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Feb. 28, 2007

Environmental Commission Charged with Establishing Township Environmental Inventory

Mayor John E. McCormac today announced that Woodbridge Township is moving fast forward on environmental initiatives with the single-largest purchase of hybrid vehicles by any Middlesex County municipality and through an ongoing project to identify and map the Township’s environmental areas.

“Woodbridge is leading the way in environmental initiatives with the purchase of 12 hybrid vehicles to supplement the Township fleet and through the work of the Woodbridge Environmental Commission to oversee the effort to identify and map the Township’s vital environmental areas,” said Mayor McCormac.

According to Mayor McCormac, the Township Council approved the purchase of 12 environmentally friendly Ford Escape hybrid vehicles to supplement the Township fleet. The 2007 Ford Escape hybrids cost $25,576 each and are estimated by the manufacturer to get over 36 miles per gallon. Included as part of the purchase and potential cost-savings are state and county rebates totaling $48,000 for the 12 vehicles -- $4,000 per vehicle. Additionally, the Township has applied to be part of the New Jersey Bio-Diesel Fuel Rebate Program. The 12 hybrid vehicles are expected to be delivered by April and will be incorporated into the Township fleet for use by the Engineering and Code Inspection officers.

Mayor McCormac noted that in 2006, the Township purchased a hybrid vehicle as part of a test program to compare the performance and economy of a hybrid vehicle and a standard gasoline-powered SUV. The five-month test of the 2006 Ford Escape hybrid resulted in the vehicle clocking 3,455 miles using 132 gallons of fuel with an average of 26 miles per gallon. The non-hybrid 2006 Ford 4x4 Explorer logged 2,853 miles using 229 gallons of fuel for an average of 12 miles per gallon.

Council President Brenda Yori-Velasco said, “The Council is delighted that Woodbridge is in the forefront of purchasing hybrid vehicles and in securing potential savings on purchase and long-term fuel costs. This program has been on my agenda for some time and I am pleased to see that the Township is taking steps to employ environmentally-friendly initiatives.”

Mayor McCormac also introduced the members of the Mayor’s Environmental Commission and announced that the Township Environmental Resource Inventory mapping project is nearing completion. The Environmental Resource Inventory project, undertaken with the assistance of a $7,500 Smart Growth grant received from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions in October, 2006 through then-Acting Mayor Joseph Vitale. The Environmental Inventory Resource project is in the process of identifying, charting and mapping Township environmental resources, including wetlands areas (forested and emergent), forest areas, flood plains, ground water recharge aquifers, soil type, and species habitat areas.

“The Environmental Resource Inventory project will clearly identify environmentally sensitive areas throughout the Township and will serve as a guidepost as we plan for future revitalization and smart growth of Township areas,” Mayor McCormac said. “Additionally, other ‘green initiatives’ under review by the Woodbridge Environmental Commission include possible environmentally-preferable management and purchasing programs and other environmentally-friendly ‘green’ community programs.

C hantal Greffer, Chairperson of the Woodbridge Township Environmental Commission, noted that the Commission is grateful to both the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) and the Township for the opportunity to create the Environmental Resource Inventory. “This document will be completed through the cooperative efforts of environmental consultants from Heyer, Gruehl, and Associates, Commission members, and Township employees. Once approved as a component of the Township’s Master Plan, the ERI will remove any guess work as to the location of our most valued resources and will contain maps of items such as the location of wetlands, forested areas, aquifers, species habitat, soil type and photos of scenic areas and historic landmarks.”

Members of the 2007 Woodbridge Environmental Commission are: Chantal Greffer, Chairperson, Councilwoman Patricia Osborne, MaryBeth Koza (Colonia), Charles Shaughnessy (Colonia), Vincent Zollo (Planning Board Representative), Roberta Martin (Woodbridge), Elizabeth Rudowski, Secretary, Christopher Adornato (Woodbridge) and Jeannette Miller (Fords).

John R. Hagerty
Mayor’s Office of Communications
732-602-6039

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