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DEP Deregulation, Streamlining, and Privatization of Background Checks Invited Abuse 

For Gov. Christie – a former US Attorney – to look the other way on mob influence on the NJ solid waste industry is an outrage

Our first priority is getting storm debris off our streets and out of our neighborhoods so the difficult road to recovery can get under way.”

“We are counting on full cooperation and compliance from everyone,” Commissioner Martin said. “Activities such as illegal dumping, hauling without proper approval, and price-gouging will not be tolerated, and will be prosecuted swiftly and to the fullest extent of the law.” ~~~ DEP Commisssioner Bob Martin (November 9, 2012)

In another Sandy AshBritt scandal bombshell, today’s Bergen Record reports that:

A convicted felon with an unregistered trucking company got $250,000 to haul Sandy storm debris under a taxpayer-funded contract, records show.

The state agency that regulates solid waste transporters — and is charged with keeping criminals out of the industry — said it has no record of the hauler, which used another firm’s paperwork to access restricted dump sites, officials said.

What the otherwise excellent Record story doesn’t get quite right is that this abuse is a predicted and direct result of specific actions DEP Commissioner Martin took to “streamline” Sandy debris removal.

Martin sought to deregulate Sandy response actions, and in the wake of Sandy he issued Administrative Orders and Guidance documents that deregulated and privatized the specific DEP regulatory reviews that should have blocked this abuse from happening, see these DEP documents:

CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION WORKING WITH STORM-AFFECTED COUNTIES TO ENSURE SAFE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE DEBRIS REMOVAL

Sandy Debris Management

Temporary Approved Transporters

Commissioner Martin made deregulation even worse, as the Record story notes, because the AshBritt contract delegated the A901 regulatory review DEP should have done to AshBritt, essentially privatizing regulation.

Specifically, the AshBritt contract made AshBritt responsible for verifying that all subcontractors had A901 approvals.

Ironically, AshBritt’s lawyers correctly criticize DEP for this.

Screening subcontractors for compliance with the law is DEP’s responsibility and DEP’s job – not a private company’s:

The Record’s review, though, raises new questions about how carefully the firm screened its more than 100 subcontractors — the haulers and heavy equipment operators who are in line for tens of millions in federal disaster recovery money. And it shows the limitations of decades-old state regulations that are meant to keep criminals out of the solid waste hauling business.

Jared Moskowitz, an AshBritt spokes­man, acknowledged that the company failed to confirm that Ace Materials was a properly registered business. But he also faulted state regulators at the Department of Environmental Protection to whom AshBritt reported all its subcontractors.

When politicians and incompetent hacks like DEP Commissioner Martin deregulate and privatize essential government functions, abuses like the AshBritt contract are what happens.

We have been saying this for months, and even wrote a warning letter to EPA Regional Administrator Enck and the NJ Senate Democratic leadership on November 6, 2012 (letter available upon request).

There needs to be a full investigation of not only the AshBritt contract – which is the tip of a huge iceberg of incompetence, mismanagement, reckless decisions, ignored warnings, and poor policy – but the State’s preparation, planning and response to the Sandy disaster.

Here’s a start for that:

The Deafness Before the Storm 

Leadership Matters – How DEP Buried Reports on Coastal Storm Risks

Catastrophic Failures and Catastrophic Fools 

[Update: In another “we told you so” file, in addition to the Nov. 6 EPA/Legislator oversight request letter and our own warning posts here, we note that we tried to flag the significance of this issue in a reader comment on the January 18, 2012 Star Ledger story that broke the AshBritt scandal: