Meet Your New Pinelands Commissioner

[Update: March 10, 2019 – In addition to BL England and the SJG pipeline, Commissioner Chila is GONE – he should never have been appointed: (Press of Atlantic City):

Wittenberg also said Commissioner Giuseppe “Joe” Chila, who was appointed a commissioner in 2016, had to resign after being elected surrogate in Gloucester County, as a court ruled he cannot hold both positions. ~~~ end update]

At Friday’s Pinelands Commission meeting, Chairman Lohbauer announced that longtime Commissioner Witt was stepping down.

Witt will be replaced by Gloucester County Freeholder Director Giuseppe (Joe) Chila:

Freeholder Chila graduated from Paulsboro High School and the Gloucester County Institute of Technology.  Joe is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Lu. 351 AFL-CIO.  […]

From 2003-2010 Freeholder Chila served as the Mayor of Woolwich Township where he led the fastest growing Township in Gloucester County.  

[*Note: By the early 2000’s, Woolwich’s growth rate was second fastest in the entire country.]

Woolwich was ground zero in a major fight over restrictions on water allocations to support new growth in order to protect ecological functions. See more recent USGS study:

It is estimated that the population in Gloucester County will increase by almost 27 percent from 2000 to 2025. The DVRPC projected population increases in Woolwich [is] 359 percent ….

The largest decline in simulated water levels from the 2000 baseline simulation was 16 ft in Woolwich Township, centered on a water-purveyor well (15-1532) (fig. 44A).

I suspect that this might have an impact on the Commissions plans to adopt new water allocation restriction based on the Kirkwood-Cohansey research project.

Freeholder Chila has friends in high places:

At Gloucester freeholder ceremony, Sweeney and Norcross help usher in 2015

 

…. Bumped up in ranks was the board’s Deputy Director, Giuseppe “Joe” Chila, replacing Freeholder Director Robert Damminger

Need I say more?

I’m curious as to whether the Fulop campaign will engage and make the Pinelands a contrast issue – preserving the Legacy of Democratic Governor Byrne and Congressman Florio and all that jive.

Besides, IBEW surely must know that there are more good permanent union jobs in solar and wind and conversion of the grid to local distributed energy than temporary work on pipelines.

While the Pinelands may be located in South Jersey, they are a federally established and protected National Reserve, and not the object of some corrupt political machine.

Have at it.