Massive US Heat Wave Scorches the Midwest and Northeast, Including New Jersey

As climate change intensifies, cities are experiencing unprecedented temperatures, creating a pressing need for effective heat resilience strategies. Recent events have highlighted the urgency of addressing the challenges posed by extreme heat, particularly in urban areas.
 

Urban Heat Islands: Why Cities Are Getting Hotter

Urban areas are significantly hotter than their rural counterparts, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. Factors such as asphalt, reduced green space, and waste heat from buildings and vehicles contribute to cities being up to 10°F hotter than surrounding rural areas. This temperature disparity has severe implications, especially for vulnerable populations like homeless people and outdoor workers who face increased heat exposure due to limited shade and urban design.

Mitigating the effects of urban heat islands requires a multifaceted approach. Planting trees, improving building efficiency, and raising awareness about heat risks are crucial steps. By enhancing green spaces and incorporating heat-resistant infrastructure, cities can help reduce temperatures and protect their residents.

Tips and Tricks to Stay Safe During a Heatwave

As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, it’s essential to adopt strategies to stay safe and cool. Here are some practical tips:

Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day, even if you do not feel thirsty. Avoid sugary or alcoholic beverages.

Stay Cool: Spend time in air-conditioned places such as malls, libraries, or community centers. If you don’t have air conditioning at home, consider visiting public cooling centers.

Protect Yourself from the Sun: Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses. Use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher.

Limit Outdoor Activities: Avoid strenuous activities during the hottest parts of the day (usually midday to late afternoon). Schedule outdoor activities for early morning or evening when it’s cooler.

Seek Shade: If you must be outdoors, seek shade and take frequent breaks in a cool or shaded area.

Check on Others: Look out for vulnerable individuals such as elderly neighbors, young children, outdoor workers, homeless folks, and those with chronic medical conditions. Ensure they have access to cool environments and are staying hydrated.

Never Leave Children or Pets in Cars: Temperatures inside a parked car can rise rapidly, even with the windows cracked open. Never leave children or pets unattended in a vehicle.

Use Fans and Cool Compresses: Use fans to circulate air indoors and apply cool compresses to your skin to help lower body temperature.

Know the Signs of Heat-Related Illness: Be aware of symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, and confusion. Seek medical attention if you or someone else shows signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Stay Informed: Monitor local weather forecasts and heat advisories. Stay updated on heat-related information from local authorities.

Stay Cool This Summer with Chill Out NJ!

It’s crucial to stay informed about the health risks associated with heat exposure. High temperatures can cause not just heat exhaustion or heat stroke but also cardiac arrest and heart attacks triggered by heat, strokes, pediatric asthma, or birth complications. To help residents stay safe, New Jersey offers a valuable resource.

Discover Chill Out NJ, an interactive mapping app that helps you find cool spots across the state where you can beat the heat. Chill Out NJ is now part of Heat Hub NJ, your ultimate resource for heat health. Whether you need tips for staying safe during heatwaves or want to find a cool place to relax, Heat Hub NJ has you covered.

Explore Chill Out NJ today at bit.ly/chilloutnj and discover a variety of places to cool off. From air-conditioned public buildings to shaded parks and refreshing pools, find the perfect spot to beat the heat!

Visit Heat Hub NJ to learn more about heat health and find additional resources to stay safe this summer. Heat Hub NJ is your go-to guide for staying cool and informed.

Press Release: EJ Community Members Say: EPA Rules Must Incorporate Cumulative Impacts Analysis and Discontinue Reliance on CCS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2024

Press Contacts

NJ Environmental Justice Alliance: Melissa Miles | melissa@njeja.org 

Center for the Urban Environment of the Watson Institute for Urban Policy & Research: Dr. Nicky Sheats, Esq. | nsheats@kean.edu

Tishman Environment and Design Center: Dr. Ana Isabel Baptista | baptista@newschool.edu  

Ironbound Community Corp.: Maria Lopez-Nunez | mlopeznunez@ironboundcc.org 

 

EJ Community Members Say:

EPA Rules Must Incorporate Cumulative Impacts Analysis and Discontinue Reliance on CCS

 

Washington D.C. – On April 25, the EPA announced a suite of four standards on toxic air pollution, water pollution, land contamination, and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants. Key among these is the final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants. 

 

We recognize the important steps the EPA has taken in removing hydrogen co-firing from consideration as a BSER (Best System of Emissions Reduction) and understand the importance in a delayed ruling on reducing GHG emissions from existing natural gas plants in order to consider the best approach and to address environmental justice concerns. 

In order to best address the risks of climate change and local air pollution as well as protect frontline Environmental Justice communities, the EPA should incorporate a cumulative impacts and MER (mandatory emissions reduction) approach. 

We would also call upon the EPA to continue to strengthen its rules and ensure that future rules do not include hydrogen co-firing or CCS/CCUS as a BSER. We urge the EPA to discontinue its reliance on and promotion of CCS as a technological solution to climate change mitigation. CCS is an unproven and high-risk approach to reducing GHG emissions, and fails to address co-pollutant emissions from power plants in a meaningful and holistic way. 

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“The EPA Power Plant Rule update resulted from decades of organizing and advocacy and years of partnerships between the EPA and Environmental Justice communities. The EPA is modeling some of the best practices around the engagement of impacted communities, and these updated rules are a win for us all. At the same time, we acknowledge the parts of the rules flagged by communities as non-starters, namely the use of carbon capture, utilization and storage in EJ communities. The implicit inclusion of this dangerous technology was a loss for us all. However, we maintain hope that the next update will incorporate cumulative impacts and a mandatory emissions reduction approach to regulating existing power plants.”

Melissa Miles, 

Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

 

“I congratulate EPA on the decision to remove hydrogen co-firing from the power plant rule. However, cumulative impacts and mandatory emissions reductions policies should be incorporated into the rule to protect environmental justice communities in general, and especially as a safeguard for the potential harms of carbon capture technology, which unfortunately remains in the rule. These protective policies should also be incorporated into the existing gas plants portion of the rule.”

Dr. Nicky Sheats, Esq., 

Director, Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University 

President of the Board and member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

 

“We want to urge the USEPA to prioritize the health and well-being of environmental justice communities in the implementation of these rules. We look forward to seeing mandatory emissions reductions and approaches to reducing cumulative impacts embedded in the regulations now being developed for existing natural gas plants.”

Dr. Ana Isabel Baptista, 

Co-Director Tishman Environment & Design Center

NJEJA Board Member 

 

“EPA has to show progress on cumulative impacts and mandatory emissions reductions if we are to believe that this administration is not just all talk regarding the welfare of the most vulnerable communities. These concepts must be embedded into existing and future regulation to safeguard our communities from bad local actors.”

 

Maria Lopez-Nunez,

Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy Ironbound Community Corporation

 

For questions regarding this statement, please contact Brooke Helmick, NJEJA Director of Policy at brooke@njeja.org. 

The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance is an alliance of New Jersey-based organizations and individuals working together to identify, prevent, and reduce and/or eliminate environmental injustices that exist in communities of color and low-income communities. NJEJA will support community efforts to remediate and rebuild impacted neighborhoods, using the community’s vision of improvement, through education, advocacy, the review and promulgation of public policies, training, and through organizing and technical assistance.

The Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) strives to protect communities Of Color and low-income communities from disproportionately high amounts of pollution by addressing environmental justice (EJ) issues on the local, state and national levels. 

The Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School is a collaborative community of practice that leverages research, policy, and design in accordance with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing. Our Center brings together research and action to tackle the root causes of climate and environmental injustice and commit to changing higher education practices within and beyond The New School. 

The Ironbound Community Cooperation upholds and builds upon the principles of “Justice and Equality for All.” We strive to practice and build equity, work towards a Just Transition, and organize community on the basis of the Jemez Principles. We envision a safe, healthy, just, and nurturing Ironbound; a welcoming and fully inclusive community that supports equal and accessible opportunity and the quest for a better life. For us, revitalization means uplifting both people and place. Therefore, we aim to lead the transformation of Ironbound into a neighborhood where anyone might choose to live and current residents can remain in their homes and their community without fear of being displaced.

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Press Release: Protect EJ Communities While Mitigating Climate Change

NJEJA logo ICC logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2024

Press Contacts

NJ Environmental Justice Alliance: Brooke Helmick | brooke@njeja.org

Center for the Urban Environment: Nicky Sheats, PhD, Esq. | nsheats@kean.edu 

Ironbound Community Corp.: Maria Lopez-Nunez | mlopeznunez@ironboundcc.org 

 

Environmental Justice Communities Say: 

Protect EJ Communities While Mitigating Climate Change 

 

Trenton – On March 14, the Senate Energy and Environment Committee both strengthened and voted in favor (3-2) of a Clean Energy Standard (S237/A1480). The EJ community has been actively involved in calling for a nation-leading definition of clean energy and climate change mitigation policy that reduces locally harmful GHG co-pollutants in overburdened Environmental Justice communities, and does not allow for potential loopholes or false solutions. 

 

We celebrate the passage of this strong definition, and the fact that this bill makes New Jersey a leader in ensuring states prioritize the procurement of clean energy. However, we also recognize that this bill has a long way to go before it can be enacted into law. This moment cannot be the end of the conversation, and we will continue to call for new language and provisions that actively protect EJ communities while creating new jobs and a cleaner environment. 

 

We call upon legislators to continue fine-tuning this bill by ensuring that the legislation: 

  • Reduces toxic air pollution in EJ communities by removing “net emissions” calculations;
  • Creates a strong standard for “de minimis” levels of pollution that are as close to zero as possible; and 
  • Prevents polluting facilities such as incinerators from receiving ratepayer subsidies when they violate air permits. 

 

“This moment represents a turning point for the state and the country. Including co-pollutants in the definition makes New Jersey a leader in protecting frontline communities. There is more work to be done to make sure that the bill is as protective of EJ communities as possible, but we take this moment to celebrate and honor the many advocates who have worked tirelessly to protect public health, call for climate change mitigation, and ensure that EJ communities are not left behind in the energy transition.” 

Melissa Miles

Executive Director 

New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance 

 

“It’s so refreshing to see a holistic and necessary approach to defining clean energy. If we do not include co-pollutants, we stand to repeat the mistakes of the past where we sacrifice local communities for the so-called “greater good.” Today is an important step in leading the country towards a future that deals with both public health and climate change.” 

Maria Lopez-Nuñez

Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy

Ironbound Community Corportation

 

“Incorporating GHG co-pollutant reductions into a clean energy standard is the type of action the environmental justice community has been strongly recommending for many years. It will help protect communities near energy infrastructure from locally harmful co-pollutant emissions while at the same time fighting climate change.”

Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., Esq.

Director, Center for the Urban Environment

John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University

Member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

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The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance is an alliance of New Jersey-based organizations and individuals working together to identify, prevent, and reduce and/or eliminate environmental injustices that exist in communities of color and low-income communities. NJEJA will support community efforts to remediate and rebuild impacted neighborhoods, using the community’s vision of improvement, through education, advocacy, the review and promulgation of public policies, training, and through organizing and technical assistance.

 ICC upholds and builds upon the principles of “Justice and Equality for All.” We strive to practice and build equity, work towards a Just Transition, and organize community on the basis of the Jemez Principles. We envision a safe, healthy, just, and nurturing Ironbound; a welcoming and fully inclusive community that supports equal and accessible opportunity and the quest for a better life. For us, revitalization means uplifting both people and place. Therefore, we aim to lead the transformation of Ironbound into a neighborhood where anyone might choose to live and current residents can remain in their homes and their community without fear of being displaced.

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Environmental Justice Advocates Testify in Trenton on the Proposed Clean Energy Standard

On March 11, 2024, the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA) went to Trenton to once again testify on the Clean Energy Standard. 

NJEJA testified in a joint hearing before the Senate Energy and Environment Committee and the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on the proposed Clean Energy Standard (SB237/AB1480) alongside the Ironbound Community Corporation, Earthjustice, and NJPEEC, all of whom were invited to testify and represent the Environmental Justice perspective.

If passed, the legislation would set a clean energy definition that would require that 100% of the energy purchased in the state must be generated by clean sources by 2035. This bill has the potential to affect New Jersey residents for decades to come and determine whether or not the state can reach Governor Murphy’s clean energy goals. NJEJA previously testified on this bill back in November 2023, but it did not pass during the lame duck session and was reintroduced under new bill numbers at the start of the new legislative session.

Brooke Helmick testified on behalf of NJEJA, highlighting that this definition has the potential to be a nation-leading moment for the state, but only if legislators are intentional and technical with their definition, ensuring that any facilities labeled ‘clean’ produce as close to zero pollution as possible, facilities aren’t allowed to engage in offsets which displace pollution from one community to another, and the definition is intentional to address harmful, dangerous co-pollutants in addition to greenhouse gases. She brought particular attention to the dangers of toxic air pollutants, such as PM 2.5 and NOx, which are harmful to physical health and lead to a number of negative physical health outcomes. 

NJEJA closed their testimony by highlighting that this bill focuses on energy purchased for the state, but not necessarily energy produced in the state. However, given that one bill can’t do everything, NJEJA closed by highlighting for the committees that they looked forward to coming back to Trenton to discuss a complement to this bill which would address pollution at facilities that produce energy in the state.  

Read NJEJA’s press release.

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Funding Our Futures

There is an unprecedented amount of environmental justice funding allocated for organizations and the window to access these dollars is closing. Recognizing the urgency of the moment, we are excited to partner with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to host Funding Our Futures: Navigating State and Federal Grants.

UPDATE: Due to weather concerns, we’ve decided to shift #FundingOurFutures seminar to a virtual webinar.

Join us via Zoom!

Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., Receives Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award

This article was originally published by Kean University on December 19, 2023.

Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Urban Environment at Kean (center) receives his award at a ceremony in Trenton from New Jersey DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette (left) and David Zimmer, executive director of the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (right). Photo credit: NJDEP

The Director of the Center for the Urban Environment at Kean University’s John S. Watson Institute, Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., received a 2023 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award, a premier honor recognizing outstanding environmental work in New Jersey.

Sheats, an attorney, scholar and leader in the environmental justice community, received the award in the category of environmental justice on December 18 in Trenton.

“It is an honor to receive the award, which I feel is really in recognition of what the New Jersey environmental justice community has accomplished together,” Sheats said. “This is important work.”

Sheats was one of 12 environmental leaders receiving awards.

“The achievements of this year’s award winners capture the essence of environmentalism in New Jersey and set a shining example for us all to follow,” said state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. “It’s an honor to celebrate their determined efforts to protect the state’s natural resources and help others connect to nature.”

Sheats was recognized for his instrumental role in  the development and passage of New Jersey’s landmark environmental justice law, and his work establishing pollution reduction policies.

“His recent efforts seek to integrate environmental justice in climate mitigation policies called Mandatory Emissions Reductions (MER) that target reductions of associated co-pollutants, along with greenhouse gas emissions, and which impact overburdened communities,” DEP said in a statement.

Sheats convened the state’s first MER policy workgroup with the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, and was lead author of a recently published paper exploring the implementation of MER policies in New Jersey, Minnesota and Delaware. 

At the Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Sheats provides leadership on environmental justice, and scientific, legal, financial and other issues affecting communities throughout the state and nation.  

Kean Senior Vice President for Transformational Learning and External Affairs Joseph Youngblood, Ph.D., said Sheats has been a “visionary” leader for 20 years as director of the Center for the Urban Environment.

“Dr. Sheats was a pioneering researcher and policy expert in the environmental justice movement in America,” Youngblood said. “His work at Kean’s Watson Institute has informed state and federal policies that mitigate the cumulative impacts of environmental hazards and eliminate the disproportionate impact of environmental racism on communities of color. His life’s work and influence will have a lasting impact on society.”

Sheats said key areas being addressed from an environmental justice standpoint are cumulative impact of pollutants on neighborhoods; climate change mitigation policy that ensures communities are benefitted, rather than harmed, as they fight climate change; chemical policy and waste policy.

Sheats said credit also goes to the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, the Tishman Environment and Design Center of the New School, the Ironbound Community Corporation, the South Ward Environmental Alliance and the Center for the Urban Environment.

Environmental Justice Advocates Rally in Trenton to Push for Real Clean Energy Policy

On November 20, 2023, the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA), alongside partner organizations including Ironbound Community Corporation and Clean Water Action, joined forces to rally and testify in Trenton. The focus of our advocacy was Senate Bill S2928, a crucial piece of legislation aimed at achieving 100 percent clean electricity by 2035. However, NJEJA urged for a critical amendment to the definition of “clean” energy, excluding sources that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and toxic co-pollutants like NOx.

Trash incineration, hydrogen combustion, and flawed ‘carbon capture’ technologies are among the sources we sought to exclude from the clean energy definition. The rally and testimonies were integral to emphasize the importance of addressing harmful co-pollutants in climate change mitigation policy and recognizing the need to safeguard overburdened communities through robust legislation.

Melissa Miles, Brooke Helmick, Thomas Ikeda, and Dr. Nicky Sheets passionately testified on behalf of NJEJA, underscoring the urgency of prioritizing public health and environmental justice in clean energy policies. Dozens of environmental justice and climate activists participated in the rally, echoing the call for strong clean energy policies. The collective goal is to combat climate change, protect public health, and promote environmental justice. Activists also voiced their opposition to provisions in the bill that could impede the state’s transition to genuinely clean, non-polluting energy technologies, potentially tethering New Jersey to outdated and polluting fossil fuel practices.

“We want as close to zero emissions as possible,” stated Melissa Miles, Executive Director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, during her testimony. She also criticized a provision in the bill that permits facilities to purchase clean-electricity credits to offset emissions in overburdened communities, emphasizing the need for comprehensive and immediate action to achieve meaningful environmental progress.

NJEJA Law and Policy Manager, Brooke Helmick rallying the crowd outside the State Capital.
NJEJA Board President, Dr. Nicky Sheats calling for effective clean energy policy.
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Press Release: New Jersey Releases Rules for Landmark Environmental Justice Law

For Immediate Release: Monday, June 6, 2022


For more information regarding this statement, please contact: 

JV Valladolid, jvalladolid@ironboundcc.org   cell:  862-588-4715

 

Statement from Ironbound Community Corporation, 

New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, Clean Water Action,

 and South Ward Environmental Alliance


New Jersey Releases Landmark Environmental Justice Rules


     Environmental Justice (EJ) communities throughout New Jersey are on the brink of change as the landmark Environmental Justice Bill S232 comes closer to being realized.  Today’s release of long awaited rules that accompany this landmark EJ Law is a critically  important milestone. 


The law and now proposed rules tackle the decades-long pattern of dumping polluting facilities in communities Of Color and low-income communities. Under these new rules, polluting facilities will be required to undergo a robust environmental justice review before being permitted in overburdened, i.e., environmental justice communities. These precedent-setting rules will arm New Jersey regulators with the right to deny further harmful pollution in these neighborhoods. Environmental justice communities will finally have a chance to have what many people take for granted – clean air and a safer environment in which to thrive. 


The just released rules would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of New Jersey environmental justice advocates and organizations, as well as State Senator Singleton, State Senator Ruiz, Assemblyman McKeon, Governor Murphy, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJEP) Commissioner LaTourette and staff that led to the passage of the law (S232) in the first place.


This rule reflects two years of continued hard work, expertise and community knowledge of EJ advocates who worked alongside the NJDEP staff to develop a strong set of rules that reflect the ambition, significance and promise of the landmark EJ law. We are eager to see these rules adopted as written as soon as possible and finally put to use in the communities that have been sacrificed for far too long. 


New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, Ironbound Community Corp. Environmental Justice, South Ward Environmental Alliance, and Clean Water Action will be making sure that communities understand and are engaged with the public hearings regarding the proposed regulations. Too often when a historic bill such as S232 is passed, people stop paying attention after the bill is signed. It is imperative that our communities stay engaged. Until the final rule adoption occurs later this year, we  urge the NJDEP to act in the spirit of the law and as we continue to fight our current battles for environmental justice in New Jersey, including: a fourth fracked gas power plant proposed by Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, threat of a sludge facility proposed, and waste facility expansions in Camden. 


The draft rules require the NJDEP to evaluate the environmental and public health impacts of various polluting facilities on overburdened communities when reviewing specific types of permit applications. It lays out a process for assessing the burden that new facilities may pose to communities that are already overburdened and directs the state to deny those permits that contribute to the existing stressors in those census blocks. It requires additional reviews of existing facilities in overburdened communities that undergo a renewal or expansion process and can apply more stringent conditions to those existing facilities. It also offers a robust set of public participation processes for local input. 



“This is an important first step to ensuring that communities Of Color and communities with low-income in New Jersey have a chance to attain the clean environment  that other communities in the state enjoy.”

– Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., Esq, NJEJA Trustee


“The South Ward community of Newark just wants to breathe clean air and enjoy their quality of life free from additional toxic facilities impacting the health of the neighborhood.”

– Kim Gaddy, Environmental Justice Director, Clean Water Action


“We are excited about reaching this pivotal moment in the trajectory of the EJ law. Environmental Justice communities will be paying specific attention to what warrants a compelling public interest, what does it mean to avoid harming the community and provisions around community engagement.  We need to ensure that no industry green washes their way through EJ law.”

– Maria Lopez-Nunez, Ironbound Community Corp.


“These rules represent the hard work and diligence of EJ activists that have worked tirelessly alongside NJDEP to produce the strongest environmental justice law in the nation. Finally, there is a light at the end of this journey towards environmental justice for all.” 

– Ana Baptista, Ph.D., The New School University, NJEJA & ICC Trustee


“One of the most critical details of the Environmental Justice Law is the robust public process required of permitting facilities. For far too long some of the worst actors have lied or bought their way into the good graces of a few key people and claimed that their ‘back room’ deals were community engagement. Even now some communities expect polluting industries to operate in obscurity and without their input. That all ends with the implementation of the EJ Law.”

– Melissa Miles, Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA)


-end –


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Press Release: Coalition for Healthy Ports call for action on scrapyard fire at Eastern Metal Recycling Terminal at Port Newark

Coalition for Healthy Ports

Ironbound Community Corporation      

New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance    

Clean Water Action    

South Ward Environmental Alliance

Immediate Release: Tuesday January 25, 2022

Contact:  Kim Gaddy, Clean Water Action and South Ward resident  973-914-2449

                 Maria Lopez-Nunez, Ironbound Community Corporation    201-978-6660    

                 Melissa Miles, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance  347-553-3338

TODAY, Newark – The Coalition for Healthy Ports (CHP)* issued a call for action regarding the scrap yard fire at Eastern Metal Recycling Terminal at Port Newark, the second large fire at this site since September 2021.

 Current policies, regulations and emergency response procedures leave communities and workers vulnerable to unknown chemical exposures and other harms of this facility and others like it during routine operations, only made worse during crisis management.

Community notification procedures and air monitoring systems are inadequate, leaving residents clueless as to what to do to protect themselves and their families. The only information residents are getting is from news reports. Agencies will have limited information to assess the situation, pollution impacts, and/or consider remedies to put in place in the future. 

It is also alarmingly unclear who has jurisdiction for permits, operations, emergency response and enforcement at Port Newark – Port Authority of NY&NJ (PANYNJ), NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for port, on-site and emergency responders just to name a few. The PANYNJ fire team deemed themselves ill equipped so the City of Newark Fire Department was called in to respond. Additionally, NJDEP’s oversight is currently limited, but we anticipate that the long awaited environment justice rules will include scrap yards – facilities that have long eluded regulatory controls and tools for community accountability.

The Coalition for Healthy Ports calls on the Governor and other responsible agencies to: 

  • take immediate action to protect residents and workers, properly and regularly inform them of developments related to the fire 
  • install emergency and permanent air/water monitors to assess pollution and health impacts
  • evaluate reasons for current fire and take immediate steps to prevent future fires
  • exercise enforcement powers where they may currently exist 
  • formally propose and adopt cumulative impact regulations as soon as possible, including scrap yards and other previously un/underregulated facilities of concern
  • resolve chronic jurisdictional issues and enforcement powers at the port 
  • hold a community meeting to both inform and receive public input on their concerns and demands for action

Below are quotes from impacted community leaders and Coalition for Healthy Ports members:

“ We often have to worry not just about fires but what is burning in those fires. No one should go to bed with nausea or headaches from the smells outside but our residents know the feeling all too well. This fire joins a long list of situations that remind us how close we are to potential catastrophe in our communities because of the concentration of toxic reactive chemicals. We need more than lip service, we need real protection. It is exhausting to keep asking for protection from our state but there are decades of historic injustice that must be addressed.” – Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy, Ironbound Community Corporation

“Longshoreman and Newark residents deserve to be protected from fires at Port Newark.  Our health must be a priority of Gov. Murphy and the PANYNJ. As a South Ward resident living in a Port community, we demand mandatory air monitoring and environmental enforcement at the Port today.” – Kim Gaddy, Executive Director, South Ward Environmental Alliance and New Jersey Environmental Justice Director, Clean Water Action

“Leadership at the Port of Newark has consistently denied their responsibility for air pollution beyond their fence line. This is a clear incidence of serious impacts as far away as New York City. We need fence line air monitoring and community accountability from the Port and its tenants.” – Melissa Miles, Executive Director,  New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

“This fire is a reminder of the threats that port related waste facilities pose to community and worker health. In times of emergency, we must have clear lines of communication and a coordinated response to protect people. We call on state and local agencies together with the PANYNJ to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement to prevent future fires.” – Ana Baptista, P.h.D. Co-Director, Tishman Environment & Design Center, The New School University and Coalition for Healthy Ports Member

“The frequency of chemical fires occurring in New Jersey is on the rise – sounding the alarm for immediate action. The state must step up enforcement of existing laws and adopt long awaited cumulative impact protections including strict oversight of polluting facilities and scrap yards in already grossly overburdened communities and port region. Anything less than this is an environmental and public health injustice to residents and workers.” – Amy  Goldsmith, NJ State Director, Clean Water Action and Steering Committee Member, Coalition for Healthy Ports

“The New Jersey Governor’s Office, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and all relevant governmental agencies need to work together to address this alarming fire and to prevent this type of incident from happening again in the future.” – Nicky Sheats, Esq., Ph.D., Director, Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University, and New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance Member

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* Coalition for Healthy Ports (CHP) is a bi-state alliance founded in 2007 by environmental and environmental justice activists, truck drivers, faith leaders, labor unions, and community advocates fighting for zero emissions, clean air, good jobs, healthy communities, environmental and economic justice at the Ports of New York and New Jersey and throughout the logistics industry. Particular emphasis is given to port-adjacent communities that are disproportionately overburdened by port pollution and operations. www.coalitionforhealthyports.org

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Comments on BPU Charging Infrastructure Straw

Comments on: In The Matter Of Medium And Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle Charging Ecosystem, New Jersey Electric Vehicles Infrastructure Ecosystem 2021 – Medium And heavy Duty Straw Proposal

One of the most important policy recommendations that has been supported by a significant segment of the environmental justice (EJ) advocacy community is that climate change mitigation policy, in addition to fighting climate change, should be used to reduce the disproportionate amount of pollution often found in EJ communities.

In the power generation sector the EJ advocacy community has indicated this means, at least partly, that electricity generating plants located in EJ residential communities should be required to reduce emissions, no matter what type of climate change mitigation program applies to the plants. This policy would guarantee that climate change mitigation policy would deliver critical reductions in locally harmful greenhouse gas co-pollutants to vulnerable and overburdened EJ communities. These reductions would improve the health of residents living in communities affected by plant emissions. The New Jersey EJ Alliance (NJEJA), has called this policy “mandatory emissions reductions for EJ communities through climate change mitigation policy”.

NJEJA is a statewide organization that focuses solely on EJ issues and advocates for policies that will improve the quality of life of low-income communities and communities Of Color, i.e. EJ communities, in New Jersey and across the nation. It is important to note that NJEJA has strongly advocated for the adoption of the mandatory emissions reductions for EJ communities through climate change mitigation policy and opposed New Jersey’s entrance into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Transportation and Climate Initiative, in part because they do not guarantee such reductions. A comparable type of mandatory emissions reductions policy that directly and unequivocally improves the health of EJ communities is needed for the transportation sector. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ (NJBPU) Notice, In The Matter Of Medium And Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle Charging Ecosystem, New Jersey Electric Vehicles Infrastructure Ecosystem 2021 – Medium And heavy Duty Straw Proposal (hereinafter referred to as Straw Proposal), provides New Jersey with an opportunity to discuss and make progress on this type of important policy. NJEJA is submitting the following comments in an effort to further that discussion.

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