Tomorrow, Governor Phil Murphy will give his second State of the State address to New Jersey. It has been almost two years since the Murphy Administration was sworn in. While there has been some progress during that time, the New Jersey Sierra Club is concerned with the pace of progress and the lack of fulfillments on Murphy’s commitments to the environment.

“The Governor will talk about some of his environmental accomplishments but that is what he does, he talks. Just like last year, there has been too much talk and not enough action. The current administration does not see the urgency of climate change and the extreme impacts it is already having on New Jersey. We need progress, not just words. Most of Christie’s rules are still in place that put our state in harm’s way when it comes to climate impacts. We have moved forward on offshore wind, but that progress is undermined by Murphy’s Energy Master Plan and failure to put a moratorium on fossil fuel projects. Tomorrow, Murphy will speak about the environment, but he still needs to take bold action to fix it,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

New Jersey saw its 10th warmest year on record in 2019, echoing a global trend that has seen sea levels rise and extreme weather events become more common, according to the Rutgers report. According to the NOAA report, New Jersey has the second highest average temperatures after Rhode Island, with an increase in average temperatures by 3.49 degrees compared with the 20th-century norm.

“Governor Murphy doesn’t understand the climate urgency we are in. We are seeing climate impacts every day with chronic flooding, storm surges, and sea level rise. Governor Murphy has moved forward in offshore wind goals by expanding it to 7500MW but we need to do more. We have serious concerns with BPU’s EMP. Instead of moving us forward to 100% renewable, it is more like a roadblock than a road map for cleaner energy. The plan itself is flawed. It continues to define carbon neutral as clean energy which is not because it includes biogas, nuclear energy, incinerators, and biomass. The carbon sequestration aspect from the EMP shows that 8% of carbon will be absorbed by forest, so really there is a 72% reduction in carbon, not 80%,” said Tittel. “Governor Murphy talks a lot about climate change, but other states are running circles around him. Gov. Cuomo and Gov. Inslee are going 100% carbon free by 2040 and by 2030.”

The Murphy Administration is still using many Christie-era rules. They need to move forward on strengthening important water protections and regulations including the Flood Hazard Rules, Water Quality Management Planning Rules, CAFRA and Wetlands.

 “The Governor won’t talk about getting rid of Christie era rules tomorrow. If Governor Murphy is serious about fighting climate change, his administration must strengthen Christie- era rules. He must also increase staffing so that the DEP can actually do their job. New Jersey needs to move forward with a Coastal Commission, DEP need to use the latest science to put climate and sea level rise in their rules. Gov. Murphy can create a cabinet level committee to coordinate all agencies in coastal resiliency and reducing greenhouse gasses. This includes updating all state regulations to include climate impacts, re-doing the Water Supply Master Plan, and using up-to-date data in our mapping and planning,” said Tittel.

Many cities in New Jersey have serious lead problems in the their drinking water. Lead levels in Newark’s water supply tested at 52 parts per billion between January 1 and June 30 of 2019. These are the highest levels ever recorded in Newark, an increase from 48 parts per billion during the last 6 months of 2018. Lead has also been found in Paterson, Camden, and Morristown.

“Governor Murphy may talk about lead but has not shown any leadership on the crisis. Governor Murphy also has not passed any legislation that would help fund lead testing in schools. DEP still need to adopt the stricter standards for toxic chemicals like lead in our drinking water. The Drinking Water Quality institute hasn’t meet for a year. In some areas of New Jersey, like Newark, private well testing is at 15ppb, this must be lowered. DEP should have been making recommendations for much stricter levels of lead in our drinking water,” said Tittel.

According to data released by the Federal Transit Administration, New Jersey has had the most breakdowns on any transit system in the nation during 2018. NJ Transit was ranked first for 375 total mechanical failures in 2018, which meant the train could not complete or start a trip. NJ Transit buses ranked 7^th worst in the nation with 9.850 total mechanical failures in 2018. NJ Transit rankings are not too far from their 2015 rankings which were 5^th worst in the nation for breakdowns.

 “NJ Transit still has problems despite that the fact that the Murphy Administration is trying to reform the agency.  NJ Transit is rated the worst in the nation when it comes to breakdowns. Despite all of the pronouncements by Governor Murphy and NJ Transit, the commuter nightmare continues. This is a direct result of funding being slashed by 90 percent in the last 11 years,” said Tittel. “Instead of moving towards electrifying our transportation system, the agency is buying dirty buses and diesel trains. These buses will be driving through environmental justice communities with some of the worst air pollution in the country. NJ Transit should be moving toward 100% electric by 2030, but instead they are planning to purchase gas-guzzling trains and buses that will remain in the fleet for another 20 years.”

Governor Murphy kept some of his environmental and clean energy commitments such as moving us forward on offshore wind, we still need him to do more.

“Governor Murphy needs to put action in the commitments he made when we endorsed him. It has been almost two years, and we are concerned of how much time it will take to see some serious progress when it comes to the environment. Instead of promoting more fossil fuel projects, NJ needs to put a moratorium on fossil fuel projects and focus on renewable energy such as solar and wind. Murphy must reverse Christie’s weakened rules that protect our environment, public health, and safety. Governor Murphy needs to show strong leadership by getting the DEP and other agencies to move on the environment, he can’t afford to wait,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “There has been a lot of talk on environment and not a lot of action when it comes to protecting it. It’s time that Murphy moves forward.”