July 22, 2015

Unnamed Stakeholders Worked With NJDEP Commission for Way to Bypass Legislated Rules

To the Editor:

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) came out with a proposal that will make sweeping changes to environmental policy (DEP Docket No. 05-15-04). The way for the public to learn about the proposal was to see a few small announcements in newspapers about the public hearings that took place on June 22 in Trenton and June 25 in Long Branch. The proposal creates a loophole through which industry can gain permits, without significant review, to develop currently protected areas and bypass presently active legislation: Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules.

We attended the June 22 hearing, and there we heard a sequence of testimonials from a variety of experts about the effects this relaxation of restrictions will have on riverine life and watersheds, with an emphasis on the increase in flooding vulnerability from which New Jersey especially suffers. The president of the N.J. Sierra Club, the lawyer for the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, and other dedicated scientists and volunteer community helpers all concurred on one thing: this will be a giant step backwards for New Jersey, its flooding difficulties, its access to clean water supply, its creatures, its people, as well as human dwellings and other property. The attending riverine experts were scientists who know, personally, professionally, the places and habitats to be affected. They cited massive data, all of it conclusively and convincingly damning the impending pro-business improvements.

A small handful of curious citizens attended — fewer than the speakers. Three from the Navesink area testified forcefully to the increase in flooding dangers to life and property resulting from permitting more, not less, destructive development practices. Who were to hear these impassioned individuals? There was no media of any kind in the room. It was a black box. For us, it is disheartening to further note that the commissioner of NJDEP was, himself, not present at the hearing. The proposal was informed by unnamed stakeholders, who also did not appear to be present.

To put things bluntly, some unnamed stakeholders worked with the Commission to come up with a way to bypass legislated rules that impact our environment. While the aforementioned rules were established through due legislative process, the Commission is now positioned to be able to approve its own proposal. To what or to whom do we have recourse before the new measures are approved by Mr. Bob Martin, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner? We have the freedom to contact his office’s attorney, Gary J. Bower, by mail or email, by July 31, 2015.

Is this democracy? We think not.

Sarah Spitzer

Humbert Street

Jennifer Harford

Lake Drive