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An “Immediate Environmental Concern”?  Not So Much

Contamination at levels that exceeded public health standards ignored

DEP’s role in the exploding list of corruption scandals must be probed

I just came across a very interesting and overlooked aspect of the controversial Port Authority $256 million PATH station renovation in Harrison, see: Questions on Port Authority Chairman David Samson’s PATH station vote 

The Bergen Record reported:

Port Authority Chairman David Samson voted for a $256 million reconstruction of the rundown PATH station in Harrison three months after a builder represented by his law firm proposed converting a nearby warehouse into hundreds of luxury apartments, according to records and interviews.

That story focused on Samson’s role at the Port Authority and whether he violated ethics laws.

It also did a great job of explaining how transit investments are related to real estate development opportunities and linking the Harrison redevelopment project to a similar situation in Hoboken, with respect to how NJ’s redevelopment laws can be politically manipulated to provide provide huge subsidies to developers:

When [developer] Berkenkamp first approached officials in Harrison, he asked that they deem the property, sandwiched between single-family homes and a strip mall, “in need of redevelopment.” That designation can ease regulatory hurdles and open the door to property tax exemptions and other financial incentives for builders.

“Regulatory hurdles”? What might they be? Are “hurdles” anything like the “cones” the Gov. joked about on the GWB?

Can the Gov. raise and lower those hurdles? How might he do that?

Keep that in mind as we explore a very interesting environmental story buried in the details of the Harrison controversy – a story which is an example of what I recently wrote about the role of Wolff & Samson at DEP.

Follow me, as I focus on the environmental issues and how DEP plays a role in the corruption that is bursting out all over.

As we already saw in Hoboken, DEP was directly involved in using DEP regulatory jurisdiction to pressure the Mayor to support the Rockefeller project.

Now, there is another example of DEP abuse at the heart of the Harrison controversy.

The Record story only briefly mentions the fact that the warehouse site is highly contaminated and a significant health risk to nearby neighbors:

Lawyers at Wolff & Samson are also currently helping the developer before the state Department of Environmental Protection, the mayor said. The property is contaminated and is listed as an “immediate environmental concern,” meaning exposing people to contamination at levels that exceed public health standards, state records show.

Say what?

Why is a toxic site that currently poses an”immediate environmental concern” (IEC) not cleaned up by now?

Why is DEP not taking enforcement action to expedite cleanup and protect the people who live there?

What specific chemicals are the people who live nearby being exposed to? What are the health risks? Why doesn’t anyone seem to know about all this?

Why is residential development being allowed on such a highly contaminated site?

These are important questions that bring us to the specific work of our friends, Wolff & Samson.

W&S worked the inside track in ways that benefitted their Harrison developer client, while increasing health risks to the community without their knowledge or consent. Let me be specific:

Wolff & Samson lawyer Dennis Toft was a key member of Gov. Christie’s DEP Transition Team.

The DEP Transition Team produced a Report that contained recommendations that were targeted at exactly the issues raised by the Harrison warehouse IEC site. The Report directed that DEP:

• Refrain from using overly conservative assumptions in standard setting and risk management strategies as required by law, and revise cleanup standards to be both achievable and protective of the environment.
• Review and revise current requirements pertaining to vapor intrusion within building structures, including how and when to test, notification, and/or mitigate.
• Revise the Interim Rule to limit its scope to SRRA required elements. For example, the provisions of the interim rule applying new requirements for vapor intrusion were not mandated by SRRA and should be subject to fuller pubic review and comment before adoption. Vapor intrusion occurs when contaminants in groundwater or soil emit vapors that enter structures and could have a potential impact on human health.

DEP immediately began implementing the recommendations of the Transition Report.

Mr. Toft even wrote a piece bragging to his business clients about how he helped delay and weaken DEP regulations and gut the DEP enforcement of toxic site cleanup requirements, see:  NJDEP Proposes More Lenient Mandatory Timeframes Under SRRA.

The NJDEP has proposed to extend all of the mandatory timeframes by one year so that the mandatory timeframes will be the later of March 1, 2012, or one year from the specified compliance event. The proposed rule changes are subject to a 60-day comment period that ends on December 3, 2010.

The NJDEP also has proposed to amend the definition of a vapor intrusion IEC from a vapor concentration that exceeds the Indoor Air Screening Level to a vapor concentration that exceeds the Rapid Action Levels. This change is anticipated to significantly reduce the number of sites that otherwise would have been categorized as having an Immediate Environmental Concern.

So, Wolff & Samson helped to inject delays in DEP mandatory cleanup schedules, and reduced the number of  high risk sites classified as an “immediate environmental concern”.

Those W&S recommendations resulted in changes to DEP regulations, oversight, cleanup deadlines, and enforcement.

Those changes directly impacted the Harrison project, to the benefit of the developers and the detriment of the public health of the community and the people living nearby.

A seamless web of corruption: from the DEP Transition Report, to weakening DEP regulations, to clients’ economically benefitting from them.

Connecting all the dots, the Harrison story is a perfect illustration of  exactly how Gov. Christie’s politics compromised protections of public health and the environment, while increasing the profits of inside lobbyists and developers.

That’s why DEP’s role in the currently exploding list of corruption scandals must be probed.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Not Incorporated in Enforceable State Programs

Christie Seeks To Use Federal Funds As State Match Requirement

Unless the federal rules are enforced, New Jersey will use these funds to recreate the pre-Sandy highly vulnerable development pattern, ensuring that billions of federal dollars will be wasted on projects virtually certain to be destroyed by climate change-driven sea level rise and extreme storm events.  ~~~  Bill Wolfe, Director, NJ PEER

Interesting stuff in the HUD IG letter – the new 2 year “use it or lose it” may relate to the recent firing of HGI contractor and jeopardize millions of dollars of unexpended RREM funds.

[BTW, we predicted this chaos – and why it would occur – 2 weeks after Sandy struck]

From out friends at PEER:

Port Authority To Pay NJ’s Share of $2 Billion Infrastructure Damage

Yesterday, the Christie Administration released its funding plan for the $1.46 billion second round of federal Sandy recovery money (to read the plan, hit this link).

A careful reader would find this $2 billion gem, buried in the weeds on page 2-30:

The Port Authority has estimated total damages from Superstorm Sandy to exceed approximately $2 billion, which does not include possible future latent damages. The Port Authority has also identified additional resiliency and mitigation projects. It is the State’s understanding that the Port Authority intends to satisfy its Sandy-related damage and resiliency costs through one or more of the following sources of funds: grant proceeds from the Federal Transit Administration and FEMA; proceeds from insurance; and available Port Authority capital funds, including through the issuance of its debt obligations.

At this time, the State anticipates that the Port Authority will meet its local share requirements, but the State will continue to assess and evaluate financial conditions at the agency. The State will also further consider the Port Authority’s unmet needs and cost share requirements if a third tranche of CDBG-DR funds is announced.

What this means is that the Port Authority will pick up NJ’s tab for its State and local match shares of at least $2 billion in Sandy damage – saving NJ hundreds of millions of dollars. More than that in the likely event that even more damages are discovered in the future.

So, it looks like Gov. Christie – and his Pal Port Authority Chairman David Samson – have pulled off another sweetheart deal.

To get the full flavor of those deals, you have to read or listen to this superb piece by WNYC investigative reporter, Andrea Bernstein:  How Christie’s Men Turned the Port Authority into a Political Piggy Bank

According to documents and interviews with more than a dozen top-level sources, the governor made clear from the get-go that the agency would be the source of cash for New Jersey’s hard-up infrastructure budget. And he and his team proceeded to wrangle billions from the bi-state authority to further his political goals — much of that for projects that had never been under the Port Authority’s jurisdiction before.

“It’s politics,” said City College of New York Professor Robert “Buzz” Paaswell of  Christie’s use of the Port Authority’s pot of money. “They’re using it to solve their budget problems.”

The Port deal to cover NJ’s state share for over $2 billion in Sandy damages to Port Authority infrastructure sure seems to be part of the larger pattern documented by the Bernstein story.

What these shortsighted political deals have done is bankrupt the NJ Transportation Trust Fund, increase Port Authority tolls and fees, and deferred necessary infrastructure maintenance and investments. They also divert Port and federal funds from other needed projects in the region – particularly on the NY side of the river.

And all this damage was done solely to advance Chris Christie’s political ambitions.

Think about that next time you’re stuck in traffic.

Gov.’s Office made phone calls to Towns that received funds a month before the election

Vague grant award criteria and murky review process invite political manipulation

“The Governor’s scoring spreadsheet looks more like a game of bureaucratic bingo than a rational, need-based selection process. Many of these requests were virtually identical, yet a few were accepted while many others rejected.  No wonder our mayors are confused and suspicious.”  ~~~  Bill Wolfe, NJ PEER Director

According to official documents provided to us, Gov. Christie’s Office was involved in the award and distribution of Sandy Hazard Mitigation Grant funds to over 100 NJ towns. This involvement included the Sandy Czar and the “Office of Inter-governmental Affairs”, a place where the NY Times reported the Gov. played “money ball“.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant program is the discretionary pot of Sandy money at issue in the Hoboken situation, where Mayor Zimmer claimed that Sandy funds were linked to her support for the Rockefeller development project.

This latest disclosure comes at at time when there are several criminal and administrative investigations underway regarding how the Christie administration spent Sandy funds, leading the Star Ledger editorial board to suggest that Sandy funds were used as the Gov.’s  “political slush fund”.

Documents show that:

• the Gov.’s Office called towns that received grants early in October 2013, less than a month before the election
• efforts were made to restrict “bad news”, i.e. information from towns that did not receive grants and the public until after the election
• a private non-profit corporate funded group was used for “outreach” to the towns regarding the grants program
• the allocation of funds was not based on need and did not follow any rational plan or transparent planning process

My practice at Wolfenotes is to post links to all documents that provide the factual basis for the claims I make. However, in this case, I can not do that because it would jeopardize my sources.

However, I am willing to meet personally and share the documents with any reporters that want to verify and authenticate the documents, but agree to protect the confidentiality of my sources.

In the below press release from our friends at PEER, we do disclose the winners and losers and the grant allocation criteria. See if you can figure them out:

For Immediate Release:  Monday, February 3, 2014

Contact:  Bill Wolfe (609) 397-4861; Kirsten Stade (202) 265-7337

Jersey Sandy Energy Grant Awards Raise More Questions

Hazard Mitigation Funding Criteria Ignores Municipal Need and Hazard Severity

Trenton — New Jersey grants to municipalities struggling to rebuild power infrastructure devastated by Super Storm Sandy were unevenly distributed under an opaque criteria administered by a private group operating under the direction of the office of Governor Chris Christie, according to documents posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The end result left big winners and many losers as only a tiny fraction of municipal applications to buy or fix generators serving critical facilities, such as shelters, emergency operations, police and fire stations, got funding.

Just a month before last November’s election, Gov. Christie’s office verbally notified the mayors awarded coveted energy grants from the state Hazard Mitigation Program – the program at the heart of allegations from the Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken.  From the 779 local public agency applications totaling more than $340 million in requests, Gov. Christie’s office selected only 144 applicants, fewer than one in five, and funded only $25 million, around 7% of total expenses.

Projects had to score at least 80 points derived from 12 factors to be eligible for funding but –

• The program was administered by a corporate-funded private nonprofit, called Sustainable Jersey, which is subject to scant external review;

• The funding criteria included grades from several state agencies, such as the Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Environmental Protection, under standards not spelled out, raising questions about their transparency and integrity; and

• Public notice was limited so as to not attract any uninvited participation.

Perhaps most significantly, the point system did not explicitly consider the need of the municipality or extent of the hazard to be mitigated.  Nor does the state have a system for identifying emergency priorities.

“The Governor’s scoring spreadsheet looks more like a game of bureaucratic bingo than a rational, need-based selection process,” stated New Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe, noting the abrupt termination of the state’s main contractor and the growing uncertainty over distribution of Sandy money. “Many of these requests were virtually identical, yet a few were accepted while many others rejected.  No wonder our mayors are confused and suspicious.”

The process created distinct losers and winners among applicant cities.  For example –

• Hoboken applied for the projects totaling less than $1.8 million but was only funded for the smallest one at $136,000;

• Newark did even worse, asking for $13.4 million for 9 projects but got only five partially funded for a total award of $822,000; and

• By contrast, Rahway asked for approximately $930,000 for eight projects and received more than half $520,000 for four of them, curiously each with an identical $130,150 price tag.

“With hundreds of vulnerable water supply and sewage systems left unaided, it is not clear how much safer New Jersey will be after all the ‘Hazard Mitigation’ funds are spent,” Wolfe added.  “Ironically, the Christie administration put out press releases touting this as a model program but a closer look suggests there is little to brag about here.” 

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Look at winners – municipalities which got funded  

Compare losers – projects not funded and their scores 

Examine Sustainable Jersey backing 

See PEER call for federal audit of Jersey Sandy money

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New Jersey PEER is a state chapter of a national alliance of state and federal agency resource professionals working to ensure environmental ethics and government accountability

Who Are These Mad Men and What Are They Doing In the Statehouse?

Full Story on Monday

“Let justice be done though the heavens fall”

Inside view of Statehouse dome

[Update 2/17/14 – YEOW! Tom Moran calls Ferzan “slithering”:  Chris Christie’s fortress of secrets].

[Update: 2/3/14 –  For the story and content, see today’s post – I’ll only briefly identify the Mad Men depicted below]

I think the mainstream media calls this a “teaser” – so we’ll deliver the full story tomorrow. But for now, consider:

Who IS this Mad Man and what is he doing in the Statehouse?

This man is Randy Solomon, head of Sustainable NJ. He was at the Statehouse on Friday for a 3 pm meeting with Sandy Czar Ferzan and DEP.

I have accused SNJ of working closely with the Christie administration behind the scenes and providing political cover for the Governor. Those claims always were  true, but now are a matter of public record, given SNJ involvement in Sandy Hazard Mitigation Grant program and the Round 2 HUD funds.

FIAT JUSTITIA RUAT COELUM  (Wiki)

Who is THIS Mad Man and what is HE doing in the Statehouse?

This man is Dave Rosenblatt. Dave is head of DEP’s Coastal Engineering program. Dave was at the Statehouse to meet with Sandy Czar Ferzan.

Dave is a career DEP professional. But his Office is the wrong office to be heading up DEP’s coastal restoration program. That’s like putting the US Army Corps of Engineers in charge.

That office has historically been driven by the “hard structure” engineering approach to coastal management, and a hostility to more natural and “resilient” strategies. That office also lacks any policy or planning expertise, which the DEP relied on from the Coastal Management Program that Bob Martin demolished..

Looking up to Famous Men

Looking Down on Bad Men

Coordinating It all

This man is Gov. Christie’s Sandy Recovery Czar – head of the Governor’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding.

That Office makes multi-billion dollar decisions that affect millions of people’s lives and will define the future of the entire NJ shore.

That Office is a unilateral creation of Gov. Christie and operates with virtually no oversight.

The GORR has no legislative authorization and has refused to submit to Legislative oversight. The Office follows no public planning process or  regulatory standards or procedures. There is little transparency in how they conduct their work or make decisions. They have delayed and denied OPRA document requests.

Ferzan has made exactly two public appearances: one a speech before the Chamber of Commerce and the other a press conference to defend the Gov. in the Hoboken matter.

This is a totally intolerable situation I’ve written about many times. Where is the media and the Legislature?