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Residents urge Morris Township to pass resolution supporting New Jersey Climate Superfund Act
Summary
Public speakers urged the Township Committee to adopt a municipal resolution backing the Climate Superfund Act to recover funds from major fossil-fuel companies for local climate adaptation and remediation projects; the mayor said the committee would consider the request before year-end.
Three public speakers at the Oct. 15 Morris Township meeting asked the committee to adopt a municipal resolution supporting the Climate Superfund Act (also described as the New Jersey Climate Fund Act) that would seek to recover funds from major fossil-fuel companies to pay for local climate remediation and adaptation.
Ken Dalski, introduced himself as a Parsippany resident and member of the Empower New Jersey board, and said, “We are asking municipal councils to support the act by simply passing a resolution.” He said the bill would not affect local gas or oil providers and argued the measure could generate as much as $50 billion in revenue for New Jersey over 25 years to fund infrastructure resiliency, flood protection, home buyouts, remediation of toxic algae blooms, stormwater upgrades and other climate-related projects.
Jennifer Nielsen, who identified herself as active with Empower NJ through Third Act New Jersey, described rising costs for residents and repeated the $50 billion estimate while arguing the bill would shift costs from taxpayers to large fossil-fuel corporations. Dean Nielsen, a Morris Township resident, compared the proposal to litigation against the tobacco industry and urged the committee to join other municipalities in passing a resolution to hold fossil-fuel companies accountable.
Committee response: Mayor Donna J. Garriglia said, “This governing body does not oppose what you're asking for. As a matter of fact, it seems to be a worthy cause. I think the problem was in the communication, and I don't think we properly understood what you were asking and what this entails. So I think that we can go back as a governing body and to discuss this and maybe we can do something before the end of the year if we are in agreement.” Committee member Genada acknowledged earlier questions from committee members about the proposal and the fact that the bill is not tied to EPA Superfund sites.
No formal motion or vote was recorded at the meeting. The speakers asked the committee to consider passing a municipal resolution in support of the state legislation; Mayor Garriglia said the governing body would revisit the request.
