NJ Spotlight Reporting Obscures Major Policy Debate
Once Again, Costs Are Elevated Above Public Health
Yet, after several years and many stories misleading readers by praising DEP’s leadership on regulation of PFOA/PFNA, forever chemicals, NJ Spotlight’s coverage obfuscated critical issues in favor of a focus on costs – which is just what the Chamber of Commerce, NJ BIA, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and the Chemistry Council ordered.
We wrote last week about EPA’s adoption of stringent national drinking water standards for “forever chemicals” PFOA’s to emphasize the State DEP’s lax and overly praised NJ DEP State standards, see:
NJ Spotlight picked up the story today, but of course ignored our work. So let me take a moment to outline the flaws in their coverage.
The purpose of my initial post was to highlight the Murphy DEP’s quiet reversal of the “federalism” aspects of NJ’s historically more stringent State standards adopted by DEP.
For over 30 years, NJ DEP adopted a series of more stringent air pollution, water quality, toxic site cleanup, hazardous and solid waste waste management, and chemical safety standards than their minimum federal counter-parts. That is the federalism policy built into federal environmental laws, which allows State’s to adopt more stringent State standards, based on local conditions and State priorities.
This more stringent State regulatory policy was justified by NJ’s historical petro-chemical industrial pollution legacy and the nation’s greatest population density. The policy was strongly opposed by the NJ business community, due to higher compliance costs.
The policy lasted until 1994, when Gov. Christie Whitman issued Executive Order #27, which effectively rolled back stricter NJ DEP State standards.
EO #27 mandated a cost-benefit justification for stricter State standards, and discouraged the adoption of any new stricter State standards, instead relying on US EPA federal standards:
WHEREAS, New Jersey must simultaneously move toward reducing redundant and unnecessary regulation that dulls the State’s competitive advantage while being ever vigilant in the protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey’s administrative agencies should consider applicable federal standards when adopting, readopting or amending regulations with analogous federal counterparts; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey’s administrative agencies should analyze whether analogous federal standards sufficiently protect the health, safety and welfare of New Jersey citizens; …
I … do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. On or after the effective date of this Order, each administrative agency that adopts, readopts or amends any rule or regulation described in section 2 of this Order shall, in addition to all requirements imposed by existing law and regulation, include as part of the initial publication and all subsequent publications of such rule or regulation, a statement as to whether the rule or regulation in question contains any standards or requirements which exceed the standards or requirements imposed by federal law. Such cost-benefit analysis that supports the agency’s decision to impose the standards or requirements and also supports the fact that the State standard or requirement to be imposed is achievable under current technology, notwithstanding the federal government’s determination that lesser standards or requirements are appropriate.
The Whitman federal consistency policy and cost-benefit analysis were never formally repealed and remain in DEP practice, but the policy was effectively reversed by the McGreevey DEP in 2002, and later Codey and Corzine Administrations.
But the Whitman federal consistency/CBA policy rollback was restored and expanded by Gov. Chris Christie’s anti-regulatory package of Executive Orders issued on his first day in Office under Executive Orders #1 (regulatory moratorium) Executive Order # 2 (regulatory relief), Executive Order #3 (Red Tape review), and Executive Order #4 (abdication of State role to local government).
(Christie’s first day in office regulatory attack later became the model for President Trump, who did EXACTLY the same thing his first days in Office).
Gov. Murphy repealed Christie’s Executive Order #2 via Executive Order #63, see:
This entire debate, which sacrifices public health and the environment to industry compliance costs, was obfuscated by NJ Spotlight’s coverage.
Here it is: (NJ Spotlight)
The federal agency [EPA] has long been under pressure from public health and environmental advocates to set national standards to protect public health from PFAS in drinking water. The absence until now of federal rules led states including New Jersey to set their own regulations for the most common PFAS chemicals.
Did you see how they did that?
The “absence of federal regulations” is NOT why DEP adopted a NJ State standard.
NJ adopted the State standards for “forever chemicals” to protect public health.
They did so under a NJ State law (the NJ Safe Drinking Water Act) that is explicitly more stringent than the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, sets an explicit numeric cancer risk standard (1 in a million), and does not authorize consideration of costs.
This NJ law has long authorized DEP to adopt State standards for more chemicals that were NOT regulated by EPA and at a stricter level.
I explained all that in my prior post.
Here how NJ Spotlight superficially covered this critical debate:
Until then [i.e the lengthy 5 year compliance period under EPA rules], New Jersey will continue to apply its own PFAS standards. But the state’s regulation of three common PFAS chemicals — PFNA, PFOA and PFOS — is less strict than the new benchmarks set by the federal government and some advocates are asking whether the state’s standards are fully protecting the public.
The state rules “are not as protective as the new standard,” said Andy Kricun, former head of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, which provides water and wastewater services to the South Jersey county. “That is absolutely a concern.”
That means you will be drinking unsafe water for at least 5 more years.
That means DEP’s over the top claim of “national leadership” is spin, see DEP press release:
And those health, safety, and environmental pollution concerns are not limited to PFOA, PFNA and PFOS – but to everything DEP does.
Yet, after several years and many stories misleading readers by praising DEP’s leadership on regulation of PFOA/PFNA, forever chemicals, NJ Spotlight’s coverage obfuscated critical issues in favor of a focus on costs – which is just what the Chamber of Commerce, NJ BIA, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and the Chemistry Council ordered.