There are 21 municipalities in New Jersey with a combined sewer system (CSS), where stormwater runoff, human waste and industrial wastewater run through the same pipe. The system overflows when the lines exceed capacity during heavy rainfalls or snowmelts—discharging untreated wastewater directly into rivers and even backing up into streets, flooding people's homes—although, in many cities, such as Paterson, it doesn't take much rain to overwhelm the system.

When Hurricane Ida pummeled New Jersey in Sept. 2021, bringing tornadoes and flash floods from south to north, the Ivy Hill neighborhood along Seton Hall University and Ivy Hill Park in Newark, a majority Black neighborhood, saw its streets turn into rivers. Floodwaters reached three to five feet high, sweeping away cars and spilling into homes. Residents incurred tens of thousands of dollars in damages. Although they say Seton Hall isn’t responsible for all of the water, the flooding problem has been made worse from decades of construction and has remained unresolved since 2001, when residents first brought the issue to the attention of the university after Hurricane Allison.

For low-income and marginalized communities in New Jersey's major cities, archaic sewer overflow systems pose serious environmental damage and health risks to residents who have historically experienced deep socio-economic inequalities and environmental racism. But with hurricane season just around the corner and the threat of raw sewage spilling into their streets, weary Newark residents are finally seeing the beginning of environmental justice in stormwater management as community organizers push their city to build baseline green infrastructure projects.

Protestors have long been telling Gov. Phil Murphy that they want no more power plants in their neighborhoods. But recently, in a News 12 interview, the governor endorsed one of seven new proposed fossil fuel projects. Concerned activists, organizers and Environmental Justice activists say the governor isn’t keeping his promise to transition New Jersey to 100 percent clean energy by 2050, as outlined in his clean energy vision, and launched a historic five-day “Walk your Talk on Climate,” calling on Murphy to halt all fossil fuel expansion proposals in the state.

On Aug. 16, a sparse group of organizers, citizens, and environmental justice activists gathered at the Down Bottom Farms to prepare for the launch of a historic five-day, 50-mile “Walk Your Talk on Climate” march. Organized by EmpowerNJ, a coalition consisting of local organizations such as Clean Water Action, Green Party NJ, etc., they urged Governor Murphy to keep to his clean energy vision and halt all fossil fuel expansion proposals. 

At a virtual public hearing in April, several Newark residents and New Jersey activists opposed the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission’s (PVSC) air permit modification application, which would allow PVSC to operate a standby power generation facility. Although part of a resiliency project initiated after Hurricane Sandy, the gas-powered facility would be the fourth power plant in or near the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, a community already suffering from high levels of air pollution from numerous pollution sources.

Anthony Diaz is the co-founder of Newark Water Coalition (NWC), an organization established in 2018 to ensure access to clean water for Newark residents. Though the group focuses on climate justice—police brutality, housing and other social justice issues are part of their fight for “the oppressed".

Hundreds of community members took to the streets on Nov. 10 to demand their basic human right to a clean environment. Residents joined with The Ironbound Community Corp. (ICC) and environmental advocacy groups, including the Food & Water Watch NJ and Newark Environmental Commission to march for the termination of two proposed projects. If not stopped, advocates say plans for the Standby Power Generation Facility (SPGF) and the Aries Newark Biochar Production Facility would increase fossil fuel emissions and worsen air pollution in the Ironbound.