New Jersey Administrative Code › Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE › Section - Executive Order No. 70 (2019)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
Governor Philip D. Murphy
Executive Order No. 70 (2019)
Declaration of a State of Emergency in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties
Issued: June 20, 2019.
Effective: June 20, 2019.
WHEREAS, beginning on June 19, 2019, the State of New Jersey was impacted by severe weather conditions, including heavy rains and flooding, particularly in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties; and
WHEREAS, in the early morning hours of June 20, 2019, major rain storms inundated the southern portion of the State with two to four inches of rain in only a few hours, overtopping several dams, rivers and creeks, closing major roadways due to flooding, and requiring the evacuation of numerous residents; and
WHEREAS, the National Weather Service issued Flood Warnings and Flash Flood Watches throughout New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, the storms have caused power outages, made roadways impassable, and produced widespread damage and flooding that have displaced residents in affected communities; and
WHEREAS, State, municipal and county governments have mobilized resources to assist homeowners forced from their homes, cleared roadways impacted by flooding, and, in some instances, conducted evacuations; and
WHEREAS, the National Weather Service predicts that approaching severe storms in the afternoon of June 20, 2019, may compound the already hard-hit areas in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties; and
WHEREAS, the potential for additional significant rainfall could impede current recovery efforts, produce hazardous travel conditions on roadways, generate more damaging flooding, and exhaust municipal and county resources deployed to alleviate the situation; and
WHEREAS, these severe weather conditions may make it difficult or impossible for citizens to obtain the necessities of life, as well as essential services such as police, fire, and first aid; and
WHEREAS, this situation constitutes an imminent hazard that threatens and presently endangers the health, safety, and resources of the residents of the State, specifically including Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties; and
WHEREAS, this situation may become too large in scope to be handled in its entirety by the normal county and municipal operating services, including in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties, and this situation may spread to other parts of the State; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution and statutes of the State of New Jersey, particularly the provisions of N.J.S.A. App.A:9-33 et seq., N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1, and N.J.S.A. 38A:2-4 and all amendments and supplements thereto, confer upon the Governor of the State of New Jersey certain emergency powers;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the State of New Jersey DO DECLARE and PROCLAIM that a State of Emergency exists in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties, effective immediately; and I hereby ORDER and DIRECT the following:
1. I authorize and empower the State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent of State Police, to implement the State Emergency Operations Plan and to direct the activation of county and municipal emergency operations plan as necessary, and to coordinate the recovery effort from this emergency with all governmental agencies, volunteer organizations, and the private sector.
2. I authorize and empower, in accordance with N.J.S.A. App.A:9-33, et seq., as supplemented and amended, the State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent of State Police, through the police agencies under his control, to determine and control the direction of the flow of vehicular traffic on any State or interstate highway, municipal or county road, and any access road, including the right to detour, reroute, or divert any or all traffic and to prevent ingress or egress from any area that, in the State Director's discretion, is deemed necessary for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and to remove parked or abandoned vehicles from such roadways as conditions warrant.
3. I authorize and empower the Attorney General, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-213, acting through the Superintendent of State Police, to determine and control the direction of the flow of vehicular traffic on any State or interstate highway, municipal or county road, and any access road, including the right to detour, reroute, or divert any or all traffic, to prevent ingress or egress, and to determine the type of vehicle or vehicles to be operated on such roadways. I further authorize all law enforcement officers to enforce any such order of the Attorney General or Superintendent of State Police within their respective municipalities.
4. I authorize and empower the State Director of Emergency Management to order the evacuation of all persons, except for those emergency and governmental personnel whose presence the State Director deems necessary, from any area where their continued presence would present a danger to their health, safety, or welfare because of the conditions created by this emergency.
5. I authorize and empower the State Director of Emergency Management to utilize all facilities owned, rented, operated, and maintained by the State of New Jersey to house and shelter persons who may need to be evacuated from a residence, dwelling, building, structure, or vehicle during the course of this emergency.
6. I authorize and empower the executive head of any agency or instrumentality of the State government with authority to promulgate rules to waive, suspend, or modify any existing rule, where the enforcement of which would be detrimental to the public welfare during this emergency, notwithstanding the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act or any law to the contrary for the duration of this Executive Order, subject to my prior approval and in consultation with the State Director of Emergency Management. Any such waiver, modification, or suspension shall be promulgated in accordance with N.J.S.A. App.A:9-45.
7. I authorize and empower the Adjutant General, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 38A:2-4 and N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1, to order to active duty such members of the New Jersey National Guard who, in the Adjutant General's judgment, are necessary to provide aid to those localities where there is a threat or danger to the public health, safety, and welfare and to authorize the employment of any supporting vehicles, equipment, communications, or supplies as may be necessary to support the members so ordered.
8. In accordance with N.J.S.A. App.A:9-34 and N.J.S.A. App.A:9-51, I reserve the right to utilize and employ all available resources of the State government and of each and every political subdivision of the State, whether of persons, properties, or instrumentalities, and to commandeer and utilize any personal services and any privately-owned property necessary to protect against this emergency.
9. In accordance with N.J.S.A. App.A:9-40, no municipality, county, or any other agency or political subdivision of this State shall enact or enforce any order, rule, regulation, ordinance, or resolution which will or might in any way conflict with any of the provisions of this Order, or which will in any way interfere with or impede the achievement of the purposes of this Order.
10. It shall be the duty of every person or entity in this State or doing business in this State and of the members of the governing body and every official, employee, or agent of every political subdivision in this State and of each member of all other governmental bodies, agencies, and authorities in this State of any nature whatsoever, to cooperate fully with the State Director of Emergency Management in all matters concerning this state of emergency.
11. In accordance with N.J.S.A. App.A:9-34, N.J.S.A. App.A:9-40.6, and N.J.S.A. 40A:14-156.4, no municipality or public or semipublic agency shall send public works, fire, police, emergency medical, or other personnel or equipment into any noncontiguous disaster-stricken municipality within this State, nor to any disaster-stricken municipality outside this State, unless and until such aid has been directed by the county emergency management coordinator or his or her deputies in consultation with the State Director of Emergency Management.
12. This Order shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect until such time as it is determined by me that an emergency no longer exists.