Please leave this field empty
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
  • About
  • Problems
  • Campaigns
  • Impacts
  • Research
  • Contact
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
  • facebook
  • twitter
Please leave this field empty
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
$
Menu
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Search
Please leave this field empty
  • facebook
  • twitter

Residents, Advocates Speak Out Against NJ Transit Fracked Gas Power Plant Proposal

Over 60 organizations send letter to Governor Murphy urging clean energy alternative

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-plus
  • envelope

We all need safe food and clean water.

Donate
05.13.20

For Immediate Release

As dozens of residents delivered public comments at this morning’s NJ Transit board meeting condemning the agency’s recent actions to push for approval of a new gas fired power plant during the worst days of the pandemic, a coalition of community and environmental groups sent a letter to Governor Murphy urging him to block the proposal and replace it with a renewable energy and storage alternative.

The groups point out that the timing could not be worse for a new fossil fuel project: The state is focused on the immediate COVID public health crisis, and will face years of recovery and rebuilding that must focus on climate-friendly initiatives that will reduce harmful emissions and improve local air quality.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible to ignore the direct link between public health and the dangerous levels of fossil fuel pollution in our state,” said Sam DiFalco, organizer at Food and Water Action. “A new nationwide study by Harvard University concludes that populations exposed to higher levels of particulate matter, one of the main pollutants from burning fossil fuels, are more susceptible to the deadliest impacts of COVID-19. The stay at home orders have also shown us that our air quality will drastically improve with a reduction in fossil fuel use. New Jersey residents are now breathing cleaner air because of lower emissions, and this can be a long-term reality for our state if we commit to a rapid and fair transition to clean renewable energy, and that starts by stopping new dirty energy proposals like the NJ Transit fracked gas power plant. Governor Murphy must follow the science and protect public health by directing NJ Transit to cease all work on their dirty energy proposal, and replace it with a clean energy alternative for public transit resiliency.”

There is considerable urgency around the decision-making process. NJ Transit issued its final Environmental Impact Statement late on a Friday, with no period for public or inter-agency comment.

“It is shameful that NJ Transit is pushing their dirty fossil fuel plant in the middle of a public health emergency. Their reckless move to rubber stamp their power plant without looking at environmental impacts or alternatives will have major impacts to public health. This area has some of the worst air pollution in the country. When they say they care about the environment, they are full of hot air.  We should be using better alternatives such as renewable energy,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We support federal funding going to NJ Transit to keep our trains moving and its employees with jobs. However, we should not be wasting that money on a fossil fuel power plant that would add major pollution to our air. This power plant is a dirty deal for dirty power.”

The groups are urging Governor Murphy to stop the proposed fracked-gas power plant and order NJ Transit to move forward with a renewable energy and storage alternative, and point out that the gas-fired plant is in direct conflict with the goals laid out in his administration’s own Energy Master Plan.

“Governor Murphy's shutdown has saved many, many lives during the Covid-19 pandemic – but, the proposed NJ Transit fracked gas power plant would harm people’s health for decades into the future,” said Paula Rogovan, Chair of the Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains. “The pollution would disproportionately impact environmental justice communities in Newark, Kearny and Jersey City, the same communities he promised to protect in his Executive Order 23. Governor Murphy talks about the importance of listening to the scientists. The data on the health and climate impacts of this dirty energy project is clear, and the only logical conclusion for the Governor is to stop the NJ Transit power plant and support a Renewable Rail alternative.”
The letter also discusses recent research showing that exposure to air pollution heightens the risks associated with COVID-19. Like much of the state, the areas that would be directly impacted by emissions from the proposed plant are already saddled with unhealthy levels of air pollution.

“I have lived in Hoboken for over 40 years and this dirty power plant proposed only a few miles from my home would emit toxic pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter right into Jersey City Heights and Hoboken,” said Hoboken resident and community organizer Elizabeth Ndoye. “This means a future made more hazardous - a future in which my family, friends, neighbors, and fellow community members will be subjected to increased health risks for decades. Shame on NJ Transit for proposing this power plant in an area already subjected to some of the worst pollution in the U.S. Governor Murphy must stop this dirty fossil fuel project and move forward with a clean energy solution!”

There are also fiscal ramifications to the looming decision. As the letter notes, clean energy sources like wind and solar are already more economical than gas-fired power plants, and those trends are only likely to continue into the future, which could leave the state stuck with an expensive, polluting power source for decades.

The groups opposing the plant have weighed in at previous NJ Transit board meetings; most recently, 18 residents spoke out at an April 7 meeting. 

“NJ Transit have said they can’t work with us on investigating renewable energy solutions for their NJTRANSITGRID microgrid during the pandemic,” said Ken Dolsky of the Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition. “But we can see in their Final Environmental Impact Statement that instead of looking for ways to power this project with renewable energy and storage, NJ Transit is spending its limited resources looking for ways to prove that it can’t work.”


More background is available at www.nomeadowlandspowerplant.com

###



 



 

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Monsanto's Roundup is a "probable human carcinogen." We need to ban it!

Get the latest on your food and water with news, research and urgent actions.

Please leave this field empty

Latest News

  • Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

    Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

  • Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

    Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

  • Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

    Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

See More News & Opinions

For Media: See our latest press releases and statements

Food & Water Insights

Looking for more insights and our latest research?

Visit our policy & research library
  • Renewable Natural Gas: Same Ol' Climate-Polluting Methane, Cleaner-Sounding Name

  • The Case to Ban Fracking on Federal Lands

  • Dangerously Deep: Fracking’s Threat to Human Health

Fracking activist with stickersFracking activist in hatLegal team loves family farmsFood & Water Watch organizer protecting your food

Work locally, make a difference.

Get active in your community.

Food & Water Impact

  • Victories
  • Stories
  • Facts
  • Trump, Here's a Better Use for $25 Billion

  • Here's How We're Going to Build the Clean Energy Revolution

  • How a California Activist Learned to Think Locally

Keep drinking water safe and affordable for everyone.

Take Action
food & water watch logo
en Español

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

Food & Water Watch is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Food & Water Action is a 501(c)4 organization.

Food & Water Watch Headquarters

1616 P Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Main: 202.683.2500

Contact your regional office.

Work with us: See all job openings

  • Problems
    • Broken Democracy
    • Climate Change & Environment
    • Corporate Control of Food
    • Corporate Control of Water
    • Factory Farming & Food Safety
    • Fracking
    • GMOs
    • Global Trade
    • Pollution Trading
  • Solutions
    • Advocate Fair Policies
    • Legal Action
    • Organizing for Change
    • Research & Policy Analysis
  • Our Impact
    • Facts
    • Stories
    • Victories
  • Take Action
    • Get Active Where You Live
    • Organizing Tools
    • Find an Event
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Live Healthy
    • Donate
  • Give
    • Give Now
    • Give Monthly
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Membership Options
    • Fundraise
    • Workplace Giving
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways to Give
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Learn more about Food & Water Action www.foodandwateraction.org.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • 2021 © Food & Water Watch
  • www.foodandwaterwatch.org
  • Terms of Service
  • Data Usage Policy