PEER in New Jersey

PEER's environmental work is solely directed by the needs of its members. As a consequence, we have the distinct honor of serving resource professionals who daily cast profiles in courage in cubicles across the country.

Find out about New Jersey’s whistleblower law

Following are PEER news releases, white papers, surveys and other activities for New Jersey:


News Releases for New Jersey
February 8, 2010  NEW JERSEY DOWNPLAYS DISTURBING AIR TOXICS STUDY — DEP Mounts Messaging Campaign to Minimize Risk Findings in Paterson

February 4, 2010  NEW JERSEY CLOSING ITS NOSE TO VAPOR INTRUSION CRISIS — Vapor Intrusion Rules Cast into Regulatory Limbo as Horror Stories Multiply

January 21, 2010  WILL NEW JERSEY OPEN UP ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING? — Corzine Denial of DEP Transparency Rules Creates Opportunity for Christie
October 8, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY WRESTLES WITH TRANSPARENCY — Proposed PEER Openness Rules Being Studied for “Feasibility and Practicality”
October 6, 2009  INDUSTRY PUSHES JERSEY GOVERNOR’S BUTTON ON WIND POWER PERMIT — String-Pulling to Keep Federal Stimulus Dollars by Shelving Eco-Study Requirements
September 29, 2009  INDUSTRY MOVES TO TAKE OVER JERSEY ECO-SCIENCE BOARD — DEP Sued to Force Release of Lobbying Messages for Industry-Backed Scientists
September 16, 2009  TOXIC NEW JERSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FINALLY WINS RELIEF — Vapor Intrusion Controls May End Three-Year Ordeal at Atlantic Highlands
September 1, 2009   POLITICAL ARM TWISTING FOR MASSIVE DELAWARE BAY WIND FARM — New Jersey under Pressure to Lift Ban on Wind Turbines in Migratory Bird Flyway
August 27, 2009  EPA AUDIT RIPS NEW JERSEY DEP PERFORMANCE — Corrective Actions Never Implemented for Toxic, Wetlands and Other Programs
August 20, 2009  RESEARCH CONFIRMS ST.LAWRENCE CEMENT PLANT POLLUTES NEARBY CAMDEN WATERFRONT NEIGHBORHOOD —

August 5, 2009  DUPONT PRESSES NEW JERSEY TO WATER DOWN PFOA RISK ASSESSMENT — Industry Consultants Get Closed Door Access to State Drinking Water Institute
August 3, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS LAUNCH ETHICS REFORMS — Latest Corruption Scandals Spark Calls for Transparency & Whistleblower Measures
July 27, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY AT HEART OF BRIBERY SCANDAL — New Rules Needed to Ban “Pay-to-Play” and Protect Staff from Strong-Arm Tactics
July 21, 2009  NEW JERSEY ALTERS HEALTH STUDY UNDER INDUSTRY PRESSURE — Industry Allowed Private Meetings to Lobby for Changes in Camden Study
July 8, 2009  TEFLON COATS PUBLIC AGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE — Jackson Sought to Have New Jersey PFOA Study Pulled from Publication
June 1, 2009  NEW JERSEY SLAPS GAG ORDER ON ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS — Embarrassing Chromium Study Prompts Management Review of Scientific Findings
April 22, 2009  CHROMIUM FAR DEADLIER THAN EARLIER ASSESSMENTS INDICATE — Scores of Capped New Jersey Contaminated Sites Will Have to Be Re-Evaluated
December 22, 2008  NEW JERSEY GREENHOUSE GAS PLAN FULL OF HOLES — Reliance on Carbon Sequestration, Nuclear and Loose Cap Raises Questions
December 8, 2008  WHY LISA JACKSON SHOULD NOT RUN EPA — Disastrous Record in New Jersey Bodes Ill for Reforming EPA
November 17, 2008  CHROMIUM POSES HIGHER LUNG CANCER RISK IN NEW JERSEY CITIES — State Ignored Staff Warnings of Continued Exposure Even in “Remediated” Sites
September 23, 2008  NEW JERSEY WILL MISS FIRST GREENHOUSE GAS ALLOWANCES AUCTION — Corzine Global Warming Program behind Schedule, Blowing Second Major Deadline
September 16, 2008  NEW JERSEY INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE PUNTS — “Month Late and a Dollar Short” Report Ignores Problems It Finds
September 8, 2008  FEDS PROCEED QUICKLY ON STALLED NEW JERSEY TOXIC CLEAN-UPS — EPA Remediation Plan for Brick Township Landfill Ready for Public Review
September 5, 2008  SPRAWL IS STEADILY POISONING MORE NEW JERSEY LAKES AND STREAMS — Most Waters Unfit for Direct Human Contact; Statewide Fish Health Advisories
August 28, 2008  WIDESPREAD CONTAMINATION FOUND IN NEW JERSEY DRINKING WATER — Survey of Wells Is Far From Well; State Does Not Follow-Up on Pollutants
July 10, 2008  NEW JERSEY TO SET CARBON CAPS ABOVE CURRENT EMISSION LEVELS — Loopholes, Offsets and Economic Limits Sap Strength from Global Warming Plan
July 2, 2008  NEW JERSEY MISSES FIRST GLOBAL WARMING TARGET — Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan Due This Week Delayed Until Fall or Later
June 19, 2008  EPA REPORT BLASTS NEW JERSEY TOXIC CLEAN-UPS — State Failures to Enforce Law Lead to Worst Delays in the Country
June 18, 2008  NEW JERSEY EXEMPTS FLOOD OF PROJECTS FROM FLOOD HAZARD RULES — DEP Confirms Flood Prevention and Stream Buffer Protection Loopholes
June 10, 2008  ENCAP DEBACLE LOOMS OVER LATEST NEW JERSEY WATER FUND PLAN — Impending Legislative Approval Fails to Address Root Causes of Smoldering Scandal
June 5, 2008  “GRANDFATHER” STAMPEDE IN DELAYED NEW JERSEY STREAM RULES — Statewide Clean Water Protections Honeycombed with Special Interest Exceptions
May 27, 2008  CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS TRUMP NEW JERSEY CLEAN WATERS — Loophole-Riddled Stream Protection Plan: One Step Forward, Three Steps Backward
May 20, 2008  PROBE CALLED FOR IN NEW JERSEY TOXIC HIGH SCHOOL FIASCO — Inspector General Asked Why “Kiddie Kollege” Law Failed Clifton High School
May 13, 2008  NEW JERSEY CHEMICAL PLANT PLAN HAS ONLY VOLUNTARY STANDARDS — Corzine Administration Caves on Governor’s Signature Environmental Issue
May 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY WILL NOT CLOSE PARKS OR LAY OFF ECO-WORKERS — Governor Orders DEP to Explore Other “Funding Options”
May 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY JETTISONS GROUNDWATER POLLUTION STANDARDS — Drinking Water Supplies for Half the State Vulnerable to Toxic Contamination
April 29, 2008  NEW JERSEY DONS BLINDERS ON INDUSTRIAL SITE CLEAN-UP — State Retreats from Real Estate Transaction as Leverage for Toxic Remediation
April 28, 2008  NEW JERSEY MODEL FOR PRIVATIZED TOXIC CLEAN-UPS FAILS AUDITS — Serious Violations Found in More than Two-Thirds of Audited Massachusetts Sites
April 21, 2008  NEW JERSEY PARKS LOSE MILLIONS IN UNCOLLECTED LEASE PAYMENTS — Park Closures Could Be Averted by Reaping Concessionaire and Easement Revenue
April 17, 2008  CORZINE EMBRACES FAST TRACK LAW HE VOWED TO REPEAL — Quietly Appoints Fast Track “Czar” to Speed Development Permits
April 14, 2008  NEW JERSEY TO PRIVATIZE POLLUTION REGULATION TO SAVE MONEY — Outsourcing Clean-Ups Is Recipe for More Toxic Disasters, Legislature Told
April 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY TO CONSULT INDUSTRY ON ECO-REWRITES IN SECRET — “Efficiency” Task Force Members Not Barred from Self-Dealing with DEP
March 25, 2008  NEW JERSEY ASKS BUSINESS TO REWRITE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS — Developers See Slow Economy as Lever to Weaken Anti-Pollution Permit Rules
February 25, 2008  NEW JERSEY AIDE GOT TOO CLOSE TO DEVELOPERS — Ethics Complaint Filed Against Personal Advisor to DEP Commissioner
February 11, 2008  MERCURY IN NEW JERSEY DAY-CARE CENTER 3,000 TIMES STANDARD — State Wants to Demolish Old Thermometer Plant but No Further Testing of Kids
February 6, 2008  NEW JERSEY CUTS DEEPLY INTO PROTECTED STREAM BUFFERS — Commissioner Revokes Her Year-Old Order, Leaving Buffers at Mercy of Politics
October 9, 2007  NEW JERSEY ADMITS PRIVATIZED CLEAN-UP PROGRAM HAS FAILED — State Relies on Industry and No Longer Inspects Sites Until They End Up in the News
October 1, 2007  NEW JERSEY FORFEITS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN POLLUTION DAMAGES — Court Ruling Faults DEP for Failure to Enact Rules to Compensate Public
September 25, 2007  FEDS SAY NEW JERSEY WATER STANDARDS DO NOT PROTECT WILDLIFE — Bald Eagles, Falcons, Mussels and Others at Risk from Mercury, DDT and PCBs
September 18, 2007  NEW JERSEY TO PRIVATIZE TOXIC CLEAN-UP SCIENCE — State Environment Department Will Contract Out Geologic Work to Reduce Backlog
September 7, 2007  ENVIRO'S URGE GOVERNOR, LEGISLATURE TO FIX BROKEN CLEAN-UP PROGRAM — DEP Hearing Tomorrow and Days Old Documents: Just Fingers in the Dike
September 6, 2007  NEW JERSEY WATER TESTS UNDERSTATE POLLUTION — County Complains Standard Does Not Truly Measure Development Impacts
August 27, 2007  WHERE ARE THE DIRTIEST SITES IN NEW JERSEY? DON’T ASK THE STATE — State Abandons Pollution Priority Listing to Let Politics Dictate Cleanup Funding
August 8, 2007  NEW JERSEY SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION REFORM GETS FAILING MARKS — No Environmental Reviews Prior to Building More Schools on Toxic Sites
August 2, 2007  NEW JERSEY POSTS LIST OF 831 DIRTY DUMPS BUT NO CLEANUP PLAN — More than One in Six Abandoned Dumps Polluting Groundwater
July 10, 2007  NEW JERSEY SAYS SECRET MEETINGS KEY TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY — Petition for New Transparency Rules Rejected the Same Day Notice Is Published
July 5, 2007  NEW JERSEY AGENCY LETS KIDS PLAY ON TOXIC WASTE PILES — No Warnings or Postings for Years as State Dickers with Company
June 27, 2007  PROPOSED NEW WATER RULES: HALP EMPTY OR HALF FULL? —

June 4, 2007  TOXIC SCHOOL SCANDAL SPOTLIGHTS WEAK NEW JERSEY LAW — Parents Get No Notice of Child’s Exposure in Deregulated State Clean-Up Program
May 31, 2007  BROWN TIDE LINKED TO POLLUTION AND OVER-DEVELOPMENT — Environmentalists Demand Stronger Shore Protections
May 3, 2007  NEW JERSEY DOES ITS ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS — State Claims “Executive Privilege” to Shield Meeting Logs; Petition Filed
April 16, 2007  WHEN IT RAINS…IT FLOODS — New Jersey Continues to Lose War on Sprawl New Figures Show
March 26, 2007  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL BUDGET SHRINKS BUT TASKS GROW — New Corzine Initiatives Will Worsen Already Large State Environmental Deficits
March 15, 2007  NEW JERSEY PUNTS AGAIN ON WATER POLLUTION RULES — 400 Backlogged Projects May Escape Anti-Sprawl Controls
March 7, 2007  60 MORE NEW JERSEY DAY-CARE CENTERS NAMED ON TOXIC WARNINGS — Hundreds of Homes, Schools and Other Facilities May Also Be Vulnerable
February 20, 2007  NEW JERSEY PLOTS NEW TOXIC RULES BEHIND CLOSED DOORS — Press and Public Barred from State House “Stakeholder” Meeting
January 30, 2007  NEW JERSEY FLOATS DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES ON CLEAN WATER FUNDS — Golf Courses, Transit Villages and Transferable Building Rights Are Eligible Projects
December 27, 2006  CORZINE URGED TO CLOSE LOOPHOLES IN TOXIC DAY-CARE BILL — Conditional Veto Could Strike Out Exemptions and Strengthen Safeguards
November 27, 2006  NEW JERSEY AGENCY SAT ON SECRET LIST OF 6,000 TOXIC DANGER SITES — Latest Corzine “Kiddie Kollege” Reform Scheme Falls Well Short of Mark
October 25, 2006  NEW JERSEY WHISTLEBLOWER LAW HAS HUGE COVERAGE GAPS — State Ranks with Kentucky, Below Oklahoma and West Virginia in National Study
October 23, 2006  NEW JERSEY TOXIC DAY CARE REFORM BILL STILL MISSES THE MARK — State Grasping for Quick Fixes to Broken Brownfields Program
October 10, 2006  HUGE NEW JERSEY WATER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS NOT BEING MET — State’s Economic Future Threatened by Not Investing in Environmental Quality
October 5, 2006  NEW JERSEY LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR MORE SCHOOLS ON TOXIC SITES — Governor’s “Working Group” Dodges Question of Acquiring Toxic Land for Schools
September 25, 2006  JERSEY SHORE HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO STORMS AND SEA LEVEL RISE — Environmentalists Urge Corzine Administration to Include Global Warming and Land Use Reforms in Pending Insurance Industry Bailout
September 14, 2006  NEW JERSEY DECLARES A POLLUTERS’ HOLIDAY — New “Grace Periods” Relax Already Scandal-Ridden Toxic Cleanup Rules
August 30, 2006  NEW JERSEY TOXIC CLEANUP PROGRAM EXPOSED AS TOOTHLESS TIGER — State Allows Industry to Control Cleanup Even In Most Egregious Cases
August 17, 2006  CALL FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL TO HEAD MERCURY DAY-CARE PROBE — Severe Toxic Problems Acknowledged in 2002 Internal “Vulnerability Assessment”
August 7, 2006  MERCURY-LADEN DAY-CARE CENTER IN NEW JERSEY IS NO ANOMALY — Lax State Brownfield Laws Make Tragedy an “Accident Waiting to Happen”
August 4, 2006  NEW JERSEY SHORE DEGRADED BY SPRAWL DEVELOPMENT — Legislature Urged to Tighten Coastal Protection Laws
August 2, 2006  ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS LAUNCH MAJOR SHORE INITIATIVE — Announcement coincides with Friday’s Legislative Hearing
August 1, 2006  ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY EXTENDS "GRACE PERIODS" TO POLLUTERS — Minor Violations Forgiven in Revival of Whitman Penalty Moratorium
July 11, 2006  CORZINE RETREATS FROM WAR ON SPRAWL — Series of Actions Signal Builders’ Lobby Trumps Clean Water Rules
June 15, 2006  NEW JERSEY DEP WEAKENING TOXIC STANDARDS DESPITE SCANDALS — Legislature Expands DEP Toxic Probe and Ponders Reform Bills
June 7, 2006  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY ISSUES GAG ORDER TO STAFF — Mounting Scandals Creating “Bunker Mentality” Inside Troubled Agency
June 1, 2006  LEGISLATURE TO PROBE TOXIC COLLAPSE IN NEW JERSEY — Series of Cleanup Fiascoes Have Communities Feeling Betrayed and Vulnerable
May 4, 2006  NEW JERSEY ADMITS 970 RIVERS AND LAKES POLLUTED — State Tries to Bury Report; Gives Public Only Three Days Notice
April 24, 2006  RADIOACTIVE SCHOOL SITE IS TIP OF NEW JERSEY TOXIC ICEBERG — Over 100 School Site approvals expedited under Secret Deal
April 19, 2006  NEW JERSEY POLLUTION AGENCY BUFFETED BY REVOLVING DOOR ISSUES — Corzine Urged to Impose Stricter Ethics Rules, Lobbying Transparency & Whistleblower Protection
March 28, 2006  BUILDERS' LOBBYIST TAPPED AS TOP STATE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATOR — Wittenberg Will Oversee Environmental Rules She Criticized as Lobbyist
February 28, 2006  NEW JERSEY PROPOSES PCB PLAN, BUT LEAVES OUT NUMERICAL LIMITS — Industry-Backed Pollution Scheme for Dirty Waters Will Not Pass Legal Muster
November 30, 2005  ETHICS COMMISSION REJECTS DEVELOPER INSIDE INFORMATION PROBE — Pay-to-Play Politics Still Alive and Well in Trenton
November 10, 2005  NEW JERSEY FACING CHROMIUM EMERGENCY – 1 IN 10 CANCER RISKS — State Scientist Reveals DEP Cover-Up; Demand for Federal Intervention
September 29, 2005  “FAST TRACK” FOR NEW JERSEY DEVELOPMENT BACK ON TRACK — Reorganization Regulations Adopted Despite Acting Governor’s Moratorium
September 8, 2005  NEW JERSEY SEPTIC RULES IN THE TANK — DEP Allows Developers to Spoil Last Remaining Rural Landscapes
September 1, 2005  NEW JERSEY COVERING UP DEALS WITH CHEMICAL INDUSTRY — Public Records Request for Chemical Industry Pact Denied on Security Grounds
August 23, 2005  DEP CLEAN WATER CONSULTANT ALSO WORKS FOR POLLUTERS — “Ethical Swamp” Persists Despite Acting Governor’s Ethics Reform Pledge
August 15, 2005  NEW JERSEY WILL MISS WEDNESDAY’S WATER QUALITY DEADLINE — DEP’s Campbell Tells Chemical Industry He Will Bow on Toxic Standards
August 4, 2005  NEW JERSEY ABANDONS ADDED STREAM PROTECTIONS — DEP Employees’ Recommendations Pushed Aside As Persistent Flooding Worsens; Press Conference Called For Today
July 19, 2005  FLOOD REDUCTION PLANS STUCK IN THE MUCK — New Jersey DEP Delays Enforcement Despite Big Flood Toll
July 12, 2005  NEW JERSEY DEP ABANDONS TOUGHER TOXIC STANDARDS — Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon Warnings on Mercury, DDT and PCB Unheeded
July 5, 2005  DEP COMMISSIONER GAVE INSIDE INFORMATION TO DEVELOPERS — Campbell Helped Builder Skirt Clean Water Protections
June 15, 2005  NEW WATCHDOG GROUP FOR NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYEES — Former DEP Employee Heads New Chapter; Confidential Hotline for Employees
September 16, 2002  NEW JERSEY REJECTS EPA PLAN FOR TRADING POLLUTION CREDITS — Rebuked EPA Weighs Enforcement Against Companies Using Credits
February 14, 2001  NEW POLLUTION TRADING FOR FOUR STATES GUTS CLEAN AIR ACT — Whitman Trading Plans Emerge as First EPA Policies
December 22, 2000  N.J. DEP EMPLOYEES SAY WHITMAN ADMINISTRATION SOFT ON POLLUTERS — One in Four Report Orders to Ignore Violations
Surveys for New Jersey
1997  New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection Survey

PEER does not have a New Jersey chapter, but if you would like to start one, let us know.

As a service organization, PEER relies on current or former agency employees to point out issues to work on. If you work for a resource management agency, and you struggle with:

  • political interference with science-based decisions,
  • undue influence of industry into permitting decisions,
  • a management hostile to the conservation views of staff,
  • censorship of job-related opinions, or
    • anti-government threats from your community

PEER can help!
Our job is to deliver the problem to your agency decision-makers and the public while protecting the anonymitiy of the messanger. This may be as simple as a letter from PEER to your supervisor that says, "we're watching," or as complex as a legal challenge to your administration. To see examples of common tactics we've used in other states, check out our agency surveys, white papers and news releases.

As with all of our work, every project is employee directed. That means you call the shots.

For more information, contact PEER at info@peer.org or (202) 265-7337.