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GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 030505

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May 5, 2003, 12:10:44 AM5/5/03

030505

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{*} NJ SENATOR TO INTRODUCE STATE CHEMICAL-SAFETY BILLS
{*} DISTRICTS PICK POLLUTED SITES FOR SCHOOLS
{*} HOLT - EPA SELLING OUT ENVIONMENTAL PROTECTION
{*} DON'T RELENT ON AIR POLLUTION
{*} PINE BARRENS TREE FROG STATUS UPGRADED
{*} WETLANDS PLAN TROUBLES SOME MEADOWLANDS PROPERTY OWNERS
{*} SUSSEX OFFICIALS MEET TO DESIGNATE AREAS FOR PRESERVATION
{*} TRAIL-BLAZING GROUP CLEARS NEW WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN
{*} U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO EASE FOREST THINNING, APPEALS
{*} SAXTON WORKS FOR CLEANER WATER
{*} DREDGING OF RARITAN RIVER WOULD AID RECREATION
{*} PARSIPPANY - HOW TO PREVENT 'LITTERING IN THE WATER'
{*} WATER QUALITY RISES IN WHIPPANY RIVER
{*} KEYPORT BORO COUNCIL ADDRESSES WATER SERVICE DRAIN
{*} EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT NJCF - COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
{*} ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION CLINIC JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
{*} HOW TO DEAL WITH MOLDY BUILDINGS - MAY 6
{*} STREAM ENCROACHMENT WORKSHOP - MAY 7

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Please take a moment to let us know how we are doing. Visit the link
below to complete our short 10 question survey.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=45763154801

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The Garden State EnviroNet (GSE) gratefully acknowledges volunteers
Gerald Cullins, Bambi Dingman, Jeff Hook and Paul Neuman for their
contributions to today's issue. If interested in helping out, please
send an email message to mai...@gsenet.org.

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NJ SENATOR TO INTRODUCE STATE CHEMICAL-SAFETY BILLS

Date: 030502
From: http://www.philly.com/

By Adam Fifield, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer, May 02, 2003

Citing the possibility of terrorist attacks, State Sen. Stephen
Sweeney is preparing legislation that would impose security standards
on New Jersey plants with hazardous chemicals.

"Plant safety and security is of the utmost importance right now,"
Sweeney said yesterday. "We recognize that security at these
facilities is lax at best."

Sweeney is also freeholder director of Gloucester County, home to
four of the Philadelphia region's eight facilities that could put more
than one million people at risk of serious injury or death in a
"worst-case scenario," according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.

The senator plans to introduce two bills in coming weeks. One would
establish a mandatory security program; the other would compel
facilities to investigate the adoption of safer technologies and
processes.

"I feel that we need to be more on par with the levels of security at
nuclear plants," Sweeney said. "[Chemical] facilities could cause just
as great a catastrophe."

In Pennsylvania, State Rep. Mike Veon (D., Beaver) last year
introduced a legislative package aimed at tightening security at
nuclear and chemical plants, among other sites. His measures died in
committee, but he plans to introduce similar legislation in coming
months.

The battle over how to protect the nation's industrial facilities
with hazardous chemicals from terrorist attack intensified last week
in Washington, where a Republican Senate committee chairman released a
long-awaited proposal.

U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), who heads the Environment and
Public Works Committee, circulated a draft of the Chemical Facilities
Security Act, which would direct the Department of Homeland Security
to oversee security upgrades at 15,000 industrial facilities that have
filed risk-management plans at the EPA.

In March, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of
Congress, warned that chemical plants could be attractive targets for
terrorists and that although some plants were improving security, the
extent of their preparedness was unknown. The agency urged lawmakers
to create basic security standards.

There are at least 110 plants in the United States that could
endanger more than one million people, according to the firms' worst-
case scenarios on file at the EPA. The eight facilities in the
Philadelphia region make up the highest concentration of such plants
on the East Coast.

The Republican bill, which has the support of the Bush administration
and could be introduced to the Senate within weeks, is being
cautiously welcomed by industry groups.

But the bill is drawing harsh criticism from chemical-safety
advocates and U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D., NJ), who say it favors
industry's interests over those of the public. "The bill may provide
an illusion of security," said Corzine, who sponsored a rival bill.
"But it's little more than a fig leaf that would leave chemical plants
highly vulnerable to terrorism."

Environment and Public Works Committee spokesman Mike Catanzaro
disputed such contentions. "This bill is first and foremost about
strengthening homeland security," he said.

Under the Republican proposal, facilities would have to conduct
"vulnerability assessments" and develop plans to address deficiencies.
Plants could be fined as much as $250,000 if they did not comply.

Corzine's proposal, like one of the measures being drafted by Sweeney
in New Jersey, would compel firms to consider reducing chemical
hazards by looking at inherently safer technologies. The bill was
unanimously passed in committee in July but later was killed by
industry opposition. The Republican measure does not include a safer-
technology provision.

Safer technologies, chemical-safety advocates say, could decrease or
eliminate the need for security in the first place.

There are other differences between the two bills.

Corzine's bill would mandate that all companies file security plans
with the government. The White House-backed measure would require
submission of plans "upon request."

The two proposals also diverge over the role of the EPA. Under the
Republican measure, Homeland Security would be the sole regulatory
agency. Corzine's legislation designates Homeland Security and the EPA
to jointly administer the program.

Industry representatives contend that they tightened security after
the Sept. 11 attacks, but they provide few details. The American
Chemistry Council, a trade association of 200 companies, created a set
of security guidelines for its members in June 2002.

Sal DePasquale, a former security official with Georgia-Pacific, a
paper-products manufacturer based in Atlanta, helped draw up those
guidelines.

He now calls them "a lot of smoke and mirrors."

"All the guidelines do is make you conduct an assessment of
yourself," said DePasquale, now the director of consulting for a
security firm. "But they don't require you to implement any measures
of security."

Many companies have fiercely resisted the push for mandatory
measures, say Corzine and others.

A report released by Common Cause in January concluded that the
chemical industry had strong influence on Capitol Hill. The report
found that eight senators who wrote letters criticizing Corzine's
bill, including six who had voted for it in committee, received a
total of $850,000 in political contributions from the chemical
industry from 1995 to 2002.

In the 2002 campaign season, Inhofe, the Senate committee chair,
received $11,960 from the chemical industry and $182,950 from the
petroleum industry, according to Dwight Morris & Associates, a
campaign-finance analysis firm.

During an 18-month period ending in June 2002, the American Chemistry
Council spent $4.48 million on lobbying.

An Inhofe aide said that the senators who criticized Corzine's bill
did not change their minds but were voicing reservations they had all
along. They voted for the measure in committee, he said, "with the
express purpose of moving the process forward."

Chemistry Council spokeswoman Kate McGloon said the group supports
federal legislation to regulate security at chemical plants.

* * *

Contact staff writer Adam Fifield at 856-779-3917 or
afif...@phillynews.com.

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DISTRICTS PICK POLLUTED SITES FOR SCHOOLS

Date: 4 May 2003
From: "Jim Young" {jfy...@erols.com}

OFFICIAL SAYS LOCATIONS ARE CHOSEN SO STATE
WILL BE FORCED TO PAY CLEANUP BILL

By Alexander Lane, Star-Ledger Staff, May 04, 2003

Some of the state's poorest districts have intentionally chosen
polluted sites for new schools, as a ploy to get the state to pay for
expensive cleanups, according to the head of New Jersey's massive
school-construction program.

Alfred McNeill, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Schools
Construction Corp., said this "game" of reserving clean properties for
tax-generating development while proposing schools be built on tainted
land was placing children at risk.

As an example, he pointed to Newark's proposal to make a school out
of an old varnish factory.

"My consultants came out of there with the soles of their shoes
burned off," McNeill said in a recent interview. "I'm not so sure
that's a place to put children."

While McNeill declined to list offending districts, state records
show Perth Amboy proposed putting one school on an old paint
manufacturing site and another where a meat-packing plant once stood.
Both sites are laden with heavy metals and other toxins.

Elizabeth chose three undesirable sites - an old chromium factory, a
vacant lot over oil and gas pipelines and a property across the street
from a chemical plant that handles explosives. Plans for schools at
those sites - along with the Perth Amboy paint plant - were scrapped
at the suggestion of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In a strongly worded letter to the superintendents of the 30 neediest
districts, where hundreds of new schools are to be built, McNeill
accused local officials of trying to use the $8.6 billion school-
construction program - the largest public works project in New Jersey
history - to "creatively finance" pollution cleanups.

"Some of the municipalities and districts have decided that it is a
good idea to select sites that are extremely polluted in order that
(state) funds be expended to clean up undesirable real estate,"
McNeill wrote in his March 31 letter. "Selecting the environmentally
worst sites in your community for school locations would often place
schools in unacceptable neighborhoods for children's education."

LIMITED CHOICES

Superintendents countered that their cities have few large, clean
sites from which to choose.

"We are trying to pick the best available sites," said Elizabeth
Superintendent Thomas Dunn. "The reality is, in large urban areas it's
very difficult to find space that won't have some type of
contamination."

In a letter back to McNeill, Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden
defended the choice of the old Murphy Varnish Co. factory on McWhorter
Street. Her facilities consultant, Corwin Frost, said the building is
a registered historic landmark and a "fabulous" structure, and pointed
out that community groups support the choice, assuming it can be
cleaned up.

The difficulty of identifying appropriate sites for new schools is
one of many obstacles plaguing the school- construction program,
signed into law in 2000. The program grew out of the state's landmark
Abbott vs. Burke decision on educational funding. In 1998, the state
Supreme Court directed the legislature to correct the disparity in
school buildings between wealthy and needy districts.

Major gains have yet to be seen in poor districts, where archaic,
over-crowded schools are the norm. Only four school buildings are to
be completed this year in the 30 neediest districts, known as Abbott
districts.

In his letter, McNeill - a retired New York construction executive
appointed by Gov. James E. McGreevey to head the school-construction
corporation last year - said the intentional selection of polluted
sites was only causing more delays, and he told superintendents to put
their local elected officials on notice.

"It will be helpful if you could advise your appropriate local
government representatives of this concern," McNeill wrote.

Dunn said, given the state's budget crunch, it's only natural for
mayors to take advantage of the enormous pot of state money available
for school construction.

"People like to think Al McNeill has this pile of money," said Dunn,
whose district has to build 22 new schools. "He's one of the few guys
who can write a check from the state at this point in time."

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage conceded that, in many cases, he would
rather see the city's desirable land go to tax-generating developments
than to schools.

"The school board wants any property four acres or more for a school,
and we're trying to draw ratables - houses, warehouses, shopping
centers," Bollwage said.

Bollwage agreed that schools should not be put up on badly
contaminated sites.

"This is a major issue in every Abbott district in the state,"
Bollwage said. "That letter is merely the tip of the iceberg in terms
of what's going on between the Schools Construction Corp., cities and
school boards."

The notion of local officials intentionally selecting polluted sites
is particularly worrisome to environmentalists because there are no
specific standards governing the land on which schools are built.
State rules allow school districts to clean the soil to a lesser
degree than would be necessary to build houses.

"Kids are not just little adults. They're more vulnerable to
exposures," said Rick Engler, head of the Work-Environment Council,
an organized labor group that promotes environmental issues. "It's a
difficult issue in a state that is lined from one end to another with
contaminated sites."

NO GUIDELINES

DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell said he was considering issuing an
emergency rule on cleanup standards for schools, which could specify
what level of contamination is acceptable in land and water around a
school, and what sorts of protective measures would suffice.

"We're looking at whether some specific standard or guidance is
needed on an urgent basis," Campbell said.

For now, the Schools Construction Corp. asks the DEP for help in
determining whether proposed school sites are contaminated. The DEP is
beefing up that process, assigning six new staff members - at the
corporation's expense - to assist the two who currently review
suggested school sites, according to Assistant Commissioner Jeanne
Herb.

The bolstered staff will advise districts early in the site-
selection process, Herb said.

Campbell said he wants to try to avoid the sort of school-siting
debacles that have plagued other states. The most notorious example is
in downtown Los Angeles, where the district has spent $175 million so
far trying to build a school complex on a methane field. The school,
the Belmont Learning Complex, has come to be known as the most
expensive in America.

Several advocates for Abbott children said they were not convinced
that McNeill's criticism was on the mark. Karla Spivey, executive
director of the Coalition for Our Children's Schools, a group of
organizations pushing the state to make the most of the school-
construction program, said the state has failed to give districts
guidelines on how to choose sites. The sort of proactive program the
DEP is launching should have been in place long ago, Spivey suggested.

If mayors are manipulating the process, that is because the state is
allowing it to happen, Spivey said.

"There's still a lack of leadership at the state level," Spivey said.
"The system is broken."

Spivey credited McNeill with improving the program to some degree.
But in its last "report card" on the program, the coalition still gave
the program a D, up from an F.

For parents in Abbott districts, McNeill's letter was the latest
reason to be fed up with the school construction program. Patricia
Bombelyn, a New Brunswick parent who serves on the district's Ad Hoc
Facilities Committee, said she did not know what to make of McNeill's
accusations.

On one hand, she would not be surprised if city officials had tried
to steer school projects to polluted sites. On the other hand,
Bombelyn said, the state deserves much of the blame for delays in the
construction program, and the letter could be a way of deflecting that
blame.

"There's nothing here that shoots straight," Bombelyn said. "All
these people come to the table to get their piece of the pie. The
children who are supposed to get that pie are still waiting."

* * *

Alexander Lane covers the environment. He may be reached at
al...@starledger.com or (973) 392-1790.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.

# # #

Jim Young
Special Projects Director
NJ Work Environment Council
973.233.1946 in Montclair
609.695.7100 in Trenton
http://www.njwec.org on the web

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HOLT - EPA SELLING OUT ENVIONMENTAL PROTECTION

From: jim.k...@mail.house.gov
Date: Fri, 2 May 2003 12:17:01 -0700

HOLT ACCUSES EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN OF SYSTEMATICALLY SELLING OUT
OUR NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO ENVIONMENTAL PROTECTION

May 2, 2003

Washington, DC - U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today strongly
criticized Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd
Whitman and the Bush Administration for their failure to protect our
environment. Whitman was in Pennington, New Jersey today announcing
watershed grants.

"I'm glad to see that Administrator Whitman is in Pennington
announcing much-needed watershed grants. The receiving organizations
no doubt will use the funds to extend the environmental fight," Holt
said. "But Administrator Whitman can't hide fact that under her watch
the EPA is simultaneously selling out our national commitment to
environmental protection and putting lives at risk. She and the Bush
Administration are undermining decades of clean water and clean air
protections not to mention gutting the Superfund, removing
restrictions that prevent mountain-top dumping in our nation's
streams, and eliminating regulations that make mine companies clean up
mine-related pollution, just to name a few. A real watershed in
environmental policy occurred in 2001 when the Administration began
rolling back environmental gains that had taken decades to achieve."

CLEAN WATER FUNDING REDUCED

President Bush's budget cuts the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
Program, which provides loan money for improvements to wastewater
treatment facilities. The President's 2004 budget provides $850
million, a 37 percent cut from the 2002 funding level.

Local governments, states, drinking water suppliers, and the EPA have
all acknowledged that there is a tremendous funding gap - which will
continue to grow - for drinking water infrastructure funding necessary
to protect the public health. Although local governments provide more
than 90% of the funding for water and wastewater systems, federal
investment is crucial. According to the Wastewater Information
Network, a coalition of local officials, drinking water and wastewater
service providers, and environmental and health administrators, water
and wastewater systems across the country will need to invest a total
of more than $23 billion of new money to meet environmental and health
standards in the Clean Water Act.

CLEAN AIR REQUIREMENTS RELAXED

In one of the most serious rollbacks in the history of the EPA,
Administrator Whitman has proposed relaxing New Source Review rules to
make it easier for polluting facilities to avoid upgrading to more
environmentally responsible equipment and technology.

Rep. Rush Holt today sent a letter (see attached) to EPA
Administrator Christie Todd Whitman urging her agency to reconsider
her proposed rule changes to the Clean Air Act. Holt says Whitman's
rule changes "will create gaping loopholes" and "take steps backwards,
not forwards, on clean air." Today is the deadline for public comment
on the proposed rule changes.

The proposed changes relate specifically to New Source Review, an
important part of the Clean Air Act, which requires power plants,
chemical factories, and other large industrial facilities to adopt
effective emission controls when expansions or upgrades are made. Many
of the plants regulated by New Source Review are located in the
Midwest. According to research conducted on behalf of EPA, prevailing
winds carry pollution from these plants into New Jersey causing
thousands of asthma attacks and hundreds of premature deaths of New
Jersey residents each year.

A SELECTION OF OTHER BUSH/WHITMAN ENVIRONMENTAL ROLLBACKS

- Rolled back regulations minimizing raw sewage discharges and
requiring public notice of overflows

- Rolled back rule prohibiting the federal government from awarding
contracts to companies that violate federal laws, including
environmental regulations

- Rolled back requirements that mining companies protect waterways
and clean up mine-related pollution

- Delayed implementation of stricter arsenic regulations for drinking
water

- Cut enforcement positions by 200 (compared to the number of
positions in 2000)

- Weakened the Clean Water Act by exempting small streams, ponds, and
creeks

- Gutted the Superfund program by eliminating "polluter pays"
principle

- Exempted oil and gas exploration from storm-water requirements

- Imposed a gag order preventing EPA officials from discussing safe
levels of perchlorate (found at DoD sites that need to be cleaned
up)

- Rolled back a 1989 federal law requiring states to test all
children on Medicaid for lead poisoning

- - -

LETTER TO EPA ADMINISTRATOR CHRISTIE WHITMAN:

May 2, 2003

Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Room B108
Washington, DC 20406

Dear Administrator Whitman:

I came to Congress five years ago to represent the people of the 12th
District of New Jersey. It is obvious that among the more important
responsibilities I have in representing my constituents is standing up
for them when someone is making them sick or killing them - the way
air pollution is now.

I am referring to a longstanding method used to fight this
pollution - New Source Review rules, an important part of the Clean
Air Act that requires power plants, chemical factories, and other
large industrial facilities to adopt effective emission controls when
expansions or upgrades lead to increased pollution. According to your
agency, this has meant keeping 300 million tons of pollution out of
the atmosphere in areas that meet national air quality standards.

But enforcement has been a significant issue for New Source Review.
Plants have been avoiding compliance by describing major upgrades as
"routine maintenance." The U.S. Justice Department has identified 51
plants in particular that violated NSR rules. Their violations alone
have caused between 5500 and 9000 premature deaths each year,
according to Abt Associates, who has done research for your agency.
This includes between 200 and 304 premature deaths in New Jersey.

Then we have the health effects - between 3900 and 5700 asthma
attacks caused by pollution from these plants. Those who suffer from
asthma, or who have children who do, know how debilitating these
attacks can be. We need to stand up for the asthma sufferers whose
conditions are being exacerbated. We also need to stand up for people
who have had a whole host of other respiratory and circulatory
problems worsened by air pollution.

New Jersey has made significant efforts to clean up its air. But
there is simply no way that the state can adequately tackle this
problem - New Jersey cannot control the jet stream. Because prevailing
winds carry pollution from plants in the Midwest to the East Coast,
much of the smog, soot, and fine particulates that endanger the health
of state residents do not come from in-state sources.

That is why the federal government needs to take an active role. This
was the motivation behind the 1970 Clean Air Act and the New Source
Review rules. The Clean Air Act has helped the country take major
steps towards making the air we breathe better for our health.
Unfortunately, however, your proposed rules will take steps backwards,
not forwards, on clean air.

The proposed rule changes, buried in convoluted regulatory language,
will create gaping loopholes in NSR protections. Facilities would be
allowed to increase the amount of pollution they emit if the cost of
making a change is less than a certain percentage of the cost of the
entire facility. Thus companies can easily make incremental changes to
renovate a facility without triggering NSR. And even if the cost of
the upgrade does exceed the percentage trigger, plants will still not
need to implement pollution controls if the upgrade consists of
replacing existing equipment with new equipment performing the same
function, regardless of cost.

This is simply unconscionable. NSR and other Clean Air Act provisions
need to be made stronger, not weaker. The reasons could not be any
simpler - people are getting sick and dying. So I must strongly
disapprove of the proposed rules.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments. I look forward
to continuing to work with the Agency to protect our environment.

Sincerely,
Rush Holt

* * *

Contact: Jim Kapsis, 202-225-5801, 202-413-5277 (cell)

Representative Rush Holt
12th District, New Jersey
http://www.house.gov/rholt

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DON'T RELENT ON AIR POLLUTION

Date: 030504
From: http://www.nj.com/opinion/ledger/editorials/

Star-Ledger Editorial, May 03, 2003

Twice in the last two weeks the Bush administration has announced
major settlements with the operators of dirty coal-fired power plants
that will eliminate more than 340,000 tons of pollution annually.

Wisconsin Electric Power and Virginia Electric Power will each cut
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 65 to 92 percent.
Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain and haze. Nitrogen oxide helps
form ozone smog. These are major reductions that will translate into
better health for people downwind, including residents of New Jersey.

The improvements aren't going to bankrupt the utilities' ratepayers,
either. The upgrades will be phased in over a decade or so, allowing
plenty of time for their cost to be absorbed.

Ironically, the federal stick that got the utilities to clean up the
dirty plants was the very same provision of the Clean Air Act that
President Bush is working hard to weaken, a tangle of regulations
called "new source review." The Environmental Protection Agency years
ago began asking Wisconsin Electric and Virginia Electric tough
questions that eventually resulted in these settlements.

The rules are complex enough to keep a small army of government and
industry lawyers busy slapping each other with paper claims and
counterclaims. But they boil down to a simple and sound idea: Old
power plants and other facilities that were "grandfathered" under the
1972 Clean Air Act and allowed to keep polluting are supposed to
install modern pollution controls if they make major modifications to
their equipment.

The American Lung Association just released its annual assessment of
American air quality. It stinks. Nearly half the nation's population
continues to breathe unhealthy levels of ozone smog. That includes
just about everyone in New Jersey. One third of the smog in our skies
floats in from points west and south, much of it from coal-burning
power plants.

The administration is pushing ahead with a new, looser rule. It is
not only dangerous, it is not needed. The Wisconsin and Virginia
settlements show we'll all breathe a little easier if officials find
the will to enforce what is on the books.

* * *

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PINE BARRENS TREE FROG STATUS UPGRADED

Date: 02 May 2003
From: "FWLISTS" {FWL...@dep.state.nj.us}

DEP UPGRADES STATUS OF PINE BARRENS TREE FROG
PINELANDS SYMBOL LEAPS OFF ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

Trenton - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell today announced he has upgraded the status of the
Pine Barrens tree frog, moving it from the endangered species list to
the threatened species list.

The frog's improved status is based on biologists' determination that
it is locally abundant and that its habitat is well protected by the
Pinelands Commission's Comprehensive Management Plan.

"When the Pine Barrens tree frog was added to the endangered species
list in 1979, state Pinelands protections were in their infancy,"
Campbell said. "The removal of the Pine Barrens tree frog from the
state endangered list is testimony to how effective the Pinelands
Commission has been at preserving southern New Jersey's natural
treasures."

The Pine Barrens tree frog requires specialized habitats that are
rare elsewhere but common in the million-acre Pinelands region of
southern New Jersey. The species requires acidic water and it favors
Atlantic white cedar swamps that are carpeted with dense mats of
sphagnum moss. It breeds in shallow ponds that dry up in summer and
are free of predators.

Its population is stable in New Jersey, and the state serves as a
stronghold for the species throughout its entire range.

Boldly colored, the beautiful Pine Barrens tree frog is considered by
many to be a symbol of the New Jersey Pinelands. In 1983 it was the
subject of Andy Warhol's screen print series of endangered species.

Because of its improved status, the DEP has declared the Pine Barrens
tree frog Species of the Month for May. The protection of the Pine
Barrens tree frog is one of many success stories the DEP is
celebrating this year to mark the 30th anniversary of the New Jersey
Endangered Species Conservation Act and the creation of the DEP's
Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

For more information, visit the Species of the Month homepage at
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/somhome.htm

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WETLANDS PLAN TROUBLES SOME MEADOWLANDS PROPERTY OWNERS

Date: 030504
From: http://www.northjersey.com/

By Chris Gale, Herald News, May 2, 2003

The Meadowlands master plan road show is meeting with praise, but
land deals simmering behind the scenes have landholders bristling.

Robert Ceberio, executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands
Commission, is on the last leg of three hearings on a new master plan
for the 14-town region.

Property owners whose land may be turned into an environmental
preserve have not shown up. However, there are signs they may resist
selling for the $10,200-an-acre price Ceberio wants to pay.

Ceberio held his first hearing on the master plan April 15 in
Lyndhurst. On Tuesday, another session was held in Carlstadt. A third
meeting is scheduled for Wednesday in Secaucus.

Ceberio's presentations have been well-received.

But all is not well.

"It's not being honest," said Tom Bruinooge, a Rutherford lawyer who
represents many landowners in the region. "It's not being real."

Ceberio's sweeping statements about the price do not take into
account the many types of wetlands, what surrounds or borders marsh
properties, and the fact that many properties include upland and
lowland spots, the lawyer said.

Bruinooge said there is unrest among property owners about the change
in direction on the Meadowlands away from some wetlands development
and toward protecting every bit of swamp.

"All of a sudden, over the last 24 months or so, the Meadowlands
Commission has done an about-face," he said.

Indeed, Ceberio appears to be moving fast. He said the commission
expects to buy 50 to 100 acres within the next 30 to 60 days.

He said the commission is focusing on East Rutherford lots around the
Route 3 bridges over the Hackensack River and north along the shore.

Bruinooge said regulations that would back up the master plan are
probably not far off. Ceberio has acknowledged the rules would
restrict building on wetlands.

That might bring about court battles, Bruinooge said.

Bill Sheehan, head of the environmental group Hackensack Riverkeeper
and chairman of the Meadowlands Conservation Trust, which is expected
to hold in trust the land the commission buys, said the property
owners may be vulnerable because many have lodged tax appeals based on
the idea that their land is not developable.

One set of landholders, a group listed as Hartman, Larsen, and
Cantanzaro, has 14 acres between the two Route 3 crossings over the
Hackensack River that the commission is considering.

Mayor James Cassella of East Rutherford said the group is appealing
their taxes with the borough on the basis that their land is not
developable.

The group could not be reached for comment.

Cassella said Sheehan's logic makes sense.

"They can't tell the municipalities their land is undevelopable and
turn around and tell the commission it's developable," he said.

Ceberio is certain that the commission will end up with the 2,600
acres it is seeking.

"We may have to use our power of condemnation to acquire those open
spaces," Ceberio told the audience at Tuesday's Carlstadt hearing.

* * *

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SUSSEX OFFICIALS MEET TO DESIGNATE AREAS FOR PRESERVATION

Date: 030502
From: http://www.njherald.com/

By Mary Paolucci, Herald Staff Writer, May 2, 2003

Officials from Franklin, Hardyston and Hamburg met with the county
Strategic Growth team and representatives of Morris Land Conservancy
Tuesday to designate areas for preservation in their communities. They
also discussed issues and concerns about their land.

The officials' goal was to balance open space with recreational
activity and development within their municipalities.

The group of officials met with the county Strategic Growth team and
representatives of Morris Land Conservancy Tuesday to designate the
areas they want to see preserved in their communities as well as
discuss issues or concerns about their land.

The Morris Land Conservancy, of Boonton, is a non-profit agency
dedicated to preserving open space. Barbara Davis, director of
municipal programming for the conservancy, said the organization wants
to gather information from each township, confirming their data is
accurate.

"The conservancy sent out surveys to all the municipalities so that
that the county's plans are dictated by the community," Davis said.
However, this does not mean the areas chosen will definitely be areas
of preservation.

"This is your dream, your vision," said Donna Traylor of the county
Division of Planning, the local agency overseeing the development of
the strategic growth plan for the county. "If it was a perfect world,
what would you want to see preserved?"

For the first part of the meeting, a member of each municipality
received the chance to circle the areas of interest on a map for the
preservationists to take note of and to explain why it was significant
to their community. All the municipalities wanted to preserve as much
open space as possible, but agreed that having a balance between open
land and developed land was very important.

By the time the first session was over, there were over 20 areas
circled that the officials were interested in preserving.

Jim Williams of the Franklin Planning Board explained that the
borough wants to develop in certain areas but wants to be careful.

Williams said some of the land around Franklin Pond is significant
and would like to see it preserved, especially because it is an
important water resource.

Williams also pointed out areas of open space that the borough would
like to see stay the way they are, such as Fireman's Park, where the
community often gathers for various activities such as picnicking.

Ken Nelson, planning consultant for Hamburg, pointed out that there
were two main areas of wetlands in the borough - an area west of
Orchard Street near Route 94 and the southern part of town next to
Route 517.

Nelson also mentioned that the borough is in the process of
developing an open space plan and is working on including the
borough's trail as part of the plan. "We see that as a major
pedestrian site," he said.

Marianne Smith, Hardyston township manager, said that almost a third
of the township is already a preserved growth area and the township is
considering decreasing its current one-unit-per-10-acre zoning.

"We're looking at down-sizing the zoning because we are getting hit
hard economy wise on not having (more land) developed," she said.

However, Councilman Wayne Ross said there were still areas, such as
the land around the Wallkill River, that they would like to see
preserved and maybe utilized to increase its park area.

Davis went on to cover other areas of planning. "What do you need to
accomplish the goals in your town?" she asked.

All present agreed that money was the most important factor - money
to acquire land and to compensate for tax losses.

"Do you think your residents would support a separate tax solely for
open space?" Davis asked.

Many of the officials in the room agreed that if they were going to
tax residents for open space they would need to educate their
communities on what exactly the tax would do, which lands would be
preserved and for what they would be used for.

The group also discussed how to enhance recreation within their
communities.

Some of the officials stated that there wasn't enough variety for the
youth within their borders.

Tuesday's meeting was the seventh in a series of eight open space
meetings with each of the municipalities in the county being held this
year to develop the county's master plan.

* * *

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TRAIL-BLAZING GROUP CLEARS NEW WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN

Date: 030504
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/

By Jean Mansur, Star-Ledger Staff, May 04, 2003

A densely forested ridge called Musconetcong Mountain runs across the
northern part of Hunterdon County and is part of the Highlands Region
of New Jersey.

A rustic footpath leading up the mountain is steep in some sections,
but hikers are rewarded with a scenic view of Spruce Run Reservoir
through the trees. The mountain is home to deer and the occasional
scarlet tanager.

Now, the public can easily explore the ridge thanks to the
Musconetcong Mountain Conservancy, a local group that has completed a
three-mile trail through a state-owned wildlife management area in
Bethlehem and Union townships.

The new trail also fills in a gap in the proposed 160-mile Highlands
Trail from New York through New Jersey to the Delaware River, a
continuous walking route that will connect scenic areas in both
states.

The Musconetcong Mountain Conservancy plans ceremonies on June 7 -
National Trails Day - to mark the completion of the trail. The public
is invited to the 10:30 a.m. event off Polktown Road in Union
Township.

"It's a nice feature to have for the public. You think you are 100
miles away once you get on the trail. In some places, it's so
peaceful," said John Jimenez, a founding member of the conservancy and
a Bethlehem Township committeeman.

Much of the group's work deals with talking to property owners to get
access to land for trails and working with governing bodies about
preserving open space, he said.

"We saw building the trail as something fun for the group to do and
to get some visibility for the group. Instead of pushing papers, you
can do something where you stand back and see that you accomplished
something at the end of the day," Jimenez said.

About six years ago, the Musconetcong group heard about the idea of a
Highlands trail and decided to take up the cause, Jimenez said.

A couple of years ago, the group carved a trail through the upper
forest region of the mountain, using hand tools to cut away branches
and brush, said Joyce Koch, a member of the conservancy from Bethlehem
Township.

Last fall, members of the group painted teal-colored markers on trees
and posts along the lower trail, she said. This spring, they did more
clearing and installed six additional wooden posts.

Earlier this week, Koch and Suzanne Wilder finished painting markers
on trees and nailing small signs to the wooden posts.

The new trail ends at a privately owned tract Bethlehem Township is
hoping to gain access to, Jimenez said. His goal is to extend the
trail through Hunterdon County parkland as far as Warren County.

"I think it's basically a good thing. You like to see people get out
and enjoy the woods, and trails make it easy for them to do that,"
said Bob Bruneau of Tabernacle in Burlington County.

"New trails allow the hiker to get into places which may have been
inaccessible before," said Bruneau, a member of the Outdoor Club of
South Jersey. "New trails also provide variety by giving the hiker
more choices, which results in more interesting hikes."

"It gives the public an opportunity to see what we are preserving and
to use these resources," said Kevin Richardson, Hunterdon County's
open space coordinator.

The new path is part of the Highlands Trail, an ongoing goal of the
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, a federation of 85 hiking clubs
and environmental organizations dedicated to building and maintaining
marked hiking trails and protecting open space.

The Highlands region stretches from western Connecticut across New
York and New Jersey to eastern Pennsylvania. It includes 90 towns in
Bergen, Morris, Hunterdon, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren
counties. It also is an environmentally sensitive area, providing
drinking water for millions in New York and New Jersey.

About 110 miles of the Highlands Trail have been completed, using
existing and new trails through public parkland and private property,
and some road paths, beginning at Storm King Mountain in New York,
said Bob Moss of the New York-New Jersey Trails Conference.

The trail runs from Storm King to Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in
Jefferson Township in Morris County. It continues through Morris
County, where there are gaps, said Moss, a Bloomfield resident and New
Jersey supervisor of the Highlands Trail Committee.

A 17-mile stretch goes from Washington Township to High Bridge in
Hunterdon County, incorporating the Columbia Trail. The Highlands
Trail goes around Spruce Run Reservoir, where it meets up with the new
section on Van Syckles Road.

"As they are putting all these pieces of the puzzle together, the
jigsaw is finally falling into place. One by one, they are getting
connected. It's good to hear they are completing the southern end,"
said Charles Kientzler of Wayne. He is treasurer of the Interstate
Hiking Club, which maintains a section of the Highlands Trail in
Sterling Forest in New York.

* * *

Jean Mansur works in the Hunterdon County bureau. She can be reached
at jma...@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.

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U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO EASE FOREST THINNING, APPEALS

Date: 030504
From: http://www.enn.com/

By Christopher Doering, Reuters, May 2, 2003

Washington - The Republican-led House Resources Committee approved
legislation this week that would ease environmental restrictions in
federal forests and shorten the process for appeals of proposed
thinning projects.

The House committee voted 32 to 17 to allow the removal of small
trees and underbrush - which some contend contribute to the spread of
wildfires - on 20 million acres of forest land in the United States.

Republicans have championed the bill as a way to simplify the forest
thinning process, which is complicated by overlapping environmental
restrictions and lawsuits that prevent some projects from ever moving
forward.

Similar legislation was introduced in Congress last year but failed
to garner enough support from some moderate Republicans.

"Time is of the essence, and delay can result in catastrophe," said
Rep. Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican. We are "making minor tweaks in
the process, not in the (environmental) standards that have to be
met," he said.

The committee, which passed the bill without holding a hearing to
debate it, also would streamline the review process for thinning
projects by giving those opposed 15 days to appeal after a project is
first proposed by the government.

The federal courts would be required to balance the environmental
consequences of thinning with inaction. Judges would be limited to
issuing preliminary injunctions that must be reviewed every 45 days
before they are extended.

The push to pass forest thinning legislation has grown after last
year's catastrophic fire season that saw 7 million acres of land go up
in flames.

The United States has 190 million acres of land that are especially
sensitive to forest blazes, according to the U.S. Forest Service, with
most of them in the West, where drought conditions continue to linger.

Democrats and environmental groups have called the bill a major
windfall for the timber industry. The thinning measures not only
benefit the loggers, they contend, but focus most of the projects away
from residential areas where they would be beneficial.

"The Bush administration and Rep. (Scott) McInnis continue to try to
pin the blame for wildfires on public participation and environmental
laws rather than the real cause: poor forest management," said Rodger
Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. McInnis is a
Republican from Colorado.

The House legislation approved this week is similar to a Bush
administration rule dubbed the Healthy Forest Initiative that would
trim some environmental regulations in 10 million acres of fire-prone
forest.

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SAXTON WORKS FOR CLEANER WATER

Date: 030504
From: http://www.app.com/

Staff Report, Ocean County Observer, 5/04/03

Washington - The lawmaker who was instrumental in getting Barnegat
Bay admitted to the National Estuary Program and creating critical
water study programs in Ocean County has called for continued action
to protect the environment.

Rep. Jim Saxton, R-3rd, unveiled four bills during Earth Week aimed
at making the seas cleaner for future generations.

"Certainly, we as a nation have work to be done, but the glass is
half full, and that half-full glass is cleaner than in past
generations," Saxton said. "Now we have to work on the other half."

An international report on the 1990s showed that despite an increase
in population worldwide of 750 million people, the portion of people
in the Third World who have access to clean drinking water increased
from 30 percent in 1970 to 80 percent in 2000, a release by Saxton's
office stated. The number of people in these countries who have access
to sanitation jumped from 23 percent in 1979 to 53 percent in 2000.

"Clean water and clean air are as important to society as personal
freedom and a good economy," Saxton said. "A balance must be struck
between a free, economically healthy nation and the cleanest
environment possible."

Saxton introduced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Oceanography Act of 2003, which authorizes NOAA's coastal and ocean
research programs, including its LEO-15, or Long-term Ecological
Observatory at 15 meters, located just offshore near Ocean County. The
bill also authorizes an Ocean Exploration Report to provide Congress
with a plan to implement a dedicated multi-year, multi-disciplinary
effort of ocean discovery.

The second bill, the National Estuarine Reserve System Act, updates
the Coastal Zone Management Act. The bill authorizes NERS, including
the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve at the
Mullica River in Ocean and Burlington counties in New Jersey. The bill
has been crafted in cooperation with the Cousteau Reserve and the
National Estuarine Research Reserve Association. The system provides a
framework to promote estuary management, research and education. The
research reserve program began in 1972, and has grown to 25 sites.

Saxton also introduced the Coastal Services and Performance
Evaluation Act of 2003 to reauthorize coastal services, training and
education programs of NOAA and establish a monitoring system to
evaluate how well they function. It also would create an award program
to recognize the most successful efforts.

The fourth bill, the Coastal Zone Management Act Reauthorization of
2003, reauthorizes the 1972 law and provides up to $80 million in
grants for 2004 to be incrementally increased to up to $90 million by
2008.

* * *

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DREDGING OF RARITAN RIVER WOULD AID RECREATION

Date: 030502
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/middlesex/

By Sally Goldenberg, Star-Ledger, May 02, 2003

Shallow areas of the Raritan River should be dredged to enhance
recreation along the waterway, according to a study by HDR Engineering
presented to the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders last night.

The engineering firm concluded that the area from the Albany Street
Bridge in New Brunswick to Red's Marina in Highland Park and the
stretch at the vacant National Lead site in Sayreville must be cleared
of sediments to make the river at least 8 feet deep.

Freeholder Director David Crabiel hailed the $7.9 million plan, which
will be carried out by the firm and the Middlesex County Improvement
Authority, as a step in the right direction to restoring the river and
making it accessible for recreational use.

"As most know, I've been a fighter on the cleanup of the Raritan
River that is beginning to gel and I believe will happen," Crabiel
said.

Dredging will entail digging up sediments, taking the soil to a mine
or plant for stabilization and recycling it, HDR Vice President Joseph
Puzio said. The study confirmed several toxic substances in the river,
such as arsenic and cadmium, he added.

But dredging is not an effective solution to improving the polluted
waterway, particularly in Sayreville, said Edison Wetlands Association
Executive Director Robert Spiegel during the public portion of the
meeting.

"Instead of looking at dredging the National Lead site for bringing
in commercial vehicles or bringing in commercial boats, they need to
be looking at the whole Raritan River and seeing what are the most
contaminated areas," he added.

Spiegel conceded that dredging may be necessary in the New Brunswick
area but should not be an option in Sayreville.

The study did not include plans for the National Lead site beyond
dredging, Puzio said. The firm is only in charge of designing
restoration of the New Brunswick areas, which will "really make
improvements along the river that are going to allow the residents to
use the river much better."

Boaters who hit shallow bumps along the 60-foot-wide channel between
the bridge and marina will coast smoothly once spots along the way are
dredged, Puzio said.

"We think some limited dredging in Red's Marina might be appropriate
and the devil's going to be in the details," Spiegel said.

"If it's recreational, the only thing they really need to do is Red's
Marina. There is no component for recreation in the National Lead," he
added.

Crabiel said he too opposes commercial use of the National Lead site.
"There was a thought that it should be for commercial. I opposed
that," he said.

But Spiegel said if the area is really only intended for recreational
use, dredging is not necessary.

"Recreational boats already use the river. It's already navigable,"
he said.

Characterizing the Raritan as "a river in recovery," Spiegel said
after the meeting that the county should focus on an overall cleanup
of the waterway and target polluted "hot-spots" without dredging
sediments.

"Instead of money on dredging, they should be focusing on how we can
clean up the river," Spiegel said.

While funding has not been secured, HDR Engineering identified the
county Open Space Trust Fund as a possibility, along with the state
Department of Environmental Protection.

Spiegel said the trust fund would not be an appropriate source of
funding for a dredging project.

* * *

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PARSIPPANY - HOW TO PREVENT 'LITTERING IN THE WATER'

Date: 030504
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/

WITH BROOK STUDY FINISHED, PARSIPPANY PLANS FORUM ON PROTECTION OF
STORM DRAINS, WELLS

By Jerry Barca, Star-Ledger Staff, May 04, 2003

Everyone has seen the marks that oil leaks leave in parking lots.
When it rains in Parsippany the greasy stuff slides over the asphalt
into Troy Brook.

"It's kind of scary," said Chris Kennett, a member of the township's
environmental advisory committee.

The pollution alarms Kennett because he fears it could settle in the
township's main water source, the Buried Valley Aquifer, 50 feet below
the brook. Even if it doesn't reach the aquifer, water from Troy Brook
eventually winds its way to the Passaic River.

With a two-year study of the brook completed, a public forum
discussing the township's water will be held tomorrow in Parsippany
Hills High School at 7:30 p.m. The discussion will include the brook
study, as well as actions to protect Parsippany's wells and storm
drains.

Water is a hot topic on the state level. Last month, Gov. James E.
McGreevey banned further pollution at 15 bodies of water, including
nine reservoirs that provide drinking water to almost half the state.

James Hughes, dean of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School
of Planning and Public Policy, said people's interest in keeping water
clean has grown in recent years. "Increasingly, it is a real concern.
You see more and more people today with a greater degree of
sensitivity to water," he said.

In Parsippany, the water quality is fine, but discussion organizers
want to devise preventive measures ensuring it will stay that way. The
24 square-mile township pumps up to 280 million gallons of water per
month.

The Troy Brook study, begun in 2001, examined a two-mile stretch of
the waterway around the intersection of Route 80 and Cherry Hill Road.
The study, funded by a $6,000 grant and performed by Amy S. Green
Environmental Consultants of Flemington, showed pollution in the brook
and a reduction in the amount of water the brook returns to the
aquifer.

The pollution comes from oil and gasoline seeping out of cars in
parking lots and on nearby Routes 80 and 46, Kennett said.

Development around the brook results in less water saturating the
ground and therefore less water recharging the aquifer, Kennett said
the study shows.

The aquifer, which covers western Essex and eastern Morris Counties,
stretches from Long Hill to Pequannock and serves about 40 towns in
Essex, Morris, Union and Somerset counties.

Parsippany Mayor Mimi Letts said she wants to take action to stop the
erosion of the banks of Troy Brook, which is something the
environmental committee's study calls for.

The mayor backs an ordinance that Ella Filippone, executive director
of the Passaic River Coalition, will speak about.

Since January, the coalition has been pressing towns to pass a law to
protect municipal wells. Millburn and Chatham are considering it. The
ordinance limits what could be placed or developed near a well and
encourages towns to buy property around it, Filippone said. For
example, gas stations would not be permitted in the same zone as the
well.

"You don't want to wait until something happens. We need to protect
our water sources," she said.

The proposed law is being reviewed by the Parsippany water
department. It will be passed on to the planning board and then to the
township council, Letts said.

The high school students will discuss their storm drain project
planned for later this month, in which they will paint stencils of
bluefish on storm drain grates. The idea is to alert people that the
painted storm drains flow into waterways where fish live.

"We're keeping the water clean and protecting aquatic life...Those
storm drains do not go to a sewer. Dumping something there is like
littering in the water," said Laura McCluskey, the teacher who
moderates the project.

* * *

Jerry Barca covers Parsippany. He can be reached at
jba...@starledger.com or 973-539-7910.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.

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WATER QUALITY RISES IN WHIPPANY RIVER

Date: 030503
From: http://www.dailyrecord.com/

By Rob Seman, Daily Record, 05/03/03

The water quality of the Whippany River has substantially improved
since the mid-1990s, thanks to better local wastewater treatment and
watershed management, according to a recently completed study.

The Whippany River Watershed Action Committee and Technical Advisory
Committee's Water Quality Trend Analysis Study showed less phosphorus
and other damaging substances in the water in 2001-2002 than in 1994-
1995, when the state Department of Environmental Protection tested the
water.

"Overall, what that means is the river is getting cleaner and that
indicates that may be due to the treatments upgrading and also
watershed management actually working," said George Van Orden, Hanover
Township's health officer, who led the action committee's water study.

The study was conducted under dry weather conditions. On two
occasions, Sept. 11, 2002, and Oct. 9, 2002, samples were taken under
drought conditions. Van Orden said that the drought likely did not
affect the study greatly.

The study showed averages based on samples from five locations - Lake
Valley Road in Morris Township, Speedwell Avenue in Morristown, South
Jefferson Road in Hanover Township, Melanie Lane in East Hanover
Township and Edwards Road in Parsippany.

Improvement was noted in most of the test categories:

- Dissolved oxygen levels rose from 9.2 to 9.8 milligrams per liter
since 1994-1995, an improvement that allowed aquatic life to thrive
despite higher river temperatures, which increased from 15.5 degrees
Celsius in 1994-1995 to 17.9 degrees in 2001-2002. Warmer water
results in less dissolved oxygen.

"In the '80s it was horrible," Van Orden said. "You were lucky (if)
you saw fish." Today, the river is stocked with trout, he said.

- Phosphorus levels dropped dramatically, from 44 to 21 milligrams per
liter. Phosphorus can lead to excessive growth of algae, phytoplankton
and other plants, which can result in sedimentation and the loss of
dissolved oxygen at night.

The study credits a 1996 upgrade at the Morristown Wastewater
Treatment Plant, which dropped the phosphorus concentration in the
plant's effluent from 3 mg/l to about 0.2-0.6 mg/l.

The study also states that diversion of wastewater from the St.
Mary's Abbey treatment facility, which does not remove phosphorus, to
the Morris Township Butterworth Plant, which does remove phosphorus,
may have also had something to do with the reduction.

There was also a reduction in chlorophyll, an indicator of increased
phosphorus and excessive vegetation, Van Orden said.

- The study also showed a decrease in Total Suspended Solids, or solid
particles of organic matter, detritus and algae. A high rate of solids
can reflect erosion, Van Orden said. Solid particles dropped from 10.7
and 3.1 mg/liter, he said.

- The amount of fecal coliform, which is found in sewage and in animal
waste such as goose droppings, also dropped by 37 percent, from 375.2
per 100 milliliters to 237.4.

Van Orden said the reduction in coliform was significant, but it
still falls short of the 2000 state mandate to reduce the amount by 58
percent within five years. Van Orden said he was hopeful that the goal
would be met.

"We're getting there," Van Orden said.

The less positive results included an increase in salts, which the
study asserts are not generally removed from wastewater by treatment
plants. Chloride levels jumped from 64.8 mg. per liter to 103.8 mg.
per liter, while total dissolved solids and conductivity levels also
jumped significantly.

The jump in salt may be due to more development or because of the
drought experienced in 2001-2002. Van Orden said that salt levels were
not at a dangerous level.

"At that point it's not a big problem, but it is something you want
to monitor," Van Orden said.

Nitrogen levels also remained relatively unchanged and at an
acceptable level, the study showed.

"I think the results show what I've consider an outstanding job of
cleaning up the river," said action committee Chairman Sal Iannaccone.

Jack Schrier, a Morris County freeholder and vice chairman of the
committee, credited the committee's work and community involvement.

Schrier pointed to two examples - a cleanup along the river a few
years ago in East Hanover and plantings near the lake at Burnham Park
in Morristown to keep geese away from the water.

"It shows what diligence and a good plan can achieve - with the help
of really dedicated people not to be forgotten," Schrier said.

Amy DiBartolo, action committee treasurer and the former chairwoman
of the East Hanover Environmental Commission, who has been involved
with river cleanups for the last five years, said that she had seen
less pollution and credits more education in the community.

"We're not seeing new trash," DiBartolo said. "It's all been the old
stuff that's been there."

The study was funded by a $15,000 grant from the Victoria Foundation.
Van Orden said that a follow-up study would likely be performed in
2004-2005.

* * *

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KEYPORT BORO COUNCIL ADDRESSES WATER SERVICE DRAIN

Date: 030504
From: http://independent.gmnews.com/

By Maura Dowgin, Staff Writer

Keyport - The Borough Council is one step closer to unloading the
municipal water and sewer system.

The governing body is putting the water and sewer system out to bid.

The council voted unanimously to accept bid proposals at its April 24
meeting. Councilman Robert Bergen was not present at the meeting.

If the borough stays in the water business, water rates would
increase 60 percent, Mayor John Merla said.

One of the criteria for the system takeover is that the company
purchasing the water system must keep water rates stable for five
years, Merla said.

After the five-year period, the borough can appeal rate increases,
Merla said.

The council does not want to increase the public water rates, Merla
said.

"We have to determine how long we can stay in a failing business,"
Merla said. "My recommendation is we can't stay in the business."

"We're one of the few towns that still have the water and sewer,"
said George Sappah, superintendent of public works.

The council does not have the final decision on whether or not to
sell the water system. The question will be on the ballot as a public
referendum in November, Merla said.

The council has been working on the idea of privatization for
approximately two years now, Merla said.

Over the past eight years, area water and sewer provider Bayshore
Regional Sewage Authority, Union Beach, has dramatically raised its
rates while the borough's have remained stable, Merla said.

Other rate problems include customers tampering with water meters as
a way of stealing water, and the borough is not detecting leaks
because of old pipes, Merla said.

"The [water and sewer] system is approximately 100 years old," said
Robert Hyer, councilman. "As the system gets older, you're liable for
more breaks."

Hyer and Sappah brought examples of the borough's water pipes to the
Borough Council's Jan. 21 regular meeting. The pipes were rusted and
failing.

"If water is leaking and we're not detecting it because of old pipes,
that's water we're paying for," Merla said.

The company that purchases the water system would be responsible for
its upgrade and upkeep, Merla said.

The system includes about 2,900 service connections, 20 miles of
water mains, two wells and two sewage pumping stations, according to
the resolution authorizing the council to put the system out to bid.

The resolution was passed unanimously by all of the council members
in attendance at the meeting. New Jersey-American Water Co., located
in Haddon Heights, is interested in assisting Keyport in any way
possible with their water problems, said Lendel Jones, public
relations representative.

"We're always ready and willing to talk and see if we can be of
service," said Jones.

* * *

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT NJCF - COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Date: 2 May 2003
From: "SusanQ" {sus...@njconservation.org}

New Jersey Conservation Foundation (http://www.njconservation.org),
one of the nation's premier land conservation non-profits, seeks a
Communications Manager responsible for: writing and managing
production of quarterly newsletters, annual report, press releases and
other correspondence. Minimum of five years relevant experience,
exceptional written and oral communication skills, excellent editing
and organizational skills, comfort working on multiple projects in a
deadline-oriented environment, and a passion for the environment.
College degree required. No consultants. Position may be 25 - 40 hours
per week. Please send cover letter, resume & salary requirements to
Stephanie Monahan, NJCF, 170 Longview Road, Far Hills, NJ 07931, email
to step...@njconservation.org or fax to 908/234-1189.
EOE M/F/V/D

* * *

Susan Quitzau, Office Manager
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Bamboo Brook/170 Longview Road
Far Hills, NJ 07931
Ph. 908-234-1225
Fx. 908-234-1189

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ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION CLINIC JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Date: 2 May 2003
From: "Kathy Urffer" {kat...@hackensackriverkeeper.org}

[Forward]

From: "Postman, Mary Beth" {MPos...@law.pace.edu

ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION CLINIC JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic has an opening for an
Administrative Assistant, starting later this month. The position
description is pasted below. This person would be my assistant as Co-
director and Supervising Attorney in a public interest law practice
and law school clinic representing environmental organizations in the
Hudson River Valley. The Clinic is located at the Pace Law School
campus in White Plains.

Please contact Mary Beth Postman at 914-422-4343 if interested
(mpos...@law.pace.edu).

- - -

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - LEGAL SECRETARY II
FOR PACE ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION CLINIC

1. Handle phone work dealing with clients, press, public, government
and environmental agencies, attorneys, courts.

2. Support and assist Co-Director in meeting requirements of Student
Practice Order; incorporation procedures and duties; Board of
Directors, IRS, insurance and other matters related to administration
of Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc. Provide secretarial
support for Co-Director, Prof. Karl Coplan.

3. Assist in production and assembly of legal documents; be available
for overtime necessary to meet court deadlines.

4. Train, oversee and assist students in office procedures, office
filing of litigation documents, time sheets, status reports. Keep
track of case expenses. Prepare and disseminate office manual.
Administer Clinic's computerized timekeeper system ("Timeslips").

5. Order and monitor supplies, books. Handle problems with vendors.

6. Prepare and disseminate application forms. Coordinate applicant
interviews and credentials of applicants.

7. Keep updated records on past and current students; send mailings to
students.

8. Develop and handle all clinic reimbursement procedures and
implementation. Keep track of budget expenditures. Prepare check
request forms, purchase orders, petty cash forms.

9. Maintain clinic files including intake and logging of litigation
documents.

10. Assist Clinic Administrator in day-to-day Clinic operations.

11. Maintain calendar of litigation deadlines and court appearances.

12. Maintain Clinic's website.

# # #

Kathy Urffer
Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc.
231 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-968-0808
201-968-0336 (fax)
http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org
kat...@hackensackriverkeeper.org

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HOW TO DEAL WITH MOLDY BUILDINGS - MAY 6

Date: 1 May 2003
From: "Pamela Springard" {psp...@rci.rutgers.edu}

May 6, 2003

Fee: $195 before April 25, 2003; $225 after April 25, 2003

$175 for Multiple Registrants

Course Code: EI0301CA03

This one-day program is designed for professionals who are, or may be,
involved in the investigation and resolution of indoor mold issues.
The course will help you navigate the process of responding to a known
or suspected case of mold contamination in a building. It will provide
you with critical information needed to provide scientifically sound
results and recommendations for remedial activities.

What will you learn?

a.. What is mold and why is it controversial?
b.. Health effects of mold
c.. Investigative procedures, sampling and results interpretation
d.. Water and moisture control basics
e.. Mold remediation procedures
f.. Who is qualified to do mold remediation?
g.. Mold remediation project "clearance" activities and QA/QC
h.. Case studies from the instructors' projects, including schools
impacted by Hurricane Floyd and a large office building near Ground
Zero in New York City among others, will be explored.

Who should attend?

Building and facility managers; home inspectors and radon contractors;
developers, builders, and real estate professionals; public health,
safety personnel and industrial hygienists; environmental and safety
consultants; insurance adjusters and risk managers; attorneys;
architects; engineers; building occupants and building owners.

Instructors

Mike McGuinness, CIH, CET, CIAQP, ABIH-IEQ

R.K. Occupational and Environmental Analysis

Dr. Joseph Ponessa, Extension Specialist

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

Credits & Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

In addition to Cook College CEUs, the How to Deal with Moldy Buildings
program has submitted the following for credit approval:

American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI); New Jersey Health Officers
& Registered Environmental Health Specialists and New Jersey Real
Estate Appraisers.

* * *

Pamela Springard, Program Assistant
Office of Continuing Professional Education
102 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-932-9271 x626
Fax: 732-932-1187
Email: psp...@rci.rutgers.edu

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STREAM ENCROACHMENT WORKSHOP - MAY 7

Date: 1 May 2003
From: "Pamela Springard" {psp...@rci.rutgers.edu}

NJDEP

Stream Encroachment

May 7, 2003

Fee: $165 (Course Code: EN0404CA03)

This one-day seminar is designed to present an overview of flood plain
management in New Jersey, including the technical issues and
regulatory requirements involved in stream encroachment permits. The
permit process is outlined from the pre-application stage through the
formal review period and post-permit period. Representatives from the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) will be
available to discuss general regulatory questions as well as specific
site-related issues. This program will provide attendees with an
understanding of the permit process and addresses:

a.. the rules and regulations governing stream encroachment and flood
plain management

a.. the Land Use Application Form (LURP-1) and Checklist

a.. environmental issues

a.. basic concepts and technical aspects of flood plain management,
including:

Hydrology

Hydraulics

Net Fill Calculations

Stormwater Management

Design Problems

Water Quality

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This program is recommended for professionals who prepare permit
applications and assumes that participants have some familiarity with
the applications being discussed.

Professionals that will benefit from attending this program include:
Municipal Construction Officials, Consulting Engineers,
Representatives of Public Utilities, Builders & Contractors, Real
Estate Professionals, Municipal Engineers, Environmental Consultants,
Landscape Architects Health Officers, Planners, Lawyers and Surveyors.

INSTRUCTORS

Course instruction is provided by the NJDEP. State representatives
will be available throughout the seminar to answer related questions
or discuss site-specific issues.

* * *

Pamela Springard, Program Assistant
Office of Continuing Professional Education
102 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-932-9271 x626
Fax: 732-932-1187
Email: psp...@rci.rutgers.edu

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tina Bologna - Editor - bol...@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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