Murphy DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers at my wedding
And I won’t forget to put roses on your grave. ~~~ New Riders of the Purple Sage (1974)
Honey, grab the kids and a cooler. Let’s go for a hike, picnic, and birding at the local Superfund site Park! The Sierra Club and NJ Audubon say that’s a great idea, according to a DEP press release (12/22/22):
The Ciba Geigy historic settlement is great news for open space and preservation in Toms River,” said Taylor McFarland, Conservation Manager for the Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter. … we applaud NJDEP for moving forward with this historic 1,000-acre restoration project.”
“New Jersey Audubon enthusiastically supports this use of Natural Resources Damages to create forests and parks in Toms River,” said Alex Ireland, President and CEO of New Jersey Audubon. “Conversion of sites like this into safe, publicly accessible forests and parks should be the model for other similar sites throughout the state”
Murphy DEP to Corporate Chemical Giant BASF: Just put up a few bird boxes and you’re good to go!
Source: NJ DEP: A rendition of a pollinator meadow and bird-watching platform in a preserve proposed for the former Ciba-Geigy polluted site in Toms River
Nah, that’s not nearly sufficient snark to respond to what just went down.
Sometimes people do things that make you sick at heart and embarrassed to be a human being.
This one rises to that level, and it was even reported by Politico:
The DEP announced the deal Wednesday morning while some of the state’s environmental leaders were attending a memorial for Ed Lloyd, the late environmental activist and attorney who had fought pollution at the site.
Jeff Tittel, a long-time environmental activist and friend of Lloyd’s who spoke at the service, said in an interview that the settlement was an insult to Lloyd and everything he stood for.
Truly sickening.
The timing of Murphy DEP Commissioner LaTourette’s corrupt tactic was so low, it recalls President Lyndon Johnson’s disgraceful move to conduct an impromptu nationally televised Whitehouse statement to drive Mississippi Freedom Party civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer’s testimony off the air.
To my environmental and social justice friends, please understand that I am not equating civil rights and Fannie Lou Hamer with a BASF legal settlement! I am merely noting the similar ugliness of the corrupt media tactics used by corrupt politicians.
And Commissioner LaTourette has ethically dirty hands as well.
I was so disgusted by this move, that I just wrote to remind him of that:
———- Original Message ———-
From: Bill WOLFE <>
To: “shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov” <shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov>, “Sean.Moriarty@dep.nj.gov” <Sean.Moriarty@dep.nj.gov>, senbsmith <SenBSmith@njleg.org>, sengreenstein <sengreenstein@njleg.org>, asmmckeon <asmmckeon@njleg.org>, “asmScharfenberger@njleg.org” <asmScharfenberger@njleg.org
Cc: “Keys, Mary Ann [ETHICS]” <Maryann.Keys@ethics.nj.gov>, “jonhurdle@gmail.com” <jonhurdle@gmail.com>
Date: 08/17/2023 7:50 AM PDT
Subject: BASF Recusal
Dear Commissioner LaTourette:
I write to express strong objection to your continuing involvement in the BASF Toms River site and the most recent NRD Settlement (see your quote in today’s NJ Spotlight story):
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2023/08/toms-river-cleanup-settlement-finalized-ciba-geigy-basf/
You previously represented BASF as a private attorney (in a case that involved NRD damages) and therefore have, at a minimum, an appearance of a conflict of interest under NJ ethics laws.
Yet, to my knowledge, after review of your ethics disclosure and review documents, you have not disclosed this prior BASF representation or recused from BASF matters.
For factual details of that, see:
Murphy DEP Commissioner LaTourette Represented BASF As A Private Lawyer Before Negotiating A DEP Sweetheart Deal With BASF As DEP Commissioner
On February 8, 2023, I filed a request to the State Ethics Commission for an advisory opinion on this matter, and provided written copy to you via email, see:
I have not been advised of the disposition of this matter by the Ethics Commission.
Regardless, please revise your DEP ethics disclosure documents and recuse from any involvement in BASF matters, as required by NJ Ethics laws and legal professional ethical standards.
Please issue an apology to the people of NJ for this ethical lapse.
Yours,
Wolfe
[End Note: NJ Spotlight sure changed their tune in less than 24 hours too! In contrast to today’s “good news” headline – more land! more money! Yipee! – and mostly favorable coverage by notorious hack Jon Hurdle, last night they included this in the story:
But not all residents were satisfied.
“The DEP needs to stop and not sign this deal,” said Britta Forsberg, who heads Save Barnegat Bay. “Not only did we lose family and friends but we lost the use of our natural resources. We will fight for a better outcome for Toms River and the surrounding community.”