February 06, 2019, 06:18 PM
senza nomeNew Jersey residents face possible 'rain tax'
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Rope is cheap. Trees are plentiful.
Both are reusable.
February 06, 2019, 06:45 PM
gearhoundsquote:
Originally posted by braillediver:
quote:
“With all the salt that we’ve had on roads recently, that’s all running into the sewer systems, so you can’t ignore the problems because they don’t go away,” Senate President Steve Sweeney told CBS New York.
The State is the one who put the salt there in the first place.
The irony is that the taxpayers already pay for the roads upkeep, pay for the salt that gets put down in winter, and the current sewers and associated water treatment. Now they will pay more for the result of salt runoff.
February 06, 2019, 06:47 PM
whanson_wiMeanwhile, in some places out west, putting a rain collection system on your roof is forbidden and can lead to fines. They're members of the same group: "Idiots Without Borders".
February 06, 2019, 06:56 PM
wcb6092This will do nothing but give extra spending money to the government, who will then reward their cronies with the proceeds.Who will then funnel a portion back to the politicians.
The oldest profession in the world.
February 06, 2019, 06:57 PM
mikeyspizzaStupid politicians - instead of creating a new tax and pissing everyone off, they should just pass a law banning rain.
February 06, 2019, 07:22 PM
wcb6092quote:
Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
Stupid politicians - instead of creating a new tax and pissing everyone off, they should just pass a law banning rain.
Then Pocahantas Warren would have to be bribed to do a rain dance.
February 07, 2019, 12:13 PM
Cousin VinnieThe people in New Jersey like getting screwed because they keep electing the same people over and over and expecting different result! Any newly elected politician is usually more radical, liberal, progressive and socialist than who they replaced.....So, until the people of NJ change their voting habits, they can continue to expect this type of taxation, restrictions, dominance, control and socialist, communism and dictatorship.
February 07, 2019, 03:44 PM
deepoceanquote:
Originally posted by Cousin Vinnie:
The people in New Jersey like getting screwed because they keep electing the same people over and over and expecting different result! Any newly elected politician is usually more radical, liberal, progressive and socialist than who they replaced.....So, until the people of NJ change their voting habits, they can continue to expect this type of taxation, restrictions, dominance, control and socialist, communism and dictatorship.
Using your logic, should we assume you like the horrible things your Governor tried to push a week or so ago? I am guessing you did not vote for him, but other people did, and everyone has to live with the consequences of their bad choices.
February 07, 2019, 09:28 PM
flashguyquote:
Originally posted by wcb6092:
This will do nothing but give extra spending money to the government, who will then reward their cronies with the proceeds.Who will then funnel a portion back to the politicians.
The oldest profession in the world.
Reputedly the "second oldest" . . . .
flashguy
February 08, 2019, 04:04 AM
downtownvAsbury Park Press
No, NJ residents won’t pay a ‘rain tax’
Scott Fallon
North Jersey Record USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY
Scores of New Jersey communities are prone to chronic flooding.
The state’s rivers, bays and lakes and even some of its most serene brooks are routinely hammered by runoff pollution. That much is agreed upon by most Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
How to solve pollution caused by runoff is another matter.
Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups have hailed a bill passed last week that would allow towns, counties and local authorities to charge property owners a fee based on how much they contribute to runoff to pay for upgrades to stormwater systems.
Republicans and business groups blasted the measure, saying it provides another way for governments to collect revenues from an already overtaxed private sector.
How polluted are New Jersey’s waters?
Many of New Jersey’s rivers, lakes and other bodies of water are in better shape than in previous decades, thanks to the slow implementation of the 1972 Clean Water Act, which has curbed sewage discharges and runoff.
But they are are still so impaired that 65 percent cannot support drinking water supplies, 75 percent cannot be used for recreation and 85 percent cannot support aquatic life.
❚ In North Jersey, the Ramapo, Pompton, Passaic, Saddle and Hackensack rivers, as well as the Ho-Ho-Kus and Pascack brooks, have excessive phosphorus that has harmed harmed aquatic life. Excessive bacteria have limited recreational activity. Fish have been found to have mercury and PCB in their tissue at levels that could affect human health.
❚ North and Central Jersey are also plagued by antiquated combined sewage outfalls — dozens of systems that combine sewage and stormwater pipes. As much as 23 billion gallons of sewagetainted water pours into the Hudson, Hackensack, Passaic, Raritan and Elizabeth rivers during heavy rainstorms.
❚ Along the Jersey Shore, Barnegat Bay is also slowly recovering, but is still full of nutrients that can fuel smothering algae blooms and reduce oxygen.
Climate change continues to present problems for New Jersey’s aging infrastructure. The state was pummeled with more precipitation in 2018 than in any other year since record keeping began in 1895.
What does the bill do?
The bill, S-1073, does not directly impose any fees on property owners.
Instead, it allows municipalities and counties to create their own local stormwater utilities that could then charge property owners a fee based on “a fair and equitable approximation” of how much runoff is generated from their property.
The utility could then use the funds generated by the fees only on its system, such as reinforcing or replacing pipes or creating green infrastructure like rain gardens and tree planting to absorb water that would otherwise carry trash, bacteria and heavy metals.
“This is a tool that would only be used by towns that recognize they have a problem,” said
Chris Sturm, a water policy expert with New Jersey Future, a nonprofit that advocates a balance between economic development and environmental protection. “It’s an important tool. It’s one that can make a significant difference in the right towns.”
Is this a ‘rain tax’?
Republicans and other critics have referred to the bill as a “rain tax.”
The bill imposes a fee on properties designated by the local utility. It does not impose a wide-ranging tax on a community.
“Flooding and runoff are problems, but you shouldn’t create unfair authorities with uneven taxing practices,” said Sen. Tom Kean Jr., the Republican leader.
Kean said the bill allows local government too much discretion over who would be charged.
“You’re creating a new layer of government that will not be regulated,” he said. “The concern is uneven enforcement.”
Supporters say this would not target single-family homes but instead large commercial properties like strip malls or office parks, where large amounts of asphalt and concrete allow stormwater to easily flow offsite, gather pollutants and discharge into a waterway.
“The bill allows discretion for the local utility, because different places require different solutions,” Sturm said. “This will be negligible for the vast majority of homeowners. This is for properties that have large impervious surfaces.”
How much will it cost?
It’s not cheap.
Upgrading New Jersey’s stormwater system would cost $15.6 billion, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The fiscal impact of the bill could not be determined by the Office of Legislative Services because it gives the local utility a great deal of discretion in determining fees. Sturm said the state Department of Environmental Protection would offer towns guidance on fees.
What’s next?
The bill passed the Senate and Assembly last week. Gov. Phil Murphy has 40 days to sign it into law.
Email: fallon@northjersey.com
no link subscribers only..
March 21, 2019, 07:32 PM
GregYIt's only going to get worse.
NJ is in a demographic death spiral, that's accelerating.
State gov't policies drive away taxpayers and attract leaches and illegals (but I repeat myself). The parasites are still accumulating but the host is withering.
As productive people flee (we finally escaped 3+ years ago and couldn't be happier we did), they need to squeeze more and more out of the remaining productive people to keep the whole feedlot running.
Which makes more productive people leave. Rinse, repeat.
The state, decades ago, was once very business friendly and boasts an (it still is) *enormous* corporate tax base. But they're working hard as they can to kill that, too.
March 21, 2019, 07:44 PM
PASigquote:
Originally posted by GregY:
It's only going to get worse.
NJ is in a demographic death spiral, that's accelerating.
State gov't policies drive away taxpayers and attract leaches and illegals (but I repeat myself). The parasites are still accumulating but the host is withering.
That’s the thing that kills me.
Do these IDIOTS in charge not see what they are doing? They are chasing everyone with money right out of the damn state!
Then they scratch their heads like Cuomo in NY and blame Trump!
