This is the hearing we previewed on August 5 in Critics get another bite at proposed NJDEP coastal rules.

From that post:

In response to the widespread property and environmental damage left behind by Superstore Sandy in the fall of 2012, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) instituted numerous emergency amendments to existing regulations covering flood hazard areas and coastal management and coastal permits.

Based on lessons learned from the Sandy rebuilding experience, the DEP decided this year to "consolidate the Coastal Permit Program Rules and the Coastal Zone Management rules into one chapter and to make other changes intended to further encourage appropriate redevelopment of more resilient coastal communities."

Public comment on the revised rule, which was the subject of three public hearings in June and July, ended on August 1. But, spurred on by environmental groups that have criticized the revision, the State Senate’s Environment and Energy Committee is taking another bite at the apple.

You should not read anything nefarious into the hearing’s postponement. It was done to coincide with a rescheduled session of the full Senate which will meet on Monday to consider judicial appointments.

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Photo: Moorestown Patch

No further action is needed to address the capping of two closed landfills at the Cinnaminson Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in the New Jersey
townships of Cinnaminson and Delran, the EPA has determined.

In a news release, the agency reported:

“The site, which covers approximately 400 acres, includes residential and industrial properties and the two landfills. As a result of historic operations throughout the site, the groundwater and soil were contaminated with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, which can have serious health effects.

“To date, the landfills have been covered with protective caps to prevent water from flowing through them and a system has been constructed to collect gas generated from the landfills. In addition, contaminated groundwater in the area had been pumped and then treated to prevent contaminants from spreading.


“The EPA determined that no further actions with respect to the capping of the landfills are needed because the actions already taken are effective. The EPA reviewed conditions at the site and has determined that the threat of further release of contaminants from the landfills to the groundwater has been addressed. Groundwater monitoring conducted over the past 26 years confirms the effectiveness of the previous capping of the landfills.

“An assessment regarding the continued operation of the groundwater extraction and treatment system is ongoing. The local drinking water supply is monitored regularly to ensure that water meets drinking water standards and is safe to consume, which it currently is.

“The EPA held a public meeting in Cinnaminson on May 12, 2014 to explain its plan. The EPA took public comment for 30 days and considered public input before finalizing its decision.


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“The landfill property on the site was originally a sand and gravel mining operation. Later, solid waste including hazardous substances were dumped in the mining pits. Sanitary Landfill, Inc. operated the landfills from 1970 until they closed in the 1980s. The site was first addressed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, with the EPA taking over when the site was added to the federal Superfund list in 1986.“

Read the full EPA release here

In a distressing story yesterday, the Asbury Park Press reported:

Some New Jersey homeowners signed up for housing aid to help them get their financial footing after Superstorm Sandy, only to later discover that an overwhelmed program actually may be sinking their credit scores.

 Liz Vargo, a 64-year-old retiree in Point Pleasant, Ocean County, enrolled in the Sandy Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program after flooding from the October 2012 storm filled her basement with four feet of water. She racked up a few thousand dollars in credit card debt replacing the uninsured contents of her basement and was planning on using the money she was saving from SHRAP, which was covering her mortgage and utilities, to pay it down when she signed up in January.

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It wasn’t long before she started getting calls from her mortgage lender. It turns out her February bill — due on the first of the month — wasn’t paid until Feb. 24. Then March’s payment wasn’t made until April 24 and April’s wasn’t received until May 8. She even got a foreclosure notice as SHRAP failed time and time again to make timely payments. 

Mortgages are the type of bill held in the highest regard by lenders, according to Adam Levin, chairman and co-founder of Credit.com and former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. That means a single reported late payment especially can be damaging, resulting in a 25- to 75-point hit to their credit score.  

“When the state falls behind, that effectively means you are falling behind,” Levin said. “Then what you’re saying is that although you’re helping me stay in my home, you’re making the rest of my life more expensive.”