EnviroPolitics Blog

Offshore NJ natural gas proposal draws rapid & rabid response

The public relations war of the decade may be shaping up in New Jersey where Exxon Mobil announced plans on Dec 11 to seek approval from environmental regulators for a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal 20 miles off the state’s coastline .

With the nation in the midst of a heralded “energy crisis,” the chance to bring needed gas supplies to the power-hungry Northeast normally might be welcomed, especially since the facility is planned for a location virtually out of sight from shore and away from shipping lanes, ports and recreational areas, according to Exxon Mobil.

But the news hadn’t even been reported in most media outlets before Clean Ocean Action’s executive director Cindy Zipf had fired off a press release declaring:

“Here’s another bad actor that wants to bring fossil fuels, pollution, and industrial development to our cleaner, healthier ocean. Who’s next, Darth Vader?”

Lest anyone fail to recognize the “bad actor” in question, Zipf added:

“Exxon Mobil is known around the world for drunken sailors, massive oil spills, and destroying communities, such as in Prince William Sound, Alaska.”

Exxon Mobil would be well advised not to dismiss this as just the usual gust of Jersey-environmental-hyperbole. Cindy Zipf and her organization have gone up against the big boys in the past and cleaned their clocks.

The organization got its start with a campaign against the entrenched practice of at-sea dumping of industrial waste, dredge spoils and sludge from county and municipal waste treatment plants. They faced formidable opposition from industry, government and the Army Corps of Engineers. The battle dragged on for years but, ultimately, Zipf’s forces prevailed. All eight ocean dumpsites operating at the time have been closed and federal legislation now bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge and most other materials.

Clean Ocean Action has been wise to expand its membership beyond the environmental community and today includes the recreational fishing and boating industries, surfers, and more than 100 businesses that depend on Jersey Shore tourism. COA’s yearly “beach sweeps,” which enlist volunteers to remove litter from beaches, has won it reams of good press and a hardcore group of supporters.

Evidence of COA’s influence was seen as the shore’s largest newspaper, the Asbury Park Press ripped Exxon Mobil’s LNG proposal in an editorial that appeared almost immediately on the heels of Zipf’s news release.

Readers of EnviroPolitics yesterday got to see this story on the Exxon Mobil proposal:

– Oil officials say LNG plans will aid NJ economy, air Top executives from BP and Exxon Mobil say proposed liquefied natural gas terminals will boost the state economy and meet increasing demand for the clean-burning fuel Bergen Record And the Asbury Park Press’ response:

-Editorial: Say “no thanks” to Exxon Mobil State and federal legislators should let the energy company know in no uncertain terms that our offshore is off limits AP Press

At least one blogger has already weighed in, as well. Alan Caruba, whose been described as a “is a public relations advisor and a vitriolic critic of environmentalism” took the not-unexpected position of chiding the enviros in “Saying No to energy” which appeared yesterday in his daily blog, “Warning Signs.” You may not agree with Caruba’s position, but I think you’ll find his writing style both provocative and entertaining.

Bloggers on the left will surely follow in what is just the start of a terrific PR skirmish. We plan to follow it all from the media front lines and report on major engagements, tactical moves, body counts and collateral damage. Stay tuned.

Offshore NJ natural gas proposal draws rapid & rabid response Read More »

MA town out to derail NJ train company

The Boston Globe reported Dec. 2 that leaders in the Massachusetts town of Wilmington are urging the chemical company, Olin Corp., to back off plans to sell a portion of its former manufacturing property–now a Superfund site–to a Jersey railroad company that plans to use the property for a waste transfer station.

For several years, local environmentalists, politicians and area solid-waste management companies have been opposing the truck-to-rail transfer facility proposed by New England Transrail (NET), which has its headquarters in Teaneck, NJ.

Olin, which closed its Wilmington site in 1986, is based in Missouri and produces copper alloys, ammunition, and chlorine.

Much of the local opposition reportedly has been based on the fear that, if NET wins its petition before the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) to be designated as a rail carrier, it would not be subject to state and local environmental statutes and regulations.

Local opponents won a partial victory in July, when the STB ruled that part of NET’s plan involving shredding of construction and demolition debris would “extend beyond the scope of rail transportation and would therefore be subject to the full panoply of state and local regulation.”

The Board also said that would withhold a final decision until the federal Environmental Protection Agency completes “an ongoing remedial investigation and feasibility study of the site on which NET proposes to operate.”

A copy of the STB’s July 10 ruling is available here.

MA town out to derail NJ train company Read More »

Week’s top environmental and political news: Nov 26-30

Some of the top stories appearing in EnviroPolitics from Nov. 26 -30. Captured from newspapers and other information sources in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and beyond.

New Jersey Environment
Trump at the dump Donald Trump prides himself on building and acquiring world-class real estate. But on Thursday his stage was decidedly less appealing –a garbage dump in Lyndhurst, NJ. “We will improve it quickly,” said the New York real estate tycoon of the EnCap site in southern Bergen County where he anticipates building and opening a golf course within two years Story

Top court hears NJ, DE border dispute Attorneys for New Jersey and Delaware argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could determine whether energy company BP can build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Logan Twp., NJ. The dispute centers on an unusual, anachronistic border that gives Delaware some territory on the NJ side of the Delaware River AC Press Inquirer Glouco Times Delawareonline WSJ Law Blog

Waste could light a million NJ homes New Jersey’s garbage, landfill gases and other biomass” – which includes corn, paper, grass clippings and used cooking grease, among others – could one day generate enough electricity to power a million homes and even be used to generate 300 million gallons of fuel for transportation, according to a report released by the state Board of Public Utilities Bergen Record Rutgers report & biomass calculator

Meadowlands developer gets 30-day cleanup extension A troubled $1billion plan to turn landfills into luxury housing and golf courses receives another reprieve Star-Ledger
Bergen Record

More cheers than protests in area eyed for nuke reactor While the prospect of a nuclear reactor might cause an uproar in most communities, it’s largely welcome in a rural
area deep in southern New Jersey Associated Press

NJ seeks power to regulate rail waste facilities Congress and the White House are talking trash over waste dumps that have cropped up near freight-rail tracks in New Jersey
AP Press

New Jersey Politics

Corzine comptroller nominee on hold The nomination of Matthew Boxer to become the state’s first comptroller hits a roadblock amid questions over whether he had a role in payments or promises made on behalf of the governor to the brother-in-law of Corzine’s ex-girlfriend Star-Ledger Bergen Record
Businesses gripe about (lack of) ethics in New Jersey A new study reportsstrong disgust from the business community on how NJ government is run. It recommends several steps for state leaders to take, including a complete pay-to-playban, a uniform ethics code and a bipartisan panel modeled after the federal 9/11 Commission to identify and cure state’s ethical problems Gannett
Giblin’s nephew named in probe State Assemblyman Thomas Giblin’s nephew has been implicated in an alleged kickback scheme as federal authorities continue what sources say is a corruption probe into a union local and the politically active family that has run it for decades Star-Ledger
Pascrell seeks probe of Ashcroft contract NJ congressman asks the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the circumstances that let U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie appoint his former boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft, to a monitoring contract that might be worth as much as $52M Star-Ledger
Suit alleges Doria retaliated against 2 who helped probe Did state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph V. Doria Jr., as Bayonne’s mayor, arrange for the firing of two employees who aided a probe into corruption? Star-Ledger

Opponents of gay marriage launch all-out NJ campaign A national campaignto block gay marriage came to New Jersey this week as conservative groups beganairing radio ads and bombarded a key lawmaker’s office with as many as 200 phonecalls an hour Star-Ledger

Pennsylvania Environment

PPL to develop renewable energy generating facility at landfill PPL Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation, will develop and install a 6.4-mw methane-to-electricity generation system at the Community Refuse Service Landfill in Shippensburg
Pocono News

Fuel tax to pay for leaky tanks Anyone fueling up a vehicle in PA soon mayhave to hand over an additional penny per gallon to pay to clean up damage fromleaking underground fuel tanks Evening Sun Senate bill boosts alternate energy A Senate committee approved a bill Tuesday to provide $20M annually in state tax credits for research and development of alternate energy sources Times Tribune

Wave of wind farms A wind farm consisting of 20 turbines to be built in Adams Twp., Cambria County, was issued a DEP permit last week, the latest in a wave of windmill projects spreading across the commonwealth Patriot-News

Specter uses Siemens visit to sell his climate proposal With the U.S. Senate considering several climate bills and an international forum on climate change convening next week, PA Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has been touting his own bill to reduce greenhouse gases Post-Gazette
PPL eyes jump-start power The utility says it doesn’t have enough juice to restart service if it were disrupted by a blackout Times Leader
Penn State gets Critical Zone Observatory Shale Hills in central PA is already a busy area in the university’s managed forest lands, but now a five-year $4.2M National Science Foundation Grant will make it even busier as scientists study how soils form from bedrock and how soil formation affects water movement and groundwater flow to streams PSU
Pennsylvania Politics

A Foxwoods Casino principal sues to regain political access A Blue Bell developer who owns nearly 10 percent of the planned Foxwoods Casino Philadelphiahas asked the state Supreme Court to strike down Pennsylvania’s ban on political campaign contributions by casino owners and executives Inquirer

Rendell yanks penny-per-gallon request on gas sales Governor says his administration would withdraw a request that could have added a penny onto the cost of a gallon of gas to help clean up leaking underground fuel tanks Philly.comPA Supreme Court rejects slots lawsuit Court says a suit seeking to throw out the state slot-machine law has no merit APBig money is rejecting threat to Brady A newcomer considers a primary run against the Philadelphia power Inquirer
New York/Nation/World

Energy competition vs. regulation to spur controversy Influential players in the energy market are preparing for what is likely to be a major fight in the 2008 Legislative session over whether to re-regulate energy costs in New York IthicaJournal.com

After a rough start, Spitzer rethinks his ways NY Times

Coast Guard to test oil from seven ships in spill Newsday

Nobel Prize brings Gore back to White House NPR

Oil spill near Jones Beach draws broad response NYT

Long Island spill source still a mystery LoHud.com

State colleges taking steps to ban Styrofoam LoHud.com

Drought could force shutdown of GA nuclear plants TBJ

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Week’s top environmental and political news: Nov 26-30 Read More »

More legal support for voluntary cleanups

For years, companies that elected to voluntarily clean up Superfund sites have been at a disadvantage, with legal precedent frustrating their attempts to collect payments from other parties who contributed to the contamination.

But more recent rulings are giving hope to their chances of recouping some of the costs of remediations that often can run into multi-million-dollar figures.

Today’s issue of LAW.com reports on the most recent decision in “3rd Circuit Changes Direction in ‘DuPont’ Environmental Cleanup Case“

More legal support for voluntary cleanups Read More »

More on New Jersey nuclear advocacy

Yesterday, in “Nuclear energy support from a former foe” , we noted how interesting it was to see the environmentalist and Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore supporting the need for nuclear power in an article published in a state business magazine.

What we did not realize at the time, was that the author, Patrick Moore, is (along with former NJ Governor Christie Whitman) a paid consultant to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition which receives funding from the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association of nuclear reactor operators.

This we learned today in Source Watch, a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy.

The fact that Patrick Moore and Christie Whitman are both paid to promote the nation’s nuclear industry does not, in itself, mean that each may not truly believe that New Jersey needs to expand its nuclear-generated electric power capacity. After all, New Jersey currently relies on nuclear power for some 50% of its total energy supply, the state’s energy appetite continues to grow, and the re-licensing of one of its nuclear reactors is under challenge.

But it does raise valid concerns. Being paid to support a cause is not the same as offering your views voluntarily.

Commerce Magazine, where Moore’s article was published, gets credit for noting that he is:

“Co-chair of an industry-funded initiative, the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, which supports increased use of nuclear energy”

But the use of the term “co-chair” doesn’t give a reader the entire story. “Paid consultant” adds an other dimension that also serves to inform.

More on New Jersey nuclear advocacy Read More »

Nuclear energy support from a former foe

A national figure, in Commerce, the magazine of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, writes:

“Independent environmentalists have come to the conclusion that nuclear power’s electricity, produced with virtually zero greenhouse emissions, is critical if we are to overcome the challenge of global warming.”

No surprise there, you say, someone supporting nuclear energy in a business magazine. But, in this case, the author is Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace and now chairman of Greenspirit Strategies in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In the article, Moore notes that:

“A major new study, conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute by Polestar Applied Technology, Inc., warns that without nuclear energy, Governor Corzine’s laudable goal of achieving a 10 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015 cannot be met. The same holds true, the report said, for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) goals, the benchmarks set by the Northeastern states to reduce emissions from the generation of electricity.”

The full article can be found here.

Do you think Moore’s on the right track? Click on the ‘comment’ line below and share your views with all our readers.

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