For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is seeking public input on its multi-million dollar investment to restore 234 acres of Liberty State Park’s interior. The plan would use money from the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) fund to restore natural resources and create access to the interior of the park that is currently off-limits to the public.
“This plan for cleaning up and restoring the center of Liberty State Park is long overdue. We have been at DEP meetings in 1996, 2004, and 2008 that have proposed many of the same things. We hope that this time the resources will be brought to bear to make it happen. The plan will not only clean up the park for passive recreation but will restore wetlands and remove contaminated materials. This is important environmentally. Restoring wetlands in Liberty State Park will also help filter water and deal with flooding and storm surges,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This is an important step forward. Now DEP needs to get the resources together to get it done.”
According to DEP, the proposed restoration will increase the park’s accessible space by 40%. It will include cleaning up contamination, restoring natural ecosystems, creating additional access to the park for local residents, improving water and air quality, reducing runoff, helping to mitigate climate change, and creating public-use enhancements.
“We are glad that DEP is fully cleaning up part of the park. Now they need a full clean up plan for the whole park. They are going to cap some of the contamination in the park, but caps will fail. More importantly, this could be used as an excuse by somebody to come in and say they’ll clean up the park in exchange for privatizing it. We will not tolerate this. This park is protected under the Public Trust Doctrine and we will not let anyone break that trust,” said Jeff Tittel.“The funds for cleaning up the park are coming from the Natural Resources Damages. This is assessed on polluters that destroy natural resources that belong to the people of New Jersey. They’re not using any taxpayer money, so they can go after polluters and do a full cleanup.”
The plan will include restoring 72 acres of fresh and saltwater wetlands. It will also create 7 miles of additional paths, trails, and sidewalks. The proposed design will add new wildlife viewing, educational, and passive recreation opportunities for visitors.
“DEP also needs to sign an order to keep Liberty State Park off-limits to privatization. The Governor not only needs to make that commitment but we need to pass legislation to permanently protect Liberty State Park from all of these different plants that want to use the park for commercial purposes. Restoring the interior won’t serve the public well if it ends up being part of a golf course, water park, or something else,” said Tittel. “We are glad that DEP is moving forward, but we need to make sure that Liberty State Park has permanent protection.”
There is currently a bill in the legislature that would prohibit the DEP from considering any proposal to commercialize, develop, or privatize Liberty State Park, except as provided in the bill. A2189 (Mukherji) would prohibit any concession, conveyance, or lease within the 235-acre natural restoration area in the interior of Liberty State Park, and at Caven Point Peninsula.
“With the new cleanup plan, we need the Liberty State Park Protection Act even more. Commercial enterprises may come in to try to get their hands on parts of the park by offering to fully clean up the park. We have been fighting to protect Liberty State Park from privatization for decades. We have fought against luxury hotels, private marinas, shopping centers, golf courses, Grand Prix races, a cricket stadium, a waterpark, and many more. This legislation is even more important now because of the park privatization language that was snuck into the state budget bill. This would allow private entities to lease Liberty State Park,” said Jeff Tittel. “This park belongs to all of us, not to private developers. We need this legislation because we still have to be careful. Privatization language was snuck into the state budget bill, putting Liberty State Park and all other parks at risk.
The bill would also require the DEP, within three years after the bill is enacted into law, to develop a management plan for Liberty State Park in consultation with the committee.
“We have been working for decades to clean up and protect Liberty State Park. This cleanup plan is a major step in that direction, but we still need to protect the park from privatization. This is a park that represents both The Statue of Liberty and the gateway to our country. This is one of the most visited state parks in the country, and it needs permanent protection,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “DEP moving forward with this cleanup plan is a major step forward. Now they need to move quickly to get a full cleanup plan in place and to protect Liberty State Park from privatization. We must make sure that the park that is named after the Statue of Liberty belongs to all of us and stays open to all of us.”
_____________________________