Gov. Murphy Declares State of Emergency

Published on March 21, 2018

(JPG, 17KB)Please be advised, Governor Murphy has declared a State of Emergency. Please see the attached order.

This Order shall take effect at 7:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on March 20, 2018, and shall remain in effect until such time as it is determined by the Governor that an emergency no longer exists.

Full Text of EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 17
WHEREAS, the State of New Jersey is expected to experience a major
winter storm causing severe weather conditions, including heavy and wet
snow, sleet, rain, and high winds; and

WHERAS, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm
Warning for the entire State of New Jersey, a Coastal Flood Warning for
the coastal regions of Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, and
Ocean Counties, and a Coastal Flood Advisory for the coastal regions
of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Salem, and Union Counties; and

WHEREAS, this major winter storm is expected to produce heavy snow
accumulations, with rates as high as two to three inches per hour, and
strong winds with gusts as high as 45 miles per hour; and

WHEREAS, this major winter storm is expected to produce hazardous
travel conditions due to heavy snowfall and significant reductions in
visibility; and

WHEREAS, this major winter storm may cause downed power lines and
trees, resulting in power outages, and is expected to impede impede the normal
operation of public and private entities; 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, residents in areas that are expected to be impacted by
this major winter storm are still recovering from the effects of a
recent winter storm which produced a state of emergency lasting from
March 6th until March 13th and brought severe weather conditions
including snow, rain, high winds, tidal and coastal flooding, river
flooding, and downed trees and power lines; and

WHEREAS, the impending major winter storm is expected to compound the effects of the storm that began on March 6th; and

WHEREAS, this impending major winter storm constitutes an imminent
hazard that threatens and presently endangers the health, safety, and
resources of the residents of the State; and

WHEREAS, this situation may become too large in scope to be handled
in its entirety by the normal county and municipal operating services
in some parts of this State, 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 throughout the State of New Jersey, effective at
7:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on March 20, 2018; 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:933,
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 vehicles 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 non-contiguous 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 deputies
in consultation with the State Director of Emergency Management.

12. This Order shall take effect at 7:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight
Time, on March 20, 2018, and shall remain in effect until such time as
it is determined by me that an emergency no longer exists.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this
20th day of March,
Two Thousand and Eighteen, and
of the Independence of the
United States, the Two Hundred
and Forty-Second.
/s/ Philip D. Murphy
Governor
Attest:
/s/ Matthew J. Platkin
Chief C