EnviroPolitics Blog

Union questions feasibility of enviros’ NJIT power source alternative

Construction industry leaders have attacked a recent study promoted by environmentalists that pushed a green energy alternative to NJ Transit’s controversial plan to build a fossil fuel power plant for its train lines.

The study, released earlier this month, argued that a hybrid renewable energy microgrid is feasible to help power NJ Transit’s power needs during an unexpected outage from a major storm or other disruption, as opposed to the fossil-fuel-burning power plant in Kearny that the agency is currently considering.

“Environmentalists lack the basic understanding of construction around these types of projects,” argued Greg Lalevee, business manager for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, in a letter to NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett.

A map of NJ Transit's power project called Transitgrid. The star represents where a gas-fired power plant would be built. It shows the rail lines to which it would supply electricity.

The Transitgrid project has become a flashpoint of controversy since the idea was born years ago. NJ Transit developed the idea as a way to increase resilience on its train lines after they were unable to operate for days due to Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The agency has received approval for a federal grant to cover the majority of project costs.

Read the full story here

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EPA Sets Public Meeting on Proposed Plan to Address Newly Discovered Contamination at Matlack Inc. Superfund Site in NJ

EPA Contact: Stephen McBay, (212)-637-3672, mcbay.stephen@epa.gov

NEW YORK (March 29, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks public input as it proposes to augment its original plan for cleaning up the Matlack, Inc. Superfund site in Woolwich Township, New Jersey.

A 30-day public comment period for the proposed plan begins March 29, 2023. EPA will host a virtual public meeting on April 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. to explain the new cleanup proposal. To attend the public meeting, please register here before the meeting begins.

“EPA is committed to ongoing engagement with communities near Superfund sites,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “EPA is proposing a new treatment to address an additional source of contamination found at the Matlack, Inc. Superfund site in Woolwich. We invite the public to join us and hear about the new cleanup proposal.”

As a result of past truck maintenance and tanker washing operations at the site, the soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater are contaminated with volatile organic compounds, which can potentially harm people’s health.

EPA’s proposed cleanup technique for cleaning up the drum disposal area is called in-situ thermal treatment. In situ (or in place) thermal treatment methods remove harmful chemicals in soil and groundwater using heat. The chemicals move through soil and groundwater toward wells, where they are collected and piped to the ground surface to be treated using other cleanup methods. Some chemicals are destroyed underground during the heating process.

This method is separate from and in addition to EPA’s original 2017 cleanup plan.

Under that plan, EPA will install underground barriers designed to remove volatile organic compounds from the groundwater. As groundwater flows through the barriers, they trap harmful contaminants and also make them less harmful. The treated groundwater flows out the other side of the barriers. EPA will monitor the groundwater beyond the barrier to ensure the success of the barrier technology.

In addition, EPA will remove an area of contaminated sediment along Grand Sprute Run and will remove contaminated soil within a former lagoon area. The sediment and soil will be disposed of at off-site facilities licensed to handle the waste. By cleaning up the groundwater and removing ongoing sources of contamination in the soil and sediment, the cleanup also prevents contaminants from getting into Grand Sprute Run, a nearby stream.

Written comments on the proposed plan may be mailed or emailed to Supinderjit Kaur, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway – 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007, Email: kaur.supinderjit@epa.gov.

Visit the Matlack, Inc. Superfund site profile page for additional background and site documents.

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore backs big new offshore wind goal

By Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun

During remarks at an offshore wind convention Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore shared his administration’s new “ambitious, but achievable” goal for turbines off the state’s coast: 8.5 gigawatts of power.

A spokesman for the Democratic governor said he plans to sign the POWER Act, which would mandate the 8.5-gigawatt goal be realized by 2031 if the General Assembly passes it.

Speaking at the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum at the Baltimore Convention Center, Moore presented himself as a friendly face in Annapolis for offshore wind developers, drawing a contrast with former Gov. Larry Hogan.

“My predecessor took a middle path on this,” Moore said, “making some investments in offshore wind, but not enough to get us to where we need to be. I want to be very clear on this: It has been a long time since I’ve been comfortable being a ‘C’ student. I don’t want Maryland just to get by with passing grades.”

Hogan, the second two-term Republican governor in state history, was criticized for toeing the line on climate policy. Hogan spoke of the need for Maryland to address climate change but vetoed clean energy bills enacted by the legislature, or allowed them to become law without his signature to voice opposition, often citing costs to consumers.

Read the full story here

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Waste industry groups warn looming PFAS regulations could cost them millions

Two speakers sit at a table with product packaging that contains PFAS.

Bryan Staley of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation and Amy Brittain of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality mention PFAS in product packaging, such as food wrappers and cosmetics, during a congressional briefing on March 27, 2023. Megan Quinn/Waste Dive

By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive

WASHINGTON, DC: The waste industry asked Congress on Monday to intervene on a proposed Superfund update they say could have damaging effects on their ability to safely manage PFAS-containing materials and cost them millions.

At issue is the EPA’s proposed rule to designate two PFAS compounds as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund. It’s separate from another recent EPA proposal to set drinking water standards for six types of PFAS.

During a congressional briefing on Monday, landfill operators — along with composters, recyclers, water treatment plant operators, and others who consider themselves “passive receivers” of PFAS-containing material — said the inclusion of the PFAS as hazardous under CERCLA could have costly unintended consequences. The National Waste & Recycling Association and the Solid Waste Association of North America hosted the briefing for aides from multiple congressional offices.

The designation of PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances could mean such facilities would have to start rejecting PFAS-containing material, incur new costs for sorting or processing the material, or face costly lawsuits related to the per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, they said.

Read the full story here

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Where does Princeton University’s food waste go?

From the Daily Princetonian

Every day, Princeton students eat food in dining halls, dutifully scrape their leftovers into metal chutes labeled “Food Waste & Napkins,” and move on with their days. What journey does this food waste take?

“A food scrap actually has a lot of value when you return it to the earth in a responsible way,” Food Systems Project Specialist Gina Talt ’15 emphasized.

According to Talt, the University sent an average of 70–75 tons of wasted food per month to their off-site energy waste facility, Trenton Biogas, during the Fall 2022 semester; that’s almost one pound of food per meal swipe.

On campus, she manages the composting program at Princeton’s S.C.R.A.P. (Sustainable Composting Research at Princeton) Lab. The lab, affectionately known as “Scrappy,” launched in 2018 through a grant secured by the Office of Sustainability. The project operates year-round, using small-scale composting technology to process food and turn it into nutrient-dense soil to be used as fertilizer on Princeton’s grounds.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the composting team was forced to temporarily pause the project in early 2020. For over two years, all of Princeton’s leftovers were sent to Trenton Biogas, until the S.C.R.A.P. Lab reopened last fall. Now, food waste is taken from the Frist Campus Center, campus retail cafés, and both Coffee Club locations and sent to its new location at 300 Washington Road.

Today, 15 percent of overall wasted food at Princeton is processed by the S.C.R.A.P. Lab. Every week, it accepts 200–300 pounds of coffee grounds from Coffee Club and 2000 pounds of food from Frist, according to Talt.

Because the Lab is a small-scale operation with a stated capacity of 5000 pounds per week, the remaining 85 percent of wasted food at Princeton, which comes from dining halls, is sent to Trenton Biogas.

Trenton Biogas General Manager Brian Blair broke down the journey taken by food waste once it leaves the dining halls:

Read the full story here

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The mail Must Go Through. apparently, for Amazon, too

BY LI COHEN, CBS News

An Amazon driver has gone viral for his exceptional – and dangerous – delivery skills. A recent video posted to TikTok shows the driver pulling up to a cul-de-sac swarmed by police vehicles and walking through armed officers to drop off a package.

“Amazon hard at work,” the person who recorded the video can be heard saying. “In the midst of a standoff, he’s going to deliver his package.”

In the video, posted on March 18, the Amazon worker is seen toting a small box up to the driveway where the apparent standoff is taking place, taking officers by surprise. As soon as they see him, they tell him to stop and take the package off his hands before he calmly walks back to his car – after taking a quick picture of the scene.

More than half a dozen Raleigh, North Carolina, police cars were visible at the scene when the drop-off was made. The circumstances surrounding the standoff are unclear.

The video has amassed more than 7 million views.

See the full story here

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