SOUTHTOMS RIVER – Federal officials and residents of South Toms River met on Wednesday with federal officials as part of an effort to reduce environmental damage in some of New Jersey’s most underserved communities.
At the Second Baptist Church of First Street, Shawn M. LaTourette was New Jersey’s Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. Kandyce Perry, Director of the Department’sOffice of Environmental Juvenile, and Lisa Garcia, Administrator for Region 2 of U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, which covers New Jersey, met with local residents.
The event was the third in-person stop in the department’senvironmental justice listening sessions, following events in recent months in Burlington City and Elizabeth.
Perry said Wednesday at the meeting, “We know that environmental injustice issues can come in many forms, but that they don’t always take place in very dense or urban areas.”
“We also know Ocean County has been and will continue to be on the front lines of weather-related events like flooding and sea level rise as our climate warms and that Ocean County’s most vulnerable residents will be hard hit,” she stated.
According to the Ocean County Planning Department, approximately half of the South Toms River residents were people of color in 2020. This makes it a unique municipality within Ocean County.
According to the Planning Department the borough has the second lowest per-capita income in the county. According to the department, South Toms River’s per capita income was $21,463, in 2018. Only Lakewood, where almost half of the residents are under 18 and too young to work, had a lower per-capita income in 2018, at $17.460, according the department.
Federal and state officials claimed Wednesday’s meeting was intended to hear directly from residents in South Toms River and nearby communities about the environmental harms they are experiencing.
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Garcia, of Environmental Protection Agency, said that environmental justice is a way to acknowledge the fact that communities of color, low-income communities and indigenous communities haven’t benefited from many of our environmental decisions.
She stated that these communities have suffered from higher levels of pollution, an older and more dangerous infrastructure and higher levels exposure to contamination than their neighbors.
The three stated that there are many federal and state programs available to help with environmental problems, such as replacing lead water pipe infrastructure or remediating toxic sites.
New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law was signed in 2020 by Gov. Phil Murphy also wants to ensure that these communities are not unfairly burdened with pollution in the future. The law requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEPA) to exercise particular care when granting industrial development permits to communities that are “overburdened”.
To be considered”overburdened,”about 35% of a community’s population must qualifyas low-income, at least 40% of the community does not identify as white, or at least 40% of households have limited English proficiency.
The Environmental Justice Law in New Jersey requires that approximately 310 New Jersey municipalities meet this definition. Nearly 4.5 million New Jersey residents are eligible for special consideration by the state department for certain typesof new projects. These projects include major sources of air pollution like trash transfer stations, large recycling centers, landfills, and gas-fired power plant.
LaTourette, LaTourette stated that people might believe that the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), protects trees.”But, in reality, our job it is to protect people against environmental-related harms.”
LaTourette explained that part of the department’s mission is to help South Toms River (and other communities like it) prepare for climate change.
He stated that climate change has already affected New Jersey. “It’s been here with superstorm Sandy and the remnants of tropical hurricane Ida, iterative heavy rainfall and flooding events between those. We are not as prepared as possible.
He said that the state department is working with local communities in order to change this, through changes to local building codes and planning.
LaTourette stated, “We are seeking development that is going through the test of times, that in the pursuit to solve one problem we are not creating another.” “People need to realize that there is no single solution that will stop flooding. It is not possible to combat rising sea levels and extreme rainfall. It’s a mix of many things.”
Amanda Oglesby hails from Ocean County and covers Brick, Barnegat, Lacey and the environment. For more than a decade, she has been with the Press. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, [email protected] or 732-557-5701.
