Some NJ lawmakers mounting an anti-frack attack

The natural-gas-rich Marcellus Shale runs though portions of New York and Pennsylvania–not New Jersey. But that geographic fact hasn’t discouraged lawmakers in the Garden State from pushing legislation to halt the use of hydraulic fracturing as a method of extracting the formation’s buried energy.

On Monday, March 7, the New Jersey Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee will consider two bills that attempt to influence gas drilling. Three days later, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee will take up another.

The Assembly committee will start with Assemblywoman Connie Wagner’s A-3653, which  prohibits any person in New Jersey from using the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing for natural gas exploration until the federal Environmental Protection Agency “concludes its study of hydraulic fracturing, the techniques and materials employed in its use, and the environmental impact of these practices, techniques and materials, and issues its findings.”
The bill serves little practical purpose since the EPA study will be written, bound, distributed and had its excess copies stored away on congressional shelves long before anyone even thinks about gas drilling in New Jersey.

So what’s the point? Arguably, if passed, the bill would proclaim New Jersey’s solidarity with fracking opponents in New York and Pennsylvania who are pressing their state governments to impose similar moratoria on the drilling method.

That, in fact, is the subject of the second Wagner bill that the Assembly panel will consider. AJR-67 urges the governors and state legislatures in Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania to freeze the use of hydraulic fracturing (New York has already done so) until EPA concludes its study and issues its findings.

On Thursday, the Senate committee will be debating a bill of more immediate import. Senator Robert Gordon’s  S-2575  would prohibit New Jersey’s representative to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) from supporting use of drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing.  

The Commission is well into the process of developing regulations that, as drafted, would permit the use of  hydraulic fracturing, with limiting restrictions, in the upper Delaware River watershed that covers portions of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Fracking opponents argue that the proposed restrictions are not sufficient to prevent frack-water contaminants from entering the Delaware–a drinking water source for millions of downstream residents in  New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

New Jersey’s representative to the DRBC is Governor Chris Christie. His alternate, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, has not indicated how he will vote on the proposed regulations but has expressed concerns that the regulations need to be strict enough to protect the river as a drinking-water source.

Between Monday’s and Thursday’s hearings, the debate in the Senate committee should be more interesting since both fracking supporters and opponents have a lot riding on the success or failure of Senator Gordon’s legislation.

Time running out on ‘Time of Decision’ rule in NJ
EPA extends reporting deadline for 2010 GHG emissions 


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The latest environmental events for NJ, PA, NY & DE


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Time running out on ‘Time of Decision’ rule in NJ
EPA extends reporting deadline for 2010 GHG emissions 


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In PA, legislation to referee between coal and gas mining

Photo credit: Sandusky Register

It was inevitable that, with the increasing number of natural gas wells being drilled in expanding areas of Pennsylvania, the rights of new-energy gas would eventually bump up against old-energy coal.

State lawmakers are now moving to establish ground rules for instances when natural gas drillers want to sink their drill bits into land owned by coal companies.

SB 265, sponsored by Senator Mary Joe White, requires that permit applications for gas drilling wells that will penetrate an operating coal mine be accompanied by the written consent of the coal mine operator.

The legislation changes the definitions of  an “active coal mine,” “operating coal mine” and “workable coal seam” and, requires that new gas well clusters be located at least 2,000 feet from the nearest well cluster, unless the permit applicant and the owner of the workable coal seam consent in writing.

The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to commission an independent study, funded by the industry, to update the Joint Coal and Gas Committee Gas Well Pillar Study. The study would assess appropriate pillar size around an active/inactive well or well cluster to protect the workable coal seam and ensure the safety of coal miners, as well as any additional criteria or standards that should be considered by the department.

“The purpose of this measure is to provide organized development between natural gas wells and workable coal seams,” said Senator White. “Particularly with the increase in natural gas development, Pennsylvania needs clear standards in place for the safe, ordered extraction of these valuable energy sources.” 

The environmental bill, which passed the state Senate 45-0 on March 2, now moves on  to the  House of Representatives for consideration.


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Time running out on ‘Time of Decision’ rule in NJ

“New Jersey case law has consistently held that new or modified development ordinance provisions apply to pending land use applications, even if the proposed zoning was specifically introduced to thwart a pending application.  This has historically been known as the “time of decision” rule.  On May 5, 2011, the time of decision rule will run out of time”
That’s how attorney Douglas J. Janacek leads off a short but informative update in the Gibbons law firm’s Real Property and Environmental Law Alert.
Here’s the rest: 
Recognizing the fundamental chilling impact on developers who commit substantial time and money to a project only to have the rules changed by a municipality after the game has already started, the Legislature amended the Municipal Land Use Law to provide that the development regulations in effect on the date of submission of an application govern the review and decision with respect to that application.

This legislation was enacted on May 5, 2010, to become effective one year later in order to give municipalities time to revise and update their ordinances.


Accordingly, for those development applications submitted on or subsequent to May 5, 2011, the time of decision rule will no longer apply. Although municipalities will no longer be able to rezone reactively as a substitute for thorough and comprehensive planning or in reaction to public opposition to the application, the question now will be: Is an application that is deemed “incomplete” sufficiently “submitted” to be protected against changes to a municipality’s development ordinance?


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EPA extends reporting deadline for 2010 GHG emissions

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  is extending its March 31, 2011deadlilne to submit greenhouse gas reports.
The agency announced today that it is continuing to develop an electronic reporting system and wants to take more time to be sure it is working properly before setting a new deadline.
In a news release, the EPA said it had completed “extensive work to develop GHG data reporting requirements for a wide range of different industries in response to Congressional mandates. 

“This program will provide Congress, stakeholder groups and the public with information about these emissions while helping businesses identify cost effective ways to reduce emissions in the future. “
The agency said it plans to have the final uploading tool available this summer, with the data scheduled to be published later this year. It said the extension will allow it “to further test the system that facilities will use to submit data and give industry the opportunity to test the tool, provide feedback, and have sufficient time to become familiar with the tool prior to reporting.”

More detail on the changes will be made available in the coming weeks, the EPA said.

Troubling signs for PA shale gas drilling opponents?
Roll over Marcellus, the Utica is tomorrow’s gas news

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New soil compaction rules in NJ aim to reduce runoff

A new law has the goal of restoring nature’s plumbing in New Jersey.

As the first green shoots pop up in March, experts will meet to lay out new rules for restoring soil to near-natural conditions as construction projects wrap up.

“Restore it to what point? That’s a big question,” said Stephanie Murphy, director of the soil testing laboratory at Rutgers University, and chair of the committee developing ways to implement the new law. “We’re getting a lot of stakeholders and people who want to be at the table to talk about what’s doable and not doable.”

Any project with two or more residential units will need to conform to the new rules starting in 2012.

AP Press environmental writer Kirk Moore provides a detailed look today at what lies ahead for the  rule-making that could have a significant impact on construction projects in New Jersey

Read the full story in today’s issue of  EnviroPolitics. Sign up now and you’ll also get a free, no-obligation, 30-day trial subscription that will provide you with the top environmental and political news every business day in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware. Plus regulations and legislation, too! 

Troubling signs for PA shale gas drilling opponents?
Roll over Marcellus, the Utica is tomorrow’s gas news

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