Murphy: Deliver on Environmental Justice by Stopping Dirty Newark Plant

Administration must block new PVSC power plant

In his State of the State address, Governor Murphy laid out his future priorities while reviewing his first term accomplishments, including enacting what he called “the nation’s strongest environmental justice law.”

In response, Food & Water Watch New Jersey State Director Matt Smith released the following statement:

“Governor Murphy’s professed commitment to environmental justice faces a litmus test right now: His administration must decide whether or not to approve construction of a new gas-fired power plant at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission facility in Newark. This would create yet another source of air and climate pollution in a community that has been targeted by polluters for decades. The governor can help end this cycle of environmental injustice by stopping this plan and joining community calls for a clean, renewable alternative.”

“Governor Murphy declared that we must ‘prove that our words have actual value and meaning.’ He must take actions that match his rhetoric. The governor cannot allow his own agency to sink public money into a polluting power plant that would take us backwards in the fight against climate change. Those resources would be better spent advancing our state’s renewable energy and storage goals.”

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