NJDEP cutting red tape for post-Sandy restorations

                                                                             Reuters photo


To help shore communities, businesses and residents rebuild after the devastation
of Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey’s environmental regulatory agency is streamlining
some of its coastal permit rules.

On July 15, 2013, the Department of Environmental Protection formally adopted previous emergency rules that allow various types of projects to proceed under less cumbersome permit procedures, including permits by rule and general permits.

The DEP said the changes eliminate or significantly reduce time needed for reviews
and also will save property owners fees and costs associated with more complex
permit requirements.


"The activities regulated by the simplified permit processes are for reconstruction activities that are occurring largely on the same footprint or involve minimal (up to 400 square feet) expansion. In many cases, these changes will provide significant environmental benefits and better prepare coastal communities for future storms.

"The rules expedite the rebuilding of residential and commercial structures by:
  • Providing for a permit by rule for reconstruction of damaged residential or commercial structures in upland waterfront development areas that are outside the CAFRA zone, primarily Raritan Bay and the Newark-New York Harbor complex. Such rebuilding is already exempt in the state’s CAFRA zone, which hugs the coastline from Sandy Hook south to Cape May Point and north again along the Delaware Bay to Salem County.
  • Helping property owners make their buildings safer when feasible by changing the current general permit requirement to a permit by rule for lateral or landward relocation of the existing footprint of a structure. Expansion must be no more than 400 square feet.
  • Eliminating the need for a permit to elevate a bulkhead, dock or pier as part of repair, replacement or reconstruction, as long as this is done in the existing footprint and not over wetlands. This will provide more resilience in future storms.

"The rules also provide flexibility to allow marinas and other small businesses to enhance their operations without coming to DEP by:
  • Changing current individual permits to permits by rule to allow marinas to reconfigure docks, wharfs, and piers within their existing leased areas.
  • Allowing a permit by rule for construction or installation of boat pump-out facilities.
  • Changing current individual permit requirements to a general permit to allow for construction of support facilities.

Other recovery efforts covered by the rule adoption include beach and dune restoration, sand removal, recovery of the shellfish/aquaculture industry, and the
dredging of lagoons and marina basins.

Click here to see a full copy of the rule adoption including DEP responses to public comments filed during the hearing process.


NJDEP cutting red tape for post-Sandy restorations Read More »

Will PA Gov. Corbett add climate deniers to key posts?


The environmental organization, PennFuture, notes that, with his 2014 re-election campaign in mind, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is shaking up his administration. He’s appointed a new chief of staff, a new communications director and plans to name a press secretary.

"Yet to be filled, two key environmental positions: head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. To date, no one has been nominated to fill these posts on a permanent basis."

What worries PennFuture is a recent administration hire. 

"Last week, Corbett hired prominent tea party activist, climate denier, and birther, Ana Puig, as the legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — at an annual salary of $68,254. Puig founded, co-chaired and served as a registered lobbyist for a local group called the Kitchen Table Patriots."

According to PennFuture,

"Kitchen Table Patriots calls climate change "fraud science backed by the mercenary alarmists in the scientific community and the U.N.

"Puig’s Kitchen Table Patriots hosted an event in 2011 featuring prominent climate denier and Heartland Institute “expert” Steve Goreham. The Patriots’ invitation read:"Learn why the polar bears are not in serious danger. Learn how global warming policies will raise your taxes, boost your electricity bills, and increase the cost of doing business and living our daily lives."


Corbett has shown no sign that he cares a fig about what environmental activists think. Natural gas drilling companies and other fossil-fuel enthusiasts ponied up more than a million dollars to help him get elected in 2010 and he’ll need every bit of that–and more–this go-round to combat his miserable polling numbers among state voters. 

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Our most recent posts:

Advanced Disposal sells off its NY, NJ operations


Will PA Gov. Corbett add climate deniers to key posts? Read More »

Advanced Disposal sells off its NY, NJ operations

In a move that the solid waste industry had anticipated for months, Advanced Disposal Services Inc.. has sold off most of its operations in New York and New Jersey.
Waste & Recycling News reports today that the deal with Action Environmental Group of Newark, N.J., includes several transfer stations and collection operations.

But it does not involve a trio of New Jersey transfer stations that the company agreed to sell to help satisfy anti-trust concerns by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Advanced Disposal’s earlier acquisition of Veolia ES Solid Waste Inc..

Action Environmental is picking up collection operations in Chester and Sloatsburg, N.Y., and Jersey City and Paterson, N.J., Advanced Disposal said.

The company also gains transfer stations in Chestnut Ridge, Goshen, Hilburn, Newburgh, New Hampton and Port Jervis, all in New York, and Jersey City and Garfield, N.J.A recycling facility in Airmont, N.Y., also is part of the deal, Advanced Disposal said.

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Our daily newsletter also tracks NJ & PA legislation—from introduction to enactment  Our most recent posts: 
Free to sue a power plant that meets all air standards
EPA plans $19m cleanup of old dry cleaning site in NJ
New Jersey environmentalists on what Sandy taught us 
Lawmakers hear other side of NJ’s Sandy recovery story 
NJ lawmakers hear today about Sandy recovery

Advanced Disposal sells off its NY, NJ operations Read More »

Free to sue a power plant that meets all air standards


A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that two women who live near a western Pennsylvania power plant can sue over alleged fly ash pollution even though the plant meets state and federal air pollution standards.

Associated Press writer Joe Mandak reports:

The women, Kristie Bell and Joan Luppe, sued on behalf of all residents who live within a mile of the Cheswick Generating Station plant, which is about 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. They contend it emits fly ash and other waste particles onto their properties and allegedly contains cancer-causing chemicals. The women allege that the pollution was a nuisance, the plant was negligent in creating it and was effectively trespassing on their property whenever the waste accumulated.
Attorneys for the plant countered that the lawsuit was attempting to toughen air pollution standards without properly going through Congress or regulatory agencies.
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Our daily newsletter also tracks NJ & PA legislation—from introduction to enactment 

Last fall, a federal judge in Pittsburgh ruled in favor of the plant. He said that allowing the women to sue over how the plant acted when it was meeting Clean Air Act standards would make it impossible for energy providers to know whether their actions are legal. At most, such allegations should be handled as pollution permit violations under federal law, the judge ruled.

But a three-judge 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled unanimously to reverse that decision Tuesday. The federal Clean Air Act regulations are meant to impose minimum standards only, they wrote, adding that federal law doesn’t preclude citizens from suing if their properties are affected.

"We see nothing in the Clean Air Act to indicate Congress intended to pre-empt" such lawsuits, the judges wrote in a 23-page opinion. 

See the full story here 

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EPA plans $19m cleanup of old dry cleaning site in NJ
New Jersey environmentalists on what Sandy taught us
Lawmakers hear other side of NJ’s Sandy recovery story
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Like to bike? Want to ride like the (Jersey) devil?
 



Free to sue a power plant that meets all air standards Read More »

EPA plans $19m cleanup of old dry cleaning site in NJ


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it has proposed a plan to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater at the White Swan Cleaners/Sun Cleaners Superfund site in Wall Township, Manasquan Borough and Sea Girt, New Jersey.

Previous dry cleaning operations in Wall Township caused the contamination of the soil and groundwater with volatile organic compounds, including perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), the EPA said in a news release.

"Exposure to these chemicals can have serious health impacts, including liver damage and increased risk of cancer. The plan proposed will require the excavation and treatment of contaminated soil and the treatment of some groundwater."


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A public meeting on the proposed plan will be held at 7 p.m. on August 27 at the Wall Township Municipal Center, 2700 Allaire Road, Wall, NJ. Public comments will be received until September 20.


“Thirty years of operation by local dry cleaning companies have left a toxic contamination that will cost $19 million to address,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “This is an astonishing toxic legacy that the EPA is addressing."      

Read more information about the site and the cleanup plan here


EPA plans $19m cleanup of old dry cleaning site in NJ Read More »

New Jersey environmentalists on what Sandy taught us

Joint committee hearing on Sandy recovery - Photo 2 -Atlantic City Aug 15 2013

** Five video interviews below**

On Thursday, [Lawmakers hear other side of NJ’s Sandy recovery story] the bulk of the
testimony at a joint New Jersey Senate/Assembly committee meeting in Atlantic City
came from distraught shore residents and organizations representing the poor and
elderly who are still struggling to deal with the storm’s consequences.  


A number of environmental experts and organizations also had stories to tell. 

Included among them were: former NJDEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello; home elevation
expert Rod Scott; U.S. Green Building Council NJ Chapter Vice Chairman Wayne DeFeo,
NJ Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel, and NY/NJ Baykeeper Executive Director Debbie Mans.  

EnviroPolitics interviewed them outside the meeting at Convention Hall. 

Here are their videos:

Mark Mauriello on the lessons the NJDEP may not have learned from Hurricane Sandy


Rod Scott on the need for trained house-elevation contractors in New Jersey



Wayne DeFeo on LEED-certified structures and Hurricane Sandy




Jeff Tittel on the need to factor in rising sea levels when rebuilding for the future




Debbie Mans on why government needs to improve response to coastal urban flooding



The Senate and Assembly environment committees plan to continue their 
oversight hearings in late September. The next meeting will be in Trenton.

Related environmental news stories:
Residents express anger, frustration at post-Sandy rebuilding to state lawmakers
Sandy victims seek answers from state lawmakers

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Lawmakers hear other side of NJ’s Sandy recovery story
NJ lawmakers hear today about Sandy recovery
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Meghan Wren completes 13.1-mile Delaware Bay swim

New Jersey environmentalists on what Sandy taught us Read More »