EnviroPolitics Blog

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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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:
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

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

Solar energy industry rescue bill advances in New Jersey
Legislation to save solar energy in NJ gets hearing today

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

NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past

NJ Assembly Chamber – Tony Kurdzuk (Star Ledger)

New Jersey environmental groups are pushing hard for passage today of two bills in the state Assembly. The first would force the NJDEP to rewrite or withdraw its controversial ‘waiver’ rule. The second would invalidate Governor Chris Christie’s removal of the state from RGGI, a regional greenhouse gas compact.

Waiver rule: A common sense tool or environmental protection threat?

Commissioner Bob Martin describes the Department of Environmental Protection’s new
waiver rule, effective
Aug. 1, as a common sense move, providing the agency with flexibility
to
modify compliance with development rules in circumstances that do not compromise environmental protections.

Martin argues that the waiver process will be transparent, with all applications and actions posted prominently on the DEP’s web site.

To be approved, a developer would have to demonstrate at least one of four criteria:

Public Emergency — There is a public emergency that has been formally declared.
Conflicting Rules — Conflicting rules (between federal and state
agencies, or between state agencies) are adversely impacting a project
or activity from proceeding.
Net Environmental Benefit — A net environmental benefit would be achieved.
Undue Hardship — Undue hardship is being imposed by the rule requirements.

“A lack of flexibility can sometimes produce unreasonable, unfair or
unintended results that actually undermine the goal the rule or
requirement was intended to attain,” Martin said.

Are both sides talking about the same rule?

In dramatic contrast, environmental groups see the rule as “one of the biggest threats to the environment in the history of the
Department of Environmental Protection,” according to Sierra Club President Jeff
Tittel whose organization has joined with others in a law suit to block it.

“The waiver rule is an egregious affront to the laws that protect New Jersey’s environment and our health,” echoed the Raritan Headwaters Association.

“Under the guise of improving the environment, DEP’s waiver rule actually reduces the environmental protection that each and every New Jersey citizen is entitled to, and in adopting a blanket waiver rule DEP has unconstitutionally exceeded the authority granted to it by the legislature,” stated Michael Pisauro of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby.

Resolution would amend or kill DEP’s waiver rule

Set for a vote today in the Assembly is ACR 37 (Barnes). It declares the waiver rule to be inconsistent with legislative intent and orders it to be rewritten or withdrawn within 30 days.

Business groups like the NJ Chamber of Commerce, NJ Business and Industry Association and the NJ Builders Association oppose the resolution.

Look for a party line vote, with Republicans siding with the Christie Administration.

RGGI Redux

Two bills also scheduled for Assembly votes today (A-1998/McKeon and S-1322/Sweeney) intend to put New Jersey back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (pronounced “Reggie”) which Republican Governor Chris Christie declared to be environmentally ineffective and too costly to business when he ended the state’s participation in 2011.

If the legislation looks familiar, it’s because the Legislature passed a similar measure at the end of in the previous session. Governor Christie, as he had promised, vetoed it.

There’s no reason to suspect that the outcome will be any different this time around.
(See: Enviros pushing lawmakers to get NJ back into RGGI)

Other energy and environmental bills up for Assembly votes today

A-1459 Gusciora, R. (D-15); McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Barnes III, P.J. (D-18)
Revises “Electronic Waste Management Act.” Related Bill: S-822

A-1527 Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Concerns Watershed Property Review Board in DEP. Related Bill: S-525

A-1534 Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Requires DEP to conduct analysis of “Pollution Prevention Act.”

A-2316 Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Authorizes certain municipalities and rural electric cooperatives to establish a municipal shared services energy authority. Related Bill: S-1389

A-2504 Prieto, V. (D-32); Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37)
Provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns for the Meadowlands Conservation Trust.

A-2584 Ramos Jr., R.J. (D-33); Caputo, R.R. (D-28); Amodeo, J.F. (R-2); Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3)
Requires DEP to allow for correction of technical and administrative permit application violations; and subjects adoption of DEP technical manuals to Administrative Procedure Act.”

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Our most recent posts:
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
Big wind energy starting to blow south of the border

NJ Assembly voting on ‘waiver’ bill and a gas from past Read More »

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

On the 25th anniversary of New Jersey’s mandatory recycling law, L. Grace Spencer, chairwoman of the state Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee called together state agencies and public and private recycling interest on Monday to ask the question: How’s New Jersey doing?

The disappointing news is that the 1987 Recycling Act’s goal of recycling 50 percent of all municipal solid waste by 1995 is still only a goal today.

The good news is that, despite backsliding from a high of 42.8 percent in 1997 to a range in the low-to-mid 30s through much of the past decade, recycling numbers again are on the upswing.

The amount of municipal solid waste recycled in the state reached 40 percent in 2010–the latest year for which total statistics are available–a three percent increase over 2009 totals.

Why recycling rates are improving

Advances in technology have allowed numerous counties and towns to combine what used to be separate recycling containers (cans and bottles in one–newspaper in another) into a single household recycling receptacle.

Called ‘single-stream,’ this approach is proving to increase per-household recycling. It also is credited with lowering municipal and county collection costs (although sometimes requiring a substantial investment to modify sorting and processing facilities).

The state’s recycling numbers also have been boosted by a more recent law requiring the recycling of so-called ‘e-waste’–worn out electronic equipment like computers, monitors, printers and TV sets that previously would have gone to landfills.

DEP’s Assistant Commissioner Jane Kozinski told the committee that some 20,000 tons of e-waste was accepted at 520 sites in New Jersey last year.

Kozinski reeled off some discouraging facts and statistics:

Only one county (Gloucester) reached a 50% recycling rate in 2010.
A third of all municipalities recycled less than 25% of their waste, while 16 percent reached 50%
Many commercial businesses, offices and institutions still do not know that recycling is mandatory.
The capacity of recycling containers can be an impediment–recycling stops when the can is full.
Some towns do not have curbside pickups and their drop off centers are not conveniently located, or have limited hours of operation, or may not be available to commercial residents.

And some positives, too:

A recycling fee, imposed on solid waste disposed of in New Jersey, generated $19 million last year.
Municipalities reaped $13.5 million of the total in the form of grants to fund their recycling programs.
Counties received $5.5 million to support their recycling efforts, with the balance going to university research on recycling and to the DEP for program administration costs.
The additional 364,000 tons of material recycled in 2010 (over 2009) saved $26 million in disposal costs and generated $45.5 million in sales of recyclable material.
Some 31,000 jobs were supported in 2010 by New Jersey recycling.
If the state can increase its rate to 50 percent, another 10,000 jobs could be created inside and outside the state

NEXT: In Part 2 of our report, other recycling participants tell their stories

Have a suggestion on how New Jersey can reach or exceed its 50% recycling goal? Care to share a notable recycling success? Or failure? You don’t have to politely wait for us to finish this topic before you chime in. Tell us what you think about recycling right now in the opinion box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line.

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Our most recent posts:
In Pa, a supreme court justice is hit with felony charges
Solar energy industry rescue bill advances in New Jersey
Legislation to save solar energy in NJ gets hearing today
Big wind energy starting to blow south of the border

If Newark gets new power plant, do residents get shaft?

After 25 years, how’s recycling doing in NJ? – Part 1 Read More »