Water News

Please contact New Jersey Governor Corzine TODAY and urge him to adopt a strong plan to protect the Highlands, renew and strengthen the Garden State Preservation Trust, and fix the state's toxic waste clean-up rules.

THE PROBLEM!

NJ continues to face severe and unaddressed problems resulting from sprawl. Our waterways and air are too polluted, our roads too congested, and our lands too laden with toxic waste. Governor Corzine committed during the campaign to strengthen rules to address these problems. But not nearly enough progress has been made to date. Consider the following:

• The state's 10 year funding stream for open space, "The Garden State Preservation Trust" or "Green Acres", will run out of money this year, 2 years early.
• The Highlands Regional Master Plan is due to be adopted in January, is already 6 months behind schedule, and faces enormous political pressure to allow too much development that would degrade the quality and quantity of half the state's drinking water.
• Over the past 15 years, the state's hazardous waste laws have been weakened to let polluters write their own clean-up plans; promote partial clean-ups and industrial standards even on residential, school, and daycare sites; and prevent the state from having enough cops on the beat to hold polluters accountable.

THE SOLUTION!

NJEF is urging Governor Corzine to:

• support quick adoption of a strong plan to protect the Highlands, the source of half the state's drinking water;
• renew and strengthen the Garden State Preservation Trust to save, maintain and operate NJ's last great places; and ; and
• fix the state's toxic waste clean-up rules.

TAKE ACTION!

• CLICK HERE: http://actionstudio.org/?go=2513
  TO SEND AN ONLINE MESSAGE TO CORZINE!

• OR CONTACT CORZINE VIA PHONE OR MAIL AT:
  Governor Corzine, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625
  Phone: 609-292-6000; Fax: 609-292-3454

Do this now! It only takes a minute!

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Governor Corzine,

During your campaign you committed to strengthen rules to address New Jersey's water, open space & pollution problems.

Unfortunately, little progress has been made to date and every day matters. That's why it is critical that you:

1) support quick adoption of a strong plan to protect the Highlands; 2) renew and strengthen the Garden State Preservation Trust to save, maintain and operate NJ's last great places; and 3) fix the state's toxic waste clean-up rules.

Please let me know when to expect progress on all these fronts.

Sincerely, Name, Address

Defending & Protecting Clean Water and Right to Know!

Under pressure from polluters, the Bush Administration is allowing the misuse and contamination of many of our nation’s lakes, rivers, wetlands and streams. Pending U.S. Supreme Court rulings could make things worse. Currently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is proposing to weaken the reporting requirements for a successful right-to-know law.

Clean Water Action (of which NJEF is the state chapter) responded to these attacks by working with the Campaign for Safe & Affordable Drinking Water and activating our national membership base. Thousands of our members contacted their U.S. representatives and senators with calls, letters, and emails. Thanks to these efforts we were able to:

• Defeat a Bad Drinking Water Amendment: On Jun 29, the U.S. Senate considered an amendment that would have exempted small public water systems from two important drinking water protections: the relatively new standards for arsenic & disinfection byproducts (trihalomethanes etc.). With just two days notice, we mobilized sign-on letters, individual constituent letters and calls in to Senators. The amendment was defeated.
• Win Clean Water Protections: On May 18th, the U.S. House approved the Oberstar-Leach-Dingell Clean Water Amendment to the Interior/EPA Appropriations Bill by a 222-198 vote. This amendment prohibits the USEPA from implementing a 2003 policy directive from the Bush Administration that aimed to effectively eliminate Clean Water Act protections for many streams thousands of acres of wetlands, ponds and other waters around the country.
• Secure Right-to-Know Amendment: On May 18th, the U.S. House approved the Pallone-Solis Toxic Right-To-Know Amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill by a wide margin of 231 to 187. The amendment protects public health and safety by preventing the Administration from weakening the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. The TRI program is critical to our right to know about toxic chemicals in our communities and workplaces.

These victories send a clear message to the Bush Administration that the public will not stand for bad policies that pollute our water and take away or right to know. While we’ve celebrated victories, much more work needs to be done. See the action steps below to find out ways you can help protect all of America’s waters.

Take Action for Clean Water! Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA): According to the USEPA, the water bodies that provide drinking water for more than 110 million Americans are at risk. Now is not the time to abandon three decades of progress in restoring and protecting America's waters. A bi-partisan coalition in the U.S. Congress has introduced the "Clean Water Authority Restoration Act". These bills restate and clarify that the original intent of the Clean Water Act was to protect ALL waters of the United States. Your U.S. Senators and Representatives need to hear from you. Tell them you oppose weakening important safeguards and you want them to take a stand for clean, safe water for everyone. USEPA’s Bad Policy Directive: Under pressure from certain special interests, the USEPA has proposed new drinking water policy that could allow less affluent communities to drink water that does not meet federal standards. This is an environmental injustice – putting class and race before safety and health. Tell the White House and USEPA to take steps to ensure safe and affordable drinking water for all! TAKE ACTION! Send an online message to your representatives: To take action on CWARA click here! To take action on USEPA's bad policy directive click here! OR write a handwritten letter to your U.S. Congressional Representative and Senators and USEPA to: The Honorable___________, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable___________, U.S. State Senate, Washington, DC 20510 USEPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460

Fluoride Update! Statewide Mandate Stopped! Click here for more info!

Saving our Land and Water Despite some incremental and localized progress, pollution and associated health risks abound at work and in our communities. Drinking water is a major part of the problem, both in terms of the water's actual and perceived purity and its future availability. Indeed, polling reports have shown that 60 to 75 percent of New Jerseyans use bottled or filtered water-twice the national average-and only 26 percent exclusively drink unfiltered water. Saving our Land and Water brings together the experience and public policy insight of three environmental leaders with practical advice on how to secure our natural resources. Note: this report is an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file. If you don't have it, you may download Acrobat Reader for free.