Speak Out for the Environment!

We encourage you to speak out for NJ’s Environment by contacting your elected representatives in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate on pertinent bills.

Find the NJ legislators that represent your town

May 1, 2025- Urgent: Action Needed for Climate Rules

Dear Friends,

As we closed out Earth Month, the Trump Administration is pledging to stop New Jersey from adopting climate change regulations.

Congressman VanDrew has asked, and the Trump Administration agreed, to interfere with New Jersey’s right and responsibility to protect the livelihood and very lives of residents from the escalating flood impacts of climate change.

The regulations were proposed in August 2024 and are ready to be adopted now.

We need you to ask Governor Murphy to adopt them immediately.

Please take action, sign the petition:

https://thewatershed.org/tell-governor-murphy-to-stay-the-course/

The rules will expire soon and the opportunity to protect generations of New Jerseyans will be lost without your action.

The controversy is about a set of proposed regulations named NJPACT REAL – New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats, Resilient Environments and Landscapes. The NJPACT REAL regulations simply require new development and redevelopment standards to prepare for the flooding that is happening currently and that we know will continue. The NJPACT Real rules will require that new development be elevated above the areas that will flood.

The NJPACT REAL rules take a commonsense approach to flooding by requiring stormwater management for redevelopment projects (for the first time in our 350 year history), preference for nature-based infrastructure solutions, and better protection for wetland buffers. These rules are designed to keep people from drowning to death in their homes just as 25 New Jerseyans died in Hurricane Ida.

The truth of the matter is: NJ experiences a one billion dollar weather event on average every 32 weeks. From 1980–2024 (as of September 2024), there have been 72 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding one billion dollars in damages each to affect New Jersey communities. (National Center for Environmental Information).

The NJPACT REAL rules are based on sea level rise that is moderate, planning for five feet of increased flooding, rather than “extreme” as VanDrew claims. The extreme scenario for climate flooding impacts in New Jersey predicts nine feet of sea level rise.

Now is the time to activate our resistance to the anti-science agenda. Governor Murphy needs to stand up and fight back. Governor Murphy – New Jersey needs the NJPACT REAL rules to save lives.

We need the NJPACT REAL rules so we can be both Jersey strong and Jersey smart.

Take Action Now, sign the petition:

https://thewatershed.org/tell-governor-murphy-to-stay-the-course/

We’ll keep fighting for these rules because we know how important they are for you and for all of New Jersey.

Most sincerely,

Jennifer M. Coffey

Executive Director, ANJEC

FOOD WASTE REDUCTION ACTION NEEDED

Does your Environmental Commission support municipal food waste/compost recycling programs? Your EC can help by urging your municipality to pass a resolution to have the NJ State Legislature pass and enact two legislative bills: (S2426/A2090) which calls for county-level food waste reduction planning and tiered permitting for composting operations; and (S1040/A2102) which allows for on-site composting in community gardens without excessive regulatory barriers.

A model resolution can be found HERE.

Help Reduce Plastic Pollution

Support the Packaging Product Stewardship Act and pass Skip The Stuff laws.

See our list of model ordinances here

Have your municipality pass a resolution to support the Packaging Produce Stewardship Act –

Sample Resolution

Shape Your Future Have a Voice in NJ’s State Plan

In December, with strong support from Governor Phil Murphy, the State Planning Commission unveiled the long-anticipated preliminary update to the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan (State Plan). The updated State Plan provides a roadmap to address critical challenges, including climate change, equity, housing affordability, infrastructure modernization, and economic development. Developed by numerous stakeholders, the Plan allows for smoother coordination and planning among state agencies and different levels of government.

New Jersey Future (NJF) has been a key advocate for the State Plan since our founding in 1987, championing smart growth policies to improve communities and safeguard natural resources. NJF remains committed to helping advance the State Plan and ensuring its success across the Garden State, but we can’t do it alone.

You can help make the State Plan update a success by providing feedback on the draft Plan, via email at stateplan.comments@sos.nj.gov or in person, at one of a series of upcoming public meetings, one in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

The upcoming county public meetings mark an important next step in the adoption process. These gatherings offer an opportunity for residents, community leaders, and government officials to learn about the Plan, understand how the cross-acceptance process works, and share their input. See State Planning Commission Public Meeting Schedule (February 2025 – April 2025)

Camden, March 4
Hunterdon, March 6
Burlington, March 11
Atlantic, March 13
Gloucester, March 25
Cape May, March 26
Sussex, March 28
Monmouth, March 31
Bergen, April 1
Hudson, April 9

The Office of Planning Advocacy will update the schedule of public meetings as additional meetings are finalized. Check the Update to State Development and Redevelopment Plan page about the 2025 County Public Meeting schedule for meeting times and locations.