|
Remarks of Captain Bill Sheehan
on the Occasion of Governor
James E. McGreevey’s Visit to River Vale, NJ March 11, 2003 Hackensack Riverkeeper is happy and proud to welcome Governor McGreevey and Commissioner Campbell to the Hackensack River Watershed. I’m delighted that the administration has responded so promptly and decisively to Hackensack Riverkeeper’s request to list Lake Tappan, Woodcliff Lake, and the drainages of the Hackensack River, Pascack Brook and their tributaries as Category One waters. Together with enlightened municipal leaders and local grassroots organizations we have been doing everything possible to protect the quality of this extremely important drinking water supply. I applaud the Governor for giving the local municipalities the tools to protect their communities from the irreparable harm caused by sprawl and the damage that additional sprawl will do to our precious water resources. As the Keeper for the River I look forward to working with the local, County, and State elected officials to clearly define the waterbodies where we will achieve the best results to protect the future of clean and plentiful drinking water supplies for the people of northern New Jersey. I also want to publicly thank the Governor for his leadership regarding the recent decisions and initiatives that are opening the door for the permanent preservation of over 7,000 acres of wetlands downriver in the Meadowlands. The fruits of that leadership will certainly stand the test of time as future generations benefit from what all of us – working together – have accomplished there. I also want to thank Commissioner Campbell for his strong level of commitment to providing the State of New Jersey with an open and responsive DEP and for taking on the important issue of Stormwater Management. Implementation of the Phase II Stormwater Regulations will assure a future of good water quality throughout the state. In conclusion, I cannot adequately express my gratitude to the Governor for taking these bold initiatives at the present time in spite of the reprehensible disregard in which the Bush Administration holds our nation’s environment. I am honored to be the citizen of a state whose leaders are not only standing firm against what Washington is trying to perpetrate, but who are also moving forward to do what is right. Hackensack Riverkeeper is
the leading environmental organization working on |