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By Clean Ocean Action
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association May 2000 Newsletter)
NJ Gov. Christie Whitman today asked Vice President Al Gore to intercede with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and urge the agency to live up to the terms of the 1996 agreement he helped forge with respect to capping an ocean dumping site, the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS), off the New Jersey coast.
The 1996 agreement provides for a method to place a layer of EPA-certified non-contaminated fill on top of the dump site to ensure that there is no future contamination from the site. The agreement called for a nine-month process with all affected groups to develop adequate testing procedures for proposed fill and to ensure environmentally sound disposal. The agreement was forged by the Vice President and supported by the federal EPA, many environmental groups and Governor Whitman.
"Unfortunately, many of New Jersey's coastal communities no longer trust the federal government's judgment in determining which material can or cannot go to the HARS….The public's concern about the suitability of these materials going to HARS is unrelenting," Gov. Whitman said in her letter to the Vice President.
"The 1996 agreement called on the EPA to invest at least nine months in a process with all affected groups - industry, labor and environmental groups - to help the Agency review the national ocean disposal testing requirements…The Agency has yet to act. I ask that you advise the citizens of New Jersey when this process will begin," the Governor wrote.
Finally, the Governor asked the Vice President to direct the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to brief state officials and the state's congressional delegation on proposed changes in the criteria for acceptable capping material. The proposed changes are anticipated to be made public later this year.
A copy of the Governor's letter to the Vice President is attached.
April 13, 2000
Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.
The White House
Washington D.C.20500
Dear Vice President Gore,
I am writing regarding the appropriate use of dredged material to remediate the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) off New Jersey's coast. Specifically, I continue to hear concerns from New Jersey citizens, elected officials, and business and industry groups regarding the suitability of dredged material from certain dredging projects to go the HARS, and the importance of maintaining both the spirit and intent of the 1996 Federal Agreement.
You played a pivotal role in negotiating this agreement, which as you have said was broadly supported by the environmental and labor communities. I, too, whole-heartedly supported it and continue to do so. As you know, the agreement closed the mud dump off New Jersey's coast and also called for uncontaminated dredged material to be used to remediate the site. The continued use of uncontaminated dredged material to cover the HARS will ensure a healthier coastal ecosystem and the continued growth and vitality of the New York-New Jersey Port, as intended by the Agreement.
Unfortunately, many of New Jersey's coastal communities no longer trust the federal government's judgement in determining which material can or cannot go to the HARS. Administrator Browner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assured me last December that dredged material from the Castle Astoria and Brooklyn Marine Terminal projects were both suitable for placement at the HARS and that both met the spirit and intent of the 1996 Agreement. The public's concern about the suitability of these materials going to the HARS is unrelenting, despite Administrator Browner's statement and your public support for it. I am sure you find this as disturbing as I do. Public support and trust are paramount to government's ability, at any level, to protect our coastal resources and to ensure our nation's economic vitality.
Finally, the 1996 Agreement also called on EPA to invest at least nine months in a process with all affected groups - industry, labor, and environmental groups - to help the Agency review the national ocean disposal testing requirements. This process was to ensure environmentally sound disposal, as well as certainty in testing requirements for permit applicants. Four years later, the Agency has yet to act. I ask that you advise the citizens of New Jersey when this process will begin.
I understand that EPA will propose revised criteria for disposal of dredged material at the HARS sometime later this spring. Given New Jersey's heightened interest in this issue, I would ask that EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provide my staff, as well as members of New Jersey's Congressional delegation, with a briefing on the federal government's proposal prior to its public release. Please contact Susan Spencer, Director of New Jersey's Washington, D.C. office at (202) 638-0631 to coordinate the briefing.
Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Governor Christine Todd Whitman
cc: New Jersey Congressional Delegation
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