The GAO weighs in on fracking’s rewards and risks


New-found shale gas deposits are being touted as the next economic tidal wave that will carry the country to prosperity. True?

  The Government Accountability Office examines the controversial issue and reports:

 “Oil and gas development, whether conventional or shale oil and gas, pose inherent environmental and public health risks, but the extent of these risks associated with shale oil and gas development is unknown, in part, because the studies GAO reviewed do not generally take into account the potential long-term, cumulative effects.” 

EnergyBiz reminds us that: 

When Duke University reviewed groundwater systems in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the Utica Shale in New York, it found that methane was detected in all watersheds, regardless of whether fracking had occurred. However, those levels were “substantially higher” closer to the shale gas wells, although the analysts cautioned that the source of the contamination could not be determined and that they found no evidence of fracking fluids.

According to the GAO, 

“Regulatory officials we met with from eight states — Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas — told us that, based on state investigations, the hydraulic fracturing process has not been identified as a cause of groundwater contamination within their states.”   

The problem, according to Ken Silverstein of EnergyBiz is that “the baseline info of where things started is missing, making it difficult to determine if such drilling is having a notable effect. Any degradation could be part of a natural occurrence, or it could be tied to fracking.” 


It sounds like the debate will continue until more detailed and long-term studies are performed and evaluated. In the meanwhile, neither fracking’s advocates nor opponents can lay claim to the whole truth on its risks.

See the full EnergyBiz story here.  

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Most recent posts:
Recyclers in NJ meet for 32nd education & awards event
Enviros claim victory over NJ carbon sequestration plant  
For Pa Gov. Corbett, some are more equal than others   
Marcellus Shale deposits deeper and cheaper to drill    
Barnegat Blitz: As many pick up, Sierra Club puts down  
Pa’s top court hears shale-drilling vs. local zoning appeal 

  

The GAO weighs in on fracking’s rewards and risks Read More »

Recyclers in NJ meet for 32nd education & awards event

The Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR) brought the state’s recycling community–public and private–together on Oct 17, 2012 for a morning of education, recognition of outstanding performers, and a chance to meet with vendors offering the latest in recycling equipment and services.

EnviroPolitics chatted with several of the participants, including a national magazine editor, a former NJDEP chief of staff, a man whose ‘app’ will tell your smart phone all it needs to know about what you can put at the curb on recycling day, a woman who has plans for your empty juice carton, and a pair of adorable fifth grade poets.

Meet them all in the video below. (Click arrow at center screen to start the show)

In an upcoming post and video, we’ll list those who were honored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for outstanding contributions to recycling over
the past year.

We’ll also meet Paul DeCosimo, the man who supplies recycling containers used
in hundreds of local businesses, schools and parks–including Yankee Stadium.

Finally, we’ll look inside Sims Recycling’s Recyclarium, a traveling classroom that
is bringing the lessons of recycling to hundreds of New York school children.

Disclosure: Our sister business, Brill Public Affairs, is a proud provider of consulting
services to ANJR

Related environmental stories: 
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2   
NJ celebrates 25 years of recycling with levels on the rise 
New Jersey DEP to release e-waste recycling rules

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
***********************************************************************************************************

Most recent posts:
Enviros claim victory over NJ carbon sequestration plant  
For Pa Gov. Corbett, some are more equal than others   
Marcellus Shale deposits deeper and cheaper to drill    
Barnegat Blitz: As many pick up, Sierra Club puts down  
Pa’s top court hears shale-drilling vs. local zoning appeal  

Recyclers in NJ meet for 32nd education & awards event Read More »

Enviros claim victory over NJ carbon sequestration plant

** Updated at 5:05 p.m. to add related environmental news story**

A group of 37 environmental and social groups known as the Stop PurGen Coalition have announced that their fight to defeat a proposed coal and carbon sequestration power plant in Linden, NJ is over.


Since 2009, the activists fought the construction of PurGen One, a proposed 750 MW coal and carbon sequestration plant that would have used a 140-mile long pipeline through New Jersey’s coastal waters to pump liquefied carbon dioxide one mile below the Earth’s surface.

The group discovered an announcement on the Massachusetts-based company SCS Energy’s website that stated, “PurGen One is no longer under active development.”

According to the coalition, SCS Energy’s contract with the city of Linden expires this year.


For three years coalition members from Cape May up to New York City canvassed door-to-door educating the residents on the proposal and alerting them to speak out at public hearings and meetings. The group also lobbied with municipalities and counties around the state to pass resolutions in opposition to the plant.

Read more at:
SCE Energy scraps plans for controversial coal-fired plant 
Coalition Claims Victory In Fight Against Linden Coal Plant

Related environmental news stories: 
‘Carbon Sequestration’ coming to NJ & PA? 
PA’s big stake in carbon sequestration tests
Feds’ $2.4B to ‘stimulate’ carbon capture projects  
Forbes takes a look at burying carbon at sea

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Enviros claim victory over NJ carbon sequestration plant Read More »

For Pa Gov. Corbett, some are more equal than others

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett


Even as he continues to grapple with tight finances and cuts to state departments and agencies, Gov. Corbett has quietly granted five-figure raises to a handful of his top staffers.
At the end of September, Corbett approved $10,000 raises for four aides on his 15-person executive and high-level staff, according to payroll records. The increases come just over 20 months into his first term, and as other departments have struggled with layoffs and unfilled positions to accommodate Corbett’s policy of reined-in spending in tough economic times.

See full Philadelphia Inquirer story here
Our most recent posts: 

Marcellus Shale deposits deeper and cheaper to drill

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Marcellus Shale deposits deeper and cheaper to drill

Don’t think that environmental battles over drilling in the Marcellus Shale are likely to end anytime soon. Two new reports show that the supply of natural gas buried in the formation
is not only more plentiful than previously believed but also is less costly to than in any other gas field in the U.S.  

From the Associated Press: 

The Marcellus could contain “almost half of the current proven natural gas reserves in the U.S,” a report from Standard & Poor’s issued this week said. 

Another recent report from ITG Investment Research, a worldwide financial firm based in New York, found that a detailed analysis of Marcellus well production data suggested that federal government estimates of its reserves “are grossly understated.”  

The new information increases the likelihood that natural gas will be used for more and more energy needs, such as city buses, industrial use, and electric power generation, according to Manuj Nikhanj, the head of Energy Research at ITG. 

And though low wholesale prices have squeezed drilling companies’ revenue, the S&P report says the Marcellus has the lowest production cost of any natural gas field in the nation, adding to the likelihood of a continued boom

“The amount of resource that’s available at relatively low cost is fairly enormous,” Nikhanj said. 

The Marcellus is a gas-rich formation thousands of feet below much of the four states, but current production is centered in Pennsylvania and West Virginia

From the Standard & Poor’s report



Related environmental news stories:
Reports: Marcellus reserves larger than expected 
How the Marcellus Shale is changing he dynamics of the U.S. energy industry

Marcellus Shale deposits deeper and cheaper to drill Read More »

NJ revises public-access rules for beaches and waterways


Municipalities, businesses and property owners along New Jersey’s coastline and waterways–and beach-goers and recreational fishermen, too–all have a stake in the extensively re-written ‘public-access’ rules adopted this month by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.  

Attorneys in the Environmental Group at the Wolff Samson law firm provided a nice background and summary for their clients. We appropriated and reproduced it below. Thanks, guys.

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NJDEP Finalizes Public Access Rules

On
October 4, 2012, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
Commissioner Martin signed a final rule that significantly re-writes NJDEP’s
public access requirements. As a result, the final Public Access Rules
completely change the way NJDEP will require public access to beaches and
tidal waterways as part of coastal permitting.
By way
of background, NJDEP originally wrote its public access requirements in 2007.
Those public access requirements added a Public Trust Rights Rule to the
Coastal Zone Management Rules, as well as other ancillary requirements,
commonly known as the “Public Access Rules.” These rules imposed
extensive access requirements on all coastal permittees, such as those
obtaining Coastal Area Facilities Review Act and Waterfront Development Act
permits. In some cases, coastal permitting ground to a halt as permittees and
NJDEP negotiated public access requirements that were expensive and, in some
cases, unnecessary since certain properties already provided public access. These
requirements were also criticized as threatening public safety, because
access requirements were imposed at night, or on facilities not suited for
public access. The burdens imposed on municipalities and industries resulted
in a public outcry for reform.
The
breadth of these Public Access Rules was challenged both in court and in the
public policy arena. In 2007, the Borough of Avalon successfully overturned
certain municipal access requirements in the existing rules. Further, after
Governor Chris Christie was elected in 2009, the Public Access Rules were
identified early-on as one set of rules that needed significant reform. In
fact, the Governor’s Red Tape Review Group identified the Public Access Rules
as one of several rules that “offends common sense.”
After
commencing a stakeholder process, NJDEP proposed a complete re-write of the
rules on April 4, 2011. Significant amendments to the proposal were published
by NJDEP on March 19, 2012.
The new
Public Access Rules adopted this month emphasize public access planning by
municipalities. Specifically, the new rules allow municipalities to create
“Municipal Public Access Plans” (MPAPs) as part of the town’s
master plan, which, once adopted by NJDEP, would become the mechanism by
which coastal permittees would provide public access. Opportunities for
public access can include actual access to the shoreline, or other
opportunities such as boat ramps or piers for fishing. In addition, the rules
allow municipalities to develop provisions that permit a monetary
contribution in lieu of providing public access. Municipalities would be
required to dedicate a public access fund, which could be used for new or
enhanced access to waterways. There are specific rules governing access to
certain types of facilities obtaining coastal permits in municipalities that
have not adopted MPAPs.
The new
rules also generally emphasize maintenance of existing public access. In
certain circumstances, the rules do not require new public access for
existing properties. For example, for existing industrial development, no
public access is required if there is no existing public access on site where
the proposed activity consists of the maintenance, rehabilitation, renovation,
redevelopment or expansion that remains entirely with the parcel containing
the existing development. If an existing industrial development already has
public access, it is to be maintained or equivalent onsite public access is
to be provided. Similar provisions apply to other types of development,
including residential and commercial development, homeland security
facilities and ports.
If you
would like further information on the new Public Access Rules, including
details on specific access requirements for certain types of facilities,
please contact:
John G. Valeri, Jr. |
Member of the Firm | jvaleri@wolffsamson.com | (973)
530-2030
Dennis M. Toft |
Co-Chair, Environmental Group dtoft@wolffsamson.com | (973) 530-2014 
Daniel T. McKillop | Associate | dmckillop@wolffsamson.com |
(973) 530-2066
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