Lee Solomon leaving top NJBPU post for the bench


NJBIZ reports this morning that Board of Public Utilities President Lee Solomon will step down from his post to resume his career behind the bench.

A Chris Christie administration official this morning said Solomon would make the announcement later today.

Rumors of Solomon’s departure had been circulating for some time, and were reported previously in the NJBIZ Grapevine column.

The source said Solomon would be returning to his work as a judge.
The move apparently is related to pension rules, the source said.
Solomon has had a long career in politics, as a prosecutor, and as a judge. During his tenure as chief at the BPU, a number of major energy issues emerged, including public financing for offshore wind turbines, the structure of credits for solar energy installations and the future of gas-fueled and perhaps even nuclear facilities in the state.

The role of state government and the BPU is these areas is still being developed.  His successor will arrive at a critical time for energy policy.

Can lying lobbyist crook Jack Abramoff save America?
Solar shining brightly in US and NJ, not so much in PA
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Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 11/9/11

                       Business, government and
environmental leaders who subscribe to EnviroPolitics were
 able to access full versions of the stories
below in today’s edition–and dozens more:

In Pennsylvania

DRBC posts new rules to allow gas drilling in region The highly technical document of 100-plus pages would
permit only 300 wells to be drilled until a reassessment is done after 18
months. The rules also call for more water monitoring, more water-use
restrictions, and more money to be set aside for remediation Inquirer City
Paper EP
Blog MSNBC


Upper Burrell Township opposes state bill on drilling The township opposes House Bill 1950 and Senate Bill
1100 which would, if adopted, take away powers given to municipalities to adopt
a standardized zoning authority Tribune-Review 



In New Jersey


Soils
conservation officer arrested on bribe charge A Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigation
leads to the arrest of Freehold Soil Conservation District inspector John
Tonon, 51, who allegedly took a $700 bribe from an undercover law enforcement
officer to expedite the processing and approval for one of three homes being
built in Hazlet AP
Press
DEP, researchers team up for Barnegat Bay studies Groups partnering with the DEP for the studies are the
Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, the NJ Sea Grant
Consortium, Montclair State University, Rider University, Monmouth University
and the Academy of Natural Sciences in  Philadelphia. Sierra Club says
it’s just ‘fiddling’ AP 
Philly.com

 


Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 11/9/11 Read More »

EPA finds most states are getting the lead out

Good environmental news today: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that available
air quality information indicates that 39 states are meeting the health-based
national air quality standards for lead set in 2008.

Based on 2008 to 2010 air
quality monitoring data, EPA also determined that Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan and Puerto Rico each have one area that does not meet the agency’s
health based standards for lead. Exposure to lead may
impair a child’s IQ, learning capabilities and behavior.

The
agency also is identifying three areas located in Tennessee, Arizona and New
York as “unclassifiable,” meaning that available information is insufficient to
confirm whether or not the areas are meeting the standards. EPA says it will take
further action once additional information is available. 
National average concentrations of lead in the air have dropped 93 percent
nationwide since 1980, largely the result of the agency’s phase-out of lead in
gasoline. Lead in the air comes from a variety of sources, including smelters,
iron and steel foundries, and piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded
aviation gasoline.

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Delaware River group sets Nov 21 vote on fracking rules

After sorting through some 69,000 comments on draft rules published last December, the Delaware River Basin Commission is set to vote Nov. 21 on a final set of rules governing natural gas drilling in northeast Pennsylvania.

The
rules are designed to allow gas drillers to use the controversial hydrofracturing (or fracking) technique to extract natural gas from a deep rock
formation known as the Marcellus Shale, while protecting water quality
in the Delaware River and its tributaries.

The commission, which oversees the water supply for Philadelphia and
half the population of New York City, has imposed a moratorium on all
Marcellus Shale drilling projects in the four-state basin until the rule-making process is complete.

The Associated Press reported tonight that, once the moratorium is lifted and drilling begins — perhaps early
next year — the gas industry would be limited to 300 wells until the
DRBC votes to allow additional drilling. The agency also said it would
study the effectiveness of its new rules after 18 months and make
adjustments as necessary.

Drilling industry cautious – New York Attorney General opposed

The drilling industry and a pro-drilling landowners group reacted
cautiously to the draft regulations, while New York’s attorney general
and environmental groups that oppose any drilling in the watershed
attacked the rules as inadequate.

“By issuing these modified draft regulations, the federal government
continues to ignore New Yorkers’ concerns about the impact fracking may
have on our environment, health and homes,” said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who has filed a federal lawsuit meant to halt drilling
in the basin at least until a cumulative environmental impact study is
performed.

Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum, whose organization has filed a
similar lawsuit, said she doesn’t believe drilling can be conducted
safely.

The Commission has decided that there will be no public comment period on the revised draft regulations. They can be found, with related information, on the DRBC website at www.drbc.net.

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Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 11/8/11


Business, government and environmental leaders who subscribe to EnviroPolitics
were able to access full versions of the stories below in today’s edition–and dozens more:

In Pennsylvania


Shale bill pleases Corbett It’s regulations would supersede local laws – just as the governor wanted.
The Republican-drafted Marcellus Shale
bill that sped through a House committee last week includes a controversial
component the governor lobbied for – but you won’t be hearing about it from him Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
Corporate funding of
Marcellus studies at universities raises alarms Penn State University has taken a central role in
doing research about the industry, from its economic impact to its geological
properties. Some of the research is paid for by companies extracting the gas. But
the state-related university, which took in $214 million in taxpayer funding
last year, declined to say how much individual companies spend or what the
money pays for Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette




In New Jersey

Governor wants no part of EPA
effort to curb power plants  Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he will not support
the EPA’s  effort to choke off pollution
produced by power plants in other states that fouls New Jersey’s air, but will
instead go after the worst plants individually Statehouse
Bureau

Matching innovative
technologies to clean energy needs The
most cost-effective way to promote clean energy technologies in New Jersey is
to encourage smaller-scale, localized, renewable energy and energy efficiency
systems that are likely to be commercialized quickly, a special advisory panel
has recommended to state officials.NJ
Spotlight       

Top 2 environmental news stories for PA & NJ – 11/8/11 Read More »

Can lying lobbyist crook Jack Abramoff save America?

Some folks (especially those benefiting most from our rigged system) express bewilderment about the basis for the public frustration that manifests itself in the Tea Party and the Occupy movement.

Even among the dissatisfied, the exact reasons for our fears are sometimes elusive. We sense that the country we grew up in is sliding away. Things that used to work have become untrustworthy. The economy. The political system. Leaders. None of it inspires much hope.

Who can we trust with an answer?

Maybe Jack Abramoff, the lying, lobbyist-crook-turned-penitent.

Say all the bad things you want about Abramson. He deserves them all.

But in an incredibly forthright interview on 60 Minutes last night, he shines a revelatory light on what’s eating away at the core of our political system–the corrosive and corrupting influence of money.

Abramson even offers one slight hope. Watch the interview to learn what it is and then let us know what you think in the opinion box below.

Caution: The interview will make you sick. If it doesn’t, it already may be too late for us all.

Can lying lobbyist crook Jack Abramoff save America? Read More »