While they were busy counting chads in Florida, then-New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman was counting votes. Having worked hard for George W, she must have assumed that a win for Bush would translate into some kind of win for herself. While many believed that she might become an Ambassador (they say she "looks the role"), those hopes were squashed by a New Jersey racial profiling scandal.

And so. when George W went to Washington, Christine W went to the EPA to become its new Chief. As a practicing New Jersey environmental lawyer, I know how well the Governor performed in New Jersey in this area. Let's hope we see some more substance now that she has gone down South.

As our Governor, Whitman portrayed herself as very pro-environment. But the facts do not always support that self depiction. Instead, they paint a mixed picture, with some successes and some failures. Maybe that is about as good as one can expect from our elected representatives today.

For the good news, I think that Whitman was particularly effective in the area of brownfields redevelopment. Brownfields are typically urban properties that are polluted, but clean-able. For years, overly-stringent environmental laws made the redevelopment of these properties next to impossible. That has changed a lot since Ms. Whitman became Governor.

A variety of brownfields bills were supported by the Administration and enacted into law. Together, they provide money in the form of low interest loans and grants, as well as tax incentives, for brownfields redevelopment. Other laws have promoted truly innovative cleanup technologies and have encouraged private-public partnerships designed to promote property re-use.

When Whitman first took office seven years ago, hardly any brownfields were being developed in New Jersey. Now, it happens every day. Clearly, this wasn't all her doing. But, as Governor she actively supported these initiatives and deserves a fair measure of he credit.

There is another plus for her as well: open space. As the most densely populated State in the Union, its getting hard to breathe in New Jersey. People from elsewhere make fun of this State; yet so many people want to live here. Whitman really made progress in abating this problem through her open space initiatives.

Our state Constitution was amended so that more funds became available for the purchase of open space. And at the same time, many New Jersey municipalities passed their own open space initiatives. New Jersey, with its municipalities, is doing a good job in preserving open space. Thank you Governor Whitman.

But, there is another side to this picture. The perception of many in New Jersey is that its environmental cleanup agency, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), is either out of business or in the midst of one heck of a hibernation. When people ignore legal cleanup orders, the Agency seems as likely to look the other way as it is to do anything about it. And morale within the Agency could not possibly be lower. These professionals want to do their job, and in many ways their efforts have been thwarted.

Many attribute these changes within the DEP to the Governor's pro-business philosophy. While it is true that the DEP was too aggressive when Whitman first came to office, it is fair to wonder whether she allowed the pendulum to swing too far in the other direction.

Likewise, little has been done to protect our drinking water supply. In her last year, the Governor proposed two large scale initiatives in this area, in part -- it was understood -- because she wanted these measures to be part of her legacy.

But while she was in Florida supporting "W," it seems that she forgot to work hard to fight for these initiatives and so far they are for the most part lingering. Now that the Governor has left office early, some speculate that the reforms will not take place at all.

So what will happen nationally? If our experience in New Jersey is telling, there might be some not-so-subtle relaxations of environmental standards that might be viewed as "pro-business." And I would look for more manageable environmental cleanup standards which will both expedite clean-ups and lower their cost to the business community.

In addition, maybe we will finally get the much needed Superfund Reform.

For years Presidents have to no avail wrestled with our unworkable Superfund Program (the federal program that is intended to clean toxic sites). The time and political climate might just be right for supporting true reform. I would not be at all surprised if Ms. Whitman leads the way towards a more viable and fairer Superfund cleanup program. And I think that this reformulation might include large scale brownfields initiatives as well. She did accomplish this in New Jersey; she can do it again in Washington.

For more articles by Stuart Leiberman, please press here.

Published: March 22, 2001

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.