The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff of approximately 2,850. The department was created on April 22, 1970, America's first official

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

, making it the third state in the country to combine its environmental activities into a single, unified agency, with about 1,400 employees in five divisions, charged with responsibility for environmental protection and conservation efforts. Governor

William T. Cahill William Thomas Cahill (June 25, 1912July 1, 1996) was an American politician, lawyer, and academic who served as the 46th governor of New Jersey from 1970 to 1974. A Republican, Cahill previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, repr ...

appointed Richard J. Sullivan as the first commissioner. In December 2017, Catherine McCabe was nominated by New Jersey governor-elect Phil Murphy to serve as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Shawn M. LaTourette succeeded her in January 2021. Other former Commissioners have included Lisa P. Jackson and Bradley M. Campbell.

Divisions

The major goal of the air quality division is to ensure the cleanliness of the air quality by enforcing air-pollutant standards imposed by the federal

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...

. Water monitoring and standards has the primary responsibilities of closely monitoring the state's fresh,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

, and

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

s, developing surface and ground water quality standards, and characterizing and assessing water quality. The gathered information, data, reports and analysis are used to inform organizations and the public to make better decisions on behalf of water usage. The land and open space division provides rules and includes information concerning

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

, coastal, and stream/floodplain encroachment programs. The site remediation program requires all remediations in the state to proceed under the supervision of a licensed site remediation professional that they may follow the nine requirements set forth at N.J.S.A. 58:10B-1.3b. The goal of this program is to speed up and increase the pace of remediation, thus helping to decrease the threat of future contamination. A solid and hazardous waste management program is responsible for conducting educational and public relations campaigns on behalf of recycling, although its activities have been reduced since funding cuts in the mid-1990s. The Division of Parks and Forestry protects state and private lands from

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

, manages the forests, educates the public, grows trees to maintain and restore forests in rural and urban areas, and preserves the diversity of the trees within the forests. The Division of Fish and Wildlife works towards protecting and managing the state's fish and

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

resources.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial NJ DEP DFW Hunting RegulationsOfficial NJ DEP DFW Freshwater Fishing RegulationsOfficial NJ DEP DFW Marine Regulations
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey Department Of Environmental Protection

Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

State environmental protection agencies of the United States Environment of New Jersey 1970 establishments in New Jersey

Divisions

See also

References

External links