Murphy’s FY2020 Budget Will Target Environment Like Last Year’s?

The proposed FY2020 budget is coming out on Tuesday. Governor Murphy’s budget FY2019, DEP saw a decrease in overall budget while operations went up slightly. The Clean Energy Fund was also raided by $160 million from its previous budget year. NRD money from the Exxon and Volkswagen Settlement were also used for the general budget, however Murphy cannot use NRD money to balance the FY 2020 budget.

“Last year’s budget was balanced on the backs of the environment, we concerned about this year’s proposed budget will do the same. FY2020 is coming out and there may be cuts or money grabbed to plug budget holes. Last year the Murphy Administration took close to $500 million from environmental programs to balance the budget. This year, the Murphy Administration have already committed to taking $140 million form the Clean Energy Fund and given the problems, it could mean more. Now since Murphy cannot grab NRD money anymore, DEP’s budget may be targeted along with other environmental monies,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Governor Murphy cut DEP funding FY2019. This year the agency is allocated $275 million; down from $321 million from last year’s budget. They are also diverting $80 million dollars from the DEP however increased operational funding.

“DEP budget has been cut every year for almost more than a decade, they don’t have enough money to do their job.  The DEP needs more funding so that we have enough people to do the many jobs of the agency, including re-writing the rules Christie rolled back. DEP is supposed to hire over 110 people and replace those that have retired. If Murphy starts making cuts to DEP, then the agency cannot successfully implement important programs that protect our clean air, water, and open space. We need to start hiring more people to do the core work of the department. Lack of testing and oversight has put New Jersey at risk, especially when it comes to lead in the drinking water,” said Tittel.

The Murphy Administration also took money from environmental settlements to be used for the general budget. $200 million from the Exxon settlement was taken into the DEP from natural resource damages but nothing in the budget allocating it towards environment programs. $69 million was taken out of the VW Fund to the general budget. This year, Chrysler Fiat is paying $5.3 million to New Jersey to settle another case involving the installation of software to cheat on diesel emission tests.

“Last year, the Murphy Administration was able to balance the budget from grabbing settling money. This year, they can’t. Governor Murphy already took $175 million from the Exxon Settlement to balance this year’s budget. The Murphy Administration also took $69 million from the VW settlement to go into the state budget. Now with Fiat’s settlement money coming in, will Murphy use those funds for Electric vehicles, or steal the money again like last year,” said Tittel.

Based on the Board of Public Utilities, they already committed taking $140 million from Clean Energy Fund FY2020.

“Governor Murphy said last year he will take $140 million from the Clean Energy Fund this year, however that number may go up from the short falls this past year. This Fund is meant to support projects that make our homes more resilient such as weatherization, along with energy efficiency and green jobs. New Jersey needs to use the Clean Energy Fund for the environment and creating jobs, not for plugging in budget holes,” said Tittel.

On top of the clean energy fund raids, $80 million dollars was diverted from the DEP FY2019.   The proposed budget still diverts money out of the DEP from programs such as the Spill Act and the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund, Clean Communities at least $80 million.

“Last year, the Murphy Administration cut funding for important programs that would go towards cleaning up toxic sites, brownfield redevelopment, and recycling. Since there will not be enough NRD to steal, we are concerned that they programs will be raided once again. This will have a real impact on the agency because by diverting those funds, they are not hiring enough staff for DEP to do its job. If we want our economy to grow, we need to have people in the DEP in charge of permits and projects,” said Tittel.

In February, an effort to privatize our state’s parks is again gaining momentum as the Murphy administration evaluates how public assets could generate more revenue for the state’s pension system. The state Department of Treasury has made a formal request for qualifications – RFQ – in search of a financial advisor to review a long list of assets to be potentially monetized through sale, lease, naming rights or other transactions. Those assets include roads, bridges, and buildings as well as parks and other recreational facilities.

“With cuts coming without any real new hiring at DEP, we are concerned that they will expand privatizing and outsourcing of DEP programs. DEP is expanding site LSRP site remediation, privatizing water and air programs and hiring outside engineers and consultants. The state is also selling park assets to commercial projects and ventures and to fix pensions. New Jersey should have learned its lesson from the Corzine debacle. Don’t seek short-term gain when it will mean much greater long-term loss,” said Tittel. “Privatizing DEP operations and parks is a slippery slope when it comes to protecting the environment.”

Gov. Phil Murphy will put forward his budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 tomorrow during a joint session of the state Assembly and Senate in Trenton at 2:00pm.

“Governor Murphy has the chance to restore the DEP to the great agency it once was. New Jersey can use some of the settlement money from the Fiat Chrysler Case lawsuit to go towards environmental clean-ups. He can make sure that funds such as those for Clean Energy or Hazardous site clean-up go where they are meant to go. It’s time for a new New Jersey budget, not just the same old Christie budget,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “If Murphy cares about protecting our environment and public health, then he will should make sure that DEP is funded and environmental programs like the Clean Energy Fund are not used as the state’s ATM.”