Connors, Rumpf & Gove

January 5, 2011   

Contact: Jason Smith / (609) 693-6700
District 9

Senator Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove today hailed Governor Christie’s signing of three bills aimed at protecting the Barnegat Bay as a comprehensive effort to address one of the state’s leading environmental issues. The bills are as follows:

• A-2290: will establish standards for the application of fertilizer to limit the amount of nitrogen entering the Bay through stormwater runoff.
• A-2501: will require that soil which has been disturbed be restored to optimal conditions following any type of construction.
• A-3606: will require the Department of Transportation & the Department of the Treasury to conduct a study of all stormwater basins owned by the state in the Barnegat Bay watershed to identify which are malfunctioning, and to submit to the Governor and the Legislature a list of the malfunctioning basins prioritized to indicate the order in which they should be repaired and the estimated cost for each repair.

Each member of the 9th District Delegation was co-sponsor of the fertilizer legislation (A-2290) and compaction legislation (A-2501) and voted in favor of all three measures.

Following today’s bill signing, the 9th District Delegation issued the following statement:

“Today’s bill signing marks a significant milestone in the overall and continuing effort to protect the Barnegat Bay, one of our state’s most precious natural treasures. Since the beginning of this effort, our Delegation has stressed the vital importance of protecting the Barnegat Bay, not only in environmental terms, but also for economic reasons. The Barnegat Bay plays an intricate role in the state’s overall economy, ranging from tourism and the recreational fishing industries to the hard-working baymen, including the commercial hard clam and crabbing industry.

“Two years ago, our Delegation requested a joint legislative hearing of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committees to discuss how to protect the Barnegat Bay. Two hearings were ultimately held in Ocean County and became the springboard for the passage of the legislation as well as prioritizing the Barnegat Bay as one of the state’s leading environmental issues.

“We would like to take this opportunity to commend the actively engaged citizens and advocacy groups, in particular, the Barnegat Bay Partnership, whose tremendous collective efforts made today a reality. Nearly six months ago, our Delegation launched a grass roots public awareness campaign in consultation with the Partnership to distribute an informational pamphlet to help residents better understand how they can help to protect the Bay by utilizing best management practices when applying fertilizer.

“As part of the campaign, our District Office E-mailed the pamphlet to our entire constituent E-mail database of more than 5,000 persons. Additionally, copies of the pamphlet were enclosed with all outgoing constituent correspondence, meaning that an additional 10,000 constituents have received the information. Letters were also sent to each mayor of our 23 constituent municipalities in which we requested that a copy of the pamphlet be enclosed in all appropriate outgoing correspondence sent out by their respective municipalities.

“Again, we want to commend all the parties involved in the passage of the Barnegat Bay bills. Our Delegation recognizes there is more work to be done and, accordingly, we will continue advocating for policies that safeguard the Barnegat Bay for future generations.”

Senator Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove today hailed Governor Christie’s signing of three bills aimed at protecting the Barnegat Bay as a comprehensive effort to address one of the state’s leading environmental issues. The bills are as follows: [...]