WolfeNotes.com

Gross Negligence in High Places Made Sandy Damage Worse Than It Had To Be

Can A Private Foundation – After Buying the “Advocates” – Also Buy The News?

NJ Still The Only State in Northeast without a Climate Change Adaptation Plan

Are An Adversarial Role & Accountability Focus No Longer Functions of The Media & Politics?

[Update: 9/23/13 – NJ Future focuses on State Hazard Mitigation Plan in today’s Op-Ed:  IT’S TIME TO CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN RISING SEA LEVELS AND REBUILDING  – end update]

If I put it in boldface and the headline, do you think they’ll get it? (WARNING: Rant on the way! If you’re in the Dodge camp, hit the delete button now!)

I think I’ve been one of the few folks – if not the only one – to be writing in the weeds of the NJ Hazard Mitigation Plan and have been reporting – as a fact, not an opinion – that Gov. Christie approved a seriously flawed April 2012 Update of the NJ Hazard Mitigation Plan.

I’ve been writing variants of this failure story for months and demanding legislative oversight and media investigation.

So, in case you missed all that, here it is again – from the top of the page of the State’s own Hazard Mitigation Plan:

Technical information on the four (4) most recent disasters and climate change issues are still being reviewed and are not included in this April 2012 NJ Hazard Plan update.  ~~~ NJ Hazard Mitigation Plan (April 2012)

I’ve also disclosed that NJ DEP failed to consider – and actually withdrew – numerous prior coastal hazard, storm, climate change, over-development, and infrastructure vulnerability warnings, and basically abandoned a pilot program with 3 shore towns on “Coastal Community Vulnerability”.

This all makes the NJ Transit fiasco (and the Fenimore landfill) chicken shit.

So, when the Hazard Mitigation Plan finally does gets mentioned by the news media, of course I see that as another example of cross over of my work – and of course I resent the media’s failure to get the story right.

It’s bad enough that the Hazard Mitigation Plan has been ignored by the mainstream media and the spineless Democrats.

But today, a story by “reporter” Scott Gurian at NJ Spotlight made that oversight far worse. Instead of holding the administration accountable for failure, his story led to the opposite conclusion – that instead of failing to plan and prepare, that the Gov. was making progress in planning and preparation! (or that this was an open question).

Mr. Gurian sourced and again “reported” some of these massive failure – but in the most bizarre, uncritical, and deferential  way – in exactly the weak kneed, non-adversarial, accountability free style, tone, and content that his Dodge Foundation funders demand.

And it’s not the first time he’s used and completely undermined my work and let the Christie Administration off the hook for major and ongoing policy failures.

Gurian previously reported – without attribution, as if he had done the research and  somehow discovered this himself – on various Christie DEP changes and deletions in the “309 Coastal Hazards Assessment”, another deeply in the weeds technical issue. I believe that myself – and former DEP Commissioner Mauriello – have been the only public “sources” to mention those issues, so I can only assume that Gurian got that info here and used it without attribution. So, I need to call it out.

And the corporate “mission creep” footprint of Dodge Foundation is getting far too large. They basically have bought and paid for big chunks of the issue agenda’s of the NJ ENGO community. Now, Dodge’s funding appears to be influencing news coverage.

In the wake of  Dodge CEO Chris Daggettt’s demand that the Highlands Coalition “tone it down” on criticism of Gov. Christie on the Highlands, that creepy and creeping control by Dodge needs to be called out as well. (is Dodge where and why the “Festival” emerged?)

So, here’s how Mr. Gurian’s story today reported on and “disclosed” these critical failures of the Christie Administration – hardly a profile in courage in accountability journalism:

1) Let’s begin at the beginning – with the headline. “Mixed reviews”? Totally misleading characterization. The Christie Administration disagrees with the Task Force recommendations and/or the recommendations highlight flaws and conflict with Christie’s key policies. That reality does not rise to “mixed reviews” and it belittles fundamental scientific and policy conflicts.

This misleading headline frames the whole story, and tends to make the issues “he said she said”, thus neutralizing or derailing any criticism of the Governor or communication of what is actually going on.

Here’s what the headline should have been more like:  OBAMA – CHRISTIE EMBRACE ENDS OVER SANDY REBUILDING – Feds Resilient Strategy Runs Counter to New Jersey Armor Plating Vulnerable Coast

(instead of detailing and highlighting the conflict, Gurian used an old HUD Sect. Donovan spun quote to downplay the conflict – again, the exact opposite of what he should be doing, given the substance of the story.)

2) Gurian put the issues almost exclusively in the mouth of NJ Future – hardly the “watchdog” group he describes.

Worse, NJ Future is a fellow Dodge beneficiary, so Gurian is single handedly undermining the integrity of NJ Spotlight with his Dodge-Boy (and girl!) sourcing methods, despite his buried and parenthetic disclosure: “(from which NJ Spotlight has also received funding).” Even the name of the project sounds official pubic sector, and masks Dodge’s role and control: “NJ Recovery Project” 

(readers also should know that almost all the groups funded by that Dodge Sandy initiative: a) kept their powder dry, refused to criticize the Gov., and failed to organize and make specific demands when it mattered (i.e. before funds were appropriated and rebuild policies formed); and b) instead of presenting an analysis and hammering out clear policy demands, again when it mattered, these same groups quietly and internally negotiated meaningless aspirational principles. These strategic mistakes were no accident. The ENGO’s were being “politically safe” and indirectly manipulated by Dodge’s funding carrot: Don’t take a chance, you might not get funded! Such is the bought off state of much NJ ENGO “advocacy”.)

Real journalism relies on unbiased and independent sources, not the friends Dodge funds that have relationships with the publishing outlet. What Gurian has been doing in sourcing and writing these stories is outrageous. He’s making the  “news” come off as a Dodge Foundation initiative – and it’s not subtle, it’s egregious and can not be remedied by a parenthetical allusion to an obscure funder.

3) By definition, the “New Jersey Local Resilience Partnerships” Gurian reports on perpetuates and compounds what I have repeatedly and correctly criticized as an abdication of state responsibility under NJ law. The same Christie policy flaws make regional solutions impossible.(BTW, land use is NOT a federal responsibility – but it IS a state one).

You don’t have to take my word for it – even former NJ DEP Commissioner Mauriello agrees that there has been far too much delegation to local government and far too much “home rule”.

But, Gurian is silent on this fundamental debate about the State’s role and responsibility for coastal planning and regulation – a role the Christie administration has abdicated and must be called out for.

This failure to call out the Gov. in favor of a local approach reflects the Dodge “non-adversarial” model Gurian’s work was funded under, reinforces the narrow and non-adversarial “advocacy” work of his Dodge boy sources, and thereby lets Gov. Christie and his DEP Commissioner escape any accountability for their policies and actions.

4) Gurian describeds the Obama Task Force Report’s recommendations on climate change as “at odds with” (a mealy mouthed phrased to downplay conflict) “NJ’s approach” (a subtle way to mask accountability, as Christie is making all the “plans” virtually unilaterally and through a “Rebuid, Czar”, not a planning process). Here’s Gurian:

Another area where the task force’s findings seem at odds with New Jersey’s approach thus far is climate change.

At odds with? How about saying that Task Force “exposes Gov. Christie’s Plans as short sighted and highly irresponsible”?

Or if that’s too harsh, how about former DEP Commissioner Mauriello’s characterization as a “unsustainable” and a “dangerous path”?

5) But worse, Gurian then goes on to use NJ Future (Dodge Boy) to praise Christie’s implementation of climate change sea level rise!

On this note, one of the Task Force’s recommendations that’s already been adopted and implemented is the creation of a web-based map and sea-level rise calculator to help local engineers and floodplain managers plan for climate change in their communities. Peter Kasabach, Executive Director of New Jersey Future, said in a press release that his group is eager to see how these tools will be put to use.

Eager to see how it will be put to use? That’s a joke right?

Kasaback is the guy who just recently realized that nothing was getting done on the “planning and resiliency” front and that the Gov. was rebuilding what was there, “putting it all back in place”  (we’ve been warning about that Christie “rebuild madness” since last November and even before the storm)(watch him admit to this in a Star Ledger video).

My initial panic was about 3 months ago, when I realized that we weren’t to going to do any real legitimate planning. In fact, we were going to rebuild a lot of what we had. Once that reality set in, the panic left.  It’s disappointing, but it’s understandable (emphasis mine). A lot of these communities are simply rebuilding back to the way they were – a little bit higher.

It is not understandable – it is insane, irresponsible, and possibly corrupt.

Kasaback then goes on the avoid the primary issues – which are STATE REGULATION AND REGIONAL PLANNING – to advocate for a county based planning process.

Kasaback’s “eager” wait and see attitude is all after billions of dollars have been unconditionally appropriated by Congress; after Christie appointed a non-transpoarent “Rebuild Czar”; after the Christie Rebuild Plans have been approved by HUD; after Christie has rejected consideration of climate change – numerous times – and opposed a Coastal Commission; after the DEP has adopted emergency regulations and deregulated the rebuilding of infrastructure; and after the Army Corps is not building dunes but doing the same old same old beach sand pumping.

When will Kasaback and Mr. Gurian wake the fuck up?

6) But, thus far, all this stuff is basically old news – I’ve been writing about it for ages and some of it has been in mainstream media stories.

But here’s the really unbelievable and newsworthy material in the story: note the backward and passive way the flawed April 2012 Hazard Mitigation  Plan Update is disclosed, sourced, and contextualized (aside from being buried in the story):

“We are still waiting to see how the Christie administration will incorporate sea-level rise into its long-range planning, and how they will help folks at the local level to do the same,” he said. “For example, we have not yet heard whether the state Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) currently under revision and the $2.5 million grant program for county HMPs (which is mentioned in the task force report) will include sea-level rise among the risks considered.”

See how that was done?

Instead of severely criticizing the Gov. for a major State policy failure – i.e. failure, after the wake up call of Hurricane Irene, to consider that storm, sea level rise, or coastal and infrastructure vulnerability – NJ Future Kasaback is instead favorably and eagerly awaiting the NEXT Plan update! (and only in terms of incentives to local government).

Mr Kasaback and Mr. Gurian just gave Gov. Christie a major, major pass on his failure to plan and his abdication of state responsibility.

Just what the Dodge funders ordered.

Dodge is now the puppeteer behind NJ ENGO’s and media. Only George Norcross does better.

Study Shows That Rotten Egg Smell From Fenimore Landfill May Take Years To Diminish

Odor Problem Was Known for Years BEFORE DEP Approved New Disposal Plan

A DEP spokesman said last week he’s reluctant to estimate how long it will take before that system makes a noticeable difference.  Star Ledger  – 8/30/13)

I was just doing a little background research for residents who live nearby the Harrison landfill in Gloucester County, where DEP is busy creating another Fenimore landfill disaster (more to follow on that soon), and came across this interesting research Report on landfill odor problems resulting from hydrogen sulfide gas from decomposing disposal of wall board and construction & demolition waste.

Modeling of Hydrogen Sulfide Generation from Landfills Beneficially Utilizing Processed Construction and Demolition Materials 

The Report found that:

“Increasingly over the past decade, C&D debris processing residuals and fines have been used as landfill daily cover material and to close and cap old landfills. C&D debris processing residuals and fines (C&D fines) are favored by numerous landfill operators as an alternate daily cover material (ADC) as they are superior in many ways to traditional soil cover materials. However, one potential issue with use of C&D fines has been the increase in landfill gas (LFG) odors due to production of H2S and other reduced sulfur compounds. Increases in generation of reduced sulfur compounds in the LFG stems from the small pieces of gypsum wallboard contained in the fines. These LFG issues were unexpected and many landfill operations had to increase resources in LFG management and odor abatement as a result. Regulators have become involved in several states, implementing policies for use of C&D fines, management of LFG and control of odors. As a result, some landfills have stopped utilizing C&D fines altogether.

The paper was published in 2010 – at that time, researchers noted that “some landfills have stopped utilizing C&D fines altogether” due to odor problems.

I guess DEP engineers didn’t read that paper before approving the disposal scheme at the Fenimore and Harrison landfills. Researchers found:

Significant amounts of H2S can be generated in a landfill environment when waste with high sulfur content such as gypsum wallboard and other calcium sulfate containing products are accepted. In a landfill environment, sulfur reducing bacteria use sulfate as their terminal electron acceptor during decomposition and release hydrogen sulfide gas. This has been shown to occur at locations throughout the U.S (Lee et al., 2006; Eun et al., 2007). The potential for H2S generation in a landfill depends on a number of factors, including sulfate quantities, moisture content, pH, and the quantity of degradable organic matter available (Yang, 2000). […]

“H2S and other reduced sulfur compounds are odiferous. Generation of reduced sulfur compounds in a landfill is one of the most common causes of landfill related odors. H2S has a low odor detection threshold; the lowest reported odors derived from H2S have been detected at concentrations as low as 0.5 ppb by 2 percent of the population in study groups, with the lowest detection at 0.43 ppb (Collins and Lewis, 2000). In the northeast, landfills that have experienced serious odor issues related to H2S have improved LFG collection through system expansions and increased operations and maintenance of existing LFG systems. H2S testing programs were implemented at many of the landfill sites in an attempt to qualify H2S concentrations. Testing programs varied from site to site but in many cases involved use of field indicator tubes in combination with periodic analysis of gas samples at testing laboratories. In some cases, testing was conducted to quantify potential stack emissions (e.g., SO2) or to size H2S treatment systems. In other cases, LFG testing for H2S is a requirement of the facility permit.

Bad news for the folks up in Roxbury.

Just take a look at how many years it takes before the hydrogen sulfide gas generation peaks after the disposal takes place:

Where is Roxbury’s Fenimore landfill on that curve?

Ask DEP to apply the model developed in the paper and find out!

Retirements of Career Professionals Highlight the Lack of Qualifications on Bob Martin’s Team

Chamber of Commerce Lawyer, CEO, & Lobbyist Promoted to Deputy Commissioner

It’s old news that current DEP Commissioner Bob Martin is totally unqualified for the job by education, training, and professional experience.

Martin is a retired corporate consultant with academic credentials in economics and business and no environmental experience.

Martin’s corporate background is what drove his ideological animus to government regulation and shaped his “DEP transformation” and “customer service” DEP cultural initiatives.

Under Martin’s orders, every DEP staffer was required to attend “customer service” training, with no doubt that the “customer” Martin had in mind was the regulated business community, not the citizen or public interest.

Martin’s corporate training and values fit perfectly in the Christie Cabinet, where ideology and political loyalty trump qualifications and competence.

What is not so well known is that Martin installed equally unqualified corporate hacks on his management team.

Thus far, he has relied on a handful of DEP career professionals to basically keep the DEP ship afloat.

But that’s all old (if largely unreported) news. Let’s get to the recent news.

The retirement on two longtime career DEP professionals from Martin’s management team now highlights the serious weaknesses at DEP – both in terms of impacts on Martin’s management team and throughout the Department, as an aging DEP loses irreplaceable institutional memory and professional competence.

Former Deputy Commissioner Irene Kropp, who retired recently, was Martin’s right hand woman. Kropp came to DEP around the time I did (mid 1980’s) so I assume that she has 30 years serving in various DEP positions: from water resources, to financial management, to site remediation.

Curiously, I don’t recall seeing her retirement announcement.

Kropp was a controversial figure at DEP and was resented by many staffers.

She developed the first DEP data management system, known as “NJEMS”. It cost a lot and didn’t work so well. During the Lisa Jackson/Corzine Administration, Kropp played a key tole in privatizing DEP’s toxic site cleanup program. During Bob Martin/Christie Administration, she was promoted to Deputy Commissioner  and ran herd on DEP staff, threatening anyone who questioned or resisted the Martin “transformation” and rollback agenda with the “burning platform”.

Some say Kropp was driven out of the DEP by the Christie Governor’s Office after she recently backed a DEP staffer who questioned suspicious AshBritt debris management payments. Others suggest as she retired to avoid a serious ethics charge, alleging favoritism on behalf of her fiancee and husband, who owns and operates a landfill (see:

• Roxbury landfill owner calls for conflict of interest against DEP …
• New Jersey official accused of favoring landfill operated by husband … 
• Dump owner hits back at state: cites problems with ‘The Fenimore … 
• Roxbury landfill owner: ‘It depends on who you talk to at the DEP …

Regardless, Kropp has been replaced by a Martin appointed corporate hack, Michele Siekerka. Siekerka also is a controversial figure.

Siekerka’s qualifications for Deputy Commissioner in the Christie/Martin regime seem to be her lack of training or experience in environmental management and her Chairmanship of the Roma Bank Board and former job with the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce.

The retirement of 25 year professional David Sweeney, Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation has created another void on the Martin management team and is another example of a huge loss of a generation of environmental professionals at DEP.

Of course, DEP Commissioner Martin makes no mention of any of these serious institutional capacity issues, because part of his job is to dismantle and disable DEP.

According to a recent email from Martin:

From: DEP Commissioner
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 2:24 PM
To: DEP Commissioner
Subject: Senior Staff Announcements

I am pleased to announce two critical senior staff moves to support our efforts to continue to fulfill our mission of protecting New Jersey’s environment and natural resources while we continue to recover and rebuild from Superstorm Sandy.

I am naming Assistant Commissioner of Water Resources Management Michele Siekerka as Acting Deputy Commissioner, effective immediately.

Director of Land Use Regulation Mark Pedersen is the new Acting Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation, also effective immediately.

I want to congratulate Assistant Commissioner Dave Sweeney on his retirement and thank him for 25 years of dedicated service to the DEP. Dave’s experience, expertise and sense of humor will be missed.

I have great confidence in the leadership of Michele and Mark. Thank you for supporting them in their new roles, and thank you for your continued efforts and service to the people of New Jersey.

Bob Martin

In future, I will be developing a “retired DEP” organizing effort – whether a formal arm of NJ PEER or in some other organizational capacity.

There is enormous untapped knowledge and experience in retired DEP staff and managers that could be put to work in the public interest.

We start that project, auspiciously, on Labor Day weekend.

(current and/ore retired DEP employees interested in working on this should contact me at bill_wolfe (at) comcast (dot) net – but not from a DEP computer!!)