Robert Jackson Nominated to Pinelands Commission- Great Choice

On June 13^th, Governor Murphy nominated Robert Jackson, of Middle Township, to replace D’Arcy Rohan Green of the Pinelands Commission. Jackson was commissioner from 2008 to 2015 until Governor Christie replaced him after Jackson voted against the South Jersey Gas pipeline. He was also a former mayor of West Cape May.

“Robert Jackson brings an important voice to the Pinelands Commission. He is someone who has spent 7 years on the commission and always voted his conscience for what is right for the Pinelands. That is why Chris Christie threw him off. We think Robert is a great appointment to the Pinelands and it important that Governor Murphy nominated him to go back on,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Robert is Governor Murphy’s fifth nomination to the Pinelands Commission. 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.”

Jackson is the fifth nomination Murphy has made to the commission. He nominated Theresa Lettman in January, Jessica Rittler Sanchez and Jennifer Coffey in May, and reappointed environmental attorney Ed Lloyd in May.

“The Governor has now nominated 5 excellent people to serve on the commission. Reappointing Ed Lloyd is good news. Jessica Sanchez, Theresa Lettman, and Jennifer Coffey are also great additions to the commission. Now we need to get them confirmed as quickly as possible. Senator Sweeney and Senator Scutari need to get the Senate and Judiciary Committee moving on their hearings. Governor Murphy also needs to make sure that it gets done,” said Tittel.

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. 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.

“By appointing Robert Jackson to the Pinelands, he gets to make up for one of the most outrageous acts of Governor Christie who threw off commissioners who voted against pipelines. These 5 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,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “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 new people for the Pinelands Commission and he has given us those new people. Now we will fight as hard as we can to get them all approved.”