Sierra Club: Gov. Murphy Signs Bill, Turns Back on EJ Community & Takes Their Exxon $$
Gov. Murphy Signs Bill, Turns Back on EJ Community & Takes Their Exxon $$
Gov. Murphy has signed into place A4578 (Land)/S3110 (Smith) spending Natural Resources Damages (NRD) money from environmental settlements. The bill includes $50 million from the $225 Exxon settlement for environmental restoration projects. Exxon funding will go toward restoring white cedars in the Pinelands, saltwater mitigation at Cape May Point and toward cleanup of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. The NJDEP came up with the list of projects where the NRD money will be going to.
“Today, Governor Murphy just turned his back on communities that have been impacted by pollution from Exxon. The money that is supposed to be going to communities in Paulsboro, Linden, and Newark, will instead be used to plant trees in the Pinelands. That money could have been used to deal with PFOS in Paulsboro, or Lead in Newark’s drinking water, or for urban parks and environmental restoration in Linden,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “When Governor Murphy says he cares about Environmental Justice communities but takes away their resources, you are hurting those communities and not making them whole. Under this law, the money is being taken away from those areas and diverted to others.”
In New Jersey, natural resources are held in trust by the government under the Public Trust Doctrine. Under the New Jersey Spill Act, polluters must clean up contamination and compensate the public for lost use of natural resources. That’s how NRD money is supposed to be used, in compensating the public. The bill calls for $30 million of the Exxon money to be spent on saltwater intrusion mitigation and habitat restoration at Cape May Point, problems that will continue to worsen with sea level rise. Another $19 million will go toward restoring white cedar forests in the Pinelands. The bill also allots $10 million for Hudson-Raritan Estuary Water Quality Infrastructure/CSO improvements.
“The communities damaged by Exxon have been victimized three times. First, they were polluted. Then the state sold out to Exxon by accepting $225 million on $8.9 billion in damages. Now they’re being violated by where the money is going. A diversion of $175 million was used to balance the budget on the backs of these communities. Now what little money is left is going to the wrong places. Cities like Newark and Paterson could use the money to fix lead pipes. Paulsboro and Linden need it for environmental restoration. Those communities should be the focus of the funding. We certainly don’t need it to restore white cedars in the Pinelands. Nature will take care of that,” said Tittel.
The bill includes an additional $40 million in NRD money to be directed toward statewide water supply and wastewater improvements, habitat restoration and open space acquisitions for groundwater recharge.
“Gov. Murphy is selling out EJ communities with his use of the Exxon money. His administration requested this spending, not legislators. The failure to follow through with his commitment to environmental justice is on his head. Gov. Murphy’s own Executive Order 23 emphasized the importance of the state incorporating environmental justice considerations into its planning. Now instead of helping heavily polluted communities that desperately need help, the Exxon money is going toward unneeded projects elsewhere. This is an outrageous use of the little Exxon money we have,” said Tittel.
The New Jersey Sierra Club sued to try to stop the Exxon settlement struck under Gov. Christie, appealing the case to the Supreme Court. The state had sought $8.9 billion in damages from Exxon for pollution from refineries in Linden and Bayonne. Gov. Christie settled for $225 million, and Gov. Murphy did not oppose the deal. Only $50 million of the $225 million was made available for environmental cleanup.
“These communities polluted by Exxon have been sold out repeatedly. The state settled for pennies on the dollar in its lawsuit against Exxon, diverted most of the sellout money to fix the budget, and now they’re diverting even more money. We sued to try to stop the dirty deal with Exxon, which was the biggest sellout of a pollution case in state history. Now the communities hurt the most from pollution keep being dealt more blows. The list of this projects came from the DEP, but the legislature went along with it, instead of putting that money towards communities who were impacted by Exxon. This raises concerns about future NRD money,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Gov. Murphy should be enforcing the Public Trust Doctrine. By signing this bill, he has sold out those communities and violated that trust.”
