October 22, 2008
Contact: Jason Smith / (609) 693-6700Assemblyman Brian Rumpf (R-9), Senator Christopher J. Connors (R-9)
Connors, Rumpf & Van Pelt Seek Answers on Aid Cut for Emergency Management Around Nuclear Facilities
Responding to an October 19, 2008 article in the Asbury Park Press, Senator Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt have requested information and an explanation for the decline in state aid distributed to municipalities located within a 10-mile radius of nuclear facilities to carry out emergency management planning.
In a letter sent to Governor Corzine, the 9th District Legislators requested an official accounting of aid distributed through the Radiation Accident Response Act as well as an explanation as to why state aid levels have been cut despite what has been reported as an increase in revenues collected for the purposes outlined in the Act.
The Delegation’s letter to the Governor read as follows:
October 22, 2008
Honorable Jon S. Corzine
Governor of New Jersey
State House
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625-0001
RE: State Aid – Municipalities located in Close Proximity to Nuclear Generating Facilities
**Transmitted via facsimile and regular mail**
Dear Governor Corzine:
Recently, our Delegation was contacted by a reporter from the Asbury Park Press who sought information on aid distributed in prior years to municipalities located within a 10-mile radius of a nuclear generating facility for the purpose of emergency management. Since that time, the Press has reported on how aid for towns located in close proximity to the Oyster Creek Generating Station has declined, despite a growth in revenues collected by the state dedicated for this very purpose.
By way of background, the October 18, 2008 article, which has been enclosed for your convenient review, focuses on monies raised through the Radiation Accident Response Act which was enacted in 1981 for the creation of a statewide radiation emergency response plan. For 25 years, several municipalities in Ocean County have relied on this critical funding source to plan and prepare for the most unimaginable of circumstances. As you will note, comments in the article are attributed to law and public safety personnel as to the loss of aid and the lack of explanation for why. For obvious reasons, this article has raised general concern among our constituents who are also seeking answers on why the state has taken this questionable action.
You should know that in response to a request by the reporter in preparing the story, we contacted the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) in an attempt to obtain an accounting of the aid distributed to towns for each year since the inception of the Radiation Accident Response Act. As of this date, the OLS has been unable to obtain this information from the appropriate government agencies, despite its best efforts. It is important to note that State police officials declined to comment for the article on how the Department uses its share of assessments or to disclose why less funding was provided to municipalities.
Accordingly, our Delegation is requesting the assistance of your office in obtaining an accounting and history of this aid and so that it can be made readily available to the public. In our opinion, this is necessary to address the very legitimate concerns raised in the media, as well as by local emergency management personnel charged with the responsibility of preparing for an incident at a nuclear facility. Additionally, we feel that an explanation for the reduction of aid is required in this circumstance in the spirit of full public disclosure.
Thank you, in advance, for your immediate attention to this correspondence. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
Senator – 9th District
BRIAN E. RUMPF
Assemblyman – 9th District
DANIEL M. VAN PELT
Assemblyman – 9th District
CJC/BER/DMV/js:km w/Enclosure
Cc: Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, w/Enclosure
Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent, New Jersey State Police, w/Enclosure
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