EnviroPolitics Blog

PA’s budget fix: Drop college and tuition funding?

Pennsylvania legislators are so terrified by the prospect of raising taxes that they’re actually preparing to vote tomorrow on a new state budget that contains no funding for some universities and student loan programs.

Will Joe Paterno be flipping burgers this fall instead of prowling the sidelines? No, the educational funding cuts will not affect the four state-related universities – Penn State, Temple, Pittsburgh, and Lincoln – because their money comes from an annual appropriation outside the general fund.

But if you’re a student at West Chester or Cheney State universities or at any of Pennsylvania’s state community colleges–or a recipient of a state tuition loan, well…fries with that sir?

The brain trust in the Democratic House has proposed removing the educational funding from the budget but replacing it, at some future date, with a “dedicated funding source,” possibly the state’s take from video poker or some other scheme yet to be devised.

In other words, some other revenue source that doesn’t start with T and rhyme with ax.

Governor Rendell calls the proposal: ““exactly the kind of bold and creative thinking we need to solve big challenges.”

Even guys as smart as Ed Rendell say some pretty silly things when their state budget is already two weeks late and, unless signed tomorrow, will cause more than 33,000 angry state workers to receive only part of their usual paycheck.

Our most recent blog posts:
Who will the enviros endorse for NJ governor?
New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm
Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey
Pave the fairways, put up a solar farm
Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania

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in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York every business day.
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PA’s budget fix: Drop college and tuition funding? Read More »

EPA wants hardrock mining’s financial assurance

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced it had identified the hardrock mining industry as its priority for financial assurance rules to ensure that the owners and operators of such, not taxpayers, foot the bill for environmental cleanups.

The announcement preceeds the development of a EPA rules under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly called “Superfund.”

EPA plans to propose the rule by spring of 2011.

The priority notice identifying hardrock mining also satisfies a court order issued by the United States District Court.

In its announcement, EPA noted that, since the enactment of the Superfund law in 1980, the federal government has spent billions of dollars to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. EPA said it decided to develop financial responsibility requirements for classes of facilities within the hardrock mining industry first because of

“those facilities’ sheer size; the enormous quantities of waste and other materials exposed to the environment; the wide range of hazardous substances released to the environment; the number of active hardrock mining facilities; the extent of environmental contamination, including the number of sites identified by EPA as needing cleanup under Superfund’s National Priorities List; and government expenditures, projected clean-up costs, and corporate structure and bankruptcy potential. “

The agency clarified that hardrock mining facilities include those that extract, beneficiate and process metals (e.g., copper, gold, iron, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, silver, uranium, and zinc) and non-metallic, non-fuel minerals (e.g., asbestos, gypsum, phosphate rock, and sulfur).

Coal mining facilities are not hardrock mining facilities and are not included in EPA’s priority notice.

The agency says it plans to examine other industries outside of the hardrock mining industry “that also may warrant the development of financial responsibility requirements under Superfund by the end of the year.”

At a minimum, the agency said it would be looking at:

hazardous waste generators,

hazardous waste recyclers

metal finishers

wood treatment facilities, and

chemical manufacturers.

EPA said it is scheduled to publish the notice addressing additional classes of facilities by December 2009. At that time, the agency will solicit public comment.

Our most recent blog posts:
Who will the enviros endorse for NJ governor?
New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm
Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey
Pave the fairways, put up a solar farm
Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania

——————————————————————————–
Get EnviroPolitics for the top environmental and political news
in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York every business day.
PLUS: Proposed environmental regulation alerts
PLUS: Full tracking of environmental legislation
Get EnviroPolitics free, without obligation, for 30 days!

EPA wants hardrock mining’s financial assurance Read More »

Who will the enviros endorse for NJ governor?

Who will New Jersey’s environmental organizations endorse for governor in the November election? It’s an interesting questions…and an important one for at
least three reasons.

#1 – “The environment” will continue to rank high among issues of importance to New Jersey voters–even though the economy and jobs probably outdistance it today.

#2 – It likely will be a tight race between the two major party candidates –Democrat Jon Corzine, the current governor who’s seeking a second term–and Republican Chris Christie, the state’s former U.S. Attorney. So close that winning the endorsement of major enviro-groups could make the difference.

#3 – This year’s race includes a serious independent candidate–former state DEP Commissioner Chris Daggett–who has bona fide environmental and political creds (no wacko Lyndon LaRouche or Green Party no-name here).

Daggett also has the potential to raise enough money to influence the outcome of the race. Who knows, although unlikely, he could even win it depending on how fed up voters are with government-as-we-know-it.

One of the state’s enviro-powerhouses, the Sierra Club, has been slamming the governor in recent months for what they see as his lack of follow-through on green issues and dogging him at such press events as the groundbreaking for a new Hudson River rail tunnel and the announcement of a Garden State Parkway expansion.

The media-savvy organization has made a point of getting their negative press releases into the hands (and the resulting stories) of reporters covering Corzine’s “good news” events. The tactic has served to boost the Sierra Club’s visibility, and remind the governor of how much more damage the activists could inflict as his campaign unfolds.

Does this mean the Sierra Club won’t support Corzine’s re-election? Could the group, which often appears to be little more than a Democratic party adjunct, actually endorse the (gasp) Republican candidate, Mr. Christie?

In a piece in today’s PolitickerNJ, Matt Friedman reports that Sierra Club executive director Jeff Tittel ” has said nice things about Christie’s record on environmental law enforcement as U.S. Attorney, though his Republican primary rhetoric on cutting the jobs at the DEP could prove problematic.”

Those with longer memories will recall that the Sierra Club also was saying nice things about GOP candidate Doug Forrester four years ago during Corzine’s first campaign for governor.

Of course, it was just a tactic, a way to get Corzine to pay attention (and perhaps make promises) to the Sierrans in return for their support.

The same scare tactic is at work this time around. The only difference this time is Daggett’s emergence as a viable candidate. Yesterday, he announced that his campaign had raised enough money to qualify for matching state funds. If the accounting holds up, he’ll qualify for at least $1 million and also will be guaranteed participation in at least two gubernatorial debates.

So, if we’re to believe all of the Sierra Club’s criticisms about the Democratic governor’s shortcomings, and dismiss their sudden coziness with Republican Christie as the mere posturing that it is,
and believe that their sole interest is the environment, then we can expect they’ll be endorsing Mr. Daggett, a proven environmental advocate. Right?

We’ll, maybe. But remember: like other political “players,” above whom the enviros like to place themselves, they also desire to back the winner and lay claim to some stake of power when he assumes
(or re-asssumes) control.

We’ll keep watch on the Sierra Club and other enviro groups and let you know when they announce their endorsements. In the meanwhile, we invite your views. Use the comment box below. If you don’t see one, click on the tiny ‘comment’ line and one should appear.

Our most recent blog posts:
New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm
Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey
Pave the fairways, put up a solar farm
Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania ——————————————————————————–
Get EnviroPolitics for the top environmental and political news
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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Who will the enviros endorse for NJ governor? Read More »

NJ Governor’s race picks up (renewable) energy

Any Republican candidate who wants a realistic shot at becoming governor in New Jersey has to learn to speak like Rush Limbaugh in the primary and Barack Obama in the general election.

No doubt to the chagrin of those managing Democratic Governor Jon Corzine’s campaign (and conservative Republicans as well) Chris Christie is proving to be a quick learner.

The former federal prosecutor won the Republican primary by appealing to the party’s conservative faction (a requirement since those motivated folks always show up in strong numbers at the polls regardless of the weather).

Yesterday, he came roaring out of the summer campaign starting gate with a television ad designed to appeal to the majority of New Jersey voters who are moderate-to-liberal on most social issues but just shy of California-nuts-and-berries-liberal on the environment.

The ad (below) contains plenty of pictures of gleaming solar panels and whirling wind turbines and even a picture of the President, yes, that president, the liberal Democrat guy. The ad’s star is a very earnest-looking candidate Christie who says he agrees with the president on the importance of renewable energy and promises to be New Jersey’s Number 1 renewable energy activist. Wow! A closet greenie all along. Who would have guessed.

The Corzine camp was quick to respond, sending around a YouTube video of Christie, during the Republican primary, telling an appreciative crowd that they could expect lots of battles with the DEP and the EPA when he moves into the governor’s mansion.

I guess Christie’s neo-con backers never imagined their candidate could have meant he’d be “battling” for even greener programs than his opponent.

But, hey, that was then and this is now. Sticking with Rush-speak from now to November wins you nothing but a consolation trip to Disney World.

Our most recent blog posts:
New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm
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Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania

NJ Governor’s race picks up (renewable) energy Read More »

New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm

New York government agencies and power companies said on Wednesday they are gauging interest from developers and manufacturers about building a wind farm about 13 miles off the New York city coast that could end up being the largest such project in the United States.

Reuters reports that:

The Long Island Power Authority, the New York Power Authority, other agencies and Consolidated Edison Inc hope to build the 350 megawatt wind farm off the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic.Potentially, the project could be expanded to 700 MW, giving it a shot of being the biggest U.S. offshore wind farm. One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes in New York, but wind does not blow all of the time.Taking stock of the interest of developers is a precursor to issuing a request for proposal for the project which is anticipated for release by the end of the year, the collaboration said.”There clearly is growing interest in this proposal by many parties,” Kevin Burke, chairman and CEO of Con Edison, said in a release.

It’s not the first time that the LIPA has been involved in an offshore wind-power venture.

The authority formerly proposed the construction of a 40-turbine wind farm that would have produced 140 MW of energy off the shore of Jones Beach on the south shore of Long Island.

LIPA’s initially estimated the project’s cost to be between $150 million and $200 million. But it did not disclose actual costs until Newsday filed a Freedom of Information Law in 2007.

Initially, LIPA denied the request, but on appeal it provided limited and outdated information disclosing that winning bid for the project in 2003 was $356 million. Newsday later reported that the cost had ballooned to $650 million.

By the time the project was canceled in 2007 by red-faced LIPA officials, the authority was admitting to a total cost just shy of $700 million.

Our most recent posts:
Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey
Pave the fairways, put up a solar farm
Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania
Solar advocates urge veto of NJ union wage bill
Jersey Republicans key to climate bill passage

——————————————————————————–
Get EnviroPolitics for the top environmental and political news
in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York every business day.
PLUS: Proposed environmental regulation alerts
PLUS: Full tracking of environmental legislation
Get EnviroPolitics free, without obligation, for 30 days!

New York plans U.S.’s largest offshore wind farm Read More »

Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey

Recycling in New Jersey–once a national model–had been on a down slide for years until the state Legislature, despite significant opposition, passed legislation last year that re-imposed a recycling tax on garbage.

When Governor Corzine signed the legislation into law, the state’s recycling community was elated and re-energized. Recycling coordinators knew that revenue from the tax would go into a dedicated state fund and would be used to support local recycling efforts–based on how successful each county and town was in removing cans, bottles, paper and other ‘recyclables’ from the
waste stream.

Recycling coordinators began planning ways to pump up their programs. Some ordered new equipment. Some entered into agreements with commercial recyclers for single-stream pickups which eliminate the need for residents and businesses to separate paper from metal and metal from glass. Others laid out plans for new educational and collection plans in schools and for tougher enforcement efforts to insure compliance.

Then along came the state budget crunch. In a last-minute strategy to balance the current fiscal year’s budget–as the Legislature was working out final details on next year’s FY 2010 spending plan–the Corzine Administration pushed through a supplemental appropriations bill that transferred money from a number of existing program accounts into the General Fund.

Part of that re-appropriation included grabbing $7 million from the state’s newly revitalized Recycling Fund.

The reaction of municipal and county recycling coordinators, who were counting on the money to pay for programs and equipment they had already committed to, ranged from consternation to near panic. Then Bob Smith stepped in.

Smith, a veteran state legislator from Middlesex County, is the Democratic chairman of the Senate Environment Committee and a long-time supporter of recycling.

He was the sponsor in the Senate of the legislation that refunded the recycling program and author of a ‘poison pill’ provision within the bill that basically said the money could only be used for recycling.

Recognizing that previous Administrations, in times of budget stress, have ignored such legal limitations, Smith made a personal plea to Governor Jon Corzine. He explained the benefits of recycling and the reasons for the ‘poison pill’ language. He then told the governor: “If you allow this to happen, you will kill recycling in New Jersey.”

What followed sounds like a Hollywood ending. The governor listened and was persuaded. He promised Smith that his staff would look elsewhere for the $7 million.

An amazing story, but true. Thanks to Senator Smith, recycling in New Jersey has been saved–again.

___________________________________________________
In the interest of full disclosure, we alert our readers to the fact
that EnviroPolitics’ sister company, Brill Public Affairs, counts
the Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR) among its
government-relations clients. ___________________________________________________

Our most recent posts:
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Analyzing the cap-and-trade vote in Pennsylvania
Solar advocates urge veto of NJ union wage bill
Jersey Republicans key to climate bill passage

Senator Smith saves recycling — in New Jersey Read More »