As blizzard approaches, NJDEP issues wastewater alert

With a major snow storm threatening northern New Jersey, where some wastewater treatment plants are still recovering from damage incurred during superstorm Sandy,
the NJ Environmental Protection Department today issued an Enforcement Alert.

The alert advises all New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permittees to take the following  precautions.

  1. Update your emergency contact list for internal and external communications 
  2. Test your remote access and communication systems and ensure they are in good  working order 
  3. Place operating/emergency response personnel on call and review emergency procedures 
  4. Provide the NJ State Police with 24 hour contact information for your organization  (operation center) in the event a travel restriction is imposed 
  5. Provide a list of emergency response personnel on 24-hour call to the  licensed operator on duty at the water or wastewater facility 
  6. Ensure that all supplies, including water treatment chemicals and fuels, are fully stocked and secured to the maximum extent possible 
  7. Test auxiliary power sources and generators to ensure they are in good working order 
  8. If applicable, arrange for portable generators for key pumping stations 
  9. Inspect infrastructure and back-ups to ensure they are functioning properly 
  10. Inspect Combined Sewer Systems and ensure that the regulators, screening facilities,  netting and tide gates are functioning properly 
  11. Clear all road storm drains and storm inlets prior to the storm event 
  12. Inspect/assess critical infrastructure for damage after the storm, when you can do so safely 
  13. Carry a fully charged cell phone and be sure everyone on the emergency list has the number, in case the land line is unavailable.  

Read the full alert here.

As blizzard approaches, NJDEP issues wastewater alert Read More »

EPA extends comment date on Gowanus Canal cleanup

    The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is extending–from March 28 to April 27–the deadline for public comment on its proposed cleanup plan for the Gowanus Canal in New York City.

    The plan includes removing some of the contaminated sediment and capping dredged areas. It also includes controls to prevent raw sewage overflows and other land-based sources of contamination from compromising the cleanup.  EPA estimates the cost of the cleanup to be between $467 and $504 million.

    Upcoming meeting dates on the cleanup plan

    On February 11, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group will meet with the EPA regarding the proposed plan from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the P.S. 58 Auditorium, 330 Smith Street, Brooklyn. The public is welcome.
    On February 13, the EPA will be in the Red Hook community to discuss in more detail the specifics of the proposed plan. That meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM at P.S. 15, located at 71 Sullivan Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The public is welcome.
    Read the EPA’s full news release on the Gowanus cleanup here.
    See the full proposed cleanup plan here  

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

    Related environmental news stories:

EPA extends comment date on Gowanus Canal cleanup Read More »

How to pay to preserve what open space land NJ has left

New Jerseyans love their open space, farmland and parks and it’s no wonder. The Garden State is the nation’s most densely populated and is expected to become the first state to reach “buildout,” the point at which no available open space is left.   

Voters have supported every statewide bond issue ever proposed to fund the preservation of disappearing farms and forests but all the money borrowed over five decades has been spent and now it’s not clear what the next source of funding will be.  


Additional borrowing by a state that’s running a big budget defect is politically unpopular, and no lawmaker (not even most Democrats) wants to be caught uttering the profane “T” word  (Shhh. It’s ‘taxes’ but keep it on the down-low)   


Can the state continue to fund preservation or does it throw in the towel and resign itself to devolving into the land of wall-to-wall highways, condos, Walmarts and Chuck E Cheese’s?


The Senate Environment and Energy yesterday took up the issue by exploring three options:
1  A fee on water use (notice we didn’t use the T word)
2. Another bond issue, or
3. A dedicated portion of the state sales tax.


New Jersey Spotlight covered the hearing and concluded that “a consensus appears to be emerging to dedicate $200 million a year in state sales tax revenue to preserve open space and farmland.”

Whether that idea flies with the Christie administration and Democratic-controlled Legislature remains to be seen, but the proposal was by far the most heavily endorsed of three options floated yesterday at a Senate Environment and Energy Committee hearing on how to finance an essentially broke open-space and farmland preservation program.

 “It’s our job to put this issue on the table,’’ said Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the chairman of the committee and sponsor of three different bills to continue open-space and farmland preservation efforts. None of the three bills on the committee’s agenda were acted on, but Smith said he hopes the issue comes front and center in this fall’s gubernatorial election.

While NJ Keep It Green, a 175-member coalition of environmental and other organizations, testified in favor of the sales tax dedication, two green organizations–NJ Environmental Federation and the Sierra Club– demurred.


Check out the links below for full coverage of the meeting.


After the hearing, EnviroPolitics caught up with Kelly Mooij, spokesperson for Keep It Green.Click the arrow in the photo at the top of this post to hear a portion of what she had to say on the issue. NOTE: The full interview will be part of our next EnviroPolitics Podcast later this week. We’ll notify you here when the episode is available. You also can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.   


Here are three news stories on the committee hearing:

Scheme to dedicate sales tax revenue to preserve open land seems to be early favorite

Most environmental groups prefer sales tax to fund open space preservation

Open space may be put to New.Jersey voters 

How to pay to preserve what open space land NJ has left Read More »

Jersey oysters rebound–all plump, sweet and briny good


                                                                                                            Emile Wamsteker for The Wall Street Journal 
Despite disease, overaggressive fishing and other factors that crippled New Jersey’s once thriving oyster industry in the 1950s and again in the 1990s, fishermen who stuck to their
nets are experiencing a significant rebound, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Combining to foster healthy harvests in recent years are “advances in growing techniques, increased demand and a new push from the state to drive economic activity in some of its poorest counties,” the paper reports

“After harvesting an annual average of 36,600 bushels in the 1990s, fishermen had a banner year in 2011, when 95,000 bushels were landed, though that number dipped last year to 78,000.

 “The industry is concentrated in the Delaware Bay, northwest of Cape May. The shallow bay’s nutrients and water flow help make the oysters plump, sweet and briny, restaurateurs and oyster harvesters say.”

Some New York dining establishments are taking note.

“Cape May Salts, a brand sold by large New Jersey producer Atlantic Capes Fisheries, are served in New York restaurants such as Maison Premiere and Telepan on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “These are perfectly balanced,” said Bill Telepan, the restaurant’s owner. “Customers will call me out and say these oysters were terrific.”


Read the full story here.

Check out this WSJ video about a management consultant turned oyster farmer

Related environmental news stories: 

N.J. oyster colony to be expanded   
Oysters Eyed as Help for New York Harbor 
Groups extend Delaware Bay oysters a warmer welcome


Our most recent posts:

Steven Chu stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Energy
One of the best pieces ever about New Jersey politics

Solar rebates return in PA but you’d better move quickly
New state law spurs Philadelphia to create a ‘Land Bank’
Nominees to NJ enviro commissions, boards & councils
Podcast – Episode #2 (Interviews with Tom Johnson, Senator Bob Smith)

 

Jersey oysters rebound–all plump, sweet and briny good Read More »

Planning your week head? Use Enviro-Events Calendar

Are you involved in an energy or environmental business, or offer services to
that community?
Enviro-Events Calendar is a great free tool for tapping into a wealth of networking, educational and social opportunities. 

Check out a small snapshot of Enviro-Events Calendar below

event calendar for NJ, PA, NY & DE

See how much is available to you
Visit Enviro-Events Calendar to see how many valuable forums, seminars, webinars, workshops and social and networking opportunities are available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.

Take advantage of our free listings
Send information on your upcoming event to: editor@enviropolitics.com
We’ll publish it without charge to help you spread the word to our targeted audience.

Don’t ever miss a future event
Use the form in the upper-right column of the site to receive free updates when new events are added.

Like this? Please pass it on  
Share this with your colleagues and friends who might put it to good use. Use the Facebook, Twitter or Pin It buttons below. Click on the +Share icon to access Google+ and dozens of other social media sites. 

Planning your week head? Use Enviro-Events Calendar Read More »

Steven Chu stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Energy

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (Dept of Energy photo)

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is leaving the Obama Administration, the White House confirmed today.

In his resignation letter, Chu said he intend to stay on board “past the end of February” to help the department find his successor.

Chu has been the target of  attacks from Republicans over his handling of a $528 million federal loan to solar panel maker Solyndra before the company filed for bankruptcy.

“During his time as Secretary, Steve helped my administration move America towards real energy independence,” President Obama said in a written statement today. “Over the past four years, we have doubled the use of renewable energy, dramatically reduced our dependence on foreign oil, and put our country on a path to win the global race for clean energy jobs.”

Chu is a Nobel Prize winner in physics and a former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

He is the third head of a federal department handling energy and environmental policy to leave at the start of the president’s second term. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa  Jackson earlier announced they will be stepping down.

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

Our most recent posts: 

One of the best pieces ever about New Jersey politics

Solar rebates return in PA but you’d better move quickly
New state law spurs Philadelphia to create a ‘Land Bank’
Nominees to NJ enviro commissions, boards & councils
EnviroPolitics Podcast – Episode #2 (Interviews with Tom Johnson, Senator Bob Smith)

Steven Chu stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Energy Read More »