EnviroPolitics Blog

New Hudson River tunnels project wins key federal approval

Hudson River tunnel construction in 1905

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A long-awaited environmental approval that will move New York and New Jersey one step closer to building two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River has been granted by federal officials, after a three-year-delay from a promised 2018 date.

Federal Railroad Administration officials approved a Record of Decision Friday for the Environmental Impact Study for the tunnel project between New Jersey and New York, that’s part of the larger Gateway Project. That will allow rehabilitation of the existing 110-year-old tunnels currently used by 450-plus Amtrak and NJ Transit trains a day.

“This is a big step for the Northeast and the entire country as these tunnels connect so many people, jobs and businesses,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “This decision is also an important reminder we are still capable of working together to advance ambitious projects together that can make life better for people, connect communities, and deliver a stronger future.”

The announcement comes 10 years and three months after Amtrak proposed the first iteration of the Gateway Project in February 2011 in response to the October 2010 cancelation of the ARC tunnel project by Gov. Chris Christie over concerns about cost overruns.

The decision represents a “collective sigh of relief” for commuters, Gateway supporters, and the bistate congressional delegation, which fought to keep the project alive, said Tony Coscia, Amtrak board chairman and Gateway Development Commission vice chairman.

“The Gateway project was always about this big infrastructure project that will make a big difference,” he said. “It will have an impact on the ease and reliability of the commute.”

Tunnel issues, from overhead electric power to signal failures, have been a vexing problem for NJ Transit commuters and Amtrak passengers alike, resulting in hours of delays, with the potential to send a routine trip into disarray. The two tunnels also were a large bottleneck on Amtrak’s busy Northeast Corridor line.

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Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline ruins the quality of life in Delaware County through eminent domain

An aerial view of the pipeline construction site. Drone photograph: anonymous resident

By Jason N. Peters, Grid

Along the long, winding roads of Glen Riddle, a small unincorporated community nestled in Delaware County near Media, sits Glen Riddle Station Apartments, a 124-unit complex that has found itself at the center of yet another Mariner East pipeline controversy.

On May 26 more than two hundred residents of Glen Riddle found themselves without water and Pennsylvania State Police launched an investigation into the actions of a Sunoco representative. For residents, this is the latest episode in what they see as chronic carelessness and the malevolent indifference by Sunoco to people living near their work.

Energy Transfer LP, Sunoco’s parent company, began construction on the Mariner East 2 pipeline in December 2018. The pipeline is meant to cross the entirety of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from east to west, moving natural gas liquids across the state. Similar to other large scale pipeline operations, Mariner East has been plagued with controversy from issues surrounding permits to being deemed negligent by a Public Utility Commission judge in Delaware and Chester counties.

Despite the controversy, Energy Transfer has carried on construction.

In November 2020, with the backing of state courts, Sunoco exercised eminent domain to claim the privately-owned land at Glen Riddle Station. A long, grassy hill separates two of the five apartment buildings from the other three, but for the last six months these buildings have been divided by a wall that’s somewhere between 40 and 50 feet high, meant to dampen the loud sounds and bright lights of drilling and construction work.

“This has been a battle since November,” says Steve Iacobucci, one of the owners of Glen Riddle Station. “It’s been a battle to get safety concerns and questions addressed [about] the operation,” he explains. Iacobucci is not alone in his concerns about safety. In a virtual council meeting for residents of Middletown Township on April 12, residents raised concerns about safety and evacuation plans that went unanswered by a Sunoco representative.

Energy Transfer Vice President of Corporate Communications Vicki Anderson Granado did not answer the questions Grid asked, but provided a statement denying any wrongdoing on Energy Transfer’s behalf.

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What’s cool about Ford’s historic Electric F-150

By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News

Accompanied by throbbing electronic music and the requisite fog machines, the electric Ford F-150 Lightning made its debut last week in Dearborn, Michigan, a potential turning point in the growth of the electric vehicle market.

The gasoline version of the F-150 has long been the top-selling vehicle in the United States, so Ford’s decision to use that name for the new truck is significant.

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But the most striking thing for me about the F-150 Lightning wasn’t it’s name but the way that Ford is selling the model’s advantages over a gasoline model, even as the company gets nearly all its sales from gasoline-powered vehicles.

The Lightning has a base price of $39,974 and a range of 230 miles, and will go on sale in spring 2022. It is one of at least seven all-electric trucks that will be hitting the market, including the Tesla Cybertruck, the debut of several start-up brands, like Rivian and Bollinger, and an all-electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado.

It is difficult to cut through the auto industry’s hype machine, and Ford hasn’t disclosed important information, like sales expectations. That said, Ford has said enough to give truck buyers a lot to digest as they go through the long period between last week’s unveiling and when the model arrives at dealerships.

Here are seven takeaways about the F-150 and this moment in the transition to cleaner vehicles:

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Passaic County prodding NJ Gov. Murphy to block gas pipeline project in Highlands

Passaic County commissioners could soon be asking Gov. Phil Murphy to block the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company’s plan to build a new compressor station near the Monksville Reservoir.

By David M. Zimmer NorthJersey.com

Heavily criticized for its potential impact on the development-regulated Highlands Region, the plan under federal review involves the installation of a 19,000-horsepower turbine to push more gas through a nearby pipeline.

Terry Duffy, a 15-year commissioner and West Milford resident, said the project is all risk and no reward for his hometown. The project — and proposed upgrades to existing stations in Wantage and Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania —are designed to feed new Con Edison connections in Westchester County, New York, records show.

The proposed site of a Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company compressor station in a former West Milford quarry is in close proximity to Greenwood Lake Turnpike and the company's existing pipeline. Construction could start in 2022.

“We really do need to pass a resolution encouraging the governor to kill the project if he can,” said Bruce James, the county commission’s deputy director. “It doesn’t benefit New Jersey in any way whatsoever, not at all, and fracking doesn’t benefit anyone.”

Opponents of the project, including members of Food & Water Watch, NJ Sierra Club and Sustainable West Milford, have voiced their concerns about its environmental impact during municipal meetings and local rallies in recent months. They have urged Murphy to attempt to stop the project, as state officials did in 2019 by denying land rights for the proposed 116-mile Penn East natural gas pipeline.

More:
West Milford residents to rally against proposed pipeline compressor project before vote

Governing bodies in Bloomfield, Montague and Ringwood have adopted resolutions opposing the project. The Passaic County commissioners are expected to vote June 8 on a resolution opposing the project .

West Milford’s town council, however, rejected a resolution opposing the project in March. Mayor Michele Dale said the governing body has submitted its concerns to the project-regulating Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but is also negotiating with the pipeline company to secure community safeguards, including bonding, insurance, and first responder training.

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ExxonMobil investors, worried about climate change, defy management and win at least two board seats.

A stinging defeat for Chairman and CEO Darren Woods

Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Darren Woods (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

By Steven Mufson, Washington Post

ExxonMobil shareholders voted Wednesday to install at least two new independent directors to the company’s board, a resounding defeat for chief executive Darren Woods and ratification of shareholders’ unhappiness with the way the company had been addressing climate change and its lagging financial performance.

Woods tried to muster votes until the last minute, but failed to win backing for all of his proposed directors. In addition to the election of two new independent directors, the votes over two others from the dissident slate were too close to call. Both sides spent tens of millions of dollars on the hard-fought campaign.

At one point, ExxonMobil declared a one-hour recess in the annual meeting, a move many believed reflected ongoing negotiations over votes. “Stopping the vote was a pretty desperate move and usually portends a result the establishment does not want to happen,” said a former oil refining executive with experience at annual meetings.

The proxy campaign that rocked the 130-year-old oil behemoth was led by a young, relatively small hedge fund called Engine No. 1. But it quickly won the backing of the three biggest U.S. pension funds, the two biggest advisory services, and the three biggest fund managers. The three fund managers — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street — hold more than 20 percent of the ExxonMobil’s shares.

“Investors are waking up,” Anne Simpson, managing investment director for board governance and sustainability at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, said in the run-up to the vote. “The sleeping giant maybe is stirring.”

Chevron investors also flexed their muscle on Wednesday, casting 61 percent of shares in favor of a proposal asking the oil major to cut its total greenhouse gas emissions, including customers’ emissions, a category known as “Scope 3” in addition to its own operations and supply chains. Shareholders voted 61 percent in favor of the proposal, according to a preliminary count announced by Chevron at its annual general meeting.

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New York DEC Announces Start of 2021 Camping Season

Improvements to Showers and Comfort Stations Statewide and Equestrian Facilities at Frontier Town Campground. Campground Visitors Encouraged to Make Reservations

Reservations for the 2021 camping season are at an all-time high as more New Yorkers and visitors from out of state prepare to head outdoors to take advantage of recreational opportunities in the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves.

In addition and in preparation for the upcoming camping season, DEC announced improvements at campgrounds across the state to help improve the visitor experience. While two DEC campgrounds opened earlier this spring-Wilmington Notch in Essex County on May 7, and Fish Creek in Franklin County on April 2-most DEC campgrounds open on May 21, the weekend prior to the Memorial Day Holiday.

To make reservations, visit the ReserveAmerica website and consider additional or alternative locations for recreation. For help choosing a location to visit, see DEC’s interactive guide.

DEC has completed improvements at several camping facilities, including new showers and comfort stations, power and water systems, and equestrian-specific improvements at the Frontier Town campground.

At the Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area, town of North Hudson, Essex County, on the site of the former Frontier Town theme park in the town of North Hudson, DEC continues to advance modifications to the equestrian camping area in response to feedback received since the facility opened in 2019. The following improvements will provide an enhanced experience for equestrian campers:

Sites have been widened to provide more room for horse trailers;
10×10 planting pits added between sites to provide for young shade trees and other vegetation, along with hitching posts and fencing;
A horse care/wash area added near the comfort station in the equestrian area; and
A manure pit added to the all-season parking area.

The total cost of these improvements was $260,000, which includes repairs to the day-use area following a storm event on Halloween in 2019.

At the Cranberry Lake Campground and Day-Use Area, Cranberry Lake, St. Lawrence County, DEC rebuilt the water distribution system at a cost of $600,000.

DEC rebuilt the main shower building at the Eagle Point Campground, Pottersville, Warren County, at a cost of $100,000.

At the Narrow Island Campground, Lake George, Warren County, DEC completed the redevelopment and construction of a new electrical power system, including solar and back-up generator capacity, at a cost of $50,000.

DEC improved several comfort stations at the Meadowbrook Campground, Ray Brook, Essex County, at a cost of approximately $20,000.

DEC rebuilt the ticket/registration booth at a cost of approximately $20,000 at the Little Sand Point Campground, Piseco, Hamilton County.

At the North South Lake Campground, Haines Falls, DEC rehabilitated a comfort station at a cost of approximately $20,000.

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