Earle measure passes State Assembly; now up for Senate consideration

A mere formality, but A-4159 (a state-mandated probe into the financial and security aspects of the Laurelwood civilian housing issue at NWS Earle) passed 76-0-1 in the New Jersey Assembly yesterday and is under review by a Senate committee (Community and Urban Affairs). NOPE is pushing for passage of the measure by the Senate before year's end for signature by Gov. Corzine during the lame-duck session and will keep tabs on when the Senate Committee meets to address the matter. (There was a committee meeting yesterday, but the companion S-3017 was not listed on yesterday's docket available online; since the NJ Legislature website is so rigid, click on the link here, then click the "Community and Urban Affairs" link on the right side of the screen to see their meeting schedule).

Please click on the A-4159 link above for the 1-page write-up of the official bill, but in short, full passage would prohibit the two key state agencies - the DEP and DOT - from issuing any state permits to the Department of Navy and Laurelwood Homes, LLC for its route construction to the Laurelwood homes until the study is completed. In this case, the state has far greater powers over the process than the federal agencies (i.e. EPA). A good thing for NOPE.

In the meantime, we are reviewing the security guard contracts up for bids at Earle to see whether we can ascertain anything relevant to our case, as noted yesterday, and will post our findings when ready, so stay tuned.