Search Results for: RGGI

Pa. governor pushes back deadline for DEP to ‘develop a strong plan’ on greenhouse gases

Pennsylvania Capitol

By Paul Vigna PennLive | pvigna@pennlive.com

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday gave the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a six-week extension to develop a proposed rulemaking to allow Pennsylvania to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Initially, the governor through executive action instructed DEP to develop a plan to present to the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) by July 31. Under the amended executive order, the deadline has been extended to Sept. 15, according to a press release.

Wolf said Monday that “amending this order will provide DEP with more time to develop a strong plan without impacting our over goals for implementing the regulation.”

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More environmental bills set for votes in NJ Legislature

New Jersey Assembly Chamber

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

Yesterday we reported on environment bills scheduled for action in the NJ Assembly. Below is a combination of bills appearing on upcoming committee agendas and board lists in both the NJ Assembly and Senate. Again, we caution that bill additions and deletion are subject to frequent change during the sometimes tumultuous lame-duck session.

A1212 AcaSa (2R) McKeon (D27); Gusciora (D15)
Clarifies intent of P.L.2007, c.340 regarding NJ’s required participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
12/16/2019—Assembly, 11:00a Caucus; 1:00p Voting Session.
12/16/2019—Senate, 11:00a Party Conferences; 12:00p Party Caucus; 1:00p Voting Session.

A4267 Aca (1R) McKeon (D27); Space (R24); Wirths (R24) Concerns regulation of solid waste, hazardous waste, and soil and fill recycling industries.
12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex. 12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

A4382 Aca (1R) Pinkin (D18); Lopez (D19); Kennedy (D22)
Requires paint producers to implement or participate in a paint industry-sponsored stewardship program.
12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

A5518 Aca (1R) Benson (D14); Karabinchak (D18); Pinkin (D18) +1 Establishes “Alternative Fuel Vehicle Transportation Financing Commission” to examine the manner in which alternative fuel vehicles may be taxed to contribute to cost of maintaining the State transportation system.
12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex. 12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00 pm Voting Session

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A5854 Aca (1R) Pintor Marin (D29); Speight (D29); Schaer (D36) +5 Allows municipalities to adopt ordinances to enter properties to perform lead service line replacements.
12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex. 12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session

A5971 Mukherji (D33); Pintor Marin (D29); Spearman (D5) +21 Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend additional sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2020.
12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex. 12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

A6014 Aca (1R) Vainieri Huttle (D37); Pinkin (D18) Establishes NJ Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University, appropriates up to $500,000. 12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex. 12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

S611 ScsSa (SCS/1R) Sweeney (D3); Smith (D17); Bateman (R16); Greenstein (D14) Clarifies intent of P.L.2007, c.340 regarding NJ’s required participation in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
12/16/2019—Senate, 1:00p Voting Session.

S874 Sweeney (D3); Smith (D17) +3 Requires State’s full participation in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
12/16/2019—Senate, 11:00p Voting Session.

S1683 ScaSaAca (3R) Smith (D17); Greenstein (D14) +2
Concerns regulation of solid waste, hazardous waste, and soil and fill recycling industries.
12/12/2019—Assembly Appropriations Committee, 1:00a, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex.
12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

S3215 Sca (1R) Greenstein (D14); Singleton (D7) +1
Requires State to use a 20‐year time horizon and most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report when calculating global warming potential to measure global warming impact of greenhouse gases.
12/16/2019—Assembly, 1:00p Voting Session.

S3457 Sweeney (D3); Andrzejczak (D1) +5 Appropriates $450,000 for Hooked on Fishing‐Not on Drugs Program.
12/16/2019—Senate, 1:00 p Voting Session.

S3985 Smith (D17) Expands the definition of “qualified offshore wind project” to include “open access offshore wind transmission facility.”
12/16/2019—Senate, 11:00a 1:00p Voting Session.

S4162 Sca (1R) Smith (D17) Establishes NJ Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University, appropriates up to $500,000.
12/16/2019—Senate, 1:00p Voting Session.

SCR180 Sca (1R) Sacco (D32); Stack (D33) +2 Urges NJ Sports and Exposition Authority and DEP to take immediate action to close and cap Keegan Landfill. 12/16/2019—Senate, 100p Voting Session.

Related news stories:
Gov. Murphy says capping Keegan Landfill in the Meadowlands ‘is complicated’
‘Dirty dirt’ soil broker licensing advances in NJ
Eight states now have used-paint recycling laws. NJ governor urged to join them.
Pennsylvania looking to join other RGGI states

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In Pa., the future of renewable energy is lawmakers’ call

DEEP DIVE

Two roads diverging: Pennsylvania lawmakers rethink their renewables mandate

Policymakers are making decisions on how to change the state’s alternative energy portfolio standards by 2021, causing a tension between utilities and distributed solar activists.
Herman K. Trabish reports for Utility Dive 
Pennsylvania leaders have big choices to make about the state’s energy and solar future that will impact its power sector for the next decade.

Policymakers must choose how to change the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS), which now requires 18% alternative energy by 2021. And, if they replace the AEPS’ 0.5% carve-out, they must choose whether to include 90% utility-scale solar or 35% distributed solar.
At the end of 2017, Pennsylvania was at 0.2% solar. A draft plan for 10% solar by 2030 was released in July. Its choice of a largely utility-scale solar carve out, or one that includes over one-third distributed solar, has already started a classic solar debate between utilities and distributed solar advocates.
“Pennsylvania is working on the energy sector’s next generation and solar should be key,” said Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which hosted the stakeholder-led process that produced the plan. “With its low installed price continuing to drop, solar must be a bigger part of our energy mix to keep us competitive with surrounding states.”
The new solar plan shows Pennsylvania “wants the jobs and environmental and energy benefits that come with solar,” he added. “The state’s utilities need to understand we are moving from large centralized plants to a more distributed energy grid and that means changes, but those changes can help utilities deliver better power quality and resilience for their customers.”

A state ready for change

“Pennsylvania is lagging behind its neighboring states,” Vote Solar Mid-Atlantic Director Pari Kasotia told Utility Dive. “This plan may push the legislature into action on an increased renewables mandate that includes a solar future.” The numbers support her point.
Pennsylvania installed 372.63 MW of solar at the end of 2017, to meet 0.2% of its electricity needs, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). That ranked it 22nd in the U.S., created 3,848 solar businesses and produced a total $1.5 billion investment in solar.
This puts it well behind its border-states, Maryland and New Jersey. Maryland, Pennsylvania’s Mid-Atlantic neighbor to the south, has half the population, but an installed solar capacity of 932.7 MW which meets 2.92% of its electricity need, according to SEIA. It ranks 13th nationally, has 5,324 solar businesses, and a $2.6 billion total in-state solar investment.   
Across the Delaware River, New Jersey has three-fourths the population, but ranks 5th nationally with an installed solar capacity of 2,446.79 MW, SEIA reported. It met 3.87% of its electricity need with solar in 2017, had 7,106 solar businesses and $7.8 billion in total solar investment.

A comparison of solar’s job creation as well as RPS goals in neighboring states. 

 

Credit: From the DEP’s draft solar plan

“Nearby states have embraced solar development to a greater degree,” the first paragraph of Pennsylvania’s Solar Future Plan acknowledges. But the experience gained by policymakers, utilities, and solar developers in those states “can now be used [in Pennsylvania].”


Despite the state’s apparent lack of progress compared to its neighbors, the state moved from 26th to 22nd in SEIA’s 2017 national rankings, evidence that the state “is moving forward,” the plan reports. “There is significant potential for solar to continue this growth and transform the electricity generation sector.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration took a significant step forward with October 2017’s Act 40, McDonnell said. The Act will help boost solar growth by protecting Pennsylvania’s solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) price.

Several factors, including other states selling their SRECs to Pennsylvania utilities, caused an oversupply and drove REC solar prices sharply down, RER Energy Group VP for Strategy Chris Flynn told Utility Dive.

The plan describes a set of “Cross-Cutting Strategies” that go beyond the Act. They include a more demanding AEPS, carbon pricing, innovative rates and financing programs. Widely endorsed by distributed solar advocates and rejected by utilities, these strategies could bring down solar costs and drive Pennsylvania’s solar market.

“The next step is to engage with the legislature and others,” McDonnell said. “Reconsidering and expanding solar is the starting point because the AEPS’s 18% mandate will be met by 2021. This plan asks ‘what comes next?'”

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Greens urge NJ to clamp down on power-plant CO2

Environmentalists say state’s re-entry into RGGI offers opportunity to set ambitious cap on greenhouse-gas emissions

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

The Murphy administration is being urged to ratchet down on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants when it rejoins a regional initiative to limit climate-harming pollution.
In a letter to two Cabinet officials, several environmental organizations recommended an ambitious cap on carbon pollution in 2020, when New Jersey re-enters the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate program aimed at combating climate change.
New Jersey had been part of RGGI until 2011, when former Gov. Chris Christie pulled the state out of the initiative, citing cost to utility customers. Lawmakers sought to rejoin the program but were blocked by repeated vetoes by Christie. Gov. Phil Murphy already has signed a law authorizing the state to rejoin RGGI and negotiations are ongoing.
The size of the cap is considered crucial to clean-energy advocates who argue that if it’s too modest it could undermine some of Murphy’s most significant environmental policies and the overall effectiveness of RGGI.
The Natural Resources Defense Council has analyzed the situation; it and other groups have recommended the state adopt a cap between 12 million and 13 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2020. In 2017, New Jersey’s in-state power emissions were 18.6 million tons of CO2, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Adopting a cap of 12 million to 13 million tons is consistent with the state’s current trajectory, achievable and economically reasonable, according to the letter sent to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe and Board of Public Utilities president Joseph Fiordaliso.


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NJ Dems lusting to throw off Christie’s enviro-shackles


By Frank Brill
EnviroPolitics Editor


In his eight years in office, former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, seemed determined to do–or not do–whatever would most offend New Jersey’s environmental activists.


Now that the state is governed by Phil Murphy, a progressive Democrat, the green community has emerged from its  bunker and is applauding the quick moves by Murphy and the Legislature’s Democratic majority, to undo Christie.


Even before his inauguration, Murphy announced that he was replacing Christie’s DEP Commissioner–businessman Bob Martin–with Catherine McCabe who had served a short term as the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator in Washington, and then as the EPA’s regional administrator for Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico. 


Within days of his swearing-in, Murphy signed a half-dozen executive orders. One of them directs the DEP and Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to prepare New Jersey for reentry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) from which Christie had severed state ties. Another orders the BPU to drop its stall tactics that have kept the state from implementing regulations to expedite offshore wind energy.   


The new governor also has told the Attorney General to remove New Jersey from a lawsuit brought by several Republican states challenging former President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.


That’s a lot of undoing so far by the governor alone, but Democrats in the Legislature, who have endured eight years of Christie vetoes, want to be part of the action.


On Thursday, the Assembly will consider two bills that, if enacted, will enable pro-environment lawmakers to slip the shackles of the Christie the Conqueror (now Christie the Vanquished). They are:     
                     
A1212 (McKeon / Gusciora) – Specifically requires New Jersey’s participation in RGGI, and


S598 / A1929 (Smith / Greenstein) – Requires New Jersey to join U.S. Climate Alliance to uphold the Paris Climate Accord. While this is more of a ‘take that,Trump’ bill than a ‘take that,Christie’ bill, Christie critics note that he did offer at least tepid support of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the international treaty and he certainly would have vetoed any legislation that called for New Jersey’s cooperation with the rest of the nations of the world that signed on.


Other environment legislation up for votes in the 80-member Assembly on Thursday are:


A839 (Land / Andrzejczak / Mazzeo) – Prohibits offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production in state waters, and issuance of DEP permits and approvals for activities associated with offshore oil and gas activities.

A1053 (Houghtaling / Taliaferro / Andrzejczak) – Revises and expands laws on trespass and vandalism on agricultural and horticultural lands.


A1344 (Gusciora / Muoio) – Allows electric energy produced from biofuel to be eligible as Class II renewable energy.

ACR144 (Pinkin / McKeon) – Condemns EPA decision to withdraw from “once-in-always-in” policy under the Clean Air Act.


You’ll be seeing many more pro-environment bills in the months ahead, addressing climate, sustainable wind and solar energy, electric vehicles, and other issues. Republicans will argue that we can’t afford them. The Democrats will counter that it would be far more costly, long-term, to ignore them.


The pendulum has swung. It should be lively.

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Lots of Energy and Enviro Action Feb. 5 in NJ Legislature

New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney

When a bill is introduced by the Senate President its a sure sign that fast action lies ahead. That is the case for two bills sponsored by Steve Sweeney that, within a month have cleared committee and are in place for a Senate floor vote on Monday, February 5.

By Frank Brill
EnviroPolitics Editor


S611 / S874 (Sweeney/Smith/Bateman) – Requires State’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This is the often-vetoed bête noire of former Gov. Chris Christie. Opposed by the fossil fuel industry and heavy electricity users, it would bring the state back into compact of seven northeastern states that seek to discourage industrial carbon dioxide emissions–that contribute to climate change–by taxing their emission levels at energy plants. Revenue from the RGGI tax has provided millions for energy efficiency and other environmental projects in participating states. The sponsors need not worry about a gubernatorial veto this time. Gov. Phil Murphy this week signed an executive order that puts RGGI reentry into motion. 


The second bill sponsored by Senate President Sweeney is
S877. It establishes a ‘Nuclear Diversity Certificate program.’ You may have no idea what that benign term means but we bet you’ll recognize its more popular description: ‘rate subsidies (or bale-outs) for PSEG’s three southern New Jersey nuclear plants.’ This bill failed on a Hail Mary pass- attempt in the final hours of the previous session but has been reintroduced under a new number and with some concessions that seek to limit the ferocity of the opposition. 


Other less luminary bills up for Senate votes Monday include:

S1057 (Van Drew) – Requires EDA, in consultation with Department of Agriculture, to establish loan program for certain vineyard and winery capital expenses.

S1082 (Cruz-Perez / Singleton) – Provides tax credits to vineyards and wineries for qualified capital expenses.

S1083 (Cruz-Perez / Gopal) – Establishes loan program and provides corporation business tax and gross income tax credits for establishment of new vineyards and wineries. 


Meanwhile in committee


The Senate Environment and Energy Committee meets on Monday at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. and will consider:

S71 (Singleton) – Prohibits dumping dredge spoils on and around certain islands without municipal approval.

S74 (Singleton) – Requires DEP to establish maximum contaminant level for 1,2,3-trichloropropane in drinking water.

S534 (Oroho / Sarlo) – Excludes corrugated containers sold by the manufacturer from definition of “litter-generating product”; exempts such sales from user fee imposed under “Clean Communities Program Act.”

S601 (Smith) – Requires end-of-life recycling of solar and photovoltaic energy generation facilities and structures.

S879 (Sweeney) – Amends definition of “existing major hazardous waste facility” in “Major Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting Act.”

S1074 (Smith / Bateman) – Provides for protection of public’s rights under public trust doctrine. You might not know it from the description but this is a beach-access bill that addresses the thorny issue of private-property-owner rights vs. the rights of John Q. Public to walk alongside Richie Rich’s beachfront mansion to get to the surf. 

SR29 (Sarlo / Bateman) – Opposes expansion of oil and natural gas drilling on Outer Continental Shelf. President Trump wants to make Big Oil bigger still by allowing gas and oil exploration off the Jersey coast (and other eastern states as well, except maybe the one with Mar a Lago). This bill doesn’t take kindly to the move.


Lest we forget the Assembly
Before all the scheduled action listed above takes place:NJ Assembly’s Environment Committee to meet on Feb. 1


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As Christie blows away, wind energy may re-emerge in NJ

Phil Murphy exits the polling booth with his youngest son Sam, after voting at the Fairview School on Tuesday, in Middletown, N.J. (Bob Karp/The Daily Record via AP)
Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post:
For years, New Jersey’s blustery Republican governor, Chris Christie, has slowed efforts to cultivate wind farms off the state’s coast, wind developers say.
 
In 2010, during his first term, Christie signed a landmark wind energy law designed to encourage development of the renewable resource off the state’s gusty shore. But the public utility board controlled by Christie appointees never fully implemented a plan meant to incentivize that development. In New Jersey, turbines off the seaside horizon remained a mirage that never materialized.
New Jersey residents just elected a Democrat to replace Christie — one with an ambitious alternative energy plan. 
One of the biggest energy-related consequences of the 2017 election is the gust of life breathed into offshore wind development in the densely populated and energy-hungry Garden State.
Gov.-elect Phil Murphy wants New Jersey to get all its energy from “clean” sources by the middle of the century.
To do so, Murphy promised to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, under which nine East Coast states cap and trade carbon dioxide to reduce climate-warming emissions from the power sector. And he set what his campaign calls “the most ambitious offshore wind target in the country” by promising to bring 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind power online by 2030.
Wind companies itching to build off the Jersey Shore are pleased with the prospect.
Murphy’s “got a really good handle on this industry, not only from an economic perspective but from an environmental one as well,” said Paul Rich, director of project development at US Wind. “I think he’s poised to be bold where others have gotten cold feet.”
“We are hopeful that a Murphy administration will continue to move New Jersey forward in the development of a robust offshore wind industry,” said Thomas Brostrom, the North American president of Orsted (formerly DONG Energy).
Although land-based wind energy has taken off in the United States — pushing wind-generating capacity above that of hydropower by the end of 2016, more than any other renewable source — the nation has built only one commercial offshore wind farm, off the coast of Rhode Island’s Block Island, despite the federal government awarding nearly a dozen commercial offshore wind leases for locations off the coasts of Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia.
With Christie leaving office, New Jersey could be next. Orsted, a Danish firm, along with US Wind, a subsidy of the Italian energy company Renexia, each hold federal leases to build off New Jersey. Another firm, Fisherman Energy, has proposed to build a wind farm in state waters near Atlantic City, as well.
While declining worldwide, the upfront costs of offshore wind are still much higher than onshore, and require more subsidization from federal and local governments to make financial sense to investors.
Until it expires in 2019, offshore wind developers can take advantage of an investment tax credit from the federal government. For seven years, New Jersey has had a law requiring the state to grant its own subsidy, too.
“We’re going to work to make New Jersey No. 1 in offshore wind production,” Christie said in 2011, not long after signing that measure.
But the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), whose chairman is chosen by the governor, never finalized rules for that subsidy.
Christie “realized that he needed to jettison anything that looked moderate” in order to win over conservatives nationwide “when people started looking at him as president timber,” said Jim Lanard, chief executive of ‎‎Magellan Wind.
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Opinion: States dare to think big on climate change



From the Opinion Page of The New York Times:

The one bright spot amid the generally gloomy news about climate change, and the Trump administration’s resistance to doing anything about it, is the determination of a number of state governments to take action on their own.

California, as usual, has commanded the headlines on this score, having just strengthened its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now the nine Northeastern states that form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative have done much the same, in a further rebuke to the know-littles and do-nothings like Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, who are now calling the shots on climate policy in Washington.

The nine states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, last week agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants an additional 30 percent by 2030, on top of the 40 percent cut they have already achieved since the program began in 2009. R.G.G.I., as the initiative is known, was the nation’s first multistate greenhouse gas initiative. From the beginning (and despite the defection of New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie), it has had the backing of governors from both parties. More important, it has quietly achieved substantial emissions reductions at little cost to the states’ economies or to their consumers.


What do you think?  In addition to–or instead of– additional states joining RGGI, what are the most effective actions that state lawmakers and governors can do to bolster environmental protection in the face of its systematic erosion by the Trump administration? Share your thoughts in the response block below or on our Facebook page 


The nine states require power plants to buy permits to pollute. Over time, these permits decline in quantity. The idea of such cap-and-trade systems is to put a price on emissions, giving utilities an incentive to figure out ways to reduce emissions. Utilities can trade permits with one another. Since it began, the initiative has raised $2.7 billion, which the states have invested in energy efficiency, in helping low-income people pay electricity bills and in renewable sources of power like wind and solar. (The other R.G.G.I. states are Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.) 


Even as emissions have come down, electricity rates have fallen by an average of 3.4 percent in the nine states, according to the Acadia Center, an energy research and advocacy organization. And the economies of the nine states have grown faster than the economy of the rest of the country. The program has had the added benefit of reducing ground-level pollution that causes respiratory illnesses and other diseases, providing nearly $6 billion in public health benefits, according to Abt Associates, a research company.


All this serves to chastise Mr. Christie, who pulled New Jersey out of the program in 2011, complaining about its costs and saying it had “no discernible or measurable impact upon our environment.” Mr. Christie’s tenure will soon be history, and the Republican and Democratic candidates to replace him say they want New Jersey to rejoin the initiative. Virginia may also decide to participate if the Democratic candidate for governor wins this November.


Read the full editorial here


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9 eastern states to cut power emissions an additional 30%

Great news for residents in nine states that are members of RGGI. Sadly, neither New Jersey nor Pennsylvania are among them.  

Credit: Todd Van Hoosear/CC-BY-SA-2.0

The states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, broke new ground when they launched the nation’s first carbon cap-and-trade program in 2009. Credit: Todd Van Hoosear/CC-BY-SA-2.0
Georgina Gustin reports for Inside Climate News:
Nine eastern states announced Wednesday that they have agreed on a proposal to cut global-warming pollution from the region’s power plants an additional 30 percent between 2020 and 2030.
The compact of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has worked for two years to hammer out the next step in their landmark emissions cap-and-trade program, which puts a price on carbon dioxide emissions from the production of electricity. The program has a track record of cutting emissions fairly painlessly across a densely populated section of the country.
Advocacy groups and policy makers have been closely watching the outcome of the negotiations. The RGGI states’ decision on how to move forward, which still must be finalized, is seen as a test case of states’ commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle federal climate policies, including the Clean Power Plan that was the Obama administration’s plan for controlling power plant emissions.
The RGGI states—with five Republican governors and four Democratic governors—together represent the world’s sixth largest economy, with $2.8 trillion in GDP. California, where the legislature recently voted to extend its own cap-and-trade program through 2030, falls just behind in GDP, at $2.5 trillion.
States in RGGI, the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Despite the bipartisan support for the proposal announced Wednesday, Republican administrations in three states—Maine, New Hampshire and Maryland—had previously expressed concern about the costs of more stringent cuts. In 2011, New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, withdrew his state from the coalition.
Ultimately, the RGGI states agreed to pursue one of the more ambitious proposals on the table, which calls for lowering emissions caps each year by 3 percent over the previous year. Under the current plan, their commitment is to lower the cap by 2.5 percent a year. Under the agreed upon proposal, power sector emissions would be 65 percent lower by 2030 than they were 2009, RGGI’s inaugural year.
By allowing utilities to trade emissions credits, RGGI encourages lower-cost solutions and also generates revenue for the states, which have used the money for energy conservation and other popular programs.
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New Legislative Session in NJ; Energy, Enviro-Bills Moving


The 217th session of the New Jersey Legislature is only several weeks old but close to 5,000 pieces of legislation (most recycled from the previous session) already have been introduced under new numbers and 30 energy and environment bills have been released
from committee.


Here’s the first batch out of the gate:

A-210  DeAngelo, W.P. (D-14); Gusciora, R. (D-15);
Benson, D.R. (D-14)
Concerns installation and maintenance of solar panels
in common interest communities.
     Nov 23, 2015  – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Telecommunications and Utilities
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly

A-436  Eustace, T. (D-38); Wimberly, B.E. (D-35);
Conaway, H. (D-7)
Requires natural gas pipeline utilities to repair or
replace leaking natural gas pipelines.
     Dec 3, 2015    – Proposed for Assembly introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Telecommunications and Utilities
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-780  Andrzejczak, R.B. (D-1); McKeon, J.F. (D-27);
Spencer, L.G. (D-29)
Implements 2014 constitutional dedication of CBT
revenues for certain environmental purposes; revises State’s open space,
farmland, and historic preservation programs.
     Jan 8, 2016     – Proposed for Assembly introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Environment and Solid Waste
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Appropriations
A-793  Andrzejczak, R.B. (D-1); Land, R.B. (D-1)
Requires Dept. of Agriculture and DEP to work with US
Army Corps of Engineers to establish joint permit application process for
aquaculture projects.
     Dec 18, 2015   – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Agriculture and Natural Resources
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-794  Andrzejczak, R.B. (D-1); Land, R.B. (D-1)
Requires Dept. of Agriculture and DEP to adopt joint permit
application and review program for aquaculture projects.
     Dec 18, 2015   – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Agriculture and Natural Resources
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-1108  Oliver, S.Y. (D-34); Coughlin, C.J. (D-19);
Caride, M. (D-36)
Requires corporations qualifying for certain State
development subsidy grants to repay entire grant amount if corporation fails to
uphold grant terms.
     Dec 30, 2015   – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Commerce and Economic Development
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Appropriations
A-1649  Schaer, G.S. (D-36); Spencer, L.G. (D-29);
Pintor Marin, E. (D-29)
Requires local governments and authorities to obtain
financing cost estimate from NJ Environmental Infrastructure Trust for certain
projects.
     Jan 7, 2016     – Proposed for Assembly introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Environment and Solid Waste
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported with Assembly
committee amendments
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly

 
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A-1672  Schaer, G.S. (D-36); DeAngelo, W.P. (D-14);
Quijano, A. (D-20)
Establishes “Neighborhood Solar Energy Investment
Program.”
     Jan 7, 2016     – Proposed for Assembly introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Telecommunications and Utilities
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported with Assembly
committee amendments
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-1899  Wisniewski, J.S. (D-19); Coughlin, C.J.
(D-19); Danielsen, J. (D-17)
Allows tax credits for development of qualified wind
energy facilities in certain portfield sites.
     Jan 7, 2016     – Proposed for Assembly introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Telecommunications and Utilities
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported with Assembly
committee amendments
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Appropriations
A-2220  Benson, D.R. (D-14)
Authorizes local units of government subject to
“Local Public Contracts Law.” and “Public School Contracts
Law” to use electronic procurement technologies.
     Jan 12, 2016    – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly State
and Local Government
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-2242  DeAngelo, W.P. (D-14)
“Vegetation Management Response Act”;
concerns vegetation management related to electric public utility
infrastructure.
     Jan 12, 2016    – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Telecommunications and Utilities

     Feb 4, 2016    – Posted but held: Telecommunications and Utilities 


A-2375  McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Gusciora, R. (D-15)
Revises “Electronic Waste Management Act.”
Related Bill: S-981
     Jan 27, 2016    – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Environment and Solid Waste
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly


A-2404  McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Requires, after study, DEP to adopt total maximum daily
loads for Barnegat Bay ecosystem, and requires DEP to adopt nutrient standards
for NJ marine waters.
Related Bill: S-765
     Jan 27, 2016    – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Environment and Solid Waste
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported with Assembly
committee amendments

     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Appropriations

A-2547  Singleton, T. (D-7); Conaway, H. (D-7);
DeAngelo, W.P. (D-14); Benson, D.R. (D-14); Muoio, E.M. (D-15); Houghtaling, E.
(D-11)
Permits small businesses to qualify for loans from
NJEDA for costs of energy audit and making energy efficiency or conservation
improvements.
     Jan 27, 2016    – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Commerce and Economic Development
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Appropriations

AJR-24  Andrzejczak, R.B. (D-1)
Declares aquaculture an important State economic driver
and urges State to include aquaculture industry in its economic development plans.
     Dec 18, 2015   – Proposed for Assembly
introduction
     Jan 27, 2016    – Introduced in Assembly
     Jan 27, 2016    – Referred: Assembly
Agriculture and Natural Resources
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Assembly

IN THE SENATE

S-122  Pennacchio, J. (R-26); Codey, R.J. (D-27)
Establishes home elevation fund and dedicates up to $5
million of realty transfer fee revenue annually for this purpose.
Related Bill: A-2941
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-482  Oroho, S.V. (R-24); Stack, B.P. (D-33)
Directs State agencies to take certain actions to
expedite permitting through use of general permits and permits-by-rule.
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: State
Govt., Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported with Senate
committee amendments
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-765  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Requires, after study, DEP to adopt total maximum daily
loads for Barnegat Bay ecosystem, and requires DEP to adopt nutrient standards
for NJ marine waters.
Related Bill: A-2404
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Posted: Senate Environment
and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Reported Sca (wo/quorum)
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported with Senate
committee amendments
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-766  Smith, B. (D-17); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Creates Office of Clean Energy in BPU.
Related Bill: A-2445
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Posted: Senate Environment
and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Reported by committee
(wo/quorum)
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-769  Smith, B. (D-17); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Requires environmental sustainability plan for State
House Complex.
Related Bill: A-2922
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Posted: Senate Environment
and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Reported by committee
(wo/quorum)
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-848  Stack, B.P. (D-33); Oroho, S.V. (R-24)
Requires certain State oversight of budgets of regional
sewerage authorities.
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: State
Govt. Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation
     Feb 8, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 8, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations


S-969  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Implements 2014 constitutional dedication of CBT
revenues for certain environmental purposes; revises State’s open space,
farmland, and historic preservation programs.
     Jan 12, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Jan 12, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Posted: Senate Environment
and Energy
     Jan 25, 2016    – Reported by committee
(wo/quorum)
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-981  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Revises “Electronic Waste Management Act.”
Related Bill: A-2375
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-984  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Establishes “Solar Roof Installation Warranty
Program” in EDA and transfers $2 million from societal benefits charge to
initially fund program.
Related Bill: A-2446
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 11, 2016   – Passed by the Senate
(23-11)
S-985  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Concerns low emission and zero emission vehicles;
establishes Clean Vehicle Task Force.
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate


S-986  Beach, J. (D-6); Smith, B. (D-17)
Requires paint producers to implement or participate in
paint stewardship program.
Related Bill: A-1373
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 8, 2016    – Referred: Senate Budget
and Appropriations
S-987  Smith, B. (D-17)
Establishes position of State Oceanographer.
Related Bill: A-231
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 11, 2016   – Passed by the Senate (34-0)
S-988  Smith, B. (D-17); Whelan, J. (D-2)
Permits BPU to approve qualified wind energy project;
requires BPU to provide application periods for those projects.
     Feb 4, 2016    – Introduced in Senate
     Feb 4, 2016    – Referred: Senate
Environment and Energy
     Feb 4, 2016    – Reported by committee
     Feb 4, 2016    – 2nd reading in Senate
     Feb 11, 2016   – Passed by the Senate
(23-11)




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