Union County is an important county in New Jersey; it is a highly industrialized 102 square miles with a population of approximately 494,000. Within the county borders lies Newark International Airport, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, as well as several other~ highly traveled thorofares. We are also home to several petrochemical and pharmaceutical facilities who are required to file risk management plans in 1999.
As a representative of the county and chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), I am pleased that you are hearing testimony on this highly controversial issue today.
From the onset of this rule's development, it has been my belief that the availability of worst case and more likely case scenario information on the Internet could lead to an increase in terroristic acts in our State and throughout the country.
In New Jersey today, through Right To Know and the NJ Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act, all companies that use hazardous materials on their site, must provide that information to their LEPC and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The information is available to the public, however it must be requested, and is not available through the Internet. In my opinion that is a better way to monitor those individuals that are requesting the information. If the information is available on the Internet, there is no possible way to know who is accessing that information, and quite frankly, how they are using it.
There is also another side to this issue, the misunderstanding and the misinterpretation of this information. Without proper explanation, the general public could misinterpret the information they are accessing and it could cause undue alarm amongst thie public at large.
In Union County, we don't want to see companies go out of business, however we do want to maintain the lines of communication between these facilities and our emergency response team.
I hope you recognize that the use of this information is valuable to the emergency responders, however if it is put in the wrong hands, it could cause more harm that good.
I know the regulatory intent for the development of Risk Management Plans was to put valuable information into the hands of the public - not to jeopardize public safety by placing this information in an accessible format where it can be used by those looking to cause harm. However, I am concerned that is exactly where this valuable information will end up.
Thank you again for this opportunity, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.