For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
On Saturday [May 9], NJ Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner McCabe signed Administrative Order No. 2020-06. The Administrative Order extends the timeframes to provide public comments to 30 days, depending on the permit or regulation. The AO follows Executive Order 136, which extends all DEP rules, regulations, and permits by 90 days after the Public Health Emergency is over. [See DEP announcement]
“People are worried about their health, family, and jobs, but DEP is still moving forward with permits for controversial projects. Many of these projects will have tremendous environmental and health impacts. DEP signed an administrative order to extend public comment, however it doesn’t do enough to allow for public oversight or transparency. They’re extending comments by 30 days, which they already do now if someone requests it. Meanwhile they’re giving developers and polluters 9 to 18 months. This doesn’t give the public enough time to adequately review and comment on important projects,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This AO doesn’t allow for real public scrutiny on these projects, especially now that people can’t get information about these projects due to OPRA being delayed.”
The Administrative Order extends the minimum public comment periods on applications for the following: Individual and general permits under the Coastal Zone Management rules, Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act rules and the Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules; Water quality management plans; Water allocation, water usage certifications and temporary dewatering permits; Solid waste facility and hazardous waste permits; Certain preconstruction and draft operating permits under the Air Pollution Control Rule.
“DEP’s AO falls flat when it comes to giving the public real oversight on these projects. Governor Murphy’s EO extends projects at least 3 months once the health emergency ends, but public comments are only extended by 30. New York extended public comment periods by 60 days across the board. We need to do the same, especially for those like Coastal Zone Management rules because of sea-level rise impacts. You can ask for an additional 30 days for many of these permits, so if they were extended by 60 days we could extend them to 90 days total. Water Quality Management Plans are critical and complicated, so they should be extended to at least 90 days so we could get them to 120 days total,” said Jeff Tittel. “This is important to allow the public enough time to properly comment, especially on controversial projects.”
On March 20, Governor Murphy signed an emergency package of laws to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. This included a law that loosened the requirements of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Despite the health emergency and the delay to OPRA, projects like Williams Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline and New Jersey Natural Gas’s Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline are still moving forward.
“What’s troubling is that DEP is still holding remote public hearings for projects even though people without access to computers or the internet can’t participate. They are advancing projects like a dangerous LNG facility in Gibbstown, Williams Transco NESE project, and NJNG’s SRL pipeline. They are also pushing harmful housing developments in the Pinelands, giant warehouses in farm fields, and extending sewers into environmentally-sensitive areas in the Highlands,” said Jeff Tittel. “The public can’t get information for remote hearings because OPRA is delayed and the information isn’t available online. Holding hearings online is discriminatory because around a third of the people in New Jersey don’t have access to computers or the internet, and many more have to share resources.”
EO 136 pauses or delays timeframes governing the DEP’s provision of public notice, review, and decisions on permits and other approvals for the duration of the public health emergency, including those which would deem applications approved without conditions deemed necessary by DEP to ensure protection of public health, safety, and the environment.
“This AO is a small step, but it doesn’t offer enough transparency or allow for public participation. This is an opportunity for New Jersey to open up the process to the public. They should set up electronic portals where people can access public records and project timelines. They also need to extend public comments by at least 60 days for controversial projects and complicated applications like Water Quality Management Plans. Environmental protections and air quality are even more critical during the health emergency. We need to be doing more to protect public health and the environment, especially now that coronavirus risk has been linked to air pollution,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “DEP shouldn’t be hiding behind the coronavirus to undercut the public’s ability to review and comment on projects.”