The pipeline

charts, curves and living with risk

By: dan kennedy, director of environmental & utility operations

The last “Pipeline” I penned focused on the important role infrastructure plays in minimizing public health and safety risks. Writing with the coronavirus pandemic as the backdrop, which persists today, I had the hope that by the time of this edition’s release, the construction industry would still be at work. Thankfully, that is largely where we find ourselves today. We at UTCA recognize the core reason for this condition: the hard work and adaptations from your companies, our labor partners, project owners, and their consultants. As an industry, you have rolled with the punches. It has been a struggle at every level, and UTCA has been with you thought it all. CEO Bob Briant, Jr and staff have been laser-focused on helping you stay at work. I, for one, stand humbled as a witness to the collective effort you have made to keep projects moving and your people employed in a safe work environment.

As a society, we have largely embraced the governmental directives to change our work and everyday lives. We were told that these steps were necessary to slow the impact of this terrible virus. We did this to keep our regional healthcare system from being overwhelmed and to ensure that our communities had the capacity to meet various challenges. That was the goal, to “flatten the curve,” and so far, we have met this challenge. We remain vigilant as non-essential aspects of society slowly reopen because we know that we must reopen and get back to some version of normal before the virus is eliminated or we somehow become better protected from the virus

As the economic realities of this shutdown became front and center, citizens and business owners have pushed government

leaders to reopen. This push and pull we have been experiencing is instructive. One can draw on these lessons to inform our approach to other non-pandemic policies of a global scale that will be back to the forefront of statewide policy discussions before we know it. More specially, climate change.

Energy Master Plan – Words Matter

We’ve gotten used to seeing the daily charting of infection cases on the news, but there is another chart that may pose longer-term risk to our state: climate change. Sea level rise, storm intensity and frequency, and other factors play into the design and durability of our infrastructure. Climate change is a variable that must be addressed, and the infrastructure construction industry should have a seat at the table where state policies are crafted.

It was climate change, not epidemiology, that was on the top of the priority policy list for candidate Phil Murphy. Governor Phil Murphy has made climate change a top priority and progress on that front only recently stalled due to this pandemic. We have every expectation that it will be a theme of his administration that is not forgotten when things settle back into some sense of normal. Given that priority and positioning, UTCA must be poised and ready to engage on this issue proactively to ensure that ensuing policies are both rational and achievable.

Climate scientists have told the world that we must limit emissions to stave off the worst effects of climate change. They recommend a global carbon budget with reductions coming from high emission sectors such as transportation. They say that the world has gone past the period where we can reduce our emissions casually. We are told that we need an annual reduction in emissions closer to seven or eight percent worldwide with a disproportionate share of this reduction coming from developed countries such as the United States. For context, this is on par with the

emission reduction we are with seeing with the coronavirus lockdown, which has only been possible because of the closure of large swathes of the economy – something certainly not replicable and that we hope never to see again.

The Governor has finalized a new Energy Master Plan (EMP) that thankfully accepts a “flatten the curve” mentality. The EMP goals, if met, translate to a lower, earlier emissions peak which will lower the impact on global temperature. How much of a dif

ference can NJ make? Well, that is a discussion for another day. For now, it seems that the EMP makes the case for acting now and making incremental progress. As they say, the devil will be in the detail.

This approach incensed many in the environmental and clean energy advocacy camps. They pushed for a more draconian EMP. They wanted the EMP to say in black and white that we will “kill the virus,” the virus to them being emissions and any activity that causes any. Their goal is zero emissions immediately.

UTCA has provided its members with updates regarding the EMP and is staying on top of the next steps with partners. UTCA understands the ambitious goals set by the Murphy administration and the legislature related to clean and renewable energy and sees opportunity and some risk in the direction set by the EMP. UTCA supports a diverse portfolio of energy resources and investments in associated infrastructure. The “kill the virus” mentality still exists in some camps, and the Governor will be pushed hard to use his authority to bend the EMP goals to this untenable alternative. We must and will stay diligent to avoid this mission creep.

Implementing the EMP – DEP Positioned to Lead Reforms

Alongside the release of the final EMP, a platform was released by an Executive and DEP Administrative Order to “modernize environmental laws” to address climate change. Branded “Protecting Against Climate Threats” (PACT), a yearlong stakeholder process lead by the DEP recently kicked off and will likely result in proposed changes to water, air quality, and land use regulations to “effectively respond to current climate threats and reduce future climate damages.” What could go wrong? A lot.

Implementation of the stated PACT goals seem manageable if the same “flatten the curve” mentality of the EMP is embraced. DEP will have to repel the push to take more control of land use and infrastructure decisions. Taken to the extreme, DEP could complete its takeover of home rule and overtop the primacy of other state agencies such as DOT. DEP will undoubtedly be pushed to use this process to hit the brakes on surface transportation projects and all non-renewable energy projects.

The following is a list of critical reforms that UTCA is engaged with as a stakeholder related to climate change and the PACT:

- Reforms to Guidelines for Environmental Impact Statement / Assessment for Public Projects (EO 215, 1989)

- Updates to the Coastal Resilience Plan (CRP) that address the issues specific to New Jersey's coastal zone

- New Regulations to Govern Reductions in Climate Change Pollutants (Air Quality)

- Sea Level Rise Technical Guidance

- Reforms to a suite of land use rules (CAFRA, Wetlands, Stormwater, etc)

- Grant Making – RGGI Funds

We are working with partners and through coalitions to ensure that construction (infrastructure and general development needs) is strongly considered in these new standards. This is where the EMP rubber meets the road. If the PACT is used to stop infrastructure development (the virus, to some), the impact could be seen for generations. Our antenna is up, and we are on watch for those pushing aggressive alternative goals for the sake of our economy and society. We cannot eliminate all risks of life, and if we try to do so, it will be at our long-term peril.