What's New
During his campaign, Gov. Corzine promised to repeal the
pro-developer fast-track law that would speed up development and bypass
permitting protections across the state, from cities to suburbs to
rural areas. The bill has been delayed twice by moratoriums because of
the concern of its impact. In a Star Ledger column, Tom Moran wrote
that Corzine should team up Senate Republican Minority Leader Leonard
Lance to repeal the legislation. While supporters of the initial bill
argue that it can be “fixed,” the bill has so many flaws that it needs
to be fully repealed. Environment New Jersey will continue to work with our coalition
partners and Gov. Corzine to push for full repeal.
Brief Summary
The fast-track bill was railroaded through the New Jersey Legislature
in four days in June of 2004, going from proposal to passage in
lightning fast speed. The bill is a true roll-back of environmental
protections because it creates impossible 45-day deadlines for nearly
all land use permits, cuts out public participation from development
decisions and allows developers to hire private contractors to sign off
on their projects.
The 45-day review period is for affected applications to the Department of Environmental
Protection, Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Transportation,
and if it not met, the permit is automatically approved. In a letter in early
November, the EPA noted that this automatic approval process by default would
undermine federal environmental protections for clean water and clean-ups of
contaminated sites as well as thorough permit reviews. A one-size-fits-all strategy
for permitting ignores the reality of more complex projects.
The fast-track bill also takes a wide view on what is considered areas of the
state that should be fast-tracked and need more redevelopment. Over a third
of the state is captured by the new law, including not just older cities and
suburbs but also watersheds lands close to reservoirs. By relying so heavily
on Planning Area 2 of the State Plan, many environmentally sensitive areas are
captured as well as towns that are already overburdened with increased development.
The quickened deadline also means that the public will not be given the chance
to comment in a meaningful way, because it will make setting up a public hearing,
holding a hearing and then responding adequately to the public's concerns an
impossible task. The area encompassed in the bill will directly affect over
three quarters of the state's population.
Recent projects where public
participation was a paramount factor in protecting the environment and working
with government to facilitate appropriate outcomes including stopping the Windy
Acres Development in Hunterdon County, remediating the coal gasification site
in Long Branch, and developing appropriate transportation improvements at the
Millstone Bypass in West Windsor. These would never have happened under the
provisions of this bill as the projects would have received swift and automatic
approval.
Current projects at risk of becoming fast tracked include the release of VX
nerve gas by Dupont into the Delaware, construction of Route 92 in Middlesex
County, chromium cleanups in Jersey City and the mega-mall Xanadu project in
the Meadowlands.
