N.J. Pinelands Commission approves Atlantic white cedar restoration project, despite objections

The vote gives the go-ahead for the New Jersey Forest Service to broaden cedar cover over 171 acres in Wharton State Forest.

A grove of Atlantic white cedar within Wharton State Forest in New Jersey's Pinelands. — A grove of Atlantic white cedar within Wharton State Forest in New Jersey’s Pinelands.Frank Kummer

By Frank Kummer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Published Oct. 9, 2026

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission voted Friday, with one dissent, to approve an Atlantic white cedar restoration project that has drawn objections from some environmentalists.

The vote by the 15-member commission allows the New Jersey Forest Service to broaden cedar cover over 171 acres in Wharton State Forest.

It’s the first phase of an ambitious $19 million state plan to restore 10,000 acres statewide. The state holds the East Coast’s last major concentrations of the tree. It’s historical 115,000 acres have dwindled to 25,000.

But the process has been bumpy as some environmentalists have railed against cutting existing cedars and the potential use of herbicides.

Mark Lohbauer, a commissioner from Pennsauken, was the lone voice of dissent Friday. He said he did not believe there had been enough public input or discussion of the project.

A major sticking point for Lohbauer, and some representatives of area environmental nonprofits, is the location chosen for the project off Sandy Causeway in Waterford Township, Camden County.

They say the tract already has existing, healthy, mature cedars they fear will be cut down as part of the process.

“I’m just not comfortable approving a blanket project,” Lohbauer said before casting his no vote. “The plan as it is includes acreage of what I consider to be cathedrals of Atlantic white cedar … as far as the eye could see.”

He also questioned the potential use of herbicides.

Lohbauer spoke after a lengthy presentation by Bill Zipse, supervising forester, and Todd Wyckoff, the state forester.

Zipse said the area was chosen because it has healthy cedars that can provide a natural seed bank for regeneration. The plan calls for both cedars and competing hardwoods to be removed to create zones where new cedar can thrive.

He also said that if herbicide is used, it could be limited to one application. Herbicides are often the only way to control rapidly growing competing vegetation such as phragmites, a reedy grass, the foresters said.

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Flags ordered lowered to honor New Jersey Senator Cunningham

e>Governor>Scutari orders flags lowered to honor Sen. Cunningham

Scutari orders flags lowered to honor Sen. Cunningham

Acting governor served alongside former Senate leader for 16 years; flags will fly at half-staff Tuesday

By David Wildstein, New Jersey Globe, October 09 2026

Acting Gov. Nicholas Scutari ordered New Jersey and U.S. flags to fly at half-staff on Tuesday, October 13, to honor former Senate President Pro Tempore Sandra Bolden Cunningham, who died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. She was 76.

Scutari, who served alongside Cunningham in the State Senate for sixteen years, signed the executive order Friday while serving as acting governor during Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s absence from New Jersey. Sherrill is expected to return to the state tonight.

Cunningham, a Jersey City Democrat, served in the Senate from 2007 until her retirement in 2024.

During her legislative career, Cunningham held several leadership positions, including majority whip, deputy majority leader, and Senate president pro tempore. She also chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee.

A champion of criminal justice reform, Cunningham helped enact New Jersey’s ban-the-box law, expanded expungement opportunities, and fought to restore voting rights to people on parole and probation.

She also advocated for affordable higher education and helped provide scholarships to students through the Sandra and Glenn Cunningham Foundation.

Scutari’s executive order directs flags at all state government buildings and agencies to be lowered in recognition of Cunningham’s public service and contributions to New Jersey.

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74-year-old retiree helps track down abandonned Pa gas wells

By Kate Huangpu / Spotlight PA / Oct. 7, 2026

BRADFORD — Driving into Bradford, Barbara Laxon tells people to look out for the flare coming from the oil refinery running along the town.

At 74, Laxon spends much of her free time taking people on tours to show the traces of the oil and gas industry in her town — from an oil jack located in the parking lot of a McDonald’s to hidden wellbores near a local elementary school.

After exploring town, Laxon leads people into Allegheny National Forest to find abandoned oil wells. Parking on the side of the highway, she guides visitors carefully through swampy woods, warning them to watch their step.

“We would take the little side roads and just walk up the roads and see if we could see anything,” Laxon said. “You could see the slimy, shiny, brownish stuff trailing down the side of the hill.”

Pennsylvania has thousands of these wells. The full number is unknown, but estimates range from around 20,000 to as high as 750,000. They can emit methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, and leak toxic substances that pollute their surroundings.

According to state law, operators of wells are responsible for plugging them. When an owner can’t be identified, or when the well is older than the 1984 state law that regulates oil and gas drilling, the Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for the plugging.

But in practice, companies often skip out on their responsibilities, leaving the state responsible for a steadily increasing bill. A 2022 state report found a “culture of non-compliance” in the industry, particularly with regard to “improper abandonment of oil and gas wells.

Enviro groups split over bipartisan clean-energy deal

Environmental trade-offs

By Leslie Kaufman and Zahra Hirji

When Senate negotiators unveiled a sweeping permitting reform deal last week, clean-energy advocates welcomed provisions intended to speed construction of renewable energy and long-distance power lines.

Now, however, many environmental groups are pushing back over what could be sacrificed to get those projects built — and questioning whether the bipartisan deal would deliver enough clean energy in return.

The debate is still in early stages. A Senate vote isn’t expected until after the midterm elections, when the political landscape could look very different, and the 417-page bill could change substantially along the way. But the initial reactions are beginning to reveal some of the biggest fault lines.

Environmental groups have raised concerns that fall broadly into three areas: changes to the Endangered Species Act, rollbacks to Clean Water Act protections and, more fundamentally, whether longstanding safeguards for nature would be lost without securing enough renewable energy in return.

Tidal wetlands near Newark, California. Photographer: Sam Hall/Bloomberg

The Sierra Club cautioned that the deal could also end up boosting fossil-fuel projects more than renewables. “There is no task more urgent than building clean energy and transmission,” the nonprofit’s Chief Program Officer Holly Bender said in a statement. But the legislation “cannot guarantee that more wind and solar projects will actually get built” while the Trump administration continues to block projects, she warned, and other provisions would provide immediate benefits to oil and gas companies.

On Tuesday, more than 200 organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, sent a letter to Senate Democratic leaders opposing provisions they say would weaken the Endangered Species Act, one of the country’s foundational conservation laws. Among other changes, the draft bill would alter the “best available science” standard agencies use when deciding whether to list species as endangered and whether federal actions could affect them once listed. It would also allow states to take over some consultations currently handled by federal wildlife agencies.

AI developers, unable to woo Pa opponents on merits, try bribery

By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Every household in Hazle Township would get $10,000. That’s free money. No strings attached. All residents would have to do is give a thumbs up to a hyperscale data center in their backyard.

In this former Pennsylvania coal community where 17% are living under the poverty level, that money could go a long way and arrive in short order as soon as the first building of the data center receives a certificate of occupancy.

But something extraordinary happened. Hazle Township residents started saying “no.” Lots of them.

“Get it out of here. That’s all I have to say. We don’t want it,” said Hazle Township resident Bob Kusiak.

There seemed a devious overtone to the offer, fellow Hazle Township resident Brian Malloy said, adding “it’s like bribery.”

The tech industry sees data centers as an inevitable consequence of the information age. And they’ve gone to extraordinary lengths nationwide to secure new sites, from backroom deals to NDAs, from paying premium prices for land to running dark money campaigns, all the way to forcing their way into reluctant areas with lawsuits. But in northeast Pennsylvania they’ve tried more carrot than stick.

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Pennsylvania House Sends Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Battery Storage to the Senate

H.B. 2380 would require electric utilities to set targets and procure grid-stabilizing battery storage as part of their resource planning

HARRISBURG, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation that would require electric utilities to set targets for and procure 3.5 GWs of battery storage.

“The nor’easter in September was a good reminder that you prepare for a storm before it hits, not after. The same goes for the electric grid. Battery storage gives Pennsylvania a way to put energy in reserve when it’s plentiful, so it’s ready when demand spikes. That flexibility can help keep the grid reliable, make better use of the infrastructure we already have and keep costs down for consumers,” said Chris D’Agostino, Pennsylvania Principal at the trade association Advanced Energy United.

Acccording to Advanced Energy United:

Battery storage can help reduce the need for additional generation and infrastructure to serve a limited number of peak-demand hours. By shifting electricity use across hours, storage can help utilities better manage system demand, improve grid flexibility and defer costly transmission and distribution upgrades.
Batteries promote affordability, potentially saving $397 million in grid costs, translating to an extra $29 per household per year.
Energy storage reduces blackouts and brownouts: In Texas, the risk of grid emergencies during the summer peak fell from 16 to 1 percent over the course of a year due to increased battery storage deployment

The legislation now heads to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration.

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