NJ Wastewater Commission Pulls Power Plant Contract After Local Uproar

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has stopped a controversial vote to OK construction of a new power plant in Newark, after residents rallied against another polluting facility in their neighborhood. 

The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission was scheduled to vote Thursday at noon on a contract to begin building a $180 million natural gas power plant in an industrial corner of the city’s East Ward. The 84-megawatt plant would provide emergency back-up power during storms to prevent the kind of catastrophic sewage spill that occurred during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 

Alex Altman, a spokeswoman for Murphy, said the governor asked the PVSC to postpone today’s vote. 

“The pause will allow the project to undergo a more thorough environmental justice review and robust public engagement process, ensuring that the voices of the community are heard,” she said. 

"Since taking office in 2018, Governor Murphy has made clear that New Jersey’s overburdened communities will no longer be a dumping ground for harmful pollutants. While the proposed back up generation put forth by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission is meant to provide a critical climate resilience solution, it is imperative that the project adheres to the administration’s core values on environmental justice.”

Local residents and environmental activists had for months pushed back against the project and said it conflicted with landmark legislation passed in 2020 meant to prevent the over-contamination of places already burdened with pollutants, like Newark. Rules for the new law are still being written, meaning the project was likely to escape additional scrutiny under the measure.  

Murphy signed the environmental justice law in 2020 in Newark against the backdrop of the industrial East Ward, which already boasts two power plants, a fat rendering facility and a garbage incinerator. He had remained silent on the issue until Thursday.