Gov. Murphy Nominates Great Appointments to Pinelands

Today Governor Murphy has announced that he will appoint Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Coffey to the Pineland Commission. Jessica Sanchez will be replacing Gary Quinn and Jennifer Coffey will be replacing Bob Barr. Murphy has also re-nominated Ed Lloyd as Commissioner. Just last week, Governor Murphy appointed Rick Prickett as the new chair of the Pinelands Commission.

“Governor Murphy has stood up for the Pinelands by moving forward with nominating great people who will serve on the Pinelands Commission. These nominations today along with the other nomination will make a quantum shift that will turn the Pinelands back to where it once was, which is the nation’s most successful land use board in the country. Now it is up to the Senate President to get these nominees confirmed and that will be a major push,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The nominations together is an earthquake going off in the Pinelands that will shift it from the Pinelands Permissive Act to the Pinelands Protection Act. Together with the new chair, they can move the Pineland’s mission forward and work to protect the Pines from climate change and fossil fuel projects.”

Governor Murphy has nominated Jessica Sanchez. Jessica worked on the Clean Water Council, Delaware River Basin Commission, and has developed award-winning Water Resources Plan for the Delaware River Basin; approved by four Governors and six federal agencies. Sanchez also co-authored first state- level government policy initiative to protect the NJ Highlands.  Sanchez will be replacing Gary Quin.

“Jessica Sanchez is an outstanding appointment and will bring a lot of experience and professional knowledge to the Pinelands Commission. This is great news that she will be replacing Gary Quin. Jessica has a PhD in environmental planning from Rutgers. She’s worked in the office of state planning and for the Delaware Basin Commission. She’s lived in the Pinelands for over 25 years. We think Jessica is a great appointment to the Pinelands,” said Tittel.

Jessica Coffey will also be nominated to the Pinelands Commission. Jessica is currently the Executive Director off the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions (ANJEC). She also worked as a policy director for the Stony Brook- Millstone Watershed Association. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Science from NJIT. Coffey will be replacing Bob Barr.

“Jen Coffee is the executive director of ANJEC and has worked closely with the environment and the Pinelands Commission. This is a major step forward since she will be replacing Bob Barr. She has knowledge of water issues as well and will bring a lot of knowledge to the commission. We believe Jen will be a good addition to the Pinelands Commission,” said Tittel.

Ed Lloyd will be re-appointed to the Pinelands Commission as well. Commissioner Edward Lloyd started serving as a Pinelands Commissioner in 2002, and he is a dedicated and strong advocate for the Pinelands.

“Reappointing Ed Lloyd is good news. He is outstanding in environmental law in New Jersey if not the country. He has a 30-year history of working with the environment and founded the Environmental Rutgers Law Clinic,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These appointments to the Pinelands Commission will make a significant difference when it comes to moving forward with issues of climate change, fossil fuel projects, fixing the CMP and more.”

There are two pipelines that would cut through the Pinelands, the SJ Gas and NJNG’s Southern Reliability Link (SRL). The Pinelands Commission tabled a vote to rescind their approval for the SJ Gas pipeline and have yet to put SJ Gas back on their agenda. The SRL pipeline has already started construction in Ocean County despite still being in ongoing litigation.

“Now that Governor Murphy will make these appointments, it is critical that he moves their hearings forward. Murphy also needs to get Theresa Lettman’s nomination through the Senate. More importantly, he needs to replace Nancy Wittenberg and find a new direction that will help the Pinelands Commission to move forward on pipelines in front of us. The Commission need to fix the CMP and how to deal with infrastructure. They also need to update the Pineland rules on dealing with climate change,” said Tittel. “The Commission need to rescind their approval for the SJ Gas pineland and put a stay on SRL pipeline. NJNG should be prohibited from beginning any construction on their pipeline until the entire project is approved.”

The Pinelands is the largest open space on the eastern seaboard and recognized for its biodiversity by the United Nations. When the Pinelands Act was passed forty years ago, one of the major reasons was to prevent pipelines coming through to connect offshore oil to refineries in south Jersey.

“The Pinelands is the country’s first National Reserve and holds 17 trillion gallons of water in its aquifer. There is nothing like it in the world. We asked and fought for Governor Murphy to nominate four new people for the Pinelands Commission and he has given us those four people. Now we will fight as hard as we can to get them all approved,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These are the best 4 people to be nominated in the Pinelands in a very long time who can now protect the Pines now and for future generations.”