Ahead of New York’s curbside composting program rollout, the New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Staten Island Compost Facility has undergone an expansion that DSNY says will increase the facility’s capacity by nearly 2,000 percent. The expansion includes new equipment, known as an aerated static pile, which exposes all sides of pre-composted material piles to air and moisture to speed up the composting process without the need for daily turning and repositioning.
“Over the last decade, the Department of Sanitation has produced hundreds of millions of pounds of finished compost here on Staten Island, which, today, is in parks, gardens and yards in every corner of the city,” DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch says.
“The goal of New York City’s curbside composting program—the largest, easiest ever—is to create beneficial use for material that used to do nothing except feed rats and produce methane. As service reaches all New Yorkers this year, this new expansion means more food waste turned into usable compost.”
Previously, food waste brought to the Staten Island Compost Facility was processed in large piles known as windrows, which took six to eight months to break down into finished compost. The expansion, an aerated static pile system set up across 16 temperature- and moisture-controlled concrete bays, cuts that time in half while boosting the facility’s capacity to process food waste from 3 million pounds per year to 62.4 million pounds per year, DSNY says. The facility also can process 147 million pounds of yard waste annually, bringing the facility’s total capacity to 209.4 million pounds of incoming material per year.
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On Tuesday, the 221st Legislature commenced in Trenton. The Senate welcomed 10 new Senators to the chamber, namely: Sen. Carmen Amato, Jr. (LD9); Sen. John Burzichelli (LD3); Sen. Owen Henry (LD12); Sen. John McKeon (LD27); Sen. Angela McKnight (LD31); Sen. Paul Moriarty (LD4); Sen. Raj Mukherji (LD32); Sen. Parker Space (LD24); Sen. Britnee Timberlake (LD34); and Sen. Latham Tiver (LD8).
Senators McKeon, McKnight, Moriarty, Mukherji, Space, and Timberlake each moved over to the Senate after serving in the General Assembly during the last session. Sen. Nick Scutari, of Union County, was elected to continue as Senate President, and Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, of Essex County, will continue as the Senate Majority Leader. Sen. Shirley Turner, of Mercer County, has been named President Pro Tempore, a position she previously held twice, and Sen. Anthony Bucco, of Morris County, will continue as the Senate Minority Leader.
The Assembly also welcomed new members. Asw. Tennille McCoy (LD14) was sworn in on January 8th, to occupy the seat that former Asm. Dan Benson, who is now the Mercer County Executive, vacated on taking his oath on January 4th.
The following 25 members of the new class took their oaths of office at the War Memorial yesterday: Asw. Heather Simmons (LD3); Asm. David Bailey, Jr. (LD3); Asm. Dan Hutchison (LD4); Asm. Cody Miller (LD4); Asm. Gregory Myhre (LD9); Asm. Paul Kanitra (LD10); Asw. Margie Donlon (LD11); Asw. Luanne Peterpaul (LD11); Asm. Kevin Egan (LD17); Asw. Dawn Fantasia (LD24); Asm. Michael Inganamort (LD24); Asw. Rosy Bagolie (LD27); Asw. Alixon Collazos-Gill (LD27); Asw. Garnet Hall (LD28); Asm. Alexander Schnall (LD30); Asw. Barbara McCann Stamato (LD31); Asw. Jessica Ramirez (LD32); Asm. John Allen (LD32); Asm. Gabriel Rodriguez (LD33); Asm. Julio Marenco (LD33); Asm. Michael Venezia (LD34); Asw. Carmen Morales (LD34); Asm. John Azzariti, Jr. (LD39); and Asm. Al Barlas (LD40).
Speaker Craig Coughlin, of Middlesex County, will continue as Speaker of the Assembly and now has the distinction of being the longest-serving Speaker of the Assembly. Asm. Lou Greenwald, of Burlington County, will continue as the Assembly Majority Leader, and Asm. John DiMaio, of Warren County, will continue as the Assembly Minority Leader.
The Legislature’s reorganization will also impact the leadership of various committees. The General Assembly announced its new Committee assignments yesterday. Numerous committees will be led by a new chairperson this term, including: Asw. Shanique Speight (new Aging and Human Services Committee); Asw. Shavonda Sumter (new Community Development and Women’s Affairs Committee); Asm. William Spearman (Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture); Asm. Roy Freiman (Financial Institutions); Asm. Sterley Stanley (Regulated Professions); Asw. Ellen Park (Judiciary); Asm. Anthony Verrelli (Labor); Asw. Linda Carter (Higher Education); Asm. William Sampson IV (Consumer Affairs Committee); Asm. Clinton Calabrese (Transportation and Independent Authorities); Asm. Joe Danielsen (new Public Safety and Preparedness Committee); and Asm. Moen (Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts).
In their respective remarks ahead of the Governor’s address, Senate President Scutari, Majority Leader Ruiz, and Speaker Coughlin each underscored some of the Legislature’s priorities this term, including improving mental health; ensuring businesses thrive; bettering transportation; addressing food insecurity; improving childhood literacy; and closing the achievement gap between students in our public schools.
Democrats will retain control of both houses in the new Legislature with margins of 25-15 in the Senate and 52-28 in the Assembly.
Governor Murphy’s Priorities
Governor Phil Murphy delivered his penultimate State of the State address yesterday afternoon. In years past, he has invoked themes of a “stronger and fairer” New Jersey and “New Jersey as a State of Opportunity.” Both themes were present during the Governor’s sixth address since he took office. In his remarks, Governor Murphy looked ahead to the new legislative session and underscored the following priorities that his Administration will focus on: affordability, job creation, education, healthcare, the protection of fundamental rights, and the expansion of new sectors such as renewable energy, cannabis, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming year.
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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Management Act, making it the first state with an extended producer responsibility law for electric vehicle batteries. Murphy signed the bill on Monday, the final day of the legislative session.
Under the law, battery producers of “propulsion” batteries — including EV, lithium-ion batteries, andnickel-metal hydride batteries — will need to create battery management plans and submit them to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for approval.Those plans could include options like a complete vehicle take-back program, a battery take-back program, or another method, according to the law.
Producers will also be responsible for educating consumers about the available collection options and must meet other criteria such as permanently affixing an information label to the battery.
The DEP will also conduct a needs assessment to determine how many relevant public and private battery recyclers are available and how many might be needed to implement the EPR law’s provisions. Producers’ battery management plans would be due 180 days after that needs assessment is completed, and the needs assessment must be completed within 18 months, according to the bill.
“With its new law, New Jersey continues the trend of addressing new batteries not previously included in EPR laws,” said the Product Stewardship Institute in a statement. PSI is known for writing model battery EPR legislation and advocating for EPR for multiple kinds of products.
New Jersey follows several other states that recently passed battery-related EPR programs. In 2021, Washington, D.C., enacted the first comprehensive EPR law in the U.S. for rechargeable and primary batteries. Battery manufacturers began joining approved battery stewardship programs and submitting compliance plans to the District in 2023.
In 2023, Washington state enacted an EPR for batteries law that also includes a range of battery types. It also established labeling requirements for certain batteries and required a public education component. Though EV batteries were not included in that state’s EPR program, the law requires the state’s Department of Ecology to publish policy recommendations for EV battery collection and other large-format battery types by April 2024.
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About a quarter of state legislators had their final voting sessions yesterday, with most retiring and some unseated in the election. But one stuck out. The one who’s been there longer than anyone, ever: Dick Codey (DEssex).
TheformerSenate president is best known for his 14 months as governor following Jim McGreevey’s resignation. It’s been 50 years since Codey, a mortician, became a legislator, and 42 since he arrived in the Senate.
Codey was popular with the public during his short time as governor, something I think was at least partly because he was a stabilizing force after what for the time was a huge political scandal —but also because New Jerseyans could identify with him. Recall his threat to “take out” shock jock Craig Rossi after he made fun of Mary Jo Codey’s postpartum depression. Sure, nobody wants their politicians threatening violence, but given the context, I think people saw it as a simple human reaction.
Reporters loved to quote Codey because he was funny and one of the few high-profile politicians in the state to rant against its political boss system. He had plenty of detractors inside New Jersey politics, but the public saw him as one of their own — even if their recognition of him faded in the years after his governorship, and after he was ousted as Senate president 14 years ago. He had plenty of accomplishments, like the indoor smoking ban and his undercover work.
Still, Codey’s exit is somewhat ironic for a person who decried the boss system. He was thrown into the same district as state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex), an erstwhile ally, and easily dispatched her in the June Democratic primary without campaigning while suffering some health issues. “I’m not sick. I’m not dying or any of that bullshit,” Codey told Nikita Biyrukov in August. But Codey announced his retirement following his primary win, allowing political insiders — not primary voters — to select his replacement.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement with Allied Waste Niagara Falls Landfill, LLC (Allied) for violating the federal Clean Air Act at its landfill in Niagara Falls, New York. Under the proposed settlement, Allied will pay a $671,000 penalty and operate a gas collection and control system to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals, primarily methane, as well as other harmful organic compounds, released into the air.
“Methane is a climate super pollutant that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and landfills are the third largest sources of methane emissions in the United States,” said David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s agreement will require Allied to control its unlawful methane emissions and will hold the company accountable for its violations of the Clean Air Act.”
Under the consent decree, in addition to the estimated elimination of 86,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent methane emissions, the gas collection and control system that Allied will operate and the operational changes it will implement also will prevent 32 metric tons of non-methane landfill gas emissions per year.
Methane accounts for 12% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the United States and EPA is tackling these sources as part of its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative dedicated to Mitigating Climate Change. These pollutants form when organic waste in the landfill decomposes and creates landfill gas. As a result, there are federal regulations that curb the amount of methane that can be released. In addition to causing adverse climate effects, these pollutants, especially when released unlawfully, are known or suspected carcinogens and also are known or suspected to cause damage to the kidneys, liver, and central nervous system.
The settlement also includes capping the vents on parts of the landfill that have been inactive, monitoring the emissions and the gas wells, applying for updated state permits including a Title V major source permit, and keeping records of its compliance activities. The settlement resolves Clean Air Act claims alleged in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA claiming that the company failed to timely install and operate a gas collection and control system on the active and inactive cells of the landfill, which caused excess landfill gas emissions to be released to the atmosphere. The complaint also claimed that Allied failed to obtain federal and state air permits as required by law.
The proposed consent decree, lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
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By Alison Mitchell, co-executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation
As many New Jersey birdwatchers can attest, bald eagles have gone from being nearly extirpated to becoming a fairly common sight. In the early 1980s, only a single nesting pair remained here. Thanks to a comprehensive restoration program and a ban on the pesticide DDT, New Jersey now has more than 250 nesting eagle pairs.
Peregrine falcons were once lost from the wild in all states east of the Mississippi River due to DDT. Through reintroduction and careful management, peregrines have been restored to many natural cliffs and have adapted to tall buildings in our cities. There are now more than 40 breeding pairs in New Jersey.
Challenges still lie ahead for some NJ animal populations
While bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and ospreys have made a comeback, other species are still struggling, including bats. Bat populations in New Jersey and beyond were decimated in the 2000s by white-nose syndrome, caused by a fungus in hibernation caves. ENSP efforts to help bats rebound include preserving land to safeguard important bat hibernacula and foraging habitat; installing gates to protect hibernating bats from human disturbance; informing residents and pest control companies about proper handling of bats in buildings, and using new techniques to study and monitor bats.
While the 50th anniversary of the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act is an occasion to be celebrated, many challenges lie ahead, including climate change, invasive species, illegal collecting of rare wildlife, and roadway mortalities.
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The ENSP’s Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey, or CHANJ, program works to address habitat fragmentation caused by roads and developments, one of the greatest threats to many wildlife populations. Amphibians and reptiles are most threatened by roadway crossings, but mammals including bobcats are affected as well.
CHANJ aims to make New Jersey’s landscape and roadways easier for wildlife to navigate by identifying key areas and actions needed to achieve habitat connectivity. This project has led to the construction of tunnels beneath roadways to help wildlife pass safely between habitats; guided habitat preservation efforts; and enlisted volunteers to help provide safe road crossings during spring migrations.
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