Gov. Shifts Costs from Polluters to Homeowners
Refuses to make polluters pay for the ongoing long term costs of pollution
Governor Christie vetoed a bill (S576[1R]) that would have provided “Spill Fund” funding for treatment of polluted residential wells for people who purchase homes with these drinking water treatment systems installed.
The bill:
provides for guaranteed NJ Spill Compensation Fund coverage, upon sale of property where private well is treated by point of entry water treatment system.
In vetoing the bill, the Governor sided with the chemical industry over homeowners.
The Governor has unconscionably shifted costs from the chemical industry to homeowners.
The chemical industry had testified in opposition to the bill on the grounds that the bill would increase demands for Spill Fund payments and thereby could increase their tax burden and contribution to the “Spill Fund” .
Governor Christie agreed.
Virtually restating the chemical industry’s opposition, in his veto message, the Gov. wrote:
This bill seeks to revert to the prior practice, thereby jeopardizing the future viability of the Spill Fund and potentially triggering a statutory tax escalator on petroleum should the Spill Fund’s balance fall below enumerated thresholds.
The “statutory escalator” the Governor refers to is in the Spill Act.
It would INCREASE the special surcharges (e.g. taxes) paid by the chemical industry.
So, the Gov.’s has refused to make chemical polluters pay for the ongoing long term costs of their pollution.
Instead, new homeowners must pay for the costs of maintaining drinking water treatment systems that had to be installed to treat the pollution of their wells caused by the chemical industry’s reckless disposal of chemicals.
And that is simply outrageous.