As budget deadline looms, New York debates EPR and a bottle bill

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Senate have proposed EPR for packaging policies in their draft budgets. The Assembly, plus environmental and packaging groups, prefer separate legislation

By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive

The process of getting either an extended producer responsibility plan or bottle bill update into the New York state budget is expected to face numerous hurdles as an April 1 deadline draws closer.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has once again included an EPR for the packaging proposal in her version of the budget. Hochul said the Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act will increase recycling rates and save local governments money. It’s the second year Hochul has announced such legislation in the budget. Meanwhile, two bills in the New York legislature this year propose similar EPR for packaging programs.

This year’s draft state Senate budget adds to Hochul’s EPR plan and also proposes to expand the state bottle bill. The state Assembly did not include EPR or bottle bill updates in its draft budget, saying the document should focus on finances, not policy matters. Hochul did not include mentions of a bottle bill expansion in her budget.

In 2022, efforts to pass EPR through the state budget failed. This year, the policy faces similar struggles, especially from stakeholders that disagree with the details of the program or believe it needs to be hammered out in separate legislation. Though the state’s final budget is expected in early April, some observers expect delays similar to last year, when lawmakers struggled to reach a consensus on key issues.

Here is a breakdown of the competing proposals:

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Do look up. See five planets traverse the Western sky

The alignment — led by the star cluster Messier 35 from the left, followed by Mars, the moon, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter and Mars — starts about 20 minutes after sunset.
The alignment — led by the star cluster Messier 35 from the left, followed by Mars, the moon, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter and Mars — starts about 20 minutes after sunset. (Shutterstock / Vadim Sadovski)


By Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch Staff

NEW JERSEY — Grab a pair of binoculars and make it a point to be outside around sunset Monday and for a few days after. With a favorable weather forecast in New Jersey, we’ll see a rare celestial parade of five planets, a crescent moon, and a star cluster in the western sky.

The alignment — led by the star cluster Messier 35 from the left, followed by Mars, the moon, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars — starts about 20 minutes after sunset. Monday and Tuesday are the best nights to see it.

Sunset is about 7:15 p.m. Monday and 7:16 p.m. Tuesday in the far eastern NJ towns, and 7:18 and 7:19 p.m. closer to Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Right now, the forecast is “tricky” in New Jersey in terms of cloud cover or rain on Monday and Tuesday nights, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. A series of storms could move through the region both Monday and Tuesday night, and AccuWeather is watching a “potential Northeast snowstorm” next week.

Timing is everything. Venus doesn’t set until about 10:15 p.m. local time, but the views of Jupiter and Mercury are fleeting. “It will be important to catch them as soon as possible before they disappear over the western horizon,” the Farmers’ Almanac wrote, adding the plants appear “to chase after the Sun.”

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Older men all hail Mr. Pickles

From The Morning Brew Review

Baby turtle

Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo

This munchkin is one of the three hatchlings fathered by a radiated tortoise named Mr. Pickles, who, at 90 years old, became a dad for the first time this week in Houston.

That Mr. Pickles and Mrs. Pickles (53) had little turtle babies at all surprised Houston Zoo officials because the radiated tortoise is a critically endangered species that rarely reproduces. Plus, did we mention that Mr. Pickles is 90?

The hatchlings are named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño. It’s not clear which one is shown in this photo, but that sure looks like a Gherkin.

We’re always looking for stories that might interest our readers. If you come across something so interesting that it cries out to be shared, please send it to editor@enviropolitics.com  If we agree, you’ll see it here soon.   

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NJ sues Dow and others over 1,4-dioxane, a widespread and possible cancer-causing chemical in drinking water

Delaware River Basin Commission staff collects a Delaware River sample to monitor
for 1,4-Dioxane. Photo by DRBC.

By Scott Fallon, NorthJersey.com

New Jersey sued chemical giant Dow and other companies Thursday, saying a potentially cancer-causing chemical they’ve manufactured, promoted, and sold for decades is so prevalent in New Jersey it can be found from the mountains of Ringwood to wells in Fair Lawn and drinking water pulled from the Delaware River.

Dow, along with Ferro Corporation and Vulcan Materials Company, made or sold 1,4-dioxane knowing that it would “significantly pollute drinking water supplies, render drinking water unusable and unsafe, threaten the public health and welfare, and harm other natural resources,” the lawsuit alleges.

Related:|
Delaware River Basin Commission Monitoring for 1,4-Dioxane
1, 4 Dioxane Now Banned in New York State
1,4-Dioxane Limits for Household Cleansing, Personal Care and Cosmetic Products
The Impact of New York State’s 1,4-Dioxane Law on Detergent Products

Rachelle Schikorra, a Dow spokeswoman, said the company is aware of the lawsuit but could not comment at this time.

“The costs of cleaning up this forever chemical should be borne by the defendants in this lawsuit, not New Jersey taxpayers,” Matthew Platkin, the state attorney general, said in a statement.

Read the full story here

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Wildwood, NJ mayor pleads guilty to tax Fraud

By John Russo, Press of Atlantic City

Wildwood Mayor Peter Byron admitted Friday to helping others commit tax fraud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Byron, 67, pleaded guilty to two counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns to the IRS for 2017 and 2018.

Related:
Wildwood Mayor Admits Tax Dodge
U.S. Attorney’s news release

On Friday, Byron said he would like to comment on the matter but could not.

Last year, he and City Commissioner Steven Mikulski, along with former Mayor Ernie Troiano, were charged with wrongfully taking state health benefits and falsifying public records.

Read the full story here

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