EnviroPolitics Blog

Enviro critics say NJ Transit still ‘tilted’ toward fossil fuels for Kearny power plant

Environmental groups had lobbied hard for a solar-powered plant

“It does feel like a betrayal,” clean-energy advocate Sam DiFalco said about NJ Transit’s revised plans for a natural gas-fueled power plant in Kearny. The plant is supposed to supply electricity to keep trains running during massive power outages like the one caused by Superstorm Sandy.

Environmental groups had lobbied hard for a solar-powered plant and Gov. Phil Murphy advised NJ Transit in fall 2020 to come up with a greener blueprint. NJ Transit promised to “reimagine” a more environmentally friendly project but a gas-powered plant still dominates the agency’s new request for proposals from developers. “It’s clear the RFP is very tilted towards fossil fuels,” said Dave Pringle of Clean Water Action. NJ Transit says it is committed to designs that maximize clean energy.

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US Department of Energy to offer $3B to boost battery production, recycling

By Jason Plautz Utility Dive contributor

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide nearly $3 billion to a pair of programs designed to spur domestic production of advanced batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage.

One program will spend about $2.8 billion to support new, retrofitted, and expanded domestic operations for the production of battery materials and cell components and battery recycling. Another $60 million will go to research and development of second-life sources for EV batteries, according to the two notices of intent.

The funds are part of the more than $7 billion Congress dedicated to improving the domestic battery supply chain in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Read the full story

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Wolves win protection renewal in federal court

Federal judge overturns Trump-era decision removing the predators from the endangered species list.

By Catrin Einhorn New York Times

Gray wolves will regain federal protection across most of the lower 48 United States following a court ruling Thursday that struck down a Trump administration decision to take the animals off the endangered species list.

Senior District Judge Jeffrey S. White, of United States District Court for the Northern District of California, found that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in declaring wolf conservation a success and removing the species from federal protection, did not adequately consider threats to wolves outside of the Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains where they have rebounded most significantly.

Although the decision to delist wolves came under the Trump administration, the Biden administration has defended it in court.

“Wolves need federal protection, period,” said Kristen Boyles, an attorney at Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization that has helped lead the legal fight. “The Fish and Wildlife Service should be ashamed of defending the gray wolf delisting.”

Read the full story

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The top contender in Pa’s GOP primary election for governor is subpoenaed by congressional Jan. 6 riot committee

Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin).Julio Cortez / AP

By Andrew Seidman Philadelphia Inquirer

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania Republican state senator who is running for governor.

The panel said Tuesday that it sent subpoenas to six people, including Mastriano, demanding information “about efforts to send false slates of electors to Washington and change the outcome of the 2020 election.”

“Based on publicly available information and information produced to the Select Committee, we believe that you have documents and information that are relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) wrote in a letter to Mastriano that was dated Tuesday.

Citing Mastriano’s public statements and news accounts, Thompson said Mastriano participated in a plan to get the GOP-led state legislature to send a pro-Trump slate of electors to Congress on Jan. 6, spoke with former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the election, and was present on Capitol grounds the day of the riot.

“We understand you participated in these activities based on assertions of voter fraud and other asserted irregularities and based on a stated belief that under the U.S. Constitution the ‘state legislature has the sole authority to direct the manner of selecting delegates to the Electoral College,’” the letter says. “We have an interest in understanding these activities and the theories that motivated them.”

It cites a Nov. 28, 2020, tweet by Mastriano that wrongly alleged there was “mounting evidence” Pennsylvania’s election was compromised — in which case, the senator said, the state legislature “has the sole authority to direct the manner of selecting delegates to the Electoral College.”

That statement was consistent with a legal argument developed by Trump allies claiming Vice President Mike Pence could reject pro-Biden slates from key swing states such as Pennsylvania. That idea has been widely discredited by mainstream legal scholars.

Read the full story here

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NY orders Norlite to stop offsite Cohoes dust

New Report Links Off-Site Dust to Norlite’s Operations

New York Town Discovers a Possibly Toxic Problem - WSJ

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced that DEC is ordering the Norlite facility in the city of Cohoes to immediately cease and desist off-site dust impacts as documented in the agency’s new report released today.

Based on the findings of a comprehensive analysis of fugitive dust monitoring that directly links dust impacting neighboring properties to Norlite’s operations, DEC is requiring new corrective actions to protect area air quality. This week, DEC issued a Notice of Violation that requires the facility to immediately cease and desist actions resulting in dust leaving the property, in addition to other facility operation improvements and enhancements to address these serious and preventable violations.

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“Norlite continues to show a blatant disregard for the surrounding community by allowing dust to blow off their property, and if they do not address these violations, the state of New York will do everything in its power to shut them down,” Commissioner Seggos said. “This cannot continue and we are working on multiple legal fronts to stop these violations and require necessary facility upgrades to prevent any future impacts to the people of Cohoes.”

Results of the interim study show that dust particles larger than PM2.5 from the Norlite facility are migrating to the Saratoga Sites property. The data show that dust particle plume events usually occur in short, one- to four-hour intervals at levels higher than observed by DEC air monitors in downtown Albany during the same hours and demonstrate that Norlite has been violating DEC’s stringent air pollution control regulations and permit conditions.

Read the full story here

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New York seeks public comment on update to state forest management plan

From the New York Department of Environmental Conservation

*Basswood Pond State Forest in Otsego County.*

NYDEC is accepting public comments on the 10-year update to the Strategic Plan for State Forest Management now through March 4th.

This update focuses on continuing the State’s mission of sustainably managing the more than 807,000 acres of state forests under its stewardship, while also providing safe, inclusive areas for people to recreate outdoors, economic benefits for local communities, and protection for wildlife and their habitats.

Ensuring that our State’s forests remain resilient in the face of a changing climate was a major consideration for this update as well. In addition to guiding management decisions on state forests, the plan also serves as the General Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for the work done on state forests, multiple-use areas, and unique areas.

The GEIS satisfies the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act to ensure no negative environmental impacts occur as a result of the management actions DEC undertakes.

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