Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight
The proposals, expected to be published this spring by the Department of Environmental Protection, stem from a nearly year-old executive order by Gov. Phil Murphy aimed at helping achieve the goals of a new Energy Master Plan and the more than decade-old Global Warming Response Act (GWRA).
The Energy Master Plan provides a blueprint to transition New Jersey to a clean-energy economy and the GWRA directs the state to reduce carbon pollution by 80% below 2006 levels by 2050 as a way of fighting climate change. The emerging rules are part of a new effort by the DEP to achieve both goals in what has been dubbed Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJ PACT).
While short on specifics, DEP staffers gave a broad outline last week on how the state intends to crack down on both so-called stationary sources of global warming pollution — like power plants and commercial and industrial boilers — and mobile sources, such as medium- and heavy-duty trucks that primarily rely on fossil fuels to move goods around.
For instance, the department plans to establish new limits for carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas pollutant, for existing power plants, otherwise called electric generating units (EGUs) in agency jargon. The yet-to-be-set limits would ratchet down over time, according to Kenneth Ratman, assistant director of air quality planning and monitoring at the DEP.
Boilers, a heated issue
The agency also expects to propose a rule that would phase out older, smaller boilers (less than 5 million British Thermal Units) that use fossil fuels. The impact of such a rule would be significant, potentially affecting apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and other facilities, according to business lobbyists.
“It is going to affect an awful lot of people at a huge cost,’’ said Raymond Cantor, a vice president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “I don’t think the boiler issue has been well-vetted.’’
Dennis Hart, executive director of the Chemistry Industry Council, agreed, saying it “costs a fortune for industry to replace those boilers.’’ Among other things, the rule would require owners of fleets of boilers to submit a boiler fleet report and replace smaller, older fossil fuel combustion boilers with non-fossil fuel boilers.
With the state transitioning from use of fossil fuels to cleaner but more costly alternatives, critics argued the department needs to begin prioritizing what new costs the public and businesses must absorb from these programs.
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