Gov. Phil Murphy's administration made some key moves this week to lower the carbon footprint of New Jersey by announcing steps to return to a multi-state greenhouse gas pact, developing a key funding mechanism for offshore wind and joining an effort to reduce transportation emissions.

But Murphy has remained steadfastly poker-faced when it comes to a proposal to build a controversial power plant in the Meadowlands that would be one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the state even as dozens of nearby towns voice opposition.

Murphy's Department of Environmental Protection has the power to approve or deny key air permits that will determine if the North Bergen Liberty Generating plant will be built to provide electricity exclusively to New York.

The power plant seems contrary to the cornerstone of Murphy's environmental agenda: lowering the carbon footprint of New Jersey so by 2050, all electricity is produced by renewable sources like solar and wind.

But the Murphy administration already issued some preliminary permits for the project, drawing criticism from environmentalists. And when asked about the plant at a recent meeting with the NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network New Jersey editorial board, Murphy said the proposal would be decided on its merits.

"We have committed in all of these one-off projects to take them one at a time — call balls and strikes," he said. "It’s in some level of review at DEP, which is typical."

"We need, which we are working on ... an energy master plan," he said. "I know I want to get to 100 percent clean energy by the middle of the century. I would like to have that road map that gets me there as opposed to having these one-offs that we have all the time."

While opposition grows, two powerful forces back the plant.

Labor unions say the plant will provide thousands of construction jobs. Unions were the backbone of Murphy's support last year in his run to the governorship.

The project is also being pushed heavily by North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, who says it will provide his town millions in revenue. Sacco is also a Democratic state Senator in a legislative chamber that Murphy has sparred with over the 11 months of his governorship. Murphy needs support in the Senate for his top legislative items like a new minimum wage and legalized recreational marijuana.

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Officials in three dozen Bergen County towns are not as reserved.

At least 36 towns have voiced opposition, including almost two dozen last week at a meeting of the Bergen County League of Municipalities.

"The case against this project is compelling," said Paul Tomasko, president of the Bergen County League of Municipalities and mayor of Alpine. "The benefits accrue to New York State and Manhattan, and little if any benefit goes to us in Bergen County. One town benefits from this and labor, which could instead benefit from renewable construction projects."

Proposed by the Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Generating Corp., the plant would be one of the largest electricity generators in the state, at 1,200 megawatts. None of that power would go to New Jersey, however. It would be transported via a 6.5-mile underground cable to Con Edison's plant on Manhattan's West Side, where it could power as many as 1.2 million households.

Brian Hague, a spokesman for Liberty Generating, said the new power plant will produce less air pollution than older power plants currently in operation.

“If the towns really want to combat climate change and protect the environment, they would be better served supporting our new, efficient, state-of-the-art facility and opposing the older, inefficient existing power plants in our region that currently emit millions of metric tons of greenhouse gases," he said. "We have discussed this at great length, but, unfortunately the truth doesn't win you political points.”

But representatives for the plant said it would produce 2.5 million to 2.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year - similar to what is emitted from the PSE&G's gas-fired Bergen Generated plant next door in Ridgefield.

The resolution will be sent to all 70 Bergen County towns, state legislators and Murphy.

Phil Swibinski, a spokesman for North Bergen, said no Hudson County town or county government has opposed the plant.

Among the towns who recently passed their own resolution against the project is Teaneck.

The township council also instructed its attorney last week to look into strengthening the resolution for the council to vote to amend at a later meeting.

“It’s a no-brainer to oppose this, but more importantly for the towns that are nearby that are going to suffer the consequences, are there any legal ramifications to stop it?” Deputy Mayor Mark Schwartz said at a council meeting last week. “We could sit here and pass meaningless resolutions all day long that the governor doesn’t have to look at … What are our options because this looks like a train wreck.”

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin suggested adding "some teeth" to the resolution.

“If we want to stop this, we’re going to have to put our arms together and figure out where can we use our political muscle," he said.

Ken Dolsky, a volunteer with Environment New Jersey, told the council that joining the other towns that already have approved the measure was an important step in pushing Murphy to oppose the plant.

“I think there’s a lot of political power in resolutions,” Dolsky said. “If most of the towns in Bergen County say no, he’s going to have to pay attention.”

Mayors vote against power plant

In addition to Teaneck, the towns whose mayors voted last week to oppose the power plant are:

Alpine

Closter

Tenafly

Old Tappan

Oradell

Hillsdale

Oakland

Westwood

Harrington Park

Palisades Park

Demarest

Upper Saddle River

Montvale

Bergenfield

Midland Park

Rockleigh

Elmwood Park

Ho-Ho-Kus

Ridgefield

Garfield

New Milford

Email: fallon@northjersey.com, burrow@northjersey.com