EnviroPolitics Blog

Fedswill spend $2 billion to squeeze more electricity from the aging power grid

FILE – A worker prepares a plot of land for an AI data center, with a retired power plant being refurbished to provide electricity for the facility in the distance, March 24, 2026, in Independence, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

By Associated Press Editors, September 24,2026

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Energy Department announced on Thursday that it will spend almost $2 billion to try to squeeze more electricity out of the nation’s aging and stressed power grid, as President Donald Trump’s administration steps up efforts to avoid blackouts amid skyrocketing energy demand spurred by artificial intelligence.

The money will go toward 31 projects across 26 states that are expected to produce more than 23 gigawatts of additional electricity capacity — enough to power 16 million homes. The projects will use new technologies such as sensors and other devices to measure real-time weather conditions to ensure safe transmission or direct power away from congested or overloaded paths, the department said.

The upgrades could improve power reliability and lower electricity costs for about 100 million Americans, officials said.

“These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

Wright was set to promote the grant program Thursday at a PPL Corp. facility in Allentown. The utility says two data centers in its territory came online this year and six more are under construction.

The announcement comes amid warnings that AI’s voracious demand for power is threatening to overwhelm U.S. power supplies, as massive new data centers come online faster than new power plants can be built. It also comes as electricity bills rise faster than inflation in many parts of the U.S., blamed in some areas on demand from data centers.

The snowballing opposition to data centers in communities across the country has thrown a wrench into the plans of the world’s richest companies and transformed the midterm election landscape.

Trump continues to stick up for data centers, even as politicians from both major political parties criticize them and many communities try to block them. Trump, a Republican, said last month that U.S. communities that don’t have data centers will “end up being backwards and poor.”

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Here’s more on record NJ fine issued to Vineland data center

After a data center in Vineland received more than a $1 million fine, the head of New Jersey’s DEP said the facility is not out of the woods. For more, click the link in the image above

By Nyah Marshall | NJ.com

Environmental advocates want New Jersey’s largest artificial intelligence data center shut down after the state found developers illegally operated dozens of natural gas generators that release harmful air pollution.

Activists say the Vineland facility should be forced to halt operations until it gets the required air permits.

The state Department of Environmental Protection fined DataOne $1.07 million Tuesday for installing and operating 62 generators at its Cumberland County campus in violation of the state’s Air Pollution Control Act.

DataOne, the site’s developer, was ordered to apply for permits or stop using the generators. But the state did not order the facility to shut down.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration said the fine was the largest ever imposed on a data center in New Jersey.

Environmental advocates argue the penalty does not go far enough.

“We are glad that the NJ Department of Environmental Protection issued a record-breaking fine,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group. “However, DataOne must be required to cease operations and can only be allowed to resume if it has its proper and necessary permits.”

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NY landfill operators push back on state leachate proposal

Regulators want to set a 99.9% removal requirement for a wide range of contaminants, including PFAS. But operators say the proposal is unworkable as currently written.

Several truck trailers and pallets sit on a concrete lot. Behind them, the mound of a landfill rises, with two 18-wheelers driving on a road along its slope.

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive, Sept 14, 2026

The town of Brookhaven, New York, operates a landfill that accepts incinerator ash and other materials. One town official said that designing leachate treatment facilities that meet the proposed rule would be “very, very difficult.”

In public hearings and written comments, landfill operators are pushing back against the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposal to set a 99.9% limit on what commenters say would be more than 250 contaminants in landfill leachate.

The proposal comes amid criticism from environmental and public health groups who say leachate contains harmful compounds like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and dioxane that slip through water treatment processes unregulated.

Industry voices, including those from WM, Casella Waste Systems and the National Waste & Recycling Association, say additional controls could be implemented on leachate, but criticized the proposal as overly broad and expensive.

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“Save LBI’ Challenges Push to Revive NJ Offshore Wind Energy

By Gina G. Scala, SandPaper, Sept. 23, 2026

A local grassroots organization is clapping back against offshore wind after a Sept. 10 press briefing in Hammonton, where some of New Jersey’s federal lawmakers and project supporters renewed a call to expand the industry, despite concerns turbines could interfere with military radar.

“Considering the many negative impacts of these projects brought to light over the last few years, the intense shore community opposition to them and the widespread concern over keeping electricity and other basic needs affordable, the obsession with these offshore wind projects is hard to fathom,” said Bob Stern, president of Save LBI and a former manager of the Office of National Environmental Policy Act Affairs for the Department of Energy.

Save LBI’s latest pushback comes as House of Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th) and Donald Norcross (D-1st) joined labor leaders and environmental advocates in condemning the Trump administration’s decision to buy out offshore wind developers.

The event was held at Ironworkers Local 399, where New Jersey union members have spent years training for careers in the emerging offshore wind industry. Speakers said the administration’s decision to pay developers nearly $4 billion to cancel offshore wind leases nationwide will cost the state well-paying union jobs and deprive residents of clean, reliable and affordable electricity at a time when rising demand is already driving up utility bills.

“New Jerseyans are getting crushed by electric bills and paying through the nose at the pump because of Trump’s illegal war with Iran,” Pallone said. “Meanwhile, he is taking our tax dollars and paying big companies to walk away from projects that would have produced cleaner, more-affordable energy and created good union jobs. We’re literally paying billions to get less energy and fewer jobs. It’s completely backwards.”

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Scarinci attorney offers details on NJ recycled content law exemption

Food-contact packaging made from recycled plastic containers on a grocery store shelf

NJDEP’s extension of a key Recycled Content Law exemption provides short-term compliance relief while creating uncertainty across recycling markets.

By Daniel T. McKillop, Scarinci Hollenbeck

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) has extended a key exemption under New Jersey’s Recycled Content Law, delaying mandatory post-consumer recycled content (“PCR”) requirements for food-contact plastic packaging and containers until January 1, 2030.

The decision, announced just months before the exemption was scheduled to expire, has prompted significant concern among recyclers, recycled resin producers, and industry trade associations, while providing short-term compliance relief for many food and consumer products manufacturers.

Although the extension affects only food-contact packaging, it represents one of the most consequential recycling policy developments in the United States this year because New Jersey’s law has been widely viewed as a major demand driver for recycled plastics and a model for similar legislation in other states.

Background: New Jersey’s Recycled Content Law

In 2021, New Jersey enacted one of the nation’s most aggressive recycled-content mandates through the enactment of P.L. 2021, c.391, codified at N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.126 through 99.156. The law requires manufacturers of certain plastic, glass, paper, and other packaging products sold or offered for sale in New Jersey to incorporate minimum percentages of post-consumer recycled material. The statute was designed to stimulate end-market demand for recyclable materials, increase investment in domestic recycling infrastructure, and reduce reliance on virgin resin.
A key provision, N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.144(b), granted a temporary five-year exemption for rigid plastic containers and packaging used in food-contact applications. The Legislature recognized that food-contact materials present unique FDA compliance, product safety, and technical challenges and therefore provided industry with additional time to develop compliant supply chains and processing technologies. That exemption was scheduled to expire on January 18, 2027. Instead, NJDEP has now extended the exemption through December 31, 2029, citing concerns regarding available food-grade PCR supply, technological readiness, and potential impacts on food quality.

What the Food-Contact Packaging Extension Does and Does Not Do

Importantly, NJDEP did not repeal or suspend New Jersey’s recycled-content program. Rather, the agency postponed implementation of PCR requirements for food-contact rigid plastic containers and packaging while leaving the remainder of the law intact. As a result:

Food-contact rigid plastic containers and packaging remain exempt until January 1, 2030.
Non-food rigid plastic containers remain subject to the current 10% PCR requirement and are scheduled to increase to 20% PCR in 2027.
Plastic beverage containers and glass beverage containers filled with beverages remain subject to existing PCR requirements and are unaffected by the extension. They currently require 15% PCR and will increase to 20% in 2027.
The law’s long-term progression toward substantially higher recycled-content percentages remains unchanged.

NJDEP has also reserved the right to extend the exemption further, as the statute permits.

NJDEP’s Justification

According to NJDEP, the extension was necessary because currently available technologies for producing food-grade recycled resin are not yet operating at sufficient scale to support widespread mandatory adoption. The agency also concluded that available food-grade PCR supplies remain limited and that additional research and technological advancement are needed before broader implementation can occur. NJDEP further stated that it expects food-grade PCR availability and technology development to improve significantly by 2030. Notably, NJDEP has declined to publicly release the research underlying those conclusions, characterizing the supporting analyses as confidential and deliberative.
NJDEP also acknowledged that it did not solicit input from recyclers, suppliers, brand owners, or manufacturers before issuing the extension.

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Penn State: Recycled concrete aggregate may help treat acid mine drainage

three buckets holding water and rocks — *Industrial waste materials are put through a batch reactor test to determine their ability to treat acid mine drainage. Credit: Allison Fenske. All Rights Reserved*

September 16, 2026

Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment — *Industrial waste materials are put through a batch reactor test to determine their ability to treat acid mine drainage. Credit: Allison Fenske. All Rights Reserved*

September 16, 2026

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A study led by Penn State researchers suggests that recycled concrete aggregate and an iron-rich byproduct of steel production could help treat acid mine drainage, the toxic runoff that pollutes thousands of miles of streams in Pennsylvania and other coal-mining regions.

The research, published in Mine Water and the Environment, evaluated whether recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and an iron-rich material (IRM) could replace or supplement limestone, the standard material used in many systems that treat acid mine drainage. The findings, according to the researchers, suggest RCA could be a viable alternative in some locations, while IRM was less effective.

Acid mine drainage forms when mining exposes sulfur-containing rocks to air and water. The resulting chemical reaction creates sulfuric acid, which dissolves metals such as iron, aluminum, and manganese. When contaminated water enters streams, it lowers the water’s pH, deposits orange-colored iron, and harms aquatic life, vegetation, and drinking water supplies. This is typically treated by implementing a limestone treatment system, which neutralizes acidity and helps remove dissolved metals. Researchers, however, are exploring whether less expensive waste materials could serve a similar purpose, potentially turning materials that would otherwise be discarded into useful commodities for treating acid mine drainage.

More than 5,000 miles of streams in Pennsylvania are affected by acid mine drainage, underscoring the scale of the problem in a state with a long history of coal mining.

Allison Fenske, a Penn State alumna and assistant professor of environmental engineering at Juniata College, and Nathaniel Warner, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State, led the study. The researchers explored whether industrial waste materials already available in large quantities could provide a lower-cost option for treating polluted water.

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