The Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee and the Senate Environment and Energy Committee will meet jointly on Monday, April 22, 2024, at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 4, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, New Jersey.
The committees will meet to discuss the issue of plastic pollution. They will jointly receive testimony from invited guests on the extent of plastic pollution in the State, its potential and actual effects on human health, and methods that may be used to protect against or to mitigate, the negative impact of plastic pollution on human health and the environment.
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A $7 million grant program was approved Thursday by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to create the Green Workforce Training Grant Challenge aimed at preparing New Jerseyans for green economy careers.
“Gov. Phil Murphy is committed to investing in our clean energy future, and, through programs like the Green Workforce Training Grant, the NJEDA is spearheading initiatives that increase access to skills and training, putting New Jerseyans at the forefront of green economy careers,” NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan said. “Through this important workforce development program, New Jersey is investing in our clean energy future by expanding opportunities and ensuring equitable access to good-paying jobs for all residents, especially those in overburdened communities.”
The program, funded with $4.35 million through the Council on the Green Economy and $2.65 million from the Wind Institute, will have a focus on advancing diversity, equity & inclusion and serving overburdened communities.
Grants from $250,000 up to $1.5 million are available. Applicants will be asked to submit proposals that outline their plans to develop and implement workforce support to bolster the green economy. Awardees may use funds to cover design, planning, capital, and implementation costs to offer training programs in green economy industries.
“The Green Workforce Training Grant Challenge is a unique chance for entities across the state of New Jersey, as it provides funds for them to train residents for jobs in the green economy, while ensuring a diverse workforce,” Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy and Council on the Green Economy Eric Miller said. “This Grant Challenge will provide long-lasting solutions that will protect our environment while creating opportunities for our state’s workforce.”
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Kenvue, the Johnson & Johnson spinoff that operates as a fully independent company, and is based in Skillman, is closing its Neutrogena office in Los Angeles and consolidating its operations to New Jersey.
According to various published reports, Neutrogena will lay off some 135 employees from its skincare division. Eighty-four of those workers are from California, while 51 are from Skillman. The employees are being offered jobs at other Kenvue locations.
In a statement, Kenvue’s media department said: “(The company is evolving its operations) to reach more consumers, optimize collaboration and broaden talent and career opportunities for all Kenvuers and drive sustainable growth. As part of this, we will be consolidating operations from other sites to one location, our future world headquarters in Summit, New Jersey. … Decisions impacting our employees are never easy. We are fully committed to providing those affected by this change with the resources and support they may need.”
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A former councilman in Hunterdon County who allegedly stole money from a local Democratic club has been indicted by a grand jury.
Malik D. Johnston, 47, of Flemington, was indicted on a charge of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree crime, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday. He was charged with the offense on in October of last year.
Johnston, also known as Pippin J. Folk, is a former member of the Flemington Township Council and former officer of the Flemington Democratic Club.
He is accused of going to a bank in Bridgewater on June 2, 2023, and withdrawing $1,000 from an account belonging to the Flemington Democratic Club. At the time of the withdrawal, he was no longer a part of the political group, prosecutors said.
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By ANYA LITVAK, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 11, 2024
The well was one of 10 used to inject and withdraw gas stored in Equitrans’ Rager Mountain storage facility — an underground reservoir in Jackson Township, Cambria County.
On Nov. 6, the well began to vent high volumes of natural gas and it took the company and its contractors nearly two weeks to finally bring it under control. During that time, more than a billion cubic feet of gas escaped into the air.
The agreements that Equitrans negotiated with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spell out the environmental and climate damage of the well’s malfunction. The blowout released 106 tons of volatile organic compounds, a category of chemicals that includes some hazardous air pollutants. VOCs also include compounds that cause the formation of ozone.
At 106 tons, the storage well made it into the top 25 emitters of VOCs in the state in 2022, according to DEP data. It was also the highest-emitting facility in the oil and gas sector that year.
For perspective, the VOC emissions from the storage well during those two weeks amount to about a fifth of what the Shell petrochemical complex in Beaver County is permitted to emit in a year.
The well incident also released 223 tons of carbon dioxide and a whopping 27,040 tons of methane, which the state calculated was about 10% of all methane emitted in the state in 2022.
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Over 80 locations along the Shore and beyond!New Jersey’s Largest Volunteer Environmental Event
WHO: Thousands of volunteers from the small to the tall and hundreds of groups, organizations, schools, scout troops, and businesses and municipalities
WHAT:Clean Ocean Action’s 39th Bi-Annual Spring Beach Sweeps event at 80+ New Jersey locations, where people remove litter from beaches and collect valuable data about the debris in a coordinated cleanup event up and down the New Jersey Shore and beyond. Volunteer hours are awarded to participating volunteers upon request.
WHY:Beach Sweeps provides people with an opportunity to give back to the ocean by helping to remove litter pollution on land before it becomes harmful and even lethal to aquatic life. The data from the Beach Sweeps turns a one-day event into a legacy of information to increase public awareness and change wasteful habits, enforce litter and waste production laws, and improve policies to reduce sources of marine debris.
ISpecial thanks to Beach Sweeps Sponsors:
Statewide Sponsors:Bank of America, Hackensack Meridian Health, Wakefern/ShopRite, Vantage Apparel
County-Wide Sponsors: KearnyBank Foundation (Monmouth County), Bayshore Recycling Corporation (Montecalvo & Bayshore Family of Companies) (Monmouth County), Target (Monmouth County)
Site Sponsors:Baine Contracting (Pt. Pleasant: Maryland Ave), Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (Seaside Park: Grant Ave.), Crum & Forster (Long Branch: Brighton Ave), Enterprise Mobility Foundation (Keyport: Cedar Street Park), Jenkinson’s Aquarium (Pt. Pleasant: Jenkinson’s), Manasquan Bank (Manasquan: Main St Beach), Memorial Sloan Kettering (Middletown: Bayshore Waterfront Park), Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors (Asbury Park: Convention Hall), Republic Services (Asbury Park: 1st Ave Beach), ServPro of Aberdeen/Holmdel (Aberdeen: Cliffwood Beach), Stratus Tech (Asbury Park: Convention Hall)
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