Rutgers Environmental Stewards Alumni Forum 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Trenton, New Jersey
Public Hearing Room, First Floor

Forum Summary - Speakers and Related Topics

"Easy Access" to NJ DEP Programs and Staff

General Membership Minutes

Members of the RESAA Board:Bill Curzie (President), Irene Sabin (Secretary), Bruce Barbour (RES Program Director), Marlene Robinson (Co-Vice-President), Steve Foster (past Co-Chair of the Steering Committee), Will Sigle (current Board member).

The Rutgers Environmental Stewards Alumni Association held a very successful First Alumni Forum and General Membership Meeting at the NJ DEP on June 21, 2010. Replies to the event invitation came from alumni who completed the RES course at the following class locations: Duke Farms (31); EcoComplex (22); Essex (12); Atlantic County (10); Gloucester 2005 class (3); Cape May (1). There were 75 registered alumni and guests with 51 voting members attending the General Membership Meeting. At the official business section of the program the following RESAA members were elected to serve for two years:  President – Bill Curzie, Co-Vice-President – Jim May, Co-Vice-President - Marlene Robinson, Secretary – Irene Sabin and Treasurer – Dionne Polk.

Tanya Oznowich, Supervisor, Environmental Education Office of Constituent Services, DEP organized an excellent program of speakers and welcomed the group.

Bruce Barbour, RES Program Director, introduced two guests from Rutgers:

• Dr. Larry S. Katz, Senior Associate Director, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; Director, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
  
• Daniel Kluchinski
  Chair, Department of Agricultural and Resource Management Agents
  Assistant Director, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
  

DEP Commissioner Bob Martin opened the Forum with remarks about his commitment to the protection of New Jersey’s environment and natural resources.

Two GIS workshops ran concurrently with the speaker presentations. The General Membership business meeting was held during lunch.

Bruce Barbour congratulates Bill Curzie upon his election as first RESAA President.

SPEAKERS

Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Program
Len Romino, Assistant Director, Responsible Party Remediation, DEP
Leonard.Romino@dep.state.nj.us  (609) 633-1408

One of the expressed priorities of the new administration is to get thousands of contaminated sites across the state restored to productive uses. That is the goal of the state's new Licensed Site Remediation Professional program (LSRP) which shifts greater responsibility for the remediations from state regulators to licensed engineering consultants.

The Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) requires the establishment of a board to administer a licensing program and to enforce professional requirements associated with newly Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRP).

Office of Community Relations, Site Remediation Program, (609) 984-3081

About the Site Remediation Program. Community site listings as of May, 2010

Responding to Local Emergencies
James Emanuel, Acting Director, Bureau of Emergency Response – Region II, DEP
James.Emanuel@dep.state.nj.us

Office of Local Environmental Management (OLEM)

County Environmental Health Act (CEHA)

Easy Access Hotlines to report an Emergency or Environmental Abuse.

Recognition and Outreach Resources and Opportunities
DEP Environmental Excellence Awards

Dean Anderson, Commissioner’s Office

Dean.Anderson@dep.state.nj.us

609) 777-1949

Awards application form
Deadline: September 16, 2010

 

 

Education and Outreach Resources and Update
Constituent Services Dialogue
Tanya Oznowich, DEP (609) 984-9802

tanya.oznowich@dep.state.nj.us

SeedsHome Page; About Seeds, the state environmental education directory website; Data and Information; Classroom materials; Four Projects - teachnjenv.org; Alliance for NJ Environmental Education (ANJEE); North American Association for Environmental Education(NAAEE)

GIS Workshop I and II : Intro to NJ GeoWeb

Seth Hackman, Outreach Coordinator, GIS Program
Seth.Hackman@dep.state.nj.us          (609) 633-1262
NJEMS Testing Lab – First Floor/West Wing

About GIS; GIS downloads; GIS Resources;

FAQ’s about (NJEDL) NJ Environmental Digital Library

The NJ DEP Bureau of Geographic Information Systems is offering a no-cost training opportunity for the general public. Each class will include instruction on the use of DEP's updated internet mapping application - NJ-GeoWeb. The classes will take place in the NJEMS Testing Lab - First Floor, West Wing from 9:00am - 12:00pm on the following dates:

• Aug 26, 2010
• Oct 28, 2010
• Dec 14, 2010

If you wish to attend a class, contact Seth Hackman at (609) 633-1262 to register. If you have further questions send a message to gisnet@dep.state.nj.us

Local Government Assistance

Cindy Randazzo, Coordinator (609) 633-7700 Cindy.Randazzo@dep.state.nj.us Helps to make DEP more efficient and responsive to local governments and the public

Diesel Risk Reduction Program
Peg Hanna, Manager, Diesel Risk Reduction Program, DEP Peg.Hanna@dep.state.nj.us  (609) 633-2306

Stop the Soot.org - NJ DEP Diesel Risk Reduction Program

Diesel Health Concerns; Clean Air: Idle Free New Jersey

What You Can Do: Air Toxics in NJ; Northeast Diesel Collaborative (NEDC)

Ocean/Wind Power Ecological Baseline Studies

Dr. Gary Buchanan, Manager, Office of Science, DEP 

gary.buchanan@dep.state.nj.us  Office of Science 609-984-6070

Dr Buchanan gave a preview of the multi-year environmental impact study the DEP has conducted in support of the future wind farms to be installed off the New Jersey coast. The preliminary results, consistent with similar studies in Europe, show the wind farms should have no significant impact on birds, fish or mammals living and migrating through the zone. The full report is to be released later this summer.

News Release on East Coast Offshore Wind Agreement

Update: Final report of DEP NJ study of impact for proposed Windmill Farms off NJ shores has been released: http://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/ocean-wind/report.htm

Photos on this page were provided by Bill Curzie.

Back to TOP

PROGRAM

9:00 a.m.                     Check in and networking; cafeteria for refreshments

9:30 a.m.                     Welcome and introduction

• Tanya Oznowich, Supervisor, Educationnvironmental Education Office of Constituent Services, DEP

                                    Overview of program and logistics

• Bruce Barbour, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
• Tanya Oznowich, DEP

10:00                           Opening remarks and Q/A

• Commissioner Bob Martin, DEP

10:45                           BREAK

11:00                           Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Program

• Len Romino, Assistant Director

  Responsible Party Remediation, DEP

11:20 a.m.                   Responding to Local Emergencies

• James Emanuel, Acting Director
  Bureau of Emergency Response – Region II, DEP

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.        WORKING LUNCH (BYO lunch or buy in DEP cafeteria)

Business meeting – 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

• Bruce Barbour

GIS Workshop I: Intro to NJ GeoWeb

1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

• Seth Hackman, Outreach Coordinator, GIS Program

  NJEMS Testing Lab – First Floor/West Wing

1:30 – 2:00           Recognition and Outreach Resources and Opportunities

DEP Environmental Excellence Awards

• Dean Anderson, Commissioner’s Office

Education and outreach resources and update

Constituent services dialogue

• Tanya Oznowich, DEP

2:00 – 2:30                  Strategies to Manage Health of Barnegat Bay

• Kerry Kirk-Pflugh, Manager

Public Participation and Stakeholder Involvement

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.          BREAK

GIS Workshop II: Intro to NJ GeoWeb

2:45 – 4:00 p.m.

• Seth Hackman, Outreach Coordinator, GIS Program

  NJEMS Testing Lab – First Floor/West Wing

2:45 – 3:15                  Diesel Risk Reduction Program

• Peg Hanna, Manager

  Diesel Risk Reduction Program, DEP

3:15 - 3:45 ---Ocean/Wind Power Ecological Baseline Studies

• Dr. Gary Buchanan, Manager

  Office of Science, DEP

3:45 – 4:00 p.m.            Closing remarks and feedback       

• Tanya Oznowich, DEP
• Bruce Barbour, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

4:00 p.m.                      Departure

Back to Top

Invitation

• You are invited to the first...
  
  RUTGERS ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS ALUMNI FORUM and GENERAL MEETING 2010
  
  Monday, June 21, 2010
  9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  
  NJ Department of Environmental Protection
  Public Hearing Room, 1st Floor
  401 East State Street
  Trenton, New Jersey
• To RSVP, contact: RESAA Secretary, Irene Sabin at 908-806-8895 or iosabin@earthlink.net Remember to indicate if you want to participate in the optional GIS workshop. Please include: NAME, E-MAIL, and PHONE

Registration DEADLINEs:

• GIS workshop - Thursday, June 17, 10am
• Attendance - Friday, June 18, noon - your name must be on the attendance list to sign in with Security in the Lobby on Monday.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

There is no cost to attend. Participants should bring their own lunch and drinks OR be prepared to purchase morning snacks and their lunch in the DEP cafeteria, which is on the same floor as our meeting room.

PARKING: Free parking is available for the group in DEP's parking lot on PERRY STREET. This lot is a 2-block distance (10 - 15 min. walk) from DEP headquarters (401 East State St.) at the intersection of Perry and Carroll Streets, next to the Trenton Fire Station.

DEP has a shuttle service (that visitors can utilize) that picks people up at the bus station in the center of this lot. The shuttles run about every 15 minutes and drop people off at DEP headquarters (401 East State st.). Shuttles run from 7:00 - 9:00 a.m. Anyone arriving after 9:00 am must walk to the building. The shuttle service will be an option when the program ends at 4:00 p.m.

See the site map at the bottom of the info at this web site to note where Perry and Carroll Streets intersect:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/where.htm

Other (fee parking lots) are available in the area.

DIRECTIONS: Driving directions to DEP headquarters are available at:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/where.htm

BUILDING SECURITY - ATTENDEE LIST: The deadline for program attendance will be by noon on Friday, June 18 (though GIS workshop attendance should be received by Thurs at noon.) On Fri afternoon, a final list of attendee names must be sent in to give to the lobby receptionist.

Back to TOP