Federal lawmen: Beware a president playing chummy

Former U.S. Attorney for New York State Preet Bharara

No smoking gun, perhaps, but a lesson still for all federal lawmen. 


When Donald Trump calls to ask how you’re doing, you have two choices: Play along or pack your bag.

Fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says Trump tried to ‘cultivate’ relationship 

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Editorial: Why we must fight all plans to drill off NJ coast

From a June 11 NJBIZ editorial:

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies actually drilled exploratory wells off Atlantic City. They didn’t find significant enough deposits to continue the effort.
But here we are again.
New Jersey’s two U.S. senators and House members from coastal districts are opposing the latest push for offshore drilling, just as they have done every time this issue has bubbled to the surface, no matter their party. And the argument — a good one — against offshore drilling is always the same: Why endanger the state’s $44 billion-a-year tourism industry and the 500,000 jobs it supports? Half of that revenue is generated from counties along the coast. Offshore drilling could also threaten the state’s $7.9 billion-a-year fishing industry and the 50,000 jobs it creates.
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Deal, NJ tries to add beach, parking fees, then backs down



Jacqueline L. Urgo reports for Philly.com that Deal, NJ has withdrawn its plan to require expensive beach tags and high-priced parking permits. 


The episode, Urgo writes, “was another in a long list, going back to the 1970s, in which this mile-long Monmouth County enclave of multimillion-dollar beachfront estates has drawn accusations of contriving to limit public access to its beaches.”


Read the story here


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Another review for another pipeline through the Pinelands


David Levinsky reports for the Burlington County Times:
The New Jersey Pinelands Commission is preparing to begin its review of another controversial natural gas pipeline, this one through a portion of northern Burlington County and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
The commission voted Friday to approve a resolution detailing its planned review process of New Jersey Natural Gas’ proposed Southern Reliability Link pipeline through northern Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The 30-mile pipeline must be approved by the commission because a portion of it is planned to run through the million-acre Pinelands reserve, which is home to numerous rare and threatened plants and animals, as well as pristine drinking water.
The move to begin reviewing the process comes on the heels of the commission’s vote in February to approve another controversial natural gas pipeline planned by South Jersey Gas in the southernmost portion of the protected Pines.
It also comes shortly after the commission received a May 11 letter from attorneys representing New Jersey Natural Gas asking that the commission move forward.
Both pipelines have drawn significant opposition from environmental groups that fear approval of the gas infrastructure will cause destruction in the sensitive region.
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NJ lawmakers vote to halt DEP Highlands septic tank rule


Assembly votes to stop state agency from boosting number of septic tanks in pristine preserve, source of drinking water for millions in NJ

Tom Johnson reports for
NJ Spotlight:
Upset with a new rule they say threatens water supplies from the Highlands, lawmakers gave final approval yesterday to a measure that could block its implementation by the Christie administration.
By a 52-24 vote, the Assembly moved to bar the state Department of Environmental Protection from changing regulations to allow more development in the region, the source of drinking water for six million residents.
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The vote sets up another confrontation between Democratic lawmakers and the administration over the latter’s efforts to overhaul the state’s environmental regulations, a continuing dispute during the past seven years.
The resolution stipulates that the new rule, just recently adopted by the DEP, is inconsistent with legislative intent, a rarely used tool that allows lawmakers to block actions by the executive branch. The resolution (ACR-192) was approved without debate.
The DEP has 30 days to either amend or withdraw the regulation, widely opposed by the state’s environmental groups. If no action is taken, the Legislature can rescind the rule by approving the resolution again.

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Safety of fire-fighting foam questioned 16 years ago

Foam used on oil tank fire in England – BBC video footage

Military installations are grappling today with the toxic legacy of fire-fighting foam containing PFOS and PFOA but red flags already were being raised in 2001 at a meeting of foam-industry manufacturing representatives. 

Kyle Bagenstose reports for the Bucks County Courier-Times:


More than a decade before drinking water supplies in Bucks and Montgomery counties were found to be contaminated by firefighting foams used at three military bases, the foam makers and the military were privately discussing and debating the dangers the foams presented.
That’s according to a series of documents reviewed by this news organization, including the authenticated March 2001 minutes of a meeting of foam manufacturers.
Firefighting foams that broke down into unregulated, toxic chemicals PFOS and PFOA were sold to the military from 1970 to 2015 and used at hundreds of bases across the country — including the local bases. In recent years, they have become a nationwide focus for the Department of Defense, which is phasing out the foams and searching for contamination.

But alarm bells were already ringing at the 2001 meeting of the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee on Foam. The association is a trade group that creates national standards and codes for firefighting equipment and protection.


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