From the New York Department of Environmental Conservation
As you plan your spring and summer outings, turn to DECinfo Locator for the recreation information you need. DECinfo Locator features more than 65 interactive data layers to help you discover all the recreation possibilities in the places you are most interested in visiting.
DECinfo Locator’s outdoor activity data lets hikers, campers, hunters, and other adventurers plan forays into New York’s natural wonders, whether that be locating a fire tower and planning a route, setting up a weekend of fishing, or just browsing the activities allowed on nearby state lands. Find trails, primitive campsites and lean-tos, DEC campgrounds, picnic areas, scenic vistas, hunting lands, boat launches and much more. Multiple information layers can be activated at the same time, putting all the information you need to effectively plan a trip in one place.
DECinfo Locator also lets users see and download permits, former industrial site cleanup plans, water quality reports, and more based on where they live, work, or play, allowing users to see the many ways DEC is working to protect and enhance the state’s environment and recreational opportunities. Start exploring the interactive DECinfo Locator map today.
A fertilizer plant in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Photograph: Bryan Tarnowski/The Guardian
By Oliver Milman, The Guardian
Michael Regan, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, has sought to revive the effort to confront environmental racism by ordering the agency to crack down on the pollution that disproportionately blights people of color.
On Wednesday, Regan issued a directive to EPA staff to “infuse equity and environmental justice principles and priorities into all EPA practices, policies, and programs”. The memo demands the agency use the “full array of policy and legal tools at our disposal” to ensure vulnerable communities are front of mind when issuing permits for polluting facilities or cleaning up following disasters.
The directive states there should be better consultation with affected communities and indicates the EPA will be tougher on companies that violate air and water pollution mandates. Regan’s memo calls for the EPA to “strengthen enforcement of violations of cornerstone environmental statutes and civil rights laws in communities overburdened by pollution”.
Enforcement of pollution violations dropped steeply under Donald Trump’s administration, with the EPA even suspending routine inspections of facilities while the Covid-19 pandemic raged in the US last year.
A lack of federal intervention further exacerbated a longstanding inequity where poorer people and communities of color in the US are far more likely to be exposed to dangerous pollutants. The pandemic has further worsened this situation, with research showing that people with chronic exposure to air pollutants have suffered worse outcomes from Covid.
Years of discriminatory decisions over the placement of highways and industrial facilities have led to Black people being exposed to 38% more polluted air than white people, with exposure to toxins from cars and trucks in parts of the US two-thirds higher than for white people. Black children are five times more likely to be hospitalized from asthma than white children.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan
“The EPA has focused on environmental justice for more than 30 years but while we have made progress there is so much more to do,” Regan told the Guardian. “We have not served communities to the level they should be served. We need to focus more on our efforts to uplift all communities, regardless of the money in their pockets, their race or zip codes.”Advertisement
The EPA administrator said that he will use the agency’s authority “to the fullest extent to protect public health, particularly vulnerable communities. Enforcement is a critical piece of this, I will be fair but tough in terms of what the agency must do.”
Joe Biden has directed all federal agencies to develop environmental justice policies and has vowed that 40% of climate and infrastructure spending be directed towards disadvantaged communities. Advocates have warned, however, that the administration has plenty of work to uproot a legacy of environmental racism that stretches back generations.
“Trump depleted the EPA but these problems didn’t just start with Trump,” said Peggy Shepard, executive director of We Act for Environmental Justice.
“Emissions from heavy-duty trucks is a priority, lead in water is a priority, lead still being in paint is a priority. There is a lot to do and we need to do more than just roll back the rollbacks. We need to really examine the whole regulatory system if we are actually committed to strong public health standards in this country.”
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The 2021-2022 Research Assistant Program Application is open from March 1, 2021-April 16, 2021. Interested students at Rutgers, New Jersey’s state university, can find opportunities to support professors working on cutting-edge research in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts.
The Research Assistant program is designed to make the process of joining a research project easy and transparent for undergraduates. Students have access to project descriptions, applicant responsibilities, and prerequisites for applying to work on a particular project. These tools allow students to make informed decisions about which type of project will suit them best.
Accepted students are required to complete five hours of research per week during the 2021-2022 academic year. Many students elect to complete more than five hours a week to earn credit for their research.
Students must also attend bi-monthly peer discussion group meetings through the Aresty Research Center. These meetings are designed to help students navigate the research process and prepare them to present their work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in April 2022.
Click here to learn more about the program, review current research projects, and to apply!
SANDYSTON: The Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation today finalized a temporary access agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection allowing the not-for-profit organization to reopen the New Jersey School of Conservation for limited programming beginning in May. The agreement is renewable for two one-year terms.
“We are grateful to the Murphy administration and to the leadership of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for working with the Friends to reopen the NJSOC for the residents of New Jersey,” said Kerry Kirk Pflugh, president of the Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation. “In less than a year, we were able to forge this extraordinary agreement thanks to the help of our advisors, Friends members, and the thousands of students, teachers and researchers across the state, nation, and world who lobbied on behalf of the NJSOC.”
The agreement gives the Friends access to 135 of SOC’s 240 acres for day-long programs, work sessions, courses, permitted research, service projects, fundraising efforts and open houses, and the development of virtual course content.
“This temporary agreement is a first step in fully reopening the NJSOC. We are grateful to our partners in the Leases and Concessions and the Division of Parks and Forestry for working so closely with us and helping us to fulfill the promise made to the residents of New Jersey that they would have an environmental education field center in perpetuity,” said Bernard Weintraub, Friends Advisor, and lead negotiator for the agreement.
Programming offered by the Friends pending approval by the NJDEP will include both professional programs for teachers and family programs on topics such as climate change, fishing, and New Jersey wildlife. Virtual offerings that will provide families with activities to do at home are also being developed. Announcements on how to register for these programs will be forthcoming.
“Five program events will be permitted per month,” said Shayne Russell, vice president of Friends who helped negotiate the agreement with the NJDEP. “We’ve already submitted a preliminary schedule to NJDEP for review and approval with two or three programs per month through December. We will be working with volunteer program leaders to add additional events.”
The New Jersey School of Conservation, located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County was constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was formally established as a residential outdoor education field center in 1949 by Governor Alfred Driscoll, after a group of educators, led by Dr. E. DeAlton Partridge and Assemblyman Alfred Littell advocated for its formation.
The NJSOC’s original purpose was to be a demonstration children’s summer camp, known as Camp Wapalanne, and a training center for college students in the fields of Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Education, Conservation and Field Science. It evolved into the third largest year-round environmental education field center in the world.
In 1981, legislation sponsored by then-Assemblyman Robert E. Littell and signed into law by Governor Brendan T. Bryne established the NJSOC in perpetuity as a field center for environmental study. Since 1949, more than 500,000 students, teachers, and researchers from across the state, nation and world have participated in education and training programs there.
“Over the years, the NJSOC has inspired thousands of students, including myself to pursue careers in a multitude of environmental fields.” said Dennis Toft, Friends Advisor, legal counsel for the Friends and Chair of the Environmental Group at Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi. “The agreement ensures that more young people and educators will be able to participate in and benefit from the special programs and be part of the history of the School of Conservation.”
Due to financial challenges, on September 1, 2020, Montclair State University, which was responsible for the management and operations of the NJSOC, officially returned management of the New Jersey School of Conservation to the State of New Jersey. Since then, the Friends have been working with the NJDEP on an agreement to reopen the School.
The Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation was established in March 1987 to serve as an independent support group for the NJSOC focusing on assisting in financial support, programming, restoration, preservation, and advocacy. The Friends include NJSOC supporters from a large cross-section of the School’s past and present programs.
The access agreement is effective through December 31, 2021, and may be renewed for no more than two additional one-year terms. It is expected that the NJDEP will issue a Request For Proposal for a long-term facility- management lease agreement at some future point. As such, the access agreement signed between the Friends and the NJDEP is considered an interim agreement.
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UPDATE: April 6, 2021: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a rule on Monday meant to delay the implementation of 2016 landfill methane emission guidelines. The U.S. EPA asked the court in March to vacate the rule in order to review it and other environmental rules set during the Trump administration.
The Biden administration will review the U.S. EPA’s contentious Emission Guidelines for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (EG) regulation that has been stalled in legal battle for several years, a hint that the new administration may aim to speed the implementation process.
The 2016 regulation set forth emission guidelines for certain MSW landfills to limit greenhouse gas emissions, directing states to submit plans for complying with the emissions rules, and the EPA to create a federal plan to cover states that do not create their own.
President Biden announced the review through an executive order on his first day in office, signaling his administration wants the EPA to put states “back on the clock for getting their rules done” and prompt the EPA to move forward with issuing its federal plan, said Pat Sullivan, senior vice president at SCS Engineers.
The executive order is the latest development in a long legal battle over the EG rule. Though it’s not clear when the states and the EPA would be required to finalize their compliance plans, the Biden administration’s inclusion of this landfill emissions rule in its executive order signals the EPA’s window for further delaying implementation could be closing, Sullivan said.
Addressing climate change is a major part of President Biden’s agenda, and landfills are a significant source of methane emissions and a major contributor to global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gina McCarthy, who was EPA administrator when the original rule came out in 2016, is back under Biden as a national climate advisor.
The EG rule applies to more than 1,900 MSW landfill sites in the United States and encompasses any MSW landfills that have accepted waste since Nov. 8, 1987. A separate New Source Performance Standards rule applies to any MSW landfills constructed since July 17, 2014.
The EG rule requires states to develop their own implementation plans for compliance, but initial plans were only submitted by regulators in Arizona, California, Delaware, New Mexico and West Virginia. Other state agencies have said they are unsure about whether to submit their own plans or wait for a future federal plan.
Under the Trump administration, the EPA sought to delay finalizing its federal landfill emissions plan and put off approval of any state plans. Industry associations and companies have supported the EPA’s request for a delay, in part because of confusion over what the rules could mean for landfill costs and operations. The National Waste & Recycling Association, one of the industry players that initially sought to challenge the regulations, declined to comment.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 27, for a virtual PFAS conference featuring our keynote speaker, U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell, as well as panelists from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and American Water Works Association.
Keynote Speaker: U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell
Congresswoman Dingell has been at the center of federal legislative developments on per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), including helping to lead Michigan’s efforts to regulate PFAS emissions and standards for drinking water. Congresswoman Dingell will provide an in-depth discussion on the federal legislative agenda for PFAS, including priorities for 2021. Introduction by Bart Gordon, Partner, K&L Gates LLP.
EPA Update:
Featuring Michal Freedhoff, Acting Assistant Administrator and Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for OCSPP, and Carlton Waterhouse, Deputy Assistant Administrator for OLEM. Following recent announcements from EPA and Biden administration officials intending to more aggressively regulate PFAS, leading EPA representatives will be on-hand for a wide ranging update on regulatory plans for PFAS across key environmental programs, including the agency’s remediation, chemical and water offices. Moderated by Cliff Rothenstein, Government Affairs Advisor, K&L Gates LLP.
Industry Perspective:
Chuck Chaitovitz, U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, G. Tracy Mehan, III, American Water Works Association Executive Director, Government Affairs, and Dawn Lamparello, Partner, K&L Gates LLP, will present a panel discussion offering a business and industry view of federal and state PFAS initiatives, including positions to help shape policy and the direction of regulatory developments. Moderated by Brian Montag, Partner, K&L Gates LLP.
