EnviroPolitics Blog

No Senate vote on NJ waiver and permit extension bills

NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney pulled from yesterday’s voting agenda bills that would:

1. Extend expired development permits, and
2. Stop the NJDEP’s proposed waiver rule.
(See yesterday’s post on both)

Sources say that the sponsor of the permit-extension bill asked for a delay to consider changes sought by environmental groups. They want to limit the bill’s application in certain environmentally sensitive areas of the Highlands and Pinelands region.

To be sure, environmentalists will not support any bill extending building permits. They’re still pissed at God for granting the permit for the apple stand in the Garden of Eden. But they’ll be less opposed if the bill extends only permit dates and not geography.

[Related News: Attorney Michael Pisauro explains the environmental community’s position yesterday in his Green Pages NJ blog, while NJ Littoral Society exec Tim Dillingham ripped the legislation via an op-ed in yesterday’s Trenton Times.]

Why was the waiver bill (which the environmentalists support) also yanked?

You can expect to see it back on the Senate board when the latest version of the permit extension bill is ready for a vote. This way the Democratic majority can offer at least half-victories both to the greens and to the developers.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line.

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For
thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and
regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a free, 30-day subscription to our daily
newsletter EnviroPolitics. We track environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment.

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Our most recent posts:
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NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past

No Senate vote on NJ waiver and permit extension bills Read More »

NJ Senate voting today on permit extensions and waivers

Vote yes–and no. That’s what environmental groups are urging New Jersey state senators to do today on bills to derail the DEP’s controversial ‘waiver’ regulation and to extend the lives of previously issued development permits.

We covered the first bill, SCR-59, on Tuesday in Bill to squash NJDEP ‘waiver’ rule set for Senate vote.

The second, S-743 (Sarlo/Oroho), would extend relief granted to the state’s development community in 2008 when the economic downturn dried up financing for construction projects.

At that point, the Legislature extended the expiration date of some previously issued local and state permits to Dec. 31, 2012, hoping the economy would recover by then. With little improvement since, lawmakers now are being asked to extend the life of those permits to Dec. 31, 2014.

Environmentalists claim the legislation not only extends the expiration dates but also slips in areas of the state’s environmentally sensitive Highlands and Pinelands regions that were off limits to permit extensions under the 2008 legislation. New Jersey Highlands Coalition Executive Director Julia Somers calls it a “free pass for developers.”

Related News:
Protect the Highlands planning area from developer freebies

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Our most recent posts:
Bill to squash NJDEP ‘waiver’ rule set for Senate vote
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2
Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff
Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass
NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges

NJ Senate voting today on permit extensions and waivers Read More »

Bill to squash NJDEP ‘waiver’ rule set for Senate vote

On Thursday, members of the New Jersey Senate will get their chance to follow the Assembly in passing a resolution requiring the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to rewrite (or withdraw) its controversial waiver rule.

Set to go into effect on August 1, the rule would allow the DEP to waive its regulations and award permits when applicants demonstrate that applicable regulations pose an undue burden, are in conflict with rules of other agencies, or when there is a public emergency or when the permit would result in a net environmental benefit.

DEP Commissioner Bob Martin argues that the waiver process will be transparent, with all
applications and actions posted prominently on the DEP’s web site. The rule will be judiciously applied and he personally will review each case, Martin says.

Builders, developers and major business organizations support the waiver
rule, but have as much chance of stopping it on Thursday as the Celtics
do against the Miami Heat.

Why? Both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the Democratic party which hasn’t had much luck in derailing any major parts of the Republican Gov.Chris Christie’s agenda so far.

The waiver bill gives them a rare chance to stop a key Christie initiative (recommended, no less, by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno‘s Red-Tape Commission).

Although they’ve been striving of late to appear more pro-business themselves, the Dems will argue that, in this case, the governor’s pro-business agenda is a bit too pro-business.

The majority party is spurred on by a host of environmental groups. They hate the waiver rule and have made news by going to court to block its implementation.

Never in danger of understating a point, Sierra Club leader Jeff Tittle declared, in an op-ed, that the waiver rule is “part of Christie’s national agenda to sell off New
Jersey’s environment to polluters and developers.”

Koch Brothers Charles and David

Wow. Is the rule that bad? Do the Koch brothers have Commissioner Martin on speed-dial?

Will the DEP be approving mountain-top coal mining?

Oh, that’s right, Jersey doesn’t have real mountains.

But don’t you get the feeling that there are bigger forces at work on this one?

It’s not really just a case of whether a builder can get a DEP pass to add units to his development by preserving adjacent acres of wetlands, is it?

And isn’t that true of almost all politics in 2012?

Tell us what you think in the opinion box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ link. Signed comments appreciated. Anonymous submissions also accepted.

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Our most recent posts:
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2
Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff
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After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges

Bill to squash NJDEP ‘waiver’ rule set for Senate vote Read More »

After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2

How did New Jersey’s Department of Agriculture
ramp up recycling?
It started with prune pits.

Back in the days before recycling got its name, Agriculture Department staffer Karen Kritz received an intriguing tip from a farmer. Prune pits, which are hard as rocks, can sometimes be used in place of rocks.

Recognizing that “farmers are very creative,” Kritz ran with the idea. Before long, some state prisons were saving on paving costs by lining their roadways with…you got it…prune pits.

The NJ Department of Agriculture began to formally explore recycling ideas, which Kritz detailed last week for members of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, when the state enacted the nation’s first mandatory recycling law in 1997.

See: After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1

The recycling law focused on traditional household waste materials–paper, glass bottles and metal cans. Kritz was deputized by the then Agriculture Secretary to develop a recycling program for something the law did not cover–nursery and greenhouse film. About a million pounds of it was winding up in landfills every year.

Greenhouse film

She pulled together a group of nurserymen, county agricultural agents, county recycling coordinators and private recyclers to brainstorm the issue. They discovered that agricultural film is made from the same chemicals used in plastic grocery bags. Best of all, there was a way to recycle it.

That’s all Kritz had to hear. A program was established and some 300,000 pounds of greenhouse film was recycled in the first year. By 2011, the total had grown to 1.1 million pounds annually.

A recycling rate nearing 100 percent

NJ Agriculture Dept.’s Karen Kritz

What used to end up in state landfills is
now being dropped off by farmers at two South Jersey collection centers
in Atlantic and Cumberland counties. It eventually returns to commerce
in the form of plastic grocery bags,

Kritz estimates that New Jersey is now recycling close to 100 percent of the material used each year–the nirvana number for any recycler of any kind of material. The program’s astounding success has attracted interest–and imitation–nationally and abroad.

Cost to taxpayers for pesticide container recycling: Zero

The department (through its one-person recycling program–Karen Kritz) went on to establish a recycling program for plastic pesticide containers. Kritz was discouraged when only 676 of them were collected in the program’s first year, so she worked harder at getting the word out to the farming and recycling communities. Last year, 80,000 containers were collected at three locations in South Jersey. They are picked up by a Texas-based company and used to make parking lot bumpers and liners for tractor trailers.

Success breeds success. The department is now looking to expand the program by establishing collection sites for farmers in other parts of the state. Kritz (hint, hint) told the committee she could use $10,000 to purchase a grinder. Any interested donors out there?

L. Grace Spencer

Programs work when the people involved are dedicated. Driven might be the more operative word for Karen Kritz. Last year, for quality control purposes, she inspected every single one of those 80,000 containers herself.

Entire program cost to New Jersey taxpayer other than Kritz’s 276 pay hours? Zero.

Committee chairman Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, a Democrat, congratulated the Agriculture Department on its recycling initiatives and saluted Kritz with this:

“If I had the ear of the (Republican) Governor (Chris Christie) when it comes to giving out raises, you’d be at the top of my list.”

NEXT: In Part 3 of our report, other recycling participants tell their stories

Does your community have a
recycling success you’d like to share? Your business? Organization? Have an idea on how to improve recycling rates in New Jersey, or in the state or country where you live? Tell us what you think in the opinion box below. If one is not visible,
activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line. Signed comments appreciated. Anonymous submissions accepted.

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Our most recent posts:
Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff
Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass
NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges

After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2 Read More »

Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff

** Updated to add related news stories on May 28, 2012**

Former Saul Ewing Chairman Stephen S. Aichele will move from his role as Pennsylvania’s general counsel to become Governor Tom Corbett’s chief of staff, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported today.

Corbett announced the change Thursday after nominating current chief of staff William F. Ward to fill a vacancy on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Aichele left Saul Ewing in January 2011 after 35 years at the firm
when Corbett nominated him general counsel. He will now succeed Ward,
effective this coming Tuesday.

Prior to joining the state government, Aichele had spent his entire
career at Saul Ewing. He has served in various leadership roles
including managing partner. As chairman, he served as its public
ambassador through participation and leadership in community affairs and
in the numerous business, civic and political organizations in which
the firm participates.
David Antzis replaced him as managing partner in early 2006.

Aichele also has been the driving force behind the firm’s real estate
practice for decades and spearheaded the opening of the firm’s
Chesterbrook, Pa., office.

Aichele’s wife, former Chester County Commissioner Carole Aichele, serves as secretary of state.

The Associated Press said the change comes as Corbett. a first-term Republican, battles criticism from opponents over
his cost-cutting agenda and from allies over his ability to forge policy
and broadcast a persuasive and strong public message

The governor held a brief meeting with Ward and other senior staff
members Thursday afternoon to announce the change and declined to
comment afterward. Spokesman Kevin Harley said Corbett is “a very
independent-minded man” who is not bending to pressure to make a change.

“Every administration is going to have critics,” Harley said. “However,
this is something that the governor and Bill have been discussing for
many months and the governor thought this was the right time to do it so
he could get confirmed before the (Legislature’s summer) recess.”

Related:
Corbett replaces his chief of staff
Corbett moves to fill Allegheny County court vacancy
Corbett taps top aide for judge, says it’s not shakeup

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For
thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and
regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a free, 30-day subscription to our daily
newsletter EnviroPolitics. We track environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment.

***********************************************************************************************************

Our most recent posts:
Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass
NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges

Solar energy industry rescue bill advances in New Jersey

Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff Read More »

Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass

The green trio of PennFuture, Sierra Club, and NRDC today blasted new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The activists say the rules create loopholes for dirty diesel and
gas electricity generators, allowing them to avoid installing pollution
controls for toxic and other air pollution emissions.

“These proposed rules sacrifice local air quality and public health,
distort energy markets, and could endanger electricity reliability in
our region,” said Christina Simeone, director of the PennFuture Energy
Center, a program of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future.

Several years ago, EPA adopted rules limiting the amount of toxic air
emissions — like formaldehyde and benzene — that are released from small
diesel and gas-fired generators.

In a news release the organizations say that EPA is now proposing to allow dirty
generators to increase by six times the number of hours they may operate
in electricity planning programs without any pollution controls.

“EPA’s proposal would create a loophole allowing dirty generators to
participate in profitable electricity market programs, giving them
additional revenue while avoiding life-saving pollution controls,” said
Courtney Lane, senior policy analyst at PennFuture.

“The loophole in these rules could result in reduced reliability and
will result in increased air pollution, by making the electricity system
more dependent on small, dirty sources of electricity. Closing this
loophole will send market signals to invest in cleaner generation and
conservation while better protecting Americans’ health,” said John
Walke, clean air director and senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

“Nobody gets a free pass,” said Mark Kresowik, eastern region deputy
director for the Sierra Club‘s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Even the local
operators of the electric grid say that our energy supply is secure.
Don’t tell mothers that the only way to ensure a stable electric supply
is to put their kids’ health in danger… The
technologies exist to reduce this pollution, and that’s why EPA should
close the loophole.”

Do you agree? Is there another side to the story? Tell us what you think in the box below. If one isn’t visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line.

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Our most recent posts:|
NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past
After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges

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Legislation to save solar energy in NJ gets hearing today

Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass Read More »

No Senate vote on NJ waiver and permit extension bills

NJ Senate voting today on permit extensions and waivers

Bill to squash NJDEP ‘waiver’ rule set for Senate vote

After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 2

Ex-Saul Ewing chair named Pa Governor’s chief of staff

Envrios claim EPA is giving ‘dirty diesel’ a free pass

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