GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 991215B
Phil Reynolds
GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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** D O U B L E I S S U E **
991215A
<*> PIPELINE: FERC ISSUES AN INTERIM ORDER
<*> COUNTY PASSES SEWER PLAN, FAULTS DEP FOR DELAYS
<*> DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION AWARDS $9.35M IN NJ
<*> DROVES PROTEST DUMPING OF DREDGE SPOILS IN OCEAN
991215B
<*> WEEHAWKEN PLANNING BOARD HEARING - DEC 16
<*> PINELANDS: PERSONAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE PLAN COMMENT
<*> MOBILIZING THE REGION #248
<*> PICATINNY'S POLLUTION: HELP CLEAN IT AND LEARN
<*> ENHANCED EMISSIONS INSPECTION PROGRAM
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WEEHAWKEN PLANNING BOARD HEARING - DEC 16
Date: 15 Dec 1999
From: "Robert Kotch" {robk...@weehawkenwaterfront.com}
WEEHAWKEN PLANNING BOARD HEARING THURSDAY 12/16/99 7:00 PM
December 15, 1999
Hello Weehawken!
Season's Greetings!
Tomorrow, on Thursday evening Dec 16, 1999, 7:00 PM at Town Hall, 400
Park Ave. Weehawken, NJ, there is an important Planning Board hearing
on the Roseland Property Waterfront application. I know it is a very
busy time of year for all of us but your attendance tomorrow would be
greatly appreciated. We need as many citizens as possible to show up
and express our opposition to the Roseland application.
On the agenda for tomorrow's meeting our attorney, James Segreto,
will be cross-examining the testimony of Roseland Property's
professional planner, Laura Staines. Last week Ms. Staines gave three
hours of testimony. It should be an interesting evening as Mr. Segreto
dissects her testimony.
http://www.weehawkenwaterfront.com/pbschedule.htm
To keep abreast of events about the Weehawken Waterfront bookmark
this URL: http://www.weehawkenwaterfront.com/Newscenter.htm
We are trying to expand our e-mailing list. Please tell your friends
to sign on to our e-mailing list to keep up to date on waterfront
developments.
See you on Thursday.
Rob Kotch
http://www.weehawkenwaterfront.com
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PINELANDS: PERSONAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE PLAN COMMENT
Date: 14 Dec 1999
From: p...@cybercomm.net
Please entertain my objection as a private citizen to a portion of
the Personal Communications Services Plan within the Pinelands as
written. I object to proposed facility numbers 33 and 62 because a
facility in these locations will ruin forever the sense of the last
remaining wilderness in Southern New Jersey.
In the plan, the PCS providers propose that: "if service does not
exist, calls do not go through and that compromises the safety and
security of those traveling through the Pinelands area" (page 3).
If you use this logic, we need to provide cell phone service in every
wilderness area in North America. No trip to Denali National Park in
Alaska would be complete without immediate phone access would it? Just
place one over there on top of Mt. McKinley!
My point is, we need to keep that area of wilderness along Route 72
and 539 just the way it is for people like me - people who need to get
away for a while, without the distractions found throughout the rest
of this crowded state. I'm more than willing to take my chances with a
lack of service in these areas for the sake of a true wilderness
experience.
I want to tell you something, and this might seem like strange
behavior to some people. About 3 weeks ago, I climbed up to the top of
a 25-foot pitch pine tree that was located about 1/2 mile South of
Route 72 in the West Pygmy Pine Plains. The view from just 25 feet up
in this fabled area was both wild and exhilarating. There were nothing
but pines and cedar trees in every direction for miles. I felt a great
sense of relief and gratitude for this remaining area. Are you going
to take this experience away from me? Is nothing sacred anymore?
Lets save this last piece of truly wild Pine Barren landscape for
people like me - for now, and forever.
Bob Moyer
Bamber Lake, NJ
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MOBILIZING THE REGION #248
Date: 14 Dec 1999
From: Kristen Fountain {foun...@tstc.org}
[Excerpt: Full text at http://www.gsenet.org/newsstnd/mobil.htm]
A Weekly Bulletin from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Electronic Edition Number 248 December 10, 1999
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ASSEMBLY SPEAKER BALKS AT NJ TRUST FUND PLAN
A week after Senate President Donald DiFrancesco unveiled a
Transportation Trust Fund renewal bill that would fund the
transportation capital budget by diverting existing revenues from the
general fund, NJ Assembly Speaker Jack Collins called the plan
unrealistic.
Collins was cited in the Trenton Times saying "I sure hope we can do
it without raising taxes. But on the other hand, let's be honest and
real...we better have the money, or at least a plan...."
DiFrancesco's proposal seeks to finance $1 billion in transportation
projects each year without raising gas or other taxes. The
Transportation Trust Fund will run out of money for new projects as of
July 2000, when all its money will service existing debt. The problem
has grown as the Trust Fund has relied more and more on bonding over
the last decade, straying from its original pay-as-you-go approach.
DiFrancesco said his initiative "creates a stable source of new
transportation funding for the TTF by relying on...more pay-as you go
financing and less debt." But while his program soaks up small amounts
of new money, it also would allow $2.8 billion in new bonds in four
years (the diversion of revenue from the general fund also raised
eyebrows in the Governor's office). By comparison, outstanding Trust
Fund bonds climbed about $2 billion in the last four years. The
revenues channeled into the Trust Fund would again be eaten up by debt
service within a relatively short period.
Collins and DiFrancesco are potential rivals in the 2001
gubernatorial primary. They lead a legislature that has avoided tax
hikes.
Collins told the Trenton Times that a gas tax is "something that
should be discussed." DiFrancesco has sworn off tax increases to
supply the fund.
Missing from the conversation has been any detailed discussion of
what new transportation revenue should buy. Governor Whitman's
"fix-it-first" philosophy has not been mentioned yet. However, road
maintenance plus investment in transit and rail freight proved a
winning combination in New Jersey this fall, where voters registered
strong approval for a transportation bond issue that specifically
excluded road expansion projects. NJ's leaders should remember this
success story as they craft a vision around Trust Fund renewal.
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NON-STOP TOLL BILL CLEARS NJ SENATE PANEL
The NJ "Parkway Barrier Removal Act" has an appointment with the full
NJ legislature, though it is unclear when. A bill that would replace
highway-clogging toll plazas with E-ZPass readers fitted on
unobtrusive roadside or overhead fixtures was approved by the NJ
Senate Transportation Committee on Monday. The bill passed the
Assembly Transportation Committee last week. As before, the 3-2 vote
followed party lines, with Republicans backing the measure. The bill
looks ahead to the end of traditional toll booths. The Parkway is a
natural for such evolution, since toll plazas lie across the entire
highway, bringing all traffic to a stop.
News coverage of the Senate hearing appeared to indicate that top
Parkway officials are warming up to the idea of high-speed electronic
toll collection. Charles McManus, NJ Highway Authority chief engineer,
said such a system "looks very promising." Lewis Thurston, the
agency's executive director also testified, saying "high speed E-ZPass
may well be the answer" to Parkway congestion in north Jersey. And
Highway Authority chair Joseph Buckelew said "We support of
legislative action that will take some of the toll booths down."
The agency still wants a higher threshold of E-ZPass market share to
trigger the development of non-stop facilities than the 2/3 specified
in the bill. This may turn out to be a moot point, since E-ZPass
already seems to be gaining ground in NJ very quickly. At the
Hillsdale Plaza, where the electronic system opened last week, E-ZPass
use reached 25% of all traffic a week ago Friday. The Highway
Authority has already commissioned a consultant to plan and cost out
implementation of high-speed toll collection.
* * *
CALENDAR
Dec. 15, 7-10pm Public hearing on the NJ Turnpike Toll
Adjustment. Marriot Glen Pointe Hotel, 100 Frank W. Burr Blvd.,
Teaneck 732-247-0900.
# # #
MTR#248 Contributing: Jeff Anzevino, Kristen Fountain,
Greg Meyer, Lisa Schreibman Editor: Jon Orcutt
Executive Director, Janine Bauer
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
240 West 35th Street #801, New York, NY 10001
tel. (212) 268-7474 fax (212) 268-7333
ts...@tstc.org www.tstc.org
Kristen Fountain
Communications Coordinator
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
v: (212) 268 - 7474
f: (212) 268 - 7333
foun...@tstc.org
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PICATINNY'S POLLUTION: HELP CLEAN IT AND LEARN
Date: 991216
From: http://www.nj.com/njcommunities/ledger/essex/
By Kristen Alloway, Staff Writer, Star-Ledger, 12/14/99
Picatinny Arsenal threw open its doors and laid bare its 175
Superfund sites yesterday, inviting private industry to consider the
Rockaway Township Army base a 6,500-acre laboratory.
The primary goal is to lure businesses -- mainly environmental
technology firms -- to the arsenal to test their products and
techniques on Picatinny's polluted soil, streams, lakes and wells.
"There's 175 contaminated sites at Picatinny, from solvents to metals
to explosives to batteries. Why not use this as an incubator for New
Jersey technology?" said Jim Frankovic, program manager for the Army's
Rangesafe program, which is charged with cleaning up firing ranges.
"We want to take these sites, that might be a liability, and turn them
into an asset. When (these companies) get done, we get a clean piece
of soil."
Dubbed the New Jersey Environmental Technology Center at Picatinny,
the program would create a symbiotic relationship between Picatinny,
industry and several of the state's universities. The hope is the
three can share research and technology and glean ideas from each
other.
For the weapons research and development facility, there is an added
benefit. If Picatinny can convince businesses participating in the
program to relocate to the sprawling arsenal, it further shields
itself from a possible federal shutdown, Frankovic said. Although no
base closing efforts are in the works, the arsenal narrowly escaped
the last round in the mid- 1990s.
A possible candidate for the environmental technology center is
Envirogen, a Lawrenceville-based firm that develops "bioremediation"
techniques. The company hopes to unleash microorganisms on TNT-laced
soil at Picatinny to study how the critters function.
"We're looking for a means for demonstrate our technology and
hopefully some funding to allow us to do that," said Bill Guarini,
Envirogen's vice president.
Picatinny will begin accepting applications early next year, and
Congress has earmarked $4 million for the program. Frankovic
anticipates accepting two or three businesses the first year.
In addition to environmental technology firms, the Army hopes to
attract defense contractors to the arsenal, which is best known for
developing components of the Patriot missile and the M1A1 tank.
Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Stevens
Institute of Technology also will participate in the program, said
Frankovic.
"This is the place to be if you want to learn about environmental
technology," said Robert Shinn, commissioner of the state Department
of Environmental Protection. He toured the arsenal yesterday after
signing a "memorandum of understanding" granting state approval to the
program.
(C) 1999 The Star-Ledger
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ENHANCED EMISSIONS INSPECTION PROGRAM
Date: 15 Dec 1999
From: "Bill Duncan" {billd...@nac.net}
New Jersey Drivers
10 Things The State's Talking Dog Forgot To Tell You About DMV's
New Enhanced Emissions Inspection Program
At a November 1994 open public meeting of the Society of Automotive
Engineers in Linden, NJ, Division of Motor Vehicles Director Richard
Kamin offered the following comments and explanation regarding the
states newly proposed enhanced emissions inspection program.
While the speed of the dynomometer was slightly modified from that
discussed in 1994, all other aspects of the test remain basically the
same, and have been written into law. They will be placed into service
piece by piece, with registration denial likely being the next phase.
Of course, you have heard none of the following details of this new
emissions test mentioned in DMV's $16 million, taxpayer funded, "let's
bullshit the public" campaign - a campaign based upon the state's
absolute and long standing belief in the stupidity of its own
residents.
* * *
1. "To put it in my assessment of it - only in America could a program
like this be designed, "cause they used to come up with ideas like
this in the Soviet Union."
2. "...Having a centralized system to some degree here in New Jersey
with our 35 inspection stations and some 86 inspection lanes, we
already had some experience with how the public would respond to
what we'd try to do to them. Going to tell them it's a great idea
we're going to clean your air, but, how much it going to cost me,
how long is the line going to be, how much is my repair bill?
That's what voters and constituents care about, but not necessarily
do the bureaucrats that think these programs think about that user
end challenge."
3. "We currently fail cars in New Jersey on emissions at about a
twelve percent rate, this new test that we'll be doing will fail
cars fleetwide on an average of thirty percent, and if you have an
older car, meaning older than four years, you'll fail at a thirty
six percent rate. These are the figures of the Federal EPA, not me,
and what that translates into is an awful lot of people that are
going to be inconvenienced."
4. "What will be different about our system now is that there will be
registration denial. Right now if you're a New Jersey driver, we
send you you're registration renewal and you send it back and you
get your card after having paid your appropriate fee, and then you
have a certain amount of time to go and get your car inspected.
What will happen under the new system is you'll get notification
that your inspection is due - somewhere between 60 and 90 days in
advance, when you'll get your car inspected for emissions. If you
fail, you have a reasonable amount of time to get your car
repaired, but then you will not get the registration if you do not
come back and pass the emissions test. So you will be denied the
registration. That's what's different."
5. "There only can be three percent of the fleet can receive the
waiver. And it's also in the regulations that it's up to four
hundred and fifty dollars adjusted for inflation, which, since the
law was passed since 1994, for us that's the figure I mentioned
before of five hundred and nineteen dollars. So once you have spent
all that money, then we will give you a waiver, and allow you to
keep your car for one inspection cycle. And then when you come back
the next time hopefully you'll have more money to pay for the
repairs, or that the system will no longer be in existence."
6. "If there are riots, my term as director will be a very short
experience."
7. "Our problem is that in the Midwest, powerplants primarily that
produce it with coal fired powerplants, are sending us dirty air.
And in fact if we were to shut down every internal combustion
engine in the state of New Jersey, we would still be in violation.
We're in an ozone transportation corridor."
8. "Those (further emission controls on boats, motorcycles, ATV's 2
cycle engines, etc.) are being talked about. Federal EPA wants to
come in and take away your Weber cooker in your back yard, and I
happen to like the grille. But, that's soon to be gone. I probably
going to be into an electric lawn mower soon. I only have a little
quarter acre and I push around my, I still mow my own lawn, do
those things. So that's soon to be gone. I got fifteen years out of
my last mower, I'm into seven years on this one, I give it proper
maintenance. But nonetheless, that's not good enough, for its soon
to be gone. So, they are looking at everything from coatings to
drying agents. Well, those folks federally already took away your
firearms so, that's why they did that first. That's why they took
away your guns first, now they're going to come after your
lawnmower."
9. "Its seems to be targeting lower to moderate income people...
that's a choice that every family budget has to make as to how new
your car's going to be. Whether you're going to invest in a new
refrigerator or a new house or whatever it might be or upgrade your
car this year."
10 "We'll have everybody either leasing their car for two years or
less, and not have to worry with expenses, or they'll be driving
alternative fuel vehicles."
# # #
New Jersey Vehicle Owners' Coalition
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Back issues of the Garden State EnviroNews are available at
http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/11gsn.htm
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