NJ Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel criticized state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine McCabe for admitting that she doesn’t have enough resources to do things, while simultaneously defending Governor Phil Murphy’s proposed 2020 budget.

“What really bothers me  is this administration is planting trees in Pinelands instead of getting rid of lead in the Newark schools,” Tittel griped.

He noted the state’s use of $40 million of $50 million from the Exxon settlement for salt restoration programs in the Pinelands. It should be going toward knocking down the lead in the open air reservoirs that supply drinking water to places like Newark, and toward the $2.8 billion replacement of Brick City pipelines, he said. “The $75 million put up by Newark is not enough to fix a leak let alone the overall problem.”

“She’s defending Murphy’s budget instead of defending her agency,” Tittel averred.

The DEP has a proposed $300 million operating budget, which is not good enough, said the Sierra Club chief, who wants staffing levels at the department raised from 2,500 to 3,000.