Enviros Call on Governor to Conditionally Veto the Permit Extension Act

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:39:16 -0400

Today more than thirty leading New Jersey environmental groups called on Governor Corzine to conditionally veto the Permit Extension Act, a bill that automatically extends all land use permits and approvals for two years and brings back to life permits and approvals that have expired over the past eighteen months. "The Permit Extension Act is one of the worst environmental bills ever passed by the New Jersey legislators and one of the biggest giveaways to developers in the state's history," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "While the bill was amended to remove some of the most outrageous provisions, it is still seriously flawed and undermines good planning and environmental protection."

The groups asked the governor to fix the following issues in the bill:

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Environmentalists Give Update on Permit Extension Act

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:02:16 -0400

Environmentalists Give Update on Permit Extension Act

Leaders of New Jersey's environmental community will hold a press conference tomorrow to give an update on what is happening with one of the worst environmental bills in the state's history. The Permit Extension Act passed at the end of June and has not yet been signed by the governor.

Who: New Jersey Sierra Club

New Jersey Environmental Federation

Representatives of other environmental groups

Where: Room 109, New Jersey State House, Trenton

When: 12:30 pm, Tuesday, August 26, 2008

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Becca Glenn, Program Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club

145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618

609-656-7612: phone

609-656-7618: fax

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Federal Agency to Hold Public Workshop on Renewable Energy Development

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:03:10 -0400
West Long Branch, NJ - Tomorrow the Minerals Management Service (MMS) will hold a public workshop at Monmouth University addressing the proposed rules for development of alternative energy resources - including offshore wind, wave, and ocean current generation - on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). "As a coastal state, New Jersey has a particularly strong interest in the development of these emerging renewable energy technologies," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Not only are we at the greatest risk from sea level rise and severe weather, we also have a lot to gain from investing in green industries like these and bringing green jobs to New Jersey."
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Governor Corzine: Get Rid of Ethanol

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:06:09 -0400
Trenton, NJ - Food and fuel prices have been on the rise in New Jersey and around the world this summer. One of the main reasons for these increases is that farmers are diverting more and more of our nation's fields to grow corn and soybeans for automobiles instead of food for our tables. Ethanol mandates have been a boondoggle, raising the cost of food as well as fuel and causing environmental harm in the process. Therefore, the Sierra Club is calling on Governor Corzine to opt New Jersey out of the federal ethanol mandate.

"At a time when variables out of our control - like flooding in the Midwest, our nation's bread basket - are contributing to high food costs, we should not be adding to the problem with what we can control," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. ....

Sierra Club to McCain: We Can't Drill Our Way Out of This

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:54:06 -0400
As John McCain (R-AZ) continues to push his domestic drilling agenda, the evidence continues to prove that his plan will benefit no one other than Big Oil. Despite McCain's assertions that the risk for oil spills is not significant, the senator cancelled a visit to Louisiana in late July after a 419,000 gallon spill caused a slick 12 miles long and closed a 29 mile stretch of the Mississippi River. "Senator McCain claims this cancellation was due to 'the weather,'" said Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club Political Director. "Apparently hundreds of thousands of gallons of spilled oil, dead fish, and oil-covered birds aren't ideal conditions for peddling a misguided plan for more offshore drilling." ....

Sierra Club Releases Fourth Anniversary Highlands Report Card

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:14:03 -0400
Today the Sierra Club released a new report card for the Highlands in honor of the fourth anniversary of the passage of the Highlands Act. "The grades are down this year," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Things are not getting better, they are getting worse. Now we have a Highlands Plan that violates the Highlands Act in at least five different places and undermines the purpose of the act, which is to protect the water supply for more than half the population of New Jersey." ....

NJ "Planning Groups" Fronting for Builders Against Highlands Protections

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:04:37 -0400
NJ "Planning Groups" Fronting for Builders Against Highlands Protections
The New Jersey Environmental Federation and Sierra Club's New Jersey Chapter issued the following joint statement today in response to New Jersey Future, Plan Smart New Jersey, and Regional Planning Association's press release yesterday urging Governor Corzine to oppose protecting the Highlands region, home to the water supply for over 5 million New Jerseyans and the state's three largest industries:

"These groups who call themselves planning groups are really fronts for development companies. Two thirds of their boards are in the development industry (see attached 2 page addendum). They are developers, work for developers, consult for developers, or finance developers.
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A Dirty Deal for Dirty Power

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:59:47 -0400
This week PSE&G selected a route for its new - and unnecessary - power line through New Jersey's Highlands region. The new line will be used to bring cheap, dirty coal power from Pennsylvania into New Jersey, undermining our efforts to deal with global warming and protect our environment. "PSE&G says that they are a green company," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, "But the only thing green about this deal is the money PSE&G will be making from New Jersey ratepayers." ....

Highlands Council's Failure to Address Affordable Housing Jeopardizes New Jersey's Water Supply

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:04:03 -0400
The Highlands Regional Master Plan (RMP) is fatally flawed. The plan, recently adopted by the Highlands Council, does not account for a change in the Highlands Act brought about by the recent signing of A500. Under A500 the RMP must set aside at least 20% of all residential development for affordable housing – but the plan does not address affordable housing at all. “The most important issue facing the Highlands is how we’re going to address COAH and affordable housing,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The failure of this plan to mention that is a loophole so large, you could drive a bulldozer through it.” ....

NJ Chapter Press Releases

Enviros Call on Governor to Conditionally Veto the Permit Extension Act

Environmentalists Give Update on Permit Extension Act

Federal Agency to Hold Public Workshop on Renewable Energy Development

Governor Corzine: Get Rid of Ethanol

Sierra Club to McCain: We Can't Drill Our Way Out of This

Sierra Club Releases Fourth Anniversary Highlands Report Card

NJ "Planning Groups" Fronting for Builders Against Highlands Protections

A Dirty Deal for Dirty Power

Highlands Council's Failure to Address Affordable Housing Jeopardizes New Jersey's Water Supply