April 13, 2012, Sandy Hook, NJ — Nearly two months after revealing a plan to close the James J. Howard Marine Laboratory, top officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have yet to explain how much it would cost to relocate scientists and their projects to other sites in Connecticut and Maryland, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said Wednesday.
NOAA leaders say much of that work can be done elsewhere, but Pallone said NOAA admits it will give up some assets at the Howard lab — including its signature 32,000-gallon saltwater tank, an aquarium used to study fish behavior and the largest of its kind on the East Coast.
The saltwater tank was a centerpiece of the design when NOAA and New Jersey collaborated to rebuild the lab after a devastating 1985 fire. New Jersey still owns the lab building that opened in 1993, and the 20-year building bond will be paid off in 2013.
New Jersey rents the lab to NOAA and closing it would save the agency $2.8 million in rent, at a time when NOAA is scrambling to find more money for its satellite programs, agency managers have said..
But lab supporters point out the rent includes $1.18 million to pay back the 1993 construction bond — in effect, a mortgage that will be paid off next year. New Jersey paid to build the state-of-the-art lab building in a joint venture with NOAA and supporters say the state can re-negotiate a more favorable lease next year.
Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press.