Meets with Congressional Delegation in Washington
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) –Governor James E. McGreevey met today with U.S. Senators Robert Torricelli and Jon Corzine and Representative Frank Pallone to discuss U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals that would weaken environmental protection in New Jersey.
“We will work in partnership with our federal representatives to protect New Jersey’s air, water and land,” said McGreevey. “We will be aggressive in our opposition to EPA proposals that would weaken environmental and public health provisions that protect New Jersey against toxic waste sites, pollution from out-of-state power plants and ocean dumping.”
McGreevey said the federal Administration is reducing funding for toxic site cleanups in New Jersey and favors covering future cleanup costs with general taxpayer funds rather than reinstating the Superfund tax on polluting industries.
“Federal Superfund funding has been essential to removing the threat of the toxic wastes in many New Jersey communities,” McGreevey said. “We need strong leadership in Washington, D.C. to support the Superfund program. While the federal Administration does not want to lead on this issue, I applaud Senators Torricelli and Corzine and Congressman Pallone for their leadership in Congress to restore Superfund and the polluter pays principle.”
As the state with the most hazardous waste areas designated as federal Superfund sites, New Jersey would be disproportionately impacted by the federal Administration’s decision to abandon the polluter pays principle on which the Superfund law was based.
The EPA recently submitted a report to Congress, indicating that it will provide no funds for four New Jersey hazardous waste sites ready for cleanup and underfund five others, slowing the pace to remove contamination from the State’s communities.
McGreevey and the elected officials also discussed recent federal proposals that would weaken clean air rules affecting dirty out-of-state power plants, which contribute more than one-third of the pollution impairing New Jersey’s air quality.
The EPA last month announced revisions to current New Source Review rules, which, under the federal Clean Air Act, require existing power plants and utilities to install new pollution controls when making any physical or operation changes that result in a significant increase in emissions. The proposed regulation changes would allow utilities to upgrade and even replace their dirtiest plants and increase emissions without installing pollution control equipment.
“These out-of-state polluters contribute more than one-third of the pollution impairing New Jersey’s air quality,” McGreevey said. “The federal proposals would allow utilities that have broken the current rules to avoid cleaning up dirty power plants forever, while more and more New Jerseyans suffer.”
In addition to the proposals impacting toxic lands and air quality in New Jersey, the EPA is also attempting to allow ocean dumping of sediment not appropriate for the ocean floor. Most recently, the agency altered its toxic assessment methods to allow dredge material containing PCBs higher than its limit to be dumped in the ocean.
Under a 1996 federal agreement, the EPA closed the Mud Dump Site off Sandy Hook ending ocean dumping of contaminated dredged material. At the same time, the EPA established the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS), which included the Mud Dump Site and surrounding areas where historic dumping of contaminated material has left toxic “hot spots.” Under the agreement, the EPA agreed to cap the HARS only with dredge sediments authorized as remedial material.
The EPA set a guidance number limiting the PCB level to 113 parts per billion for material authorized to cap the HARS. However, the EPA now plans to allow dredged material containing 123 ppb, which comes from one reach of the pier facility at Naval Weapons Station in Monmouth County, to be placed in the ocean at the HARS.
“Only a few years ago, with Governor Whitman’s support, the standard for PCBs was tightened. Based on improved science, material with more than 113 parts per billion was deemed not clean enough to protect public health,” McGreevey said. “Now, the EPA is allowing that standard to become higher and higher, and the agency will allow material that far exceeds the PCB standard to go to the ocean.”
“Just as we will work with Senators Corzine and Torricelli and Congressman Pallone to fight cuts to Superfund, we will join with them to stop this attempt to resume ocean dumping,” he added.
