A Call to Veto A4967/S3187

Dear Governor Murphy:

I urge you to, if necessary, veto A4967/S3187, which seeks to delay the implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) policy. This delay would allow polluting industries to continue damaging air, water, and overburdened communities. It may come up for a vote this week.

Water is sacred—it sustains life and connects us all. Yet the water used in fossil fuel extraction and refining contributes to pollution that permanently harms both our health and ecosystems. Communities like the Ironbound in Newark already suffer from the disproportionate, cumulative impacts of air and water co-pollutants, including asthma and cancer. I have personally experienced the toxic fumes while counting trucks as part of a grant-funded effort. The data collected should advance, not delay, cleaner standards for polluting industries.

Should we allow these industries to further delay the shift to cleaner trucks, knowing it continues to poison our environment and jeopardize both dwindling fresh water supplies and the health of our people?

We have a responsibility to protect workers who all remain caught between manufacturers’ claims that they cannot meet clean truck standards. These misleading claims are part of a well-coordinated delay strategy, but the same industry is advancing and adapting well in Europe, enhancing the affordability of zero emission trucks. Where there is a will, there is a way.

New Jersey has already shown leadership by passing the environmental justice cumulative impacts law and by taking legal action against oil and gas companies for misleading the public for decades. We must continue this momentum toward environmental justice.

We do not pledge allegiance to polluting industries. Let us pledge instead to protect our water, air, and ensure a just, stable future for our children. Thank you for opposing A4967/S3187; please veto it and ensure the ACT policy moves forward, along with other critical steps toward a cleaner, healthier, and sustainable future.

With Gratitude,

Rachel Dawn Davis, on behalf of Waterspirit, Sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace