Sailboat "Adam Hyler" Sailing Status: About to Launch

We hope to launch next weekend, June 4.

We dock at the Irwin's Yacht Works yard #2 (west of Monmouth Boat Club) in Red Bank, NJ.  We will be sailing Tuesdays and gathering around 6pm with plans to shove off by 6:30pm.  If it is raining on Tuesday night, we will probably try to have a sail Wednesday or Thursday depending on crew availability, so feel free to call or Email, myself, Tom, Shannon or John to see if we are having a makeup sail.  Sail Information

Maintenance Completed on the Garvey: 
--We have finished the last piece of the repair last week and as we were doing the spring fit out at the same time we are nearly ready.
--Shannon built two new Oak thole pin blocks for the forwards oars and I have two coats of Cetol (preservative and finish) on them. I will be installing them later this week.
--The sticks are reassembled with brand new Oak Cleats.
--The seams were touched up or repairs by John yesterday.
--The white paint touch up was finished during the week last week as was the Cetol on the boat.

What is left:
--Blue bottom paint touch-up
--Linseed oiling of the deck.
--Attaching the Thole Pin blocks.
--Greasing the trailer and pumping up the tires.
--Get the new locks combo out to the crew.
--Finally loading the boat with lines, life preserving, bumpers, thole pins and etc. (The sails will be in a car instead.)

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NJ Friends of Clearwater fully supports NJEF's call for the defeat of the "Waiver Rule"

New Jersey Friends of Clearwater fully supports the following NJEF call for the defeat of the "Waiver Rule". NJFC considers the Rule the worst possible insult to common sense and the environment.

DEP's Proposed Waiver Rules Waive Environmental Protections
Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJEF), [NJ Clearwater is a founding member] reiterated today its opposition to the Christie Administration's proposed waiver rules, the subject of a NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hearing Thursday April 17, and called for the proposal to be withdrawn if not rewritten to provide adequate safeguards.

"We share the concerns of our environmental colleagues and for that matter the regulated community that this proposal leaves too much discretion to the DEP, makes permit decisions ripe for abuse, and should be withdrawn unless and until it's rewritten with clear and more protective standards," said David Pringle, NJEF's Campaign Director.  "It's the DEP's job to protect the environment not waive environmental protections," said Pringle. "Under this proposal, only time will tell how much the environment, public health and safety are undermined but even DEP acknowledges it's not a matter of if but how much."
 
Pringle noted the DEP proposal acknowledges it will weaken protections and contradicts itself:
'The rules would … allow some activities to proceed that would otherwise not be allowed, with corresponding negative environmental impacts' (http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/030711b.pdf, pg 12)
'According to Executive Order No. 2, an agency can only waive the strict compliance with a regulation if the waiver would not be inconsistent with the core missions of the agency' (http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/030711b.pdf, pg 4)
[DEP's core missions are]'protecting the air, waters, land, and natural and historic resources of the State to ensure continued public benefit … to be advanced through effective and balanced implementation and enforcement of environmental rules to protect these resources and the health and safety of New Jersey's residents and visitors' (http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/030711b.pdf, pg 3).
 
"As proposed, the rules encourage every applicant to seek waivers, adding red tape and reducing predictability, and defeating the suggested intended purpose of the rules," Pringle added. "If adopted, it will increase the role of politics and decrease the role of science in decision-making."  Pringle cited the definitions for 'unduly burdensome' and 'net environmental benefit', 2 of the conditions where waivers could be granted, as "wide enough to drive a truck through," the public notice requirement could be after the fact and the lack of a public comment requirement.  Pringle also disputed DEP's release announcing the proposal as misleading at best by suggesting environmentalists support it and it would result in a 'net environmental gain', and by promoting economic growth over DEP's core mission to protect human health and the environment.

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Clearwater Sponsors April Whale Pond Watershed Cleanups

Continuing with our "Protect Our Watersheds" theme, NJ Friends of Clearwater sponsored two cleanups of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed in April with other members of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed Association. Our first cleanup in December 2010 was a resounding success. Members of the WPBWA performed its second cleanup on April 2, 2011 on the southern streambank near the Hess gas station on east side Route 35 in Ocean. The Whale Pond floodplain (shown below, right of Rt 35) was clogged with construction debris, 55-gallon drums, signs, garbage, recyclables, and packaging.

 WPBWA members Laura, Lisa, & Mom Rosemary Bagwell, Jeff King, Ray Pogwiest, Faith Teitelbaum, Susan DiGiacomo, Ceil Mancini, Tim Johnson, and Ed Dlugosz; and Kayla Connor (Watershed Ambassador) worked for over 3.5 hours freeing the Whale Pond of unnatural dams, plastic bottle flotillas and scum, as well as the aforementioned pollution which allowed the free flow of the brook.

We plan to have Cleanup #3 on April 23 on the west side of Route 35 in Eatontown  side of the stream near the confluence of the Whale Pond and Cranberry Brooks. The Eatontown meeting spot and access point will be at 99 Corbett Way (at red star) off of Industrial Way West. It is next to the Surgery Center at 97. As usual, Clearwater will supply gloves, waders, pickup, and coffee.

Clearwater is a founding member of WPBWA, which includes the Environmental Commissions of Eatontown, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch, and Long Branch. Our previous cleanup (Cleanup #1) in December was a resounding success (see January's NJFC Newsletter or earlier articles on this webpage.)

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Clearwater Takes Initiative on Contaminated Wampum Lake

Clearwater has recently submitted a proposal to the EPA for an Environmental Justice Small Grant (EJSG) to independently re-analyze the sediments and surface water that has contaminated Wampum Pond and upstream tributaries for over 50 years and to determine its exact source.

As has been reported in this newsletter and local newspapers, Fort Monmouth has disclosed that dozens of toxic substances including over 20 heavy metals, VOCs, and POLs are present in the surface water, its sediments, groundwater, and soil. While the Army generally takes responsibility for those toxins within the border of the post, it defiantly refuses to take responsibility for any of those same contaminants just downstream or outside its borders for fear of setting a precedent.

The ultimate purpose of NJ Friends of Clearwater's (NJFC) EJ Project is to have those toxins remediated in the sediments and surface waters of the lakes, streams, and wetlands directly downstream from the Fort and restock the watershed. We cited the many subsistence fishermen, crabbers, and clammers that can be seen plying the waters, banks and bridges despite warnings. The first phase will resample/re-analyze Wampum Lake heavy metals and take upstream samples to determine precise sources. Wampum lake lies only 2/10 mile downstream from the western post's border. NJFC will seek additional EJSG funding for future phases for sampling, analysis, and remediation of streams exiting from the eastern post's border and directly entering the Shrewsbury River, which affects a wider population and environment.

Clearwater has sought, and is still seeking, independent partners, like the Monmouth County Health Department (MCHD) and Monmouth University who both conducted significant testing of Wampum Lake in 1990 using different methodologies-chemical analysis and biological fish tissue sampling.  Both concluded that the lake was contaminated with heavy metals-Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Selenium, Silver, Thallium, and Zinc-and the risk to human and animal life are high.

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Clearwater Is Very Active On A Number Of Environmental Fronts

Here's a sampling of other eco-actions and policy decisions that NJFC has made:

1. Several of Clearwater members attended the Panel Discussion at Brookdale Community College on Wednesday, April 6. The Panelists were Dr. Ronald Bishop, Lecturer on Bio-Chemistry at SUNY-Oneonta and Hazardous Materials expert; Kathleen Malone, US EPA - Region 2, NY/NJ, P.R. and V.I.; and Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network. It was an excellent discussion.

It's great that so many people are educating themselves about hydrofracking. [Hydraulic Fracturing or fracking is the process of injecting huge high-pressure streams of chemical-laden water into shale deposits to release embedded natural gas.]  It seems some big corporations are bringing millions of dollars to the tables in Pennsylvania and other states, buying rights to the fuels stored in the Marcellus and other shale deposits under our United States of America.  There is much harm caused to our water tables from the practice, and millions of gallons of clean water used in the process becoming very polluted water that needs to be properly disposed of.  And this in a part of the Northeast where many millions of people depend on a limited amount of drinking water. I plan to learn more about what's going on and see how we can help.  Thanks to the League of Women Voters who sponsored this event.--Joellen Lundy, President NJFC

2.  Clearwater joined the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) to write a petition to "fully support EPA's proposal to update the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to include the vapor intrusion pathway, so that sites with significant documented or potential vapor intrusion can be placed on the "Superfund" National Priorities List (NPL). This action is long overdue, because an uncounted number of Americans are exposed to toxic volatile substances in our homes, schools, and workplaces."

In Ed's sign-on letter to Mike Schade, he wrote, "As you and Lois* know, New Jersey Friends of Clearwater (NJFC) has been fighting the pollution at Fort Monmouth both past, present, and future for many years. Among the 3 major issues that we face, VOC and B/N vapor intrusion into the laboratories and office buildings at FM is one of the least understood dangers to the health of the soldiers and workers as well as future residents. There is a minimum of 5 buildings on FM that have had vapor intrusion without the knowledge of the workers for at least 50 years.  At several of the sites, superfund-level groundwater (GW), soil gas, and vapor intrusion numbers have been documented. I testified at the Brownfields Conference's USEPA's Workshop: Addressing Regulatory Challenges in Vapor Intrusion: A State-of-the-Science Update. The issue is more important to us than to most since DOD, whom we're fighting at FM, is trying to water down this important regulation change."--Ed Dlugosz, Past President and Environmental Action Director.
* The "Lois" to whom I referred above is our 2008 Festival keynote speaker Lois Marie Gibbs, heroine of the Love Canal.

3. NJFC joined--by means of an affirmative vote by our own HRSC Board member--our national parent organization Clearwater to sign a legal petition to the NRC that essentially calls for a moratorium on re-licensing proceedings until there has been time to assess the implications on aging US nuclear power plants of the Fukushima disaster, likely the worst or one of the worst in the history of nuclear power, and now certainly equal to Chernobyl. Clearwater was invited by one of the premier nuclear attorneys in the US, who has worked on many nuclear re-licensing cases (including Oyster Creek in Lacey Twsp.),

The name of the petition is:  Emergency Petition To Suspend All Pending Reactor Licensing Decisions And Related Rulemaking Decisions Pending Investigation Of Lessons Learned From Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident.  HRSC joins not only the lawyer but also 43 organizations fighting the re-licensing of 24 Nuclear Power Plants.

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NJFC's Fort Monmouth Contamination Remediation Campaign

Restoration Advisory Board Meeting Held April 7, 2011
The latest RAB meeting was held on April 7, 2010. There was an agreement at January's meeting that the community members could hold adhoc meetings in between regular quarterly meetings.  If review of materials required clarification, the Army would be willing to meet or teleconference with us. We also would not have to wait until a quarterly meeting to receive new data. The Army is willing to distribute the documents to RAB members and make it available online.  We have already reviewed Remedial Action Progress Reports (RAPR)  and the interim MODFLOW deliverables were published and distributed in this manner. The topics were both meaningful and provoked a lively discussion. The MODFLOW Groundwater Report provide the community with a more comprehensive view which coincided with our contentions that the contaminated GW flowed below the surface in the direction of the Wampum creating both sediment and surface water contamination.

In other business we were again frustrated by the unavailability of the testing and results of the Baseline Ecological Evaluation (BEE) Report. Apparently those results were sent to an additional group of Army engineers and were still being reviewed. The results of the Parker/Oceanport Creek sediment and laboratory buildings' vapor intrusion testing are critical to us.  Our continued quest to have the ten landfills properly excavated and capped is being blocked by the Army's budget woes. There's no money to even design and engineer the capping much less implement a viable solution.

FMERA Meeting of Environmental Advisory Committee
The third FMERA Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) meeting was held Thursday, April 12 at 5:00pm at their offices in Eatontown.  Ben Forest and Ed Dlugosz represented Clearwater (Ed also represents Eatontown). The unscheduled, main topic of the meeting was the environmental status of the Fort's infrastructure.  We attempted to elicit the contamination condition of the sanitary sewers, storm drains, and buildings, etc. that were subject of Matrix's Infrastructure Report. For example, although there was an ECP2 Report citing no mercury contamination was found in the sanitary sewer system, there were no discussion or follow-up on the other heavy metals that made there ways from the battery and electronics labs into sediments of the streams and lakes through the sewer system. Another question about the present condition and plans for demolition of the planned excess buildings--like the 4-story 1200s, one of which had its roof caved in and was abandoned after a recent storm event--went unanswered. As usual we were disappointed with the lack of information that was made available.
* Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority

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Clearwater Plans April Whale Pond Watershed Cleanups

Continuing with our "Protect Our Watersheds" theme, NJ Friends of Clearwater is sponsoring two cleanups of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed in April with other members of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed Association. Clearwater is a founding member of WPBWA which includes the Environmental Commissions of Eatontown, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch, and Long Branch. Our previous cleanup (Cleanup #1) in December was a resounding success (see January's NJFC Newsletter or earlier articles on this webpage.)

We plan to have Cleanup #2 on April 2, 2011 on the streambank near the Hess gas station on east side Route 35 in Ocean. The Hess station will be the gathering place. We plan to have Cleanup #3 on April 23 on the west side of Route 35 in Eatontown and Ocean on both sides of the stream near the confluence of the Whale Pond and Cranberry Brooks. The Eatontown access point will be near the intersection of Corbett and James Ways off of Industrial Way West. The Ocean access point will be at points along north Apollo Drive in Twinbook Village and behind and north of Red Lobster on Armstrong Boulevard. The gold stars on the map show approximate access points.  More details, including start times and exact gathering places, to follow.

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Next Restoration Advisory Board Meeting Set for April 7, 2011

Our next RAB meeting is now scheduled for April 7, 2010. Please join us at this important meeting and we can guarantee you will support our efforts. 

On January 20, we held our last RAB meeting where Clearwater pushed for monthly RAB meetings rather than the present quarterly ones.  With so little time left with the original Fort Monmouth Installation Management DPW personnel, who made promises, we need to maximize face time to achieve our goals. While we were not fully successful, we were able to reach a compromise where, the community members could hold adhoc meetings in person or electronically.  If review of materials required clarification, the Army would be willing to meet or teleconference. We also would not have to wait until a quarterly meeting to receive new data. The Army would distribute the documents to RAB members and make it available online.  We have already reviewed data from the meeting in this manner and have received two new documents as interim deliverables.

In other business we were again frustrated by the unavailability of the testing and results of the Baseline Ecological Evaluation (BEE) Work Plan. Apparently those results were sent to an additional group of Army engineers and were still being reviewed.  The results of the Parker/Oceanport Creek sediment and laboratory vapor intrusion testing were critical to us.  Our continued quest to have the ten landfills properly capped and protected is being blocked by the Army's budget woes. There's no money to even design and engineer the capping much less implement a viable solution.

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FMERA Meeting of Environmental Advisory Committee

The third Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) meetings was held Thursday, March 3 at 5:30pm at the FMERA offices in Eatontown.  Ben Forest and Ed Dlugosz represent Clearwater (Ed also represents Eatontown).  Michele Siekerka is the chairperson of the EAC and represents the NJDEP administrator NJDEP ex officio on the FMERA Board

The EAC was provided with a presentation from MATRIX Design Group on the Best Practices process for Risk Management they expect to implement for protecting the public's interest.  Community members insisted that the EAC primarily advises the FMERA Board/Chairperson and should not be titled the Environmental Staff Advisory Committee, which connotes a lesser role than it traditionally played. The community members also opposed blanket confidentiality restrictions on information discussed at meetings. Reps opposed closed sessions and agreed to the restrictions only in the case of sensitive financial negotiations.

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7th NJ Clearwater Circle of Song Sing-Along

Please join us for our seventh Sing-Along scheduled on Thursday, March 17, 2011, at 6:30pm, at the First United Methodist Church of Asbury Park 906 Grand Avenue. Asbury Park, NJ 07712 [two blocks from the Stone Pony]

The show will star Jay Wilensky and Ingrid Heldt.  For more details see attached CoS Flyer

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Clearwater Group Opposes Privatizing Government Services

For immediate release:
The New Jersey Friends of Clearwater (NJFC) has joined a coalition of environmentalists, unions, and public affairs organizations to make sure that some politicians' fascination with privatizing public agencies and functions does not increase costs to the taxpayers, deprive public employees their employment and work benefits, nor decrease services to the taxpayers in favor of private profits.

Joellen Lundy, president of the NJFC organization, announced this week that her organization is joining the New Jersey Coalition On Privatization (NJCOP), which includes about 15 other organizations that dispute claims that privatizing certain public services will reduce their costs.

"Our organization suspects that the current political fad to 'privatize' traditionally governmentally controlled functions, such as environmental reviews, libraries, prisons, parks, water supplies, toll collectors, and health and environmental protections has nothing to do with saving taxpayers money. Instead, it is designed to favor politically connected individuals and businesses, which can eliminate accountability while ultimately increasing costs and decreasing services."

NJCOP is an outgrowth of the efforts of a nationwide organization, Food and Water Watch, which was a prime mover in forming NJCOP. According to Jim Walsh, Eastern Region Director of Food & Water Watch, "NJ Coalition on Privatization member organizations are working to ensure that public assets and services are managed for the public good, rather than for private gain." Currently there are many fights to stop privatization in the state, including Turnpike toll workers, TV station NJN, the PATCO (rail) Speedline, and public water supply systems, to name a few.

There is a bill under consideration in the Legislature in Trenton that would help protect communities from damaging privatization contracts, SCR131 in the state Senate and ACR150 in the state Assembly.
Ms. Lundy said NJFC opposes privatizing functions that only government can perform. She noted that NJFC joined a lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) at Sandy Hook when it announced plans to privatize and commercialize 36 buildings in historic Fort Hancock. "We are concerned that opponents of many very important state programs are using the current economic turndown as an excuse to reduce or eliminate many services and programs, especially the state's environmental rules and regulations," she said.

Clearwater is a 36-year-old environmental organization that is known for its annual Clearwater Environmental Music Festival, its marine environmental program for grammar schools that has reached more than 25,000 students, its Environmental Sail Program with its garvey Adam Hyler, and its efforts to protect the state's environment. It's website is at http://www.ncclearwater.org/.

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Clearwater Sponsors Whale Pond Watershed Cleanup and Strategy

In keeping with our on-going theme "Knock Out Pollution, Protect Our Watersheds", NJ Friends of Clearwater sponsored a cleanup of a central portion of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed, which serves as the border between Eatontown and Ocean Township.  It was held on the morning of Saturday, December 11, 2010. 

Last year Clearwater officially adopted the Whale Pond Brook Watershed as their prime target for stream cleanups and helped found the Friends of Whale Pond Brook Watershed.  The Watershed starts as Cranberry Brook in Tinton Falls, which meets with Whale pond Brook and acts as the border between Eatontown and Ocean Township, then flows through WLB and Monmouth U. into Takanassee Lake in the West End section of Long Branch and finally into the Atlantic Ocean.  Clearwater and Friends have already planned for more cleanups in the spring
Cleanup includes retention basins and areas denoted by stars in locations in Eatontown and Ocean.

Clearwater thanks a group of hardy souls who braved the cold to amass 50 bags of garbage and recyclables, 2 lawnmowers, tires and wheels, chairs, copper piping, a hot water heater, outboard motor, and construction materials.  Besides Clearwater officers (Ed Dlugosz, Joellen Lundy, Tim Johnson, Lynn Humphrey) this contingent of people represents a partnership of Environmental Commissions (EC) and organizations along and near the watershed including Eatontown, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, Long Branch, West Long Branch, and Red Bank who call themselves Friends of Whale Pond Brook Watershed. We were able to recycle and sell the metal to profit our new endeavor.

Seated: Ed Dlugosz; 2nd Row: Valerie Rogoff, Tim Johnson, Joellen Lundy, Laurel VonGerichten, Lynn Humphrey; 3rd row:  Laura Bagwell, Faith Teitelbaum, Mary Kinslow; Last row (L-R):  Bob Sandberg, Jerry Keelen, Jeff King, Ray Pogwist. Photograph by Faith Teitelbaum/Jack Kearns

Fish Ladder Discussion

Later that day, many of these same Watershed people met at the flume that connects Takanassee with the Ocean to hear Captain Paul Erdman and Carl Alderson, a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discuss the NOAA's idea to create a series of "fish ladders" to return the Watershed as a spawning ground for herring, stripped bass, and other native aquarian inhabitants. Presently the flume, two dams, and the culvert make it impossible for the herring and other fish on the lower rungs of the foodweb to spawn. A fish ladder is a series of pools on an incline separated by short increments so as to enable fish to swim up past a dam or other obstruction. Of all the northern Jersey seaside lakes, Takanassee has the greatest potential to help the various herring and other species come back from their "Threatened" status. During this Discovery Hike, we also learned about the genesis of the problem from Beth Wooley, a Long Branch historian who related that the town fathers, in the late 1800s, had made Takanassee their reservoir and to fight seawater intrusion, damned the Lake.

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Support Clearwater's Efforts to Clean Up Fort Monmouth

Restoration Advisory Board Meeting Set for January 20, 2011
We are pushing for monthly RAB meetings rather than the present quarterly ones.  With so little time left with the original Fort Monmouth Installation Management DPW personnel who made promises, we need to maximize face time to achieve our goals. Once those current people leave, there will be no corporate history since the minutes are so selective and the budget is so weak. Our next RAB meeting is now scheduled for January 20, 2010. Please join us at this meeting and listen for yourselves.  We guarantee you will support our efforts

FMERA Plans Meeting of Environmental Advisory Committee
The first of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) meetings will be held Monday, January 10 at 4pm at the FMERA offices.  Ed Dlugosz was again appointed by Eatontown to serve as its representative at the FMERA EAC.  No other memberships have been announced.

We are expecting newly-appointed FMERA Executive Director Bruce Steadman to kick things off with a presentation from MATRIX Design Group on the environmental and infrastructure condition of the base.

On December 15, 2010 FMERA held it's month meeting at the Eatontown Borough Hall.  The minutes of the meeting have not been published yet, but its agenda is available at http://www.nj.gov/fmera/agenda/pdf/101215_agenda.pdf.  Among the agenda items are:  Status of Advisory Committee Formation; Status of Planning, Engineering, Architectural and Environmental Engagement; Meetings with the Office of Economic Adjustment; and another Meeting with the Army in DC.

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Baykeeper Discusses Oyster Bed Controversy at NJFC Meeting

Clearwater had the pleasure of listening to NY/NJ Baykeeper Debbie Mans discuss the history and scope of the Baykeeper's mission in NJ waters at our December 2010 Membership Meeting.  The Baykeeper's domain includes not only the Raritan and Sandy Hook Bay, but also the NY Harbor.  Debbie's main topic was the Baykeeper's 2010 battle with the NJDEP over the seeding and maintenance of oyster beds in the Raritan Bay and other locations.

The NJDEP's objection was the possible poaching of the oysters from the experimental beds for commercial food product use.  Baykeeper's purpose for creating the oyster beds has always been to use natural devices to help filter and clean the marine environment.  Clearwater's Environmental Sail Program and its Tuckerton Garvey "Adam Hyler" has helped Baykeeper build the shell bed infrastructure, seed the oyster beds, and help maintain them.  The Garvey helped carry volunteers to the Navesink River shoals off Oyster Point, Red Bank to perform those duties. (See www.mcclearwater.org/esp.php for more info.)

In the end, the battle was won by NJDEP who ordered the Baykeeper to remove the oysters and beds from their location near the Keyport NJ waterfront, a natural location for oysters since Native American times. Baykeeper is exploring the possibility of placing oyster beds on Government property near the Earle Ammunition Depot Pier in Leonardo on Raritan Bay although we are unsure of its viability.

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ALL HANDS:  NJFC Cleanup of the Whalepond Brook

10-12 am, Decmeber 11th
In keeping with our 2010 annual and on-going theme "Knock Out Pollution, Protect Our Watersheds", NJ Friends of Clearwater is sponsoring a cleanup of a central portion of the Whalepond Sub-Watershed starting at 10am on Saturday, December 11, 2010.  We will meet in the back parking lot of DSCI at 12 Christopher Way, Eatontown (off Industrial Way East). Please bring boots or sturdy shoes and warm, layered clothing. We will be supplying work gloves and bags and will have 4 chest-high wading boots, if needed.

Last year NJFC BOD officially adopted Whalepond Brook as our prime target for stream cleanups.  We are also a founding member of the Friends of Whalepond Brook/Takanassee Lake Watershed partnering with members of Environmental Commissions along the watershed including Eatontown, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch, and Long Branch. The Sub-Watershed starts as Cranberry Brook in Tinton Falls, which meets with Whalepond Brook and acts as the border between Eatontown and Ocean Twsp, then flows through WLB and Monmouth U. into Takanassee Lake in the West End section of Long Branch and  finally into the Atlantic Ocean.

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Progress Slows at Fort Monmouth Contamination Sites

While activity has been evident, real progress has slowed considerably at Fort Monmouth's contaminated sites during 2010 as disclosed at the recent October 21, 2010 Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting.  Fort Monmouth is closing in only 9 months under the BRAC decision of 2005.  The contamination will last decades longer. NJ Friends of Clearwater fights to truly clean up the site rather than believe the sham Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Report that the US Army Installation Management Command (IMC) tried to perpetrate on the citizens of NJ1 and the less than full disclosure we've encountered.

The most positive recent activity reflects NJFC's victory ensuring all the still-existing underground storage tanks (UST) are removed, evaluated, and their sites remediated. So far more than 70 USTs, up from the original 24, have been removed and processed since 2008, with more yet to come. The most recent activity has been the increased use of "short-term remedies" chemical injections (ORC(r), HRC(r), RegenOx(r)) to treat contaminated groundwater at 3 UST, 2 landfill, and the infamous TCE/PCE-ladened plume in the courtyard of the Myers Center.

Most of the other activity centers on drafting and/or potentially submitting paperwork to the DEP.  21 groundwater Classification Exemption Areas' (CEA) Biennial Certification Draft Reports are pending by the contractor.  Other documents including Remedial Work Plans, Action Plans, Investigation Reports, Action Progress Reports, etc. are in various stages of draft, a few recent submittals to NJDEP, while none of the 23 sites in the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) were cited as having a final report.
Real progress is left wanting credible reporting, remediation, and closure, that is:

• downstream sediment contamination testing and remediation
• release of contamination data on FM sites and parcels, especially those planned for housing by FMERPA that still exceed Residential Criteria as defined by NJDEP and USEPA
• examination/excavation of contaminants and trustworthy capping of the 11 landfills to ensure reuse;
• releasing data levels and worker health threats posed by Vapor Intrusion for the years prior to 2008 at FM laboratories and other facilities;
• taking responsibility for the high levels of contamination (Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Nickel, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic, Silver, Antimony, Selenium, Thallium, Mercury) of Wampum Lake in Eatontown.

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Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority Takes Over

The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), established by the environmental-friendly NJ Senator Jennifer Beck et al's legislation, held its first meeting on September 28, 2010 at the Tinton Falls town hall.  With an Interim Chairman Alfred Koeppe and Interim Executive Director Timothy Lizura in charge of the meeting and three (3) voting members still unappointed, the Authority pushed through the agenda and passed agenda items at record speeds despite public, mayoral members', and common "sensical" objections to the haste, all actions were approved. Without sufficient notice of the meeting, availability of the read-ahead documentation of the FMERA Budget, Memorandum of Understanding, Deferred Payment, Leased Space, Paid Personnel etc., full disclosure and understanding of the issues were impossible. Mr. Lizura's précis-like account of the topics was insufficient and left important detail unsaid. It was an unsettling experience. The public and press decried the situation afterward.  Two months later and we are still discovering "unsaid items".

The second FMERA meeting, held November 15, 2010 at Tinton Falls venue. During the public comment period on the agenda, Clearwater again advocated full disclosure and the provision of documentation prior to the meeting. Advocates of the Affordable Housing (AH) spoke in favor of the recent NJ Supreme Court ruling that rejected the FMERPA's AH Plan ruling. Conversely the major concern of former FMERPA, now FMERA, committee members was that they had had a viable plan and the ruling would hinder progress. 

Again, during the second meeting, there was no read-ahead material but finally the details were available in the minutes of September 28 which were available online. Among the things learned from the previous meeting's minutes' was the Bylaws allowed 5 voting members to constitute a quorum. This bylaw flies in the face of the host towns' fears about the need for a super-majority to keep the State's influence balanced. Another "unsaid item" that was discovered in the provisions of the MOU between FMERA and the EDA. A very curious provision entitled Additional Provisions stated, "a) Environmental Liability. It is expressly understood that this MOU will not obligate NJEDA to incur any liability for any known or unknown environmental conditions that exist or existed at or on Fort Monmouth property...FMERA will hold NJEDA harmless for any and all environmental conditions that exists or existed at or on the Fort Monmouth property."  NJEDA is a quasi-state agency that supplies all employees to the FMERA and manages/disperses the money.  This is "no fault" loophole for FMERA/EDA that can leave the public holding the bag if they make bad decisions.

Once the meeting proceeded into the agenda, Interim ED Lizura again summarized both the activities of the previous month and the actions to be voted upon. Among the activities was that the FMERPA-chosen FMERA engineering firm Matrix had completed 29 of the 33 building infrastructure assessments as part of their Planning, Engineering, Architectural and Environmental Consulting services contract. No summary of the findings was shared.

Another key agenda item was the award to Matrix of the Business and Operations Plan services contract that gave them sole lead for both assessment and implementation of planning. The Budget was again addressed with no rationale for purpose or size of the expenditures. Voting was pushed along with the admonition that if they didn't approved it, operations couldn't get underway. Mr. Lizura introduced the newly appointed, permanent ED who had experience with the Rome, NY AFB BRAC.  For more detail on the agenda and minutes, click on FMERA website: www.nj.gov/FMERA

By Beck's law, one voting member's role was to be an "environmentalist" to fulfill Senator Beck's legislative requirements for balance by "an individual who is knowledgeable in environmental issues, conservation, or land use issues...".  NJ Environmental Federation and key NJ and national environmental organizations nominated Edward Dlugosz, President of NJFC and Board Member of the national Clearwater organization (with Ben Forest as an alternate) to fulfill that role to Governor Christie. Both Ben and Ed were supremely qualified in all 3 elements of the requirement, especially in the understanding of Fort Monmouth's environmental and land use situation.  A full resume and answered questionnaire were submitted for vetting. A meet and greet was attended. Despite Ed's and Ben's qualifications, Governor Christie appointed a land use attorney Michael Pane to that role to the dismay of the entire environmental community. Pane is a member of Christie's transition team with the Red Bank law firm of Giordano, Halleran and Ciesla. Governor also put up for state Senate approval James Gorman of Colts Neck and Robert Lucky of Fair Haven.

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2010 Hudson River Sloop Clearwater BOD Retreat

The HRSC Board of Directors (BOD) held their Annual Retreat on November 5, 2010 at the fabulous Listening Rock Farm in Wassaic, NY.  The facility is a model sustainable farm, green showcase house, and conference facility owned by our BOD President Allen Shope.  The Farm has forests and two sawmills that have supplied mast, rigging and planking for the Sloop Clearwater.

The Annual Retreat is where we now evaluate the past year's performance and MAP out the coming years objectives for Clearwater as a whole and each committee specifically.  Each of the ten committees and the BOD itself has a Master Action Plan (MAP) with quarterly objectives while the BOD has monthly objectives. We have come a long way from the loose, seat-of-the-pants organization of only a relatively few years ago.  I've pushed for this as a HRSC and a NJFC BOD member myself for years.

Fiscal responsibility and measurable objectives are the hallmark of the new HRSC.  In past years, HRSC had to borrow from a line of credit every winter to pay staff.  Now, thanks to Pete's 90th Birthday MSG Bash, we have started an endowment for maintenance of the Sloop.  We have paid down the debt, started living within our means using cost-benefit analyses, and had the first profitable Revival in years.  This has made HRSC more "fundable" by grants and other means.  HRSC has just earned the Charity Navigator rating of Four Star Charity, the best in its rankings.

The focus of this year's Retreat was the definition of a new Green Cities Initiative project within the Environmental Action Committee. During its gestation, its objectives were a little vague and scope was unclear.  That meant its funding strategy wasn't fully defined. By the end of the morning session, we were well on our way to doing all three by linking to Sustainable Communities and Environmental Justice.

NJFC will be announcing its own Environmental Committee Retreat at Andrea Spinelli's home on the shore of Lake Hopatcong in the coming months. We can take a few lessons from the new HRSC.

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Clearwater and Sierra Opposed to Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant

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NJEF 24th Annual Conference

A contingent of Clearwater members participated in the NJ Environmental Federation's 24th Annual Conference at Rutgers, Newark. Clearwater is a founding member of that coalition that spans the diversity of all environmental groups in NJ from grass roots organizations like our and the Ironbound Community Corp. (a national leader in Environmental Justice) to the national organizations like Sierra Club and Clean Water Action. Of course Amy Goldsmith, NJEF Executive Director, is also a member of Clearwater and wife of Ben. Our members led or attended workshops that included: Power, Politics And The Environment (Ben Forest led); 21st Century Water; Toxic Substance Control Act Reform; Green Economy And Green Jobs; Healthy Schools/Healthy Towns; Climate Change; How To Develop While Protecting The Environment And Economy; Sustainability And The Green Movement;  and Growing the Green Generation on youth education and activism (Ed Dlugosz).

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NJFC's April Earth Month Activities

Earth Day and the month that surrounded it were busy times for Clearwater. In addition to the RAB meeting and the MMS hearing mentioned above, Clearwater led or participated in:

• April 7: Wakefern Sustainability Fair, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM, Wakefern Food Corp., Plaza 7 Facility, 33 Northfield Avenue, Edison, NJ  08837
• April 17: NJ Environmental Federation (NJEF) Conference, 9 am - 5 pm) at Rutgers University Center for Law and Justice, 123 Washington Street, Newark, NJ
• April 18: St Mary's Environmental Expo, 8:45 am to 1 pm in the Parish Hall of St. Mary's RCC, Phalanx Rd & Rt 34, Colts Neck, NJ
• April 20: Wakefern Sustainability Fair, 11:30 - 1:30 PM, Wakefern Food Corp., General Merchandise Facility, Jamesburg, NJ,
• pril 24: EARTH DAY OPEN HOUSE, Saturday,12:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Manasquan Reservoir Environmental Center, 331 Georgia Tavern Road, Howell
• April 24: Highlands Earth Day, Highland Community Center, 10am – 2pm
• April 30: Four sessions of TEF at Anastasia Elementary School, Long Branch.

Here are some details of a few of those events:

Clearwater a Major Player at Wakefern/ShopRite Sustainability Fairs
Wakefern, the parent company of ShopRite Supermarkets, organized a series of Sustainability Fairs for their employees with three primary purposes.  They wanted employees to discover sustainable solutions being employed by their suppliers; find out about sustainable technologies potentially applicable to ShopRite; and learn how to take action at home and at work 

Because of our special long-term relationship – ShopRite has been a major supporter of our Clearwater Festival – we were invited to participate and had displays, literature and information at their headquarters in Edison (4/7) and also at a major distribution facility in Jamesburg (4/20). Wakefern/ShopRite deserves kudos for having the imagination, concern, and commitment to conduct these excellent events. Special thanks also go to Tim Johnson, Barbara and Jack Charlton (pictured at left),  and Andrea Spinelli  for the Clearwater effort.

St. Mary's Environmental Expo
Tim and Marylin Johnson, Chrissie and Susan Goedkoop have kept our perfect attendance alive at the Environmental Expo at St. Mary's RCC. Once again our wheel of fortune environmental quiz game was one of the most visited displays at the Expo. Our biggest competition was across the aisle at the 4H display of cuddly rabbits of all species including a Netherlands Dwarf and American Lop-Eared rabbits.

Earth Day Events at Highlands and Manasquan Reservoir
As always, April 24th was a busy day for Clearwater. We had to choose from many offers and we'd already attended several events that same week. We chose two that allowed us to keep with this year's annual theme, Watershed Protection. Highland NJ is one of the most scenic venues being on the Bay facing Sandy Hook between which the largest watershed in Monmouth County, i.e., the combined Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers,  enters the bay on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Members Lynn Humphrey and Chic Roemmele provided the avid crowd with information about Clearwater's initiatives and membership benefits. We thank Highlands Councilwomen Rebecca Kane for inviting us.

The second event of the day was Earth Day Open House at the Environmental Center at beautiful Manasquan Reservoir County Park. Located in Howell at 331 Georgia Tavern Road on the west side of the 40B gallon Reservoir, the EC is an amazing destination all year round. With its displays of every aspect of the local flora, fauna, and geological environment the EC and the Park is a treasure trove for all ages including the live video feed from a Bald Eagle nest with a 2 month old fledgling. Susan Goedkoop and Ed Dlugosz set up our interactive watershed model directly below an active, illuminated representation of the Manasquan Watershed from the furthest west reaches of Monmouth County to the Atlantic. It provided the perfect setting for hands-on teaching children of all ages that they could help prevent runoff (or Non-Point Source) pollution. We again thank Chris Lanza, Senior Park Naturalist, for hosting us and informing us that over 1000 visitors attended the displays at the Open House event.

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Henry Hudson Trail Cleanup

New Jersey Friends of Clearwater picked a beautiful day on Saturday, March 20th to conduct its first environmental cleanup for 2010.  The weather was sunny and pleasantly warm when members of the New Jersey Friends of Clearwater showed up in Keansburg, New Jersey, to clean up a portion of the Henry Hudson Trail.  Starting from Main Street, our team first worked the trail going west.  There was no shortage of garbage to pick up and our crew did a good job separating the recyclables from the rest of the garbage.

We switched to cleaning up the trail east of Main Street so that both sides of the trail would look clean when viewed from Main Street.  Special thanks to our crew, Ray, Joellen, Mike, Tim, and Marilyn for making this clean-up successful and for giving up part of a beautiful weekend to make this happen.  Another "thank you" to Ray for making arrangements for the clean up, for treating our crew to breakfast after the clean up and for bringing the recyclables to the Recycling Center.

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NJFC Friends Speak Out at Quarterly RAB Meeting

The FM Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) held its quarterly public meeting at FM Gibbs Hall on January 14, 2010. Besides Mr Dlugosz, a RAB member, friends of NJFC made up the majority of the audience and made their voices heard during the public comment period. Among the attendees were: Eatontown Environmental Commission (EC), Shrewbury EC, Oceanport EC, Tinton Falls EC, Little Silver EC, Clean Ocean Action, Sierra Club, Fort Monmouth Earth Renaissance Peace Alliance, Eatontown Borough Council, Oceanport Borough Council, and Shrewbury Borough Council.

The agenda was full and contained the topics of old business; the status of the BEE, Landfill Streambank Stabilization, Indoor Air Quality/Vapor Intrusion, and Landfill Capping. Also on the agenda were presentations on the progress of the Underground Storage Tanks (UST), Contaminated Groundwater Modeling, and status of the Installation Restoration Program, i.e., progress of contaminated site remediation.

Old Business addressed Mr. Dlugosz's comments on the July's RAB minutes which were tabled since October. Basically the comments addressed the Army's position and ridiculous rationale for not discussing the EA/FNSI at the July's RAB meeting and the intentional exclusion of the Eatontown EC representatives' verbal response to several issues in July's minutes. [details discussed in November 2009 Newsletter]. The outcome of the Old Business discussion was that the FM DPW representatives will revise the minutes to satisfy the comments.

The BEE status was that itsWorkplan was reviewed by NJDEP and DPW was to revise it to accommodate the action items. When asked by our RAB and COA representatives whether the plan would contain extensive downstream sediment testing, we were told that the testing would only take place a couple of feet from the landfill streambank and none would be done downstream unless evidence from those sample indicated more needed to be done. Our contention all along has been that 60 years of landfill, lab chemical outflow, and groundwater migration have left 60 years of contaminated sediment downstream which has affected the plant, animal, and human biosystems.

The landfill streambank stabilization project is almost completed. Landfill M-2, the biggest and most contaminated, is the last of the sites to be stabilized. Most observers feel that the rock access roads are an eyesore and installing the riprap before the newly proposed capping [they now refer to it as landfill "cover"] was poor engineering. The "cover" project still has not moved forward for lack of funds and without a schedule divulged.  Lastly, the vapor intrusion retest did not detect vapors above DEP criteria. When asked how high the readings were at the height of the groundwater plume [>7840 ppm] at the Hex, we were told only soil gases were measured not the natural and air-sparged fumes escaping VOCs from GW.

The UST presentation showed progress but the UST removed/remediated statistics provided by the DPW at the RAB were smaller than those of the contractors on site during the UST/Stabilization tour in November. The IRP status still didn't give a clear definition of what still needed to be done although claims of petitions to NJDEP for additional No Further Action (NFA) status were presented. What makes this important and improbable is that the DPW has contracted for a new groundwater migration modeling effort to be done. This is more than curious because, as reported in November, the previous modeling was done and summarized in a report available on their website [Classification Exception Area Information for Various Sites] was done in 2004 as shown in the chart below. When asked why so soon, the answer was that the new modeling will be done with more accurate modeling tools.  Sounds suspiciously like they want new and more optimistic results.

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Clearwater Urges U.S. Senators and Congressmen to Act

NJ Friends of Clearwater with its friends Clean Ocean Action, NJ Environmental Federation, and the Fort Monmouth Earth Renaissance Peace Alliance have urged NJ's US Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and US Congressmen Rush Holt and Frank Pallone to act on our behalf to demand that Fort Monmouth (FM) provide an accurate, truthful Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Clearwater has been battling FM's draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) and its supporting document Environmental Assessment (EA) since spring of 2009 and the whole gamut of FM issues since 2006. You can find detail of the fight in the News webpage or in copies of our previous newsletters hosted on the NJFC Newsletter page of our NJFC Website.

In our letter to our legislators we delineated the deficiencies of the EA and FNSI and the lack of positive progress for addressing the new contamination highlighted in the Phase 2 Environmental Condition of the Property (ECP). Chief among our stated issues are downstream marine pollution of streams and rivers; worker health issues related to the pollution, and legacy impact of the property on the health and cost to the public in the host towns and surrounding area.

We urged our congressional leaders, to ensure that the following actions occur in a timely manner prior to property transfer:
1.    Assessment of all impacts that Fort Monmouth has had on the area and waterways through an EIS, which would include further investigation that will:
a.    assess the extent and depth of sediment contamination (a sediment core sampling survey is necessary), as well as their existing and potential effects on marine life.
b.    complete the Baseline Ecological Evaluations (BEE), including more aggressive investigation of continued high levels of contamination,
c.    determine the full extent of radioactive contamination,
d.    identify and determine the extent of leaks in the wastewater system to the environment,
e.    examine the stormwater system as planned,
f.    identify areas with residential soil standards exceedances

2.    Remediation of the landfills, including the possible need for excavation of contents based on the results from groundwater testing, the Baseline Ecological Evaluations, and surveys for underground tanks or drums

3.    Full public disclosure of contamination and infrastructure conditions, deed restriction requirements, as well as expected remediation requirements with specific timeframes.

The full text of the letter will be posted on the aforementioned NJFC Newsletter webpage at: http://www.mcclearwater.org/newsletter.php

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Father Time Organization Awards Clearwater

The Keansburg, New Jersey, organization known as Father Time is devoted to helping fathers develop strong relationships with their children. Every year, Father Time holds a fishing and environmental expo and, since its inception 6 years ago, Clearwater has supported this worthy event. Ray Cann, Tim Johnson, and Barbara and Jack Charlton carried the Clearwater banner to the Bolger school with information and displays which featured the Clearwater Quiz and a hands-on exhibit of plankton. This year Father Time surprised us with the presentation of a beautiful trophy in recognition of our support and our dedication to environmental causes.

Clearwater Shed Finds a New Home
by Jack Charlton
The Clearwater shed, which is essential for the storage of items used in our education program, is finally resting safely at its new location in Holmdel. Many thanks to board member Jim Franchi for providing space in his back yard to accommodate it and to Pat McGrath, Art SanFilippo and Jack Charlton for helping with the tricky move. Particular thanks to Ray Cann and Bill Pamplin for being the prime movers.

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Environmental Justice Roundtable

Environmental Justice Milestones—2000s:

• 2000 - Indigenous Environmental Network starts the Mining Campaign Project to address unsustainable mining and oil development on native lands.
• 2000 - The North Carolina state assembly releases $7 million to begin detoxification of Warren County's PCB landfill.
• 2000 - Macon County Citizens for a Clean Environment stages a successful campaign to prevent construction of a large landfill near campus of historic Tuskegee University.
• 2001 - Native American activists and their allies succeed in preventing siting of a nuclear waste dump in Ward Valley, California, after 10 years of struggle.
• 2001 - Residents of toxics-contaminated areas of Anniston, Alabama, win a $42.8 settlement against Monsanto, as well as relocation of their community due to PCB contamination.
• 2001 - U.N. Commission on Human Rights lists living free of pollution as a basic human right.
• 2002 - Second People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C.
• 2002 - Shell agrees to buy out and relocate residents of the Diamond community of Norco, Louisiana, due to contamination.
• 2003 - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopts a new policy requiring environmental justice reviews before the issuance of permits.
• 2005 - Congress passes an amendment to the EPA's appropriations bill directing the agency not to spend any congressionally appropriated funds in a manner that contravenes Executive Order 12898 or delays its implementation.
• 2005 - More than 45 environmental justice and mainstream environmental groups, including NRDC, oppose the EPA's attempt to eliminate "race" and "income" as a focus of its environmental justice efforts in its strategic plan.
• 2005 - Twenty-five Democrats in the Senate and House send a letter to the EPA for its failure to apply Executive Order 12898 in its flawed strategic plan for environmental justice.
• 2005 - At the request of Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA), the General Accounting Office releases a report finding that the EPA generally devoted little attention to environmental justice issues while drafting three significant clean air rules on gasoline, diesel and ozone between fiscal years 2000 and 2004.
• 2008 – Lois Marie Gibbs is keynote speaker emphasizing the Precautionary Principle theme of the 33rd Annual Clearwater Festival at Asbury Park, NJ. Clearwater holds first "Environmental Roundtable" with Ed Dlugosz organizing and Kerry Butch moderating a panel of important EJ activists from throughout NJ.
• 2008 – NJEF, of which NJFC is a member, and Clean Water Fund launched the Urban Environmental Institute (UEI), a leadership initiative project in Newark, NJ. The institute was established to create the next generation of urban environmental advocates and build a more sustainable, greener, and economically stable Newark, NJ
• 2009 – NJEF and a coalition of other groups launched "Kids Clean Air Zones" and "Coalition for Healthy Ports" to combat air pollution and other hazards in urban areas.
• 2009 – NJ Friends of Clearwater holds the 2nd Annual Environmental Roundtable at the 34th Annual Clearwater Festival.

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Fort Monmouth Contamination Battle Moves Forward

Fort Monmouth Contamination Battle Moves Forward
Clearwater has been battling FM's draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) and its supporting document Environmental Assessment (EA) since last spring. "I don't feel that the town can afford to go forward without understanding all of the environmental impacts, all of the remedies and the time frames and the cost that will be involved," said NJFC VP and Eatontown Environment (EEC) Chairman Ed Dlugosz. He presented the facts and issues to a Eatontown Borough Council Workshop on November 4, 2009 and was successful in persuading the Council to pass a formal resolution opposing the FM finding and calling for an full-fledged public Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). [See full Atlanticville/ Hub Workshop report, "Army's Findings On Fort Contamination Criticized" by Daniel Howley.]

This followed a stand taken—at the October 2009 FMERPA Environmental Advisory Committee meeting—by EAC members from Eatontown, Oceanport, and Tinton Falls and other members of the public who were unanimous in their rejection of the EA/FNSI and in favor of the EIS and an open meeting to discuss the issues. These two events preceded the release of formal critical comments on the EA/FNSI by Clearwater, Clean Ocean Action, EEC and Birdsall Engineering, Tinton Falls, Monmouth County Board of Health, NJDEP, and numerous members of the public sent to the Army Installation Command at Fort Monmouth in May 2009. For a look at Clearwater's and other formal comments, click:  http://www.monmouth.army.mil/C4ISR/brac/ea/ea.shtml

On another battlefront, two Clearwater members Ben Forest and Ed Dlugosz participated in walking and riding tour of the Landfill Streambank Stabilization project and the Underground Storage Tank (UST) removal project carried out by Fort Monmouth and Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) contractors. In previous NJFC Newsletters, we've detailed our support for the need to stop the leaching of the landfill contaminants (e.g., arsenic, lead, VOCs, PCBs, PAHs, and other oil derivatives) into our watersheds by excavating contamination and capping the landfills, and stabilizing the banks. The Army has finally, after almost 10 years of erosion and 3 years of our campaigning, to capitulate but has reversed the logical process. We can report that the stabilization is almost done while the Army still dithers on the capping design and awaits funding. As reported in the Atlanticville and our earlier reports, several of the landfills are Classification Exception Areas (CEA) and/or Declaration of Environmental Restriction (DER)—meaning that the groundwater or soil is so polluted that nothing can built upon them. A recent RAB-website posting of the Army's 5-year old source report, Classification Exception Area Information For Various Sites, indicates that their computer modeling of those pollutants' lifecycle at 5 sites can take up to 4500 years to meet NJDEP non-residential criteria without aggressive remediation. Their natural attenuation approach that is their norm is not aggressive. Click:  http://www.monmouth.army.mil/C4ISR/brac/oed/CEAVarioussites.pdf

The UST project is going well. After initially following the decision of their lawyers to NOT REMOVE/REMEDIATE the ECP2-identified 24 USTs, the local DPW was convinced by Clearwater and a host of other critics to proceed. The count of leaking USTs has now topped 50 and they're still discovering new tanks. The local DPW contractors, who are doing a conscientious job, showed us one of their newest finds, a leaking 1000 gallon tank filled with oil and water which had stained an area of greater than 60 square feet. They were still excavating the downgradient area leading to Parker Creek when we left.

When asked whether the unfunded, future Baseline Ecological Evaluation (BEE) would assess the sediment of the Parker, Oceanport, and other streams, Ms. Wanda Green, spokesperson for the RAB, said that it would. When further questioned regarding the extent of the assessment, she said that FM and NJDEP would document it in the BEE Work Plan that is being finalized. Asked if a draft copy would be available to RAB members (Mr. Dlugosz is a RAB member) she maintained that not until finalized. Same old story!

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Criticized

Army's findings on fort contamination criticized
The Eatontown Environmental Commission is calling on the Department of the Army to conduct an in-depth study of environmental contamination at Fort Monmouth before turning property over to the fort's three host towns. "I feel that we need more information to make a better decision on what's going on [at Fort Monmouth]," Environmental Commission Chairman Edward Dlugosz said at the Nov. 4 council workshop meeting. Dlugosz, a member of the fort's Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), made the request after the Army released a draft of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) report. "I don't feel that the town can afford to go forward without understanding all of the [environmental] impacts, all of the remedies and the time frames and the cost that will be involved," he said. Dlugosz said the Army should produce a more thorough Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) instead.

In the FNSI the Army claims that the three host municipalities of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls would be left with no significant environmental impacts to deal with as a result of the Army's mission at the fort when the fort closes in 2011. The draft FNSI follows the completion of an Environmental Assessment (EA) at the fort to determine whether the Army would be required to perform a more extensive EIS or prepare a FNSI, according to Tim Rider, a spokesman for the fort. Rider pointed out that the FNSI is still in draft form and that the Army is reviewing any comments received.
In preparing the EA, Dlugosz explained, the Army looked into the impact that turning over the fort would have on the region's local environment, cultural environment, economic climate, as well as a number of other issues.

While he does not have a problem with the majority of the items in the report, Dlugosz said at the Nov. 4 meeting that he and members of several other environmental groups take issue with the actual assessment of the land, water and air pollution at the fort. "Basically what this report said was that everything was fine and that there was nothing that needed to be done once the [Army] left other than the things that were under way already," Dlugosz said, adding that the Army will continue work on sites that have already been identified as being in need of remediation.

However, Dlugosz said, the EA was not complete because it left out key information. "What I found was that they didn't tell the whole story," he said. According to Dlugosz, the Army conducted what is known as a Phase I Environmental Condition of the Property (ECP) in 2005, which resulted in the discovery of some 43 contaminated sites on the fort property. Of those 43 sites, Dlugosz explained, 27 are still being remediated and have not yet been declared as in need of No Further Action (NFA), while some sites have already been declared Classification Exception Areas (CEA) or Declaration of Environmental Restriction (DER) areas. Such classifications amount to a "virtual no-flyzone forever designation," Dlugosz explained. [editor's note: As noted in the Army's source document CEA Information For Various Sites, 5 of the sites that were considered for the CEA designation, computer modeling of the contaminants estimated that it would take 4500 years for the lead to dissipate at M-12 Landfill, over a 1000 years for the Arsenic and heavy metals Cadmium, Chromium and Lead to dissipate at M-18, etc.]

"Those mean that there is too much pollution of the groundwater or the soil [that the sites] are too bad to put anything on," Dlugosz said. "In fact, on those areas with those designations- and there is at least five of those - you can't do anything forever on those properties." Some of those contaminated sites, Dlugosz said, are the same properties that are destined for use as open space under the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority's (FMERPA) Fort Monmouth reuse plan.

In addition to the identification and classification of the 43 contaminated sites, the Phase I ECP also resulted in the capping and stabilization of nine landfills located along various streams throughout the fort property, which Dlugosz has also been critical of. "The stabilization was done in the reverse order that Birdsall Engineering [the borough's engineering firm] and all good practices tell you to do," Dlugosz said. "That is to cap the property, cap the land, then do the stabilization." According to Dlugosz, the Army is performing the process in reverse order. Instead, he said, the landfills should be capped with the stream banks being stabilized immediately afterward.

Following the Phase I ECP, the Army conducted a second ECP known as the Phase II ECP. The Phase II ECP turned up an additional 27 contaminated parcels, which in some cases overlap with the 43 sites already identified, Dlugosz explained. "What they found in that second Environmental Condition of the Property were something on the order of 40 underground storage tanks that were filled with ... gasoline and other oil products. They found that there were additional contaminants and frequently more of the same that we found before," Dlugosz said. The 27 new sites, he explained, require what is known as a Baseline Ecological Evaluation (BEE) study, in order to determine whether they should be subject to more rigorous analysis. Because the Army's initial EA does not take into account the Phase II ECP and its results, Dlugosz said he believes the EA "does not provide sufficient evidence to call for a [FNSI]." In questioning the completion of the initial EA, Dlugosz points to the Army's classification of some sites. "How can the Army declare [no significant impact] when you have sites that will remain CEA and/or DER?" Dlugosz further questions how the Army can move forward with the EA without including the results of the Phase II ECP, in addition to not having performed a BEE for the sites.

Rider refuted Dlugosz's claims that the Army is not performing the baseline evaluation, saying instead that the Army is in the process of preparing the proper work plan to perform the BEE. "The baseline ecological evaluation will provide data that will assist in our ongoing environmental programs. It includes soil, sediment and surface water sampling to augment the massive amount of environmental data we've gathered over 16 years," Rider explained. "It will help the Army and New Jersey to determine if any future actions are necessary in order to obtain a No Further Action letter from the NJDEP," Rider said. "If the data reveals that further ecological investigation or risk assessments may be required ... that fits with our environmental program's goals. According to Rider the BEE is currently in the administrative planning stages. "The work plan has to be approved by the state. Once that is approved, the Army will be able to perform samplings for the BEE," he said.

For more information regarding the environmental evaluation of Fort Monmouth, visit the fort's website at www2.monmouth.army.mil/usagfmima/sites/local/brac.asp.

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TEF Update

The Traveling Environmental Festival (TEF) has gotten off to an early start this school year, when we visited two Long Branch schools in November. Meanwhile, other Monmouth and Ocean County schools are being lined up for Spring '10. About 1,300 grammar school students participated in the interactive program during the Fall '08-Spring '09 school year. Children love the program and teachers praise it's academically solid, hands-on approach.  

The most recent schools were Clark School and Anastasia School, both in Long Branch. A total of about 240 students attended the presentations, including a presentation tailored for special education students. We've been invited back to both schools this Spring to reach other classes, and one visiting science teacher who saw the program wants us at her school, as well. TEF continues its informal relationship with Brookdale Community College's Science Field Station at Sandy Hook, where eight science students have signed on this semester as TEF instructors. This Spring, we expect several more students to join the instructors' list. In all about 24 BCC science students have been trained for TEF, using our 110-page TEF Instructors' Manual that has been praised by science teachers.  

Funds to provide the student instructors with stipends come from municipal environmental commission grants, plus two generous grants from Whole Foods and from Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo) and the Lakewood Blue Claws. At the current level of about 10 schools per school year, we can run TEF for at least three more years. We also are seeking additional grants and looking at ways to expand our informal relationship with Brookdale.  

We are concentrating on bringing the in-school, one-hour program to urban schools, where funding for environmental field trips is tight, and where many children have little knowledge of pollution problems.  We've presented to up to five classes in a school day, involving as many as 150 students. In order to maximize the impact of our grant funds, we require that we present to at least three classes at a school, which guarantees that we reach a minimum of 90 to 100 students.  

Our program begins with a 10-minute overview of pollution problems affecting the land, sea, and air. This portion includes the water cycle, food chain, scarcity of fresh water, and our dependence on the sea for food, oxygen and fresh water. The children then rotate through three hands-on, interactive stations, each taking 15 minutes. The stations include:      

• Food chain - Students use eye-droppers and wet slides to capture and study live zooplankton and other micro-marine creatures - all part of the food chain, which they then view with a microscope projector (a tip of the hat to Jack Charlton, who grows the plankton);
  
• Raritan Bay - Students identify the marine life in a salt water fish tank, learn about the importance of dissolved oxygen, review local marine species through our extensive collection of shells and skeletons, discover how vertebrates and invertebrates evolve and grow, and learn why we must protect our local and ocean waters (some of the critters are supplied by BCC); and    
• Littering Your Town - Students litter a three-dimensional topographical watershed model of a generic community to learn how non-point (or multi-source) pollution affects watersheds and water supplies. NPS includes overfertilizing, pesticides, oil spillage, and littering. The students love to litter. We conclude the presentation by emphasizing the importance of recycling and how we all can prevent littering.  

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Clearwater Continues Fort Monmouth Contamination Fight

The quarterly meeting of Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) was held October 7, 2009 at Gibbs Hall, Fort Monmouth. The presentation by Princeton Hydro engineer marked the progress of the Landfill Stabilization Project along the 1.5 miles streambanks on Fort Monmouth. Also presented was the progress of the excavation of water- and oil-filled Underground Storage Tanks (UST) and remediation of soil surrounding them. Both remediations were reluctantly started only after the relentless two-year campaigning by Clearwater. The proper capping of the 9 landfills is a campaign in which we are still engaged.

The latest campaign, which was started in May 2009, is the fight to ensure that the Army tells the whole truth in the Environmental Assessment (EA) about the burden the communities, county, and state will bear when and if, the Army abandons Fort Monmouth for Aberdeen Proving Ground, which itself has actually six times the number of contaminated sites. Our review opens with "After an extensive scientific review of the EA. Clearwater rejects the EA and cites that it does not provide sufficient evidence to call for a Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI).  A forthright Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is therefore a necessary addition to the evidence to assure that the receiving communities-Eatontown, Tinton Falls, and Oceanport, the county, and the state have a true, whole picture of the property that will become their citizens responsibility and liability in 2011. The EA's lack of complete disclosure calls into question the claims of short-term, minor impact in almost all areas."

When Clearwater tried to discuss this issue at that July RAB meeting, we were told that the EA and the FNSI were not topics for discussion at the RAB.  This was stupefying at the time and more so once the formal minutes of that meeting were reviewed afterwards.  In a letter to Ms Wanda Greene, Army co-chair of the meeting, and the rest of the RAB I wrote as a RAB member and Clearwater:
"Wanda, After reviewing the RAB minutes for July 2009, I have several important corrections to, clarifications of, and comments to the July minutes:
1. Please make the minutes more clear and to the point by illuminating the references to the CFRs in the minutes by including the answers that you provided the RAB to my questions about the reasons you wouldn't discuss the EA/FNSI issues, which I attempted to paraphrase below.   As you know, I submitted our comments to those EA/FNSI issues under the auspices of the Eatontown ECC and the NJ Friends of Clearwater.  The paraphrases of your verbal answers to my questions [summarized in the minutes as, "... when will the Army finish reviewing the Environmental Assessment (EA) public comments and how will the decision of a FNSI or EIS be presented?"] follow in items a. & b.
a. The Environmental Assessment (EA) and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) are not RAB documents but are Army-issued documents, therefore they won't be discussed at the RAB meeting.
b. There will be no public hearing on the EA/FNSI because that is not allowed/permitted under the CFRs  40 CFR 1500-1508 and 32 CFR 651.  Please provide the exact section/paragraph number that you are using as your guidance
c. Rationale:  These answers are hard to fathom since the information and restoration work cited in the EA/FNSI were done IAW the laws which established the RAB; RAB member Joe Fallon was cited as a primary author of the EA; Colonel Christianson signed it; and the Information Officer sent out the notice to each of the RAB members as well as providing notice to the general public.
2. There is no mention of the discussion in the minutes regarding the deletion of the Birdsall agenda topic in the final Princeton Hydro's landfill stabilization briefing while it was in the handouts provided.  The Birdsall comments are actually official Eatontown Borough documented comments on the Federal Consistency for Freshwater Wetlands General Permit #4 Application Compliance Statements submitted by US Army, Fort Monmouth, Dec 4, 2008.
3. The title of the Princeton Hydro's [PH] briefing refers to FM Streambank Stabilization rather than FM Landfill Bank Stabilization as had been present in its draft and earlier versions of the briefings, including the January 09 PH briefing. This seems to highlight the fact that although the Army submitted a Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit Application and a Freshwater General Permit #4 Application, it did not apply for a permit for disturbance of a landfill, as Birdsall Engineering's comments indicate.
4. There is no mention of the questions posed by John Schiels, Eatontown Borough President, and the answers provided by the Army in the open public comment period regarding the issues above.  This is a major omission of a substantive dialog as contrasted to the presence in the minutes of the early morning noise issue raised by the officials and public of Shrewsbury Borough.
5. To avoid future need for clarifications or omissions it may make sense to have the public RAB meeting minutes transcribed verbatim by a professional court reporter or by a secretary off recordings that can/have been made of the sessions through the professional sound system that is always present."

At that last RAB on October 7th, discussion of the above letter was tabled until the January 2010 meeting.  These issues were again brought up at the FMERPA Environmental Advisory Committee meeting on October 20, 2009. This time, in a more open forum despite Army representation, the EAC members from Eatontown, Oceanport, and Tinton Falls and other members of the public were unanimous in their rejection of the EA/FNSI and in favor of the EIS and an open meeting to discuss the issues.  On November 4, 2009 the Eatontown Borough Council passed a resolution to support Clearwater' and its EEC's demand that the Army produce an EIS

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Save Sandy Hook Ultimately Triumphs With a Little Help From Its Friends

After 10 years of frustration with the National Park Service and its chosen developer Sandy Hook Partners (SHP), NJ Friends of Clearwater rejoices in the bittersweet knowledge that SHP's plan to commercialize the Fort Hancock area of Sandy Hook has ultimately failed. That failure comes at a cost of 10 years of destructive neglect by the NPS of the homes and buildings it originally sought in its RFP to historically preserve. For sixteen years, NJFC leased and lovingly maintained Building 11, the "Clearwater House" before it was "evicted" after the choice of SHP. While we understood that it would be advantageous to the NPS to have a single historical restoration contractor of all the buildings, we could not foresee or understand that NPS would choose to commercialize rather than restore the property and then purposely abandon any semblance of maintenance for 10 years to ensure that public opinion would demand that their plan be executed.

Watching NPS grant concession after concession to SHP including of a 60-year lease that was forbidden during source selection, Clearwater was powerless to act alone to challenge NPS/SHP cabal. It turned out that we were not alone and in late 2003 and 2004 we found like-minded people in Judith Stanley, Judge James M. Coleman, and others. Together we formed the nonprofit group Save Sandy Hook (SSH). Ms Coleman became President; Judge Coleman became Secretary; and our own Ben Forest was its first Vice President. George Moffatt and I were also part of the team. Shortly after the purported lease was "signed" between SHP and NPS without the exchange of the required money, SSH took bold step and leveled a federal lawsuit against the NPS, SHP, the Department of the Interior, and the NPS Regional Directors.

In that initial lawsuit, Clearwater and Judge Coleman became co-plaintiffs with SSH. Each of the Clearwater's members continued to play important roles in the SSH organization: Ben as VP; George as author of many op-ed pieces. As project manager and author of Clearwater's proposal to turn the Clearwater House into an environmental conference/environmental education center, Ed was the historical resource and a named witness in the lawsuits. Eventually Ed succeeded Ben as SSH VP. NJ Friends of Clearwater members fully supported our efforts

That lawsuit charged that the commercialization was not in keeping with the mission of the NPS nor was it in accordance with the law that created the Gateway National Recreation Area-Sandy Hook. Additionally, the complaints cited the concessions and irregularities of the procurement process and SHP inability to name/gain reputable financial backers, emblemized in 2006 by the naming of "vulture capitalist" Palisades Financial as a backer. In 2008, SSH's appeal to the Circuit Court of Appeals eventually proved unsuccessful not on its merits but in a technicality that purported that we as citizens did not have "Standing" to bring a complaint against the Government.

It is poetic, if not legal, justice that after we decided not to go to the Supreme Court that one of our key reasons for issuing the lawsuit, inability to pay, would be deem the reason to void the non-existent lease.  In two separate reviews—one by the NPS and PriceWaterhouseCoopers and one by SHP's binding arbitrator, Maurice Robinson and Associates (a California-based, hospitality and real estate consulting firm)--reached the same conclusion, i.e., SHP's financing plan was inadequate. [Judge] Coleman looked back, observing, "It's too bad they [NPS] didn't see back in '99 that he [Wassel and Sandy Hook Partners] didn't have the money. It would have saved us all this travail."  Save Sandy Hook ultimately triumphed with a little help from its Friends.

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Environmental Justice Roundtable

Note: For the past 2 Clearwater Festivals we've engaged national and statewide activists, including Lois Marie Gibbs—heroine of the Love Canal, in an important dialogue about what Environmental Justice is/isn't, how to recognize it, and how we as individuals and a organization can help. Clearwater campaigned against eminent domain abuse in Long Branch is an example. Each month I will highlight a bit of history and current efforts in our communities, state, and nation.  If you have a contribution, please send it to Newsletter@mcclearwater.org and we will try to publish it in the newsletter and online.

The Environmental Justice Movement
It's a statistical fact: The poor and people of color are more likely to live in America's most-polluted neighborhoods. Poor communities are routinely targeted to host facilities with negative environmental impacts, such as landfills, dirty factories, truck depots and more. For decades, a community-based movement known as environmental justice has been battling these inequities and struggling to improve the environmental health of these neighborhoods. There are now laws, NJDEP- and EPA-based Advisory Councils, and of course, grassroot organizations like Ms. Gibbs' Center for Health, Environment & Justice, the NJ Environmental Justice Alliance, and the Ironbound Community Corporation.

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Our COAlition:  NJ Friends of Clearwater

New Jersey Friends of Clearwater (NJFC), formerly Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater is a grass roots nonprofit, volunteer-run and staffed organization. Since 1974, this organization has been actively trying to educate children and adults on the importance of clean clear water and to urge citizens to be responsible stewards of their environment. NJFC focuses their efforts to the estuaries of Hudson, the Raritan, Delaware, and other NJ Rivers, the Jersey Shore coastline, its inland waterways, and the land of New Jersey.

NJFC is one of the founding members of the COAlition and has been an active participating organization throughout COA's 25 years. In fact, NJFC chose to focus their 34th Annual Clearwater Festival on the Clean Ocean Zone and anti-LNG campaign. The annual festival features the finest music, dance, and art with environmental activism to celebrate New Jersey's waterways. COA would like to extend our gratitude for including COA and our issues in their successful event.

Clearwater volunteers conduct environmental education, celebration and advocacy activities to protect New Jersey waterways and coast environment. Besides festivals and other music events, programs include clean-ups, environmental watches, political action, and education programs. "Ultimately, Clearwater's mission is to bring as many people under the environmental tent as possible," says NJFC and COA Board of Trustee, Ben Forest.

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Guy Davis heads to Clearwater; Bluesman talks activism, new album

August 11, 2009

If you think being green is a new concept, think again.

40 years ago, folksinger and American icon Pete Seeger started the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit corporation created to preserve and protect the Hudson River and its related bodies of water -- and it didn't take long for the Clearwater concept to travel.

Since 1974, the New Jersey Friends of Clearwater -- formerly known as the Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater -- has been fighting pollution in the Garden State, and on Saturday (Aug. 15) NJFC will host its 34th annual Clearwater Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Asbury Park's Sunset Park.

Topping the bill on Saturday will be Guy Davis, a bluesman who has known Seeger and his family for the past several decades and toured with Seeger last summer. Davis recently spoke with Metromix Jersey Shore.

"I'm privileged to have know Pete from the early '60s by way of my parents (actors Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis); he was close to my folks and still close with my mom and we're still close with he and (Seeger's wife) Toshi, and I actually got a chance to do opening sets for Pete back in about 1977 or so.

"He had me going around in the New England area primarily, and I'd meet folks like Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert (of the Weavers) and oh gosh, so many folks who were in the folk scene from the early days and between that, being part of sort of the Sloop crowd from the mid-70s; I guess that gave me a little step up in being part of this tour that he did last year, and that was the icing on the cake."

Davis, whose association with Clearwater dates back the mid-70s, said there is still room for improvement when it comes to folks in the musical community following Seeger's example when it comes to environmental issues.

"There's always room for more, but I think that there were some great folks who were around in that crowd in the '70s who are really stepping up. Now me, I can say that I'm an environmentalist, but not anywhere near the level that Pete is or near the level of the folks who are part of the Sloop clubs that are up and down the Jersey Shore and also in New York state along the Hudson River," Davis said. "But yes, there is always room for improvement, and Pete will be the first one to tell you, so yeah, there's more room for membership and innovation of ideas about keeping the river and the environment clean."

These days, Davis is on the road in support of his latest release, this year's "Sweetheart Like You." Davis discussed the album's title track, an elegant and moving cover of a song originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan for the 1983 album "Infidels."

"The song itself, I guess, indicates my fascination with the personality of Bob Dylan," Davis said. "It's a clear fact that the man is a genius as a songwriter and people will never be able to get past that, that's just a fact. But, this song, I think, is sort of like some sort of code that explains a lot about Bob, because we all know that Bob essentially tries to hide himself in the media. The college word is 'obfuscates,' he puts up a little smokescreen about who he really is, he protects that zealously, and he puts out just who he wants us to think he is.

"Now, that's his business, and that's OK, but in this song it sounds like a young man standing sort of just outside the gates to hell and there's a woman coming in and he's trying to save her and seduce her at the same time. That's what the words make me think of, his relationship with women in particular, in this song. And he talks about, I guess, capitalism, corrupt government, but it's also about men and women and you'll hear those themes on and off throughout Bob's work."

Along with Dylan, the works of bluesmen such as Muddy Waters ("Can't Be Satisfied") and Leadbelly ("Follow Me Down") appear on "Sweetheart Like You." When asked what the blues has to say to the society we're living in today, Davis explained that "the blues, in and of itself, is the music of survivors, people who have survived very hard times.

"They're still having hard times behind the plow or behind the eight-ball or stuck on a plantation that won't let them off and is ripping them off for money or stuck in a job that has a low ceiling, so the blues transcends time, the ethics that brought about the blues. I think the blues just has to say that, like the music, the people got to keep surviving.

"Now, the earliest blues, you almost wouldn't recognize it now because it was before a lot of the kind of style of blues that people are used to, which is the Chicago-sounding kind of blues. The blues had earlier origins, and if you listen back to people like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Henry Thomas and people even older than that you can hear something, Leadbelly, you'll hear some stuff. But, if you listen to the words you can hear the stuff that came from the field hollers, and that is the music of survivors. The lesson here is keep plugging, don't give up, survive."

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Clearwater Rejects Fort Monmouth-Issued EA and FNSI and Urges Creation of Environmental Impact State

After an extensive scientific review of the Environmental Assessment (EA) Clearwater rejects the EA and cites that it does not provide sufficient evidence to call for a Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI).  A forthright Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is therefore a necessary addition to the evidence to assure that the receiving communities—Eatontown, Tinton Falls, and Oceanport, the county, and the state have a true, whole picture of the property that will become their citizens responsibility and liability in 2011. The EA's lack of complete disclosure calls into question the claims of short-term, minor impact in almost all areas.
The Army chose to include only the Phase I ECP report which minimized the impacts of:
•    43 contaminated sites were found originally in the Phase 1 ECP of which 27 are still under remediation and not declared as NFA yet.
•    Several of the contamination sites have been declared Classification Exception Area (CEA) and/or Declaration of Environmental Restriction (DER), a virtual no-fly zone forever designation.
•    A poorly conceived, two-stage landfill stabilization process and design that followed 2.5 years of denial of its need after failure of previous remedies. 
However, the Army chose to not include the most recent Phase II ECP from mention when addressing hazardous or toxic materials:
•    27 additional contaminated "parcels" were found in the Phase II ECP which recommended a Baseline Ecological Evaluation (BEE) which is also required by NJAC 7:26E-3.11, Requirements for Site Remediation. The BEE is needed to determine which parcels/subparcels should go through more rigorous analysis and remediation and which parcels should be ruled out. 
•    The BEE had not been funded until early spring and hasn't yet been executed.  Only after the BEE determinations are made can the Army enter into the 7-step process that identifies the problem more scientifically and lays out a plan for design and execution of the remediation. 
These facts beg the questions:
•    How can the Army declare FNSI when you have sites that will remain CEA and/or DER of no significant impact?
•    How can the Army go forward and not take into account 27 parcels of land in which Phase II ECP itemized new contaminated sites that have yet to be fully assessed, much less have the Contaminants of Concern (COCs) remediated.
Additionally, the Army's EA and other documentation have never identified their pollution's impacts to food chain and environment downstream in the Shrewsbury. Sandy Hook Bay, and the Ocean.  The Army has never acknowledged the impacts of the COCs to past and present workers—the computer scientists, logisticians, technicians and military in the Myers Center (and other labs)—who were never notified of the high levels of carcinogens such as PCEs and TCEs that rose as high as 7820 μg/l level within 100 feet of their workplace.  Although detected vapor intrusion in Phase II was relatively negligible, the same could not have been said in the years 1955 to 2001 when the levels were sky high.
We call for a full-fledged Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the property.  For the reasons above, the EIS should address not only the current state of the property and its impacts but also the significant impacts already delivered to those two major areas.  Again we were assisted by the Eatontown Environmental Commission and Clean Ocean Action.

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Seeger 90th Birthday Bash a Great Success

Pete was joined by over 50 admirers on stage and over 17,000 in the seats of Madison Square Garden on the evening of May 3rd 2009.  The event featuring Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, John Mellancamp, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Arlo Guthrie, and more than 50 legendary friends was a legacy fundraising event for our mother ship Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. and to announce the theme of "Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders".  All performers including musicians, labor and civil rights activists, and celebrities donated their talents.
Pete, who usually avoids birthday parties despite admirers' attempts, embraced this 90th as a way to ensure continuation of his legacy of the Sloop and the Clearwater organization.  With tickets selling from $19.19 to $1250, two-thirds of the enormous revenues will be put into an untouchable account to ensure Pete's legacy and the remaining will be used to pay off the debt and to establish our new headquarters in Beacon, NY.

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Clearwater Urges Close Scrutiny & Comment on Fort Monmouth-Issued EA and FONSI

The Fort Monmouth Public Affairs Office (PAO) issued a press release that announces the publication of two important environmental documents for public review—Final Environmental Assessment and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)—which  claim that Fort Monmouth will be ready to hand over the 1126 acre property and that it will need no further action to make it environmentally acceptable to the three inclusive local towns, Monmouth County, and the state of NJ when the Fort's mission transitions to Aberdeen MD in September 2011.  To quote them directly, "According to the documents, the closure of Fort Monmouth will not result in significant adverse environmental effects; therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required."  Based on the recent review of their permit for Landfill Stabilization and other outstanding environmental issues detected during two years of RAB participation, Clearwater doubts that the Fort can substantiate those claims.

The review and comment period lasts for 30 days—April 27 to May 27.  Clearwater and the Eatontown Environmental Commission (EEC) plan to fully review the documents as does the Tinton Falls EC.  Clearwater calls on all concerned citizens to access and review these important documents at: www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/env_ea_review.htm.  Clearwater suggests that citizens provide comments to us at info@mcclearwater.org for consolidation by May 20, 2009 since all must be postmarked by May 27.  Citizens can also provide comments directly to the PAO at their snail mail address: PAO—EA Comments, IMNE-MON-PA, Bldg 1207, Room G-07, Fort Monmouth NJ 07703.  For further guidance on how best to provide the comments, "A Citizen's Guide to the NEPA -- Having Your Voice Heard"  provides guidance on sending comments and is a concise guide to NEPA-related processes at: www.nepa.gov/nepa/Citizens_Guide_Dec07.pdf

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Clearwater & Partners Call for Rejection Fort Monmouth Landfill Streambank Stabilization Permits

New Jersey Friends of Clearwater was joined by Clean Ocean Action (COA) and the Borough of Eatontown in providing comments critical of Fort Monmouth's plans and design for stabilizing the streambed stabilization plans for five landfills in the Shrewsbury Watershed contained in their Wetlands Permit Application  to the NJDEP .  As reported here for the past two months, the plans and designs:

• don't provide stream protection from contamination as a result of the sites' preparation;
• don't provide sufficient individual site stabilization designs associated with the hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics of the streams in question;
• don't provide a holistic, total design approach:  i.e., taking aggressive remediation actions, stronger capping, and the stabilization together rather than the phased, less-than-optimal process FM cited.

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Fort Monmouth Landfill Stabilization Follow-Up

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Water Quality Analysis Training

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Global Warming Polluters Are Backed By Big Bucks

• 0 retractions or corrections were published by the Washington Post, Will's employer, after running his demonstrably false claims about global warming.
• $450 million was spent on lobbying and political contributions by opponents of global warming action in 2008. Money talks, that's for sure.
• $45 million was spent on advertising denying global warming by the coal industry in 2008. Instead, they promote the oxymoron, "clean coal."
• 2,340 lobbyists were paid fulltime to work in Washington on convincing Congress and regulators that global warming isn't a problem, a 300 percent increase in the past few years. K Street's lobbyists never had it so good.
• 52 public spokespersons – talking heads – are being paid by polluters and their ideological friends to spread disinformation about global warming online, on radio and TV talk shows, in op-eds, and on the "rubber chicken" dinner circuit. You can expect bumper sticker slogans, not thoughtful discussion, from this crowd.
• 7 of 8 climate lobbyists in Washington are arguing against taking any action on global warming, while just 1 in 8 are arguing for the environment. They hope their money will drown out our facts.

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TEF Continues Success Story

The NJFC Traveling Environmental Festival (TEF) continues to delight students and educators in our area.  According to TEF Director, George Moffatt, NJFC had two successful TEF events, one at the Oak Street School on March 19 and another Lakewood school on March 26.  TEF has continued its partnership with college students and staff from Brookdale Community College (BCC) from the Sand Hook extension.  BCC students Alex Broszeit and Billy Goldberg joined George to provide hands-on learning of the importance of clean water, and the effects of pollution on the food chain starting at the plankton and on up the chain to the humans.  The plankton station, where the students choose and observe live plankton, illustrates how even small amounts of contaminants can have dire consequences for these microscopic animals and plants.  The watershed station illustrates how those contaminants reach the members of the food chain and how the students and their parents can reduce pollution. As always, teachers and staff of the schools were full of praise for TEF and its fine instructors. 

Upcoming TEF events include Asbury Park, Hazlet, and Atlantic Highlands Elementary Schools, environmental events like Earth Day in various locales, and Ocean Days at Sandy Hook.  If you would like to book an event at your school or learn more, please go to www.mcclearwater.org/tef.php or contact us by emailing us at info@mcclearwater.org.

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Fort Monmouth Landfill Stabilization Victory for NJFC

Based on over two years of hard and often criticized work on our part on the Fort Monmouth Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) and FMERPA EAC, New Jersey Friends of Clearwater (formerly MCFC) has won a great victory in the fight to make Fort Monmouth (FM) cleaner environmentally.  Fort Monmouth has finally agreed to stabilize the stream banks of 5 landfills in anticipation of "capping" all 9 existing landfills at the military base.

"Our insistence on independently  determining costs for more complete sediment testing, stabilizing the stream banks with riprap, and landfill capping came after a series of requested contaminated site visits starting in early 2007, I feel that the increased NJDEP invigoration and the Fort's change of heart are the direct result of our efforts.  Previous to that, the Fort denied that they needed the additional stabilization and capping", according to NJFC Vice President Ed Dlugosz, who is also Chairman of the Eatontown Environmental Commission (EEC) and had served as Community Co-chairman of the FM RAB.

These landfills have polluted the sub-watersheds of the Shrewsbury River for over 60 years. The landfills contain many chemical and biological contaminants that continue to exceed the NJDEP industrial standards for pollutants, including heavy metals lead, mercury, cadmium, the solvent VOCs TCE, PCE, oil derivatives, benzenes, PAH, PCB, the poisons arsenic and cyanide, among others.  While the Fort has done much to bring the contamination under control, the extensive stabilization and capping were among the missing elements.

Although it was announced at the recent RAB Open House, this long-awaited, verifiable-action news came through a relatively low-key source, the EEC received a notice that stabilization permits and plans from the Fort were available for review. The comments are due to the NJDEP on several construction and wetlands permits that were required for reinforcement of the stream banks with engineered riprap on over 1¼ miles along the Wampum and Husky Brooks, and Lefetra and Parker Creeks to prevent future erosion of the landfills.  As Ingrid Heldt noted in last month's article, funding is still problematic.

I've been reviewing both the design and the design's consistency with local, state, and Federal regulations for the protection of the environment and habitat.  In an answer to one of the permits' consistency questions, I was heartened by the Fort's admission to what we've been saying all along, and I quote, "placement of the riprap...providing long-term stability for these landfills in preventing their waste deposits from becoming exposed which would ADVERSELY IMPACT NOT ONLY THE STREAMS ON [FM] BASE, BUT ALSO DOWNSTREAM."  Previous soft solutions, "biologs had previously been attempted, but TOTALLY FAILED shortly after installation" in the late '90s.

While I've not completed the review and have informed the borough EEC and engineer, I am somewhat pleased by the design of the stabilization but concerned with the Fort's less than robust capping plans.  I'd like to see excavation of the sources of pollution to the extent possible and thicker, more impermeable capping materials to reduce leaching.

The costs have been unavailable due to competitive bidding reasons, but they will be substantial and bolster my contention—confirmed by the GAO—that the original costs for remediation of the Fort's environmental woes were vastly underestimated. As always, there are more environmental issues to be corrected, but this is a great first step and victory for us.

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Climate Change (Global Warming) Deniers Never Quit

On Sunday, February 15, the Asbury Park Press carried an Op Ed by George Will, which was basically a denial of global warming. We are accustomed to reading items from individuals with an ideological agenda who cherry pick their references to present only that which supports their beliefs. But this Op Ed is so replete with factual errors that it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that they are not simply errors but deliberate lies.

For example, Mr. Will stated that "According to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea ice levels now equal those of 1979". Within hours of Will's publication the Arctic Climate Research Center posted a reply saying, "We do not know where George Will is getting his information", but between February 1979 and February 2009 global sea ice has shrunk by 1.34 million square kilometers (over half a million square miles, or approximately the area of Texas, California, and Oklahoma combined). Mr. Will's office was contacted regarding this discrepancy, but he has not responded.

Considerable space in the Op Ed was devoted to the issue of predictions made during the 70's of future global cooling. Will argues that if scientists were wrong then, why should we believe them now? He provided brief quotes from eight different publications all suggesting that there was general scientific agreement that we could be heading for another ice age. The problem is that there never was such scientific agreement.

By the 70's it was well established that human-generated airborne particulates blocked the sun's rays contributing to cooling, while, simultaneously, carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuel trapped the sun's heat causing global warming. No one really knew which would dominate. A few scientists did predict the former, and speculate on the possibility of a new ice age. As is not unusual, the popular press was quick to pick up and sensationalize such predictions, leading, for example, to a cover story in Newsweek on April 28, 1975.

Was cooling truly a dominant scientific opinion at the time as quoted in many of the referenced popular-press articles? The publication New Scientist surveyed relevant scientific literature between 1965 and 1979. They found 44 scientific papers predicted warming, 20 were neutral and just 7 predicted cooling. The situation is better represented by the National Academy of Sciences. Its report for 1975 read, "we do not have a good quantitative understanding of our climate machine and what determines its course. Without the fundamental understanding, it does not seem possible to predict climate." By contrast, in 2008 the NAS issued a report finding that "the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to begin taking steps to prepare for climate change and to slow it. Human actions over the next few decades will have a major influence on the magnitude and rate of future warming."  Mr. Will did not see fit to include any such information. In addition, the one publication on his list, which has strong credentials as a voice for science, was seriously misquoted.

In another major misrepresentation, Will wrote, "According to the World Meteorological Organization, there has been no recorded global warming for more than a decade." This information apparently comes from a year-old (and since corrected) BBC story. It derives from a comparison of current world temperatures with the global temperatures in 1998, a particularly hot year. (This is about as logical as looking at Monmouth County's temperature for Sunday, February 8 (60 degrees) and Friday, February 20 (34 degrees) and predicting that spring is not going to come this year because the closer we get to the Vernal Equinox the colder it is.) Will did not inform his readers that the World Meteorological Organization has emphatically confirmed its view that global warming is continuing, and that gauging climate change by looking at only one year is essentially useless.

Finally, Will has dragged out an old canard regard climate change. He wrote, "An unstated premise of eco-pessimism is that environmental conditions are, or recently were, optimal" and "These optimal conditions can and must be preserved". This totally misses the point of much of the climate change concern. Most scientists would agree that either a warmer or cooler earth would probably host an abundance of life (though not necessarily human life). But all flora and fauna on earth (including humans) are adapted to conditions as they have existed with little change for over 10,000 years. Any relatively abrupt change will inevitably introduce extreme trauma and hardship for earth's inhabits. To give a specific example, it is generally conceded that rising sea levels associated with global warming may displace many farmers in low-lying countries such as Bangladesh. On the other hand, increased warming may open to agriculture land in the sub-arctic not now farmable. It is possible that these losses and gains may balance each other. But does anyone really believe that hordes of displace Bangladeshis could flow seamlessly into northern Canada to continue their agricultural life?

People tend to believe what they want to believe. No one really wants to believe that earth is in peril and that we must make changes in the way we do a number of things. Hence one error-filled and misleading article by a respected writer such as George Will can do tremendous damage to our ability to come together and confront a serious and rapidly growing problem. Perhaps more damage than 100 technically sound and well-documented scientific papers can overcome.

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LNG Terminal Opposition

NJ Friends of Clearwater again showed its opposition to the placement of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals off the coast of NJ at a public meeting held on January 27, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel in Eatontown.  The hearing followed an 90 minute Open House displaying plans for the project. 

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Fort Monmouth Restoration Advisory Board Open House

On January 10, 2009, Lynn Humphrey, Tom Mahedy, Tim Johnson, George Moffatt and I had a unique chance to attend the Open House at Fort Monmouth and see first-hand some of the tireless work our former President Ed Dlugosz has been involved in for many hours and many years.  He has been a prominent member of a group called RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) at Fort Monmouth.  Your first reaction may be the same as mine:  What is there to be cleaned up when former barracks and laboratories are turned into private land?

The answer is "plenty" when those buildings served as a Research and Development facility for many items such as batteries and electronics, and when, as it used to be the fashion in those days, no one considered the people and the wildlife in the area when disposing of wastes right then and there.  Among the contaminants found in a preliminary study are PCBs, DDT, Radon, Lead, Chromium, Lithium, Cadmium, Zinc, Beryllium, and Benzene.  Various cleanup methods were discussed, none of them ideal:

• Capping entire areas with a permeable layer and then turning them into parks.  That may prevent direct contact with contaminants, but it will not prevent further leaching into the streams and the groundwater.
• Using enzymes that feast on the very things that would kill us if we tried to do the same.  This method is slow and will require subsequent testing.  However, it is easy to start, and this has been done in some areas.
• Using chemicals to neutralize acids and alkaline materials into harmless salts.  This method would be faster, but the heat developed in the processes would kill every plant and living being now there, including the useful enzymes.

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