MTA/NJ Attends Climate Threat Stakeholder Meeting

At the end of January, New Jersey Governor Murphy unveiled his Energy Master Plan and issued an Executive Order to reach the Administration’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

As part of this initiative, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 100, which directs the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to make sweeping regulatory reforms, branded as Protecting Against Climate Threats (PACT), to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. 

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection held its first stakeholder meeting on March 2. The Marine Trades Association of New Jersey (MTA/NJ) was invited to participate. The purpose of the meeting was to listen to the stakeholders’ ideas regarding potential rulemaking that would reform the department’s land use regulations by ensuring that these rules promote resilience and assist communities in adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change such as sea level rise, extreme weather and chronic flooding. The department provided a brief overview of topics including: coastal planning, resilient building and nature based solutions. It is early to know what this specifically means and how this could impact the marine industry, but it is something that the association is closely monitoring and will address as needed to continue to protect its members and the boating industry.