WolfeNotes.com

 DEP  openly using enforcement resources to increase corporate profitability 

“Sustainable Jersey is successful,” notes Donna Drewes, who co-directs the organization with Randall Solomon, “because it champions community-led decision-making and leadership, rather than mandating a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan for New Jersey.” [10/9/12 press release]

“The DEP will work with towns and cities to craft [voluntary] access plans that make local sense and protect the rights and needs of residents and businesses, instead of imposing one-size-fits-all, state-dictated access rules,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. [Record]

“Cities and towns know best how to plan for their own needs,’’ said Commissioner Martin. “The DEP will ensure that certain standards are met, but local governments already are involved in land use planning _ both in creating master plans and adopting zoning regulations _ and they understand their communities better than regulatory agencies in Trenton.’’ [DEP Press Release]

““I’ve been clear from the very beginning that I do not believe a one-size-fits-all health care program works for the entire country and that each governor should have the ability to make decisions about what works best for their state.  [Gov. Christie]

“Evolution is required teaching,” [Gov.] Christie said. “If there’s a certain school district that also wants to teach creationism, that’s not something we should decide.”

No State agency shall recommend, propose, publish or submit any regulation containing an unfunded mandate, as defined under New Jersey law (N.J. Stat. 52:13H-2), unless expressly authorized in writing by the Governor or the Lieutenant Governor. [Christie Executive Order #4]

Surely, Sustainable NJ and Donna Drewes understand political ideology and the role of loaded terms and slogans in advancing an ideological and policy agenda.

The series of quotes above is provided as an illustration of that.

(if you still don’t get it – let me offer an historic example:

What would be the obvious inference to be drawn from a statement by a white Southern governor, in 1955, championing State’s rights and the role of local Citizens’ Councils?)

Surely, it is obvious that there is a consistency between Sustainable NJ’s use of slogans (i.e. “mandating a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan for New Jersey” ) and the Christie Administration’s use of the same slogans to attack State government and regulations (i.e. “job killing red tape”) and to advance their ideological and policy agendas.

(Less loaded words are available. In contrast to Sustainable NJ’s slogans, for example, see this paper for a balanced assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of “bottom up” and “top down” methods, indicators, and approaches to sustainability.)

I don’t think the use of the same slogans is a coincidence  – I think Sustainable NJ shares and is promoting the Christie Administration’s agenda. I think certain funders – like the Dodge Foundation – and various other corporate and State government “partners”  wholeheartedly agree and share this agenda.

[You find some amazing stuff on DEP’s website – where Sustainable NJ listed as a “Business Association” and “Sustainable Business” contact, along with such environmental champions as NJ Business and Industry Assc., NJ Chamber of Commerce, and the Chemistry Council of NJ. As I indicated, this shows how Sustainable NJ is working in partnership with the Christie Administration.]

That agenda is NOT policy neutral – it has resulted in the dismantling or local delegation of the following key State DEP regulatory programs and the substitution of voluntary local “partnership” efforts for “one size fits all” “top down command and control” “job killing red tape”:

• global warming planning/mitigation
• climate change adaptation
• environmental justice
• Public Trust – guaranteeing public access to riparian lands
• watershed and water quality management planning
• Barnegat Bay – Clean Water Act TMDL Cleanup Plan

Unfortunately, there are a lot of right wing paranoid fanatics now opposing “sustainable development” as some kind of UN conspiracy against freedom and US sovereignty in favor of socialist world government control.

But, that does not mean that all criticism of the sustainability concept is driven by paranoid delusion or right wing ideology.

I have long been a critical skeptic of “sustainable development” – the vague concept has no workable definition or operational application within existing laws and governing institutions.

Lack of definition leaves the substance and application of the concept in the eye of the beholder (serving much the same function as Obama’s slogan “hope and change”). It tends to gloss over conflicts and contradictions, while diverting well meaning citizens from more effective forms of advocacy and government agencies like DEP from traditional regulatory roles.

Worse, there are scientific limits in the ability to quantify energy, materials, and economic stocks and flows and integrate all that with ecological dynamics across local, regional, national and global scales and systems boundaries.

Back in July, I tried to very briefly touch on some of the unintended consequences, practical flaws, and limitations of sustainability in prior posts (see: Christie Administration Outsources Climate Change Adaptation Planning

But I am now -in light of the context and recent NJ events – becoming an active opponent of how the sustainability concept is being applied in NJ governing circles.

For today, I’d like to briefly touch upon recent developments that have prompted my change from disengaged skeptic to active opponent.

First, I got no real engagement – or respect – from Randy Solomon of Sustainable NJ in regard to the challenge I laid down in prior posts. While Randy may have blown me off, I do know that he was aware of my critique and took steps to respond to my criticism.

Second, there is the above quote from a Sustainable NJ press release today, which, while again ignoring any State government responsibility, touts the addition of 24 more towns to the list of “certified” Sustainable towns (yet both BPU and DEP are mentioned as “partners”. That sounds like more political cover for the Christie Administration’s abdication of State government’s responsibility to me.)

I was particularly moved to laughter by this absurdity, which I suggest you file under “D” for “delusional”:

Camden was able to use Sustainable Jersey as a focal point to rally non-profit organizations to coordinate with the city and the local utilities authority to make progress on a number of fronts. “I am delighted that our efforts to Keep Camden Clean and Green have allowed the City of Camden to receive a Sustainable Jersey certification. As we continue to revitalize and move our City forward, my Administration will build upon our greening efforts to ensure our residents are able enjoy a quality of life that is second to none,” said Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd.

Camden is the poorest city in the Country, with arguably the worst quality of life in the US.

Third, going beyond merely using Sustainable NJ to mask State government abdication and/or local delegation, I recently  learned that scarce DEP enforcement resources are being diverted from traditional compliance and enforcement functions to promote “corporate stewardship” and “sustainable business”.

(maybe that’s why DEP enforcement performance is at a record low, as reported by Todd bates of the Asbury Park Press:

proposed fines covering seven major DEP programs, including air and water quality and land use, plunged from $31.6 million in fiscal year 2007 to $9.1 million in fiscal 2011. That’s the lowest figure since at least 2002 and about half the 10-year average.

The collection of fines is down as well, dropping to $7.5 million in fiscal 2011, the lowest figure since 2006. Also, the number of enforcement inspectors has dropped by about 20 percent over the past five years, making it more difficult to catch polluters in the first place.

At the same time, the DEP has dramatically increased the number of settlements it has agreed to, allowing polluters to get off with relatively small fines. These settlements, the environmental equivalent of a plea bargain, allow violators to pay far less in fines, sometimes pennies on the dollars.

This “sustainable business” promotional effort is part of a broader Christie/Martin agenda to gut the traditional DEP enforcement paradigm and replace it with a voluntary, privatized, corporate model, where DEP provides compliance assistance and incentives (carrots) and retires the sticks.

Here ‘s DEP’s most recent “Stakeholder” meeting material – I can’t help but note the supreme irony that one of DEP’s goals for the program is “increasing the breadth and depth of participation”, which is belied by DEP’s practice of  hand picked “by invitation only” “Stakeholders”. Obviously, the “participation” DEP is looking for is corporate business group participation, not citizen or public participation.

And note the topic and DEP agenda for the upcoming meeting:

So, DEP is now openly and actively working to increase corporate profitability (i.e. “SROI”) – and, perhaps worse, using scarce enforcement program resources, of all things, to promote that private sector objective.

Groups like Sustainable NJ provide cover and legitimize these rollback efforts, which clearly advance private economic interests above the public interest and protection of public health and the environment, under the guise of motherhood and apple pie (i.e. “sustainable development”).

Science Trumps Polls – Public Clueless About State of the Environment

How could this be?

The Star Ledger reports today that the most recent Monmouth University “Quality of Life Poll” of NJ residents shows a slight decline in assessment of quality of life:

TRENTON — New Jersey residents are less rosy about the condition of the state than they were earlier this year.

A Monmouth University poll released today shows 65 percent said in September they considered the Garden State an excellent or good place to live – down from 70 percent in April and 69 percent in July.

But the Star Ledger’s sole focus on that decline is virtually meaningless, given the 3.5% +/- margin of error.

But what I found absolutely astonishing – and completely ignored – was the poll’s finding that 72% of respondents said the quality of the environment was “excellent or good”:

How can 72% find the below list of actual environmental quality conditions “excellent or good”?

The environmental indicators that justify NJ’s stringent environmental and public health regulatory protections are uniformly dire.

• NJ is the nation’s most densely populated state with the most cars, most development, most pavement and most toxic pollutants per square mile.
• NJ”s precious shore is highly over-developed and vulnerable to storms and sea level rise.
• Yet we continue to lose more than 15,000 acres of forests, farms, and wetlands per year to new development.
• NJ’s racially and economical segregated urban communities bear unjust disproportionate pollution and health burdens.
• Contradicting lots of empty political rhetoric about reducing emissions, NJ’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise steeply.
• NJ has the most toxic Superfund sites and more than 20,000 other toxic sites.
• NJ communities are threatened by at least 15 chemical facilities, where an accident or terror attack could kill more than 100,000 residents.
• In NJ, more than 65% of streams and rivers and 100% of lakes fail to meet water pollution standards and lack cleanup plans.
• Statewide Fish Consumption Advisories warn that fish and shellfish are too toxic to eat.
• Over 12% of residential water wells fail health standards.
• The entire state does not meet health based standards for air pollutants ozone, fine particulates, and numerous cancer causing toxic chemicals; and
• not surprisingly NJ has the nation’s highest cancer and asthma rates.

No wonder, according to a recent Monmouth University/Gannett poll, 79% of NJ residents “ on a bipartisan and socio-economic basis“ oppose rollbacks on NJ’s environmental regulations as a solution to the state’s dual fiscal and economic crises.

(those specific poll findings directly contradict the policy of Gov. Christie’s Executive Order #2, which calls for rollbacks of NJ’s strict standards to minimum federal standards – a fact virtually never reported by the press or mentioned by environmental groups)

Despite Statewide Water Pollution, DEP Forgoes Stronger Regulation

(source: NJDEP)

It is no secret that over 70% of NJ’s waterways are “impaired” and fail to meet the “fishable and swimmable” goals of the Clean Water Act and that non-point source pollution (e.g. storm water runoff) is  a primary cause of those failures  no lakes, streams, rivers, and bays meet all legally “designated uses”, i.e. for water supply, recreation, aquatic life support, shellfish harvesting, and fish consumption).

[See the Asbury Park Press’ Special report :Tainted Waters”]

Yet despite these continuing and worsening statewide failures, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is proposing to renew – without substantive change –  the recently expired Statewide Industrial Stormwater Master Permit (see this for the Guidance document).

The DEP’s municipal storm water management program has been the target of lawsuits and severe criticism by clean water advocates (e.g. see Delaware Riverkeeper’s Report), so the industrial program likely suffers similar flaws.

DEP’s failure to ratchet down on industrial stormwater pollution is especially troubling, because it ignores both clean water failures and program deficiencies.

Quitely published in the fine print of the most recent “DEP Bulletin” was this public notice:

Stormwater Discharge Master General Permit Renewal
Notice is hereby given that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection intends to renew the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) Basic Industrial Stormwater General Permit (NJ0088315), in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:14A, and by authority of the Water Pollution Control Act at N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1 et seq. The Basic Industrial Stormwater General Permit authorizes industrial stormwater discharges to the surface and/or ground waters of the State from eligible facilities throughout the State of New Jersey. No major changes have been proposed in the permit renewal.

Here is the DEP public notice and fact sheet on the proposal to renew this important statewide general permit.

According to DEP, the general permit regulates pollution discharges to surface and groundwater at up to 20,000 industrial facilities in NJ.

Pollution can include various different substances such as: toxic chemicals, oil and grease, plastics, sediment, and many other substances. While your industry may only contribute small amounts of pollution, the cumulative impact of thousands of industries, as well as the impact from everyone else, accounts for over 60% of the water quality problems in our State’s waterways. 

Industrial polluters subject to this permit have a great influence on the technical requirements of the permit and DEP oversight.

In keeping with Christie Administration DEP policy to slash “job killing red tape” and “promote economic development”, DEP openly acknowledges the role that industrial polluters play in this permit program and touts how DEP seeks to “gain an understanding of business” and reduce industry compliance costs.

DEP does not seek to disguise this polluter friendly policy:

Because of its size (affecting up to 20,000 facilities in New Jersey alone), innovative ways of permitting are being utilized that streamline the process and lower the usual economic costs of environmental regulation. The Department is working with many trade organizations to insure that the stormwater permitting process is fair, reasonable, and effective. Our staff is frequently out in the field visiting industrial sites and meeting with industry representatives to gain an understanding of their businesses. We also have an Stormwater Permitting Advisory Group which closely assists us in developing policies. 

In fact, the permit allows (@ page 2) industries to define the contents of storm water control plans, best management practices, and industry self monitors and certifies  compliance with their own “requirements” – without those annoying DEP enforcement inspections!:

 From Rustic West Amwell Cabin to Bordentown Row House

Statue of Thomas Paine, Bordentown, NJ

[Update – 9/29/16 – Almost 4 years to the day, next week we’re “Movin’ Out” – more to follow!]

My apologies for going so long without a post.

After living for 17 years in an old cabin on a West Amwell farm adjacent to the Alexauken Creek Wildlife Management Area, I moved this weekend to an old row house in the historic Delaware River town of Bordentown.

Dramatic change: from the rural and agricultural to the dense urban and historic.

I raised both my kids in the West Amwell place and loved the quiet and secluded magnificence of rambling in the forests and fields.

But, it was well past time to go – the kids are both out of college and on their own and the place was literally falling down around me.

I’m looking forward to the next phase of my life here in Bordentown – it has a really good vibe, the neighbors are friendly, and there are lots of funky and historic homes nearby.

It is amazing how density creates opportunities for people to be extremely creative in the design and use of space. The pride people take in their homes and community is heartening.

As soon as I find some time, I plan on doing a photo essay of all the beauty that surrounds me, which I am discovering around ever little bend in the sidewalk as I walk the town’s streets and neighborhoods.

And one of my political hero’s, Tom Paine, once made his home here!

My new home was built in 1900, an attached group of what are now 8 row houses.

The place is located just down the street from the Oliver Street Park and a couple of hundred feet from Lime Kiln Park, along Black Creek, a tributary to the Delaware River.

I am a quarter mile walk to the light rail River Line (a 6 minute commute to Trenton) and downtown shops. I’ve already taken the train to Camden and the ferry to Philly.

I’ve already biked the 6 mile D&R Canal trail spur to Trenton (35 minute commute).

The neighborhood is built on a bluff above the Delaware, so I get to enjoy a riverfront location without the risks of flooding.

I can’t wait to explore and discover my new historic, architectural, and natural surroundings (and find a good local pub!).

It’s like living in the kind of ideal small town I learned about as a planner: diverse, compact, high quality design, pedestrian and bicycle friendly, public transit accessible, with a strong sense of place, history, and community!

(coming full circle, a lot like the historic Hudson River town I grew up in).

So, we won’t be posting for the next few days as I move in and get adjusted.