Half of NJ Towns Pursuing Sustainable Jersey

Wyckoff is among the 50 percent of New Jersey municipalities pursuing Sustainable Jersey certification.

With the submittal of a resolution and registration, Paterson last week became the 283rd of the state's 566 municipalities to seek certification, which carries the prospect of grant funding.

"We reached a true milestone. New Jersey is showing other states how to effectively implement sustainability programs from the local level," said Fred Profeta, chair of the New Jersey League of Municipalities' Mayors' Committee for a Green Future, one of the Sustainable Jersey program partners. "I am truly inspired by the leadership of New Jersey's mayors and the dedication of the communities that are contributing to making New Jersey a national leader in sustainable change through the Sustainable Jersey program."

In order to register with Sustainable Jersey, a municipality must pass a resolution that states its intent to pursue the certification and designate an entity to take charge of the process. Wyckoff has recently passed its resolution and designated Environmental Commission Chairman Brian Bigler to lead the effort.

After registering, a town must achieve a set amount of points depending on the certification level.  Every community must also create a Green Team and select at least two (for bronze level) or three (for silver level) of the six priority actions:

• energy audits for municipal buildings;
• a municipal carbon footprint;
• a sustainable land use pledge;
• a natural resource inventory;
• a water conservation ordinance;
• a fleet inventory.

"To achieve 50 percent participation, in just 18 months (the program began in February 2009) in as diverse and politically dynamic a state as New Jersey is quite a feat in itself," said program partner Donna Drewes of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey. "We are taking a moment to celebrate, but know this is just the first step toward meeting our long-term goal for a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable state."

Registered towns get special priority access and notification of incentives and grants and are eligible for the Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program, which funds $220,000 worth of sustainable projects annually across New Jersey. The winners of the 2010 Small Grants Program are scheduled to be announced in August. 

"Sustainable Jersey provides local governments with a clear mission and a menu of sustainable actions to achieve," said program partner Randall Solomon of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey. 

In 2009, 34 towns met the requirements and achieved the Sustainable Jersey certification.   

Sustainable Jersey is a collaborative effort between the New Jersey State League of Municipalities' Mayors' Committee for a Green Future and the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Program sponsors include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, PSEG Foundation, New Jersey Natural Gas, Church and Dwight, Covanta Energy, Elizabethtown Gas, Nautilus Solar, the Smart Energy Group, United Water, Verizon and CDS-Xerox.

For more info, visit www.sustainablejersey.com.