New DEP rules look to protect marginalized communities

May 31, 2022

Presented by AARP New Jersey

Job creation may no longer be a strong enough pitch for companies looking to build polluting facilities in marginalized communities.

A long-anticipated 153-page draft of new rules proposed today by the Department of Environmental Protection are the result of New Jersey's Environmental Justice Law signed in 2020 to protect low-income communities and communities of color from polluting facilities.

The requires that companies consider how eight kinds of industrial facilities will create added stress for what the state labels as "overburdened" communities, that is, those plagued by heavy industry, poverty or political marginalization. Companies have often plowed over local opposition from these neighborhoods to construct or expand industrial operations that bring environmental harm, including air, water and soil pollutants, and human health hazards.

According to the draft rules release today , the DEP says it cannot estimate the cost of compliance but says the rules will significantly benefit public health, acknowledging that they do not prohibit construction of any new facilities — "only that they will be constructed either outside of overburdened communities or with appropriate mitigations in place."

"New Jersey's low-income communities and communities of color historically have been subjected to a disproportionately high number of environmental and public health stressors — including mobile sources of pollution, as well as numerous industrial, commercial, and governmental stationary sources of pollution," the DEP said.

A message from AARP New Jersey:

Americans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, we're paying the highest drug prices in the world. Your elected lawmakers have the power to reduce this burden by enacting S329/A1747 and establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. It's time for real action. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Pharma!

HAPPY TUESDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. We're adding New Jersey political trivia to this newsletter and will shout out one person who correctly answers the question in the following day's edition.

Shout out to Barbara Salmore, who knew that Richard Hughes was the first person in modern history to have been both governor and chief justice of New Jersey.Today's question: What is New Jersey's smallest county by population? Send answers and tips to jcustodio@politico.com.

We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy's spending plan.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

AG OFFICE TO PROBE DEATHS OF SHERIDANS — The state Attorney General's office is launching an investigation into the unsolved killings of John and Joyce Sheridan, a politically connected couple whose mysterious deaths in September, 2014, shocked the state. "Our office is investigating this matter, and we will follow the evidence wherever it leads," attorney general spokesperson Steve Barnes said in a statement today. The bodies of John Sheridan, the CEO of Cooper University Hospital and a former state transportation commissioner, and his wife, Joyce, were discovered after emergency responders came to the couple's Skillman home to put out a fire. Both had been stabbed to death.

The Somerset County prosecutor ruled that the deaths were a murder-suicide by John Sheridan, but the couple's sons, as well as many who knew the Sheridans, did not accept that conclusion, noting that the couple had no history of violence nor was there anything to suggest that John Sheridan would carry out such an act. The Sheridans' four sons hired a forensic pathologist, Michael Baden, who determined the couple were likely killed by an intruder who set fire to the home to cover up evidence, and that the weapon that caused John Sheridan's death was not recovered. — Matt Friedman

COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 1,872 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and one death from the virus today. The state's seven-day case average was down 16 percent from a week ago and up 54 percent from a month ago.

ON THE BEATS

TRANSPORTATION GRANTS — State Department of Transportation officials announced today that $19.6 million would be headed for the federally-funded Safe Routes to Schools program, which focuses on boosting pedestrian safety among motorists and students. It is managed by DOT in partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization. Most of the funding — 22 grants totaling $13.8 million — is within the NJTPA region.

CASINO SMOKING — An anti-smoking group is accusing one of Atlantic City's casinos of trying to "dissuade employees" from speaking to the media about efforts to ban indoor casino smoking.

Last week, employees at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City were sent a media policy — a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO — stating that workers must get prior authorization before speaking with the media in their capacity as Hard Rock employees.

"Only authorized and approved team members are permitted to represent the property in the media," state the policy, which does not make any direct references to the casino smoking issue. "This includes radio call-ins, TV-interviews, and/or comments to newspaper and magazine writers."

Similar policies are common among private employers. But the directive from Hard Rock comes as workers at a number of casinos in Atlantic City participate in an aggressive public relations campaign in support of a measure to ban indoor casino smoking, something the casino industry has long opposed. — Daniel Han

POLITICO Q&A: ASSEMBLY MAJORITY LEADER LOU GREENWALD

As the budget process unfolds, POLITICO will be speaking with lawmakers about noteworthy items they are pushing or particularly interesting bills. Today we present a conversation with Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, whose bill, NJ A3914, would permit law enforcement agencies to prohibit recreational use of cannabis items by law enforcement officers. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Why is this legislation important to pass?

It allows law enforcement agencies to prohibit the use of cannabis items as a condition of employment. It doesn't mandate that they do it. It's permissive; it allows them to do it. It allows them to drug test as a pre-employment requirement, which they already do. It allows them to random drug test to ensure that there is no usage and it allows them to take adverse actions, including but not limited to, discharge, decreasing their compensation or changing the terms of employment. So, the bill covers all law enforcement agencies of any kind in the state.

Have you considered expanding penalties to other first responders, aside from law enforcement officers?

We have. We've had those conversations. But we haven't gotten that far yet.

Senate President Nick Scutari has said regulating people's behaviors on their own time is a very dangerous, slippery slope. Have you concerns that this bill could very well get through the Assembly but would be dead in the Senate?

I think the Senate president, as thoughtful as he was in legalizing this, will have an open mind talking to law enforcement and getting their expertise and I think that's really what we're trying to do. So, as long as there's a conversation and debate around this, I think that's the best way to approach it.

A message from AARP New Jersey:

Around New Jersey

BILL WOULD SUPPORT SOIL AWARENESS — New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "Three years ago, Leslie Taylor knew nothing about gardening. Now she knows to plant marigolds to ward off bugs, rotate her crops to keep the soil healthy, and wait a few years to pick asparagus after planting it to ensure a bountiful harvest.

Taylor learned that and more through an incubator gardening program at Isles, a Trenton-based nonprofit with a mission of fostering self-sufficient families and healthy communities.

It's the kind of sustainability mission two New Jersey lawmakers say they want to support with a new bill that would fund soil testing of urban agriculture sites.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by Assemblymen Herb Conaway (D-Burlington) and Ronald Dancer (R-Ocean), would establish a grant program in the state Department of Agriculture to ensure people are using healthy soil when they plant gardens or community farming plots in vacant lots and parks."

GOP ASSEMBLY MEMBERS ACCUSE DEMS OF 'MANSPLAINING' — New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: "Two freshmen Republican legislators, Assemblywomen Vicky Flynn (R-Holmdel) and Kim Eulner (R-Shrewsbury), are criticizing Democratic leadership in the State Assembly for 'mansplaining' after both were blocked in their attempts to refocus the Assembly's agenda during last week's voting session.

While trying to speak on student learning loss and school shooting prevention, Flynn and Eulner were 'spoken over, interrupted, and bullied by male Democrats while their female caucus members watched silently,' argued a statement released by the Assembly Republican office.

For Flynn, the showdown arrived when a bill allocating $15 million per year for electric school buses came up for a vote. Flynn argued that the bill was siphoning away funding that should instead go towards addressing student learning loss from the pandemic, but her digressions were repeatedly shut down by Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), who was presiding at the time."

Odds and ends

— A proposal to expand the use of electric school buses is moving forward despite Republican objections.

— Another week, another bear sighting, but this one was different: The animal was spotted in Atlantic Highlands, which is a long way from the wilds of Sussex County. Hopefully the beast has EZPass.

— Two lightning detectors will be installed on beaches in Brick Township after a 19-year-old lifeguard was struck and killed by lightning last year.

— A Dallas-based company wants to redevelop a portion of the old Marcal paper factory in Elmwood Park. It was destroyed in a fire three years ago.

A message from AARP New Jersey:

New Jerseyans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, Americans are paying the highest drug prices in the world. It's time to enact S329/A1747, which establishes a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. Governor Murphy has introduced legislation that addresses prescription drug costs, but it simply does not go far enough. It fails to address the root cause of the problem – the high prices set by drug manufacturers. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Big Pharma!