FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2003

Contact: Peter Boger
(609) 984-1795

DEP AIDS SOUTH PLAINFIELD IN COMMUNITY PARK CLEANUP
$250,000 Grant to Help Cover Costs in Reopening Veterans Park

(03/113) SOUTH PLAINFIELD — New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today presented South Plainfield Borough with a $250,000 grant to help the community clean up asbestos tiles discovered last summer in Veterans Park. With the funding assistance, South Plainfield plans to reopen the park in October.

“Today’s grant award represents a victory for children and families in South Plainfield,” Commissioner Campbell said. “For many New Jersey towns, parks provide a place where we forge our sense of community. DEP is pleased to support the leadership of municipal officials and legislators in restoring Veterans Park for families to enjoy once again.”

Joining the Commissioner at today’s ceremonial check presentation were Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, Jr., South Plainfield Mayor Daniel Gallagher, South Plainfield Borough Council members, members of the Edison Wetlands environmental group, and representatives from the offices of Assemblyman Peter Barnes, Jr., and Senator Barbara Buono.

“Today’s presentation is an outstanding example of how effectively local government, with the help of the State, can address an environmental hazard,” said Assemblyman Diegnan. “As someone who played in this park during most of my youth, I am particularly grateful to Governor McGreevey and DEP Commissioner Campbell for their ready response and financial assistance.”

South Plainfield closed Veterans Park as a precaution on July 24, 2002 after large patches of oily tar began surfacing in portions of the park and after community advocates discovered stacks of asbestos tiles along Bound Brook in the northwest corner of the park.

The $250,000 grant from the statewide Livable Communities Fund will cover the costs of cleanup for the asbestos tiles, which borough leaders expect will take only a few weeks. The Borough has also secured funding for remediating the rest of the park, including removal of the tar and cleanup of a patch of soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Borough officials hope to complete the project in time to reopen the park by the end of October.

The DEP provided today’s award through the Statewide Livable Communities Fund, which to date has provided more than $7 million in grants to over 75 communities to acquire and to improve open space and parks.

“One of government’s most fundamental commitments is to provide citizens with safe, attractive places in which to gather and to play,” said Commissioner Campbell. “New Jersey is fortunate to have the leadership of a governor dedicated to strengthening our communities through protection of open space.”

As Governor McGreevey promised in his State of the State address, the state is working to create or to improve at least 200 local parks statewide over the next three years. As part of this goal, the Governor initiated a legislative push to raise the cap on bonding for the Green Acres program. This proposal would allow the state to raise at least an additional $100 million over the next three years, of which $50 million would be dedicated to parks and open space acquisition and improvements in urban and older suburban communities.

The decision to raise the bonding cap will appear as a referendum on the November statewide ballot.

###

Related Link

• South Plainfield Boro
  http://www.southplainfieldnj.com/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2003

Contact: Amy Cradic
(609) 984-1795

DEP Commissioner Takes Action to End New Jersey's Open Market Emissions Trading Program

(03/112) TRENTON — Citing the program's lack of safeguards to prevent increased air pollution, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell proposed a formal rule to terminate New Jersey's Open Market Emissions Trading (OMET) program.

"While emissions trading, with the appropriate safeguards, can be an effective tool to achieve clean air goals, we recognized at the start of the McGreevey Administration that New Jersey's trading program failed," said Commissioner Campbell. "We can learn from the mistakes in the past program's design and create environmentally sound trading programs in the future."

Prompting the proposed termination of OMET, Commissioner Campbell outlined several aspects of the program's original design and implementation that contributed to its failure:

• The program allowed facilities to increase their emissions today based on reductions that occurred many years ago. The program also failed to establish a cap on overall emissions.

• The prior Administration had chosen to privatize the work of verifying the validity of credits under the OMET program. An enforcement investigation by the DEP raised questions about whether that work had been performed correctly and effectively.

• The prior Administration had privatized the development and operation of the program's registry of credit transactions and telephone hotline. The company contracted to operate the registry and hotline shutdown in 2001, leaving the program without a reliable means to track credit transactions.

• Another enforcement investigation revealed that some facilities may have built a portion of their compliance strategy entirely on the prospect of using emission credits, even though there has never been a guarantee that they would find a willing seller of the credits needed for compliance.

New Jersey's OMET program was introduced in 1996, allowing participating parties to reduce smog-causing emissions below federal clean air standards and then reserve any unused portion of their allowance as credits that could be used at a later date or be sold. Approximately 19 sources participated in the OMET program.

The DEP first communicated its intention to terminate the existing OMET program to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August 2002. In response, the EPA withdrew a proposed, conditional approval of a revision to New Jersey's State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone, which reflected the adoption of the OMET program rules. In that withdrawal, the EPA indicated its intention to work with New Jersey to address air compliance issues for sources that currently hold or have been using credits under the OMET program.

If adopted, the DEP's rulemaking proposal would end the OMET program effective on the operative date of the adoption (60 days from the rulemaking proposal on July 21, 2003). Under the proposal, DEP would provide impacted parties a period of 12 months from OMETs termination to phase out their use of discrete emission reduction (DER) credits and come into compliance with the DEP's rules limiting volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions.

The DEP remains committed to more effective emissions trading to help attain the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards and for meeting increasingly stringent emissions standards. For example, New Jersey continues to participate in the Ozone Transport Commission's (OTC) multi-state cap and trade initiative called the NOx Budget Program, which sets a regional budget or cap on NOx emissions from power plants and other large combustion sources during the ozone season from May through September.

In contrast to OMET, the OTC trading program includes safeguards to ensure that pollution goals are met. Also, unlike the EPA's Clear Skies cap and trade program, the OTC NOx budget caps are phased in through an aggressive timeline, requiring power plants to use more effective pollution control technologies and actively driving significant emission reductions throughout the region. The Clear Skies emission caps are too loose and are phased in too slowly to help states attain federal standards for fine particulates and ozone by required dates. Under the Clear Skies program alone, new power plants built in New Jersey would actually be required to meet less strict emission requirements than those already required and in effect.

Reinforcing his strong commitment to combat pollution and promote clean air, Governor James E. McGreevey recently joined other Northeast governors and pledged support of a multi-state effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants through a regional cap-and-trade program.

"Under Governor McGreevey's leadership, New Jersey is actively working with states throughout the Northeast to comprehensively address air pollution and its contribution to global climate change," added Commissioner Campbell.

The DEP's rule changing proposal to terminate the OMET program was published in the July 21, 2003 issue of the New Jersey Register and can be accessed at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/aqm/OMETrepealproposal.pdf. A public hearing concerning this proposal will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 at the War Memorial Building on West Lafayette Street, Trenton.

The written public comment period is 60 days. Comments should be submitted by October 3, 2003, to:

Attn: Alice Previte, Esq.
DEP Docket No. 15-03-0 7/379
Office of Legal Affairs, NJ Department of Environmental Protection
PO Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402

###

Related Links

• Environmental Protection Agency
  http://www.epa.gov/
• Ozone Transport Commission
  http://www.epa.gov/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2003

Contact: Elaine Makatura
(609) 292-9289

New Jersey Officials Call on EPA to Resume Cleanup at Roebling Superfund Site

(03/111) Florence — Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today joined Senator Jon S. Corzine, Florence Township Mayor Michael J. Muchowski and NJPIRG Campaign Director Doug O'Malley at the Roebling Superfund site to call for resumed federal cleanup funding of the former Burlington County steel plant where remedial work has stopped.

"Communities like Florence Township have already waited too long to be rid of the contamination in their midst," said Commissioner Campbell. "The shortfall of leadership in Bush Administration has clearly lead to a shortfall in funding to cleanup toxic waste sites in our neighborhoods."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Headquarters denied a funding request to resume work this past March to cleanup and demolish contaminated buildings at the Roebling site. Cleanup work that was planned for this year is estimated to cost $10 million, $1 million of which New Jersey has committed to pay as the state's 10 percent share of this phase of the site's overall cleanup.

"This slowdown in cleaning up Superfund sites is unacceptable and once again demonstrates how important it is to renew the tax on polluters,'' Senator Corzine declared. "The Bush administration shows no regard for the health of our environment, or the health of our economy, by starving us of the money necessary to clean up toxic waste sites.''

"The Bush Administration and Congress are slowing down funding to clean up some of New Jersey's most toxic waste sites," said Doug O'Malley of New Jersey Public Interest Research Group. "This means that more New Jersey communities will continue to face the health risks of toxic waste in their towns, and more New Jersey taxpayers will be forced to foot the bill for these clean-ups."

"Delaying the Roebling cleanup will stall the township's efforts to redevelop this site," said Commissioner Campbell. "We have the responsibility to help the town of Florence bring this historic and complex back to productive use, creating needed jobs and new revenue for the region's economy."

The Roebling Steel Company produced steel wire and cable at this 200-acre site from 1906 until 1981, when much of the site was closed down, with portions leased to other businesses. In addition to contamination in 70 buildings on the site, hazardous waste was found in lagoons, an inactive landfill, storage tanks and sumps. Since EPA placed the site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983, emergency cleanup actions have been completed that included the removal of over 3,000 drums of waste and some contaminated soils.

However, until the work that started in 1999 to decontaminate and demolish the buildings is complete, the final work to address remaining contaminated soils and river sediments, along with site redevelopment, will be delayed.

"We need federal leadership to reinstate the Superfund tax on oil and chemical companies that supplies the trust used to finance toxic cleanups like Roebling, otherwise we will continue to see the dramatic decrease in completed cleanups that has occurred during the Bush Administration," said Commissioner Campbell.

New Jersey has 115 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. Nineteen have been removed from the list. State funds to provide a required 10 percent share of Superfund cleanups are available through constitutionally mandated New Jersey Corporate Business Tax allocations and voter-approved Hazardous Waste bonds.

###

Related Links

• Environmental Protection Agency
  http://www.epa.gov
• NJDEP SRP Superfund
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/superfund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2003

Contact: Fred Mumford
(609) 984-1795

New Measures Adopted to Prevent Chemical Accidents for Improved Community Safety
New Jersey First to Require Precautions for Reactive Chemicals

(03/109) Trenton – Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced expansion of New Jersey's Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) program to provide greater protection for residents living near industrial facilities.

"More protection for our residents from the threat of hazardous chemical reactions in the industrial process will make neighborhoods safer and is good business policy," said DEP Commissioner Campbell. "We will work with New Jersey businesses on this pioneering initiative to implement prevention plans for reactive chemicals and to incorporate safer technology."

DEP formally added reactive chemicals to the list of extraordinarily hazardous substances that trigger risk management planning requirements of TCPA. These chemicals can explode when accidentally exposed to air or water, or when they are improperly mixed with certain other chemicals. The force of the explosion can kill or permanently disable people outside the facility.

New Jersey will require companies handling reactive chemicals to prepare accidental release prevention plans and examine safer technologies to prevent industrial incidents like the tragic ones that occurred at Napp Technologies in Lodi in 1995 and at Morton International in Paterson in 1998. The Napp and Morton International accidents were the result of reactive chemistry interactions.

"Governor McGreevey and Commissioner Campbell deserve great credit for taking leadership to prevent the potentially horrific hazards of reactive chemicals from endangering communities and workers," said Rick Engler, Director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council, an alliance of 67 labor, community, and environmental organizations. "The Department of Environmental Protection's new rule will help save lives."

The federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which is the agency responsible for investigating chemical accidents, recently made recommendations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration concerning reactive hazards and the need for additional regulation of reactive chemicals. In 2001, the Bush Administration withdrew a plan to regulate reactive chemicals.

"New Jersey is the first state in the nation to address reactive hazards," said Charles Jeffress, chief operating officer of the CSB. "The Chemical Safety Board is very pleased by this step forward to protect residents and workers from chemical accidents."

The amendments to the TCPA rules also reinstate a requirement, which the state dropped in 1998, mandating that all facilities regulated under the program evaluate every five years state of the art technologies to reduce the risk of an accident and implement this technology if cost effective. The state of the art standard also applies for new processes when a company expands or changes operations.

Currently, 103 companies are covered by the TCPA program and must implement risk management programs. These companies represent industries such as water treatment plants, chemical manufacturers, food manufacturers and processors, pharmaceutical companies, refineries and warehouses.

DEP did not adopt proposed changes that would have listed liquefied petroleum gas and its constituents as flammable extraordinarily hazardous substances when used as a feedstock in a process. The department agreed that the current level of federal and state regulation for liquefied petroleum gas is sufficient to ensure public safety, as noted in comments received by the regulated community. The proposed TCPA amendments would not have applied to retailers storing propane as a fuel or to people using propane as a fuel.

Approximately 40 additional companies are expected to become subject to the TCPA rules as a result of the new requirements because they use certain reactive chemicals. Twenty-two companies currently regulated under TCPA are expected to have to comply with additional regulatory requirements for using the substances. New prevention measures were added for 30 reactive hazardous substances and 43 chemical groups, depending upon a company's volume and use of the chemicals.

###

Related Links

• NJDEP Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act Program
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/relprev/tcpa
• US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
  http://www.csb.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2003

Contact: Amy Cradic
(609) 984-1795

DEP Orders Quarantine of Two Hunting Preserves for Illegal Importation of Wild Deer

(03/108) The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) yesterday ordered the quarantine of all deer, elk and exotic sheep on two hunting preserves owned by a Mr. Peter Bubalo in Hardyston Township and Sparta in Sussex County for having imported deer from out of state without a required permit.

The DEP permitting process ensures that all wildlife brought into New Jersey have been certified by veterinarians as healthy and disease free. By failing to follow the permitting process, protective safeguards have been circumvented. In addition, there is currently a ban on the importation of deer and other cervids from out of state. This ban protects New Jersey’s deer population from infection from chronic wasting disease, which has been rampant in a number of western states.

“The quarantine is necessary to allow a thorough investigation of the situation and assess potential health risks to other wildlife, particularly wild deer,” said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. “While there are no apparent risks to public health, we are very concerned that this lawbreaker may have put the health of New Jersey’s deer and other cervids at potential risk of chronic wasting disease.”

DEP has inspected both hunting preserves and determined that perimeter fencing is intact. There are approximately 70 to 110 deer in the preserve, and a number of elk and exotic sheep. The quarantine prohibits Mr. Bubalo from selling, or offering to sell, or permitting the hunting of any of the wildlife on either of the preserves until further notice.

The illegal importation was discovered during a routine DEP inspection of the hunting preserves. A citation was issued to Mr. Bubalo, the owner, for lack of written records and failure to obtain appropriate permits.

The hunting preserves are located at Route 94, South Hardyston Township and at 84 Skyline Drive in Sparta.

###

Related Links

• NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife
  http://www.njfishandwildlife.com
  • NJDEP DF&W: Chronic Wasting Disease Information
    http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/cwdinfo.htm
  • NJDEP DF&W: Chronic Wasting Disease Not Found in NJ Wild Deer (2003 study)
    http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/cwdnotfnd03.htm
• USDA Veterinary Services: Chronic Wasting Disease Factsheet
  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/cwd

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2003

Contact: Amy Cradic
(609) 984-1795

DEP Commissioner Campbell Announces New Green Acres Open Space Priorities:

Allocates Greater Funding for Densely Populated Communities; Targets Land Purchases to Protect Water Quality; Strengthens Long-Term Protection of Preserved Public Lands

(03/107) TRENTON – Supporting Governor McGreevey's commitment to smart growth, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley Campbell today announced new Green Acres open space acquisition and park development priorities that allocate greater funding for developed communities, protect the state's water resources and enact more stringent measures to safeguard existing Green Acres properties against pressures of development.

"The new Green Acres open space priorities enable us to make wiser property purchases by placing a greater emphasis on the quality not the quantity of land purchased in New Jersey," said Governor James E. McGreevey. "This more strategic approach to open space acquisitions bolsters my Administration's smart growth priorities and ultimately ensures that New Jersey's children grow up next to parks, not parking lots."

The top three priorities of DEP's new Green Acres policy include: the establishment of a Parks for People initiative that will increase grant and loan funding for local and county governments and nonprofit organizations to purchase recreational lands and develop parks in cities and older, densely developed suburban communities; greater state and local funding allocations focusing on open space that protects water resources and critical wildlife habitat; and more stringent measures to protect all Green Acres-encumbered parklands from being disposed of or diverted for non-recreation/conservation purposes.

Under the Parks for People initiative, additional state land acquisition funding will be allocated to urban areas. In addition, larger awards will be available as incentives for open space and park development projects undertaken in "Densely Populated Municipalities." These are defined as areas with populations of at least 35,000 or with population density greater than 5,000 people per square mile. A formula has been established that recognizes and rewards projects undertaken in more densely developed areas.

"For too long, municipalities faced the same rigid funding cap regardless of whether they had 8,000 residents or 800,000," Commissioner Campbell added. "This policy brings fairness to densely populated communities that have been shortchanged by Green Acres in the past."

Parks for People policy initiatives include:

• An increase in grant ratios from 50 percent to 75 percent of a project cost for park development projects in Urban Aid municipalities that are designed as a part of an overall urban redevelopment plan.

• A pilot challenge grant category to assist Urban Aid municipalities with park stewardship. Green Acres will increase Green Acres' grant portion of a project to 75 percent if the Urban Aid sponsor provides a match of 50 percent of the project cost. The city will use its remaining 25 percent to establish an endowment or purchase an annuity specifically for the newly developed park's operation, supervision, and maintenance.

• The elimination of funding caps for demolition of structures to create open space for acquisition projects in Urban Aid Municipalities. The current cap for demolition funding is 10 percent or $100,000 of the cost of the land.

• New incentives in priority ranking for park development projects that are part of the Abbott School construction initiative.

• Greater collaboration between Green Acres and the DEP's Site Remediation Program, Office of Brownfield Reuse, conservation groups, and economic development advocates to reclaim former brownfields sites.

Placing high priority on the protection of critical natural resources, DEP's new open space policy directs Green Acres to prioritize land purchases that protect the state's water resources and critical plant and wildlife habitat. A new priority ranking system established through legislation (P.L. 2002 c.76) and signed by the Governor will be established that triples the priority value for water quality and water supply protection and doubles the priority value of those lands that will protect flood prone areas. The ranking system also will provide for greater prioritization of lands with endangered or threatened species habitat independent of water resource protection. Green Acres will be more proactive in pursuing the purchase of high quality water resource-related lands.

To ensure the long-term protection of New Jersey's preserved open space and recreation lands, under its new open space policy the DEP will establish more stringent measures that prevent existing Green Acres-encumbered parkland from being disposed of or diverted to non-recreation/conservation purposes. These measures include:

• An increase in the ratio of replacement land to parkland proposed for disposal or diversion. Presently, the minimum replacement to diversion/disposal ratio is one to one.
• Rules that prohibit the use of dedicated open space tax funding for the purchase of replacement lands.
• Required public hearings for diversion/disposal applications so that the public is informed – as early in the process as possible – that Green Acres-encumbered lands may be used for purposes other than recreation or conservation.

The DEP also will seek statutory authority to levy fines for the diversion/disposal application review process and penalties for violations of the Green Acres funding agreements and rules.

Other priorities outlined in the DEP's new Green Acres policy include the acquisition of two new state parks, a higher ranking criteria encouraging the planting of shade trees on park development project sites to assist in the reduction of Greenhouse gases, and a greater emphasis on ensuring meaningful public access on all lands protected through conservation easements.

In addition to the DEP's new Green Acres land acquisition priorities, New Jerseyans can impact open space policy in the state when they cast their votes on November 4, for a ballot proposition initiated by Governor McGreevey to provide an additional $150 million in open space and recreation funding. The Governor has committed to dedicating $75 million of this funding to establish or improve local parks, with another $75 million going to open space purchases in the Highlands.

###

Related Links

• NJDEP Green Acres
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/greenacres
• NJDEP Anti-Sprawl Agenda (Smart Growth)
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/antisprawl
• NJDEP Site Remediation Program
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp
• NJDEP Office of Brownfield Reuse
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/brownfields/obr

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2003

Contact: Amy Cradic
(609) 984-1795

DEP Releases Study that Ranks Top Risks to New Jersey's Environment and Human Health:

Land Use Change Poses a Major Environmental Threat to State

(03/106) TRENTON –Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today released the final report of the New Jersey Comparative Risk Project that ranks land use change, indoor and outdoor pollution, and invasive species as major threats to New Jersey’s environment and people.

“A comprehensive review of current science has validated Governor McGreevey’s core priorities for strengthening public health standards and natural resource protection,” said Commissioner Campbell. “From the battle for smart growth to the enforcement of tough new rules to protect families as well as forests from emerging threats, this report shows that the Administration’s priorities are the right ones.”

The final report of the New Jersey Comparative Risk Project, funded by the DEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was overseen by a 19-member independent panel. Seventy-three experts analyzed and ranked 88 chemical, physical and biological factors (“stressors”) according to their relative impacts on human health, ecological quality and socioeconomic conditions. The report provides 178 detailed analyses of stressors from acid precipitation and benzene to West Nile Virus and zinc. Its findings indicate that the conversion of undeveloped land poses the top ecological and socioeconomic risk to New Jersey’s environment and people. Indoor pollution and outdoor air pollution pose major health and socioeconomic risks, and invasive species pose serious ecological threats to several New Jersey ecosystems.

In addition to ranking land use change and habitat alteration as the greatest ecological threat, the report findings indicate that the greatest human health risks resulted from various forms of indoor pollution, such as secondhand tobacco smoke, lead, radon, indoor asthma inducers, indoor pesticide use and carbon monoxide. For many of these stressors, report findings indicate that children are among the most “at risk” populations in the state because they are more susceptible to statewide exposure levels.

The four major findings of the report are:

• Land use change produced by a wide margin the largest negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts, including habitat and species loss, congestion, air pollution, and increased flooding and stormwater flows due to greater impervious cover.

• Indoor pollution, which includes exposure to chemicals and pesticides and ingestion of lead, ranked among the highest human health and socioeconomic threats.

• Invasive species, including certain plants, insects and organisms, pose a serious ecological threat to the state’s forests, waterways, wetlands and other natural ecosystems. Invasive insect species accidentally or deliberately brought from foreign countries have the potential to destroy native forests while exotic plant species threaten biodiversity and affect the native food source for wildlife.

• Outdoor air pollutants, including ground-level ozone, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, continue to pose significant ecological and health risks despite progress in reducing outdoor air pollution, removing lead from gasoline and remediating brownfields sites.

Overall findings of the report indicate that physical alteration of habitat, a consequence of land use change, is one of the most compelling ecological problems in New Jersey. Statewide, habitat loss and fragmentation are leading to species loss and permanent destruction within several of the state’s ecosystems. Greater exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun due to ozone depletion is highlighted as an ecological, socioeconomic and human health risk. The historic use of chemicals and their persistence in soils and sediments is also highlighted as a significant ecological threat.

Invasive species are a significant ecological threat in New Jersey. Insects such as the Asian long-horned beetle and the hemlock woolly adelgid have the potential to destroy entire forest ecosystems. More than 90 percent of the state’s hemlock stands have suffered various degrees of defoliation. The report also indicates that the zebra mussel, a thumbnail-sized mollusk that has destroyed ecological communities in waterways in dozens of states, poses a significant ecological threat to the state’s freshwater ecosystems.

Based on the New Jersey Comparative Risk Project findings, the Steering Committee recommended 19 actions, including:

• The DEP should collaborate with state and local planning officials to design and implement strengthened efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of land use change;

• DEP and other environmental managers should join the Department of Health and Senior Services to examine systematically indoor pollution’s impacts and management options, and to take action against these problems; and

• Continued vigilance should be employed to combat threats posed by invasive species and hazardous air pollutants.

Officials of DEP and the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) have already begun coordinating to prepare an action plan for indoor pollution. A representative of DHSS participated on the project’s steering committee.

Daniel Rubenstein, professor and chair of Princeton University’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Sheryl Telford, business team manager for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., served as co-chairs of the 19-member steering committee.

A complete copy of the New Jersey Comparative Risk Project report is available on the DEP web page at www.nj.gov/dep.

###

Related Links

• The Final Report of the New Jersey Comparative Risk Project
  http://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/njcrp
• NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS)
  http://www.nj.gov/health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2003

Contact: Fred Mumford
(609) 984-1795

Public Comment Period Begins Tomorrow on Air Pollution Control Permit for Hamilton Post Office Anthrax Cleanup

(03/105) TRENTON–New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the start of a public comment period on a state air pollution control permit for fumigation of the Hamilton Post Office.

"It is important that we remain vigilant in our efforts to oversee the upcoming anthrax cleanup in Hamilton Township," said Commissioner Campbell. "Sharing information with the community about environmental safety measures required by the state to ensure a successful outcome helps residents learn about how the fumigation process will proceed."

A 30-day public comment period for the air permit runs July 29 through August 28. Also, DEP technical staff will be available to answer questions at the next community meeting on the Hamilton Post Office cleanup scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, August 7 at the Reynolds Middle School auditorium, 2145 Yardville-Hamilton Square Road.

DEP is conducting various environmental reviews of the U.S Postal Service's cleanup plan along with the Department of Health and Senior Services, New Jersey State Police, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local officials to coordinate approval of all work.

"We continue to provide a thorough analysis of air pollution control requirements, emergency response plans and chemical usage along with other state, federal and local officials as this project moves closer to anticipated startup testing this fall," said Commissioner Campbell.

The U.S. Postal Service proposes to expose interior areas of the building to chlorine dioxide gas as part of a sanitization of the Hamilton Post Office to address anthrax contamination. During the fumigation process, high efficiency particulate arrestor (HEPA) filters will capture any anthrax spores that might be vented from the building. In addition, scrubber and activated carbon filter systems will be used to neutralize and remove chlorine dioxide in the indoor air before it is vented outdoors. Stack testing of the vent from the air pollution control systems and outdoor air quality monitoring will be conducted to confirm that concentrations of chlorine dioxide are below allowable levels.

An air pollution control fact sheet with more details about the permit is available on DEP's web site at www.state.nj.us/dep/aqpp.

Public comments on DEP's intent to approve an Air Pollution Control Preconstruction Permit for the Hamilton Post Office cleanup project may be sent to:

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Air Quality Permitting Element
Bureau of Preconstruction Permits
401 East State Street – 2nd Floor, Box 27
Trenton, NJ 08625

The draft permit, permit application, stack test protocol, and air monitoring protocol are available for review at the address listed above. If you would like to inspect the draft permit at DEP's Trenton headquarters, please call in advance for an appointment at (609) 633-2829. These documents also will be available for review at the Hamilton Township Clerk's office, 2090 Greenwood Avenue, and at the DEP's Horizon Center offices, 300 Horizon Boulevard, Robbinsville, (609) 584-4100.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2003

Contact: Fred Mumford
(609) 984-1795

DEP Commits Funding for Lower Cape May Meadows and Cape May Point Environmental Restoration and Beach Fill Project
Agreement Signed with Army Corps of Engineers

(03/104) Cape May Point State Park — New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin a joint $15 million environmental restoration and protective beach fill project in Lower Cape May Meadows and Cape May Point.

"Governor McGreevey continues to make shore protection funding a top priority to ensure proper stewardship of our natural resources," said Commissioner Campbell. "This project will support the recreation and tourism that drive the region 's economy, while enhancing our coastal ecosystem for migratory and resident bird populations."

A $25 million allocation is included in the recently adopted State Fiscal Year 2004 budget to fund beach fill and nourishment, dredging, environmental restoration and beach repair work required after storms. New Jersey's shore tourism industry contributes upwards of $16 billion to the state economy, employing hundreds of thousands of people.

"I am grateful to Senator Corzine and Congressman LoBiondo for fighting for full federal funding for this innovative restoration and protection project," said Commissioner Campbell. "Cape May State Park and the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge are clearly national treasures–viewing areas for numerous bird species and also an internationally significant coastal wetland along the Atlantic Flyway."

Commissioner Campbell signed a Project Cooperation Agreement with Lt. Col. Thomas C. Chapman, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, that commits DEP and the Army Corps to perform the work beginning September 2003. Management of 95 acres of phragmites is the first of several ecological restoration actions planned in Lower Cape May Meadows that will be followed by dune restoration work.

"Partnership and teamwork are what makes the Corps of Engineers the premier public engineering organization that it is and I am confident that the Philadelphia District, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Borough of Cape May Point and the Nature Conservancy will achieve the project's goals of protecting and restoring Lower Cape May Meadows for future generations," said Lt. Col. Chapman.

The environmental restoration plan also includes: planting of 18 acres of dune vegetation; seaward restoration of 35 acres of previously eroded emergent wetland; planting of 105 acres of emergent wetland vegetation; restoration/creation of drainage ditches t o restore flow and link hydrological segments of the project area; installation of water control structures; creation of deep water fish reservoirs within existing ponds; and, construction of a shallow earthen water retaining structure and a self-regulating tide gate at Cape Island Creek to allow for a 25 acre tidal marsh.

The protective dune and berm restoration project involves 2,372,000 cubic yards of sand extending 1.9 miles from the 3rd Avenue terminal groin in Cape May City to the Central Avenue groin in Cape May Point. Periodic nourishment of 650,000 cubic yards of sand is required approximately every four years.

Lower Cape May Meadows consists of a 1.3 mile long, 350 acre area of undeveloped oceanfront land containing Cape May Point State Park and the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, which is owned by the Nature Conservancy. These freshwater wetlands are one of the most important migratory stopovers in the world for birds of prey, shorebirds, songbirds, and waterfowl as well as an important breeding area for both rare and common birds. Estimates include about 60,000 raptors and over 1,000,000 seabirds migrate through this area each year. Lower Cape May Meadows has been severely impacted by shoreline that has left the existing freshwater ecosystem substantially degraded through saltwater intrusion and drainage pattern alteration. Breaching of the dunes at the Meadows also causes flooding to Cape May Point, West Cape May and Lower Township.

Initial construction is estimated at $15 million and an additional $4 million will be required every four years for the periodic nourishment. The 50-year project cost is estimated at nearly $75 million.

###

Related Links

• NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife
  http://www.njfishandwildlife.com
• US Army Corps of Engineers
  http://www.usace.army.mil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2003

Contact: Jack Kaskey
609-984-1795

New Jersey DEP Lends Support to Combat Fires Out West

(03/103) TRENTON — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Forest Fire Service has joined the fight against the furious fires in the West, sending 66 wildland firefighters to lend support this past week.

"New Jersey's forest firefighters provide a valuable resource that is in short supply in the West," said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "At the same time, this service sharpens the skills of our firefighters, allowing New Jersey to benefit from the best wildfire protection possible."

Three crews of full- and part-time firefighters are assisting with fires consuming the Modoc and Tahoe National Forests in northern California and the Big Spring Fire in Wyoming. Six additional wildland firefighters are assigned to various fires in Colorado, New Mexico, Montana and Washington. Assignments last 14 days, plus travel time.

About 2,000 paid and volunteer forest firefighters remain in New Jersey. As the fire season continues, the DEP will make additional resources available to assist in the national wildfire control effort.

The US Forest Service provides full reimbursement to the State of New Jersey for all services under the terms of the Cooperative Fire Control Agreement.

New Jersey's fire season has been relatively mild. Firefighters have put out 526 wildfires on 1,384 acres so far this year, compared with 1,287 fires on 3,166 acres during the same period last year. The forest fire danger is currently moderate.

Almost all wildfires in New Jersey are caused by people, either accidentally or intentionally. Wildfires can spread quickly, threatening homes, property, natural resources and human lives.

To reduce the risk of fires, people should follow these guidelines:

• Use ashtrays in vehicles.
• Don't leave fires unattended, and drown campfires to put them out.
• Keep matches and lighters away from children and explain to them the dangers of fire.
• People living in the forest should maintain a defensible buffer by clearing vegetation within 30 feet of any structures. Also, make sure firetrucks can pass down your driveway.
• Report suspicious vehicles and individuals. Arson is a major cause of forest fires in New Jersey.

Fire permits are required for recreational fires, as well as for agricultural burning. Remember, the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Act prohibits open burning of rubbish, garbage, trade waste, buildings, fallen timber and leaves or plants.

###

Related Links

• NJDEP Forest Fire Service
  http://www.njparksandforests.com/fire
• U.S. Forest Service
  http://www.fs.fed.us