What Could Go Wrong?
NJ Is Totally Unprepared For A Drought
Governor Christie Is Destroying NJ’s Capability To Manage Water
The former longtime head of DEP Water Supply Planning, manager at NJ Water Supply Authority, and Director of Science at the Highlands Council, Dan Van Abs, has an Op-Ed in today’s NJ Spotlight.
Mr. Van Abs may have the strongest resume and experience of any water resource professional in NJ – he knows the issues and where all the bodies are buried (he also is safely ensconced at Rutgers and somewhat insulated from the political retaliation that invariably results from criticism of the Christie Administration – with a State pension to provide economic security as well. So, with a career established and nothing to loose, there is really no excuse to pull punches.)
So it is all the more remarkable that after Van Abs provides a lengthy rosy assessment of NJ’s historical response to manage prior droughts and NJ’s laws, regulations and DEP programs, he completely ignores what is going on right now to cripple their effective administration.
Van Abs asks a critical question in the title of his piece: WILL THE GARDEN STATE BE READY WHEN THE NEXT DROUGHT ARRIVES?
By comparison, then, our history of droughts has resulted in a stronger system of water-supply systems, interconnections, regulations and emergency response powers. That sounds pretty good — so what could go wrong?
In a word? Nature. But two types of nature.
So what does Van Abs target as the source of the problem or as a weakness in need of improvement? His answer? NATURE! And the human nature of individuals who like to water their lawns (inside joke: maybe Van Abs is jealous of his telegenic empty suit former DEP colleague Dennis Hart, who has made humous hay on watering lawns and washing cars on the TeeVee?)
WE have quite a different assessment and are stunned by Van Abs’ oversights of glaring problems.
What could go wrong?
How about a Governor and a DEP Commissioner with these kinds of views:
1) DEP is a drag on economic growth and corporate profits, their #1 priority
2) climate change based planning is an esoteric issue they have no time for
3) government planning is socialistic intervention in the private economy
4) regulations are “job killing red tape” (Christie EO #3) – DEP instead should provide “regulatory relief” (Christie EO#2)
5) DEP professionals are bureaucratic obstructionists who need to change their culture to serve customers (DEP Commissioner Martin’s “transformation”)
6) the private sector and private water companies know better and are more efficient and therefore should be in charge
7) State government leadership and major policy role in water allocation are top down “dictates from Trenton” on decisions that should be made at the local level (this was Gov. Christie’s excuse for lack of planning and preparation for Sandy – that emergency planning, preparation, and response was a local responsibility).
8) DEP regulations the impact local government are prohibited “unfunded mandates” (see Christie’s Executive Order #4)
9) science is something that should be reserved to the private sector or academia, not DEP (Science Advisory Board)
10) DEP’s role in planning, climate adaptation, and local land use and water supply issues should be outsourced to non-profit groups, like Sustainable NJ and NJ Future – to avoid politically tough decisions and controversies.
11) current water user rates are too high and discourage new private sector investment – the high cost of water serve as a tax – they force companies to relocate to a State with a lower cost of doing business.
12) DEP regulatory limits on water allocation will stifle growth and economic development.
In addition, NJ laws have big loopholes, like the exemption of agriculture from water allocation permits and the 100,000 GPD regulatory threshold which fails to address cumulative impact of small water withdrawals.
Regional planning entities that manage water resources, like the Pinelands Commission and Highlands Council, look to DEP for leadership on policy, science and methodologies and get ignored.
The data upon which we base decisions, as Van Abs himself has noted, is very old and unreliable.
The DEP as an institution has suffered from retirements of longtime career professionals, lack of training and employee development, downsizing, outsourcing, privatization, deregulation, and years of neglect and budget cuts.
The Christie Administration has practically destroyed the capacity to implement NJ’s water supply laws, policies, regulations, and plans.
DEP as an institution is crippled – incompetence at the top, loss of institutional memory through retirements, and deregulation and privatization policies have neutered the DEP as an institution.
And all that is what explains why the Water Supply Master Plan is years behind schedule for update.
Mr. Van Abs knows all this to be true, yet mentions none of it – that does a grave disservice to NJ Spotlight’s readers.