Pending Nj Legislation On Criminal Trespassing

[+The BeeGees]

Something to keep in mind while placing your next cache or taking that "short cut".

 

The following is an important message regarding an pending piece of legislation:

New Jersey Bill A2173/S1956

 

On May 12, 2005 New Jersey Assembly Bill 2173/Senate Bill 1956 passed the Senate with a vote of 38 to 0. This legislation upgrades criminal trespassing from a disorderly persons offense to a crime of the fourth degree when it involves trespassing in any power generation facility, waste treatment facility, public sewage facility, water treatment facility, public water facility, nuclear electric generating plant or any facility that stores, generates or handles any hazardous chemicals. A fourth degree crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

 

This legislation had not yet been signed into law by Acting Governor Richard Codey.

[+JMBella]

That cuts out a lot of places for you guys to hide caches!

[+avroair]

There goes the Power Trip series, I knew I should have done them on Sunday!

[+Renegade Knight]

Those facilities are typically fenced and posted. Making it a worse crime to trespass doesn't really accomplish much.

 

It’s another feel good law. If you were to intentionally trespass it’s for one of two reasons. You want to get to the other fishing hole but don’t want to drive 20 miles to the bridge and they have fenced off the dam. Or you are going to blow it up. The former person really only deserves the slap on the wrist while the latter is already guilty of a slew of other things and a trespass law with sharper teeth doesn’t make the facility harder to get into to begin with.

[+BMSquared]

I absolutely agree with you Renegade Knight. When you look at what is really being discussed, they are talking about generating facilities or other facilities, not pipelines and service roads etc. The facilities they are talking about are mostly fenced and posted to begin with due to the potential hazards associated with the machinery or chemicals.

 

The one that sticks out on the list is the facility that "generates or handles any hazardous chemicals". Does that rule out the whole Peter's Mine area of ringwood? The whole area is probably listed as the facility that is generating the waste. I suspect they are talking about real transfer and disposal facilities, but a liberal interpretation of a poorly written regulation could have very broad reaching impacts.

 

For instance, one database record I encountered in the line of work listed the entire Hudson River as a Superfund site. (stemming from the GE Dioxin issue up near Albany). The EPA database had the entire River listed as a Superfund (hazardous waste generating and handling) site. Does that mean we can't go into the river without being charged with a crime? Probably not, but this stuff gets really confusing pretty quick.

[+Jerseytrex]

That cuts out a lot of places for you guys to hide caches!

dadgum! There goes my "Twitching and Involuntary Shaking" Multi cache series!

[+Quest1962]

dadgum! There goes my "Twitching and Involuntary Shaking" Multi cache series! 

Yeah, but the symptoms set in at different times for each person, so you couldn't have logged it as a "find" until they had!

[+Riddlers]

or any facility that stores, generates or handles any hazardous chemicals. A fourth degree crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

That would mean even Safeway stores or gas stations, hardware stores, swimming pools, landscape companies or any stores that handle any hazardous material?

Edited May 24, 2005 by Riddlers

[+IV_Warrior]

The one that sticks out on the list is the facility that "generates or handles any hazardous chemicals". 

 

Wouldn't that pretty much be the entire state of NJ?

For instance, one database record I encountered in the line of work listed the entire Hudson River as a Superfund site.  (stemming from the GE Dioxin issue up near Albany).  The EPA database had the entire River listed as a Superfund (hazardous waste generating and handling) site.  Does that mean we can't go into the river without being charged with a crime?

 

Why on earth would you even WANT to go into that river? Things mutate just being NEAR it.

[+BMSquared]

Wouldn't that pretty much be the entire state of NJ?

 

No, no, we just store it.

 

Why on earth would you even WANT to go into that river?  Things mutate just being NEAR it. 

 

Even up in the Adirondacks? Or how about Flugtag by Red Bull or any of the boaters who water ski in the river.

 

EDIT: Inserting the obvious, I wouldn't want to be in it, I was just saying some people might.

Edited May 25, 2005 by BMSquared

[+Renegade Knight]

or any facility that stores, generates or handles any hazardous chemicals. A fourth degree crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

That would mean even Safeway stores or gas stations, hardware stores, swimming pools, landscape companies or any stores that handle any hazardous material?

Good point. I don't think the bill was meant to capture every RCRA listed site such as Safeway. Just the ones you can blow up to cause major public harm. Then again, maybe it is intended to do that.

[+avroair]

The law reads pretty specific so at least most caches would be safe, but as I found out placing a cache, near a pipeline, near a large grid generator and near government sensitive buildings... Might not be a good idea!

[+Jerseytrex]

Wouldn't that pretty much be the entire state of NJ?

 

No, no, we just store it.

 

Why on earth would you even WANT to go into that river?  Things mutate just being NEAR it. 

 

Even up in the Adirondacks? Or how about Flugtag by Red Bull or any of the boaters who water ski in the river.

 

EDIT: Inserting the obvious, I wouldn't want to be in it, I was just saying some people might.

Thats also why we pay less for fuel than everyone else in the nation.

Laugh it up the jokes on you.

[+BMSquared]

Thats also why we pay less for fuel than everyone else in the nation.

Laugh it up the jokes on you.

You know, I would have agreed with you, but I remember paying less in Pennsylvania when I lived there and I also remember Delaware having pretty cheap gas. I didn't think either of them had the extent of refining we have. Something seems odd.