Sandy Clean Water Funds Shine Spotlight on Major Problems
But Media Print the Press Releases and Miss the Story (Again)
NJ’s $229 million share of the $60 billion Congressional Sandy bailout appropriated for water infrastructure got a lot of media play and press releases this week (e.g. see:
- Feds to give N.J. $229 million to strengthen Sandy-damaged water and sewage plants
- N.J. to get $229M from EPA for post-Sandy water upgrades
- Lautenberg, Menendez Announce $229 Million in Sandy Aid to Rebuild and Strengthen NJ Water Infrastructure
So I want to take a moment to make a few important points that were ignored in that coverage (readers: please hit the links in this post, there’s a lot of meat there).
First, while Gov. Christie and DEP have issued scores of press releases and done many PR events about Sandy recovery and NJ’s receipt of federal aid, both were curiously silent about this particular $229 million tranch of federal money.
Where was the Gov.? Where was DEP Commissioner Martin?
They don’t want to talk about clean water?
They don’t want to take credit for getting federal money?
Why is that?
Answer: Because they are highly vulnerable.
EPA’s Region 2 Administrator Judy Enck revealed why, i.e. these are not new problems, they were well known and existed long before Sandy hit, but were ignored:
As of now, a project vying for the money must have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, and it must propose fixes that would allow it to withstand future disasters. That includes upgrades such as submersible pumps, backup power sources and barriers to prevent flooding, [EPA Regional Administrator] Enck said.
“As of now”? What? Is that some variant of Obama’s “look forward, not backward”?
Did the world begin anew after Sandy? Is this all down the memory whole via the dismissive phrase “As of now”?
Even the most cursory probe or investigative journalism would reveal that:
1) NJ DEP ignored multiple warnings and performed miserably in preparing for and preventing the severe water infrastructure problems we experienced during Superstorm Sandy;
2) existing DEP emergency planning regulations and permits are weak and unenforceable;
NJ DEP NJPDES regulations (@ NJAC 7:14A-6.12) specify limited emergency planning provisions for certain wastewater treatment facilities, including back up power provision. These are not mandatory enforceable permit conditions and DEP has lax oversight of these important functions.
NJ DEP Water Supply Planning regulations (@ NJAC 7:10-2.3 Plan for provision of potable water in emergencies) task NJ DEP with the responsibility to develop emergency plans for public water supply systems across the state.
On January 24, 2013, DEP denied my OPRA request for these emergency plans that are mandated by DEP’s own regulations.
3) there are no new DEP plans, regulations, enforcement initiatives, or funds for preventing the same problems from occurring – in fact, DEP has effectively deregulated Sandy infrastructure rebuilding;
4) aside from Sandy damage and vulnerability, there are HUGE multi-billion dollar infrastructure deficits and a complete lack of asset management that DEP and BPU are sweeping under the rug; and
5) Failures can be directly tied back to Governor Christie’s policies and Executive Orders!
The second major issue ignored by media and environmental critics is that President Obama CUT the clean water State Revolving Fund by $447 million.
Those cuts are reflected in the Christie FY’14 budget.
3. Clean Water Cuts
At a time when the best evidence from the ASCE Report card concludes that we need to invest $298 billion over the next 20 years for water infrastructure, Obama’s budget proposes to cut $474 million from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) that pays for those investments (this is in addition to prior cuts due to sequestration)
Much more investment is required if adaptation to climate change is considered and infrastructure asset management is changed from a voluntary to a mandatory program.
So why am I the ONLY one to write about the Obama cuts?
Or to expose the fact that praise of EPA is absurd, because EPA had nothing to do with the $229 million, that was a Congressional appropriation.
I’ll praise EPA when they promulgate new regulations (as is adopt them, not propose them, issue exaggerated and self-congratulatory press releases, bask in media and ENGO praise, and then withdraw them a year later) or take enforcement action, not when they hand out money.
Worse, the appropriation was made with few STRINGS attached, i.e. all vulnerable water and sewer facilities are not required conduct vulnerability assessments, asset management plans, and upgrade to prevent future loss. Those requirements apply ONLY to those facilities that were struck by Sandy that request the money – very few of NJ’s vulnerable facilities will be subject to these requirements.
Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight was the only media to put the story in context (i.e. to mention huge infrastructure deficits) and to include criticism from environmentalists – but even Tom did not mention the Obama cuts or the DEP performance issues (see: Number of the Day – $229 Million)
When a plane crashes, it’s page one news and we spare no resources to conduct detailed investigations to learn why and take steps to fix the problem and prevent a recurrence of whatever failed.
But water and sewer plants fail and we don’t care?
We can live without a plane for a week – try living without water for that long.
