EnviroPolitics Blog

Supreme Court today will hear climate change case with a significant potential impact

The court could handcuff President Biden’s climate change agenda — and restrict federal agencies from enacting new regulations governing health, workplace safety, and more.

*Credit…Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press*

By Coral Davenport New York Times

WASHINGTON — In the most important environmental case in more than a decade, the Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a dispute that could restrict or even eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to control the pollution that is heating the planet.

A decision by the high court, with its conservative supermajority, could shred President Biden’s plans to halve the nation’s greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade, which scientists have said is necessary to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

Related environmental news:
Court to weigh EPA authority on greenhouse pollutants (Yale Climate Connections)
U.S. utilities side with environment agency in Supreme Court (Reuters)
Enviro groups respond to attacks against Clean Air Act (Environmental Defense Fund)

“They could handcuff the federal government’s ability to affordably reduce greenhouse gases from power plants,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.

But the outcome could also have repercussions that stretch well beyond air pollution, restricting the ability of federal agencies to regulate health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector, and more.

Read the full story here

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NJ Gov. Murphy Announces Promotions, Hires On Communications Staff

Altman, Coyne, Zhadanovsky move up; Peace, Hamilton join governor’s office team

Alex Altman, the deputy communications director on Gov. Phil Murphy’s staff. (Photo: Office of the Governor)

By David Wildstein, NJ Globe

Gov. Phil Murphy announced a series of staff moves on his communications team following the departure of Dan Bryan from the governor’s office today, including the promotion of Alex Altman to deputy communications director.

Also moving up is Megan Coyne, whose management of the state’s official Twitter account has received national attention, and Michael Zhadanovsky.

Bryan is moving over to Murphy’s political team as executive director of a non-profit advocacy group and a political action committee led by First Lady Tammy Murphy.

“Dan Bryan has been a senior member of the Administration since day one, and I am thankful for his unwavering commitment to our mission of making New Jersey stronger and fairer for the working families who call our state home,” Murphy said. “Dan has long served as the Administration’s point person for strategic communications and, more importantly, he has been a friend. I know I am not alone in saying that he will be missed as a member of the Murphy Administration.”

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Altman had served as deputy press secretary will now play a senior role in a communications group led by Mahen Gunaratna and Alyana Alfaro Post, the governor’s press secretary. She had initially joined the Murphy administration in 2018 as a public information officer at the Department of Corrections before moving to the governor’s office later that year.

“Alex Altman has been a critical member of our communications team for over three years, and I am thrilled to have her continue serving the Administration in the new senior role of deputy communications director,” Murphy said.

Coyne, the governor’s new social media director, joined Murphy’s office as a communications intern in 2018 and later worked as a digital assistant and social media manager. She grew up in Livingston, which has produced a disproportionately high number of state and national political leaders, including three governors, two of them popular ones.

Zhadanovsky also began as a communications intern after Murphy became governor in 2018 and was hired as a press assistant immediately following his graduation from Rutgers in 2019. He will now serve as deputy press secretary.

Murphy also announced the hiring of two new communications staffers: Christi Peace will also serve as a deputy press secretary. She’ll move over from her current post in the Assembly Majority Office; and Natalie Hamilton, a recent University of Delaware graduate who worked as a communications intern, will serve as a press assistant.

“Alex, along with Mahen, Megan, Christi, Michael, Natalie, and the rest of our communications team, will continue building on our Administration’s commitment to keeping the public well-informed,” Murphy said.

NJ Gov. Murphy Announces Promotions, Hires On Communications Staff Read More »

‘Unprecedented’ PFAS Drinking Water Standard is under review in Pennsylvania

The state is considering a step it’s never taken in its history in an effort to keep drinking water safe and clean.

Justin Heinze, Patch Staff

PENNSYLVANIA — A new drinking water health standard has been proposed in Pennsylvania that officials are hopeful will protect residents from PFAS, long-lasting chemicals used in certain products that leak into the groundwater. The step is described as “unprecedented” as Pennsylvania has never set a state-level specific limit for a substance in drinking water.

The new rule would set a maximum contaminant level of 18 parts per trillion for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and 14 perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Both are stricter than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ruling of 70 ppt.

Pennsylvania leaders say they are at the forefront of limiting PFAS in drinking water.https://293baf1e9e16382e14bec7326f5d42a2.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“Since Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order in 2018, DEP has worked tirelessly to protect Pennsylvanians from these chemicals,” DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a statement.

A 60-day public comment period began on Saturday for residents to evaluate the new proposal.

Read the full story here

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North Carolina enviro-flyers search for waste discharges from large pig and chicken farms

Environmental activists undertake airborne surveillance missions and on-the-ground sampling to protect communities from the air and water pollution produced by industrial-scale hog and poultry operations near them.

From Inside Climate News

North Carolina enviro-flyers search for waste discharges from large pig and chicken farms Read More »

Federal auction draws record $4.37B in bids for wind energy off New Jersey and New York

By Valerie Volcovici Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The Biden administration’s sale of offshore wind development rights off the coasts of New York and New Jersey drew a record $4.37 billion in high bids from developers.

The auction, which began on Wednesday and stretched into Friday afternoon, is the first offshore wind lease sale under U.S. President Joe Biden, who sees the expansion of the industry as a way to tackle climate change and create jobs.

**Offshore wind-farm auctions: gold in the green sector**
“Offshore wind is the winner,’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, one of the many environmental groups pushing offshore wind as an alternative way of producing electricity, instead of natural gas and fossil fuels. ***Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight***

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversees energy development in federal waters, offered six leases across 488,201 acres (197,568 hectares) between New York’s Long Island and New Jersey, an area known as the New York Bight.

By the end of the auction, total high bids on the six blocks amounted to $4.37 billion, according to the BOEM. That is more than three times the revenue received from all U.S. offshore oil and gas lease auctions over the past five years.

Winning bidders included Ocean Winds East, Attentive Energy, Bight Wind, Atlantic Shores, Invenergy, and Mid Atlantic, according to a BOEM news release.

“This week’s offshore wind sale makes one thing clear: The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it’s here to stay,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

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More NJ customers set to get smart meters

JCP&L gets the green light to install networked meters and spend more than $400 million

TOM JOHNSON, NJ Spotlight

Jersey Central Power & Light now has the approval to spend $433 million over the next six years to install smart meters in homes and businesses of its 1.1 million customers.

In a 5-0 vote, the state Board of Public Utilities agreed Wednesday to allow the state’s second-largest electric utility to begin installing the technology, known as advanced metering technology, beginning next year. Smart meters create an integrated, two-way communications network allowing customers to make more informed decisions about how and when they use energy.

“It is a very significant development,’’ said BPU Commissioner Bob Gordon, referring to the board’s action.

The technology, widely used in the rest of the country, has the potential to reduce customers’ bills by enabling them to curb energy consumption at times when electricity prices are highest as well as speeding restoration during widespread power outages.

Read the full story here

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