Water quality board to meet for the first time in 4 years
TRENTON — A board that helps set standards for drinking water quality in New Jersey will meet for the first time in four years, The Star-Ledger has learned.
Gov. Chris Christie today appointed three members to the Drinking Water Quality Institute, a three-decade old panel created to craft rules governing how many contaminates should be allowed in tap water.
The Republican governor appointed Laura Cummings of Nutley, Keith Raymond Cooper of South Brunswick and George Van Orden of Madison.
The 15-member institute — made up of scientists from academia and the water industry — will begin meeting again in April or May, according to Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. The board has not held a meeting since early 2010, around the same time its chairman resigned.
“The board stopped meeting because we ended up with less members than we needed,” Ragonese said, adding that the administration was preparing new appointments when it was delayed by Hurricane Sandy.
Environmentalists have complained that the board’s dormancy made it more difficult to ensure the state was addressing water quality issues. (Hutchins/Star-Ledger)
If they have not met in four years then why ruin a good thing.