For Immediate Release
December 21, 2010 Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100
Bergen County Still Left Off the Highlands
Governor Christie's latest appointment continues to deny Bergen County representation on the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council. Yesterday the Governor nominated Passaic County Freeholder Bruce James to the Council, yet did not name a Bergen County appointment at the county or municipal level. Bergen County has two municipalities in the Highlands, Mahwah and Oakland, and the region provides critical drinking water to the majority of the county.
"It is unconscionable that the largest county in state, so dependent on Highlands water has been left off the Council yet again," said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Chapter Director of the Sierra Club.
While Passaic County was finally recognized in the appointment of Freeholder James, the remaining appointments continue to pose a threat to achieving the land protection and capacity based planning goals of the Highlands Council and Bergen County continues to be, and will remain, excluded from the Council.
Not only are there no elected officials, but there is not one public representative of Bergen County on the Council. Sussex County, which is only a quarter of the population of Bergen County, has three elected officials on the Council. Hunterdon County, with only an eighth of the population of Bergen County, has two elected officials on the Council. The almost 900,000 people of Bergen County that depend on the Highlands for drinking water and have consistently supported the Highlands Act do not have one member on the council. With the way this council is set up they never will, which is not only bad for the environment, but bad for democracy.
Last month, the Governor announced seven appointments to the Council, many with extremist views and individuals who have actively campaigned against the Highlands Act and oppose the protection of our water. These appointments along with budgets cuts, other weakenings and attacks put the Highlands and our water supply at risk. For instance, the Governor replaced Tracy Carluccio, an environmentalist, with Sam Race, an extremist. Not only has Sam Race opposed the Highlands Act, but his town council has refused to conform to the Highlands Plan and opposed other important regulations to protect our water ways. The majority of the people that have been nominated to the Highlands Council are leaders of organizations such as the Highlands Conservation Association, which is made up of land speculators and developers and the Farm Bureau. The Highlands Conservation Association, Farm Bureau and other organizations have sued to overturn the Highlands Act. Now they are being appointed to implement a law that they tried to get rid of. They will not try to implement the law, they will try to overturn the law as members of the Highlands Council. Of the seven appointments, only one has an environmental background, Mike Sebetich.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has not considered any of the Governor's Highlands Council appointments because there is no representation for Bergen County and the Highlands water user community on the current slate.
The Highlands are a drinking source for 5.4 million people in New Jersey and one of the last areas of open space we have left. A clean water supply is vital to our state's economy, as our three biggest industries - pharmaceutical, petro chemical, food production, and tourism - depend on it to thrive.
A 2004 study by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission concluded that if the Highlands were to be developed, it would cost $50 billion more to treat our water. This is just a continuation of the Christie attack on the Highlands. Highlands funding has been slashed dramatically - reduced from $12 million to $4.4 million in 2011. Governor Christie is cutting $18 million in grants for municipalities to help them conform to the Highlands Regional Master Plan. He is also cutting $12 million from the Highlands Stabilization Fund to towns in the Highlands to help meet budgetary shortfalls. Highlands Staffing will also be cut by $800,000, resulting in fewer staff people to help towns conform to Highlands Plan and to manage the Transferable Development Rights program. Removing the funding doesn't make sense unless the goal is to kill the Highlands Plan and weaken protections in the Highlands.
The Board of Public Utilities approved PSE&G's expansion of the proposed power lines through the Highlands and a second pipeline was proposed earlier this month. These lines will cut through the Highlands, not only leaving a scar on the land, but affecting our drinking water by going through the Monksville Reservoir and the Pequannock and Wanaque watershed. This pipeline will bring gas from the Marcellus Shale, threatening to destroy the Delaware River Basin because of all the toxic chemicals from fracking.
The Christie Administration may not outright repeal the Highlands Act, but it might restrict its implementation, eliminate its funds, stack the board with pro-development members and weaken DEP regulations, making it essentially meaningless. The Highlands Act was passed to protect the drinking water for more than half of the people in New Jersey, and Governor Christie's budget cuts and executive orders put that drinking water at risk.
"With these appointments the governor has not only declared war on the Highlands, but on our drinking water as well. The Governor is playing politics with the drinking water for people of New Jersey. Christie would rather appoint people from special interest and political extremist to the Highlands Council than protect our drinking water. Some of the views of the people appointed would make the Tea Party blush," said Jeff Tittel. "Because of the Governor playing politics this not only affects the environment and the water supply, but the economy since many of our industries are dependent on good clean water from the Highlands."
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