Legislators Back Christie “Regulatory Relief” Policy – Renew Attack on Public Health and Environmental Safeguards

Bill Would Implement Governor Christie’s Policy To Block NJ State Standards That Are Stricter Than Federal Minimums

Zombie ALEC Agenda Re-emerges

Reverses 40 Years of NJ Leadership

South Jersey Democratic Assemblyman Burzichelli – a member of Gov. Christie’s “Red Tape Commission” created by Executive Order #3 – has joined north jersey Republican Scott Rumana (a fellow Red Tape Commissioner)  as sponsor of a bill to prohibit State agencies from proposing new regulatory standards that are more stringent than federal minimums (see A3589).

The bill was quietly introduced on September 11, 2014. It would apply only to new standards and exempt existing standards and the re-adoption of those standards.

Gov. Christie has sought to rollback existing standards, so the bill is part of a one-two punch.

Specifically, the bill is consistent with and would provide a legislative basis for Governor Christie’s “regulatory relief” policy, under Executive Order #2, regarding the relationship between federal and state standards.

Among other things, EO #2 restricts State agencies from adopting State standards that are more protective than their minimum federal counterparts:

e. Detail and justify every instance where a proposed rule exceeds the requirements of federal law or regulation. State agencies shall, when promulgating proposed rules, not exceed the requirements of federal law except when required by State statute or in such circumstances where exceeding the requirements of federal law or regulation is necessary in order to achieve a New Jersey specific public policy goal. 

Using unilateral Executive Authority, Governor Christie adopted an across the board “federal consistency” policy under EO #2, a move that slammed the brakes on State government, particularly DEP’s effort to better protect the health of NJ residents and their environment.

The Christie policy not only lacks legislative authorization, but reverses 40 years of NJ state leadership.

NJ has has pioneered major environmental initiatives: such as solid and hazardous waste management; Spill Act and ECRA/ISRA for toxic site cleanups; air and water pollution controls; drinking water standards; coastal zone management, and chemical safety programs under NJ’s Toxic Catastrophe Prevention, Right to Know, Laboratory Certification, Clean Water Enforcement, and Pollution Prevention Acts.

The Christie policy also stands the federalism framework  on its head under virtually all federal environmental laws. Federal laws set minimum uniform national standards and encourage State’s to be more stringent, based on local conditions and preferences. It is rare for federal law to expressly pre-empt State laws.

(wonks like to refer to this framework as States serving as “laboratories of Democracy”)

NJ’s residents have long favored strict environmental and public health safeguards – and continue to do so.

Like climate change, we have already seen the negative consequences of the Christie regulatory policy in numerous areas, from lack of protections for our drinking water, pending ecological collapse of bays and estuaries like Barnegat Bay and Delaware Bay (i.e. lack of protective federal TMDL’s, cooling tower requirements, nutrient standards, et al), and an inability to protect communities and manage risks from hazardous air pollutants, water pollution (like lack of adequate DEP oversight of importation of fracking wastes), and industrial accidents, like State government’s role in train derailments and pipeline siting and sinkhole and construction risks, oil shipments, and off shore LNG.

These are not stand alone independent individual issues – they stem from a common regulatory policy. Press and environmental groups seem incapable of connecting the dots to the source.

Christie DEP’s latest regulatory surrender on the federal standards front is to the US Army Corps of Engineers on the standards that apply to dredging and disposal and so called “beneficial reuse” of dredge spoils. More to come on this issue.

It is a major failing of the NJ press corps and legislative Democrats that this Christie policy has not been exposed, subjected to legislative oversight hearings, and roundly criticized.

One can only assume that the Democrats, who control the Legislature and very quietly effectively have blocked passage of the bill, are afraid to openly criticize the Gov.’s radical pro-business anti-environmental policy. Guess that they are afraid of being seen as “anti-business” or “pro-red tape”.

And its a damn shame that Assemblyman Burzichelli is sponsoring this attack, and not just for partisan reasons and the bizarre politics of supporting Gov. Christie.

Burzichelli’s constituents are getting hammered by the chemical industrial complex that they are surrounded by – they are becoming a “sacrifice zone” – and they badly need leadership in Trenton, not an oil and chemical industry flunky.

• Recent History – ALEC Wish List

The initial version of the bill was introduced in May 2010 by NJ’s former State Chairman of ALEC – Sussex County Republican Senator Oroho.

It has gone nowhere for 5 years, and for good reason – it is an awful bill, a wish list of right wing radicals and corporate interests who seek to neuter and slowly dismantle government regulations.

• Prospects

We doubt that this bill will move through the legislative process.

Regardless, its mere existence – compounded by the silence of the Democrats and failure to generate media coverage – tends to legitimize Gov. Christie’s radical rollback policy agenda and invite further attack on environmental protections.

The bill, even without passage, favorably reinforces business community expectations (Read my lips: NO NEW REGULATIONS!)  and exerts a strong political drag on State government’s pursuit of new or expanded regulatory initiatives, particularly at DEP.

As climate change debate gets engaged, it will become even more obvious that NJ needs to do more than the federal EPA national minimum.

Given these negative consequences, we urge folks to make some noise.

(* tbis post has been revised slightly)