On Monday, March 16 New Jersey Legislators may vote on Bill A2961/S1897, known as the "Site Remediation Bill." It is urgent that you email your State Assemblypersons and Senator and tell them to vote AGAINST this bill. NJEL's last newsletter provided details of the original proposal and our objections to it.

In short, in an effort to fix the ineffective site remediation process in New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection proposed privatization of some of the process. While this could provide a better process, several provisions of the bill will NOT solve the problem and could in fact make it worse! Instead of accepting the well-researched advice of experts and environmentalists, legislators are on the verge of abdicating the State's responsibility for ensuring that contaminated sites are cleaned up to standards that will protect the health of occupants and neighbors. We further believe that the proposed system of project planning and oversight will lack transparency and could easily be a vehicle for favoritism.

Our Legislative Director Mike Pisauro has been working for months with other environmentalists, providing information to Legislators and offering alternatives to the worst provisions of the bill. You may have read some of Mike's Letters to Editors and published comments to reporters. Unfortunately, the results of several hearings indicate that the Legislature is NOT listening!

PLEASE contact your State legislators and tell them to vote NO on A2961/S1897! You can easily send an email through this web site.

Don't know who your Assemblyperson or State Senator is? Click on the email address of your county's representatives and you will be automatically taken to an email page where you can write your own message. To send a message to the Governor, you must select from a list of topics in dialog boxes on his home page. We suggest that you click on "Natural Resources," then on "Pollution and Contamination." If you can, let us know that you sent a message. And THANKS for having a DIRECT HAND in protecting our environment!