NJ Senate Environment/Energy Agenda – June 8

New Jersey dome - between office buildings

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee will meet
at 10 a.m. today in Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex
in Trenton, NJ.

Here’s the committee’s agenda:

A4307 Spill Comp and Control Act-settlements
S2690 Generation fac., on-site-concerns
S2782 Natural gas veh. refueling-rest area req
S2919 Spill Comp and Control Act-settlements
S2957 Env Infrastructure Trust-auth make loans
S2962 Env infrastructure proj FY2016-approp fd
S2964 Env. Infrastructure Trust Finan.-changes
SCR163 Env contamination settlement-env purpose
SCR171 Env Infrastructure Trust-2015 financial plan
SCR172 Solar Investment tax cred.-extends

To listen during or after the meeting, click here and select ‘live’ or ‘archived’ proceedings.
NOTE: While waiting for a committee meeting to begin, refresh the page occasionally

NJ Senate Environment/Energy Agenda – June 8 Read More »

NJDEP crackdown on air-polluting construction equipment

If your construction equipment is idling for more than three minutes at a time, you are at risk for air pollution fines, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection warns in an industry alert.

High levels of of nitrogen dioxide

The Department announced today that.high levels of nitrogen dioxide have been recorded at DEP air monitors on several occasions in the last ten months. DEP’s investigations determined that the elevated levels were caused by emissions from idling construction vehicles/equipment located near the air monitors. Therefore, DEP will be taking action to ensure that construction vehicle/equipment operators and owners are complying with the idling limits to protect the air quality across the state. 

What those levels do

The Department says that nitrogen dioxide from the emissions of cars, trucks, buses and off-road equipment "contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone and particulates — pollutants that cause adverse health effects, including respiratory ones.Idling construction vehicles/equipment consume fuel, increase long-term engine maintenance costs, and expose workers and others to harmful air pollutants."

DEP says it plans to…

… respond to citizen complaints and to conduct periodic idling enforcement sweeps. Call the DEP 24-hour hotline (1-877-WARN-DEP) to report suspected violations of the idling standards. Local police also have the authority to issue penalties for idling violations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-70.2. Failure to comply with the idling standards may result in enforcement actions and civil administrative penalty assessments, starting at $250 per day, for the property owner and the vehicle/equipment operator.

What you can do…

  • Ensure that construction vehicles/equipment do not idle for more than three consecutive minutes if the vehicle/equipment is not in motion or not in use.
  • Adopt a no-idling policy for your vehicle/equipment operators and encourage them to follow this policy. It will save you money and protect their health.
  • Explore the use of automatic shut-down devices for vehicles/equipment

Read the full alert here

NJDEP crackdown on air-polluting construction equipment Read More »

NJ Assembly Judiciary hearing on ExxonMobil settlement

Here’s a video report from NJTV News’ David Cruz on the public hearing held on June 3 by the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee in Bayonne regarding the state’s proposed $225 million pollution settlement with ExxonMobil.

At the hearing,  some residents and politicians testified that the deal goes too easy on the company that polluted Bayonne, Linden and Elizabeth.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below.

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Recent Blog Posts:
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NJ enviros push ballot question to reject Exxon settlement

Protesters
gather outside the N State House to protest a settlement with ExxonMobil (Sara
Jerde/NJ.com)

About 45 environmental activists on Thursday staged a Statehouse protest against the settlement between Gov. Chris Christie’s administration and ExxonMobil and in favor of a constitutional amendment that would dictate how money would be spent in similar environmental litigation settlements, Sara Jerde reports today for NJ.com

The measure (SCR163/ACR230), if approved, would put a motion on the ballot for voters to choose whether they would want dedicate all money from environmental damage settlements to “repair damage to, restore, or permanently protect the State’s natural resources.”

A bill with the same intention was vetoed by Christie following his administration’s $225 million settlement with ExxonMobil for polluting at two New Jersey refinery sites, the Bayonne and Bayway facilities. Lawmakers introduced the constitutional amendments to bypass the governor’s approval and put it on the ballot for the voters to decide.
“Monies from environmental litigation should go to the communities and environmental groups that have been affected,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Stop stealing the people’s money and send it to where it belongs.”


NJ enviros push ballot question to reject Exxon settlement Read More »

The mammoth methane mystery in the U.S. Southwest

A team of scientists scrambles to better
understand a gigantic cloud of methane looming over the Four Corners region of
the U.S. Southwest. This single cloud is believed to comprise nearly 10 percent
of all methane emissions derived from natural gas in the United States. But its
origins remain a mystery.


That’s the teaser to the recent PBS NEWSHOUR program that poses the question: 

Why is there a huge methane hotspot in the American Southwest?

If you’re at all like us, you can’t possibly NOT check out this story. When you do, let us know what you think in the comment section below. Have friends also might enjoy it? You can use the social share icons below to pass it on.  

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PA Senate confirms John Quigley as DEP Secretary

NJDEP’s John Quigley- State Impact photo

We wondered if the fact that Republican members of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on
Tuesday released
(without recommendation) Gov. Tom Wolf’s nomination of John Quigley to serve as Secretary
of the Environmental Protection Agency was as a sign of some level of
dissatisfaction with Mr. Quigley or with his boss, Mr. Wolf.

But the gesture didn’t amount to a hill of beans today as the full Senate voted
44-4 to approve Quigley’s nomination.
Quigley has served as acting DEP secretary since January. He
previously headed the state Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) during the Rendell administration.

 

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John Quigley’s nomination as PADEP Secretary advances

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