For Immediate Release
January 8, 2013 Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100
Sierra Club Response to State of the State Today Governor Christie delivered his State of the State address.This speech was especially important as we continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy, yet the Governor did not even mention needing to rebuild better and smarter.He did not address climate change and its role in making the impacts of Hurricane Sandy worse.He did not discuss environmental policies and how his administration has been rolling back progress New Jersey has made in fighting climate change by pulling out of RGGI and cutting clean energy funding.When the Governor did mention the environment it was about waiving regulations and his ACO to allow rebuilding in the wrong places.The DEP is waiving standards for storm debris disposal and opening closed landfills, potentially creating new toxic sites from these giant piles of solid waste.He did not address open space and Blue Acres funding, policies to address future flooding, adopting FEMA mapping or other policies to help protect us better for future storms.
"The Governor's speech sounded good, but it was devoid of any policies or vision for the state for the coming year especially around the environment and climate change and rebuilding after Sandy smarter and better," said Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club. During his speech there was no accountability for the failure of state agencies and authorities during the storm.NJ Transit was not held responsible for letting key equipment and infrastructure go underwater.He did not hold the utilities accountable for the failure to be adequately prepared for the storm and the BPU did no oversight. The Governor made no mention of establishing a Coastal Commission or Council to oversee rebuilding efforts transparently.A Coastal Commission would better coordinate redevelopment, saving taxpayer money by not being redundant when it comes to infrastructure. Under the Governor's plan there is no transparency or oversight, the czar has all the power and is waiving the rules. In last year Governor Christie has rolled back environmental regulations related to stormwater, wetlands, and flood hazard areas.He pulled out of RGGI, diverted clean energy funding and implemented the DEP Waiver Rule.
"Raiding the Clean Energy Fund cost the state over 12,000 jobs and would have saved consumers billions in energy costs.Instead of shivering in the dark, we should be building windmills off our coast," *said Jeff Tittel*. He mentioned the fertilizer bill while he vetoed the stormwater and TMDL bills that would actually clean up Barnegat Bay.He vetoed the fracking waste bill and the moratorium is running out. He did not address adaptation and hazard planning, regional planning, green building codes, taking steps to prevent future flooding.The Governor did not address better planning and updating building codes. We need to implement green building codes and standards that require structures to stand up better to higher winds and flooding.We need to build further back from flood prone areas and the dunes and also make sure we elevate not only houses but key infrastructure.We need to enhance dunes and natural systems.When we rebuild homes and businesses we need to make them more energy efficient.We also need to invest in renewable energy and distributive generation.We should not just be adapting to climate change but working to prevent it as well.None of that was in his speech.
"He showed leadership during Sandy now he needs to show leadership in making the state more resilient and building better and smarter after Sandy," said Jeff Tittel.
-- Kate Millsaps Conservation Program Coordinator NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club 609-656-7612