EnviroPolitics Blog

Coming in summer – The next threat to Biden’s climate agenda

A worker in a jacket shovels snow on the steps in front of the Supreme Court. — *A government employee shovels newly fallen snow from the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. | Win McNamee/Getty Images*

By NIINA H. FARAH. Politico, 01/18/2024 06:10 PM EST

The stage is set for the Supreme Court to make it even harder for the Biden administration to defend its climate and energy policies in courts across the country.

A potentially blockbuster ruling expected to come this summer is likely to set limits to a legal theory known as the Chevron doctrine, which tells judges to favor federal agencies’ readings of ambiguous laws, as long as those interpretations are reasonable.

The high court’s rulings in Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo hold broad implications for just about any kind of agency action — and could make judges less likely to acknowledge federal agencies’ authority to limit planet-warming pollution.

That would put a dent in President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, providing fuel for expected legal challenges on everything from EPA’s efforts to limit power plant pollution to the Department of Energy’s planned efficiency standards for a range of household appliances.

How far will the court go?

Read the full story here

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Frosty flowers cover a reservoir in Wyoming like a sea of ‘sagebrush’

On an ice fishing trip to Wyoming’s Boysen Reservoir, Ed and Deanna Reish, along with grandson McCrae Puckett, stumbled on to a beautiful phenomenon — the lake was covered with a field of large hoarfrost crystals that looked like a sea of frosty “sagebrush.”

By Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State News

Deanna and Ed Reish were taking their 6-year-old grandson McCrae Puckett on his first ice fishing experience on Boysen Reservoir recently when they found something they hadn’t seen before — a field of frost flowers covering the crystal-clear ice of the lake.

“I kept looking out at the lake and I was like, ‘That looks weird,’” Deanna told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “It looked like these round things were all over. We thought it was snow, then once we got out of the truck, these things were all over the ice.”

The crystal-clear ice was covered with clusters of large, delicate ice crystals. It was like a vast expanse of white sagebrush stretching as far as the eye could see.

“Our grandson tried to pick some up for me,” Deanna said. “He said, ‘I want to give (Grandma) a rose.’ So, he would bend over and try to pick them up off the ice, and they would just crumble apart.”

The Reishs were surrounded by delicate frost flowers for the entire fishing trip. Soon after, they were gone.

Read the full story here

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Small solar project funding available from the DOE

From the Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2024 funding opportunity. This annual funding opportunity will award $6.5 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) and are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

This funding opportunity is designed to streamline the application process to encourage applications from early-career researchers who have never applied or been selected for a SETO project award. Applicants must submit a plan to broaden the participation of well-qualified members of underrepresented groups on their teams. These efforts will help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to increase the diversity of those working in applied energy research fields.

SETO expects to make approximately 14 to 24 awards, each ranging between $250,000 and $400,000. Diverse teams from universities, federally funded research and development centers, nonprofits, community-based organizations, state agencies, local governments, and solar developers are encouraged to apply. 

Learn more about the topics in this funding opportunity and apply by March 6 at 5 p.m. ET. 

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NJ Environmental Bar to meet with NJDEP Regulator

All members of the Environmental Law Section, Land Use Section, and Renewable Energy, Clean-Tech, and Climate Change Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association are invited to another virtual Meet the Regulators” event on Friday, January 26, 2024, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

*NJDEP Chief Enforcement Officer Kimberly Cahall*

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet, hear from, and interact informally with NJDEP’s Kimberly Cahall, NJDEP’s Chief Enforcement Officer.

The topics to be discussed may include the office and programs for which Ms. Cahall is responsible, Departmental reorganization, regulatory enforcement initiatives, and hot topics. Time will be allotted for Q & A.

There is no cost to attend this online event but pre-registration is required. If you haven’t already done so, Click here to register.

Hosted by:
Ray Papperman, Esq., Sills Cummis & Gross, PC
Dawn Lamparello, Esq., K&L Gates LLP
David Scott, Esq., Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP

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EPA is taking its funding opportunities show on the road

Roadtrip Driving GIF by Dan Woodger - Find & Share on GIPHY

WASHINGTON (Jan. 17, 2024) – As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Community, Equity & Resiliency initiative, a groundbreaking effort to help communities across the nation navigate EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act investments and other new funding opportunities made possible by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, EPA will host the first in a national series of in-person, community-based Regional Roadshow events, starting tomorrow, January 18 in Albany, New York. These events provide community leaders the opportunities to engage with their peers to develop or leverage community-based partnerships to access funding and technical assistance to implement local climate and environmental justice solutions.

“Region 2 is happy to kickoff this roadshow that will showcase the historic funding that is available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and discuss opportunities on how communities can access it,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “The funding has many opportunities to advance Environmental justice which is a key focus of the EPA.”

“We are excited to participate in the first EPA Roadshow to discuss ways to support and build capacity for organizations to navigate federal grant application systems, write strong grant proposals, and effectively manage grant funding. We will also leverage this opportunity to build power and capacity in environmental justice organizations working in underserved communities in New Jersey and New York and to develop networks and partnerships throughout the region,” said Peggy Shepard, Co-founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

The Regional Roadshow is part of EPA’s Community, Equity & Resiliency initiative – a new innovative effort to help communities across the nation navigate EPA’s once-in-a-lifetime new funding opportunities. Through this initiative, EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation and Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is providing spaces for communities to develop new or deeper community-based partnerships.

Regional Roadshow attendees will learn about historic funding and technical assistance through programming that is designed to be especially helpful for overburdened communities. These events will help them confront the climate crisis and advance environmental justice locally as they learn, connect, and cultivate ideas on how to access these extraordinary resources.

Learn more and register for the Regional Roadshow event in Albany, New York.

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New Jersey Governor Murphy deracinates invasive species bill

Bamboo trees in Tinton Fall are considered an invasive specie in New Jersey.

By Juan Carlos Castillo, Asbury Park Press

A bill that would have created a task force to try and eliminate invasive plant species in New Jersey was vetoed by Gov. Phil Murphy.

The bill sought to ban the sale, distribution, propagation, import, and export of invasive plants that are harmful to New Jersey’s ecosystem.

A photo gallery of invasive plants in New Jersey

While Murphy said he considered the legislation laudable, he was “concerned that the bill does not consider the existing authority of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,” according to the veto document.

The bill would have created of list of regulated invasive species published by the Department of Agriculture, which would create regulations to facilitate the safe sale and distribution of these species.

The bill would also re-establish the New Jersey Invasive Species Council, created in 2004. The Council’s establishment was intended to identify and manage invasive plant species in the state and to update the New Jersey Strategic Management Plan for Invasive Species.

Read the full story here

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