Murphy’s picks to replace conservatonists on Pinelands Commission sets advocates on fire


By Jon Hurdle, NJ Spotlight

Gov. Phil Murphy’s new nominations to the Pinelands Commission have outraged environmentalists who said the new members would weaken environmental protections and make the 1 million-acre South Jersey preserve more vulnerable to development.

The critics said the nominees, all with corporate backgrounds, would replace three incumbents with long records as environmental advocates. These nominations, those critics said, are at odds with Murphy’s other policies of promoting clean energy and driving down climate-altering emissions.

In response to the storm of protest, the administration agreed Sunday to meet with the environmentalists on Monday to discuss the issue. The advocates consequently canceled a Monday news conference when they planned to urge Murphy to withdraw the nominations.

The newly re-elected governor on Thursday nominated Elvin Montero, deputy executive director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, a trade group, to replace Ed Lloyd, a retired environmental law professor who has sat on the commission since 2002.

Murphy also proposed that Davon McCurry, a government affairs official with the wind energy giant Orsted, should replace D’Arcy Rohan Green, an environmental advocate who has served on the Pinelands Commission since 2011.

And Laura Matos, an executive at Kivvit, a national communications and public relations firm, was nominated to replace Richard Prickett, a retired science teacher who joined the commission in 2012 and is its current chairman.

Read the full story here

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Lake Erie wind turbine project subject of upcoming Ohio Supreme Court hearing

Two residents challenge approval of Icebreaker project over threat to birds

By Mark Naymik (WKYC)

CLEVELAND — It’s a project that would harness the power of Lake Erie to power homes.

Dubbed Icebreaker, it would be the first freshwater wind farm in North America, built about eight miles off the Cleveland shoreline.

But the project has been stalled by a legal challenge, which has delayed a key approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board, the authority that signs off on energy projects.

The challenge is fronted by two Bratenahl residents — Susan Dempsey and Robert Maloney — who argue the project needs to better study the threat it poses to migrating birds.

Their case comes before the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Read the full story here

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New Jersey offshore Wind Port project wins national award

Officials break ground for the New Jersey Wind Port in Salem County.
Gov. Phil Murphy claps after the ground breaking ceremony for the New Jersey Wind Port in Lower Alloways Creek on Sept. 9, 2021.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance Media for NJ.com


By Bill Duhart | For NJ.com

The New Jersey Wind Port has won a national award as the best new infrastructure project in the country.

The facility in Lower Alloways Creek, Salem County, which broke ground in September, won the Strategic Infrastructure Project of the Year award at CG/LA Infrastructure’s 13th annual North America Infrastructure Leadership Forum last month.

“This award and the demonstrable interest the wind industry has already shown in the project once again confirm New Jersey as the capital of offshore wind in the United States,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

Offshore wind is a central part of Murphy’s Energy Master Plan to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050. The state has committed to producing 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.

Two South Jersey politicians who championed the project lost reelection bids last month. State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Deputy Assembly Speaker John Burzichelli, both 3rd District Democrats, have promoted offshore wind projects for more than two decades

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Op-Ed: Retail food industry needs support from NJ policymakers

By LINDA DOHERTY (NJ Food Council) in NJ Spotlight

More regulation would hurt an industry that played a key role in helping everyone weather the pandemic

Linda Doherty

When New Jersey’s grocery shoppers enter their local food store or supermarket, they expect to walk aisles filled with fresh food and fully stocked shelves. This is what consumers take for granted as “normal.”

But for the retailers who make sure consumers have the products they need, things are anything but normal. There remain supply-chain issues across many sectors of the consumer economy, as well as an ongoing struggle to find workers who are up for the demands of the 24-hour operation to feed New Jersey.

The supermarket industry — like other essential businesses — has stood on the front lines in the days, weeks and months of this lingering pandemic to ensure the stores remained open. We were there at all hours, and even joined in the effort of delivering COVID-19 vaccines as part of the massive rollout earlier this year.

As the global supply chain remains tight, profit margins are thinner than ever because of inflation. The cost of food last month increased 6.2%, compared to October 2020 — the greatest single-year jump that most people can remember. Meat, fish, eggs, bread and cheese — the staples of the typical kitchen — are facing some of the highest spikes. Grocers try to absorb costs and insulate consumers from price shocks, but there is only so much that can be done when costs increase so quickly and dramatically.

The situation can be overwhelming for the food industry, yet your local market remains open, serving the masses, as a proud essential service. Now is the time that New Jersey’s food retail industry could use help from our policymakers, as we share with them our pressing challenges.

The biggest issue facing food retailers is a significant worker shortage. Supermarkets offer good-paying, stable positions, often with some of the best companies to work for in the country. Retailers have raised wages, offered bonuses and even provided perks like tuition assistance, but positions remained unfilled. Shelves cannot be stocked and stores cannot remain open without dedicated workers. And with the growth in demand for online grocery shopping and delivery, there is an even greater need for employees to fulfill these orders.

Pending bills would add to costs

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Meet the Sierra Club NJ Chaper’s new director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot

Sierra Club

Editor’s Note: On May 1, Jeff Tittel retired as director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey Chapter. Over his two-decades of advocacy, Tittel established himself as the primary information source for environmental reporters and as the environmental community’s most influencial lobbyist with state government. He made friends and enemies along the way. Not surisingly, it took the Sierra Club six months to name his successsor. We wish her all the best.

Sierra Club News Release

The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club announces the appointment of Anjuli Ramos-Busot as the chapter’s new director. Before taking this position, Ramos-Busot worked for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection as a climate change research scientist and air quality specialist.

“I am honored to be appointed to lead the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club. New Jersey is a small state, but one with so much environmental beauty. We are also very unique because of our densely populated nature, which puts us in a very susceptible position when dealing with pollution. Even “small pollution” is “big pollution” for New Jersey. There is a lot of work to do, and I am excited to work and fight to protect our environment and people, particularly those communities most impacted by pollution and climate change,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.

“I am proud to have this opportunity and to continue the great work of my predecessor.”

Ramos-Busot is an environmental scientist and advocate with substantial knowledge in air quality and climate change. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico before getting her M.S. in environmental chemistry and air pollution science and technology from Rutgers University. She has also previously volunteered with the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club as Air Quality Issues Coordinator.

“I am really excited to have Anjuli join us. Out of the scores of applicants we had, including some amazing people, Anjuli stood out. She’s really well-qualified, an environmentalist down to her core, and she understands what’s at stake,” said Rich Isaac, Chair of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.

“I know that Anjuli is going to do an amazing job, and that she will help us build and grow our collaborative work with many different organizations.”

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