NJ clears utility sale of environmentally sensitive tract

Pine Barrens Tree Frog
The state of New Jersey has once again approved the sale of environmentally sensitive property in an area described by conservationists as a haven for endangered species, such as the Pine Barrens tree frog, bald eagles, and redheaded woodpeckers, NJ Spotlight reports.
"The sale of 1,550 acres to Millville 1350 LLC for $4 million was affirmed by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities this week — four years after the agency originally approved the deal. The developer plans to build an 18-hole golf course and 950 senior-housing units on the parcel, which was owned by Atlantic City Electric.
"The original deal fell through when the state Division of Rate Counsel and conservation groups challenged the BPU’s decision in the appellate court, which remanded the matter back to the agency.

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Attorney at the PADEP follows his boss out the door

             Another top Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official is out of work 
in the wake of an email scandal that has rocked Pennsylvania state government.

Deputy Chief Counsel Glenn Parno’s resignation has been accepted by Gov. Tom Corbett, the governor’s office said in a statement Thursday night.

The resignation of Parno’s boss, DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo, was announced in a news release from the Governor’s Office hours earlier.

Abruzzo and Parno were named by Attorney General Kathleen Kane in an investigation of sexually explicit emails that had been sent or received by state government email addresses.
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Corbett said that his administration had asked for emails in and out of the Attorney General’s office between 2008 and 2012 when Abruzzo, Parno and others worked there. Corbett said he received information Thursday about Abruzzo, Parno and State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan.

The Governor exonerates Noonan
“Information received regarding State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan’s account indicates that he did not participate in opening, originating, forwarding or replying to any message," Corbett said in the statement. "It is important that Commissioner Noonan remain focused on the critical public safety mission he is leading in the manhunt for Eric Frein and that there is no disruption in the work underway in this case.
 
The three members of Mr. Corbett’s administration were among eight men whom aides to Ms. Kane identified last week. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the aides invited reporters to the attorney general’s Harrisburg offices Sept. 25 to view what they described as a sample of the photographs of naked women and videos of sex acts allegedly found in the old email accounts,

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice also identified
The circle of alleged participants broadened Thursday when the Morning Call of Allentown reported that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery had forwarded at least eight sexually explicit emails to an employee of the attorney general’s office. The newspaper reviewed emails sent from Justice McCaffery’s personal email account.
The Post-Gazette says that Chief Justice Ronald Castille has asked the attorney general’s office to identify any judicial official who participated in the alleged exchange. Such behavior could violate the judicial code of conduct, he said earlier this week.
Ms. Kane, a Democrat, uncovered the emails as she fulfilled her campaign pledge to review how the attorney general’s office handled the investigation of child sexual abuse by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The case arrived at the office during the tenure of Mr. Corbett, a Republican, as attorney general.

Related news stories:
Pennsylvania DEP secretary, lawyer resign amid email scandal
Pennsylvania State Police commissioner cleared in controversy over pornographic emails
Two top DEP officials resign over porn e-mails

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Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Abruzzo resigns abruptly

E. Christopher Abruzzo  who resigned today- Paul J. Gough photo

Pennsylvania DEP Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo today announced his resignation, effective immediately.


In a news release, Abruzzo said his decision was "based on the best interest of the important mission of the Department of Environmental Protection."
“I thank Chris for his dedicated service to the people of Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Corbett said in the press release. “Our environment and natural resources are better protected today due to his leadership, as well as the hard work of the men and women of DEP.”
In his place Corbett appointed Dana Aunkst, Executive Deputy Secretary for Programs, as acting secretary.

Abruzzo was one of at eight prominent state officials, including the head of the state police and a former spokesman for Gov. Corbett, who sent or received hundreds of sexually explicit photos, videos, and messages from state e-mail accounts between 2008 and 2012, according to documents made available last week by the state Attorney General’s Office.

The scandal was a political embarrassment for Republican Tom Corbett who, in his re-election campaign for governor, significantly trails Democrat Tom Wolf, the former Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue,
Abruzzo is the only one of the eight caught up in the email scandal to resign to date.

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California becomes first state to ban plastic grocery bags

California supermarkets and other outlets will be banned from using single-use plastic bags starting in July 2015.

A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immediately said it would seek a voter referendum to repeal the law, which is scheduled to take effect in July 2015.

Click here for video

Under SB270, plastic bags will be phased out of checkout counters at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Target starting next summer, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. It allows grocers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags.


State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, credits the momentum for statewide legislation to the more than 100 cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, that already have such bans.
 
 

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EPA finalizes $11M plan for Glen Cove Superfund site

Soil remediation at Mattiace Petrochemical site in 2004 – Photo:Audubon Magazine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in a news release today that
it has finalized its cleanup plan to address contaminated groundwater and soil at the Mattiace Petrochemical Co., Inc. Superfund site in Glen Cove, New York.

Groundwater and soil at the site are contaminated with volatile organic compounds
as a result of previous operations at the site by a chemical distribution and drum-cleaning business.

The final plan amends a prior, long-term cleanup plan and is "intended to improve the effectiveness of groundwater treatment at the site."

The EPA estimates the cost of this phase of the cleanup is approximately $11.2 million.

Groundwater from the Mattiace site flows away from the municipal drinking wells and does not pose a threat to drinking water, the agency said.

Read the full EPA release here

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Ex-New Jersey Public Advocate hit with ethics fine

A former ratepayer advocate has been fined $11,000 for ethics violations, most of which stem from her simultaneously working for the state while serving as president of the Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce (AICC), and allegedly influencing the awarding of government contracts to five vendors associated with the group, NJ Spotlight reports today.
Seema Singh
"The State Ethics Commission handed down the penalties against Seema Singh, who was ratepayer advocate during the Corzine administration, a Cabinet-level post that entrusts her with representing the interest of business and residential customers on utility issues.
“As president of the AICC, Singh held a leadership role in a trade organization whose mission was to further the economic interest of the member business,’’ according to the final decision by the commission, a post that put her at odds with her job as ratepayer advocate.
"Singh’s attorney, Herbert Waldman, has filed an appeal of the decision in the courts, saying the ruling by the commission is “both unfair and wrong.’’ He described the state agency as both the prosecutor, which brought the charges, and the judge, deciding the case.
"The decision by the commission, however, was especially scathing, saying Singh, a Princeton attorney, violated sections of the New Jersey conflict of interest law and the ratepayer advocate’s own code of ethics. Singh declined to comment, forwarding questions to her attorney."

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