Leading Political Environmental Group Endorses in New Jersey General Assembly Elections
Press Release • 7/25/2019
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (NJLCV), the leading political voice for the environment in New Jersey, announced its first round of endorsements for the 2019 New Jersey General Assembly Elections today.
“We are very excited to announce the first round of our 2019 endorsements for Assembly,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey LCV. “These candidates are all committed to fighting for healthy communities, creating good local jobs in the clean energy economy, and preserving New Jersey’s natural resources. I am confident that electing environmental champions like these to the Assembly will ensure New Jersey is protected for future generations.”
New legislation will help N.J. meet its aggressive clean energy goals
News Article • 7/25/2019 • by Ed Potosnak at NJ.com
...on May 23rd, 2019, something dramatic happened. The legislature doubled down on its commitment to a clean energy future, to healthy communities, to a decarbonized world. The Assembly passed – in strong bipartisan fashion – an update to the existing, economy-wide, Global Warming Response Act (GWRA) and sent it to the governor’s desk. This legislation proves timely as the federal government has ceded all leadership under the current administration, leaving it solely to states to demonstrate leadership – none more so than New Jersey.
Joint Statement on Governor Murphy Signing Legislation to Ensure Global Warming Response Act Targets are Met
Press Release • 7/24/2019
By signing into law the Updated Global Warming Response Act (S3207), Governor Murphy today took a major step toward a clean-energy future for New Jersey.
The amendments to the Act require the state to adopt measures within specific timeframes so that harmful greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced 80 percent, economy-wide, by 2050.
"Under the Governor’s leadership – and facilitated by the actions of the Legislature – addressing the climate crisis has been a priority. Today, we took another step forward, codifying our place as a national leader in addressing the climate crisis by updating the Global Warming Response Act to mandate the NJDEP to promulgate regulations that ensure we meet our economy-wide decarbonization goals," said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. "We now have a critical tool in place to hold ourselves accountable to meeting our commitments."
Murphy OK’d ‘Rain Tax’ — Could it Fight Lake Hopatcong's Toxic Algae?
News Article • 7/8/2019 • by David Matthau at North Jersey 101.5
Several recent heavy rainstorms have made a bad situation worse at Lake Hopatcong, where a harmful algae bloom caused by stormwater runoff has prompted the state Department of Environmental Protection to ban swimming and most other water-related activity.
Henry Gajda, a public policy associate with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said what’s happening is not really surprising.
"The more rain that comes down in heavier doses, the more stormwater runoff there’s going to be," Gajda said.
Lake Hopatcong's toxic algae bloom renews fight over stormwater law derided as 'rain tax'
News Article • 7/8/2019 • by Scott Fallon at North Jersey Record
The severity of toxic algae blooms like the one affecting popular Lake Hopatcong could be minimized if more New Jersey towns impose fees on property owners to pay for upgrades that reduce runoff into lakes and rivers, environmentalists say.
"We have a lake closure due directly to stormwater and the failures over the years to deal with it," said Ed Potosnak, director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, who grew up water-skiing and fishing on Lake Hopatcong. "We now have a tool to really deal with it. We just need the political will to use it."
Action Needed: Toxic Algal Bloom Threatens Major Economic Lifeline and States’ Largest Lake
Press Release • 7/2/2019
Yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released an advisory for the public to avoid contact with Lake Hopatcong water due to a toxic algal bloom – the largest lake in New Jersey and a major economic lifeline in the New Jersey Highlands. Strong action is needed by local decision-makers to improve the health of the lake and protect this major cultural icon.
After flooding, Moorestown talks stormwater management
News Article • 6/30/2019 • by George Woolston at Burlington County Times
MOORESTOWN — One week after torrential rain flooded much of Burlington County, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters hosted a meet and greet Tuesday with the mayor and deputy mayor to discuss one of the township’s more pervasive problems — stormwater management.
Around 30 residents attended the informal meeting at the Moorestown Community House, where officials answered questions and updated those in attendance on what the township has planned this year to address the problem.
New Law Simplifies How State Allocates Funds To Preserve Open Space
News Article • 6/28/2019 • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a bipartisan bill that determines how the state will allocate constitutionally dedicated funds to preserve open space, farmland and historic structures.
The new law could result in less messy fights over how to dispense a big pot of corporate business tax revenues to fund a wide array of open space projects each year. This year, $155 million will be divvied up among state and local governments and nonprofit groups that annually vie for the money.
New Jersey LCV Statement on BPU Announcement of Offshore Wind Procurement Award
Press Release • 6/21/2019
TRENTON, NJ – Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, released the following statement today on awarding the nation’s largest procurement of offshore wind to Orsted:
NJ Keep It Green Celebrates Overwhelming Bipartisan Vote
Press Release • 6/20/2019
TRENTON, NJ – Today, a bill providing necessary implementation language for preservation and stewardship funds advanced out of the Assembly and moved to Governor Murphy's desk.
The bill (A4477/S2920), sponsored by Assembly members McKeon, Pinkin, and Zwicker; and Senators Smith, Bateman, and Greenstein, concerns the constitutional dedication of corporate business tax revenue to fund preservation programs within New Jersey. If signed by Governor Murphy, the bill will provide guidance for how the funds are spent for preservation and stewardship of open space, parks, farmland and historic sites in the future.