Sierra Club Supports Amendment for Right to Clean Air and Water

Today the New Jersey Sierra Club is joining Assembly Environment Committee Chair Timothy Eustace, and other environmental groups, at a press conference on newly proposed legislation concerning the public right to clean air and water. The constitutional amendment would protect right to clean air and water. Eustace has recently raised concerns about the plans to address groundwater contamination in Pompton Lakes caused by a nearby DuPont site. The press conference is being held at 1 p.m. in Committee Room 9 on the 3rd Floor of the State House in Trenton. Jamie Zaccaria, Legislative and Communications Coordinator at the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“Citizens throughout the world have the right to clean air and water, and a healthy planet. Here in New Jersey, we can do something about it. We can adopt a constitutional amendment guaranteeing those rights to every man, woman, and child in our state. That is why we’re here to support Assemblyman Eustace’s proposed legislation. For far too long polluters and developers have been getting away with destroying our environment and impacting public health. Under constitution we have the four freedoms. We need this fifth freedom: the freedom to be healthy in a healthy environment. After all, you can’t have free speech if you can’t breathe the air.

“The people of New Jersey have showed time and again that we value clean air and water. We have opposed Christie’s Exxon sell-out that allowed the company to get away with contaminating our natural resources. We have fought against offshore drilling, pipelines, and polluting power plants. We have spoken out about how Christie and Trump’s denial of climate change is a denial of our future. The voters have approved funding for open space and dedicating money to environmental settlements. Polluters and developers don’t respect the peoples’ right to clean air and water. We have no doubt that the people of New Jersey believe in their right to clean air and water and would support this Amendment.

“With the Trump Administration ignoring sea level rise and siding with fossil fuel companies and big businesses over the welfare and safety of the American people, it’s more important than ever that New Jersey act. People’s right to clean air and water should always come before a gas company’s desire to drill or an industry’s poisoning of our communities. We have the right to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment while protecting our public health and safety. We have the right to clean up toxic sites that threaten our communities and health. The people of New Jersey have the right to clean air and water and a healthy environment and this amendment would ensure that those rights are respected.”