Murphy restarts big offshore wind plan for New Jersey
News Article • 1/31/2018 • by Michelle Brunetti Post at Press of Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY — Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order Wednesday to return the state to national leadership in offshore wind energy.
New Jersey will finally implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act of 2010, which languished under Gov. Chris Christie, Murphy said at a press conference at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s wind farm and wastewater treatment plant.
NEW JERSEY LCV’s POTOSNAK CELEBRATES GOV MURPHY ACTION ON OFFSHORE WIND
Press Release • 1/31/2018
Following Governor Phil Murphy’s release of Executive Order 8, New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak released the following statement:
“Governor Murphy’s Executive Order promoting offshore wind sends a clear message that New Jersey is serious about being the greenest state in the country, while also creating good paying, clean energy jobs in our state.”
Environmental Justice Should Be Core Principle of Murphy Administration
News Article • 1/29/2018 • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
The Murphy administration needs to focus on the disproportionate impacts of pollution and contamination on poor urban communities, according to a transition team report for Gov. Phil Murphy.
The 15-page environmental and energy report suggests that addressing the environmental-justice disparities in low-income and mostly communities of color ought to be promoted as a core principle of the new administration, one that is reflected across all departments and programs.
The recommendation, one of four overarching priorities identified by the transition team, calls for reducing the air and water pollution burdening those communities, and proposes that a substantial portion of the new funding on its way be dedicated to these initiatives.
Murphy signs executive order to reenter Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
News Article • 1/29/2018 • by Michael Aron at NJTV
Gov. Murphy held a press conference in Highlands on Monday morning to announce he’s rolling back another Christie-era policy.
“In just a few minutes I’m going to sign an executive order to start the process to get New Jersey back into RGGI,” said Murphy.
NEW JERSEY LCV’s POTOSNAK CELEBRATES GOV MURPHY ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Press Release • 1/29/2018
Governor Murphy’s Climate Change Executive Order, which will reenter the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, sends a clear message that New Jersey is serious about being the greenest state in the country under his leadership. More than five years after the devastation from Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey finally has a governor with the vision to tackle this urgent threat and create the clean energy jobs New Jersey residents need.
Gov. Murphy Plays to NJ Environmentalists From Day One
News Article • 1/17/2018 • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
Imagine this: A governor talking about the sad reality of climate change, investing aggressively in renewable energy, and creating housing safe from the danger of lead.
To the state’s diverse environmental community, Gov. Phil Murphy’s inaugural speech signaled that New Jersey once again should embrace a leadership role in protecting its air, water, and land from the legacy of pollution that too often in the past defined it.
Keep It Green Applauds Unanimous, Bipartisan Support for Preservation Funding
Press Release • 1/9/2018
Trenton - Five bills that appropriate voter-approved funds for farmland and historic preservation in New Jersey passed with bipartisan, unanimous support in the state legislature last night.
The package includes five bills (S3568/A5320, S3570/A5318, S3573/A5317, S3575/A5321, S3595/A5319), four of which appropriate roughly $29 million for farmland preservation, and one appropriating about $5 million for historic preservation. Members of New Jersey Keep It Green (KIG), the state’s largest coalition of conservation groups fighting to preserve open space, farmland, and historic sites were in Trenton during the voting session.
N.J. Gov.-elect Phil Murphy vows to fight Trump's offshore drilling plan
News Article • 1/5/2018 • by Frank Kummer at Philly.com
A proposal by the Trump administration this week to open most of the U.S. coast to fossil fuel exploration and drilling stunned New Jersey officials and environmentalists, who are vowing to fight back.
“Let’s call this what it is,” said Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, who will be sworn in Jan. 16. “What President Trump announced [Thursday] is nothing less than dropping a ticking time bomb off our coast.”
Murphy, a Democrat, made the statement at a news conference Friday morning in Monmouth County, flanked by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, both Democrats. Murphy called for bipartisan opposition from the state’s congressional delegation, but protecting the coastline already is a bipartisan issue.
Environmentalists applaud Murphy pick for DEP
News Article • 12/21/2017 • by David Cruz at NJTV News
The naming of Catherine McCabe as the governor-elect’s pick to head up the state’s Department of Environmental Protection drew praise from the state’s enviro-community.
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak joined the chorus of praise for McCabe.
“We certainly have to make up for lost ground over the previous administration and that’s going to take some really dedicated individuals,” he said. “She’s going to need to build out a strong team, but I think New Jersey is well-positioned to be a leader once again on environmental protection.”
4 ways Murphy can build a green economy. Think water
News Article • 11/30/2017 • by Chris Daggett and Margaret Waldock at NJ Spotlight
Until recently, water infrastructure in New Jersey has remained largely out of sight, out of mind, lulling us into a false sense of security. However, we are now starting to see our lack of investment coming back to haunt us.
We cannot swim in the Passaic River because of pollution. Children in Camden walk through sewage that has backed up onto the streets because the pipes cannot handle the rain. Commuters sit in snarled traffic in Hoboken as crews repair water main breaks. And across the state, parents fear the danger of lead in water fountains at their children's schools.
Assessment surveys conducted in 2012 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate that New Jersey needs to spend a combined $25 billion over the next 20 years on its wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water infrastructure to ensure reliability and keep up with demand.