NJ Gov. Murphy And His DEP Have Failed To Act
States Can Adopt Federal Programs Under State Law To Prevent Rollbacks
During Trump’s first term, he rolled back over 120 environmental regulations.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump’s Project 2025 targeted hundreds of more regulations across the federal government, under a comprehensive strategy to “dismantle the administrative state”.
So, as they say, the writing was on the wall.
On his first day in Office, Trump issued a barrage of Executive Orders to implement that strategy.
Many of these Executive Orders dealt very fine grain targeted blows to eliminate very specific regulations, policies, and programs – even federal Guidance documents, NEPA decisions, scientific reports, and databases. Some examples from Unleashing American Energy:
(i) the Presidential Memorandum of January 27, 2021 (Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking);
(ii) the Report of the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Measurement Interagency Working Group of November 2023 (National Strategy to Advance an Integrated U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System);
(iii) the Technical Support Document of February 2021 (Social Cost of Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates under Executive Order 13990); and
(iv) estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gases, including the estimates for the social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide based, in whole or in part, on the IWG’s work or guidance.
So, the Project 2025 Team really did their homework, worked closely with the Trump Transition Team, and hit the ground running.
All of this obviously should have been no surprise to anyone paying attention.
Yet despite the openly touted Trump attack plans, during this entire period, the Murphy administration and the DEP did virtually NOTHING to prepare for or reduce the damage from this assault (other than a handful of lawsuits filed after the fact).
The Murphy DEP could have done the same kind of detailed homework that the Trump Transition Team did – but they failed to do so and have still failed to respond effectively.
Since before the election, I’ve been trying to get NJ State policymakers to finally respond.
I have been recommending a strategy to block the Trump rollbacks whereby the DEP could adopt the federal regulations and programs and scientific and technical information under NJ State law as NJ State regulations.
To highlight that strategy and force DEP’s hand, I submitted a formal petition for rulemaking. The petition is provided as a MODEL for a strategy. It is narrowly focused on the Trump EPA’s “Presidential Exemption” program. That program is a disaster nationally, but it may have limited impact on NJ, due to the number of regulated industrial emission sources and existing DEP clean air regulations adopted under state law. But the strategy can be expanded across the board to all the other proposed and pending Trump EPA regulatory dismantling.
Last week, the Murphy DEP issued a Public Notice to accept the petition. It will be published in the May 5, 2025 edition of the NJ Register.
I again publish this petition in hopes that someone might take it and run with it:
NOTE: THIS IS A COURTESY COPY OF THIS NOTICE. THE OFFICIAL VERSION WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE MAY 5, 2025 NEW JERSEY REGISTER. SHOULD THERE BE ANY DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THIS TEXT AND THE OFFICIAL VERSION OF THE NOTICE, THE OFFICIAL VERSION WILL GOVERN.
PUBLIC NOTICE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
Notice of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking
Petition to Adopt Rules to Not Recognize United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Exemptions Issued Pursuant to Section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act (CAA)
Petitioner: Bill Wolfe
Take notice that on March 28, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) received a petition for rulemaking from Bill Wolfe (Petitioner). As discussed below, the Department does not and cannot acknowledge the petition on behalf of the Governor’s Office or the Office of the Attorney General, to the extent the petition asks for relief from either office
The Petitioner requests that the Department utilize emergency or normal rulemaking procedures to promulgate rules to incorporate by reference the following nine EPA rules (collectively referred to as “the EPA Rules”):
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-FiredElectric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review (89 FR 38508; May 7, 2024) (MATS Rule);
•New Source Performance Standards for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and NESHAP for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and Group I & II Polymers and Resins (89FR 42932; May 16, 2024) (HON rule)
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk and Technology Review (89 FR 24090; April 5, 2024) (Sterilizer Rule);
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber TireManufacturing (89 FR 94886; November 29, 2024) (Rubber Tire Rule);
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Primary Copper Smelting Residual Risk and Technology Review and Primary Copper Smelting Area SourceTechnology Review (89 FR 41648; May 13, 2024) (Copper Rule);
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities Technology Review (89 FR 23294; April 3, 2024) (Iron andSteel Rule);
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Lime Manufacturing Plants Technology Review (89 FR 57738; July 16, 2024) (Lime Rule);
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coke Ovens: Pushing, Quenching, and Battery Stacks, and Coke Oven Batteries; Residual Risk and Technology Review, and Periodic Technology Review (89 FR 55684; July 5, 2024) (Coke Ovens Rule); and
•National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Taconite Iron Ore Processing (89 FR 16408; March 6, 2024) (Taconite Rule).
The Petitioner also requests the Department promulgate rules to not recognize any permit or related exemptions issued by the EPA pursuant to section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7412(i)4, which sets forth conditions for a Presidential exemption for stationary sources (“Federal exemption”).
Additionally, the Petitioner requests that the Department take the following non-rulemaking actions to block implementation of any Federal exemption:
• issue permit or enforcement guidance for air pollution sources and permits regulated under the EPA Rules to provide that the Department will not recognize any Federal exemption and otherwise put permittees on notice that a Federal exemption does not apply in the State;
• issue a Governor’s Executive Order or declaration of a public health emergency that puts permittees on notice that a Federal exemption does not apply in the State;
• issue a Commissioner’s Administrative Order that puts permittees on notice that a Federal exemption does not apply in the State; and
• issue an Attorney General legal opinion that a Federal exemption does not apply in the State.
In support of the petition, the Petitioner cites the authority of the Air Pollution Control Act (N.J.S.A. 26:2C-1 et seq.) and the general powers of the Department (N.J.S.A.13:1B-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 13:1D-1 et seq.).
As justification for the need for the requested action, the Petitioner incorporates by reference the administrative records for the EPA Rules, including the basis and background documents and scientific basis, and states that the EPA Rules established requirements based on science and law to protect the public health, environment, and welfare from air pollution, including emissions of hazardous air pollutants known to cause cancer.
The Petitioner states that the EPA under the Trump Administration established a program that would exempt air pollution sources from the requirements of the EPA Rules, including many air pollution sources in the State (“exemption program”). See https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/clean-air-act-section-112presidential-exemption-information
According to the Petitioner, the exemption program would create unacceptable risks to public health if implemented in the State and the Department must act to prevent the harm that would result from implementation.
The Petitioner also states that the exemption program is an abuse of authority under the Clean Air Act; is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion because it contradicts the best available science and EPA’s own scientific and regulatory findings relied on to support adoption of the EPA Rules; and violates the public’s due process rights because of the lack of public participation.
Neither the Air Pollution Control Act nor the Department’s enabling legislation authorizes the Department to issue an Executive Order or an Attorney General’s legal opinion. Accordingly, the Department does not acknowledge receipt of the petition to the extent that the Petitioner requests relief that is beyond the Department’s authority.
This notice and the full text of the petition filed in this matter are available on the Department’s website at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/petition.html.
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 1:30-4.2, the Department will subsequently mail to the Petitioner and file with the Office of Administrative Law a notice of action on the petition.