Another Dangerfield Day
Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’ ~~~~ Whipping Post (Allman Brothers Band, 1969)
I still get pissed by crap like this.
My note to DEP Commissioner LaTourette is self explanatory:
Dear Commissioner LaTourette:
In just now reading the Department’s Water Supply Plan (2024 Update), I came across this misleading and incomplete historical claim on page 125: (emphasis mine):
“Maintaining Infrastructure: Starting in 2008, the New Jersey Clean Water Council (CWC) has conducted public hearings focused on water-related environmental infrastructure (including drinking water), regarding objectives, needs, financing, and management in the State.”
https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/water-supply-plan/2024-njswsp.pdf#page=5
The Clean Water Council received expert testimony on infrastructure years BEFORE 2008.
For the record, I was one of the very, very, very few people who put this issue on the policy agenda back in 2005. Here is my testimony FYI (with opening excerpt):
Testimony to the Clean Water Council October 31, 2005
Bill Wolfe, Director, NJ PEER
A public investment strategy and regulatory agenda to protect public health, quality of life, drinking water and preserve remaining high quality streams, lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests, & farms.
Need for Public Investment – Financing environmental infrastructure deficits
The first priority of the Clean Water Council should be a strong recommendation to the next Administration to get the environmental infrastructure deficit issue on the political and policy radar screens. The Council should focus on the fact that environmental infrastructure deficits are a serious and long ignored problem that threaten NJ’s economic future, quality of life, public health, and ecological integrity. The Council needs to emphasize that water resource and environmental infrastructure expenditures are investments. The Council should recommend the absolute need to establish creative new funding sources to finance this critical deficit.”
Full testimony, here:
https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/cleanwatercouncil/pdf/2005_testimony_bill_wolfe.pdf
It’s a shame that the Department has no respect for history and is incapable of listening to and learning from its critics and former leaders.
Bill Wolfe