What’s Left is a new regular column by Jeff Tittel on power, politics, the environment, and the public interest.

The environment has not received the attention it deserves, and it must be a top priority for the incoming Sherrill administration. Whatever happens nationally on environmental policy will hit New Jersey first. We sit on the front lines of climate catastrophe, flooding, toxic chemicals, overdevelopment, and threats to clean air and clean water. But we also face a bigger danger: the Trump war on the environment.

During his presidency, Donald Trump rolled back more than 150 environmental rules and slashed the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 55%. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection depends on the Environmental Protection Agency for roughly 25% of its funding. Those cuts could be devastating—especially for toxic site cleanups, beach protection, and oversight of our waterways.

Just as urgent is the need to fix the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection itself. After eight years of Governor Chris Christie’s rollbacks and serious missed opportunities during the administration of Governor Phil Murphy, the department is weaker than it has been in decades. As a member of the United States House of Representatives, Mikie Sherrill had a strong environmental record, and we are hopeful her administration will step forward with a real plan, backed by real resources, to move New Jersey’s environment forward.

Today, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has fewer staff than it did under Christie—about 400 fewer—and a budget that has dropped by 15%. The backlog of park repairs has grown from $400 million to $720 million, and investment in urban parks has lagged. The Murphy administration eliminated the Division of Enforcement, and the state’s Environmental Justice law has more holes than a screen door. The department needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Governor Murphy appointed a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner who previously worked as a lawyer and lobbyist for corporate polluters—and kept many Christie-era rollbacks in place. Many Christie appointees remain on the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council and on the Pinelands Commission. There is a lot to fix, beginning with appointing a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner with government experience and management skills. The next commissioner must understand that the department is not a business; it must be restored, not run like a corporation.

If we want the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to be more effective and efficient, the answer is not to “cut red tape,” which is often code for weakening protections. The answer is resources: enough staff to do the job, modern equipment, and a reformed management structure. The department must break down internal silos and take a holistic approach to natural resources, biodiversity, ecosystems, and permitting. Permits can move faster if applicants are required to lessen impacts, provide mitigation, and deliver real public benefit.

We must restore the independent Division of Enforcement and the independent Division of Science and Research. We also need to streamline upper management and eliminate unnecessary supervisory layers.

One worrying sign is that the Sherrill transition team appears to be the first in recent memory without a dedicated Environmental or New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection transition committee. There is, however, an interdisciplinary task force that is supposed to gather information and help shape policy. It includes several environmentalists, and we will see how well it functions. But I remain concerned that the environment is not as high on the incoming administration’s agenda as it must be. Part of the blame lies with the “Zoom-chair warriors” of big environmental organizations, who failed to make environmental issues central during the campaign and did not extract meaningful commitments during endorsements. In 2001, I was able to secure candidate James McGreevey’s support for Clean Cars standards, the Highlands Act, and Category 1 stream protections—major commitments that shaped his agenda. That is not happening this time.

You cannot have affordability without environmental protection. The environment doesn’t care about politics—hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, chemical spills, refinery explosions, toxic water, and overdevelopment will force action whether officials like it or not. New Jersey is among the top states for Federal Emergency Management Agency payouts and property damage from flooding. We rank second nationally for building in flood-prone areas and have some of the worst air quality in the country. Only one of our stream systems meets the Clean Water Act’s highest standards. We are among the top states for temperature rise and third for sea-level rise. These are issues the Sherrill administration must address head on.

We need a coastal commission or coordinated planning system to address chronic flooding and climate adaptation, updated flood and coastal rules, and real decisions on where to retreat, where to elevate, and where to harden infrastructure. We must end logging on public lands and stop attempts to privatize them. We need to reform the Division of Fish and Wildlife to focus on habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity—not special interests. And we must finally release hundreds of millions of dollars in open space funds to buy farmland and environmentally sensitive lands before they are lost forever.

New Jersey also needs an aggressive legal strategy to fight federal rollbacks. The state can pass laws to restore environmental programs and standards, and form compacts with other environmentally proactive states to blunt the impact of Trump-era deregulation. We should consider legislation modeled on Oregon’s response: adopting Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act federal standards as of January 19, 2017, into state law to ensure baseline protections remain even if federal standards are weakened.

We must adopt real climate rules, regulate greenhouse gases, and update standards to reduce climate impacts. New Jersey also needs to reform toxic cleanup laws, restore New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection oversight of the Licensed Site Remediation Professional program, and require all water treatment plants to remove carcinogens like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—a policy first proposed in 2007. Solid and hazardous waste rules must be updated to reduce pollution and improve recycling. Highlands and Pinelands rules must be strengthened to protect ecosystems and address climate pressures. We need commissioners who support these missions and agencies that are funded adequately to carry them out.

Polluters must pay for pollution and climate impacts. Environmental Justice rules must be strengthened so they actually reduce pollution in overburdened communities. New Jersey must limit the overdevelopment of its last remaining forests and farmland with strategies that protect ecosystems and watersheds and enforce a real state plan. We need clear rules to regulate warehouse and data center development.

Donald Trump’s environmental policies represent an existential threat to New Jersey, one of the most climate-vulnerable states in the nation. We must stand up to federal rollbacks and modernize and fund our own environmental governance at the same time.

Affordability means clean air, clean water, open space, and the cleanup of toxic sites. It means protecting the natural systems that support our economy—especially tourism, food processing, and the pharmaceutical and petrochemical sectors. And it means safeguarding public health and quality of life.

The environment must be a top priority for the Sherrill administration. There is no time to waste.

Jeff Tittel is an environmental activist and the former director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.