It appears that the Senate version of the Permit Extension Act (S-1919) will become more watered down. Senator Ray Lesniak (D-Union), chairman of the Economic Growth Committee, has indicated that the Senate Committee will consider amendments that place additional limitations on permits validly issued under prior regulations which will require meeting strict water quality and flood hazard controls enacted after those projects were conceived, designed and originally permitted and approved. These amendments would appear to thwart the underlying purpose of the legislation, namely, recognizing that economic conditions have delayed the industry from acting upon valid permits and extending such permits for an additional period of time.

According to the Star Ledger:

Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee, postponed a vote on the bill, saying he wanted to draft amendments requiring projects to meet up-to-date standards for protecting water quality and flood plains.

“The environmentalists would go further,” Lesniak said. “They would like to include all general health and safety issues, and I don’t know how you do that.”

Citing one example of broader safety considerations, Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said chromium standards were toughened last year and building projects that do not meet them should not be allowed to proceed.

Tittel considered yesterday’s delay a victory in that it slowed down a bill he said was being “railroaded” through the Legislature.

Lesniak said that without permit extensions, New Jersey’s economic recovery would be delayed as developers go through the paperwork needed to renew permits that had lapsed.

“We don’t want to wait two to three more years after the economy gets going for our people to get back to work,” Lesniak said.

Alan Steinberg, the regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, notified lawmakers last week of his concerns the bill could violate federal standards for water quality.

Lesniak said he hopes a revised bill can be sent to Gov. Jon Corzine before lawmakers take their yearly summer recess.

The full article is linked here.