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ROUTINE FISH EATERS POISONED WITH MERCURY
Date: 021105
From: http://www.ewire-news.com/
STUDY FINDS ROUTINE FISH EATERS - MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN -
POISONED WITH MERCURY
FDA'S TESTING FAILURE SPELLS "BUYER BEWARE" FOR DINERS AND SHOPPERS
E-Wire, Nov 5, 2002
Washington, DC - A study involving 116 middle- to high-income men and
women in a San Francisco medical practice shows nearly 90 percent had
blood levels of mercury surpassing EPA's safe levels - some by more
than 17-fold. Mercury is a potent toxin to the brain and nervous
system, with fetuses and children at greatest risk.
"Patients in my practice regularly get mercury poisoning from eating
commercial seafood, "says Dr. Jane Hightower, the internal medicine
physician who authored the study. The patients tested - who included
surgeons and CEOs, psychiatrists and wine-makers, geophysicists and
internet executives, and their children - were chosen based on their
levels of fish consumption, or symptoms consistent with mercury
poisoning, including depression, memory loss, confusion, tremors,
metallic tastes, and hair loss.
Although her study didn't aim to correlate symptoms with mercury
levels, when patients stopped consuming those fish their symptoms got
better. The study appeared November 1 in the online version of the
National Institutes of Health journal, Environmental Health
Perspectives at
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2003/5837/abstract.html
"When it comes to buying seafood," adds Hightower, "the motto should
be: `Buyer beware'."
THE STUDY
The majority of patients tested had levels at least twice the EPA
safe level, while 16 percent exceeded it by 400 percent or more. The
average blood mercury level for women tested was 15 ug/L, 3 times the
EPA safe level and ten times higher than the average for the U.S.
population, according to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study likely will add fuel to the years-old controversy over
whether the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates
seafood mercury levels closely enough to protect public health-and
especially populations most at risk like children and women of
childbearing age.
"It's bad enough our favorite fish species are often too polluted to
eat," says David Wallinga, MD, physician and Co-director of the Food
and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
"But instead of tracking the problem, FDA turns its back."
Public health and consumer groups complain the FDA's maximum
allowable level for mercury in commercial fish, at 1 part per million
(ppm), is too high. They also criticize FDA's four year-old moratorium
on any mercury testing of commercial seafood.
"FDA's asleep at the wheel when it comes to testing seafood and
warning the public," said Michael Bender, Director of the Mercury
Policy Project. "Rather than protecting those most at risk-like
pregnant women and children, and consumers who eat a lot of fish - it
appears FDA is most intent on protecting the market share of the
seafood industry."
Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) recognize mercury is a substantial public
health problem, and recommend standards for allowable levels of
mercury in fish that are five times more stringent than FDA standards.
The National Academy of Science estimates that every year
approximately 60,000 newborns are born facing significant risks of
disrupted development of the brain and nervous system, due to mothers
with high fish consumption and mercury levels. New CDC findings also
indicate that 8% of American women have blood mercury levels above
what EPA considers safe for the developing fetus.
Hightower's study included seven children, six of whom had blood or
hair levels of mercury exceeding recommended levels. Combined, the
children reported eating ten types of fish, five of which were tuna
products.
"The public deserves more from FDA, which they wrongly assume is
looking out for the safety of food from the sea," adds Dr. Jane
Hightower.
Based on new recommendations from its Food Safety Committee, the FDA
is expected to soon come out with a new consumer advisory. The
Committee recommended that FDA resume fish testing, add other high
mercury seafood to its "do not consume" list and warn pregnant women
and young children to limit their consumption of canned tuna, the most
consumed fish in America.
In that regard, FDA already lags behind around ten U.S. states that
warn pregnant women and - in some cases - young children to limit
consumption to one or two cans of tuna per week
http://
www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/MercuryContaminatedSeafood.pdf.
Fish accumulate methylmercury from the environment in muscle tissue.
No food preparation or practical cooking method can remove it. Major
sources of environmental mercury include coal-fired power plants, and
the incineration or improper disposal of mercury-containing products,
such as thermometers and switches.
- - -
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, http://www.iatp.org
Mercury Policy Project, http://www.mercurypolicy.org
Contact: Michael Bender, Mercury Policy Project, 802-223-9000; David
Wallinga, M.D., Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy,
(612) 870-3418.
Web Site: http://www.iatp.org
* * *
To Transmit Your News Over E-Wire, visit http://www.Ewire-News.com or
call 1-800-439-5506.
(c) naturalist.com 2002. All Rights Reserved.
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WATER FLUORIDE CHEMICALS CAUSE CAVITIES
Date: 11 Nov 2002
From: NYS...@aol.com
11/11/02
New York - Chemicals commonly used to fluoridate drinking water may
increase rather than decrease tooth decay, according to a study
published in a U.S. government journal, "Environmental Health
Perspectives."(1)
Children studied in fluoridated Boston/Cambridge, Massachussets, have
significantly more tooth decay than children living in non-fluoridated
Farmington, Maine, report researchers Gemmel et al., contrary to
American Dental Association assertions that fluoridation reduces tooth
decay from 40-59% (2),
Ironically, the intended decay-preventative fluoride chemicals,
silicofluorides, added to Boston/Cambridge water supply are linked to
higher blood lead levels. And lead is linked to cavities in Gemmel's
study and several others.
"...blood lead level was positively associated with number of caries
(cavities) among urban (fluoridated) children, even with adjustment
for demographic and maternal factors and child dental practices."
write Gemmel and colleagues.
"The mean number of tooth surfaces with carious lesions was
significantly greater in the urban (fluoridated) subgroup than in the
rural (non-fluoridated) subgroup. This was true for both primary teeth
and permanent teeth," reports Gemmel and colleagues.
Over 91% of U.S. fluoridating communities use silicofluorides(3).
Yet, silicofluorides have never been tested for safety or efficacy(3).
"The recently reported association between use of silicofluorides as
water fluoridants and the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels
(Masters and Coplan 2000) might explain, in part, the stronger
association between blood lead levels and caries...because the water
supplies of Boston and Cambridge are treated with fluorosilicic acid
(a silicofluoride)," write the researchers. Farmington water suppliers
do not add any fluoride chemicals.
"It appears that silicofluorides facilitate the transport of lead
from the gut into the bloodstream whatever the source of lead may be -
dust from indoor paint, lead oxide in the soil left from leaded
gasoline exhaust, etc.," says Chemical Engineer, Myron Coplan, Senior
Corporate Scientist, and co-author of "Association of silicofluoride
treated water with elevated blood lead."(4)
"Our data did not correlate high water lead with high prevalence of
elevated blood lead when sodium fluoride or no fluoride was in the
water," says Coplan.
Gemmel and colleagues theorize the "lead in saliva is sorbed onto the
surface of a tooth and incorporated into the hydroxyaptite (tooth
mineral), perhaps replacing calcium." Calcium loss creates cavities.
"This may explain why American children display over-fluoridated
teeth (dental fluorosis)(5), along with rampant tooth decay in
fluoridated cities,"(6) says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, NYSCOF,
while dental health crises are announced in many major fluoridated
cities(7).
- - -
Contacts:
Mike Coplan, 508-653-6147, MikeC...@aol.com
Paul Beeber, 516-433-8882, nys...@aol.com,
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
References:
(1) Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2002, "Blood Lead Level
and Dental Caries in School-Age Children," Allison Gemmel, Mary
Tavares, Susan Alperin, Jennifer Soncini, David Daniel,, Julie Dunn,,
Sybil Crawford, Norman Braveman, Thomas W. Clarkson, Sonja McKinlay,
and David C. Bellinger Access entire article here:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/lead-caries.pdf
(2) http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/facts-benefit.html#4
(3) http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rmasters/AHABS/letter.jpg
(4) Neurotoxicology 2000 Dec," Association of silicofluoride treated
water with elevated blood lead," Masters RD, Coplan MJ, Hone BT, Dykes
JE.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&l
ist_ uids=11233755&dopt=Abstract
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rmasters/AHABS/index.htm
(5) "Fluoridation Is Erasing Children's Smiles, Studies Show," NYSCOF
news release http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=7406
(6) "Fluoridation Fails Poor Children, Studies Show," NYSCOF news
release http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=7354
(7) "Dentists Show Fluoridation a Failure," NYSCOF news release
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=6812
* * *
New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-by-affiliate.asp?id=1765
Fluoride Action Network
http://www.fluoridealert.org
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REQUEST FOR ACTION IN SUPPORT OF STRONG DIESEL STANDARDS
Date: 13 Nov 2002
From: "Dena Mottola, NJPIRG Acting Director" {De...@njpirg.org}
Dear NJPIRG supporter,
Diesel exhaust is a particularly harmful form of air pollution. The
fine particles in diesel exhaust can aggravate asthma and other
respiratory conditions, cause lung cancer, and actually end lives by
exacerbating existing heart and lung disease.
The EPA is currently in the process of developing standards to reduce
pollution from non-road diesel engines and their fuel.
Please take a moment to write to EPA's Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation Jeffrey Holmstead and tell him to move forward with
strong standards for dirty diesel construction and farm equipment and
their fuel.
Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can email
Assistant Administrator Holmstead.
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=31&id4=ES
BACKGROUND
If you've ever gotten stuck behind a big truck or bus as it
accelerates and leaves a filthy black cloud, you're all too familiar
with diesel pollution. Not only does it smell bad and taste worse, but
it's also hazardous to our health.
Diesel exhaust is a particularly harmful form of air pollution. The
fine particles in diesel exhaust can aggravate asthma and other
respiratory conditions, cause lung cancer, and actually end lives by
exacerbating existing heart and lung disease. Diesel engines also
release massive amounts of smog-forming pollutants, which cause or
trigger asthma and a host of other respiratory problems.
We've made great strides in recent years in cleaning up diesel
engines and fuels by passing tough standards for new diesel trucks,
buses, and their fuel. We were instrumental in securing these landmark
standards, which promise to slash emissions from trucks and buses by
more than 90%, the equivalent of taking 13 million of the nation's
trucks and buses off the roads.
Now, we must clean up the diesel engines and fuel that power
construction and farm equipment. These engines are so dirty that they
release more soot each year than all of the cars, trucks, and buses on
the roads combined. In fact, a bulldozer operating at a construction
site can release 20 times more pollution than a passing truck or bus
that meets new clean air standards. A recent report we did found that
60% of the cancer risk from air pollution results from these "non-
road" diesels.
The EPA is in the process of developing standards to reduce pollution
from non-road diesel engines and their fuel. These standards should be
equivalent to the tough truck and bus standards and implemented in the
same time frame. In addition to reducing the cancer risk from diesel
exhaust, state and local air quality officials estimate that such
standards could prevent 180,000 asthma attacks and 8,500 premature
deaths each year and could save $67 billion in health care costs
annually.
Incredibly, the Bush administration is considering standards that
wouldn't even start to phase in until the very end of the decade, at
the earliest. The EPA may also develop an emissions trading scheme
between trucks and non-road engines that could undermine actual
emission reductions.
Please take a moment to write the EPA's Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation Jeffrey Holmstead and tell him to move forward with
strong standards for dirty diesel construction and farm equipment and
their fuel.
* * *
Dena Mottola
NJPIRG Acting Director
http://www.NJPIRG.org
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125 MILLION IN UPGRADES PROPOSED FOR ESSEX PARKS
Date: 021113
From: http://www.nj.com/
DRAFT OF MASTER PLAN TO BE MADE AVAILABLE
By Nikita Stewart, Star-Ledger Staff, November 13, 2002
After more than two years and $375,000, Essex County officials
yesterday unveiled a proposed master plan for the county's 5,985-acre
park and open space system.
The voluminous proposal outlines $125 million in improvements to the
county's 17 parks, four reservations, three golf courses and three
recreational facilities.
It also identifies possible acquisitions for open space and ways to
improve park maintenance through staff training.
"This plan represents the best efforts of all interested citizens
across the county," Sheila Oliver, an assistant county administrator,
said during a press conference at the county Department of Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Affairs in Newark.
The public can continue to offer opinions next month and January,
beginning with a hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at Branch Brook Park.
Joseph DiVincenzo, the county executive-elect, said the public should
look at the proposal as a working document. "There's going to be
amendments to this plan," he said.
But DiVincenzo said he wants the county to complete a final master
plan as soon as possible so the county can compete for state and
federal funds. Applications are generally submitted in late February
or March, he said.
If anything is missing from the detailed proposal, it's the money.
Consultants have estimated that it will take $125 million to improve
the parks, but the county's open space trust fund - created in 1998
through a countywide referendum - only generates $4.5 million per
year.
Applying for funds and partnering with the private sector and
nonprofit groups will give the county a good chance to meet its
financial goal, said Rich Cramer, an assistant manager at T&M
Associates, a Middletown-based firm that has created plans for parks
in Union and Hudson counties.
The ideal "horizon line" is 10 years but could extend to 15 and 20
years on some projects, Cramer said.
T&M Associates, the Passaic River Coalition and E. Timothy Marshall
Associates prepared the proposed master plan with the oversight of the
Open Space Advisory Board, which manages the county's trust fund.
The consultants came up with a plan to restore the county's parks to
their historic beauty, including adding playgrounds, repairing picnic
areas, regrading fields and building basketball courts. Of the
county's 26 parks and reservations, 20 were designed by the legendary
Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons.
The proposal also includes new ideas garnered from public hearings,
such as finding $100,000 to develop dog parks and $420,000 to develop
an arboretum.
Marvin Friedman, president of the Verona Park Conservancy, said he
would have to read the 206 pages of text plus attachments to speak
about the proposed master plan. "But this is positive step," he said.
"We're happy this got to this point and it's moving forward," said
Hamilton Carsow, a former co-president of the 200-member conservancy.
Copies of the master plan will be available Nov. 19 in the offices of
municipal clerks and mayors and at main branches of municipal
libraries and parks groups.
* * *
Copyright 2002 The Star-Ledger
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BYRAM BUILDER CITED FOR CLEARING OF LAND
Date: 021113
From: http://www.nj.com/
By Jim Lockwood, Star-Ledger Staff, November 13, 2002
A developer was cited yesterday by Byram Township and county
officials for clearing land for a road without approvals.
But an attorney for the developer said the tree-cutting is allowed
and that the developer was doing what the township wanted him to do -
that is, drill wells for pump tests. To do that, a road is needed to
get well-drilling rigs into the forested site, attorney Debra
Nicholson said.
Township officials disagree.
The matter unfolded during the past week, as a contractor for
developer Anthony Berardi's firm, One Main Street Sparta LLC, began
cutting down trees off Stonehedge Lane.
Berardi has had an application for a subdivision of 85 acres before
the Byram Land Use Board since December 2000. The application for 31
homes was denied on Oct. 17 on several environmental grounds,
including concerns about possible impact on other nearby homeowners'
wells, said Mayor Michael Marotte, who also was a board member.
Last week, residents in the area became concerned when land clearing
started taking place even though the application had been denied.
On Friday, town officials told the contractor to stop clearing land.
After it resumed yesterday, code-enforcement summonses were issued to
Berardi of One Main Street LLC and the contractor doing the work,
Township Manager Ronald Gatti said.
"Their application was denied. They ought not be building the roads,"
Gatti said.
The Sussex County Soil Conservation District also inspected the site
yesterday, and was preparing a notice of violation against One Main
Street LLC for logging activity and removing tree stumps without that
agency's approval, said district manager Wini Straub.
The Soil Conservation District also was requesting that erosion-
control measures be installed, Straub said.
A certified plan from the district is required when 5,000 square feet
of land or more is disturbed, Straub said.
Berardi's firm has a certified plan for soil disturbance off Manor
Drive, but not off Stonehedge Lane, Straub said.
But Berardi's attorney, Debra Nicholson, said it's all the same tract
and the soil permit applies to the Stonehedge Lane area.
And the township's summonses, if based on a zoning ordinance, would
not apply because there is no construction of buildings taking place,
Nicholson said.
Berardi also plans to appeal the land use board's denial of the
subdivision, Nicholson said. The plan was initially for more than 40
homes, but was reduced to 38 and then 31, she said.
The hilly tract is near the southern end of Lake Mohawk that includes
part of Byram. The tract is environmentally sensitive, with steep
slopes and wetlands, and the subdivision also would need approvals
from the Lake Mohawk Association and state Department of Environmental
Protection, Marotte said.
* * *
Copyright 2002 The Star-Ledger
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CONGRESS REJECTS ENERGY BILL
Date: 13 Nov 2002
From: "Joseph Malherek" {jmal...@citizen.org}
CONSUMERS WIN WITH CONGRESSIONAL REJECTION OF ENERGY BILL
Nov. 13, 2002
Statement of Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook:
Consumers won a big victory today when congressional conferees wisely
decided to abandon the retrograde energy bill. This legislation was
based on Bush administration proposals that were plotted in secret
with Enron executives and other energy lobbyists. It would have wasted
billions of taxpayer dollars in handouts to nuclear, coal and oil
companies, including some of the wealthiest corporations in the world.
The legislation included provisions to repeal vital electricity
consumer protections as a reward for campaign contributions from
energy companies, many of which are under investigation by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies for rigging
California's deregulated energy market and costing consumers billions
of dollars.
The failure to pass this legislation also means that Congress has
failed to reauthorize the Price-Anderson Act, which would subsidize
new nuclear power plants by making taxpayers responsible for nuclear
catastrophes. Finally, the bill did nothing to address America's
dependence on foreign oil, such as addressing consumption or
efficiency.
We hope that if the 108th Congress revisits energy policy, lawmakers
will address the real needs of Americans and the environment rather
than simply caving in to the demands of greedy energy executives who
have proven over the past few years that do not have the best
interests of consumers at heart.
* * *
Contact:
Shannon Little (202) 588-7742
Josh Kruskol (202) 454-5134
Public Citizen is a national consumer advocacy organization with
150,000 members. For more information, please visit
http://www.citizen.org
To learn more about this and other Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy
and Environment Program campaigns, visit our website at
http://www.citizen.org/cmep
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
LANDFILL GAS FUELS BURLINGTON COUNTY'S GREENHOUSE
Date: 021109
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/
By John Reitmeyer, BCT Staff Writer
Mansfield - Long considered a waste product, landfill gas being
harnessed at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex here is
starting to bear fruit - literally.
During an open house yesterday, government and environmental
officials showed off batches of bright, red tomatoes that were created
in an on-site greenhouse operation that is now being powered solely by
methane gas gleaned from decomposing waste in the county's 522-acre
landfill.
The normal-looking tomatoes are the final products of a complicated
production process that pumps "washed" landfill gas through turbines
to create the electricity powering the greenhouse. The tomatoes, which
are grown in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, are harvested year-
round because the greenhouse atmosphere eliminates the change in the
seasons.
Nothing is wasted at the facility, which is exactly the point. Excess
heat from the turbines is used to desalinate seawater so the operation
is never affected by droughts. The water, stored in tanks, is stocked
with tropical fish because their waste contains nutrients that
fertilize the tomato plants. Like the tomatoes, the fish are sold for
a profit.
The greenhouse effort, funded by federal, state and county grants and
coordinated by Rutgers University, was set up as a model for private
industry on how landfill gases can be reused. Built in 1996, the
greenhouse had been buying electricity and using the methane only to
provide heat. Now, the greenhouse is completely powered by methane
harvested from the landfill.
The goal is to show that sound environmental policy can be profitable
if it is developed correctly, said Jane Kenny, a regional
administrator with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"The work that is going on here in Burlington County is essential,"
Kenny said. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When a
landfill gives you methane..."
The harnessing of landfill gases is expected to become a $600 billion
industry by 2010, said Harry Janes, director of the nearby New Jersey
EcoComplex, a facility that has been heavily involved in the landfill
gas-greenhouse endeavor.
"Hopefully, it gives people ideas of how it might be used in a
similar fashion by businesses," Janes said.
"It's very exciting to see this finally coming to fruition,"
Burlington County Freeholder William Haines Jr. said.
Along with hosting the research at the greenhouse and EcoComplex, the
county freeholders are looking for a way to make money with the
landfill's waste gas. In August, the board hired a consultant to
design a $10 million methane-to-electricity plant that will harness
enough landfill gas to supply 5,000 homes for a full year.
The power plant, which will use the same technology as the
greenhouse, but on a larger scale, will likely open in the next two
years, Haines said.
The freeholders predict the electricity produced by the plant will
eliminate the facility's annual $572,000 utility bill, while producing
enough leftover energy to turn a $15 million profit over a 15-year
period.
"It's hard to believe we've been flaring this (gas) off," Haines
said.
* * *
(C) Copyright 2002, Calkins Media, Inc.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BEACH HAVEN FIRM GETS $2.5M FOR SOLAR-POWER PLAN
Date: 021113
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
By Mike Jaccarino, Staff Writer, (609) 978-2010
Press of Atlantic City, November 13, 2002
Beach Haven - The state's big push toward renewable resources is
coming to this small beach community in the form of a plan to harness
the power of the sun.
A local business has won millions of dollars of support form the
state to install solar panels on the roofs of a number of area
businesses. These businesses could be predominately running on solar
power as early as this summer.
"(The United States) is far behind Europe in the use of solar power,"
said Howard Burnett, the principal of Steller Energy Systems, which is
undertaking the effort. "It has proved to be a reliable resource over
there and there is no reason it cannot prove just as successful over
here as well."
The state Board of Public Utilities has been aggressively pushing for
increased use of renewable resources over the past several years.
Renewable resources, like hydroelectric, solar and wind power, are
those of which there is not a limited supply, as is the case with
fossil fuels like coal and oil.
The BPU, for instance, recently instituted two programs to
financially facilitate the use of renewable resources. One allows
residents to receive a cash rebate from the state when installing
solar panels onto the roof of their home.
The other, called the "Renewable Energy Grid Supply Program," awards
large grants for plans to actually implement, on a larger scale,
renewable resources within the community.
It is this program from which Stellar Energy Systems, or SES,
received $2.5 million in funding to assist in the build-out of their
solar project.
In December the BPU submitted a request for proposals for projects
and received 14 replies, according to Burnett. Four were approved in
July, including two for wind power, one for biomass power (methane
gas) and one for solar energy.
* * *
To email Mike Jaccarino at The Press: MJacc...@pressofac.com
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REAL ESTATE INSURANCE VS ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS
Date: 021113
From: http://www.nytimes.com/
NO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY, BUT THE LOAN STILL CLEARS
By Michael Brick, NY Times
Investors and developers who want to secure loans quickly are buying
insurance policies instead of going through the more time-consuming
process of having buildings and land parcels examined for
environmental contamination.
The policies cover only the bank's exposure to loss on the loan; they
do nothing to protect the investors who purchase the loans, and they
do not cover any costs of actually cleaning up contamination.
Still, commercial real estate investors are buying the policies at a
rapidly escalating pace, motivated by eagerness to lock in loans while
interest rates are low and sometimes by the desire to persuade banks
to underwrite loans they might otherwise reject.
Billions of dollars in commercial real estate loans have been secured
using these policies in the last few years, and now the first claims
are beginning to trickle in. The moment presents a significant test
for the insurance companies that have set up divisions to write these
policies, the banks making the loans, the real estate investors and
developers and the buyers of commercial mortgage-backed securities
that ultimately invest in pools of loans.
The policies are still relatively new and untested, and they are to a
large extent filled with exclusions for problems like asbestos, lead-
based paint and mold. In recent years, though, insurance companies
have set up separate divisions to sell the policies as an alternative
to environmental inspections.
Charles J. Perry, the president of Environmental Warranty, an
underwriter based in West Hartford, Conn., promotes the policies as a
substitute for inspection, likening them to title insurance. "If I
could transfer risk, as opposed to understanding it, for about the
same money and a lot less heartache, why not do it?" Mr. Perry said.
Francis W. Coughlin, the president of the British American
Development Corporation of Latham, N.Y., bought such a policy this
summer for the mortgage on a 40,000-square-foot office building in his
350-acre Airport Park development near Albany. The reason, he said,
was speed.
"Interest rates were buzzing around, and looked like they were going
to go up," Mr. Coughlin said. "I wanted to get it locked in. The rates
can vary a whole point, and they don't go down as fast as they go up."
Mr. Coughlin bought an environmental insurance policy for about
$1,800, and his $2.6 million mortgage loan was processed by Legacy
Banks of Pittsfield, Mass., within a day. Because Mr. Coughlin already
owned the land and had completed construction, his use of the policy,
specialists say, was among the safest ways to omit an environmental
study and substitute an insurance policy.
The study he chose to forgo is called a Phase 1 environmental survey.
These cost from $750 to $1,500 and take about a month. In performing
them, environmental engineering consultants typically do visual site
inspections, interviews, studies of the chain of ownership, Freedom of
Information Act requests from state agencies and reviews of aerial
photographs. They include pages of documentation of kinds of
contamination that were not found, as well as problems that were
found.
Critics of the reliance on insurance as an alternative to an
environmental survey say that skipping the study can leave a buyer
uninformed of and unprotected from the risk and liability of
contamination.
"I just don't think it's a prudent thing when representing a buyer or
a developer," said Jeffrey A. Moerdler, a member of the environmental
group at the law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo
in New York. "Environmental insurance is really designed to work hand
in hand with a buyer's due diligence. It's an add-on. It's a credit
enhancement."
The insurance policies do not cover the buyer, they cover the lender,
typically for the principal of the loan. And the policies typically
require two conditions for payment of claims: Contamination must be
found, and the loan must be in default. In effect, the insurance
company is betting against the lender's willingness to foreclose and
take control of a property with environmental liabilities.
Three major insurance companies - the Chubb Group of Insurance
Companies, the Zurich Financial Services Group and the American
International Group - dominate the market for these policies.
Officials with A.I.G. Environmental, a division of American
International, estimated that $60 million to $70 million in premiums a
year, covering at least $500 million in commercial real estate loans,
are being written by the three companies and some smaller competitors.
The first claims are starting to arrive from lenders to insurance
companies that wrote policies for the acquisition of gas stations and
convenience stores, said Julie H. Hespe, chief underwriting officer
for A.I.G. Environmental.
Lenders have shown varying degrees of comfort with the practice. The
Wachovia Corporation has $3 billion in real estate assets protected by
environmental insurance policies, while Washington Mutual has only
$200 million in loans issued that way, out of a $30 billion commercial
real estate portfolio.
"The key here is to be able to be flexible with our customers," said
Malcolm D. Griggs, the director of corporate risk policy for Wachovia,
stressing that the policies are much more appropriate for refinancing
arrangements than for acquisitions.
Brian D. Walker, corporate environmental risk manager for Washington
Mutual, said the bank was still proceeding cautiously into the market,
partly because "we don't have a lot of experience knowing whether or
how claims are going to be paid."
"I'm not real sure it works by itself as a due diligence
replacement," Mr. Walker said.
An environmental risk official with a major national bank, speaking
on the condition of anonymity, said that the policies were sometimes
used to secure loans that banks would not otherwise approve. In a few
cases where the banks know that the property involved has a high risk
of being contaminated - and would usually be disqualified from a
loan - the loans are still sometimes written when insurance coverage
can be obtained, the bank official said. "We might want to make the
loan from a customer-relationship policy."
Joseph L. Boren, president of A.I.G. Environmental, cautioned that
the policies do nothing to protect the borrower and emphasized that
A.I.G. did not encourage borrowers or lenders to use its policies as a
substitute for environmental studies.
But David J. Jung, vice president in charge of the environmental
group at Zurich North America, said his firm promotes the policies
directly to lenders as a substitute for inspections.
"The product is a much better alternative to a Phase 1, because when
you do a Phase 1, there's a time element," Mr. Jung said.
Debt rating agencies have put up significant resistance to the use of
these insurance policies, and banks have been forced to listen because
their loans usually become truly profitable only if they can be resold
to investors as packages of commercial mortgage-backed securities.
"The issue of concern of substitution is something we've focused very
intensely on," said Mary E. O'Rourke, a senior director of the
commercial-mortgage-backed securities group at Fitch Ratings. Her
agency has demanded that the policies cover the full balance of the
loan plus 25 percent of expenses, like property taxes and unpaid
interest, for the loan to receive a favorable rating for inclusion in
a security.
No amount of insurance for lenders will protect the ultimate
investors, the buyers of securities, from legal claims, said Abby L.
Cohen, a partner in Philadelphia with the law firm of Dechert who
specializes in real estate closings.
"If you're going to rely upon environmental insurance, you're not
going to have information about the properties," said Ms. Cohen, who,
along with Mr. Perry, leads a committee of the Mortgage Bankers
Association that was established to study the use of these policies.
"You're going to have a pool that will have more environmental issues
and costs that the trust is going to absorb."
Mark H. Fackler, business development manager for ESA 1, a national
environmental consulting firm based in Louisville, Ky., said that his
firm had lost business to insurers, prompting it to develop yet
another product, a hybrid of insurance and a stripped-down Phase 1
survey.
"There is a place for insurance, because there are limitations to due
diligence," Mr. Fackler said. "To acquire a portfolio of gas stations
with just insurance is foolish, but I've seen it happen. It has its
place, just not on every deal."
* * *
Copyright The New York Times Company
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MCGREEVEY TOWN MEETING IN MORRIS COUNTY - NOV 14
Date: 13 Nov 2002
From: "Dennis W. Schvejda" {Den...@SierraActivist.org}
Governor James E. McGreevey will hold a Morris County Town Meeting on
Thursday, November 14th at the County College of Morris, 214 Center
Grove Road in Randolph. The meeting, which is open to the public, will
run from 7 to 9 p.m. and will be held in the Cafeteria of the Student
Center.
This is a great opportunity for us to ask the Governor questions
regarding the environment:
Sprawl, Water, Highlands, Clean Car, The Abby, Plainfield, and so on.
Elected officials take these meetings seriously. The more folks that
attend with an enviro question, the more likely it is for us to get a
"protect the environment" message out to the Governor.
- - -
Directions to County College of Morris
Campus Map
http://www.ccm.edu/images/campusmap.jpg
From Paterson, Clifton, Ramsey and related areas: Take Route 46 or I-
80 to intersection of I-287 south in Parsippany. Remain on I-287 to
Route 10 west.
Continue on 10 west to Randolph (approx. 7 miles), noting Count
College of Morris signs on right. Make left turn at light at Center
Grove Road and Route 10 intersection. College entrance is 1/2 mile on
right.
From New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel: On Jersey side of tunnel,
go west on Route S-3 to intersection with Route 46. Take 46 or I-80
west to I-287 south, to Route 10 west; then follow balance of
directions after Route 10 above.
From New York City via the George Washington Bridge: On Jersey side of
the bridge follow signs to I-80 west to I-287 south to Route 10 west;
then follow balance of directions after Route 10 above.
From Newark, the Oranges, Livingston and Related areas: Take I-280
west to intersection with I-80 west. Follow to I-287 south to Route 10
west; then follow balance of directions after Route 10 above.
From Port Jervis, Newton and related areas: Travel south on Route 206
to Netcong circle. Transfer to Route 46 east and proceed to Ledgewood.
At intersection, take Route 10 east to Dover-Chester Road, noting CCM
signs. Turn right onto Dover-Chester Road (Rte. 513); College entrance
is 400 feet on left.
From Philadelphia and related areas: Take New Jersey Turnpike north to
I-287; exit north on I-287 to Route 10 west; then follow balance of
directions after Route 10 above.
From Trenton, Princeton, Somerville and related areas: Travel north on
I-287 to Route 10 west; then follow balance of directions after Route
10 above.
From Union and Springfield areas: Take I-78 east to Route 24 west, to
I-287 north, to Route 10 west; then follow balance of directions after
Route 10 above.
* * *
Dennis W. Schvejda, Conservation Director
NJ Chapter Sierra Club
Visit http://SierraActivist.org - Environment News,
Alerts, Announcements, Calendar, Links & More!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NJ COMMUNITY WATER WATCH EVENT - NOV 24
Date: 12 Nov 2002
From: Karen Dunak {ocwate...@yahoo.com}
Hi Everyone,
Here's some information on an upcoming event NJ Community Water Watch
has planned. On Sunday, November 24th, Ocean County College and
Brookdale's chapters of Water Watch will be working together to hold
an environmental education event. We'll be hosting streamwalks along
the Robert Swamp Brook in Brielle with demonstrations of a new water-
testing device, the YSI multiparameter probe. In addition we will have
several tables set up with the enviroscape watershed model, and
project WET lessons. The event will begin at 1pm.
If anyone is interested, please let me know, and I can send
directions and more information as the date approaches. If you know of
anyone that might be interested, please send the information their
way.
* * *
Karen Dunak
Community/Campus Organizer
New Jersey Community Water Watch
732.473.3100 ext.3153
ocwate...@yahoo.com
http://community.nj.com/cc/ocww
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Today's Issue Edited by Phil Reynolds - reyn...@gsenet.org
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Back issues of the Garden State EnviroNews are available at
http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/11gsn.php
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