How to fix Penn Station? Architects: Rebuild the original


Larry Higgs reports for NJ.com:

A plan to recreate the architectural masterpiece that was the original Penn Station, built in 1910 and demolished in the mid 1960s, could solve some of the overcrowding and delay issues that plague commuters on a daily basis, said supporters of the idea.
The proposal by the National Civic Art Society, would build a replica of the original station, which featured Roman inspired architecture and columns, soaring interior spaces and skylights that earned it the nickname, “the temple of transportation.”
The loss of the station spawned a preservation movement that was credited with saving Grand Central Terminal from demolition.
The proposal calls for replacing the current dismal subterranean Penn Station with a $3 billion to $3.5 billion replica, which could be constructed in five years to serve the 650,000 daily passengers that use Penn Station, said Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society, which proposed the project.
By contrast, the $4 billion World Trade Center transportation hub’s Oculus, built by the Port Authority, only serves 60,000 people a day, Shubow said.
The recreated Penn Station could be financed with bonds, the selling of air rights, and the creation of a redevelopment and revenue capture district, similar to one proposed by the Municipal Arts Society in a 2013 report, he said.
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Land preservation funding bills sent to NJ Gov. Christie


An important action taken by New Jersey lawmakers each year before leaving Trenton for summer recess is the appropriation of funding for farmland, open space and other preservation projects.


Yesterday, the legislature gave final approval, and sent to the governor, the following (click on the number to open the bill):

A-4580  Taliaferro, A.J. (D-3); Burzichelli, J.J.
(D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20); Houghtaling, E. (D-11); Lesniak, R.J. (D-20); Oroho,
S.V. (R-24)
Appropriates $2,900,000 from “2009 Farmland
Preservation Fund” for grants to certain nonprofit organizations for
farmland preservation purposes.

A-4581  Houghtaling, E. (D-11); Andrzejczak, B.
(D-1); Singleton, T. (D-7); Downey, J. (D-11); Cruz-Perez, N. (D-5); Oroho,
S.V. (R-24)
Appropriates $22,385,743 to State Agriculture
Development Committee for farmland preservation purposes.

A-4582  Andrzejczak, B. (D-1); Mazzeo, V. (D-2);
Taliaferro, A.J. (D-3); Zwicker, A. (D-16); Houghtaling, E. (D-11); Whelan, J.
(D-2); Van Drew, J. (D-1)
Appropriates $32.5 million from constitutionally
dedicated CBT revenues to State Agriculture Development Committee for county
planning incentive grants.

A-4584  Zwicker, A. (D-16); Taliaferro, A.J. (D-3);
Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Houghtaling, E. (D-11); Sweeney, S.M. (D-3)
Appropriates $7,500,000 from constitutionally dedicated
CBT revenues for planning incentive grants to municipalities for farmland
preservation purposes.
S-3240  Greenstein, L.R. (D-14); Codey, R.J. (D-27)
Authorizes NJ Environmental Infrastructure Trust to
expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for
FY2018.
Also approved by the Assembly yesterday and sent to Gov. Christie was:
A-1645 (Schaer)/ S-195 (Kyrillos) which expands the current definition of ‘acquisition’ for county and municipal open space trust funding to include demolition, removal of debris, and restoration of lands.

Off to the Assembly after clearing the Senate was:
S-3241  Smith, B. (D-17); Codey, R.J. (D-27)
Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental
infrastructure projects for FY2018.  Related Bill: A-4998
   

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A new defense for potential CERCLA “arrangers”?



This post from Gibbons attorneys : Irvin M. Freilich and Jacob J. Franchino is not for the average reader, but attorneys and LSRPs involved in site cleanups are likely to find it quite interesting.
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In Town of Islip v. Datre, a recent decision out of the Eastern District of New York, the court adopted an approach to “arranger liability” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) that holds parties cannot be liable unless they knew that the substances they arranged for disposal were, in fact, hazardous. 

The Islip court’s approach represents a departure from traditional considerations of arranger liability and, if followed by future courts, may present a defense for potentially responsible parties who, though intentionally arranging for disposal of materials which ultimately lead to contamination, lacked specific knowledge that such materials contained hazardous substances.

The Islip case arises out of illegal dumping of hazardous construction and demolition debris that occurred at a public park (“the park”) in Islip, New York between 2013 and 2014. Though the case involves an elaborate and bizarre dumping scheme involving, among many others, a local church, …


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Trump’s FBI pick, Christopher Wray, billed NJ taxpayers $2.1 M as Gov. Christie’s off-radar Bridgegate attorney


Tab included airfare and legal expenses after trial ended

Matt Katz reports for NJ Politics:

christopher wray

Christopher Wray

President Trump’s pick to be the next FBI director, Christopher Wray, billed New Jersey taxpayers more than $2.1 million in legal charges and expenses while representing Gov. Chris Christie as his personal attorney before, during, and after the Bridgegate trial.

It is unclear what Wray and an extensive team from his firm, King & Spalding LLP, was doing for Christie — the bills provided to WNYC from the state attorney general’s office are heavily redacted, and Wray has never spoken publicly about his role. Christie was never charged by federal prosecutors in the lane-closing scandal, and he has long maintained his innocence while refraining from getting into details about how the conspiracy took hold within his administration.
The public did not even know that Wray was working for the governor until nearly two years into his work, when Christie’s spokesman said a cellphone that the governor used during Bridgegate was in Wray’s possession. Two former Christie aides who were indicted and ultimately convicted had unsuccessfully sought to subpoena the phone to use as part of their defense.
Instead of Wray, it was Christie’s other lawyer, Randy Mastro of the Gibson Dunn firm, who was the public face of the defense as the lead attorney for the governor’s office. Mastro’s bill for legal and digital forensics work amounted to more than $11 million. Since the public is also responsible for paying for the lawyers of other government employees who were not convicted, plus the legal staff of the Democratic legislature’s investigative committee, Bridgegate legal bills now exceed $15 million.


Read the full story here

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EPA’s latest cleanup plan for Superfund site in Kearny

Red diamond  inside yellow circle marks the Diamond Head Oil Refinery Superfund site in Kearny, NJ

The EPA has scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. on June 29 at Town Hall in Kearny, NJ to explain its latest proposed cleanup plan for the Diamond Head Oil Refinery Superfund site. The cleanup has been taking place in stages since the 1970s.  


Below is the EPA’s news release that provides information about the history of the site and details of the remediation plan.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a cleanup plan to address contaminated soil and sediment at the Diamond Head Oil Refinery Superfund site located in Kearny, N.J. The EPA plan also amends a 2009 cleanup plan to make the cleanup of the site more effective. Soil and sediment at the site are contaminated with PCBs, dioxin and volatile organic compounds resulting from decades of operation by a defunct oil recycling facility at the site.


“Removal of contaminated soil and sediment will mark significant progress in the cleanup of this site,” said Catherine McCabe, Acting Regional Administrator. “This is a substantial investment in the future of Kearny, which has been burdened with far too many industrial pollution sites.”


The Diamond Head Oil Refinery Superfund site is a 30-acre area located near the Hackensack Meadowlands. The site was the former location of a waste oil reprocessing facility from 1946 to 1979. During facility operations oily waste was stored, leaked and discharged directly to adjacent properties, including the wetland area to the south of the site, creating an “oil lake.” Facility operations contaminated soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater with PCBs, dioxin, volatile organic compounds and other pollutants.


Because of the nature and complexity of contamination at the site, the investigation and cleanup of the site has been conducted in stages by EPA, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and by parties associated with the property.


During the 1970s, the state of N.J. removed over 10 million gallons of oil and oily waste and over 230,000 cubic yards of oily sludge from the site. The facility was dismantled in the 1980s and over time smaller cleanups also took place. In 2002, after a request by the NJDEP and subsequent study, EPA added the site to the Superfund list.


Cleanup of Contamination Sources:


In 2009, EPA chose a cleanup plan, which included a combination of disposal of contaminated material and bioremediation (the use of microorganisms to consume and break down pollution) to address the contamination. EPA subsequently determined that the bioremediation technology would not be effective in addressing the contamination. Instead, under today’s proposed amendment to the 2009 cleanup plan, contaminated soil in the area of the former oil lake will be dug up and disposed of at facilities licensed to receive the waste. The excavated areas will then be filled with clean soil. Approximately 49,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be removed. This stage of the cleanup is estimated at $14 million.


Cleanup of other Contaminated Areas:


The second component of EPA’s cleanup proposal addresses contaminated soil and sediment that are in areas of the site not thought to be major sources of contamination that can spread throughout the site. EPA is proposing to excavate and remove two feet of contaminated soil and then cover remaining contamination within and outside of the current boundary of the Diamond Head Oil Refinery property with clean fill. Wetland areas would be excavated to a depth of two feet to accommodate a soil cover. Sediment in the drainage ditch along highway I-280 would be excavated to an approximate depth of 18 inches. Approximately 440 cubic yards of contaminated soil containing PCBs, dioxins and other contaminants, and 800 cubic yards of contaminated sediment would be removed under this plan and transported to facilities licensed to receive the waste. The cost of this stage of the cleanup is estimated at $10 million. Contaminated groundwater will be addressed by EPA in a future cleanup proposal.


The proposed plan requires restrictions on how the site can be used in the future to ensure that activities at the site do not interfere with the cleanup. EPA will conduct a review every five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup.


EPA will hold a public meeting on June 29, 2017 to explain the proposed plan, and encourages public comments. The meeting will be held at 6:00 pm in the main council chambers at Town Hall, 402 Kearny Avenue, Kearny, N.J. Comments will be accepted until July 19, 2017.


Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Brittany Hotzler, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Tel. (212) 637-4337
hotzler.brittany@epa.gov


The cleanup proposal is available at www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/diamondheadoil


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