Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 12/7/11

Business, government and environmental leaders who subscribe
to EnviroPolitics accessed full versions of the environmental news
stories below in today’s edition
—and dozens more!

In Pennsylvania


Anti-fracking
advocates send New York water to Pennsylvania town Advocates who want to keep the natural-gas drilling
industry out of New York state are sending clean water to a northeastern
Pennsylvania village. About a dozen households in
Dimock, Pa., have been scrambling after a gas driller blamed for polluting the
aquifer halted daily water deliveries. Residents there say drilling has made
their water unfit to drink. Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. says it is
safe AP  Times-Tribune 


Revenue
for Marcellus Shale income taxes is lower than estimated The amount, in rent
and royalties, that Pa. residents are receiving from gas companies was estimated
at about $103 million but was more like $46 million AP




In New Jersey



SCI report: Ligambi a ‘garbage monster’ Reputed Mafia don Joseph “Uncle Joe”
Ligambi, who is awaiting trial on racketeering charges in Philadelphia, is a
“garbage mobster,” according to 
“Industrious Subversion,” a State Commission of Investigation  look at organized crime’s incursion into the
solid-waste-disposal and recycling industries
Inquirer  SHB
 NJ Spotlight

 


Natural gas,
nuclear get bigger role in energy plan New Jersey
will depend less on solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy
sources than originally proposed as Governor
Christie approved a plan Tuesday that calls for increased
reliance on natural gas and nuclear energy The
Record NJ Spotlight



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Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 12/6/11

Business, government and environmental leaders who subscribe
to EnviroPolitics accessed full versions of the environmental news
stories below in today’s edition
—and dozens more!

In Pennsylvania


Dimock rejects Binghamton water offer A raucous atmosphere
took hold among a crowd of about 150 people at the Dimock municipal building
Monday night, as the township supervisors weighed Binghamton Mayor Matthew T.
Ryan ‘s proposal to truck City of Binghamton water to 11 Dimock families Gannett
story & video  Daily
Review



EPA criticizes state
for shale air pollution rules The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has strongly criticized PA’s new policy guidelines for regulating air
pollutants emitted by Marcellus Shale gas wells and development sites located
in close proximity to one another Post-Gazette 



In New Jersey



Garbage industry still
a haven for organized crime? Enterprising criminals continue
to find a comfortable home in New Jersey’s solid-waste industry, slipping
through shoddy regulations and weak enforcement, according to a state
report issued Tuesday by the
SCI The
Record


Bear hunt
protestors win court battle Animal protection activists won
a small battle early Monday afternoon, when a state appeals court gave
them limited permission to protest the state-approved bear hunt outside
the high-traffic weigh station on Route 23 in Franklin
The
Record  Star-Ledger




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Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 12/5/11

Business, government and environmental leaders who subscribe
to EnviroPolitics accessed full versions of the environmental news
stories below in today’s edition
—and dozens more:

In Pennsylvania


Cabot
report on whistleblower’s claims expected Wednesday Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. did not submit a report to state environmental
regulators as planned on Wednesday that will detail the natural gas driller’s
investigation of a whistle-blower’s claims of spills and cover-ups during the
first years of its Susquehanna County operations Scranton
Times-Tribune

Learning
too late the perils in gas well leases After Scott Ely
and his father talked with a salesman from an energy company about signing the
lease allowing gas drilling on their land in northern Pennsylvania, he said he
felt certain it required the company to leave the property as good as new New York Times



In New Jersey


BPU moves to block
PSE&G for special incentives State’s largest utility wants package worth
nearly $900 million for transmission line project  NJ
Spotlight



State Board
questions JCP&L earnings The
NJ Board of Public Utilities has decided to initiate a proceeding to look
into allegations that the state’s second-largest utility is earning
significantly more than what the agency has established as a reasonable
return on its investments NJ Spotlight > Sixteen towns mull dumping JCP&L AP




Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 12/5/11 Read More »

Energy & environment legislation up in NJ Assembly


The following energy and environmental bills are posted
for floor votes in the New Jersey Assembly on Monday, December 5, 2011:


A-915  Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); Ramos Jr., R.J.
(D-33) 
Authorizes creation of local renewable energy
collaboratives and central renewable energy generation systems, and provides
for sale of renewable power generation.
Related Bill: S-463

    
A-2529  Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); Quijano, A. (D-20);
Stender, L. (D-22)
Concerns energy efficiency and renewable energy
requirements.
Related Bill: S-2306   
    
A-3688  Wilson, G.L. (D-5); Riley, C.M. (D-3);
Quijano, A. (D-20)
Authorizes Department of Agriculture to implement
mobile fresh produce markets for residents of urban “food desert”
communities.
Related Bill: S-2728    

A-3949  Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); Mainor, C. (D-31);
Riley, C.M. (D-3)
Provides certain collocations of wireless equipment,
minor site plan status.
Related Bill: S-2989    

A-3992  Chivukula, U.J. (D-17)

Provides for streamlined review of certain wind energy
generation facility installments
on farmland.  Related Bill: S-2887
A-4114  Coughlin, C.J. (D-19); Wagner, C. (D-38);
Wisniewski, J.S. (D-19)

Allows all municipalities to sell and lease unneeded
public property for “urban” farming and
gardening purposes.  Related Bill: S-2956   
A-4267  Wagner, C. (D-38); Prieto, V. (D-32); Bucco,
A.M. (R-25)

Allows counties and municipalities to use open space
trust funds for purchase of flood-prone
properties. Related Bill: S-3078   
AR-168  Albano, N.T. (D-1)
Urges USDA and other federal agencies to support State
efforts and fund solutions that reduce or eliminate the stink bug population.
S-463  Smith, B. (D-17); Buono, B. (D-18)
Authorizes creation of local renewable energy
collaboratives and central renewable energy generation systems, and provides
for sale of renewable power generation.
Related Bill: A-915

   
S-2126  Whelan, J. (D-2); Haines, P.E. (R-8);
Quijano, A. (D-20)

Permits development of solar and wind facilities and
structures on landfills and resource extraction operations under certain
circumstances. Related Bill: A-3139

   
S-2989  Codey, R.J. (D-27); Van Drew, J. (D-1)
Exempts certain collocations of wireless equipment
from site plan approval.
Related Bill: A-3949 

For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, subscribe to our daily newsletter EnviroPolitics. It tracks all energy and environmental legislation–from introduction to enactment.

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Our most recent blog posts:
Shale gas fracking gets a new black eye: Illegal dumping

NJ court orders hearing on ‘no further action’ decision
Former NJ Gov. raps current NJ Gov. on RGGI pullout
Anti-fracking bill clears NJ environmental committee
Need mulch? Give almost any town in North Jersey a call




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Shale gas fracking gets a new black eye: Illegal dumping

AP file photo

The natural gas drilling industry, under continued environmental criticism last week at public hearings in New Jersey and New York (see Related Stories below), suffered another public relations blow Thursday in Pennsylvania with the arrest of a truck driver who admitted dumping some 800 gallons of synthetic drilling fluid on state game lands.

The Morning Times reports that:

“a large pool of viscous black fluid was discovered on Pennsylvania Game
Land 219 off Regan Hill Road in Warren Township by a neighboring
resident. The pool was reportedly two-to-three inches deep and covered
an area of approximately 2,100 square feet on the 5,691 acre hunting
preserve.”

Josh Foster

Police said that the driver, Josh Foster, 27, from Temple, Ga., admitted dumping the material and was charged with a third degree misdemeanor–“scattering rubbish”–by Pennsylvania State Police.

Drilling company took full responsibility
The only good news for the shale gas industry is that, when it learned of the incident, Talisman Energy Inc., the company operating the gas well from which the fluid apparently was trucked, notified police, determined the identity of the driver, and took full responsibility for the cleanup.

Talisman officials noted that Foster is not their employee but was working at the time for a local trucking
company subcontracted by Talisman.

Pennsylvania needs to sharpen its dumping law

One obvious lesson from the incident is that state law needs significant tightening up.
The penalties for “scattering rubbish” can hardly be an adequate disincentive to such environmental crime.

Pennsylvania should consider imposing a manifest paperwork trail system like one
adopted years ago in New Jersey to track the shipment of hazardous waste.

Requiring the submission to the state of a manifest for each load of waste shipped or transferred helps assure that hazardous material actually ends up at the designated
disposal facility.

Tell us what you think in the opinion box below.  If one is not visible, click on the tiny ‘comments’ line.  We encourage signed responses but also accept anonymous submissions. 

Related Stories:
New York Delays Ruling On Hydraulic Fracturing Amid Controversy
Will New Yorkers Veto Cuomo’s Fracking Guidelines?
New York Fracking Rules Won’t Protect City Water, Foes Say
N.J. Assembly panel approves bill banning treatment, disposal of wastewater from ‘fracking’
Marcellus Shale Coalition President: Fracking ‘safe, responsible’ 

Our most recent blog posts:
NJ court orders hearing on ‘no further action’ decision
Former NJ Gov. raps current NJ Gov. on RGGI pullout
Anti-fracking bill clears NJ environmental committee
Need mulch? Give almost any town in North Jersey a call
Anti-fracking bill before NJ Assembly committee today




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NJ court orders hearing on ‘no further action’ decision

This post may interest businesses and property owners affected by New Jersey’s contaminated site cleanup rules and be of particular value for attorneys and consultants who make a living interpreting and executing those directives.

The Cole Schotz law firm’s Environmental and Energy Department reports today on a NJ Appellate Division ruling that a property owner is entitled to
have an administrative hearing regarding the rescission of a no further
action letter (“NFA Letter”) by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In this case, a subsidiary of
Hartz Mountain Industries, a former landlord of an industrial tenant
named Crompton Colors, Inc., appealed DEP’s rescission of an NFA Letter
issued in 2002 and the denial of its request for a hearing to contest
the decision.

You’ll find attorney Douglas I. Eilender‘s full report here.

Our most recent blog posts:
Former NJ Gov. raps current NJ Gov. on RGGI pullout
Anti-fracking bill clears NJ environmental committee
Need mulch? Give almost any town in North Jersey a call
Anti-fracking bill before NJ Assembly committee today




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