EnviroPolitics Blog

New York City reshapes its commercial waste system. Details sparse.

Many questions remain about how companies were selected, how much recycling investment will occur, how soon companies get electric vehicles, when implementation will begin, and more.

By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive Editor

New York’s recent announcement of 65 contracts for companies to manage commercial waste in the city was a major development. Now comes the hard part — setting up the system by 2026.

Shifting from an open market system in which licensed haulers can operate anywhere in the five boroughs to one in which select haulers can only operate in certain zones will be complex. Many questions remain about how this will be implemented, as well as how it will lead to desired environmental and safety benefits.

The city’s Department of Sanitation declined an interview and further details at this time. The New York City Council’s sanitation committee is expected to address this topic in future budget and oversight hearings, but dates have not been set.

In the meantime, here are five important areas to watch as the process gets underway.

Initial reactions

Unlike other waste-related announcements, neither DSNY nor Mayor Eric Adams have held press conferences on this issue in recent years. Aside from a supportive statement by the New York League of Conservation Voters after the awards, environmental and business groups have largely been quiet as well.

Read the full story here

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The proposed dam on the Susquehanna River stirs painful memories of Tocks Island on the Delaware

On February 1, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a preliminary permit to York Energy Storage, LLC for the pumped hydroelectric storage project the company proposes in York County. The preliminary permit gives York Energy Storage priority for building a project on the site (essentially calling dibs) and opens up a public input period as the company begins to assemble the studies and other documents necessary for a full license application. That license would allow the company to build the project and use eminent domain to force property owners on the site to sell.

The public has 60 days from the preliminary permit date to submit comments to the FERC. Any comment submitted should include the docket number P-15332-000 and can be submitted by the FERC’s eComment system or by paper.

By Bernard Brown in Grist, February 12, 2024

In winter, the two sides of Old Bridgeville Road in eastern York County, about 70 miles west of Philadelphia, don’t look all that different. Tan fields of corn and soy stubble cover the rolling hills to the east and to the west, broken up by patches of woods and dotted with houses and farm buildings.

If the proposed York Energy Storage project is built, though, the view to the east will be dominated by a 580-acre reservoir. Up to 25,000 acre-feet of water would be held back by a 9,800-foot-long dam up to 225 feet tall as well as dikes to either side, one 700 feet long and up to 90 feet tall and another 1,300 feet long and up to 35 feet tall. York Energy Storage LLC, the company proposing the project, says that it will fill an important role in a green energy future. The question is whether this is true, and at what cost to the people in the way.

Jake and Jen Horton live in a white farmhouse on 70 acres of crop fields and pastures that would be underneath the surface of the proposed reservoir. Near the house stand four outbuildings including two yet-unpainted barns. A fire in March destroyed the previous barns and the Hortons rebuilt them over the summer, racing to finish before they had to put up hay for the winter. “What we’re looking at would be underwater,” Jake Horton says.

Read the full Grid story here

EP editor’s Note: Many of you, while reading the Grid story above, may flash back to the battle over the construction of the Tocks Island dam on the Delaware River. Here is some history of that event.

The Tocks Island Dam controversy (National Park Service)
Tocks Island Dam Controversy ( Wikipedia)
Tocks Island Dam Aftermath (Jim Alexander video)
The lasting legacy of Nancy Shukaitis, Tocks Dam fighter (Morning Call)

We invite your comments on the York, PA dam/reservoir proposal and/or your memories of Tocks Island.

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Tribe’s enormous solar farm will be eight miles long, one mile wide

By Clark Adomaitis, Voices From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau

A proposed solar farm on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation will have 2.2 million solar panels and will be eight miles long and one mile wide.

Tribal officials worked with the international renewable energy company Canigou Group to plan the Sun Bear Solar Farm near Towaoc, Colorado. Officials say the project will create more than 500 local jobs for electricians and laborers.

Officials are planning to break ground on the construction of the Sun Bear Solar Farm later in 2024, with the goal of producing electricity in 2026. Annual capacity is estimated to be about 756 megawatts.

Canigou Group and Adkins Consulting conducted biological and archeological surveys of the grounds where Sun Bear is set to be constructed. — *Canigou Group and Adkins Consulting conducted biological and archeological surveys of the grounds where Sun Bear is set to be constructed*.

Canigou Group’s director, Justin Passfield, said the project will cost more than $1 billion. Passfield said electricity generated from the solar farm will connect to the Western Area Power Administration power line. Still, it’s unclear what regional entities Canigou will sell the electricity to.

“We’re thinking about the power needs within Colorado,” said Passfield. “But also, it makes sense not to transmit power too far from where you are. Having said that, we’re going to be producing a large amount of power. So I’m not sure that all of it will be able to be consumed within Colorado.”

Read full story here

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SWANA changes its position to support on bottle bills

The association’s updated policy endorses container deposit systems that allow recyclers to participate, set higher deposit values and allow for curbside materials to be included.

Plastic beverage bottles at a recycling center in San Francisco *Justin Sullivan via Getty Images*

By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive

The Solid Waste Association of North America has updated its policy position to support deposit return systems as a key to increasing collection rates and reducing litter. Its policy focuses on “single-use” beverage containers.

SWANA supports bottle bill policies as long as they meet characteristics such as ensuring recyclers are allowed to participate in the system, allowing ownership of covered materials to be retained “by whomever possesses it” and designing the program so any generated funds are invested back into the system.

SWANA also advocates for bottle bills that allow material collected curbside to be returned through deposit systems and have deposit values that are high enough to incentivize consumers to return the containers. It also calls for encouraging container designs that work effectively with existing recycling and reuse systems.

Which states have bottle bills? California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. Oregon was the first state to successfully pass a bottle deposit law in 1971, Vermont was the second state to pass a bottle deposit law in 1973, and Hawaii was the most recent in 2002.

SWANA says the national conversation around container deposit systems has gained momentum in recent years, prompting the association to bring its own policy “into the 21st century, especially considering potential federal legislation on the topic,” said Allison Trulock, the SWANA board’s technical division director, in a statement.

Read the full story here

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Feds finalize areas for floating offshore wind farms off Oregon coast

A Block Island Wind Farm turbine operates, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour of the South Fork Wind farm organized by Orsted. The federal government has finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says the two areas cover nearly 200,000 acres. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson,

By Clare Rush, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The federal government has finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast, authorities announced Tuesday, bringing the state closer to commercially developing and producing a renewable energy source that’s part of the fight against climate change.

The two zones cover roughly 195,000 acres (78,914 hectares) and are both located in southern Oregon, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. One area is 32 miles (52 kilometers) off the coast of Coos Bay, and the other is 18 miles (29 kilometers) from the shore of the small city of Brookings, located near the California state line. They have the capacity for producing 2.4 gigawatts of energy, the agency said, enough to power roughly 800,000 homes.

Following the announcement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said she was committed to developing a transparent roadmap for exploring offshore wind opportunities with the input of coastal and tribal communities.

“Offshore wind is likely to play an important role in meeting our state’s growing energy demand and goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040,” Kotek said in a statement. “It also presents a significant economic development opportunity for the Oregon coast.”

Read the full story here.

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Curious scramble for a look, and hike, up Pa.’s last private mountain

Backpackers on Pennsylvania’s Miller Mountain enjoy the view from a gas pipeline swath.Ad Crable

By Ad Crable, Bay Journal

Miller Mountain, the last privately owned, freestanding mountain in Pennsylvania, will not be a ski resort or junkyard. Nor will it carry a bypass around the Susquehanna River town of Tunkhannock, which it has long watched over.

In late December, Pinchot State Forest took ownership of the 2,500 acres of mostly forested land and opened them for hiking, camping, photographic vistas, mountain biking, hunting, wildlife management and other passive recreational uses that are the mission of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As with other state forests, sustainable timber harvesting will also be allowed.

Part of the vast Appalachian Mountains, Miller Mountain is the highest peak in the area, at 2,216 feet. Just west of the Pocono Plateau, it serves as the eastern gateway to the state’s Endless Mountains and can be seen from almost anywhere in the region.

A backpacker takes a photo from a vista on Pennsylvania’s Miller Mountain. The spot was once to be a launching spot for a ski slope. Ad Crable photo

The mountain stands out because it is not attached to any ridge. “I feel its biggest attraction is it’s a landscape level acquisition. It’s not half a mountain. It’s like a sugar bowl sitting on its own,” said Nicholas Lylo, district forester of Pinchot State Forest.

And, added Timothy Latz, assistant district forester, it’s “one-stop shopping” for a wide variety of habitats.