As Gov. Phil Murphy prepares to leave office on Tuesday, so is one of his most forward-facing and influential cabinet members: Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.  

LaTourette joined the department at the start of the Murphy administration in 2018 and took over as commissioner in 2021. He helped to steer New Jersey through intensifying climate threats, rolling out some of the nation’s toughest rules on flood zone development and drinking water protections and leading historic pollution crackdowns. He also fought high-profile battles over environmental justice issues and fossil fuel development.   

LaTourette joined NJ Spotlight News to discuss his DEP tenure, which he confirmed will end when Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill is sworn in next week.  

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Among LaTourette’s most visible priorities was New Jersey’s landmark environmental justice law, which requires that proposals for major sources of air pollution be subject to stricter evaluation and standards in designated overburdened communities. The law was long sought by advocates in places like Newark and Camden, where low-income communities of color reside alongside heavy industry. It was heavily opposed by business and industry groups.  

“Like any environmental law, it’s going to do greater and greater good over time,” LaTourette said. “The law only applies to highly polluting facilities, and we haven’t seen many of those seek to be sited in New Jersey recently. When such facilities do come before us, we are finding opportunities to reduce baseline levels of pollution in communities that are already overburdened.”  

LaTourette also oversaw the creation of land-use regulations amid rising seas and more frequent flooding. Those new rules have also been derided by business leaders and local officials.  

“Building things that will stand the test of time amidst a changing climate — whether that means elevating or flood-proofing — it is going to increase the value of assets in the long term,” LaTourette said.  

Many initiatives under LaTourette, including efforts to modernize the state’s drinking water infrastructure, now face uncertain futures amid harsh federal policy reversals and funding cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration. LaTourette pointed to New Jersey’s need for $30 billion in water infrastructure upgrades, and urged the Sherrill administration to pursue Murphy’s 2018 call for borrowing to pay for such work.  

“As we see federal retreats of funding, it is going to be incumbent upon this incoming administration to invest deeply in our water systems through a water infrastructure bond, in order to maintain the affordability of water for people all across New Jersey,” LaTourette said.

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