Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond that appeared in EnviroPolitics during the week of June 1-5, 2009.

New Jersey Environment

NJ among five states uniting to protect coast The governors of New Jersey and four other states promise to work together to protect the Atlantic coast and develop offshore wind farms for renewable energy. Their agreement established the Governors Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on Oceans with member states NY, NJ, DE, MD, and VA Bergen Record

PETA seeks NJ lighthouse to protest fishing An animal-rights group wants to use a NJ lighthouse and two others in Michigan to publicize what it says are the horrors of killing fish for food and sport AP

N.J. bluefish advisory is upgraded New Jersey’s health advisory for eating large bluefish has been upgraded, with state environmental and health experts now saying it’s safe for most adults to consume meals from large bluefish six times a year, up from four times annually under a previous advisory AP Press

Tracking EnCap’s cash Federal investigators sifting through the history of the failed EnCap Golf project are asking questions about money the venture took in from haulers who dumped mountains of construction debris and other material at the Meadowlands site. Two sources familiar with the ongoing probe said FBI agents had lengthy interviews in recent weeks with current and former state officials who oversaw aspects of the$1 billion landfill-to-links project once slated for Rutherford and Lyndhurst Bergen Record

Environmentalists rip DEP proposal as a ‘gag order’ The state Department of Environmental Protection proposed restrictions yesterday on the public release of its scientific studies and reports, which environmental groups lambasted as a sweeping “gag order” spurred by a controversy over chromium pollution in Hudson County Star-Ledger

Nuclear plant opponents file appeal Five groups want to overturn a federal decision to give the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey a 20-year license renewal AP Press AC Press

New Jersey Politics
Christie wins New Jersey GOP primary Former U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie decisively turned back a spirited challenge from staunch conservative Steve Lonegan in yesterday’s Republican gubernatorial fight, setting up a general-election battle with Democratic Gov. Corzine Inquirer Christie clobbers Lonegan
Focus turns to his true opponent–Corzine

Corzine, Christie come out swinging NJ is set for a highly competitive governor’s race that pits a former Marine who learned how to wield a shovel as a farm boy against a swashbuckling ex-prosecutor with a Jersey-size chip on his shoulder Inquirer

Furlough deal with unions avoids Biden picket lines Under threats that picketing state workers would disrupt the official kickoff of Gov. Corzine’s election campaign–and an appearance by Vice President Joe Biden–negotiators reached a last-minute, tentative settlement with one of New Jersey’s largest labor unions, high-ranking Democratic officials said Star-Ledger

Rocker Bon Jovi plays a set at fund-raiser for Corzine AP

State Supreme Court boots municipal judge A former Somerset County municipal court judge who caused a ruckus at a Bound Brook go-go bar and presided while under the influence of alcohol and painkillers is permanently barred from the bench, the N.J. Supreme Court ruled today Star-Ledger

Pennsylvania Environment

DEP approves assessment for proposed construction-debris landfill Having received adequate responses to a host of questions, the state DEP approves the environmental assessment for a proposed expansion of a construction-waste landfill in Lackawanna County Times Leader

Landfill station in Shenandoah won’t shut yet The closing of the North Schuylkill Landfill Association transfer station south of the borough is on hold, but for how long is uncertain Republican Herald

DEP sues over nuclear cleanup Beginning nearly 50 years ago at a site near Karthaus, where Clearfield, Clinton and Centre counties come together, two companies leaked nuclear radiation into the largest wild area in the eastern U.S., the Quehanna Wild Area Centre Daily Times

Land to be tested for CO2 storage Trucks that thump the ground and listen to the vibrations will help find places to store carbon dioxide underground where it won’t add to global warming Standard Speaker

State Sen. Mary Jo White debunks threat of park closures A western Pennsylvania senator said Monday the threat of state park closures is “ridiculous” and blamed it on the reluctance of fellow Republicans to talk about any tax increase Pocono Record

Opinion: Rendell’s plan to tax natural gas a job killer The sudden growth in the number of exploratory wells in the northern and western regions of the state has not gone unnoticed by Gov. Ed Rendell and House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese. But instead of seeing this as an opportunity to bring jobs and resources into Pennsylvania, they see a source of tax revenue to fill a massive state budget deficit caused by years of wasteful overspending Delco Times

Pennsylvania Politics

Specter seeks to reassure his new party Joe Sestak, a second-term congressman, has all but announced he will challenge Specter. He argues that it is not right for the party establishment to try to anoint the Senate nominee Inquirer

Rendell heads to White House for talks on high-speed rail Gov. Rendell is one of eight governors invited to the White House today to discuss high-speed rail with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Inquirer

Bonusgate defendant implicates DeWeese in court filing A key defendant in the Bonusgate investigation is now alleging that House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese engaged in the same conduct that led to sweeping corruption charges against a dozen House Democratic insiders Inquirer

Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates urge cuts before any taxes A $3.2 billion budget deficit could be easily shrunk by $1 billion, some say Morning Call

Projected state budget gap grows to $3.2 billion Inquirer
> John Baer: Budget will be late, painful Phila. Daily News

New York/Nation/World


The poop on finding penguins Scientists looking for lost penguins stumbled upon an effective method: Follow their poop from space NPR audio report
Vilern Bischof/Getty Images
Green workers feel safe amid economic slump More than two-thirds of workers with “green jobs” said attention on climate issues among governments and businesses had increased their sense of job security, according to the first Carbon Salary Survey by Reuters New York Times’ ‘Green Inc’ blog

Environmentalists unhappy with bottle deposit delay Environmental advocates and redemption center owners are boiling over a court order to delay implementation of New York’s Bigger Better Bottle Bill for another year Syracuse Post Standard

Judge limits power plant Partial shutdown of coal-fired Indiana site viewed as victory for NY attorney general Times Union

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The New Jersey Senate budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday
will consider legislation which would tighten the state’s building code to encourage the construction of more
energy-efficient homes.

Uh oh, you say. Another case of government driving up an industry’s costs in order to effect some desirable social goal.

Well, yes, but the bill doesn’t end there. It also seeks to offset the increased costs of such homes by offering assistance with down payments to new buyers.

The bill, S-702, sponsored by Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), authorizes the State Commissioner of Community Affairs to amend the Uniform Construction Code’s energy subcode to establish enhanced energy-saving construction requirements. The costs of those added requirements would have to be recoverable, through energy conservation savings, over a period of not more than seven years.

In addition, it directs the state Board of Public Utilities to assist certain homebuyers by providing down payment funding assistance for the purchase of new homes which have increased costs due to the enhanced energy conservation building requirements.

An interesting approach, don’t you think?

Share your thoughts in the response block below or by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line.

Why did the nation’s nuclear energy industry pick former New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman to be the spokesperson in their campaign to win Congressional support for “loan guarantees” for new plant construction?

Watch (below) her performance Friday on the Morning Joe show.
Even if you don’t agree with what she’s selling, you have to admire how she does it. This is a pro at work.

Thanks to Jason Springer at Blue Jersey for calling it to our attention.