EnviroPolitics Blog

Week’s top environmental news in NJ, PA & NY: Sep. 28 – Oct. 2, 2009

Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond that appeared in EnviroPolitics during the week of Sep. 28 to Oct 2, 2009.

New Jersey Environment

Popular oyster program nearly out of money
Federal funding has hit a predetermined $5M cap, and now the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project can’t go for more AC Press

NJ utility CEO fights for climate bill A new Senate bill putting limits on carbon dioxide emissions will raise the cost of electricity, but national regulation is needed and could makeNew Jersey more competitive, the head of the state’s largest utility said Wednesday The Record

Campaign seeks support for open space bond issue A coalition of 135 conservation, environmental and historic preservation groups launched a campaign today to win voter support for a $400 million referendum to replenish state funds for open space preservation Star-Ledger

Regulators want limit on weakfish by 2010 After a brief, dismal 2009 season for weakfish, recreational anglers may be limited to catching one or two weakfish on their 2010 trips — or not fishing for the species at all AP Press

Enviros, developers disagree over state plan’s shape Enviro activists charged Thursday that an influential coalition of developers and their allies are hiding behind smart growth, economic recovery, and the election, to push a series of bills though the Legislature that the activists see as proposals that would undermine environmental protections NJ Newsroom Star-Ledger NJBIZ Gannett

New Jersey Politics

Governor candidates clash in first TV debate In the first televised debate of the hotly contested New Jersey governor’s race, the three leading candidates last night focused on the economy, property taxes, health care, and education, with each arguing that he would be the best person to lead the state through difficult financial times Inquirer Star-Ledger Debate Excerpts

Former Irvington mayor admits corruption Former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele will serve at least five years in prison for accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks while working as the school business administrator Star-Ledger NJNR
> Opinion: The political culture must change Bob Villare

Sweeney says he has the votes to unseat Codey Key senators from all regions said to endorse him PolitickerNJ
> Codey accuses Norcross of underhanded campaign As he wages the fight of his life to hold on to his Senate presidency, Dick Codey sees work of his arch enemy everywhere Star-Ledger

Ex-Bergen Democratic counsel Oury pleads guilty Dennis Oury pleads guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and failing to file a tax return for 2006; plea comes two days before trial The Record

Poll: Property taxes top Jerseyans’ concerns Half the residents say they’d like to move out of state NJ Newsroom

Pennsylvania Environment

Enviros fight gas leasing in PA forests
A buried treasure of natural gas under Pennsylvania’s state forests and hills has a lot of people hoping for a big payoff: rural landowners, big energy companies and, now, the state’s politicians Inquirer Towanda Daily Review Editorial: Fools Gold

Pennsylvania farm pollution – from bad to worse? A PA environmental group is warning that pollution from large-scale livestock farms in that state is worsening, and it’s calling for stricter government regulations and enforcement to help restore the Chesapeake Bay Baltimore Sun blog

Environmental compliance and safety promised by natural gas driller Nearly 200 people listened Monday night to remarks from a principal of Rice Energy LP, a company that plans to drill for natural gas beneath Farragut in the Marcellus Shale layer, and most of the queries were about how waste water is managed Sun-Gazette

Editorial: Sales-tax insanity The legislature might not be scrounging to pay for schools and roads if the statewide 6 percent sales tax were applied more fairly and were updated to reflect changes in the economy Inquirer

Opinion: Budget targets environment The state budget agreement being finalized by Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders would have a devastating impact on Pennsylvania’s environment Inquirer

Pennsylvania Politics

State budget deal appears jeopardized The tenuous bipartisan budget deal that Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders announced two weeks ago appeared to be in jeopardy last night Inquirer
> Behind the budgetary chaos Inquirer

11th-hour gas pains cloud state budget deal Battle lines are drawn in the House over whether Pennsylvania should expand natural gas drilling in state-owned forests, raising $60 million a year, or join more than three-dozen other states and impose a ”severance tax” on the extraction of natural resources Morning Call

New York/ Nation/ World

Mob infiltration seen in New York City Agency The latest indictment to hit the New York City Buildings Department taps into the usual themes of bribery, corruption and compromised inspections. But it also introduces a new criminal element into the agency: the mob New York Times

Study warns of mercury near site Elevated levels of toxic mercury and other heavy metals are in neighborhoods around the Lafarge cement plant in Ravena Albany Times Union

Experts advise re-licensing for Indian Point Independent experts advising federal regulators on nuclear safety say Indian Point should be granted a 20-year extension LoHud. News

US bans sea bass fishing in its waters The federal government is banning black sea bass angling, beginning Monday, for 180 days because the year’s catch is already over the 2009 quota AC Press

Invasive species threaten New York’s natural order As a threat, invasives have been judged second only to habitat loss when it comes to a region’s biodiversity LoHud Journal

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New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) yesterday released its eagerly awaited draft environmental impact statement which, after public comment and final adoption, will guide the state in issuing permits for drilling in the natural-gas-rich Marcellus Shale region.

In developing the 500-page document, the DEC said it studied the potential impacts of :

(1) water withdrawals

(2) transportation of water to the site

(3) the use of additives in the water to enhance the hydraulic fracturing process

(4) space and facilities required at the well site to ensure proper handling of water and additives

(5) removal of spent fracturing fluid from the well site and its ultimate disposition, and

(6) potential impacts at well sites where multiple wells will be drilled during a three-year period.

Here’s where you can view the entire Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement On The Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program

The public comment period will end on November 30, 2009.

There are three ways to submit comments:

1. By using an on line submission system which allows for written comments and attachments

2. By submitting e-mail comments (include your name, e-mail or return mail address to ensure you will receive notice of the Final SGEIS when it is available)

3. By submitting written comments to:

Attn: dSGEIS Comments

Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation

NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources

625 Broadway, Third Floor

Albany, NY 12233-6500.

Our most recent posts:

EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list

PSE&G’s latest New Jersey power line concessions

A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers

New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time

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New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules Read More »

EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list

[The following notice received today from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has potential impacts for all private and public parties operating drinking water systems]

EPA is releasing its third list of drinking water contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and may require regulation. EPA will continue to evaluate and collect data on the contaminants, and determine by 2013 for some of them whether or not to propose drinking water regulations.

The contaminant candidate list (CCL 3) includes 104 chemical contaminants or groups and 12 microbes. Among them are contaminants, pesticides, disinfection byproducts, pharmaceuticals, chemicals used in commerce, waterborne pathogens and algal toxins. The agency’s selection of the contaminants builds upon evaluations used for previous lists and is based on substantial expert input and recommendations from different groups including stakeholders, the National Research Council and the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.

EPA will make regulatory determinations for at least five contaminants in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. For those CCL 3 contaminants that lack sufficient information for a regulatory determination by 2013, EPA will encourage research to provide the information needed.

The agency evaluated approximately 7,500 chemicals and microbes and selected 116 candidates for the final list based on their potential to pose health risks through drinking water exposure.

The agency considered the best available health effects and occurrence data and information to evaluate unregulated contaminants.

A draft CCL 3 was published for review and comment on February 21, 2008. EPA reviewed and analyzed the information provided in the comments in developing the final CCL 3.

More information on the contaminant candidate list: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl

Our most recent posts:
PSE&G’s latest New Jersey power line concessions
A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers
New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time
EPA salutes private Pennsylvania recycling efforts
Uh oh…Global warming’s messing with my beer

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EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list Read More »

PSE&G’s latest New Jersey power line concessions

How much does Public Service Electric and Gas’s proposed new high-power line in northwest New Jersey mean to the company?

Apparently, a lot more than it’s $750 million cost.

Consider the following:

In order to reverse initial opposition to the project from the staff of the Highland’s Council, which is northwest New Jersey’s environmental guardian, the energy company:

* Developed a mitigation plan designed to lessen potential impacts on wetlands, critical habitats and forests.

* Agreed to move a switching station to a different location, and

* Offered a $18.6 million Highlands Protection fund for the purchase and protection of priority acquisition lands in the area.

PSE&G moves fast

After clearing that hurdle, the company encountered a potentially disastrous public relations threat when school officials in the small Sussex County town of Fredon told the media that PSE&G’s existing 230-kilovolt line, which runs over a school’s playground, was the source of levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) that are six times higher than recommended levels.

The company plans to add its new 500-kilovolt line from Susquehanna, Pa., to Roseland in Essex County, NJ to the current 230-kilovolt line, which now crosses the Fredon School playground.

PSE&G’s representatives swooped into town and negotiated a quick settlement before the story could get any negative traction.

Under the agreement, the company will pay the school board up to $950,000 to reconfigure the school grounds so that students would not be playing under the lines. In exchange, the school board and Fredon Parents Against the Lines (PALS) agreed to drop their formal opposition to PSE&G’s new power line.

What’s next?

School officials in Montville, which also is in the power line’s right-of-way, are hiring a consultant to test EMF levels at a middle school which is near the line but not as close as the Fredon School, according to PSE&G.

But, unless other towns or school boards start testing their EMF’s, the project’s final hurdle will be a vote by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) which is expected in January.

Power line opponents aren’t conceding that decision as yet, but there is a grudging recognition that the utility company holds the home court advantage in any dealings with the agency.

We welcome your opinion

Use the comment box below to share your views. If one isn’t visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comment’ line.

Our most recent posts:
A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers
New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time
EPA salutes private Pennsylvania recycling efforts
Uh oh…Global warming’s messing with my beer———————————————————————————-
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PSE&G’s latest New Jersey power line concessions Read More »

A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers

For three months, state lawmakers in Pennsylvania have been twiddling their thumbs as Governor Rendell and Legislative leaders played hard ball over the state’s 2010 budget.

The weekend’s news that a budget resolution may be at hand means that lawmakers may finally get back to work on a major environmental bill, HB 80, that would boost Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio standards and increase credits for solar-energy installations.

The legislation also provides benefits to traditional energy generators in Pennsylvania by modifying the legal definition of “alternative energy sources” (usually reserved for wind, solar and thermal) to include “advanced coal combustion” and “incremental nuclear energy” facilities.

It also contains provisions that encourage the development of carbon capture and sequestration — another biggie for the coal industry.

Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer story Pa. solar-power legislation in cooling-off phase focuses on how the legislation would help solar-energy installers, and on how a dispute between a state electrical contractors union and non-union solar companies may be headed for a resolution.

A similar dispute was debated in the New Jersey Legislature several months ago over a bill that reserved for union installers all solar projects using state funds, including solar credits.

Solar installers and several New Jersey business organizations opposed the measure, while environmental organizations were unusually quiet. The legislation ultimately passed but was amended to exempt residential installations.

Our most recent posts:
New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time
EPA salutes private Pennsylvania recycling efforts
Uh oh…Global warming’s messing with my beer
Wind energy out to hook fishing industry support

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A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers Read More »

New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time

The news agency Reuters reports that, while California may be the Golden State, it’s New Jersey where U.S. residents get the best deal on their solar power systems.

A new survey by Global Solar Center , which endeavored to provide an “apples to apples” comparison for the cost of solar power in all 50 states, found that New Jersey had the fastest payback — 1.5 years — for residential solar systems, followed by New York and Delaware with paybacks of three and six years, respectively.

California tied for fourth place with Maryland, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, all with payback hitting seven years.

“That takes into account the cost of the system, the sun at that spot, the incentives of that region, utility rates. It blends in everything all together,” said Jack Hidary, Global’s chairman.

“To put this all in context, five years ago you couldn’t find a state with less than a 10 or 15 year payback,” said Hidary, who also is a board member of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He said the steep fall in solar panel prices and more government incentives have helped speed up the return on investing in a solar power system.

Going from a 15 year payback to 1.5 years is amazing progress. So amazing that it brings out the native skeptic in me (and I’ll bet in others, too).

So, let’s put it to the experts–the folks in New Jersey who are doing or financing residential solar installations.

What do you folks say? Are these numbers real? Click on the tiny ‘comment’ line below (or in the comment box if one appears)
and give us your professional opinion. If you disagree, tell us why.

While you’re at it, provide your best estimate of whether and when New Jersey consumers might expect to see such a quick payoff.

Our latest posts:
EPA salutes private Pennsylvania recycling efforts
Uh oh…Global warming’s messing with my beer
Wind energy out to hook fishing industry support
PA-DEP Sediment/Erosion & Stormwater rules

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in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York every business day.
PLUS: Proposed environmental regulation alerts
PLUS: Full tracking of environmental legislation

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New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time Read More »