N.J. DEP downgrading science division

A division of the state Department of Environmental Protection that warned about a likely carcinogen last week is in being disbanded.

The report by the Division of Science, Research and Technology concluded that New Jersey should dramatically cut the amount of the toxic compound hexavalent chromium allowed to remain on polluted sites. The finding means several redevelopment projects in Hudson County and elsewhere may pose a health risk to residents who live nearby.

The report could well be one of the last products of the division. Since the fall, the DEP has been downgrading it to an Office of Science.

Once a national leader in environmental research, the division has suffered under the budget cuts that have affected the entire DEP.

Critics worry the end of the division means science more frequently will take a backseat to other interests.

"At the same time Lisa Jackson in the Obama administration is saying we need to make decisions [based] on sound science, we're trying to get rid of science so that we can weaken environmental protections," said Jeff Tittel, director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club.

Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, formerly served as the DEP commissioner. The DEP decided to eliminate the division under Jackson.

Dave Pringle, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said that until the early 1990s, New Jersey's science and research division was known for being on the cutting edge of environmental science, both in terms of quality and quantity. But starting under Gov. Christie Whitman, he said, the division, along with the rest of the DEP, had been gutted.

"I think it's a continuation of the de-emphasizing of science," Pringle said of the decision to reorganize the division. "There isn't going to be, at least in the short term, scientists losing jobs, but it lowers their profile, defuses the energies there."

DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said no employees would be laid off. The former director of the science and research division was reassigned within the DEP as of April 8 - the date on the hexavalent chromium memo sent to DEP acting commissioner Mark Mauriello.

Makatura said the Office of Science would have 20 employees, compared with 80 in the division a decade ago. But she said various functions, such as the geological survey, had been shifted within the department.

The DEP also plans to create a science advisory board, which would include representatives from academia and other fields, Makatura said.

Among the critics of DEP's changes are former division staff members, said Adam Liebtag, lead staff representative for Communication Workers of America Local 1034, the union that represents DEP scientists.

The department has shifted division employees into other programs and reorganized the division into smaller offices focused on issues such as climate change, he said.

"Employees within the division are not happy with the change and feel it is a blow to science-based decision-making within the department," Liebtag said. "The employees in that division have served a unique role of doing research on cutting-edge science and providing that information as a resource to the overall department."

Makatura rejected the criticisms, saying the creation of a science advisory board would increase the visibility of science in the department.

"The DEP relies heavily on science in everything the agency does," Makatura said. "There would never be a decision to do anything other than to maximize the science."

Chris Daggett, a former DEP commissioner running as an independent for governor, said he was willing to give the DEP the benefit of the doubt for now. He said the organizational structure was less important than the actual work.

"I recognize titles and bureaucratic boxes are important, but the real important part is what is the impact and is it doing what it was intended to do, so we'll see how it plays out," Daggett said.