WolfeNotes.com

Be sure to click on the links below and read the letter to EPA Region 2 Administrator.

EPA held public availability sessions in Pompton Lakes today to defend their decision to rely on RCRA instead of Superfund, despite RCRA failures and the science and significant public health risks, which more than qualify for Superfund priority treatment. I just got back and it’s late, so I will write about those meetings tomorrow.

Private Consultants Replace Government Regulation

[Update – 4/14/11 – Holly Molly! The NY Times finally did some investigative work – and put Matt Taibbi’s “Why Isn’t Wall Street In Jail” story on the Front Page In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures

What is NJ’s “Toxic Asset” LSP program and what does banking regulation have to do with toxic site cleanup?

Plenty. Here’s why.

As we all know by now, deregulation and lax regulatory oversight played major roles in the Wall Street speculation and fraud that caused the economic collapse and recession. Matt Taibbi nails the issues in “Why Isn’t Wall Street In Jail?

Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.

“Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail,” he said. “That’s your whole story right there. Hell, you don’t even have to write the rest of it. Just write that.”

I put down my notebook. “Just that?”

“That’s right,” he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. “Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there.”

But these conclusions aren’t limited to former US Senate investigators and Gonzo journalists.

Here are the same views from Neil Barofsky, the former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Barofsky is the ultimate regulatory insider and now whistle blower. In a devastating NY Times Op-Ed piece, “Where the Bailout Went Wrong“, Barofsky wrote:

Finally, the country was assured that regulatory reform would address the threat to our financial system posed by large banks that have become effectively guaranteed by the government no matter how reckless their behavior. This promise also appears likely to go unfulfilled. The biggest banks are 20 percent larger than they were before the crisis and control a larger part of our economy than ever. They reasonably assume that the government will rescue them again, if necessary. Indeed, credit rating agencies incorporate future government bailouts into their assessments of the largest banks, exaggerating market distortions that provide them with an unfair advantage over smaller institutions, which continue to struggle.

Worse, Treasury apparently has chosen to ignore rather than support real efforts at reform, such as those advocated by Sheila Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to simplify or shrink the most complex financial institutions.

In the final analysis, it has been Treasury’s broken promises that have turned TARP — which was instrumental in saving the financial system at a relatively modest cost to taxpayers — into a program commonly viewed as little more than a giveaway to Wall Street executives.

It wasn’t meant to be that. Indeed, Treasury’s mismanagement of TARP and its disregard for TARP’s Main Street goals — whether born of incompetence, timidity in the face of a crisis or a mindset too closely aligned with the banks it was supposed to rein in — may have so damaged the credibility of the government as a whole that future policy makers may be politically unable to take the necessary steps to save the system the next time a crisis arises. This avoidable political reality might just be TARP’s most lasting, and unfortunate, legacy.

Given this history, one would assume that financial reform efforts would include strict regulatory oversight and enforcement of the fraud that brought us here.

But a NY Times editorial yesterday blew up that naive assumption. In Banks Are Off the Hook Again

Americans know that banks have mistreated borrowers in many ways in foreclosure cases. Among other things, they habitually filed false court documents. There were investigations. We’ve been waiting for federal and state regulators to crack down.

Prepare for a disappointment. As early as this week, federal bank regulators and the nation’s big banks are expected to close a deal that is supposed to address and correct the scandalous abuses. If these agreements are anything like the draft agreement recently published by the American Banker — and we believe they will be — they will be a wrist slap, at best. At worst, they are an attempt to preclude other efforts to hold banks accountable. They are unlikely to ease the foreclosure crisis. …

But the gist of the terms is that from now on, banks — without admitting or denying wrongdoing — must abide by existing laws and current contracts. To clear up past violations, they are required to hire independent consultants to check a sample of recent foreclosures for evidence of improper evictions and impermissible fees.

The consultants will be chosen and paid by the banks, which will decide how the reviews are conducted. Regulators will only approve the banks’ self-imposed practices. It is hard to imagine rigorous reviews, but if the consultants turn up problems, the banks are required to reimburse affected borrowers and investors as “appropriate.” It is apparently up to the banks to decide what is appropriate.

It gets worse. Consumer advocates have warned that banks may try to assert that these legal agreements pre-empt actions by the states to correct and punish foreclosure abuses. Banks may also try to argue that any additional rules by the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help borrowers would be excessive regulation.

The least federal regulators could do is to stress that the agreements are not intended to pre-empt the states or undermine the consumer bureau. If they don’t, you can add foreclosure abuses to other bank outrages, like bailout-financed bonuses and taxpayer-subsidized profits.

So what does all this have to do with toxic site cleanup in NJ? Here’s what:

• just like Wall Street, polluters are driven by profit and greed, not the public interest
• just like Wall Street created “toxic assets” that caused enormous harm, so have polluters
• just like Wall Street, deregulation and lax oversight have led to a pattern of disasterous failures
• just like Wall Street, instead of cracking down on polluters with stricter regulation and enforcement, reforms were stymied by political power, which was  used to further deregulate and privatize the cleanup process – a giveway to polluters that destroys the ability to hold polluters accountable
•  just like Wall Street, toxic site cleanups are under the control of private consultants (called LSPs) instead of government regulators.

And just like Wall Street financial reforms blasted by Taibbi, Barofsky, and the NY Times, we can expect the same results – creation of more “toxic assets”.

Mayor: “Tree Cutting Massacre”

Where is Governor Christie’s outrage about out of control Authorities?

One would think that the Turnpike Authority, after having been caught red handed in lies about the clearcutting along the Garden State Parkway, would be humble and show some remorse in light of the widespread outrage that those lies and clearcutting have created.

One would be wrong.

The Atlantic City Press  broke and has stayed on top of this story. Today they report another huge whopper from the Turnpike Authority.

Mayors say parkway tree cutting hurts towns through noise, erosion, decreased property values

 

The massive tree clearing along the Garden State Parkway has angered motorists and residents, led a state senator to call for hearings and generated numerous letters to local newspapers.

Mayors from municipalities along the parkway say the tree cutting will hurt property values, raise noise levels and lead to erosion of private property.

“This has completely ruined the drainage system. Runoff is going to go right into homeowners’ backyards, and it will be their problem and the city’s problem,” Port Republic Mayor Gary Giberson said, adding that he is looking into legal means that could be taken to address the issue. “This was a terribly engineered design that we’ve been left to deal with.”

Ah, but the Turnpike Authority sees it differently.

Not only do they arrogantly dimiss legitimate environmental, economic, and landscape design concerns as “aesthetic”, they resort to the absurd claim that clearcutting trees and leaving the stumps prevents erosion!

Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney said any conversation about property values has to take into account the “economic and safety benefits the shore counties will enjoy as a result of the work.”

Feeney said the agency believes any concerns about runoff are unfounded because the tree stumps and underbrush that remain will prevent it. Other concerns about aesthetics must be balanced against the need for the project, he said.

What does it take to get fired at the Turnpike Authority?

And our friends over at DEP are not much more credible than the Turnpike Authority.

As previously reported by the AC Press, DEP knew about the proposed clearcutting years before it happened and did nothing to block it or enforce the State’s environmental and reforestry laws.

There are letters between the Turnpike Authority and the DEP going back several years in which the Turnpike Authority describes the tree removal on the Parkway as part of the widening project.

Again, one would think that after having been caught asleep at the switch (or worse), DEP would be aggressive and make up for prior lax oversight.

Again, one would be wrong.

The Turnpike Authority, however, has said the project may be eligible for exemption because the state’s Division of Parks and Forestry has said the cut trees could classify as a firebreak for the Pinelands.

State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Hajna said it is the state’s goal to see that any replanted trees end up as close to the construction site as possible, but trees could be replanted anywhere across the state while still fulfilling the requirements. The DEP has not determined the exact costs or reforestation requirements, in part because it is still working to determine how many trees have been razed, he said.

“The Turnpike Authority has dropped off important information, including a series of grids showing where work took place, that will help us arrive at those estimates,” Hajna said.

And so again, just what does it take to get fired at DEP?

And where is Governor Christie’s outrage about out of control Authorities?

Maiden Training Ride Loaded with Panniers and Tent

Sold the road bike, bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker, and think I’m becoming a gearhead and obsessed with the idea of a bicycle tour.

Last week, I got the Adirondack park loop maps from Adventure Cycling Association.

Bought Arkel T-42 panniers earlier this week at Trophy Bikes in Philly. They are not my local bike shop but the nearest dealer who carries both Surly and Arkel, so I checked them out. Highly recommended. Great service from knowledgeable guys who have toured cross country.

Took my first partially loaded ride today with the panniers (simulated a ligth touring load with 5 lb weights in each) and ultralight Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 on rack. Will start to add sleeping bag, camping gear, and clothes as I train.

The ride felt great. The bike handles about the same, in fact I felt a slight improvement in holding a line down hill and in curves.

But the 20 lb load creates lots more work on the uphills and into a headwind (Sourlands loop today). I expect about 40 lbs fully loaded and gradually will start training to ride with that weight.

I noticed there were other benefits of riding with the panniers:

First, the cars consistently gave a wider berth. Some slowed almost to a stop and passed safely! I could almost hear the drivers thinking: “This crazy bastard is working his ass off – and he might be going to or coming from Yellowstone. So I’ll give him a break.”

Second, the load prompted me to use lower gears and higher cadence, which is a more effective way to ride for endurance and aerobics.

Third, the load dispelled any expectations of keeping up a decent average speed. I’m still adjusting from the road bike, where my tendency was to try to go faster than I was capable of or fit for. But today, I was far more relaxed and actually enjoyed myself much more.

A couple of guys blew by me on road bikes. In the past, I would have tried to keep up with them and end up feeling awful when I couldn’t. But today, that thought never crossed my mind!

The tour begins in late May!

State and Local Intransigence Warrants EPA Mandates

 [Update below]

In the continuing saga on Barnegat Bay (see: Barnegat Bay TMDL Update), the Ocean County Freeholders – just as they did on August 12, 2010 –  have weighed in again, clearly on the side of developers.

The Asbury Park Press reports that the Freeholders passed a Resolution urging Governor Christie to veto a stormwater management bill (S1856 2R).

The legislation is well intended, but, because it is purely voluntary, is a meaningless symbolic gesture.

According to the non-partisan professionals at the Office of Legislative Services(OLS) fiscal estimate on the bill:

The bill authorizes the Ocean County Planning Board and each municipal planning board within the Barnegat Bay watershed to develop a stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management plan for the watershed. This is a voluntary measure not mandated by the State.

The bill directs these plans, if developed, to include a formula for the possible assessment by the subject planning boards of a fee for any new development within the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Fee revenues could be used for improvements and maintenance of stormwater control facilities and to provide incentives to property owners to reduce stormwater runoff from their property.

The bill also allows the subject planning boards to assess the same formula-based fee, as previously cited, upon any developer who receives a municipal approval of an application for development under the Municipal Land Use Law.

The Office Of Legislative Services estimates that there would be no fiscal impact on public funds under the bill because the management plan authorized therein is voluntary

We have repeatedly argued that voluntary local management measures have not worked and will not work.

In fact, lack of enforceable water quality management tools and land use controls are what are allowing the Bay to approach ecological collapse.

Given these failures, we have urged US EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act in NJ and for the Legislature to impose real State mandates, backed by adequate funding, not more symbolic gestures.

The repeated irresponsible intrasigence and opposition to real measures by the Freeholders and local governments to restore and protect barnegat Bay – including regulatory and land use controls and adequate funding – is the strongest argument for Legislative and regulatory mandates, including enforcement of the CLean Water Act and implementation of a TMDL to restore and protect Barnegat Bay.

So EPA, please do your job – state and local officials have not only failed to do so, they are now flouting that failure and making a mockery of the Clean Water Act.

(end note: politically, I must strenuously disagree with my friend Jeff Tittel in this quote:

“This is going to be a big test for Christie,” Tittel said.

Because the voluntary bill is a symbolic gesture and will be blocked by Ocean County Freeholders, it is not a “big test” for Christie. That is setting the bar so low, it approaches Dave Pringle’s grovelling. The Freeholders are grandstanding – they too know it is all meaningless.

The last thing I want to see is Pringle and Cindy Zipf at a press conference with Christie praising his leadership for signing a meaningless bill.

That would not only be politically damaging, but it would undermine land use controls, set back regional stromwater management efforts, and undercut real solutions by giving DEP and EPA cover to continue to sit on the sidelines.

[[Update 4/10/11: the headline is misleading, but the story is good – Asbury Park Press  Barnegat Bay needs help, Christie says  Freeholders are flat out lying about the alleged State mandate and costs.]