FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 13, 2022

8^th District Legislators Ask Legislative Leadership to Press Pause on DEP Boiler Rule

EVESHAM – 8^th District Lawmakers Senator Jean Stanfield, Assemblyman Michael Torrissi and Assemblyman Brandon Umba are asking Senate and Assembly leadership to pause the imminent roll-out of regulations approved by the Murphy administration that could force public schools to spend millions by converting large natural gas boilers to all-electric.

The 8^th District delegation sent a letter yesterday to Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, joining prominent labor and business groups in calling for the Legislature to halt a forthcoming statewide building electrification mandate until a full analysis of costs for the plan can be developed.

The letter reads as follows:

September 12, 2022

Dear Senate President Scutari and Assembly Speaker Coughlin:

We hope that this letter finds both of you well. We’re writing to you today to highlight the urgent concerns of New Jersey residents and businesses with a forthcoming mandate on building electrification that requires the conversion of gas-powered heating appliances, a requirement which will drive up costs for schools, housing complexes and manufacturers at a time when many are struggling to even afford current energy and construction costs. We are respectfully requesting immediate consideration of pending legislation (S-2671/A-3935) to halt the issuance of any rule mandating building or appliance electrification until a full analysis of the costs of the proposal can be developed and the Legislature has provided its explicit authorization for any such mandate.

We are currently less than 90 days from the planned adoption of the first proposed rule to mandate statewide building electrification, specifically the requirement that all boilers 1 million BTU (MMBTU) to 5 million BTU (MMBTU) that need to be replaced after January 1, 2025, be replaced with electric boilers. Boilers of this size can typically be found in certain large residential and commercial buildings, including the more than 1,500 K-12 schools seeing students and staff begin to again fill their classrooms this past week.

Since the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection has already estimated that buildings running on all-electric heating could pay 4 to 5 times more than those heated with natural gas, this mandate is all but certain to create even higher annual costs for our schools, constrain local finances and drive property taxes up even higher for residents and businesses across this state.

In addition, the up-front costs of boiler conversion are expected to be enormous. While the Department has failed to provide school districts with even an estimate of what they could be expected to pay in the current market for electric boilers and heat pumps, one independent estimate for the replacement of a 1.5 MMBTU natural gas boiler similar to the one used in Marlton Middle School in Evesham, for example, finds it could cost the local school district — and, by extension, Evesham’s taxpayers — approximately $2 million, when including all demolition and retrofitting costs.

It is crucial that the Legislature re-assert its oversight and pause the ongoing implementation of these new boiler rules, which have to date been rolled out entirely through regulation and without a full consideration of the costs involved or explicit authorization from the Legislature. It is essential, both to making good policy and to restoring public confidence in the Legislature and Executive’s respective roles as co-equal branches, that we must move for immediate consideration and adoption of S-2671/A-3935, which has been languishing in Committee for four full months while this rule adoption continues to steam forward.

We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Stanfield

Senator, 8^th District

Michael Torrissi

Assemblyman, 8^th District

Brandon Umba

Assemblyman, 8^th District