Contact: Bill Neil, New Jersey Audubon Society: 908-766-6446
Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Chapter. Sierra Club: 609-394-3141
Rick Spencer, National Wildlife Federation 202-797-6646

For Immediate Release:

REVELATIONS AND USFWS REPORT EXPOSE SECRET BOG EXPANSIONS.
CONSERVATIONISTS CALL UPON GOVERNOR WHITMAN TO REVIEW, HALT CRANBERRY GENERAL PERMIT TO CONVERT WETLANDS

A broad spectrum of public interest and conservation advocates today urged Governor Whitman to halt a proposal to let the cranberry industry destroy up to 300 acres of Pinelands wetlands. New Jersey has lost between 40-50% of its original wetlands. None are more sensitive than those in the Pinelands. Rick Spencer, Mid-Atlantic Regional Organizer for the National Wildlife Federation, stated that "the NJDEP's claim that the destruction of 300 acres of Atlantic White Cedar and other wetlands in the Pinelands will have no significant impact to wildlife is ludicrous. The agency has produced no scientific evidence to support such a finding."

Starting with the release of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Report of August 3, 1999, the entire public policy fabric for granting the cranberry industry a general permit has been torn asunder. In three trips to the NJ Register, the NJ DEP has painted a picture of an industry of good stewardship, sparing in the use of chemicals, and terribly constrained and limited in their ability to expand over recent years.

But we now know that the growers have been increasing, not decreasing, the amount of chemicals they use, with unknown effects on downstream water quality and ecology. We also know, thanks to USFWS, that there have been illegal expansions by the industry, including a dramatic 22 acre violation by DeMarco Enterprises, one of the largest wetland violations in recent years in New Jersey.

Dave Pringle, Campaign Director for the NJ Environmental Federation observed that "the Federation was disturbed by the USFWS finding that pesticide use was up 36% and that 'many of the pesticides used have significant hazards associated with them, including carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, water pollution hazard and wildlife toxicity.' Even more disturbing was the lack of independent downstream testing for water quality and aquatic habitat impacts. That just seems to border on the irresponsible to us."

And thanks to a New York Times article on September 13, 1999 and the admission in it by Steven Lee, a leading grower and Pinelands Commissioner, we now have learned that the growers have been expanding their bogs by 400 acres in "recent years," by converting blueberry fields, including uplands, something the growers and DEP have steadfastly maintained was not feasible. The public, despite three long legal notices in the Public Register, was never informed of either the violations, the increasing chemical use, or the fact the industry had already obtained expansions greater than those in the proposed General Permit.

"We think the public has been massively misled," said Bill Neil, Director of Conservation for NJ Audubon Society. He urged "Governor Whitman to restore the public's faith in the New Jersey Register process, because the public had every right and need to know, accurately, the size and shape of this industry. It simply wasn't true that this was an industry trapped by the regulatory process - they've expanded just fine outside the regulatory framework. If anyone needs relief, it's the public who was kept in the dark. We think this 400 acre concealment from the public process is so serious Steven Lee should resign from the Pinelands Commission."

And then on Wednesday, September 22, 1999, from a front page of the New York Times business section, we learned of the continued oversupply of cranberries, and falling prices, as well as other management problems. We think these recent facts supply the compelling public policy reasons for Governor Whitman to call for a halt and thorough review of everything that has transpired over the past four years. That is why more than 17 public interest and environmental groups signed a letter asking the Governor to end what has become a public policy near farce.

Jeff Tittle, Executive Director of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club called upon the Governor to step in: "We need the Governor to step forward to protect the most environmentally sensitive features New Jersey's most environmentally sensitive region. The Governor must pull the proposed general permit to save these irreplaceable wetlands and restore public confidence."

September 29, 1999

Governor Christine Todd Whitman
The State House
Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Governor Whitman:

The undersigned conservation and public interest organizations are writing to you in response to new information concerning the conversion of valuable Atlantic white cedar and other wetlands to cranberry production in the Pinelands. For the past five years, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has promoted a General Permit (No. 23) that would allow the cranberry industry to destroy up to 300 acres of Pinelands wetlands without passing through detailed environmental review or receiving public scrutiny.

Proposals for the proposed general permit have appeared three times in the New Jersey Register: in 1996, 1998, and most recently, in the June 21, 1999 edition. In each of these proposals, the rationale for granting a general permit for cranberry conversions has been that to remain viable the industry must grow, and that it cannot feasibly expand anywhere but into protected wetlands. Specifically, the Register notices have claimed that New Jersey's growers face "increasing competition from ... operations in other states and in Canada, Chile, and other countries... currently, a cranberry growing operation can expand only under an individual freshwater wetlands permit."

The cranberry industry has similarly maintained that the proposed general permit is needed because growers cannot easily expand into uplands. The growers have steadfastly refused to disclose projected locations for wetland expansions. The totality of their argument has been that they have no other options: they must convert wetlands, not uplands. At the same time, neither NJDEP or the growers have placed before the public any analysis to back up this claim, that upland alternatives are unfeasible.

Now we can see why. In the September 13, 1999 edition of the New York Times, grower Steven Lee acknowledged that the growers have expanded by 400 acres, into "upland areas and blueberry bogs." This revelation undermines the central rationale of the proposed general permit for cranberry conversions. If uplands and old blueberry bogs can be converted into cranberry bogs, there can be no justification for the proposed general permit allowing expansion into protected wetlands. Moreover, these 400 acres and the admission that growers have been expanding "in recent years" are critical facts that should have informed the public's review of the proposed permit. Yet, although the NJDEP seems to have known of the ongoing expansions during the process of proposing the new general permit, the agency failed to share this information with the public - not merely once, but in all three notices in the New Jersey Register.

Governor, the omission of this key fact, that upland alternatives for cranberry bog expansion are available and feasible, thoroughly discredits the current general permit proposal. We urge you to block issuance of the proposed general permit, and to instruct NJDEP to conduct a comprehensive review of the ability of the cranberry industry in New Jersey to expand into non-wetland areas. Additionally, since part of the justification for the low scrutiny, general permit approach rested upon the good land stewardship of the growers, the public now needs a full accounting of the allegations of illegal wetland fills and increased pesticide/chemical use by the industry, based on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Report of August 3, 1999. Because the Pinelands were protected in good part to preserve its pristine water quality, and the cranberry industry, in New Jersey and nationwide, has worked actively to block attempts to independently assess its downstream water and aquatic habitat impacts, a thorough assessment of those impacts is also necessary to restore the public's trust.

The findings of these reviews should then be incorporated in a new Register
proposal that at a minimum, accurately states the overall size and alternatives for
expansion of the cranberry industry in the state. If the findings reveal that the industry
indeed enjoys non-wetland alternatives for expansion or if public sentiment shows indignation over the discovery that the industry has already obtained their 300 acres and more, as revealed by Steven Lee's comments, then the proposed general permit should simply be withdrawn.

We thank you for your time and consideration of our concerns and look forward to discussing this matter with you in greater detail. Please feel free to contact Thomas Gilmore at 908-204-8998 or Jeff Tittel at 609-924-3141.

Sincerely,

James T.B. Tripp Rick Spencer
Environmental Defense Fund National Wildlife Federation

Sally Dudley George Howard
A.N.J.E.C NJ State Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs

Dave Pringle Marie Curtis
NJ Environmental Federation NJ Environmental Lobby

Jeff Tittle Thomas Gilmore
NJ Chapter, Sierra Club NJ Audubon Society

Harry Pozycki Jane Nogaki
Common Cause, NJ Coalition Against Toxics
Douglas Jewell Lesley Kramer
Concerned Citizens of Coalition to Save Hopewell Valley
Cape May County

Ed Bristow Dena Temple
Friends of Forsythe NWR Monmouth County Audubon Society

Ed Lloyd Jack Charlton
Eastern Environmental Law Center Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater

Pat Sziber
Washington Crossing Audubon Society