Advocate: Approval of Bypass Road Would Harm Public's Faith in Government

William deCamp, President of Save Barnegat Bay, wrote the below letter to Charles Welch, Supervisor of the Land Use Regulation Program at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The state DEP recently held a prior to making a decision to issue a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) permit to the Lacey Township for the railroad right of way.

Dear Mr. Welch:

I am writing on behalf of Save Barnegat Bay, a not-for-profit environmental organization supported by over 1,500 contributions from families and businesses annually to  respectfully request that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection deny the above referenced permits.

Save Barnegat Bay has been on record for a long time – in fact well over a decade – that the proposed road  project adjacent to the Rail Trail connecting Lacey Township to the rest of southern Ocean County is adverse to the best interests of the people of Ocean County, that it is contrary to law, and that the Department has been correct in its past refusal to grant approvals.

We believe that an approval of this project subsequent to previous denials will harm the public’s faith in the permitting process and in government. We request that the applications be denied with prejudice.

We also request that the Department deny the Stipulation of Settlement for the proposed issuance of the required permits from the Division of Land Use Regulation to authorize the project, which is still under consideration by the Department. Save Barnegat Bay has been robust in its praise of those actions of the Christie Administration that we believe are helpful to the ecology of Barnegat Bay and to the public’s enjoyment of its watershed. Approval of this application would be in contradiction of the Administration’s positive steps and approach.

The leading source of excess nitrogen  to Barnegat Bay comes from atmospheric deposition of NOX resulting from excessive burning of fossil fuels. Building yet another road will result in more traffic, more nitrogen in the air, and more atmospheric deposition of nitrogen onto the watershed.

But the potential harm to Barnegat Bay goes beyond that. In addition to causing more harmful nitrogen to be in the air, the road itself would cause the mass destruction of trees that currently absorb the excess nitrogen that falls in the rain.

Approval of this permit would, therefore, constitute a double insult to the ecology of Barnegat Bay.

Under the Christie Administration the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has focused more attention on the decline of Barnegat Bay than any previous administration. This fact is hugely appreciated. Denial of this application will be “walking the talk” and will constitute a constructive step toward restoring a troubled estuary and watershed.

Sincerely,

William deCamp Jr.
President
Save Barnegat Bay