GE agrees to study PCBs in Lower Hudson River

From an EPA news release

ALBANY, NY (September 13, 2022) – Under a legal agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) General Electric Company (GE) will investigate the Lower River portion of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site to determine the next steps for addressing contamination.

Under the terms of the legal administrative agreement, GE will immediately develop a plan for extensive water, sediment, and fish sampling between the Troy Dam and the mouth of the New York Harbor.

While polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) will be a focus of the data collection in the Lower Hudson River, other contaminants will be evaluated as well. The new data is needed to determine from a scientific standpoint the best path forward, even in advance of a potential formal set of studies that would be required to develop a plan or plans for cleanup. Today’s agreement requires data collection to begin in early 2023. GE will also pay EPA’s costs to oversee the work.

“The sampling that GE is conducting will allow us to better understand and evaluate the conditions and potential contamination in the Lower Hudson River environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “The information will help us determine whether and how to prioritize investigations in each portion of the Lower Hudson and how to best address contamination.”

EPA plans to keep the Community Advisory Group for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site and the public informed and involved as data is collected and follow-up decisions are made. EPA will also look to engage with communities along the lower Hudson, including communities that have environmental justice concerns.

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Under the terms of the administrative agreement, GE will sample multiple fish species, sediment and water from various locations throughout the Lower Hudson River. There will be three different sediment sampling programs, each from a different range of depths of the river bottom. Collecting sediment at various depths and locations allows EPA to better understand where contamination is present and has deposited over time.  GE will implement two of the three sediment programs in 2023.  The third program, which includes the collection of deeper sediment samples, will occur in 2024.

Results of the sampling will inform EPA’s investigations moving forward. GE remains legally responsible for its PCBs that migrated to this area. EPA is continuing to evaluate whether other parties may also be liable for PCBs, as well as other contamination in the Lower Hudson.

The new data will supplement information collected during EPA’s investigation of the Lower Hudson River in the 1990s and the periodic monitoring of Lower Hudson River fish and water by GE under EPA oversight since 2004. EPA has also been gathering additional information and data about the Lower River in coordination with New York State and other project stakeholders since 2019 to support these efforts. GE is reimbursing EPA for the costs incurred for planning the work.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “New York State is committed to a comprehensive cleanup and restoration of the Hudson River. EPA’s agreement directing GE to undertake additional sampling in the lower Hudson is a critical step to address historic PCB contamination. This new data will supplement the extensive sampling efforts previously conducted by DEC, EPA, and GE to evaluate the health of one of New York’s most important water bodies. New York State DEC looks forward to continuing to work with EPA to understand what further actions can be taken to address unacceptable levels of contamination that remain in the river.”   

The Hudson River PCBs Superfund site includes the 200-mile stretch from Hudson Falls to the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City. EPA’s 2002 Record of Decision addressed the sediment in the 40-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson River between Fort Edward and Troy, New York. The dredging and capping work in the Upper Hudson River was conducted between 2009 and 2015. 

EPA continues to monitor the post-dredging recovery of the Upper Hudson River and is evaluating PCB contamination in the Upper Hudson River floodplain. The investigation of the floodplain is being done under a separate legal agreement with GE under EPA oversight.

Between the 1940s and 1970s, GE discharged PCBs into the Hudson River from its two former capacitor manufacturing plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, New York. These PCBs contaminated the river and its sediment from the Hudson Falls plant to New York Harbor and contaminated certain areas of the floodplain along the banks of the river during high water and flood events.

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A chef’s quest to prove insects taste delicious

Some people might shy away from eating bugs off their plates, but Chef Joseph Yoon is popularizing the age-old practice of entomophagy – with mouthwatering results

By Whitney Bauck, The Guardian

Chef Joseph Yoon is used to people reacting negatively to his creations: he’s watched a child cry when she realized the pumpkin cake in her mouth was made with cricket powder, seen a grown adult spit out his bug-laden bite of food, and endured racist online comments aimed at him for suggesting that scorpions or mealworms are worth eating.

But none of that seems to faze Yoon. If anything, it just reaffirms the importance of his work destigmatizing entomophagy. As the founder of Brooklyn Bugs and a self-described “edible insect ambassador”, Yoon is on a mission to prove that eating bugs is good for the planet – and the palate.

Yoon’s work includes giving presentations everywhere from elementary schools to Harvard, partnering with institutions like the Smithsonian and Nasa on sustainable food initiatives, and occasionally cooking for journalists like me, all in an effort to raise awareness about the planetary benefits and culinary joys of eating bugs.

“I like to share the sense of hope and optimism and to be able to capture people’s imagination through cooking insects,” Yoon said from his kitchen table in Queens over a bite of stir-fried cicadas. “The question is: how do we start changing the perception from insects as pests to something that’s sustainably farmed, nutrient-dense and that can add a tremendous amount of flavor to your food?”

Insect consumption has been highlighted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization as an important tool in addressing food insecurity for a growing global population. And since agriculture is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after the energy sector, insect-eating presents a compelling climate solution, too – crickets, for example, can provide the same amount of protein as cows for less than 0.1% of the emissions.

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. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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NJ Board of Public Utilities Approves Energy and Water Benchmarking Program for Large Commercial Buildings

From the NJBPU

Trenton, N.J.—The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has issued an Order requiring the owner or operator of every commercial building over 25,000 square feet in the state to benchmark energy and water use using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Portfolio Manager tool, as required by the New Jersey Clean Energy Act signed into law by Governor Murphy in 2018.

“This is the next important step in implementing a best-in-class, statewide, energy efficiency program which will help us achieve Governor Murphy’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050,” said NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “Creating a system of benchmarking allows us to measure the use of energy (electricity and gas) and water by the state’s biggest buildings and support building owners in reducing energy and water usage and operating costs.”

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This Board initiative is also directed by Goal 3.3.2 of the Energy Master Plan, which calls for transparent benchmarking and energy labeling to spur market-driven energy efficiency improvements. The program helps commercial building owners and operators measure and analyze their respective facilities’ energy and water usage and compare it to other similar buildings. Building owners and operators can use this information to make informed decisions about taking advantage of financial incentives for energy efficiency improvements through State and utility programs.

In particular, the program will enable building owners to obtain aggregated, building-level energy and water data from their utility companies through a data access service. The Board will also establish a “help desk” to assist building owners as they measure and analyze their respective buildings’ energy and water performance. The first benchmarking submissions are due on October 1, 2023 for energy and water consumed in 2022.

This program will also protect individual ratepayers’ energy and water use information by requiring utilities to securely provide aggregated, building-level data. Building owners are required to obtain their tenants’ affirmative, written consent for the utilities from which they receive services to provide building-level energy and water data to the building owner in certain situations to protect individual energy and water use information. Consent will be required only when there are fewer than four tenants in a building or if one tenant exceeds fifty percent of the energy or water consumption.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program also offers assistance to building owners to benchmark their buildings. This service is available to building owners who are not required to benchmark under the Clean Energy Act. 

More information about building benchmarking through NJBPU is available at https://njcleanenergy.com/commercial-industrial/programs/energy-benchmarking.

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Department of Energy distributes $13.5 Million to record number of hydroelectric facilities

From the Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the distribution of $13.5 million in incentive payments to 55 hydroelectric facilities through the Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program.

The Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program supports hydropower development by providing funding for electricity generated and sold from dams and other water infrastructure throughout the United States that add or expand hydroelectric power generating capabilities. The payments announced today mark a record number of recipients, 18 of which were new applicants.

“The Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program encourages the continued growth of a critical clean energy resource to help meet our nation’s climate goals,” said Alejandro Moreno, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power. “By supporting a record number of facilities across the country, these payments will help to ensure hydropower will be a reliable source of renewable power for years to come.”

Why aren’t we looking at more hydropower? (MIT Climate)

Hydropower accounts for 31.5% of U.S. renewable electricity generation and about 6.3% of U.S. electricity generation. However, less than 3% of the nation’s more than 90,000 dams produce power. Adding generation equipment to these sites could add up to 12% more hydropower capacity to the U.S. electric system and provide reliable, affordable power to communities across the nation.

This is the first year DOE expanded eligibility criteria for this program to include facilities located in communities with inadequate electric service. As a result, five newly eligible hydroelectric facilities received incentive payments.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $125 million to expand the Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program. With the inclusion of these new funds, future management of the Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program will transfer from DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office to the new Grid Deployment Office, whose mission focuses on maintaining and investing in critical generation facilities and improving and expanding transmission and distribution systems.

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Moving up and moving out at NJ Business & Industry’s government affairs operations

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association announced that Chief Government Affairs Officer Chrissy Buteas will leave the role, and current Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz has been tapped to fill the position. – NJBIA

By Matthew Fazelpoor, NJBIZ

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association announced the departure of Chief Government Affairs Officer Chrissy Buteas on Sept. 6.

Buteas accepted a position as vice president of government affairs for Altice USA, the parent company of News 12 New Jersey. She will remain with NJBIA through the end of this month.

“We are extremely grateful for the leadership, intellect, strategy, and passion that Chrissy has brought to NJBIA over the past four years,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka. “Her tireless efforts have ensured that NJBIA is the strongest voice for business in New Jersey. She will be greatly missed here at NJBIA, but we wish her all the best with her exciting new opportunity, and we very much look forward to working with her in the future.”

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Current Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz has been tapped to fill the chief government affairs role.

From 2005-2010, Emigholz served as NJBIA’s associate vice president of education & workforce development policy before working as associate executive director/budget director for the Senate Republican Office.

He rejoined NJBIA in 2019 in his current role, and is credited as a driving force behind the effort to reduce the unemployment insurance tax increase, as well as the new teen worker bill that Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law earlier this summer.

“Chris is well known and well respected in Trenton for his knowledge and expertise on economic development and taxation issues in New Jersey,” said Siekerka. “He is a true champion of New Jersey’s business community who will grow into a great leader of our tremendous Government Affairs team.”

Siekerka also announced the promotions of Vice President of Government Affairs Raymond Cantor to deputy chief government affairs officer and Director of Government Affairs Alexis Bailey to vice president.

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