Enviro Bills Released from Committee: Lead, Vegetation, Etc.

Today the following legislation was released from Committee:

Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

Stormwater Utilities A2694 (McKeon)/S1073 (Smith) authorizes municipalities, counties, and certain authorities to establish stormwater utilities. Over ten percent of the land in New Jersey is impervious surface, making us prone to flooding and pollution problems. Our state’s stormwater infrastructure lacks a source of dedicated funding. The bill also requires the DEP to create a stormwater utility guidance manual to provide guidance to municipalities, counties, and authorities seeking to establish stormwater utilities.

“It’s important that we manage stormwater because it can cause problems with flooding and pollution in our communities. We have so much non-point, pointless pollution destroying our waterways and it’s one of the most serious challenges we face when it comes to cleaning up our waterways. The water can be full of bacteria, chemicals, and debris that can contaminate our drinking water and invade the ecosystem. This bill allows municipalities to create and operate stormwater utilities,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Penalties for Violations A2614 (DeAngelo) increases civil penalties for certain natural gas or hazardous liquid facility safety violations. The bill doubles the amount of money that a violator may be charged with for these violations.

“Given all the problems we’re seeing with natural gas like fires, explosions and property loss, we need to update the penalties. We support this bill as an incentive for these facilities to be safer and have less violations. Natural gas and hazardous liquids are dangerous to our communities and our environment. Polluters should have to pay, especially when it puts us at risk,” said Jeff Tittel.

A3736 (DePhillips) revises and updates public utility franchise process; allows State’s political subdivisions to revoke franchises; increases certain penalties.

“Municipalities should have more authority to determine where they get their utilities from and what services they receive. Many towns already have multiple utility providers and this allows them to select which offer the best service for their communities,” said Jeff Tittel.

Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee

Lead Paint Inspections A1877 (Muoio) requires lead paint inspection prior to home purchases and tenant turnover; establishes educational program on lead hazards. Lead is incredibly dangerous and can cause illness and even in small amounts can lead to brain damage and learning disabilities. It can also lead to childhood development problems and other serious health issues. Thousands of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning in our state each year; over 3,000 in 2015 alone. Many of these children are exposed to lead through paint in their homes and other structures.

“It’s important to have these pieces of legislation to find lead in homes and stop children from being exposed to it in the first place. We need a long-term solution that will help remove lead from our schools and especially the older homes. We must work on removing lead from homes but also from our drinking water through old infrastructure. This is the beginning of dealing with a systemic problem that’s going to take years to solve and lot of work and funding to get done,” said Jeff Tittel.

Mold Hazards A1433 (Benson) requires DCA to establish procedures for inspection and abatement of mold hazards in residential buildings and school facilities, and certification programs for mold inspectors and mold hazard abatement workers.

“It’s important to make sure we aren’t living with toxic mold and that our children have safe places to learn. This includes keeping them safe from mold and the health impacts, especially to their lungs, that come with being exposed to it,” said Jeff Tittel.

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

Vegetation Management Response Act S2505 (Oroho) authorizes electric public utilities to clear, destroy and remove vegetation however they wish. We oppose this bill that gives utility companies the ability to destroy vegetation.

“We oppose this bill that gives utility companies too much leeway. They could end up clearing important vegetation and harming environmentally sensitive areas. We need to protect power lines from trees but not allow for power companies to just clear-cut whatever they want. This bill also exempts utilities from local tree ordinances and shade tree commissions. This gives them a blanket to clear-cut anything they want. We need protective and selective cutting, not just open discretion,” said Jeff Tittel. “Vegetation removal can result in increased erosion and sedimentation, increased flooding and pollution in our waterways, and destruction of wildlife habitat.

Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

Invasive Species Task Force A4585 (Houghtaling) establishes “Invasive Species Task Force.”

“Invasive species can hurt our ecosystems, clog our stormwater systems, and interfere with agriculture. Some of these species outgrow native ones, crowding habitat for other flora and fauna. We should be focusing on promoting natural vegetation and preventing any influx of invasive species,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.