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“Redundancy” is deemed a military function

In his classic novel of military madness, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 posed the absurd contradiction: (Wiki)

According to the novel, people who were crazy were not obliged to fly missions; but anyone who applied to stop flying was showing a rational concern for their safety, and was sane. … 

“The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with.”

The NJ Pinelands Commission has created its own absurd Catch 22-like logic. I’ve written about the first 5, but #6 is entirely new and exciting (post forthcoming) and #7 is darkly subversive.

Catch 22 – #1

The Pinelands Commission reviews and approves all development in accordance with the standards of the Comprehensive Management Plan (CM) – unless the Executive Director decides to do so herself.

Once again, just like the South Jersey Gas pipeline, Executive Director Wittenberg usurped the Commission’s powers via issuance of a staff Certificate of Filing. The Commission will have no role in the NJ Natural Gas pipeline approval and will not vote on it.

Catch 22 – #2

The Pinelands Act requires public participation involving a public hearing and opportunity for the public to review and comment on draft approvals before they are issued by the Commission – except when the Executive Director says no.

Repeat #1.

Catch 22 – #3

Under the Pinelands Act, the Pinelands Commission sets policy and makes decisions, and the Executive Director serves at the pleasure of the Commission – except when Governor Christie tells her what to do and assures her job.

Commissioners Jackson and Fagalia found out what happens when you defy Governor Christie – you are summarily terminated and replaced.

Catch 22 – #4

Local governments issue land use approvals under the Municipal Land Use law in accordance with the standards of the CMP – except when BPU preempts them.

This is absurd by definition. The idea that BPU can play the same role and protect the same interests as a local government is absurd, particularly in assuming the independent, objective and qualified regulatory review role of protecting Pinelands resources and enforcing the CMP is absurd.

Catch 22 – #5

The Pinelands Commission is an independent regulatory agency that makes decisions in accordance with the standards in the CMP – except when Governor Christie decides otherwise.

Repeat the logic of #3.

Catch 22 – #6

The Pineland Act makes no distinction and provides no authority for the Commission or the CMP to distinguish between “public” and “private” development and to conduct fundamentally different review procedures for each – unless the Exectuive Director says so.

This is a new one that deserves its own post – coming soon.

*Catch 22 – #7

Under the Pinelands CMP regulations, a proposed pipeline across a military base must demonstrate that is it “associated with a military function”.

But just what is a military function? What kind of “association” is required?

* Corollary 7A – Large high quality forests in the Pines are protected by strict Preservation Area standards of the CMP and any pipelines running through them must meet Forest Area standards, including the requirement to serve “only the pinelands” – except if they are located on a military base, then see rule #7

The Pinelands Commission staff just found that the NJ Natural Gas pipeline across the Joint Base “served a military function” because it created a redundancy (left unsaid: redundant to current exclusive gas franchise service to the Joint Base by Public Service Electric and Gas).

Also left unsaid was that:1) the NJNG pipeline capacity was under contract and/or dedicated to future growth in demand and would not serve the Joint Base; 2) that the NJNG pipeline did not physically connect with existing Joint Base gas infrastructure; and 3) that Joint base did not identify any specific current or future plans to use NJNG pipeline gas.

By definition, this now means that the standard requiring “association with a military function” literally has no real concrete meaning at all.

Under this standard, literally anything could be approved.

Here’s my testimony on Friday about that absurdity (watch, my testimony starts at time 38 minutes):

I often reach to literature to find meaning in the regulatory deliberations of various governmental entities and I typically point to Orwell.

Today, we’ve cut a new literary path.

Today we will focus on Joseph Heller, because only someone with a dark sardonic sensibility and writing skill could use the Pinelands Commission standard – which is, in your regulations, the standard for approval of this pipeline on a military installation is “association with a military function” – as the basis to determine consistency with the CMP.

The Catch-22 here is the “association with a military function” is a redundancy, for a project with no current, projected, or planned need, that is paid for by the public ratepayer, that is globally destructive and is killing people.

There is your “associated with a military function” finding.

And it is done buried in the penultimate fact finding in the Certificate of Filing talks about the decision you made.

That finding was made at a time where it was accepted at face value – the finding said “the applicant represents” – in other words there was no inquiry which says “the Commission finds” …

The Certificate was based merely on the assertion of the applicant  – that’s bad enough.

But you had testimony here – with emails – credible testimony by multiple people, on the record, urging an Attorney General investigation, urging fact finding by the Commission, and I filed a complaint to the Pentagon Inspector General for the military aspects of this and fabricating a military need.

There is all this testimony on the record and people raising hell about it and your staff relies up a a representation of the applicant.

And the applicant is under a cloud – people claiming that he fabricated his application.

This is twisted.

Even If we didn’t have Paris and climate – if this were just a little housing development – this would be ludicrous.

The fact that is is a regional pipeline, with no need, across a military base, with these kind of questions pending: Joseph Heller, Catch 22.

Yossarian, where are you buddy?