NJ Reopening Plan Needs to Address Equity & Environment

Governor Murphy has started to reopen New Jersey from coronavirus quarantine. New Jersey needs a reopening plan that looks at improving the quality of life, public health, and the environment, especially in areas that are overburdened by pollution. The Sierra Club has released a report called Millions of Good Jobs: A Plan for Economic Renewal, showing that the U.S. could create family-sustaining jobs for over 9 million people every year for the next 10 years while building an economy that fosters cleaner air and water, higher wages, healthier communities, greater equity, and a more stable climate.

“As New Jersey slowly starts to reopen, it is important for Governor Murphy to push for a progressive agenda. This is a chance to move the state forward when it comes to important issues like social justice, equity, and improving the environment for all. A strong economic plan needs to include healthcare, education, restoration, clean energy, and adapting to climate change. The Sierra Club has come out with a national plan for economic recovery that New Jersey can share in. We need to be supporting it, as should our congressional delegation, so that we can share in the benefits,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Murphy should not try and rush to reopen our economy, fast track permits, or weaken standards. Instead, we need to strengthen rules and regulations and get rid of Christie’s rollbacks.”

The report breaks down how specific investments by sector in the U.S. could result in good jobs while also protecting and cleaning up the environment and our communities. This includes:

• Energy: over 600,000 clean energy jobs each year

• Transportation: over 1 million clean transportation jobs each year

• Buildings: over 500,000 clean building jobs each year

• Manufacturing: nearly 300,000 manufacturing renewal jobs each year

• Water: over 500,000 clean water jobs each year

• Lands: over 200,000 pollution-free communities & lands jobs each year

“The Sierra Club national plan can help New Jersey move forward while we are developing our own progressive reopening plan. As we start to reopen, the Murphy Administration should not be fast-tracking permits or getting around rules or standards. We should not let special interest groups be able to shortcut environment regulations, cut timelines, and limit public oversight and input. They should also not be supporting projects like the NJ Turnpike and GS Parkway widenings that will have major environmental and health impacts for generations to come,” said Tittel. “The coronavirus pandemic shows why we need stricter rules, stricter regulations, and reduce pollution, especially in overburdened communities.”

New Jersey could use the Sierra Club report as a blueprint for creating jobs and reopening the economy. This would include investing in clean energy to help many of the more than 11,318 unemployed clean energy workers in New Jersey get their jobs back. We could stimulate electric vehicles to create research and development and manufacturing jobs. Moving forward with replacing lead pipes and securing clean drinking water would create more jobs as well.

“New Jersey can share in the benefits of a national economic recovery plan like the one outlined by the Sierra Club. We can create clean energy jobs in research and innovation, manufacturing, supply chain, and installation of renewable energy and electric vehicle technologies. We can get the lead out of our drinking water in Newark and other cities across the state, and to expand and improve NJ Transit. This could get us moving toward 100% renewable and zero-carbon, and could help with clean energy innovation programs,” said Jeff Tittel. “We need to electrify our transit grid and move forward with offshore wind and energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gases. This is even more important because a recent Harvard study linked coronavirus risk to air pollution.”

Despite the pandemic, major projects like the NJ Turnpike & GSP Expansion, SRL Pipeline, LNG Port in Gibbstown are moving forward without adequate public oversight and input. Governor Murphy has also signed a series of Executive Orders limiting public oversight and extending permits for fossil fuel projects during the pandemic.

“New Jersey’s blueprint for reopening should get rid of Murphy’s EOs that block public participation for major state and local projects. We cannot have remote or virtual hearings on projects like the LNG Port in Gibbstown, the NJ Turnpike & GSP Expansion, the SRL Pipeline, and more. Governor Murphy needs to veto the minutes of the NJ Turnpike Authority and SJ Transportation Authority meetings to stop damaging and unnecessary highway widenings from going forward,” said Tittel. “We need to make sure that as the state re-opens, three will be no fast-tracking permits or reducing or waving standards for controversial projects.”

Governor Murphy has stated that the state has learned valuable lessons that would be foolish to ignore. He has said that no one will be unprotected because of racial or socioeconomic status, they must be a part of the response to this outbreak. As of today, over 153,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in New Jersey.

“As the Murphy Administration moves forward on reopening from lockdown, we need to make sure that it is in the best interest of the public and the environment. We need to make sure our water is clean to drink, our air is clean to breathe in, and our food is safe to eat. These are the necessities of making sure our environment and our health is maintained now and for the future,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “After we get through this pandemic and health emergency, we need to prepare for climate change.  The pandemic can shift the paradigm to help New Jersey become greener and more equitable, but we have to act now.”