Senate Passes Enviro, PANYNJ Bills

Port Authority Transparency S619 (Gordon) passed by a vote of 30-0. It seeks to increase transparency by modifying government structure and providing legislative oversight for PANYNJ. The bill requires the PANYNJ to create and make public a detailed annual operating budget. It also included rules for property disposition and subsidiaries as well as set standards for public hearings related to toll or fare increases. The Sierra Club supports efforts to increase transparency and accountability within the Port Authority.

“It’s important that this legislation is moving forward because the Port Authority has been a rogue agency without any accountability. They have wasted money while impacting the lives of everyone in the area. It’s important to monitor and regulate the Port Authority because they control ports, bridges and airports and not only affect the daily lives of commuters, but of the environment and our health as well. This bill goes a long way to help reform an agency that’s been out-of-control for so long. It will bring accountability and transparency to an agency that could possibly do tremendous damage to the region and our environment,” said Jeff Tittel. “We need this reform because we expect Port Authority to be looking at construction on the Gateway Tunnel, Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel, a new bus terminal, and other important pieces of infrastructure. We need to make sure these projects are transparent and done in a proper and cost-effective way.”

State Reptile S1925 (Bateman) Designates the Bog Turtle as New Jersey’s State Reptile. The Bog Turtle was once abundant across the state but is now listed as Endangered in New Jersey and Threatened federally. The species lives in rural areas with ferns, bogs, and wet meadows. Their numbers have dwindled across the state due to intense land use and development. It passed by a vote of 33-1.                            

State Amphibian S2287 (Turner) Designates the Pine Barrens Tree Frog as New Jersey’s State Amphibian. The Pine Barrens Tree Frog became listed as Endangered in New Jersey when its habitat dwindled and became more and more polluted. Preserving habitat for the Pine Barrens Tree Frog also preserves ecologically-important areas in the Pinelands. It passed by a vote of 34-0.

“We support these bills because they raise awareness of the important of the Bog Turtle and Pine Barrens Tree Frog. These species are important parts of the natural history and ecosystems of New Jersey. It’s important to name at-risk species to bring awareness to their conservation value and peril. We have to make sure we’re doing more to protect these species and their habitat, because without those protections, all species will be at risk. We hope that the increased important of these species will lead to increased protections for the habitats they live in including the Pinelands,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.