N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy should get on with protecting the Pinelands | Editorial

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy appointed two environmentalists to the long-troubled Pinelands Commission this month. The move could be a sign that Murphy is trying to put the commission back on track of protecting the fragile 1.1 million-acre forest. But his intentions are unclear because his staff won’t answer simple questions about his vision to protect the forest, which protects 17.7 trillion gallons of clean water for the region.

Murphy’s had plenty of time to consider the commission’s fate. For years, the agency was conflicted between being a responsible steward and bending to former Gov. Chris Christie’s pro-development agenda. Even though it has long been clear that a commission, which allowed two gas pipelines to run through the forest, is unfit, Murphy waited a year after taking office to appoint new members Kelly Mooij, a Trenton environmental lobbyist, and Theresa Lettman, an Ocean County environmentalist. Murphy has five more appointments to the 15-member commission. Each of the seven counties in the Pinelands has one appointment and the Department of Interior has one. Gubernatorial appointees must be confirmed by the state Senate, which helped Christie stack the commission with pliable members.

Maybe Murphy is caught between those who want to run pipelines and subdivisions through the forest and those who want to protect our drinking water — as well as the threatened and endangered plants and animals that live in the Pinelands. But he shouldn’t be. He should follow the newly-installed members of Burlington County’s freeholder board, who earlier this month asked the county’s old delegate to the commission to resign so he could be replaced with a pro-environment member.

Murphy should take his opportunity to appoint members and a chairman who can meet the forest’s future challenges. Pinelands Preservation Alliance Director Carleton Montgomery has a short list of reforms Murphy ought to adopt. He says the forest’s ability to protect the aquifer under it is being undermined. The commission should figure out how much water is being lost from the aquifer from overpumping — especially near Atlantic City and Ocean County — and regulate it. Commissioners should strengthen permit requirements for private water companies, which take water from the aquifer, to make sure they’re not taking too much. And, the commission should do a much better job stopping people from ripping up the forest floor with their dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and all-terrain vehicles.

Under Christie, the commission ignored these issues, even though the public brought them up again and again. And, it violated the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan by approving two natural gas pipelines. Construction has started on one of the pipelines, even though both are being challenged in the courts.

Murphy may fear alienating development interests, but he should put those fears to rest by reading the Pinelands plan. It encourages development in areas that can sustain it and restricts development in the most vulnerable areas The plan is essential to ensuring that our drinking water is safe.

Right now, Murphy is the forest’s most important steward. He should act like it by appointing a commission that can best protect it.