Murphy DEP Is A Complete Rehash Of The Christie DEP
This is what continuity looks like
Yet the sycophants cheerlead
For 8 years, Gov. Christie’s DEP was regularly denounced by environmental groups, media, and Democratic legislators for rolling back DEP’s strict environmental and public health regulations.
Just like former Gov. Christie Whitman was tattooed with an “Open For Business” anti-regulatory agenda at DEP, so too the Christie DEP under former corporate consultant Commissioner Bob Martin was infamous for numerous DEP regulatory rollbacks.
But, as the screen shot of the above table from DEP’s “regulatory re-adoption” webpage shows, the so called “green” Murphy DEP has re-adopted many of the Christie DEP regulatory rollbacks.
The policy at DEP under Murphy DEP Commissioner LaTourette – a former lawyer for major NJ corporate polluters – has been one of anti-regulatory, pro-business continuity.
[When regulations expire – now on a 7 year cycle, as recently extended from 5 years by bad legislation – that provides an opportunity to strengthen them in light of weakness discovered by experience and to address changed field conditions and the evolution of science. Re-adoption with no changes is an enormous abdication.]
Yet there has been not one peep of criticism by those same environmental groups, media outlets and Democratic legislators who denounced the Christie Administration for regulatory rollbacks at DEP.
Just the opposite: they have cheered for Murphy and called him a “green ” national leader!
The only “green” thing Gov. Murphy has done is shovel wheelbarrows of billions of taxpayer dollars at corporate wind developers and pushed a multi-billion dollar bailout of the PSE&G nuclear plants.
He’s harmed the solar industry, done virtually nothing on energy efficiency, diverted millions of dollars of clean energy funds, and failed to ratchet down on the RGGI GHG emission cap or otherwise regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite a flurry of self congratulatory Executive Orders that read like press releases, he has not reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
He has not improved air or water quality.
He has not limited development.
The only positive regulation among the very, very few DEP adopted – drinking water standards for “forever chemicals” – is not being enforced.
This is an outrage.
Where is the media?
[Update – because my comments function does not work, I feel obligated to share this email. Jeff Tittel disagrees with me (and he’s half right). Tittel wrote:
I disagree that environmental groups criticized christie – most sat quiet -the weenies got money – other than me Sierra most were silent or faint or gave him cover – more got a voice when christies popularity plummeted after Bridgegate but not till then –