People need to put health before polluters

On behalf of the nonprofit Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) — the state leader in toxic cleanups — I am deeply troubled by the recent report that yet again sheds light on the failure of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The NJDEP's mission is to protect our state's environment, as entrusted by the families of New Jersey. The residents of New Jersey rely on the NJDEP to tell them whether the air they breathe, water they drink, and the beaches they enjoy are safe.

Instead, as a scathing federal report recently noted, the NJDEP never took crucial, federally ordered steps, leaving the public exposed unnecessarily to risks from our 25,000 known contaminated sites in New Jersey. If the NJDEP is failing in their most basic responsibilities, how can the public accept their assurances of safety and minimal health impacts from these uncontrolled and barely regulated toxic disasters? How can New Jersey families feel safe about the serious public health threats caused by the chemicals found at high levels in the contamination at many of these sites?

Of specific concern is the Basell- Akzo Nobel site in Edison, where NJDEP is responsible for oversight. The EWA was forced to file a federal lawsuit simply to get NJDEP's attention and provide minimal oversight at the site.

The lawsuit, [filed in January 2008], accuses the company of discharging toxic cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene and toluene into the Raritan River just 100 yards upstream from the Edison Boat Basin. The seep continues to discharge just feet away from children playing and families fishing and boating.

Only after [almost] two years of ongoing litigation was EWA able to convince the NJDEP assistant commissioner of site remediation to even visit the site and see firsthand the blatant and noxious ongoing seep. On that very day, dozens of families were out fishing, crabbing, boating, Jet-Skiing, and hiking here on the only public access point on Edison's seven miles of Raritan Riverfront. Yet shockingly, NJDEP refuses to acknowledge its failure in overseeing the cleanup and still claims the site is under control — based solely on the claims of the polluter. As a result, EWA must continue our long fight to clean up the Raritan River, as NJDEP continues to drag its feet on enforcing New Jersey's laws and regulations.

The failure is not the NJDEP's alone. Our elected representatives also have a clear responsibility here, and that is to strengthen, not weaken, the NJDEP authorities. The solution is surprisingly simple. NJDEP programs could be fully funded if the state returned to using the fees collected for permit review and oversight directly for NJDEP, rather than diverting them into the New Jersey bureaucratic abyss.

Instead, the lesser funding allows NJDEP to continue its retreat into ineptitude, putting the politically connected polluters in charge of our environment. That is why it is so critical to demand that our state leaders provide strong direction for NJDEP and appoint qualified and motivated officials to NJDEP's highest levels. Even as you read this, powerful chemical lobbies are swarming the halls of Trenton to weaken and dismantle the environmental protections many take for granted.

I urge all concerned residents to immediately contact your local assemblymen and state senators (which you can find at votesmart.org) to fully implement the recommendations outlined in the federal report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The report can be found on the New- GreenMedia.tv website. It is time for the taxpayers and voters to demand accountability and put the health of New Jersey families before the profits of polluters.

Robert Spiegel Executive Director Edison Wetlands Association