governors.jpg

Former New Jersey governors Brendan Byrne, Jim Florio and Christie Whitman.

(File photo)

-- A bipartisan group of former New Jersey governors and lawmakers on Tuesday expressed grave concerns about the state's

under President

's administration.

"These budget cuts in Washington are going to have a dramatic impact, which is not going to be a good one, in New Jersey," said former Gov. Jim Florio, a Democrat who wrote the federal Superfund law and other environmental bills while in Congress, of the steep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency proposed in Trump's budget.

Florio was joined by fellow Democratic Gov. Brendan Byrne and Republicans Christie Whitman, a former governor and administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Maureen Ogden, a former assemblywoman, calling on members of Congress to fight the cuts.

The four spoke during a conference calls with reporters organized by NJ Conservation Foundation, which released a letter Tuesday outlining "principles to protect our public lands, water, air and wildlife."

The Trump administration released budget plans last month that, if approved, would slash the EPA's budget by nearly a third, cutting 3,200 of its 15,000 jobs along with funding for climate change research and Superfund cleanups, among other programs.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. appeared outside an EPA lab in Edison on Monday to decry the cuts.

The letter released by the former governors calls on lawmakers to defend a host of existing environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, to support renewable energy policies, acknowledge and address threats posed by climate change and demand new laws and policies "be grounded in sound science."

It was also signed by former Republican Gov. Tom Kean and former Democratic Rep. Rush Holt.

In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, newly confirmed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the administration was looking to rein in "regulatory overreach" and put states back in charge of environmental cleanups and oversight.

Whitman, who ran the EPA under President George W. Bush, said she understood many of her Republican colleagues supported rolling back regulations on industry.

But she said the proposed cuts would harm New Jersey residents who live near any of the state's 115 Superfund sites, many of which are subject to long-term monitoring by EPA staff who may face layoffs.

"Without the personnel there to do enforcement, you're not going to have enforcement," she said.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.