Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
5/30/2014
The state of New Jersey announced late last week, plans to submit an official proposal to repeal regulations relevant to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as required by the judgment of a state appeals court. The court ruled earlier this year that Governor Chris Christie’s (R-N.J.) administration broke the law in 2011 when pulling out of RGGI, a northeastern multistate cap-and-trade program designed to cut CO2 emissions, without repealing or adjusting rules related to the program. At that time, the court ordered the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to correct the issue by either repealing the rules or changing them to indicate that they are only applicable if the state is participating in RGGI.
The New Jersey DEP has now submitted a notice of proposal to the court stating the intention to repeal the CO2 Budget Trading Program Rules in question. These rules have not been applicable since the state pulled out of RGGI, but have remained on the books. Instead of formally removing the rules, the state DEP only posted a notice telling power plants they no longer had to comply with them. Because a proposal to change or repeal the rules was never introduced, there was no public comment on the issue and the state legislature was not able to attempt to block the decision. This action prompted two environmental groups, Environment New Jersey and the Natural Resources Defense Council, to file a lawsuit that resulted in the court order. The proposal is scheduled to be introduced July 7. A 60-day public comment period will follow.
