Do We Have A Hostage Situation At Murphy DEP?

Sweeney Still Blocking McCabe Confirmation – What Does He Want?

Gov. Murphy needs to veto the nuke bailout and fracking wastewater bills (if they pass both houses), direct DEP to enforce NJ cleanup laws and assume control over the Dupont Pompton Lakes site, and tell Sweeney that bullies and Boss George Norcross’ machine puppets no longer rule NJ.

Scott Fallon wrote an interesting story yesterday at the Bergen Record –

While I think he got it mostly right, I’m interested in what the story doesn’t say explicitly but implies, so read the whole thing: 5 early environmental tests for Phil Murphy that will affect NJ families.

Fallon notes this, which I found particularly interesting in light of my sense that Senate President Sweeney is blocking confirmation hearings on Gov. Murphy’s DEP Commissioner nominee, Catherine McCabe:

Murphy may soon end up with a bill on his desk that would allow a DuPont spinoff company to resume processing contaminated wastewater at its South Jersey chemical plant without an environmental review. 

Environmentalists have opposed the measure, saying it would bring scores of trucks hauling tanks of toxic waste onto New Jersey roads. They also worry that the treated water could damage the Delaware River, where it is discharged after being processed at the facility in Salem County.

The bill is sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney, the state’s most powerful legislator, whose district covers the DuPont plant. The Senate unanimously approved the measure last month. Environmentalists expect the Assembly to approve the measure soon, after an environmental committee voted unanimously in favor of it last month.

Fallon failed to note that the Dupont facility lacks wastewater treatment technology to remove all the radioactive and chemical compounds known to be present in fracking wastewater and the DEP permit lacks adequate protective conditions and enforceable permit effluent limits to protect the Delaware River from these pollutants.

Grandfathering that Dupont permit from new DEP review via special legislation is totally irresponsible.

[Note: Just learned that Fallon mentioned these issues in an excellent prior story he linked to, see this]

But I’m just as interested in the politics of this story as in the technical, regulatory, and policy issues.

Specifically, I’ve written that Senate President Sweeney is blocking the confirmation of Gov. Murphy’s DEP Commissioner (see: Senator Sweeney’s Block On The Confirmation of Gov. Murphy’s DEP Commissioner Prolongs Gov. Christie’s Anti-Environmental Policy.

I’ve speculated that Sweeney is holding McCabe hostage to secure unspecified policy concessions, including the Gov.’s support of Sweeney’s multi-billion dollar PSEG nuclear bailout bill.

And I’ve also written about the absurd fact that Murphy allowed Sweeney to install his political aid Eric Wachter in the second highest Murphy DEP position, as Chief of Staff. Wachter is a mole from within. That was probably a quid pro quo for appointing Debbie Mans as Deputy Commissioner.

But I’ve not mentioned the Dupont fracking wastewater issue, which environmental groups have fought hard over, almost successfully, to achieve a total ban (Gov. Christie vetoed that bill).

But instead of a ban, it seems that the Legislature has taken a U-Turn and now seeks to support acceptance of fracking wastewater.

So I have major questions:

1. How did the same Democratic Legislature go from passing a bill to ban acceptance of fracking wastewater in NJ under Republican Gov, Christie, to supporting a bill to allow it under Democratic Gov. Murphy, and without environmental reviews and protective DEP permit conditions?

2. Is Sweeney holding McCabe’s confirmation hostage to the Gov.’s signature on the fracking wastewater bill – in addition to the PSEG nuclear bailout – which would benefit only Dupont profits?

3. Is Sweeney’s support of Dupont’s fracking profits also pressuring Gov. Murphy to back off his comments on the Dupont Pompton lakes site, which compared the Dupont PL site to Love Canal?

These are the kind of questions reporters like Scott Fallon (and his editors) will never address head on and only insinuate. Where is Jeff Pillets?

We’ll try to figure out what the hell is going on, but this far it sure looks like Sweeney holds the upper hand.

Gov. Murphy needs to veto the nuke bailout and fracking wastewater bills (if they pass both houses), direct DEP to enforce NJ cleanup laws and assume control over the Dupont Pompton Lakes site, and tell Sweeney that bullies and Boss George Norcross’ machine puppets no longer rule NJ.