TRENTON, NJ—Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, released the following statement today:

In a time when Washington D.C. is lacking public transparency and openness, it is more important than ever that voters receive the facts about what is going on in our local government. It has come to our attention that a few New Jersey legislators are willfully and purposefully misleading voters on a piece of recent legislation critical to our families and businesses, S1073/A2694, the Flood Defense Act, by picking up out-of-touch talking points from colleagues in other states.

The fact is the bipartisan Flood Defense Act does not create a new tax. It simply offers local jurisdictions the option of establishing a stormwater utility or program, should they choose to. Once established, the program would follow the polluters-pay principle requiring those who produce the most pollution to contribute to the cost of managing it. This bill is permissive, not mandatory, and is an important step in giving cities and towns the authority to create much-needed local stormwater programs to control flooding and reduce polluted runoff.  Over 40 states have this ability, and New Jersey is behind states like Alabama, Utah, and Wisconsin.

The reality is the majority of voters from all parties want to protect their drinking water. We are proud that the Flood Defense Act is a bipartisan bill and proud of our strong track record of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats who care about New Jersey’s environment. When lawmakers purposely mislead their voters, they lose their trust. I am confident that during the upcoming Assembly elections misinformation efforts like those levied recently will not go unnoticed by conservation voters, from High Point to Barnegat Bay and across the Garden State.

The lawmakers who are spreading false information in an attempt to block the bipartisan Flood Defense Act are not only losing the trust of their constituents, but are turning their backs on clean water and safe communities for New Jersey families and businesses. We call on these lawmakers to end their politically motivated campaign of deceit and unite behind a common-sense goal of protecting New Jersey’s clean drinking water.

New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, hold public officials accountable, and support laws which protect our environment and improve the quality of people’s lives. For more information on the Flood Defense Act, see www.flooddefenseNJ.org