NJ Gov. Murphy Suspends Enforcement of Environmental Regulations During Covid

Murphy Replicates Trump EPA Enforcement Rollback During Covid

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. App. A:9-47, the Governor is authorized to, among other things, suspend any regulatory provision of law when its enforcement is detrimental to the public welfare during an emergency; ~~~ Gov. Murphy Executive Order #127

[Updates below]

On April 14, Gov. Murphy issued Executive Order #127, which suspends and/or delays various regulatory deadlines for State agencies to make decisions and enforce various laws and regulations.

The Murphy Order applies across State government, but I want to focus on the implications for DEP. Under the broad authority asserted by the Gov., the Order authorizes DEP to “suspend” enforcement and disregard compliance with all environmental laws and regulations.

Previously, in Executive Order #103, Murphy issued a broad waiver of any regulation, which he emphasizes by repeating it in EO 127:

Here is the core provision of EO 127 that expands EO 103, which, just like the Trump EPA, explicitly provides authority to “suspend” the enforcement of  “any regulatory provision”

On April 6, 2020, we blasted a major DEP regulatory proposal for, among other things, failure to provide a legally mandated public hearing and opportunity for public participation. We called for a moratorium on DEP regulatory approvals (we wrote):

VII) Public shut out due to COVID public health emergency

There should be a moratorium of on all DEP permitting and regulatory actions until the COVID crisis is over.

WTF is DEP Commissioner McCabe doing? Check this out – “IF” the DEP holds a public hearing…

Hello! Pubic hearings on major rules – which were exempted from the rule making calendar and therefore blindsided the public – are mandatory.

We then called out DEP for flat out lying about “postponing” a public hearing that they never scheduled.

It looks likes the Murphy administration listened to our criticism, but, remarkably, instead of imposing a moratorium on DEP regulatory approvals, Gov. Murphy just issued an Executive Order that suspended enforcement of DEP environmental regulations!

The Murphy Order, instead of placing a moratorium on DEP permit and regulatory approvals, provides a 90 day delay for the submission of various “reports”, thereby benefiting polluters and developers, not freezing DEP approvals.

The Murphy Order also extends the expiration date of DEP rule proposals – as far as I know, after checking the DEP rule proposal website, the only DEP rule impacted by the Order is the proposed rollback of toxic site cleanup rules. So, once again, the Order benefits major polluters.

The Trump EPA recently spawned public outrage and was slammed by environmental groups and media for a March 26, 2020 policy suspending the enforcement of environmental regulations during the COVID emergency.

Did you recall these screaming headlines?

• E.P.A., Citing Coronavirus, Drastically Relaxes Rules for Polluters
• Trump’s Move to Suspend Enforcement of Environmental Laws is a Lifeline to the Oil Industry
• “An open license to pollute”: Trump administration indefinite suspends some environmental protection laws during coronavirus pandemic

Congress blasted the move as well, and on April 2, the Trump EPA doubled down and defended the policy in a letter to every member of Congress.

While Tump EPA’s move sparked a national outrage, last Tuesday, NJ Gov. Murphy quietly did virtually the same thing.

Will NJ environmental groups continue to pull their punches and provide cover for their friends in the Murphy administration and DEP?

Will the NJ press corps – especially NJ Spotlight – hold the Murphy administration accountable, like they do the Trump EPA?

We’re not optimistic.

[Update: 5/20/20 – Trump just did a very similar thing, but Trump’s Order is more honest and straightforward, while Gov. Murphy masks his economic objectives, see:

• Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery ~~~ ed update]

[Update: 4/30/20 – NJ Spotlight buried the statewide DEP enforcement rollback in a story today about the Newark garbage incinerator. That facility is the tip of a huge statewide iceberg. Read DEP’s statewide COVID air enforcement rollback. ~~~. end update]

Update: Read the Murphy DEP Enforcement Guidance – it is based on the same false rationale as the Trump EPA rollback regarding the impact of COVID on compliance and provides similar relief from compliance obligations and enforcement response. ~~~ end update]