Assembly OK's EnCap-Related Oversight Bill

TRENTON, NJ-EnCap wanted to turn 800 acres of closed landfills in New Jersey’s Meadowlands region into a $1-billion mix of golf courses, residences, office and retail space, but the subsidiary of Raleigh, NC-based Cherokee Investment Partners shut the project down earlier this year. In May, as result of cost overruns and missed deadlines, and despite a cash infusion from Donald Trump, EnCap filed for bankruptcy .

And the EnCap mess has resulted in new legislation to protect public interests: As a result of the bankruptcy, the state and Bergen County stand to lose as much as $50 million of taxpayer money. That legislation has taken a major step forward with Assembly approval of a bill that would increase the oversight of major projects that receive public money.

The bill is intended to “ensure that state funds are not being foolishly or unwisely invested,” says its co-sponsor, assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic County), in a statement. “[New Jersey] has an obligation to taxpayers to make sure that funds are being expended in an appropriate and correct manner.”