Chinatown on the Delaware?
What were they thinking?
The underlying conflicts in many water resource management issues revolve around back end technical engineering approaches, versus front end public policy, ecologically informed, and regional planning driven approaches.
Placing a corporate engineer in charge of those regional planning and public policy issues is not a good sign, especially at a time when the Delaware basin is facing increasing pressures on water resources from regional growth and land use change, and adapting to the impacts of climate change. ~~~ (3/12/14)
[Update below]
The Port Authority of NY & NJ is not the only institution suffering an erosion of its original regional planning mission.
Just months after a NJ private water corporation executive was installed as the Executive Director of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) , the DRBC is proposing a novel agreement that would effectively delegate complete regulatory control over NJ projects that impact Delaware River water resources to the State of NJ DEP.
That’s right. And I don’t think the timing is a coincidence.
Why would a prestigious professional 4 state regional planning body want to give an individual State more control – particularly a State run by the Christie Administration?
The fundamental mission and purpose of the DRBC is to take a regional perspective on water resource planning and management.
Yes, it is hard to believe and to understand why a federally created 4 State regional water resource planning entity operating under an inter-State compact, is effectively delegating power to the Christie DEP – that notoriously incompetent gang that has rolled back water resource protections and abandoned water quality and water supply planning in NJ.
Why would DRBC defer to the Christie DEP, the same outfit that has killed the NJ Water Supply Plan Update and used the State Water Quality Management Plan to weaken environmental protections and promote development? (most recently to push sewers into Pinelands Hamlets & Villages)
The Christie Administration even threatened to withhold funding if the DRBC didn’t lift the moratorium on fracking.
No other DRBC State has such an agreement (NY, Pa, Delaware, NJ).
My sources tell me that NJ drove the concept.
A reliable high level source stated that “NJ was in a hurry” to be the first State to benefit from such an Agreement and that certain DRBC Commissioner(s) didn’t want to wait for regulatory safeguards to be put in place governing such an agreement before the deal was executed.
The timing is troubling.
DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini took the helm less than a year ago – he is a former corporate manager (bio)
Mr. Tambini brings over 30 years of experience in water supply engineering and water resource planning, management and operations to the DRBC. Prior to assuming the executive director duties on August 1, 2014, Steve served as Vice President of Operations at Pennsylvania American Water. In addition, Mr. Tambini previously held important management leadership posts at New Jersey American Water, including the Vice President of Operations and the Vice President of Engineering. Mr. Tambini also provided engineering leadership to American Water subsidiaries serving 12 other states
The DRBC, without following what are called public notice and comment procedures, on March 11, 2015 quietly executed an “Administrative agreement” with the NJ DEP.
The agreement is tremendously far reaching in scope and time:
Upon the effective date of a DRBC rule providing specific authorization for and defining the scope of the One Process/One Permit Program, this Agreement will replace all prior administrative agreements between the Parties, including those dated August 20, 1976 and December 18, 2009 (as amended) between the Commission and the NJDEP.
The agreement applies broadly to critical regulatory decisions:
The scope of this Agreement is limited to projects and activities that can be commonly managed and administered under the following regulatory programs of each Party:
- Water withdrawals
- Wastewater discharges
The purpose of the agreement is to put DEP exclusively in charge of the regulation of projects that would impact the Delaware River’s water resources:
One Process and One Permit. Where applicable, under the terms of this Agreement and under the authority and responsibility of each agency, the DRBC and the NJDEP will follow a single process led by the NJDEP, and the NJDEP will issue a single permit that covers all the standards, rules, requirements, terms and conditions for each withdrawal or discharge project or activity that can be covered by the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) Program for discharges or the state’s Water Allocation Program for withdrawals. It should be noted that one process and one permit will not cover all activities and applications related to projects involving withdrawals and discharges.
This is the kind of bureaucratic game that has significant implications and potential for mischief and political abuse – particularly in an administration with a pro-economic development and anti-regulatory agenda.
The Christie DEP has shown that is willing to ignore planning and science, bend regulations, and limit public involvement.
Take a look at the NJ projects that are already involved with this Agreement.
Why would a former private water company executive work to put the aggressively anti-regulatory and pro-economic development Christie DEP in charge of regulation, if not to exploit water resources for economic advantage (particularly in South Jersey)?
The Administrative Agreement with NJ DEP preceded the DRBC’s proposal of regulations to authorize the One Process One Permit program.
The DRBC just proposed regulations to authorize the One Process One Permit program (see this for draft rule proposal).
It is ass backwards – putting the cart before the horse – to enter into an Administrative Agreement BEFORE authorizing regulations are adopted for those agreements that provide safeguards and standards and transparent and open opportunities for public participation.
A public hearing on the draft rules will be held on June 9 at Washington Crossing State Park.
See this for information on the location and time of that hearing, and how to submit comments on the proposal.
[Update – When Tambini was appointed, I wrote this to emphasize the importance of DRBC planning and distinguish it from regulatory permitting – Unfortunately, my warning went unheeded:
Second, Tambini is a trained engineer.
The underlying conflicts in many water resource management issues revolve around back end technical engineering approaches, versus front end public policy, ecologically informed, and regional planning driven approaches.
Placing a corporate engineer in charge of those regional planning and public policy issues is not a good sign, especially at a time when the Delaware basin is facing increasing pressures on water resources from regional growth and land use change, and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
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