NJ energy and environment bills in committee, June 15, 2023

Assembly Environment and Solid Committee Meeting
Thursday, June 15, 2023 – 01:00 PM
Committee Room 9, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ

BillSynopsisSponsorStatusLDOA
A3847Exempts shellfish aquaculturists with commercial shellfish aquaculture license from law prohibiting taking of shellfish on Sunday; requires submission of annual shellfish harvest report.*Calabrese, Clinton /Freiman, Roy +12RA1/19/2023
A4782Directs BPU to conduct a study to determine the feasibility, marketability, and costs of implementing large-scale geothermal heat pump systems.McKeon, John F./Benson, Daniel R.AEN10/17/2022
A4791Establishes “Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge Program.”Kennedy, James J./Haider, Shama A.AEN10/17/2022
A5365“Electric Vehicle Battery Management Act.”McKeon, John F./Danielsen, JoeAEN5/8/2023
A5442Revises goal for annual capacity of solar energy projects to be developed under the Community Solar Energy Program.*Karabinchak, Robert J./Conaway, HerbAEN5/11/2023
A5554Requires DEP to study methane emissions.Chaparro, Annette /Benson, Daniel R. +1AEN6/5/2023
A5558Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2024.Lampitt, Pamela R./Swain, LisaAEN6/5/2023
A5559Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2024.Mejia, Pedro /Reynolds-Jackson, VerlinaAEN6/5/2023
ACR182Approves FY 2024 Financial Plan of NJ Infrastructure Bank.Speight, Shanique /Spearman, William W.AEN6/5/2023
S520Exempts shellfish aquaculturists with commercial shellfish aquaculture license from law prohibiting taking of shellfish on Sunday; requires submission of annual shellfish harvest report.*Cruz-Perez, Nilsa I.2RA1/19/2023
S3123Revises goal for annual capacity of solar energy projects to be developed under Community Solar Energy Program.*Smith, Bob /Greenstein, Linda R. +2AEN2/27/2023
S3723“Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Management Act.”*Smith, BobAEN5/18/2023
S3796Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2024.Greenstein, Linda R./Stanfield, Jean +3AEN5/18/2023
S3797Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2024.Codey, Richard J./Greenstein, Linda R. +3AEN5/18/2023
SCR144Approves FY 2024 Financial Plan of NJ Infrastructure Bank.Smith, BobAEN5/18/2023
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Dept. of Energy announces $192M for battery recycling

Lithium Mine Processing Plant, Western Australia. Mechanical processing is used to refine lithium spodumene concentrate.
A lithium mine processing plant in Western Australia. The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday announced $192 million in funding for battery recycling research and development. Getty Images


By Robert Walton, Waste Dive

The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday announced $192 million in funding to expand battery recycling research and development, calling the investments “essential” to the advancement of a domestic supply chain of critical materials for the energy transition.

The U.S. lithium battery market could grow ten-fold by 2030, driven by the growing adoption of electric vehicles and a need for stationary energy storage, the agency said. President Joe Biden has set a goal for half of the new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

The recycling funding falls into three buckets: consumer electronics recycling, a new advanced battery R&D consortium, and the continuation of a lithium-ion battery recycling prize DOE launched in 2019.

Read the full story here

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Opinion: TV’s ‘Succession’ Kushner style

I so miss “Succession,” the HBO drama about the insanely wealthy family with the sniveling, greedy kids and the completely amoral father. These were bad guys that you loved to hate. Oh, and what fantastic wealth porn. The only way the Roys traveled was on their private jet, expansive yacht or chauffeur-driven limo.

The affection TV viewers had for this totally worthless and filthy rich family likely provides at least one explanation for why Christie’s excoriation of Jared Kushner was our most popular Opinion piece this week. I mean this wasn’t a slight diss by our former governor, it was a full-on takedown of one of New Jersey’s wealthiest and most dastardly families.

Christie, never the one to mince words, makes it clear that Jared, in his mind, is corrupt. “The grift in this family is breathtaking. It’s breathtaking,”  Christie says theatrically. “Jared Kushner and Ivanka Kushner walked out of the White House and two months later they get $2 billion from the Saudis?” 

Columnist Tom Moran then lays out the filthy deeds committed by Charlie Kushner, Jared’s daddy. These are the completely amoral crimes that landed Charlie in prison courtesy of then-U.S. Attorney Christie.

Corrupt father, loving son who wants to be just like dad? Actually, the Kushners’ story might make a juicier tale for TV than the Roys or the Murdochs. And Christie’s narration would be scrumptious. But until HBO, or Max, buys the rights, you can check out this sordid story in Moran’s column.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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New Jersey’s road map to decarbonize homes, businesses

By TOM JOHNSON, NJ Spotlight

A state agency has crafted what it touts as a first step toward the large-scale transformation of New Jersey’s buildings, a plan to reduce emissions from the state’s second-largest source of global-warming pollution.

Building decarbonization — electrifying homes and commercial buildings — is perhaps the most contested climate strategy yet proposed by the Murphy administration. But it is seen as essential if New Jersey is to break its reliance on fossil fuels and convert to a clean-energy economy.

The strawman proposal produced by the state Board of Public Utilities offers a phased approach that directs the state’s four electric utilities to offer an array of programs encouraging customers to switch from using fossil fuels for heating spaces and warming water to electric heat pumps — energy-efficient alternatives to furnaces and air conditioners.

The four electric utilities would spend a total of $150 million during the three-year program, which would begin in 2024.

Read the full story here

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NJ Brownfields Quarterly Roundtable

This meeting will be a hybrid.  You may join the meeting in one of two ways:

1. Join us at 401 East State Street in Trenton in the Public Hearing Room, or

2. Join us remotely via GoToWebinar.  You may register for the meeting at the link below.  If you receive an error message from the link, just copy and paste it into your browser to access the registration.

Registration (gotowebinar.com)

AGENDA

9:30 am – 9:40 am Introduction
Frank McLaughlin – NJDEP, Office of Brownfield and Community Revitalization, Manager
9:40 am – 10:00 am Environmental Justice (EJ) Law Update
Kandyce Perry – NJDEP, Office of Environmental Justice, Director
10:00 am – 10:20 am LSRPA Discussion
William Call – LSRPA, President
10:20 am – 10:25 am HDSRF Update
Rachel Stopper – NJDEP, Office of Brownfield and Community Revitalization, HDSRF
Coordinator
10:25 am – 10:45 am NJEDA Update
Michael Deely – NJEDA, Manager
▪ HDSRF presentation
Barbara Vadnais – NJEDA, Brownfields & Sustainable Systems, P.E.
▪ Brownfield Redevelopment Incentive Program (BRIP)
10:45 am – 11:00 am BREAK
11:00 am – 11:15 am BCONE Update
Anne Lazo – BCONE, Executive Director
11:15 am – 11:20 am Brownfield Development Area (BDA) Update
Frank McLaughlin – NJDEP, Office of Brownfield and Community Revitalization, Manager
▪ BDA Update and Q&A
11:20 am – 11:40 am Brownfield Redevelopment Partner Update
Frank McLaughlin – NJDEP, Office of Brownfield and Community Revitalization, Manager
Jeffrey Dey – Resource Renewal, President, LSRP
▪ National Park Landfill Renewable Energy Solar Project
11:40 am – 12:00 pm USEPA Update
Terry Wesley – USEPA, Brownfield Section Chief
Schenine Mitchell – USEPA, Brownfields Program Coordinator
12:00 pm-12:25 pm Open Discussion – Brownfield and Landfill Redevelopment
12:25 pm-12:30 pm Conclusion

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Large, floating solar array over NJ reservoir powers treatment plant

By Wayne Parry, Associated Press

Solar panels from a project at a water treatment plant are shown Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Millburn, N.J., that provides enough electricity to power 95% of the treatment facilities electrical needs. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Solar panels from a project at a water treatment plant are shown Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Millburn, N.J., that provides enough electricity to power 95% of the treatment facilities electrical needs. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

MILLBURN, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s Canoe Brook Water Treatment plant produces 14 millions gallons of drinking water a day.

Each one of those gallons weighs around 8 pounds , so it’s quickly apparent that a large amount of energy is needed to move water from a reservoir to the treatment plant and into the 84,000 homes and businesses that the New Jersey American Water Company serves in the area.

So the water utility partnered with NJR Clean Energy Ventures, the renewable energy subsidiary of the natural gas firm New Jersey Resources, for a solution.

NJR Clean Energy Ventures built a vast array of solar panels, linked them together, and placed them on the surface of the water at Canoe Brook Reservoir.

The companies say the 17-acre solar array, consisting of 16,510 solar panels, is the largest floating solar array in North America — about twice the size of the next-largest facility, an array of floating panels on a body of water in Sayreville, New Jersey owned by that municipality.

The Millburn facility, which began operating in January, produces 8.9 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 1,400 homes.

But the power doesn’t go to residential customers. Instead, it provides 95% of the water treatment plant’s substantial energy requirements.

“It takes a lot of energy to pump that water,” said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water. “When we can use a cleaner, greener, more efficient energy source, we want to seize that opportunity.”

Read the full story here

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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