Your opinion on PADEP’s proposed ash-spill settlement?

Send your comments to the PADEP

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection wants to hear from you, Mr., Mrs., and Ms. Public, on its planned settlement with parties responsible for the August 2005 ash spill at the Martins Creek Steam Electric Station in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County.

The spill occurred after a wooden stop log in the Ash Basin No. 4 discharge structure failed, causing an estimated 100 million gallons of ash material to spread across local fields and into the Oughoughton Creek and the Delaware River.
“DEP would like to hear from the public on this important and final piece in the resolution of this matter. A significant amount of time and effort has been spent on assessing impacts from the spill and crafting this settlement. We believe this is a sound and well developed approach to addressing the Department’s claims for damages to the natural resources of the region,” said Mike Bedrin, Director of DEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilkes-Barre. “Any comments the Department receives will be considered in the final determination of settlement.”
Spill settlement details from the DEP: 

The proposed settlement calls for the payment of $1,325,200 to fund dam removal and mussel restoration projects on tributaries to the Delaware River in the area of the spill. From that amount, $373,050 will be paid to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for New Jersey-based restoration projects under a separate agreement with that agency.

In May 2008, DEP reached a separate settlement with PPL that required payment of a $1,500,000 civil penalty and corrective action for violations of various state statutes associated with the ash spill. That settlement preserved the Department’s claims for natural resource damages, which are now being resolved in this action and requires public comment.

Natural resource damages may occur at sites such as rivers or streams as a result of releases of hazardous substances, such as ash, or oil. States and state agencies, including the DEP, can act as “trustees” on behalf of citizens to pursue claims for natural resource damages.

DEP is working in conjunction with members of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment Team, which includes representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the Delaware River Basin Commission.

DEP staff, working in conjunction with members of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment team, had extensive involvement in overseeing and permitting cleanup of the spill. This included reviewing and commenting on three phases of cleanup, as well as PPL’s Phase IV Completion Report that addressed residential property and shoreline inspections, sediment and surface water sampling, and ecological investigations, such as damage to mussels.  

Written public comment invited 

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed settlement documents are invited to submit comments in writing to: Colleen Connolly, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701-1915. TDD users may contact the Department through the Pennsylvania Relay Services at 800-645-5984 FREE.

The public comment period will end on September 23, 2015. Copies of the settlement documents are available in the Department’s Wilkes-Barre offices and also the Bethlehem offices, located at 4530 Bath Pike, Bethlehem 18017.  

An electronic copy is also available on the Department’s Northeast Regional Office webpage. To access, go towww.dep.state.pa.us, click on “Regional Resources in the left hand column, then click on the Northeast Regional Office icon, go to the right hand of page and click on “Community Resources.”

After the public comment period ends, the Department will file a response to significant written comments or indicate that no such comments were received. 

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Your opinion on PADEP’s proposed ash-spill settlement? Read More »

Farm tractor lemon law bill on Gov Christie’s desk


The New Jersey Legislature has handed Gov. Chris Christie a bill that should be quite popular in the farm state of Iowa where Christie currently is campaigning for the White House.


The state Senate yesterday gave final passage to A-1812 (Wilson) which extends coverage of the state’s lemon law to farm tractors. [New Jersey considering a lemon law for farm tractors]


When the  bill was released from the Assembly Agriculture Committee back in February, Brittany M. Wehner reported in the South Jersey Times: 

New Jersey is known for agriculture and farming — a lifestyle that relies on strong machinery like plows and tractors — but when a new or leased vehicle is flawed and malfunctions, it leaves farmers with a big problem. 

Because farmers work around a weather window, which depends on the time of year to plow, plant and take care of crops, if the vehicle is faulty, it impacts the entire season of farming, according to Cumberland County Board of Agriculture member Hillary Barile.

“Replacement for equipment is not always available and you can’t just go down the street and rent a new tractor to get your work done. Often, there is a really long, from a month to a year for a waiting list,” Barile, who is also a farmer at Rabbit Hill Farms, in Shiloh, said Monday afternoon.

If someone purchases a new farm vehicle and it has an engineering defect, there is a loss of opportunity based on the weather, and that can be really bad, Barile added.

Will Christie sign it? What do you think? If interested, use the comment box below.

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Is natural gas pipeline through Pinelands inevitable?

BL England Power Plant
B.L. England coal-powered power plant 
In a matter of minutes, a state agency approved a proposal to build a controversial 22-mile natural-gas pipeline through the core of the Pinelands Forest, Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight.

For the second time in two years, the Board of Public Utilities endorsed the pipeline project proposed by South Jersey Gas, which would convert the B. L. England power plant from being coal-fired to using natural gas.

 The project, yet to be approved by the Pinelands Commission, is opposed by virtually all of the state’s conservation groups, as well as four former governors –Republicans Thomas Kean and Christine Whitman and Democrats Brendan Byrne and Jim Florio.

The five commissioners unanimously approved without debate a slightly modified version of the project originally given the nod by the BPU in April 2013. It is uncertain when the Pinelands Commission, which deadlocked on approving the project in January 2014, will consider the proposal.

Since then, Gov. Chris Christie replaced one of the commissioners who had voted against the pipeline. The project aligns with the administration’s Energy Master Plan, which calls for the state to phase out the use of coal to generate electricity and replace it with less-polluting natural gas.



You’re not surprised by the BPU vote are you? Is Pinelands Commission approval equally predictable? Tell us what you think in the comment box below


Related news: 
BPU approves amended order for pipeline through Pinelands
Pinelands supporters outraged by vote to replace Commission member who voted against pipeline

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New Jersey county boots pipeline company from its land

Representatives of the PennEast pipeline project are no longer welcome on Mercer County public lands, according to a strongly worded letter from Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.

Keith Brown reports for NJ.com:

The letter, obtained by NJ.com, was sent to PennEast Tuesday afternoon. It rescinds permission to survey on county lands officials granted in December and bars the company from any activity on county owned lands to forward the proposed $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline project, which is slated to cut through portions of Mercer County along its 110-mile path.
“PennEast is directed to immediately CEASE AND DESIST all activities on County property,” the letter reads. “Please have your company’s contractor(s) immediately remove all equipment and personnel from the County’s property, after returning the property to the condition it enjoyed prior to any work being conducted.”
Hughes said in a statement that the decision to kick PennEast off Mercer County public lands came after county officials discovered that the company was conducting soil borings in Baldpate Mountain, Hopewell Township, an act officials said was potentially environmentally harmful.

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PA's pipeline taskforce begins meetings tomorrow






 
 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley will chair the first meeting of the newly formed Pipeline Infrastructure Taskforce from 1 p.m.  to 4 p.m., tomorrow, Wednesday, July 22, at DEP’s South-Central Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Ave. in Harrisburg.

The group of 48 experts and stakeholders will recommend policies, guidelines and best practices to guide the anticipated and unprecedented build-out of pipeline infrastructure expected to take place across Pennsylvania during the next decade. The group’s report is due to Governor Tom Wolf by February 2016.

The DEP advises that seating and parking will be very limited and encourages the public to view the proceedings via its live stream online broadcast 

Meeting information:

Also see:  Pa. Gov. Wolf names members of pipeline taskforce

 

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Great news for tech startups and the City of Newark, NJ















































Dan Ivers reports for NJ.com that:
Politicians and
business magnates alike crowded into the downtown Newark office of Audible.com Monday
morning to officially announce the launch of a venture fund aiming to carve out
a brand-new
identity for Newark – tech mecca.

Newark Venture Partners is aiming to raise $50 million to invest in a select group of start-up tech companies, all of which will be housed in a so-called “accelerator” that will help them develop ideas and grow with the help of various guiding hands.|

Officials and partners in the initiative said it is all part of a wide-ranging effort to transform Newark from a city struggling to recover from its industrial past to one embracing the tech-based economy of the future.


“I have a feeling that literally, when you put the stake in the ground, that all kinds of things will happen,” said Donald Katz, Audible’s CEO and Newark Venture Fund chairman.

As many 1,000 fledgling companies are expected to make their pitch to join the accelerator each year, all hoping to join a select group of less than 50 that will land initial investments of between $50,000 and $100,000.



The chosen start-ups will work out of a space downstairs from Audible’s headquarters at One Washington Park, in a 25,000 square-foot space provided rent-free by Rutgers Business School. During their stay, they will receive mentoring from staff with Audible and other experienced business minds involved with the fund.

“Unlike the traditional venture capital, in our model…all of our companies that we invest in, we’re going to bring them here,” said Thomas Wisniewski, a veteran New York City angel investor who will help lead the fund.

The accelerator itself will  be equipped with a fiber-optic infrastructure that will provide the businesses with up to 10 gigabits of online data, officials said.


Mayor Ras Baraka said the service would be crucial to not only developing the companies in their infancy, but retaining them once they have outgrown the accelerator and are looking for a permanent home.


The case would likely be strengthened by Newark’s various public transportation options, proximity to New York, tens of thousands of college students and abundance of available commercial space. The city could also consider tax incentives or other measures to help hold onto growing outfits.


Baraka added that each new engineering or other tech-related job is usually accompanied by up to five other service-based or entry-level positions needed to sustain new companies, all of which will help provide the city with much-needed jobs.


“It has a multiplier effect for the city, to help us push forward and get more Newarkers employed,” he said.

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