State
of New Jersey
Executive
Order #28
Acting
Governor Richard J. Codey
WHEREAS, beginning on April 2, 2005, severe weather conditions, including heavy rains, high winds, main stream and river flooding, and progressing runoff now threatens homes and other structures and the flow of traffic throughout the State; and
WHEREAS, the aforesaid weather conditions 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, the aforesaid weather conditions constitute a disaster from a natural cause which threatens and presently endangers the health, safety and resources of the residents of one or more municipalities and counties of this State; and which is in some parts of this State and may become in other parts of the State too large in scope to be handled by the normal county and municipal operating services; 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, RICHARD J. CODEY, Acting 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 presently exists throughout the State of New Jersey; and I hereby ORDER AND DIRECT the following:
- Authorize and empower the State Director of Emergency Management to implement
the State Emergency Operations Plan and to direct the activation of county
and municipal emergency operation plans as necessary.
- Authorize and empower
the State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent
of State Police, in accordance with N.J.S.A. A:9-33 et seq. as supplemented
and amended, through the police agencies under his control, to determine
the control and direction of the flow of such vehicular traffic on
any State Highway, municipal or county 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.
- Authorize and empower the Attorney General, pursuant to the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 39:4-213, acting through the Superintendent of the Division
of State Police, to determine the control and direction of the flow
of vehicular traffic on any State or Interstate highway, and its access
roads, including the right to detour, reroute or divert any or all traffic,
and to prevent ingress or egress from any area to which the declaration
of emergency applies. I further authorize all law enforcement officers
to enforce any such orders of the Attorney General and the Superintendent
of State Police, within their respective municipalities.
- 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.
- 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.
- Authorize and empower the executive head of any agency or
instrumentality of the State government with authority to promulgate
rules to, for the duration of this Executive Order, subject to my prior
approval and in consultation with the State Director of Emergency Management,
waive, suspend or modify any existing rule, 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. Any such waiver, modification or suspension shall be promulgated
in accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-45.
- 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
that, 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.
- In accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34
and N.J.S.A. App. A:9-51, as supplemented and amended, 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.
- 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 or the orders of the State Director of
Emergency Management.
- It shall be the duty of the members of the governing
body and each and every officer, agent and employee of every political
subdivision of this State and of each member of all other governmental
bodies, agencies and authorities of any nature whatsoever fully co-operate
with the State Director of Emergency Management in all matters during
this emergency.
- Authorize and empower the State Director of Emergency Management,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. App.A:9-37 and N.J.S.A. App. A:9-48 and in accordance
with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-36, to require any public official, citizen
or resident of this State or any firm, partnership, or corporation, incorporated
or doing business in this State, to furnish any information deemed reasonably
necessary by the Director to carry out the purposes of this Order.
- The
cooperation of every person or entity in this State or doing business
in this State in all matters concerning this state of emergency is requested.
- In
accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34, N.J.S.A. App. A:9-40.6 and 40A:14-156.4,
I direct that no municipality or public or semipublic agency 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.
- This Order shall take effect as of 9:15 a.m. on April 3, 2005
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
3rd day
of April in the Year of Our Lord,
Two Thousand
and Five, and of the Independence of the United
States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Ninth.
/s/ Richard J. Codey
Acting Governor
[seal]
Attest:
/s/ Mark J. Fleming
Deputy Chief Counsel to the Governor
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