WolfeNotes.com

But Senator Expands Attacks on DEP Category One Water Quality Program

Blames Bergen County Flooding on DEP Reservoir & Stream Buffer Protections

I must have gotten under Senator Cardinale’s skin with my post on Monday, which quoted him calling Bergen County streams “drainage ditches” and saying that the DEP’s Category One stream water quality protection program was “scientifically unjustifiable” in Bergen County.

I got a lengthy email reply from Cardinale, in which he walked back the “drainage ditch” remark.

But, in walking back that comment, Cardinale may have gone from the frying pan into the fire.

Cardinale went slightly off the deep end, and expanded his attack on the DEP C1 program, essentially claiming that it caused flooding problems in Bergen County.

Of course, I could not let that stand and fired back – enjoy Cardinale’s email and my reply below:

---

Wildstein Exposed the Inner Workings of the Corrupt Christie Machine

Abuse of power was not the result of young, inexperienced, retaliatory rogues

 Bridgegate was not a bug, it was a feature

Christie institutionalized the pay-to-play patronage politics previous Governors engaged in on an ad hoc basis

We do not live in a democracy. We live in a political system that has legalized bribery, exclusively serves corporate power and is awash in propaganda and lies. ~~~ Chris Hedges (5/4/15)

[Updates below]

In the Wildstein guilty plea and Baroni/Kelly indictment media frenzy, the media narrative has fallen into the same narrow trap as the initial coverage of the original Bridegate scandal.

I had hoped that the Mastro Report interviews and the Legislative testimony – particularly of Christina Renna, Bridgette Kelly’s replacement at the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) who laid out the role of IGA as the bridge between the Christie re-election campaign and the Christie government – coupled with the Port Authority finance and Samson scandals –  would have made the broader meaning of the Bridgegate scandal obvious to our media mavens.

Apparently not.

So, let’s not kid ourselves and engage in revisionism.

We all knew – and had plenty of supporting information – that Christie was a political thug.

And we knew that long BEFORE he even RAN for Gov. in 2009.

For some reason, the NJ press corps never wrote that story. No intestinal fortitude.

It took the national press corps to connect the dots and weave a coherent narrative of just how corrupt Christie is as a human being, see The National Review’s killer story:

•  Chris Christie’s entire career reeks – it’s not just the bridge

Long before Christie was Governor, we knew he was a thug.

Bridgegate is part of of the politics and character flaws of Christie.

• The Real scandal

Last week, a NY Times story  “U.S. Indictment Details Plotting in New Jersey Bridge Scandal” opened the door to the broader scandal and real meaning of Bridgegate.

But, after the Times hinted at the broader implications, that angle was immediately shut down by claiming that the scandal was a result of an operation run by young kids out of IGA:

Mr. Christie’s strategists were hoping to use his 2013 re-election campaign to build a case for him to run for president. Their goal was to secure endorsements from a broad spectrum of officials, including Democrats such as Mayor Sokolich.

This cultivating fell mostly to young staff members in the wing of Mr. Christie’s front office known as Intergovernmental Affairs. 

Carl Golden, columnist at NJ Spotlight shares that perspective that young inexperienced people abuse power. Golden concludes:

Inexperienced people like Kelly were unaccustomed to handling the power suddenly found in their hands and it controlled them rather than the reverse. Bridgegate — or something similar — was the inevitable result of such an environment.

Astute and well written, but just flat out wrong.

[These were not inexperienced kids, they were political operatives. Kelly and Wildstein were over 40 years old. Baroni was a former State Senator.

People forget that during his legislative testimony (the traffic study cover story), Baroni had Easy Pass & Census data on GWB use, by legislative district of members of the Committee, a repose of his attack on Senator Lautengerg, where he had data on GWB use. This was not some amateur rogue Op. Stepien ran a sophisticated political operation.]

Bridgegate was not an “inevitable result” of giving power to young inexperienced people.

And it was not the result of creating some kind of “cultural climate” where retaliation is rewarded.  Again, Mr. Golden:

Fishman’s findings also renewed criticism of the Christie Administration as a cultural den of political intrigue where retribution against enemies — real or perceived — was encouraged and celebrated. Abusing governmental power and authority was business as usual because, critics claim, the governor had created an atmosphere in which opponents of his politics and his policies were fair game, targets to be punished.

And we agree with Ms. Kelly – Bridgegate is not about weepy women, working mothers, or other individual psycho-drama either. It’s not about “low life sociopaths” as Salon would lead us to believe.

Bridgegate is completely consistent with all we know about Chris Christie.

So, let me be clear: Bridgegate was not some isolated event.

David Wildstein exposed the inner workings of the Christie Political Machine. It was strategic, systemic, and well organized, not a single event driven by flawed individuals.

Christie institutionalized the pay to play patronage politics previous Governor’s engaged in on a case – by – case basis. He obliterated the distinction and lines between the political campaign and governing. He put a political campaign inside government and used government as his own political machine.

• We’ve seen all this before – Nixon redux

There are echoes of Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect The President (CREEP).  It was all about political power.

The Christie team was not some young, inexperienced, emotionally driven, mean spirited band of rogues. No “motley crew”.

And Bridgegate was not an anomaly. As the techies say, it was not a bug, it was a feature.

The Christie team created a powerful strategy to integrate politics and campaign field operations in the day to day function of state government. Every lever of state government – contracts, grants, permits, subsidies, and approvals – was coordinated with the campaign operation run by Stepien.

The meaning of Bridgegate is not as a simple retaliatory abuse of power by people too young and inexperienced to manage power – it was part of a sophisticated and coordinated strategy.

Just like the Watergate break in was not some rogue band of petty thieves. Just like Watergate, the bridge gate episode is the tip of a large iceberg.

Kelly’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs was the functional equivalent of Nixon’s CREEP –

For just a taste of the many striking parallels between President Nixon’s CREEP and Gov. Christie’s IGA, check this excerpt out, from the official Nixon Library on the Administrative history of CREEP:

“Malek’s other task when made the head of the White House Personnel Operation was the “responsiveness program,” a way to gain political support for Nixon’s re-election by using federal resources and grants to influence key states and voting blocs, especially minority groups (the Senate Watergate Committee later investigated and censured this program). While still running the personnel operation, Malek played an active role in the Committee for the Re-Election of the President by applying the methods and information used in the “responsiveness program” to CRP programs.”

So, where are the next Woodward and Bernstein that can connect the many dots and break this story?

[One place to start would be how IGA set up a meeting with DEP and DCA Commissioners on permits for the Rockefeller development in Hoboken. Not only is it highly unusual to get the DEP Commissioner to attend a meeting on a storm water permit, Mowers from the political campaign was at that meeting. It also jibes with attorney Joe Marazitti’s email about a “full court press” from Samson and Lori Grifa. A lot of high level moving parts integrated. That’s no accident.]

[Update: 5/7/15 – NY Times reports on the Lt. Gov.’s alleged “clearance” from criminal investigation for her role in the Rockefeller/Mayor Zimmer threat – note how narrow the news coverage and criminal investigation appear to be – e.g. no linkage to Marazittie “full court press”, to IGA’s involvement, to Matt Mowers IGA/re-lection campaign involvement, to meeting with DEP Commissioner on permits, DCA permits, etc:

Ms. Zimmer first discussed the allegations on MSNBC in January 2014. She said Ms. Guadagno had told her that if she wanted Hurricane Sandymoney, she would have to approve a development proposed by the Rockefeller Group, and implied that the warning came from Mr. Christie himself.

Rockefeller was represented by David Samson, a lawyer and close confidant of the governor who, at the time, was the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Of course Mayor Zimmer’s account was true – Fishman just did a lousy job:

Ms. Zimmer said that while she respected the judgment of prosecutors and their conclusion, she stood by her account.

“What did she mean, ‘Play ball?’ ”she said in an interview on Saturday. “That means, ‘Do what I want her to do.’ I don’t think she was talking about playing a game of baseball.”

Ms. Zimmer also noted that reporters had given Mr. Fishman the chance to exonerate public officials at his news conference Friday, and that he had declined to do so.

“If they can’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, they’re not going to bring charges,” she said. “Not being charged and being exonerated, there’s a big difference.”

[Update #2 – 5/10/15 – Shawn Boberg at the Record ran a story today that made an explicit allusion to the Nixon Watergate experience with a focus on “unindicted co-conspirators”. I’m not sure if this is the first linkage, see:

• ‘Unindicted’ and anonymous; names of possible co-conspirators in GWB case could come out at trial

It’s not the first time the term “unindicted co-conspirator” has added intrigue to a political scandal. The term is used to describe someone whom prosecutors have “probable cause” to believe was part of a conspiracy but whom they declined to charge.

President Richard Nixon was tagged with that label in the Watergate investigation when seven administration officials were indicted by a grand jury in 1974. Prosecutors investigating the Whitewater controversy in Arkansas in the mid-1990s described a White House deputy counsel under President Bill Clinton that way.

A few observations:

1) I hope the Record is not waiting until the trial to disclose the names and roles of the unindicted co-conspirators. As suggested above, this is a far broader conspiracy than just Bridgegate – so they need to expands the scope of the story and start connecting the conspiracy dots – many of which are stories the Record already broke.

2)  I got a kick out of this reason for withholding identities:

“There are cases where witnesses and unindicted co-conspirators should be kept secret until the last moment, such as organized crime or gang cases,”when individuals’ safety may be at risk if they are exposed, said Koenig, the former federal prosecutor. “Generally, defendants should not have to guess or speculate what the evidence is or who the witnesses against them are, or who the unindicted co-conspirators are.”

I don’t want to get too tin foil hat here, but considering that Wildstein signed a plea deal back in January, it is not outside the realm of possibility that John Sheridan’s death could have been intended to send a message to Wildstein and other  Bridgegate conspirators.

Who knows, the Christie Mob may have created the stress that led to Wildstein losing all that weight.

3)  There are viable State law violations and prosecutions that are not being covered by the press, particularly this State law, which Wildstein’s plea seems to prove. Misconduct based on the purpose to injure prong is a second degree offense that comes with a mandatory 5 year sentence:

OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT – NJSA 2C: 30-2

After 5 Years, Christie DEP Still Fails To Comply With FDA Shellfish Safety Requirements

Instead of Addressing Huge Problems, Advocates Pursue A Pet Project

A Stunningly Warped Sense of Priorities

*VAST BULLSHIT

 Charade noun cha·rade \shə-ˈrād, -ˈräd\ something that is done in order to pretend something is true when it is not really true

[Update #1 -5/6/15 – NJ Spotlight covers the issue: LEGISLATION WOULD PUT OYSTERS TO WORK TRYING TO CLEAN UP WATER POLLUTION

But Bill Wolfe, a former DEP employee, blamed part of the problem on a ballot question approved by voters last fall that diverted millions of dollars from the DEP’s budget for programs to monitor water quality and other resources.

“We’re running a threadbare approach threatening a $1 billion industry in the state,’’ he said. ~~ end update]

[Update #2 – The AP story picked up by the Bergen Record is part of the problem – stenographers for Sen. Cardinale’s vast spin, alleging the:

vast potential improvement to water quality that oysters could provide

I call vast bullshit on that.

Not only does the AP story ignore the hypocrisy of the open space diversion of funds from water monitoring, but this selfish quote by Deb Mans illustrates exactly my point: why does Mans think that Baykeeper’s tiny and totally insignificant restoration project is more important than water quality and public health risks across the entire State and a $1 billion industry?

“It is simply not acceptable that because the DEP has underfunded its shellfish program that we still can’t do this kind of work.”  

Stated like a petulant spoiled child about to hold their breath.

And of course, no mention of the open space diversion or the $1 million Chevron oil spill settlement given to Baykeeper.

And to describe oyster restoration as a “speed bump” to make the NJ shore and Delaware Bay more “reslient” to the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and coastal storm risk is even more bullshit than claiming “vast water quality improvements”~~~ end update]

The Senate Environment Committee considered a bill today (S2617) to promote an oyster restoration research project in highly contaminated waters of Raritan Bay where shellfish growing is prohibited in order to protect public health.

The bill is sponsored by Senator “Drainage Ditch” Cardinale – perhaps the most anti-environmental, anti-DEP, and right wing Legislator in NJ.

Before I get to what went on, let me provide essential context – I want to be very clear here (hit the links for details and documents):

1) NJ has serious water quality problems (just look at all the red on that map above) and NJ DEP has significant deficiencies in the Shellfish Sanitation Program (SSP) required under federal law to protect consumers from eating contaminated shellfish, see:

• FDA Says NJ Shellfish Program Does Not Meet Food Safety Standards

2) Those deficiencies led the federal Food and Drug Administration to issue a critical 2009 evaluation Report and write a warning letter to NJ DEP, threatening to ban the sale of NJ shellfish in interstate markets;

3) Instead of addressing these statewide deficiencies, the Christie DEP tried to divert attention to and blame FDA concerns on an oyster  research project in Raritan Bay, see:

• DEP Attack on Baykeeper Masks Statewide Pollution Problems and Failure to Comply with FDA Food Safety Standards

3) NJ DEP made commitments to FDA in 2010 to correct the SSP deficiencies identified by FDA;

4) NJ DEP has failed to honor those commitments, see:

• Where is the NJ Shellfish Action Plan Due to FDA Today?

5) None of this has anything whatsoever to do with the proposed Raritan Bay shellfish restoration research that was blocked by DEP and is the subject of the bill heard today; and

6) Providing another example of shortsighted recklessness, the Open Space Ballot initiative diverted $10 million from DEP water monitoring programs, a portion of which funded the already underfunded Shellfish Sanitation Program, see:

• Some of the Costs of the Open Space Diversion

Let me repeat that point, so it does not get lost:

At a time when the FDA was threatening to revoke NJ’s authorization to sell $1 billion of shellfish in interstate markets due to inadequate monitoring, the Keep It Green Coalition and legislature supported diversion of $10 million from DEP water resource monitoring programs, a portion of which goes to shellfish monitoring.

Really, how stupid crazy is that?

But KIG is just a small part of this story.

The DEP’s failure to honor commitments made 5 years ago to FDA jeopardizes NJ’s $1 billion annual shellfish industry and thousands of jobs – as well as increase public health risks of eating contaminated shellfish.

One would think that serious DEP failure to address a water quality and environmental health issue of that magnitude would get urgent attention by Trenton policymakers and environmental advocates.

One would be wrong.

Instead, NY/NJ Baykeeper is seeking to restore a pet research project on oyster restoration in Raritan Bay.

That project was terminated by the Christie DEP, who was seeking to blame NY/NJ Baykeeper for the State’s failures to adequately fund the Shellfish Sanitation Program and comply with FDA requirements.

I find that to be a stunningly warped sense of priorities, yet there it was on full display in Trenton today.

I also find the fact the NY/NJ Baykeeper received 1$ million in an oil spill settlement for oyster restoration work a questionable use of those funds that starved local communities of resources and amenities, like parks.

This $1 million deal is something I’m glad I saved some of the original text to ***because the link to the document no longer works (expired, domain not renewed) – Catania wrote:

CRI administered $1 million in funding for an oyster restoration project in the Raritan Bay which was provided under a civil settlement with Chevron U.S.A., Inc. and the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. The settlement arose from a February 2006 oil spill in the Arthur Kill, the strait separating Staten Island from New Jersey.

From 2007 – 2014, this funding was used on NY/NJ Baykeeper’s Oyster Restoration in the Raritan Estuary Initiative. It funded the first stages of restoring oysters to the Raritan Bay including research and experiments that have shown that oysters can be restored to this area. Through their work in New York City and New Jersey, Baykeeper is showing that oysters can play a fundamental role helping filter pollutants and restore ecosystem function to the Raritan Bay and Hudson River Estuary.

These types of civil settlements are quite common at the Federal level. Realizing this, CRI met with the US Attorney’s office in 2007 after they announced a big settlement in New Jersey that was to be awarded to NFWF, which, in-turn, was going to grant it to other non-profit conservation organizations in New Jersey. We met with the US Attorney in order to determine whether or not a local non-profit could play the role that NFWF typically plays in administering these funds. The US Attorney’s office could not provide an answer to us and it still remains unclear whether NFWF has a monopoly on this type of federal funding. 

That’s $1 million that communities along the Arthur Kill didn’t get – just like the Christie Exxon NRD ripoff.

And all that is now down the memory hole! [thank goodness for Google cache – h/t SO]

[* This excerpt from an 2010 Op-Ed by Mike Catania is ironic in light of the CRI funding and the KIG Open Space diversion of $10 million of DEP water monitoring funds:

But we also have an additional problem with a lack of resources to provide both DEP and our Department of Health with funds to adequately patrol these areas, to replace vessels that are too old and small for this herculean task, and to pay for necessary sampling. As far as I can tell, closing down the shellfish gardens won’t solve a single one of the deficiencies in the state regulatory program noted by the FDA.

So,back to today’s legislative hearing:

Instead of the legislature and so called Bay advocates worrying about whether the Christie DEP’s failure to honor FDA commitments, adopt regulations, and adequately staff and fund essential water resource and public health protection programs will prompt FDA to ban NJ shellfish in interstate markets or expose consumers to unsafe food, they are focused on pet projects.

As I testified, that’s an effort that amounts to distributing band aids in the cancer ward.

* update

*** correction of error

Stream “De-Snagging “Bill Would Gut Water Quality, Flood Prevention, & Habitat Protections

Cardinale Calls DEP C1 Stream Protections “Not Scientifically Justified”

They have been mutilating acres and acres of T&E habitat, dredging illegally  – all in total violation of their permit. ~~~ Ross Kushner, Pequannock River Coalition

The Senate Environment Committee heard 2 different bills today intended to make it easier for local officials to dredge and destroy sensitive streams and habitat under the guise of flood protection.

Both Senate sponsors presented competing Senate bills, sponsored by Senator Cardinale (R-Bergen/Passaic) (S156) and Senator Gordon (D-Bergen/Passaic) (S2677).

The Assembly already approved A3507 (the S2677 version) back in December 73-0. Today Chairman Smith said that the ***Assembly bill could have been released by his Committee and warned about requesting amendments  (Smith supported relief to towns but hinted that the bill would allow dredging in sensitive C1 streams, more below on that).

The bill was held and no public testimony was allowed – just the sponsors spoke.

The so called “stream de-snagging” controversy has dragged on for years, as legislators seek to allow local and county governments to bypass and evade DEP stream encroachment and wetlands permit requirements.

I wrote about problems that result from this type of dredging operation last year, see above photo and read:

• US EPA Inquiry Prompts DEP Enforcement to Shut Down Illegal Dredging of Wanaque River in Pompton Lakes

Today, to justify his bill, Senator Cardinale repeated an incredible claim, calling NJ streams “drainage ditches” – 50 foot wide drainage ditches, some classified as C1 for “exceptional” water quality characteristics.

That ought to give you some idea of the environmental sensitivity of proponents of stream de-snagging

I’ve heard Cardinale say that before, so was not shocked.

But I was troubled by his claims about the DEP “Category One” (C1) stream protection program, which he said was not “scientifically justified”.

I fired off this letter to refute that false claim:

Dear Senators Smith, Cardinale and Gordon:

I’d like to followup to correct a serious error of fact in today’s testimony on the stream de-snagging bills.

Senator Cardinale – just after he referred to NJ’s streams as “drainage ditches” – stated that there were Category One (C1) designations made by the NJ DEP for political reasons that  were “not scientifically justified.“

As the leader of the DEP team that expanded and strengthened the DEP C1 program back in 2002 – 2004 to consider Exceptional Ecological Significance, Exceptional Fisheries Resource(s), and Exceptional Water Supply Significance, I take strong exception to that statement.

Senator Cardinale’s statement is false and lacked any asserted factual basis.

But you don’t have to take my word for it.

Legally, C1 designations are implemented via regulatory amendment to NJ’s Surface Water Quality Standards. The SWQS are federally mandated by the Clean Water Act. All NJ DEP amendments to SWQS are reviewed and approved by US EPA.

USEPA reviewed and approved all NJ DEP SWQS C1 designations. It is highly unlikely that EPA would have approved the C1 designations if they were, as Senator Cardinale stated, “not scientifically justified.“

Moreover, the Christie DEP under Commissioner Martin conducted a review of the Category One designation program, including the scientific basis of prior designations.

In November 2012, DEP released a report:

 

 

North Hanover, NJ