Persistence Can Pay Off

For over two years, we at NY/NJ Baykeeper have been fighting a project proposing to import 2 million tons of petroleum-contaminated soil into Carteret and pile it up to 29 feet high along the Rahway River.  All of the reviews done by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection staff have warned of dire consequences, yet the project kept advancing through the agency.  We've had some luck getting press about the flooding concerns surrounding the project, but no luck getting anyone to pay attention to the political connections that seem to be driving the project.  Until now......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-mans/how-chris-christies-contagious-political-culture-spreads_b...

Also, ever since the State of New Jersey removed our oyster beds in 2010 (and banned oyster research in the Raritan Bay) we have been saying that the state is missing out on important research that could protect us from storm surge.  We have almost 4,000 signatures on a petition asking the state to lift the research ban.  And that too has gotten some attention:
http://www.app.com/article/20140126/NJNEWS10/301260036/Rebuilt-oyster-reefs-could-blunt-storm-surges...
http://www.app.com/article/20140129/NJOPINION02/301290017/State-should-reconsider-ban-oyster-researc...

We believe that everyone in New Jersey deserves access to clean, fishable and swimmable water.  It is great when our work gets attention.