Dear Gov. Murphy, (Dec 4, 2019)

My husband Steve and I, founders of Middletown for Clean Energy, have been working with Middletown for almost 3 years to get a commitment of 100% clean energy by 2050 in our town. Our organization's mission is to leave a livable world for our children and grandchildren. We are also members of Sierra Club (and have been calling your office weekly for Moratorium Mondays) and are Climate Reality Leaders, who have met with your wife Tammy to describe our work.

 

We have always thought of the fracked gas moratorium as applying to new large construction projects, such as power plants and pipelines. But recently we learned of an insidious effort by NJ Natural Gas to capture new customer demand for fracked gas now, before any new regulations require its reduction. Here in Middletown, there is a 950-home condominium community Shadow Lake Village, built in the 60s as all-electric, with no gas hookup. Much of the heating and building efficiency is outdated and inefficient, and many residents complain about their high electric bills. NJNG has recently started to lobby the SLV board to provide gas hookups and allow residents to convert to gas, promising them up to 70% savings. This is likely to be pushed through, regardless of the fact that 340 residents signed letters opposing it and demanding clean energy. According to their website https://natgassaves.com/calculator, NJNG has pursued at least 14 similar projects in other towns: Eatontown, Freehold Twp, Howell, Manalapan, Marlboro, Tinton Falls, and Wall.

 

This is just one more reason, close to home, that we need an immediate moratorium on new fracked gas construction, before so much of it gets built that we have no hope of getting emissions down.sufficiently to save the world.

Sincerely, Pat Miller