EnviroPolitics Blog

NJ Senate panel approves Pennacchio’s bill clean fusion energy bill

Measure Would Establish Scholarships for Graduate Students and Researchers

To increase New Jersey’s talent pool of top-level graduate students and researchers in the fields of fusion energy and plasma physics, Senator Joe Pennacchio has sponsored legislation that was approved Thursday by the Senate Higher Education Committee.

“To establish New Jersey as a leader in renewable fusion energy, we need to encourage the best and brightest young talent to help lead the transition,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “Fusion is an appealing renewable energy option with limitless potential,” said Pennacchio (R-26).

“This bill will support the development of scientists and researchers to advance the innovations required to realize the promise of fusion as a safe, economical, and sustainable energy source for our long-term power needs.”

Pennacchio’s bill, S-218, would establish a scholarship program for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in New Jersey who are studying or conducting research in plasma physics and fusion energy science. The program would be administered by the state’s Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA).

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily 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.

NJ Senate panel approves Pennacchio’s bill clean fusion energy bill Read More »

Trouble down on the farm (despite record yields)

Trouble down on the farm (despite record yields) Read More »

Pa lawmaker proposes assault weapon ban

Pa State Senator Steve Santarsiero announces assault weapon ban legislation at a news conference in Lower Makefield Township, Pa. **News conference video**

By Chris Ullery, Bucks Courier-Times

In the wake of mass shootings in New York, Texas, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero on Thursday announced legislation that would ban military-style assault weapons in Pennsylvania.

Santarsiero, D-10, of Lower Makefield, said the measure is modeled after a 2013 Connecticut law targeting more than 150 gun models, banning high-capacity magazines, and providing a voluntary buy-back program for gun owners.

The Connecticut bill Santarsiero used in crafting his legislation passed that state’s legislature a few months after the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, where Adam Lanza used an assault-style weapon to kill 20 children and six adults.

“I’m here to tell you today, we’ve had enough … after these most recent incidents in Buffalo and Uvalde, it’s time we stand up with a single voice and say, ‘Enough. Enough. No one needs to have a military-style assault weapon,’” Santarsiero said during a press conference at the Lower Makefield Township Municipal Building.

Read the full story here

Gun control legislation doesn’t get far in the GOP-dominated Pennsylvania General Assembly

May 25, 2022 –Harrisburg An effort by Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania to ban owning, selling or making high-capacity, semi-automatic firearms went nowhere Wednesday as state House Republicans again displayed their firm opposition to gun restriction proposals.

The state House of Representatives voted 111-87 against the effort by Democratic Rep. Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County to take up the bill after Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff argued it should have to go through a committee first.

The bill has spent more than a year in the Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin, has bottled up most proposals to regulate or restrict firearms.

Other gun-control news
Frustration mounts over the Pennsylvania law that keeps Philly from passing its own gun control

House passes tough new gun measures hours after wrenching testimony

Pa lawmaker proposes assault weapon ban Read More »

Workers’ fall into tank of M&M chocolate

By Jenna Wise, Patriot-News

Two people fell into a tank of chocolate while completing maintenance work at the Mars/M&M factory in Lancaster County, Pa., and now federal workplace safety officials are investigating.

The fall into a partially filled chocolate vat happened around 1:51 p.m. at the Mars facility on the 200 block of Brown Street in Elizabethtown, authorities said.

Federal labor officials confirmed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident. OSHA has six months to investigate and submit its findings, according to a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson.

The workers who fell into the tank are employed by the Manheim-based I.K. Stolzfus Services, the Labor spokesperson said.

According to its website, I.K. Stolzfus Services specializes in “professional industrial cleaning, water tank repair, cleaning & painting, abrasive and sandblasting services.”

Firefighters rushed to the Mars factory Thursday afternoon and rescued the workers by drilling a hole in the bottom of the tank and pulling them out, according to the Elizabethtown Fire Department.

I.K. Stolzfus declined to comment and directed any questions to a Mars Wrigley spokesperson. Mars did not provide an update on the workers’ conditions. Elizabethtown police also directed questions to Mars.

Workers’ fall into tank of M&M chocolate Read More »

Bill directs NJ counties to cut food waste in half

From the NJ Senate Democrats

TRENTON – In an attempt to reduce food waste throughout the state, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee yesterday approved legislation sponsored by Senator Richard Codey and Senator Bob Smith, which would require each solid waste management district in the State to develop a strategy to reduce food waste.

The bill, S2730, would require each solid waste management district, by 2030, to implement a strategy for reducing the amount of food waste generated annually by at least 50 percent of the quantity of food waste generated in the year this bill is enacted into law. The strategy would be adopted as an amendment to each district’s solid waste management plan and be subject to the approval of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Don’t miss environmental news like this Click for free updates

“Food is a terrible thing to waste. Annually, it is estimated that one-third of all food produced in the world goes to waste, equaling more than a billion tons of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, seafood, and grains that are thrown out,” said Senator Codey (D-Essex / Morris).

“This amount is also an environmental concern since, when food is wasted, all the energy and water it took to grow, harvest, transport, and package it are squandered too. Additionally, when food goes to a landfill and rots, it produces methane—a greenhouse gas approximately 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.”

The bill would also require the Department of Environmental Protection to develop and publish a list of measures that solid waste management districts could utilize to achieve food waste reduction.

“In the last session, we were able to pass legislation that required large generators of food waste such as hospitals, prisons, restaurants, and supermarkets to recycle food garbage rather than sending it to incinerators or landfills. This marked an important step towards systematically addressing food waste Statewide, and this bill could continue this work at the regional level,” said Senator Smith (D-Middlesex / Somerset), chair of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.

The bill was released by the committee on a vote of 5-0.

Bill directs NJ counties to cut food waste in half Read More »

Blistering state report on Baltimore’s Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant

By Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun
Jun 09, 2022, at 5:48 pm

A blistering state report on Baltimore’s ailing Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant made public Thursday detailed “systemic problems” plaguing the facility, including “failures at nearly every level.”

The report, produced by the Maryland Environmental Service, which took over the plant in late March, laid out a variety of infrastructure problems that have caused solid waste to build up in various parts of the sewage treatment process at the plant, leading to excessive releases of harmful bacteria and nutrients. But it also dove into problems with management, safety, and staffing, blasting Baltimore Department of Public Works officials for a “lack of leadership” and providing a first look at a failing culture inside the facility, where problems first became public last summer.

Don’t miss environmental news like this Click for free updates

In addition to a litany of mechanical fixes, the report recommended the hiring of several new employees, including an on-site safety manager, a training and certification manager, and a biosolids manager with two supporting staff members focused on processing solid waste.

A spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Public Works emphasized that the issues at the plant pre-date Public Works Director Jason Mitchell, who started in 2021, adding that the department has a “renewed commitment to continuing to address these challenges, including governance, operations, and employee safety” under his leadership.

Read the full story here

Blistering state report on Baltimore’s Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant Read More »