Murphy DEP Climate Rule Proposal Completely Disregards Gov. Murphy’s Recent Executive Order That Set A More Aggressive Climate Goal

DEP Failed To Even Note The Gov.’s Ex. Order Goal of 50% GHG Reduction By 2030

Murphy’s Invisible Executive Order Got Good Press & Lapdog Praise

Just a little over 3 weeks ago, on November 11, 2021, Gov. Murphy held a press conference to announce “bold action” – what he claimed was a major step forward in his climate policy. Murphy began his remarks, ironically, by emphasizing the most recent massive climate driven flooding.

The Gov. announced issuance of his Executive Order # 274, which boldly declaimed:

It is the policy of the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 2006 levels by the year 2030.

Of course, the stenographers in NJ media and the Gov.’s sycophants gave the Gov. high praise:

“The Governor understands we can’t afford incremental change, we can’t be patient, we have to do better, not only in New Jersey, but worldwide,’’ said Kim Gaddy, Environmental Justice Director for Clean Water Action.

“The science tells us that we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and that is what the Governor’s EO will do — otherwise we face cataclysmic effects to our environment that cannot be reversed,’’ she said.

Of course, the same day, we wrote to call bullshit on the Gov.’s toothless and blatantly misleading claims:

In direct conflict with NY’s law, Gov. Murphy’s Executive Order makes it very clear that his new 50% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030 goal is not enforceable, in DEP regulations or DEP permits. The EO provides:

Nothing in this Order shall be construed to confer any legal rights upon entities whose activities are regulated by State entities, nothing shall be construed to create a private right of action on behalf of any such regulated entities, and nothing shall be used as a basis for legal challenges to rules, approvals, permits, licenses, or other action or inaction by a State entity. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to supersede any federal, State, or local law.

Get that? Let’s repeat:

the new 50% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030 goal is not enforceable, in DEP regulations or DEP permits. 

“Bold action” my ass. No action is more like it. Symbolic gesture is all that Order was.

So, just 3 weeks after the Gov.’s self serving press conference, we were not surprised to read on Monday that DEP’s long awaited major climate PACT rule proposal completely disregarded the  Gov. Executive Order!

DEP’s proposal not only disregarded the Gov.’s Executive Order, it completely ignored it! Not even a mention. To DEP, it’s as if it never even happened. The Invisible Executive Order! But some Murphy Orders were mentioned and implemented by the proposal, including Executive Orders No. 28 and 100.

But it’s even worse.

The lame DEP climate proposal not only disregards the Gov. Executive Order’s accelerated climate goals, it explicitly fails to even try to meet the goals of the 2009 Global Warming Response Act. DEP openly admitted this:

this rulemaking is not meant to be viewed as the definitive action by the Department to ensure the State meets the 80×50 goal.

So now that the Green Masks Are Off, perhaps the NJ press corps can correct the false narrative they manufactured about the Gov.’s so called “leadership” on reducing greenhouse gas emission.

And the Gov.’s sycophantic cheerleaders are so discredited now that not only are they not credible sources in the media, but they should be ashamed to show their faces in public.