well it's that time of year in Trenton where every state agency is fighting for their piece of the budget pie the head of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection made his case to lawmakers on Tuesday at a state house hearing explaining funding cuts being proposed at the state level will tie the AY's hands while trying to tackle worsening problems like climate resiliency and flooding all while getting less money from the federal government too ted Goldberg reports as part of our ongoing series under the dome exploring the state government and its impact on the people who live here the proposed budget offers less money for the Department of Environmental Protection even as Commissioner Sha Lerette says his people need more money to do more things do you believe that the amount of money that New Jersey gets from the federal government adequately um reflects the state needs no it's not sufficient this year's proposed budget would give the DP $1.8 billion in state and federal funds about 13% less than last year this comes as federal funding becomes more uncertain even though the D is responsible for enforcing most federal laws regarding the environment the US EPA supports D with grants to enable our implementation of the laws and they audit just how well we do it one can only hope that those who profess to be in search of government efficiency actually open their eyes wide enough to see that a successful framework does in fact exist tuesday's budget hearing focused on all things environment the forest fire service is slated for an extra million dollars in funding earning praise from both sides of the aisle greater staffing uh across the system of towers is a is is is a need um we also have uh needs for uh equipment improvement the rest of the hearing got a little heated seems the administration that wants to take away consumer choice and forced electric cars on everyone some criticized the Murphy administration for pushing incentives to own electric vehicles and paying for charging stations statewide we will have spent about hund00 million of taxpayer money and rateayer taxes and fees over the past four years on infrastructure improvements we cannot meet the aims of the Clean Air Act without a transition over time to a cleaner transportation future now that doesn't happen all at once the D has also caught heat for new regulations regarding land use in floodprone areas the real proposal aims to do that to improve how we protect our businesses and communities from these increasing hazards and not at the expense of development not at the expense of our need for housing and economic growth but it would foster conditions for homes to be built in a in a safer way real or resilient environments and landscapes is a thousand-page document which dictates how people can build or rebuild along the coasts certain areas will be subject to far stricter regulations resulting in higher cost to build affordable housing or any housing at all the rule proposal is based on speculative and uncertain science for a projected 5-ft sea level rise there are folks who have organized a very specific campaign of miss and disinformation to provide to place in your hands the things you just read to me that are incorrect and Senator if I were you I would be pissed at them for lying to you are you saying that they're essentially taking a chicken little approach to this and that the sky is falling and that they this is much to do about nothing that's exactly what I'm saying we already do this in inland communities that passed two years ago and it has not ended the economy in those communities and it won't in yours away from the shoreline Lzerette was also questioned about New Jersey's environmental justice law and whether or not it's illegal to allow the Pake Valley Sewage Commission to possibly build a fourth gas fueled power plant in Newark it is incredibly demoralizing to our zip codes our neighborhoods and our families understanding everything that we that we consume literally that we breathe that there would be a consideration of this power plant there is not the ability to deny it it doesn't provide the D with absolute authority we don't get to make others choices for them we don't get to make the choices of the Pic Valley Sewage Commission for it later also mentioned the need to clean PAIFA or what's known as forever chemicals out of the water supply something he estimates would cost a billion dollars for the entire state a pricey proposal for an already busy agency at the state house i'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting a private corporation funded by the American people [Music]