Meet me at the Hilton

Posted on June 17, 2008 by

There is mounting evidence and a raft of policy literature that find that rising corporate power is the driving force behind a range of economic and social problems.
Increasingly insecure jobs, lack of health care, a declining middle class, environmental destruction, increasing disparities in income and opportunity, and the decline of democracy – severe problems result from obscene concentrations of wealth and corporate power.
From Enron to Haliburton, to the recent collapse of the housing market, all things trace back to abuse of power and corporate greed.
Government’s traditional role and powers to shape market forces to accomplish democratically established social objectives and check corporate abuse- the seemingly forgotten Public Interest – have been severely eroded by corporate power and replaced by a philosophy of greed and Wall Street values. At the federal and state levels, public policy has become fixated on a very narrow set of tools: tax cuts, deregulation, privatization, subsidies – and a narrow set of economic objectives.
Confirming this problem, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Assistant Commissioner Irene Kropp recently catered to the Corzine Administration’s corporate cronies at – of all places – the Woodbridge Hilton
“Like many laws, those governing remediation are evolving, and the changes were recently discussed by a panel at NJ Naiop’s annual regulatory update, held at the Woodbridge Hilton here. ….
Irene Kropp, assistant commissioner of the site remediation program with the NJ DEP, next took the podium to describe … new legislation [that would create] the Licensed Site Professional [LSP] program… LSPs … will be able to render opinions on cases on behalf of the state,
Licensed Professionals To Review Brownfields http://www.globest.com/news/1178_1178/newjersey/171531-1.html
A DEP political hack offering up a privatized toxic site cleanup program to an audience of corporate office developers, lobbyists and lawyers at the Hilton.
Democrats used to represent the interests of Main Street, not Wall Street.
Have the Corzine folks no shame?

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7 Responses to Meet me at the Hilton

  1. Politburo says:
    June 17, 2008 at 10:38 AM

    This DEP proposal is not new.. the regulated community heard about it months ago, and Ms. Kropp wrote an editorial in the Record about it in April.
    Fact is, DEP is short on cash and short on people. You can either wait years to have your plans approved, or you can increase the DEP’s budget, or you can implement a program like LSP. Gotta pick one, though.
    Largely self-policed licensed professionals operate in many areas of society. Doctors, engineers, architects, surveyors, hazmat transporters, plumbers, electricians, etc etc etc.. You’re surrounded every day by licensed professionals making informed and ethical decisions based on their education, training, and experience. This program would not be much different. DEP would still be the ultimate authority on any decision, and professionals who violate their ethical obligations would be severely punished.
    Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, you are libeling Ms. Kropp. She holds advanced degrees, and has worked at DEP for 25 years. She has been behind some of the tools that make NJDEP the most open and accessible environmental agencies in the country. To call her a political hack is dishonest and dishonorable, and you owe her an apology.

  2. nohesitation says:
    June 17, 2008 at 10:49 AM

    Politburo – I understand the DEP LSP proposal is not new. You miss my pojnt, which is te symbolism of privatization at the Hilton NAIOP soiree.
    You also ignore a more cost effective and environmentally sound solution to the problem in DEP site remediation program, which is to enforce curent laws. DEP failure to enforce laws has led to a culture and practice of protracted negotiations and delays in cleanup.
    Would any parent negotiate bedtime with a 7 year old and then expect tthe kid to voluntary turn off the TV and go to bed by 9pm?
    Why should we expect corpproate polluters to voluntarily offer up billions to cleanup sites withourt coercion to do so?
    Kropp is not advocating a scientifically based and DEP professionally derived and recommended privatized program proposal – she is the front for the Corzine pro-business and economic agenda. That behavior constitutes an ambitious careerist political hack, regardless of training and experience.
    It is what one does and why that makes one a political hack, not one’s training. No slander/libel involved.
    Wolfe

  3. Politburo says:
    June 17, 2008 at 11:48 AM

    There’s two issues going on here.. one is the LSP program, and one is changes to the cleanup standards. I am only speaking about the LSP program. That program alone would not change the environmental standards and would not be any more or less “environmentally sound” than not having the LSP program. The only thing that would change is who is the work.
    As to cost effectiveness, I cannot say. There are many factors that play into that.. if you have done such an analysis, kindly provide it for the rest of us.
    The current system isn’t working. We all agree there. DEP claims that this is because they are inadequately staffed, and based on my experience with DEP, this is a reasonable explanation that I don’t have any reason to doubt. While the perfect solution might be to increase DEP manpower, this just isn’t feasible in the current budget climate.
    The liabilities of polluters would not be altered with the introduction of an LSP program. Polluters would not need to “voluntarily” offer up billions. They would continue to be liable under various state and federal regulations. If those regulations are not tough enough, that is another issue.
    I’m not sure how a privatization/outsourcing proposal could be “scientifically based”. It’s not a matter of science. The main change here is that instead of DEP employees doing various work, it would be done by licensed professionals. The same licensed professionals that you rely on every day when you go over a bridge, take a train, or flush a toilet.

  4. nohesitation says:
    June 17, 2008 at 12:32 PM

    Politburo – your are straining your credibility and this will be my last reply.
    Again, you are factually and legally WRONG. I suggest that you read the bill – it would – for the first time – eliminate cleanup liability for responsible parties under cerain conditions. LSP is just a small piece of that bill.
    Staffing is NOT the issue – the business community produced a national benchmarking study that shows DEP has MORE staff than other states.
    Mis-management and lack of enfacement are the cause of the backlog.
    It makes huge difference WHO controls and conducts the site cleanup work – private contractors and polluters have economic conflicts of interest and strong incentives to cut corners and minimize costs. They should NOT control the process.
    In terms of science, agaiN READ THE BILL – the criteria to prioritize and assign cases have little if anything to d with science adn public health and lots to do with politics, economics, and promoting deevelopment.

  5. JRacioppi says:
    June 18, 2008 at 7:39 AM

    Bill, I tried to post a comment yesterday but it kept saying “you must log in”;
    Anyway, both parties are prisoners of corporations/Lobbyists;
    did you ever read: “From Freedom to Slavery” by Gerry Spence?
    I’ll be posting about it soon;

  6. unprovincial says:
    June 19, 2008 at 12:10 AM

    Politburo: You are either a long-time friend of Kropp or someone who doesn’t work in the Site Remediation Program. Irene is not open, not a good administrator, and is more willing to do anything to get ahead than anyone I have ever come across. This includes stabbing all her past co-workers in the back by sub-contracting out their jobs. As I’ve said in past posts, it’s very likely that within a few years, esp. with the early retirement incentive, that SRP will be comprised of a handful of technical staff trying to do the impossible task of overseeing hundreds of cases. Using subcontractors failed miserably in the Publicly Funded Site Remediation Program so why would it work with the Responsible Party cases? Maybe you are one of the friends she has rewarded with their own little fiefdom at DEP. She knows how to make people owe her favors. And she’s really good at coming after her detractors.

  7. Politburo says:
    June 19, 2008 at 1:59 PM

    I have no personal experience with Ms. Kropp. I’ve probably seen her speak at DEP once or twice, that’s it.

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