opinion

Surface Water Quality Rules Fine Tuned By DAVID F. MOORE Executive Director Neft' Jersey Conservation Foundation January 23. 1985 - Vo. XV, No. 4 Every so often New Jersey has to take another look s its water quality standards to see if improvements shoul be made. Fortunately, this state has pretty good standards whe we compare them with the rest of the nation, and exceller standards compared with the rest of the world. It is th federal Clean Water Act which requires that New Jerse; take a periodic new look at its own standards. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protec tion iDEP) has published an imposing little book, of wel over 100 pages, of improvements and fine tuning of the state s Surface Water Quality Standards. The changes recently underwent the public hearing process. The proposed revisions do a number of important things For one, since the regulations originally grew like topsv, they are in need of sorting out and better organization Now the water quality standards end up in one section. and discharge standards in another section, instead of being mixed together as in the past. AND THEN THERE ARE what are called "antidegradation policies." More simply put, water which is now clean cannot be allowed to get dirtier in eertain parts of the state, the Pinelands being one of them. In that region, both the state and federal governments have created what's called an ONRW, Outstanding Natural Resource Waters. Such a special standard has not heretofore been recognized for state water quality, and in the past two different standards existed for the Pine Barrens, one for the protection area and another for the preservation area. Now, with approval of the new version, there will be one overall standard. An important change recognizes the fact that, if we're going to make streams cleaner, or at least keep them from getting dirtier as developments occur, we need to make sure that each new discharge doesn't make things worse by just a little bit. Add up those little bits, and the total is big trouble! TO SOLVE THAT problem, what used to be called wasteload allocations are to be called water quality-based effluent limitations, with new standardization and simplification provisions SAall dischargers of effluent will be covered by the same procedures. Elsewhere in the proposed standards are a requirement for year-around. rather than merely seasonal, disinfection of certain effluents for possible pathogens. Reflecting growing sophistication in our dealings with our state's surface waters, there's even a requirement for dechlorination of effluents in cases where delicate stream biota could be damaged by the chlorination needed to kill bacteria. Awareness is growing that chlorination may create more problems than it solves. ABSENT TOO will be exemptions for effluents dumped into waters which have been ruled unusable for potable purposes within 20 years. There's also a requirement for standards regarding phosphorus in effluents, in cases were delicate aquatic systems could be damaged through enrichment by that element. i * None of the changes are all that dramatic, but they add up to a carefully thought-out upgrading of our state's surface water quality standards. i Letters Welcome The Herald and Lantern welcome letters to the editor on matters of public interest. Originals, not copies, are requested. Writers must slgiTname. address and phone number. f V Hwalb V 1

Joseph R. Zelnik Bonnie Reina Gary L. Rudy John Dunwoody Darrell Kopp

Editor General Manager Advertising Director Special Promotions Director Publisher

Soowov* Corp 1984 All r.oKlt ..served All property r hit for the il en'.te contents of this publication sholl be the property of the Seowove Corp No port hereof moy be reproduced without prior writ, ten consent DEADLINES News & Photos Thursday Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. 465-5055 For News or Advertising Information Vithrr nutiriisatinc edsrrWr* nor the |>ubli«hen. of thr HKR *1.11 *M! I.4>TKR> Will br rr.pon.ihlr- or liable for misinformation miaprinli l»|»«T.phiralrmus.rlr in an. is.ur Tbr editor rrwrsr. th. r«ht to edit an* letter or artirle. lubmitled for publication /' ' lottrr Taunt hip t Lantern u V e—V >, TV. Vne. CoW> / Vs._I°j£i»ag »SL5ei Hw. 11. mil Jf I ,

i Finger-Pointing In Middle Twp. i i Middle Township Committee appears to be in the midst of a "finger-pointing" campaign in regard to local taxes. > I have seen posted on the bulletin board in the municipal ' building a graph depicting the local purpose tax as compared to other taxes making up Middle Township property owners' tax bills. There is a note on the bottom of our property reassessment notices stating that municipal taxes make up 16 percent of our local tax bill. A township newsletter distributed last fall contained at least one article concerning this matter. I BELIEVE THE approach is wrong. It can only lead to dissension. I say our township committee should take a more positive approach and start, both publicly and privately, encouraging all local leaders to be as frugal as~0 possible because our taxes are beginning to get out of hand. If we can save a few pennies in our local fire districts' budgets, a few pennies in our Ibcal purposes budget, and a few pennies in our school budget, we can at least hold the line or, at best, decrease our taxes. \ EDWARD ROSENBERG \ Cape May Court House X (ED. NOTE: Rosenberg is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Middle Township Committee.)

Our Readers Write Brevity of Wit In Lower Twp. Researching the facts concerning the proposed Nursing Home on Shunpike Road, between Ferry and Townbank Roads, I feel certain this would be a positive move by the Township of Lower. In July, 1984, when Vincent Amico, consultant for Geriatric and Medical Center, Inc., approached the Township Council and asked for the officials to consider steps in rezoning the 20-acre site, I felt certain the council would unanimously agree upon this proposal. The 180-bed nursing home for long-term care patients would cost G&MC between $5-$6 million and employ more than 110 employes — a definite boost to our local economy. Amico was quoted as saying. "We have a moral commitment to this area," adding, "We'd like to keep it." Also, the county Office on Aging has stated that there is a need for a nursing home in Lower Township. BRUCE GORMAN, township solicitor, advised council in July that rezoning this tract of land to an R-2 zone would open up the entire R-2 zone to nursing homes, hospitals, etc. Eric Gaver, the attorney representing Amico and G&MC, suggested the township consider allowing them (R-2 zones) only as a "conditional use." In early December, 1984, at a township work session after introducing the zoning amendment, the vote was 3-2 in favor. Joseph Davis and Joseph Lonergan opposed the measure. This past week, council voted 3-1 in favor of the zoning code with Deputy-Mayor Davis being absent. DAVIS WAS QUOTED as saying he opposed the idea because "There are too many people waiting for sewerage." This man's brevity of wit amazes me. The county has already released sewage capacity for the facility that has been reserved for the county airprtrt, Erma, in the township MUA sewage treatment plant. \ Lonergan 's opposition was based on "avoiding warehousing our people" ... Whatever that means. Hk supported a township Planning Board recommendation on nursing care that exceeds "state and federal minimums" * for licensing as a nursing home. Lonergan should open the doors of opportunity, not place barriers before them. I agree with the majority of council in this case. There is no doubt in my mind that Councilmen Davis and Lonergan are following poor judgment in this matter. Their lack of insight concerning our senior citizens and potential creation of over a hundred jobs is astonishing. We should consider the needs of the elderly who may someday need professional nursing care, not ignore them And, we should try and help secure jobs for the many unemployed in our area, not forget about them. MICHAEL J. STUBBS *• North Cape May (ED. NOTE: Stubbs is the son of Samuel M. Stubbs, who was defeated last May by Mayor Robert Fothergill, running mate of David and Lonergan.)

-'O Tempora, O Mores!' — Reporters Reject All-Bran

By JOE ZELNIK I've been deluged by letters and calls from readers who refuse to believe that the editorial staff of this newspaper participates in cheer-leading staff meetings culminating with bowls of All-Bran. Typical was A. F. Nummy who wrote: "Surely the sophisticated and macho reporters at the Herald-Lantern don't require such tactics and, more important, don't tell me they accept the Clydesdale horse, a gelding, as their motto?" A. F. and others are absolutely right. Sloppy writting on my part made it sound as though those Advertising Department practices were followed by all persons. Not Unlike advertising people, news people have no need for All-Bran. In fact, reporter E J. Duffy eats the Cocoa Puffs his children don't finish; John Donohue favors Capn Crunch, and I, in my advancing years, find nourishment »n Cream of Wheat. We of course shun the unmanly Clydesdale logo and have selected the anteater because of its long nose. OUR ORIGINAL LOGO was the Disney caricature of a long-nosed Pinocchio. We were not anxious to have that sewn on our coats and sweaters, but Duffy's four-year-old son, Adam, threatened to hold his breath if we didn't. That logo became embarrassing after competing news media kept pointing out why Pinocchio's nose was so long So we switched to the anteater, a change that made Adam s face turn bluehriefly, and, more important, forced company tailors to spend endless overtime hours ripping out old emblems and sewing on new ones Our competitors have made their own choices in the search for symbolic logos. The Press, an Atlantic City daily with an office m the county, and wealthy as onlv a daily can be, does not have its own logo, but merely buys its preppy staff members Izod clothing with the so-called alligator logo. Detractors love to point out that the Izod symbol is- 1 a loathsome reptile; 2. noted for its big mouth! 3. actually a crocodile, which says something about accuracy OURS NEWS DEPARTMENT also has a different work day than advertising. We start at 11 a.m. I open the mail while fellow staffers Duffy and Donohue engage in intellectual exercises. Duffy is reading Marcus Tullius

Cicero in the original Latin ( "O tempora, O mores1 " ) and Donohue is reading Plato in the original Greek. 5 Or is it the other way around? r At noon the three of us take fencing lessons at the Atlan- ' Community College extension center in Court House Fencing is mandatory for our news staff since we -are fei quently challenged to duels. i At 1 p.m. we retire for a brief repast ; Irish coffee at the I BeUevuemCourt House in the winter, Planter's Punch at u a1i Jn Avalon in the summer, and a rotating schedule in the spring and fall, i (We used to have the refreshments first, then the fencing, but switched them around because we were suffering too many cuts.) & THESE ARE (deductible) business luncheons at which key issues of the day are discussed. Other county jour-' nalists have been begging to attend to learn from our pool ,tat J"5"5' on ^Ping them closed. (Female tourists m bathing suits are occasionally invited to participate at the Windrift. ) At our last session, for example, we debated company rales on the value of gifts reporters are allowed to acrept from news sources. We bogged down on the philosophical point of whether we should use. Pennsylvania or New Jersey liquor prices in computing totals. i,/nabI>Uti2:30' work day over- we 8° home Bu< our intellectual pursuits continue. Donohue is preparing an account of orgies in the 15th Century. Duffy is Siting a (ie'viVre ) 'r<' ("®ui vi> snns tabac n' est pas digne For my part, I am doing a study on whether a resort-. ?)SUa' Dominican Republic, would hurt wiidwoods tourism. , ™f of "PS newspaper follows different procedures than either advertising or news The executives meet in the lunchroom, as does advertising but Urey close the door No one knows who they are because SrerXSfSet?6"' '° ** k"°Wn 0nly *° nels6 "I m,ore prosaic "P"1 advertising or wnnfa I agenda, for example, had three topicsoh/Hoa e cf°wave oven increase worker productivity' Should employees be permitted lo wear V-neck £% ^^^Rudypuls-m°bilam^°