Shawn M. LaTourette New Jerseys Commissioner for Environmental Protection Mar 15, 2022
Environmental protection does not cover the entire range of services that natural resources management and regulatory agencies offer for the public. The NJDEP’s work is closely connected to economic, health, and environmental improvement.
Our environment is not protected simply because it is beautiful. It is a good feeling, and it does make us feel good. However, economic growth and long-term success in our communities require that we provide free public services that are clean, healthy, and equally accessible to all.
From the air that fills us with oxygen to the rivers that filter our water and the trees whose roots keep our riverbanks afloat, our natural capital works for us. Our environment doesn’t send us a bill so our underinvestment can lead to deficit spending.
NJDEP views environmental improvement as an investment and has helped drive economic growth in New Jersey communities. We want to do more.
Our brownfields program, for instance, identifies abandoned and blighted properties and manages their renewal. Redeveloping brownfields can be a catalyst for regional growth, as it can revitalize neighborhoods, improve public security, create jobs, increase the tax base, and establish open space.
Brownfield remediation aims to restore natural resources damaged and preserve resources in other areas. greenfieldswoodlands that provide valuable services for the public.
NJDEP has launched a new GIS map tool to assist investors, developers, community leaders and LSRPs in identifying brownfields that have potential for redevelopment.
Based on information from NJDEP records and made available through the NJDEP Brownfields ProgramThe New Jersey Community Asset MapThe Brownfields Inventory GIS Layer provides information on potential target sites including acreage, cleanup status and contact information.
At the moment, the tool only includes sites located within NJDEPs Community Collaborative initiative municipalities: Bayonne. Bridgeton. Camden. Jersey City. Millville. Newark. Paterson. Paulsboro. Perth Amboy. Salem. Trenton. Vineland. NJDEP intends that future versions of this tool will include opportunities in other municipalities.
NJDEPs work to expand this reach and share this data is another step towards creating new opportunities at intersections of environmental, economic and health improvement.
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