Throughout New Jersey, people are spending more time in traffic jams than with their families. We are competing with each other for limited parks and open space that are increasingly overcrowded. We are spending more money to repair the damage to our air, water and lands done by sprawl than we are in protecting our environment and enhancing our quality of life.

To change these grim facts, Governor James E. McGreevey has articulated a clear vision for smart growth and has directed the DEP and all agencies of state government to accomplish three central objectives.

First, we must promote and accelerate growth in already developed urban and suburban areas, or other areas identified through sound planning.

Second, we must make these developed areas more appealing places to live - with healthier air, cleaner water, and more parks and open space.

Third, we must reduce the rate at which our forests, open space, farmland and other undeveloped areas are being lost to development.

Within DEP, we have developed a number of strategies to achieve these goals. We are taking more aggressive and innovative steps to accelerate brownfields redevelopment. We are also overhauling our regulatory and funding programs - from an unpredictable, "one size fits all" approach to land use to one that is more predictable for municipalities and the regulated community, that facilitates development in appropriate areas and that sets a high bar for development in areas we need to protect. And we are establishing stronger standards and protections for our most precious natural resources.

New Directions for Brownfields

Brownfields redevelopment can be a cornerstone of smart growth but our initial policies to promote brownfield redevelopment are becoming dated. We now confront a second generation of brownfields. New Jersey's brownfields programs have been adequate for the "first generation" of sites - those most amenable to redevelopment. The next generation presents tougher challenges. They have more complex cleanup problems, or may not be as well situated economically. And we confront them in a tougher economy.

At DEP, our vision of brownfields re-use includes residential as well as commercial and industrial development, and other alternatives. It also includes a "brownfields to greenfields" component which turns abandoned industrial sites into parks, recreation areas and wildlife refuges.

To achieve this vision, we are working to eliminate areas of regulatory confusion that hinder cleanup and redevelopment. For example, we will not assert liability for damages against non-liable brownfield developers at a site where there is historical natural resource injury. We will also issue No Further Action (NFA) letters for soils when soil cleanup at a brownfield property is complete, but groundwater contamination may remain. NFA letters will also be available for groundwater when natural attenuation has been approved as the appropriate remedial action.

In coordination with municipalities, we will also stop allowing the "warehousing" of sites by those who think it's cheaper to leave a site idle than to clean it up. And we will explore the potential of area-wide planning and redevelopment in cities that have multiple brownfield sites. DEP has selected Trenton, Elizabeth and Camden to pilot a comprehensive approach to revitalize entire neighborhoods - instead of just a single property - through partnerships among local communities, local and state officials, and private parties.

Another key component of our new brownfield program is reforming the role of environmental consultants. DEP is developing a pre-qualified consultants program through which developers and responsible parties can contract with qualified contractors who will work under our direction. This change will help expedite remedial analysis, evaluation and decisions.

Our newly created Office of Brownfield Reuse will implement and serve as the focal point for these new brownfield programs.

Regulatory Reform

Another area that DEP is focusing on is regulatory reform. We now have a "one size fits all" system in which every permit decision and application gets the same scrutiny regardless of whether it is in an appropriate or inappropriate area for development. Our present system is rightly derided as one that cannot say yes - since approvals can take years - and one that cannot say no - because even after going through a process that can take years, there are seldom meaningful standards that limit development.

DEP is developing a tiered-system for permitting. We will identify areas as appropriate or inappropriate for growth and simplify the process to facilitate development and redevelopment in areas where we want it to occur.

Consistent with Governor McGreevey's message that we stop subsidizing sprawl, we also need to take a look at other programs. Our environmental infrastructure trust needs reform to ensure that already developed areas - particularly our older cities and suburbs - receive much more favorable treatment. Our Green Acres Program is also being reformed to make better use of the funds we have. We need to provide more support for urban and suburban areas that have been shortchanged in the past while scarce funds were spent to acquire areas that were unthreatened by development.

Strengthened Resource Protection

The tiered approach to permitting must also be coupled with strengthened standards and protections so that we not only discourage growth where it should not occur, but also minimize the impacts of growth where it does occur.

Along these lines, Governor McGreevey met the first of his Earth Day commitments to provide new, tougher water quality protections (Category 1 protections) for our high-quality waters, especially drinking water resources that are critical for New Jersey's expanding population. We also recently proposed new stormwater regulations for new and existing development that will reduce non-point source pollution from storm runoff, the source of an estimated 60 percent of current water pollution.

Under Governor McGreevey's leadership, I am confident that this administration will move smart growth beyond concept to reality in New Jersey. We will create livable communities. And we will protect our precious natural resources.