For Immediate Release
Contact: Megan Steele, megan.steele@sierraclub.org
Shawn Latourette has been sworn in as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Taylor McFarland, Acting Director of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter, released the following statement:
“We want to congratulate Shawn LaTourette on being sworn in as DEP Commissioner today. He’s very sharp politically, and he’s someone we can work with, but we do have some concerns. He doesn’t have a government background and has never run an agency or managed anything like the DEP, so that could create some challenges.
“As Acting Commissioner, Shawn has been carrying out the work of the administration. However, they need to go further. The Murphy Administration needs to take the climate emergency more seriously and move faster to strengthen our rules. They not only need to fix Christie’s rollbacks but move DEP forward when it comes to integrating climate impacts into rules and regulations. They also need to move faster to get the Environmental Justice Rules in place while helping to reduce pollution from existing facilities.
“Shawn has been appointed by Governor Murphy to carry out his agenda, so the Governor needs to step up to make stronger commitments and move New Jersey forward. We hope that Shawn can actually help modernize the DEP and move them forward when it comes to protecting the environment and tackling these issues of Environmental Justice, climate change, moving forward with renewable energy, and getting rid of fossil fuels.”