#BILLYGRAM for Sept. 24, 2021
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New York State opens public comment period on an agreement for groundwater cleanup at Northrop sites in Oyster Bay
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced the release for public comment, the proposed Consent Decree between DEC and Northrop Grumman.
The proposal formalizes the agreement to clean up the groundwater plume associated with the Northrop Grumman Bethpage Facility and Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant sites in the town of Oyster Bay in Bethpage, Nassau County.
The Consent Decree requires Northrop Grumman to drill and operate wells to contain and clean up the groundwater plume and pay more than $60 million to DEC and affected water districts.
The proposed Consent Decree also further protects the water districts by providing for their ability to bring additional claims to collect damages from Northrup Grumman and the U.S. Navy.
DEC is accepting comments until Oct. 22, 2021. Find details about how to comment on the proposed Consent Decree in the September 22nd Environmental Notice Bulletin.
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EPA to cut greenhouse gases that are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide
Agency’s final rule will slash the use and production of hydrofluorocarbons — often found to be leaking from U.S. supermarket freezers — by 85 percent over the next 15 years
By Dino Grandoni Washington Post
The Biden administration will finalize its first new climate rule Thursday, slashing the use of greenhouse gases warming the planet at a rate hundreds to thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide.
The Environmental Protection Agency regulation, which establishes a program to cut the use and production of chemicals known as hydrofluorocarbons in the United States by 85 percent over the next 15 years, implements a law passed by Congress last year. There is broad bipartisan support for curbing these super-pollutants, which are used in refrigeration and air conditioning and often found to be leaking from U.S. supermarket freezers.
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White House officials said the new rule tackles global warming while supporting jobs to manufacture new alternatives.
“It’s a win on climate and a win on jobs, and American competitiveness,” Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, told reporters in an online briefing Wednesday evening. “It’s really — frankly, folks — a very big deal.”
But the measure comes at a fraught moment for President Biden, who is struggling to shepherd the rest of his climate agenda through Congress. Democrats are trying to pass a pair of bills aimed at expanding the adoption of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, but divisions between the party’s moderate and liberal wings have complicated their passage.
Thursday’s announcement, by contrast, shows how much easier it is for federal agencies to tackle greenhouse gas emissions when empowered by legislation.
Return to “Normal”? New Jersey Acts to Undo COVID-19 Pandemic Extensions Impacting NJDEP Regulation
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Signs Executive Order Allowing Extended Rule-Making Deadlines at NJDEP to Expire and Setting Deadlines for Soil and Fill Recycling Activities and A-901 Licensing
By Melissa A. Clarke, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr
| Executive Order (EO) 263, effective September 17, 2021, provides for the expiration of extensions of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rule-making deadlines that were instituted in EO 127 (2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EO 127 provided an extension for any rules or emergency rules that would have otherwise expired during the public health emergency for 90 days following the end of the public health emergency. The public health emergency ended on June 4, 2021, as discussed below. EO 263 provides, in relevant part: “All rules of the DEP…that were scheduled to expire prior to the effective date of this Order but were extended pursuant to Executive Order No. 127…shall expire on the effective date of this Order.” What You Need to Know: The public health emergency ended on June 4, 2021, but a state of emergency remains in New Jersey. The tolling of timeframes governing public notice, review, or final action on NJDEP applications has ended. The extension of deadlines for public comment on applications for certain NJDEP permits and approvals has ended. Extensions of NJDEP rule-making deadlines have expired. There are new deadlines for complying with N.J.S.A. 13:1E-127.1, the Dirty Dirt law. Read the full post here Don’t miss environmental information like this Click for updates |
PennEast shelves plan to build gas pipeline through NJ public lands
Foes say the company likely concluded that it wouldn’t get DEP permits
By Jon Hurdle NJ Spotlight
PennEast Pipeline Co. has dropped a plan to use New Jersey state lands for its controversial natural gas pipeline — at least for now — dealing a major blow to the long-delayed project in the state.
The company’s decision not to pursue eminent-domain claims on 42 parcels of publicly owned land was announced in an agreement with the Attorney General’s office and recorded in a brief notice sent on Sept. 20 to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which is overseeing the company’s claims.
“The parties to these consolidated matters have agreed in principle to a stipulated voluntary dismissal of these matters,” the notice said, referring to the eminent-domain claims.
In plain language, the notice means that PennEast won’t seek to seize the lands to build the pipeline, said Leland Moore, a spokesman for the AG’s office, which argued against the company’s use of public lands before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.
The nation’s highest court had sided with PennEast, ruling that it had the right to use eminent domain to acquire the state land it needed for the project.
“We are pleased that after three years of litigation, PennEast has finally paused on trying to take state land,” Moore said in a statement. “Although the company is still pushing ahead with plans to build an unnecessary and ill-conceived pipeline, we will continue to lead the fight against it, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in court.”
Company cites timing as an issue
Pat Kornick, a PennEast spokeswoman, would not say whether the agreement means the company has abandoned its plans for the New Jersey section of the pipeline, which has twice been denied state environmental permits, and has aroused strong opposition in the communities where it would be built.
“Given the uncertainty on timing to resolve the remaining legal and regulatory hurdles, PennEast believes it is not prudent to complete the acquisition of the rights of way in the pending actions as it might not be necessary for some time,” she said.
Still, Kornick suggested the company is continuing to explore ways of moving the project forward in the future.
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In Ida’s wake, New Jersey looks to buy more flood-prone properties
Federal money may be available to expand the popular Blue Acres program, DEP Commissioner says
By Jon Hurdle, NJ Spotlight
New Jersey’s top environmental official says the state will expand its program that buys private properties in flood-prone areas after the devastation caused by Ida, but warned that any plan to move whole communities out of harm’s way is beyond the state’s means, and would require federal help.
Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, said the state now has the money to buy some additional properties and will do so, thanks to the Legislature’s decision in 2019 to dedicate more revenue to the so-called Blue Acres program from the Corporation Business Tax.
“The program definitely needs expansion,” he said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “Now we have that greater ability, and we’ll be making use of that, no question.”
But any purchase of whole communities would depend on more funding from the federal government, which he said could indeed be coming from Washington.
“I would be surprised if we didn’t see that come through in any kind of disaster legislation pending in Congress,” he said.
At Tuesday’s conference on environmental policy in the wake of Ida, LaTourette faced a series of questions about the future of Blue Acres after severe flooding in many communities — such as those along the Rahway River — left many with ruined homes and millions of dollars in damage.
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