Have Dems Taken the Gloves Off and Begun To Fight Back on Christie’s War on the Environment?

Commissioner Martin Called To Testify in Assembly –

Bill Directing DEP To Act in Senate

Events in Trenton tommorrow suggest that Democrats finally may have begun to push back on the Christie Administration’s – with DEP Commissioner Bob Martin as the point of the speer – war on the environment.

Tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm, the Assembly Environment Committee conducts legislative oversight and calls Commissioner Martin on the carpet to explain the recent controversial stealth move to seek privatization of DEP land use permitting. 

That move was disclosed and blasted here and by environmentalists in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer story: “Environmental groups worry about Christie agency decisions“

The Assembly Committee announced it will conduct oversight – let’s hope they flat out block the move:

The committee will hear from the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and other invited guests regarding the recently issued Request for Proposals seeking private contractors to handle certain land use permits

Also up tomorrow morning on the Senate side is a bill, S 2341, sponsored by Senate Environment Committee Chair Bob Smith. The bill would force DEP – after years of footdragging and flat out abdication – to act and adopt a cleanup plan for Barnegat Bay:

[Update – -also up is Senate Resolution 85 asking for US EPA help. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA has review and approval of a TMDL, so the Legislature doesn’t need to ask and this sets up exactly the kind of conflict Christie said he was looking forward to with the Obama Administration EPA.].

This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a study and prepare a report that evaluates the water quality of Barnegat Bay to determine whether the bay is impaired as described pursuant to section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s.1313.  The study would examine whether the waters of Barnegat Bay meet State water quality standards, and would be required to focus on the impairments caused by phosphorus, nitrates and excessive sediment.  Upon a finding that the Barnegat Bay is impaired, the bill would require the department to develop total maximum daily loads for the bay.

In an August 18, 2010 Op-Ed in the Asbury Park Press, we were the first to call for a TMDL on the Bay.

The TMDL bill is needed to strengthen a flawed four bill package.

We urge you to jump in and we’ll keep you posted on what goes down.