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Sarlo – Dep Can Protect Environment Without Hindering Business Growth

TRENTON – State Senator Paul A. Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Budget panel’s hearing regarding the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Fiscal Year 2008 budget:

“As I indicated at the Budget Committee hearing today, while I fully support the DEP’s efforts to protect New Jersey’s fragile environment, I am more impressed with DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson’s efforts to do so while cutting out unnecessary red tape which hinders business development in New Jersey.

“Commissioner Jackson has worked to cut down on redundant bureaucracy and overregulation which have hurt the business climate in the Garden State. She has worked to improve response time for permits needed to do business in New Jersey. And she has done so with fewer staff than in recent years at the DEP.

“While we’ve made a lot of progress in accomplishing our State’s environmental goals and improving the conditions on the business community, I would hope that Commissioner Jackson and her staff continue to push for more cooperation between business and environmental interests. Quality environmental protection and a healthy business climate do not have to be mutually exclusive concepts, and I think in Commissioner Jackson, we have an administrator who recognizes the practical effects of environmental protection, and is working to promote the best outcomes for all of New Jersey.”