Third-party energy suppliers face more scrutiny in NJ

                                             Stefanie Brand, Director, NJ Division of Rate Counsel 

The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel wants to ramp up efforts to prevent alternative energy suppliers from misleading customers when they switch from their incumbent electric utilities, Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight.

In a filing with the state Board of Public Utilities, the agency, which represents the interests of utility customers, is seeking more protections for ratepayers who decide to buy their electricity from companies other than state utilities.
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Division of Rate Counsel Filing

The filing occurs at a time when the state already is launching an investigation into whether those suppliers are engaging in false marketing and contracting.
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The issue became a focus of regulators this past winter when electricity prices for customers who switched to so-called third party suppliers skyrocketed when severe weather spiked prices for natural gas. As a result, customers had to absorb big increases in their electric bills that were totally unanticipated.

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Drexel students seek funding for solar-powered chargers

                                  Spor is a solar-powered battery charger
A trio of Drexel students are raising $100,000 to jumpstart their solar-powered battery charger business, Technical.ly Philly reports.
"The Spor charger, the founders say, can soak up power from both sunlight and indoor light, as well as connect with other Spor chargers to speed up the charging capacity or transfer energy between them. It also features a 3D-printed case. Their big vision is to make energy “more accessible and affordable for the global population.”
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"A $40 Kickstarter donation will get you an early bird order of the charger (the “early early bird” $35 deal has already run out). The team plans to price
it at $50."

Recent Posts:  
Toll Brothers homebuilding profits come roaring back
State Bar comments on NY Brownfield program reform 
Corbett lifts drilling moratorium in Pa state forests  
Enviros battle bombardment of Jersey shore seabed  



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Toll Brothers homebuilding profits come roaring back

Toll Brothers CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. – Jeff Fusco photo

Toll Brothers, the largest luxury home builder in the United States, has more
than doubled its quarterly profit. Jared Shelly reports in the Philadelphia Business Journal that: 

“Revenues of $860.4 million and homebuilding deliveries of 1,218 units rose 67% in dollars and 36% in units, compared to FY 2013’s second quarter totals of $516.0 million and 894 units. The average price of homes delivered was $706,000, compared to $577,000 in FY 2013’s second quarter.”

Toll Brothers has its suburban Philadelphia headquarters in Horsham, Pa. Read the full story here 


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State Bar comments on NY Brownfield program reform

David J. Freeman

David J. Freeman, a Director in the Gibbons law firm’s Real Property & Environmental Law Department, published the article below in his firm’s Environmental and Green Issues blog
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The Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association has released its Report and Recommendations regarding the proposed extension and reform of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP” or “Program”).
The Report and Recommendations were prepared by the Section’s Brownfield Task Force, co-chaired by David J. Freeman and Lawrence P. Schnapf. The Task Force spent several months reviewing the proposals for reforming the Program made in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget bill and draft bill circulated by the staffs of the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees.
The Task Force made detailed recommendations on many of the issues addressed by these proposals. Among the recommendations are the following:
  • that the Legislature accept Governor’s and Assembly’s proposed new definition
    of a “brownfield site” as a site “where a contaminant is present at levels exceeding soil cleanup objectives or other health-based environmental standards.” This definition would replace the current definition, modeled on federal law, which defines brownfields as sites “which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence” of a contaminant;
  • that the dates for obtaining Certificates of Completion (“COCs”) necessary for eligibility for the Program’s tax credit be extended through December 31, 2025
    (or, alternatively, for 10 years from the site’s acceptance into the Program);
  • that there be a separate set of criteria for sites to qualify for tangible property tax (i.e., development) credits, but that the Governor’s and Assembly’s proposed criteria be modified so that more sites can qualify for such credits;
  • that the Legislature authorize a streamlined program for sites not needing tax credits but seeking to have cleanup performed under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) and to obtain
    a COC, and a release and covenant not to sue, at the conclusion of successful cleanups;
  • that there be no change in the definition of costs eligible for tax credits under the Program;
  • that the BCP be opened to Class 2 State Superfund and other enforcement sites, as long as those sites are being remediated by volunteers (i.e., persons not responsible for the original contamination);
  • that the sites cleaned up under approved local government programs be exempted from hazardous waste program fees and taxes;
  • that liability releases granted under such local programs have the same force and effect as those granted by NYSDEC.
The Governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly have stated that reform of the BCP is one of their top priorities this year. If so, they will have to reach consensus on these issues quickly in light of the expected adjournment of the Legislature in mid-June.
                                                         
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Corbett lifts drilling moratorium in Pa state forests

Photo by Donald Gilliland/Patriot-News 

All public relations pros know that, if you must announce bad or controversial news, do it at the start of a weekend when the public is least likely to notice.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s media handlers picked not only a Friday afternoon but a Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend to go public with the announcement of the governor’s executive order that opens state parks and forests to additional natural gas leasing.  

The order, which lifts the moratorium imposed by former Gov. Ed Rendell, comes with the restriction that the drilling cannot result in “additional, long-term, surface disturbance.” A press release says that the caveat “will only allow gas to be extracted horizontally through wells located on adjacent private lands or previously leased ares of the state forest.”

Corbett’s proposed budget includes $75 million in new revenue that his administration expects to result from additional leases of state-owned mineral rights. 

 Donald Gilliland reports in the Patriot-News:

Rep. Greg Vitali, a Democrat from Delaware County, is waging an open records battle with the Corbett administration in an attempt to find out how they arrived at the $75 million estimate for revenue likely to be generated by the additional leasing.

Yesterday, the Office of Open Records ruled in Vitali’s favor, directing DCNR to release the relevant documents.

Vitali compared the administration’s reluctance to release records to its Friday-afternoon-before-a-holiday-weekend announcement of the executive order 

“It shows a total lack of interest in transparency and on the contrary, a concerted effort to hide what he’s doing,” said Vitali. “I think it’s appalling.”



Marie Cusick reports in State Impact:

The state’s main gas industry trade group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition praised the plan as a common-sense approach. 

“Safe, tightly-regulated shale development has been, and continues to be, a powerful economic engine for the entire Commonwealth, creating thousands of jobs, especially in our manufacturing sector, and generating huge amounts of tax revenue all while enhancing our environment.” said MSC president Dave Spigelmyer in a statement.

Environmental groups have criticized the plan. PennFuture president Cindy Dunn issued a statement in conjunction with the heads of seven other environmental organizations, calling the plan short-sighted.

“It’s a disappointment,” she says. “We think it’s a big mistake to go forward with this. As with the past leases, this was driven by budgetary needs, not by the sound management of the public trust.”

Read the full story here

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Enviros battle bombardment of Jersey shore seabed


Scientists led by a Rutgers University geologist say the Jersey Shore is a world-class place to study sea level rise, and they plan to bombard a swath of the seabed off Long Beach Island with sound waves for a month this summer to unlock the secrets of what has happened in the past – and what could happen next.”

But Sandy Bauers writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer that “environmentalists, who might normally support research related to climate change, are aghast at the prospect, saying it might harm whales and other marine mammals, as well as New Jersey’s vibrant summer seafood and tourism economy.

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