Sheehan Named To New Bi-State Environmental Commission

Newly Formed Bergen / Rockland Group Will Focus On Health, Quality Of Life Issues

 

By Hugh M. Carola

 

Captain Bill Sheehan, Hackensack Riverkeeper’s executive director, has been appointed to the Bergen-Rockland Environmental Action Panel (BREAP) by Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney. Captain Bill joins a group of environmentalists, business leaders and public officials from both counties who have convened to chart the environmental future of our region.

“For more than 200 years, the counties of Bergen in New Jersey and Rockland in New York have existed side-by side,” said McNerney. “For the first time since the union of these states, County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and I have joined forces to create a commission to examine ways to improve the quality of life for our respective constituents.”

First proposed several years ago by Vanderhoef, BREAP will study ways to improve the health and environment of both counties. The panel will focus on environmental and sustainable development issues as well as ways to increase public awareness of the most important issues facing our region, including watershed protection, open space preservation and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Concerning watersheds, the counties share a number of waterways: the Hackensack, Hudson, Ramapo, Saddle & Mahwah Rivers, the Pascack Brook and the Sparkill Creek.

“One of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to face over the years has been the imaginary line that cuts the Hackensack River watershed in two - the State Line,” explained Captain Bill. “Watershed boundaries, like waterways and migration corridors, have no respect for political boundaries.”

A clear example of the disconnect caused by each state’s differing environmental protections is a subdivision proposed for a 290-acre tract of forest in Ramapo, NY. If the site was located just a couple miles to the south in Mahwah, NJ, the protections offered by the Highlands Preservation Act would prevent the development. As it stands, however, New York has no specific Highlands protections, and the development is likely to be approved.