N.J. Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commissioner Martin told the mayors that the NJ DEP has changed significantly during his term. Department employees, he said, have received customer training on returning phone calls and engaging people who come to the agency with questions or applications. It is better, he said, to discuss a proposed project early on rather than go through the expense of formal submissions and approvals only to have the project rejected. Similarly, he noted that the DEP now stresses compliance over enforcement. Most problems, he explained, develop because people do not entirely understand the regulations. The commissioner conceded that there are serious violators out there. “We go after them hard,” he said. He described the department’s recent record, including efforts to reduce air pollution from power plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio and dealing with the enduring impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Before taking questions, the commissioner urged rejection of a November ballot initiative that would protect some New Jersey land from development because it would take money from the DEP’s operating budget .
The mayors approved a resolution urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include Island Beach State Park in its Dune project. See the resolution here.
The Ocean County Mayors’ Association has been found tax exempt by the IRS. Donations are deductible. Documentation of this determination and related financial disclosure documents are available for public examination. The Ocean County Mayors’ Association has been found tax exempt by the IRS. Donations are deductible. Documentation of this determination and related financial disclosure documents are available for public examination.ithout notice.