Environmental Justice bill introduced by Senate Democrats

Booker, Harris and Duckworth sponsor Senate version of bill introduced in the House in February

Senate Democrats introduce environmental justice bill
© Greg Nash

BY RACHEL FRAZIN The Hill

A group of Democratic senators on Thursday introduced companion legislation to the House’s “Environmental Justice for All” bill aimed at addressing environmental inequalities faced by low-income and nonwhite communities. 

The legislation, unveiled by Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), would require the government to consider the cumulative effects of certain permitting decisions, meaning they would have to consider how a new permit would interact with existing sources of nearby pollution. 

It would also prohibit discrimination based on disparate impacts, reinforce parts of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that require community input, and support workers whose communities are transitioning away from fossil fuel-dependent economies.

Just In…

“Confronting generations of systemic racism to achieve true justice will require us to recognize the role environmental racism has played and redress that by investing in long-term, sustainable environmental justice solutions to center and empower communities that have for far too long been excluded,” Harris said in a statement. 

The House version of the bill was introduced in February. The companion bill’s introduction was first reported by Grist. 

Read the full story

Don’t miss stories like this Click for free EnviroPolitics Blog updates

Environmental Justice bill introduced by Senate Democrats Read More »

Bill to curb pollution in Environmental Justice communities pulled unexpectedly from voting list in the New Jersey Assembly

Gov. Phil Murphy pressed lawmakers to act but they backed off amid growing pushback

There was a last-minute lobbying blitz against the bill by business interests and labor groups.

TOM JOHNSON reports for NJ Spotlight

In an unexpected setback, lawmakers yesterday failed to act on a bill touted by Gov. Phil Murphy as key to helping to curb pollution problems in environmental-justice communities.

The legislation (S-232) is viewed by advocates as establishing a national model for giving minority and low-income communities more tools to block new projects that could worsen air and other pollution in their neighborhoods.

But a last-minute lobbying blitz against the bill by business interests and labor groups led the Assembly to hold off voting planned for Thursday. The bill had been expected to pass and then be approved by the Senate and sent on to Murphy for his consideration.

Big thumbs-up from Murphy

Murphy heartily endorsed the bill last month at a news conference, one of the rare occasions when he backed a measure still pending in the Legislature. The governor has made environmental justice a priority during his term, backing up his pledge by committing more funds to so-called overburdened communities to reduce pollution there.

Kim Gaddy, a Newark native and member of Clean Water Action, said she was disappointed Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) did not post the bill for a vote, saying advocates were confident they had the 41 votes to send it on to the Senate.

“It would have been a great opportunity to demonstrate Black lives and people of color lives matter,’’ said Gaddy, noting it would have occurred on the day when civil rights icon John Lewis was buried.

The bill, long sought by environmental justice advocates, would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to consider the cumulative impacts of locating new power plants or major manufacturing facilities where residents already suffer from pollution from incinerators, hazardous-waste sites, or large factories.

Read the full story

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

Bill to curb pollution in Environmental Justice communities pulled unexpectedly from voting list in the New Jersey Assembly Read More »

New Jersey looks to boost large-scale solar on farmland

Bill would support solar arrays that feed utility companies, not homes or businesses

Proposed legislation aims to expand utility-scale solar projects by using the state’s existing farmlands.

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight

The state wants to sharply ramp up efforts to build utility-scale solar projects in New Jersey, a strategy that could result in opening up existing agricultural land to huge new solar farms.

Under a bill (S-2605) now under consideration by lawmakers, a policy initiated during the Christie administration of steering new solar projects away from farmland would be scrapped. That would open up land to accommodate large solar projects that supply power directly to the grid.

Without more utility-scale solar projects that provide at least 10 megawatts (MW) of solar power and the land to locate them, the state will not achieve its goal of transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2050, according to proponents of the bill.

“It ain’t going to happen unless we change our policies,’’ said Sen. Bob Smith, the sponsor of the legislation and chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, which kicked off debate on the issue during a hearing in Trenton. No action was taken on the bill Wednesday.

“It is complicated,’’ Smith (D-Middlesex) conceded.

Utility-scale solar projects are widely viewed as the most cost-effective way of delivering solar power, largely because of the economies of scale associated with building bigger projects rather than putting solar panels on a residence or on warehouse rooftops.

The Murphy administration’s energy master plan identifies solar energy as one of the primary ways New Jersey can convert to using cleaner energy. By mid-century, that plan suggests 34% of the state’s energy needs will be produced by solar. Today, solar accounts for only 5% of its power.

The legislation aims to expand utility-scale projects by using existing farmlands where such projects might be more easily located in the nation’s most densely populated state. It probably would require roughly 25,000 acres to achieve the 3,000 MW of utility-scale projects the bill projects to build by 2030, according to Smith.

Why many environmental groups are opposed

Many environmental groups oppose opening up farmland to big solar projects, calling the bill premature and unnecessary, given that the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is currently engaged in an extensive discussion with solar advocates over how new solar projects will be financed going forward.

Read the full story

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

New Jersey looks to boost large-scale solar on farmland Read More »

In New Jersey, rate of coronavirus transmission remains above key benchmark 

By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Gov. Phil Murphy announced 16 new coronavirus deaths and 261 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours on Thursday as the rate of transmission of the virus remains above 1, a key benchmark in determining the spread of the disease.

The latest update brings the death toll to 15,809 known and probable deaths and 180,970 total confirmed positive tests since the outbreak began nearly five months ago. That includes 13,934 lab-confirmed deaths and 1,875 probable fatalities.

The state hit a one-day high in deaths, 468, on April 30 and a one-day high in new cases, 4,305, on April 3.

The rate of transmission reported Thursday remained steady at 1.14, above the key benchmark of 1. That means that each new case is leading to more than one additional infection and the virus is spreading. The rate of transmission had been below 1 for weeks during the strictest parts of New Jersey’s coronavirus lockdowns, but has wavered above and below 1 in July as more reopening steps have occurred.

Murphy has said the increase above 1 is cause for concern.

The state hit a one-day high in deaths, 468, on April 30 and a one-day high in new cases, 4,305, on April 3.

The rate of transmission reported Thursday remained steady at 1.14, above the key benchmark of 1. That means that each new case is leading to more than one additional infection and the virus is spreading. The rate of transmission had been below 1 for weeks during the strictest parts of New Jersey’s coronavirus lockdowns, but has wavered above and below 1 in July as more reopening steps have occurred.

Murphy has said the increase above 1 is cause for concern.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS

Atlantic County: 3,331 cases (12 new), 235 confirmed deaths (15 probable)

Bergen County: 20,412 cases (25 new), 1,785 confirmed deaths (255 probable)

Burlington County: 5,732 cases (14 new), 429 confirmed deaths (40 probable)

Camden County: 8,240 cases (19 new), 516 confirmed deaths (55 probable)

Cape May County: 803 cases (1 new), 81 confirmed deaths (5 probable)

Cumberland County: 3,184 cases (7 new), 144 confirmed deaths (13 probable)

Essex County: 19,441 cases (18 new), 1,857 confirmed deaths (243 probable)

Gloucester County: 3,031 cases (14 new), 199 confirmed deaths (7 probable)

Hudson County: 19,434 cases (6 new), 1,330 confirmed deaths (169 probable)

Hunterdon County: 1,125 cases (0 new), 70 confirmed deaths (56 probable)

Mercer County: 8,000 cases (14 new), 571 confirmed deaths (41 probable)

Middlesex County: 17,626 cases (20 new), 1,197 confirmed deaths (206 probable)

Monmouth County: 10,004 cases (21 new), 758 confirmed deaths (100 probable)

Morris County: 7,109 cases (7 new), 677 confirmed deaths (151 probable)

Ocean County: 10,356 cases (27 new), 946 confirmed deaths (68 probable)

Passaic County: 17,384 cases (18 new), 1,091 confirmed deaths (151 probable)

Salem County: 867 cases (1 new), 78 confirmed deaths (5 probable)

Somerset County: 5,170 cases (8 new), 481 confirmed deaths (73 probable)

Sussex County: 1,293 cases (2 new), 158 confirmed deaths (37 probable)

Union County: 16,456 cases (21 new), 1,175 confirmed deaths (171 probable)

Warren County: 1,326 cases (0 new), 157 confirmed deaths (14 probable)

Read the full story

EnviroPolitics Blog is working to keep you informed about all aspects of the coronavirus — the status of confirmed cases, disease spread, death toll–and also how Americans are coping. Like this story, for instance. If you like what we are doing, Click to receive free EP Blog updates and please tell your friends.

In New Jersey, rate of coronavirus transmission remains above key benchmark  Read More »

An Electric Vehicle Could Soon Cost the Same as a Gasoline Vehicle

By Inside Climate News

At some point, probably sooner than you expect, the price of an all-electric vehicle will fall far enough to equal the cost of an equivalent gasoline vehicle.

We know that day is coming and a whole lot of people—many of whom work in the auto industry—would like to know when.

So here’s an answer: Maybe by 2023, probably by 2024 and almost definitely by 2025.

That’s according to Venkat Viswanathan and his team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. They developed a model to calculate the costs of EV batteries that breaks down the costs of each component and then predicts changes over time.

“There will definitely be cars, passenger vehicles, in multiple segments where the EV option is the cheaper option,” Viswanathan said about the 2025 timeframe.

When we talk about the cost of EVs, we’re mainly talking about the cost of batteries, which are the most expensive components in the vehicle, and also the ones for which the costs are changing most quickly.

Analysts and researchers have said for years that a battery price of $100 per kilowatt-hour is the point at which EVs become cost-competitive with gasoline vehicles. Last year, the global average price was down to $156 per kilowatt-hour, according to Bloomberg.
But the model developed by Viswanathan and his colleagues shows that battery packs are on track to cost less than $80 per kilowatt-hour by 2025, a projection in line with leading forecasts, like that from Bloomberg.

Don’t miss stories like this Click for EP Blog updates

Now that the below-$100 benchmark is within sight, it’s important to specify what it means. It doesn’t mean that I can go out and buy an EV of any size and it will cost the same or less than it would for a gasoline model with similar features. But it probably does mean that I will be able to get a compact sedan EV for about the same cost and with similar features as one that runs on gasoline.

Viswanathan said cost parity will arrive first for small sedans that now sell for $30,000 or less. It will take longer for automakers to develop electric trucks and SUVs that cost about the same as similar gasoline models.

One of the big reasons we will need to wait longer for larger vehicles is that trucks and SUVs need a lot of power for towing capacity, which means larger battery packs and higher costs.

The fact that EVs will be cost-competitive should help to transform a market in which less than 2 percent of new vehicles sold are all-electric.

This change is coming, and it’s coming fast, and that’s good news for the climate because transportation is responsible for more than a quarter of U.S. emissions.

Read the full story

An Electric Vehicle Could Soon Cost the Same as a Gasoline Vehicle Read More »

Three NJ lawmakers want school buildings to stay closed this fall

Their bill would allow instruction by computer only to safeguard teachers and pupils

By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Citing concerns about the safety of teachers and students, three New Jersey lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to introduce legislation to require school districts to keep their buildings closed and offer only remote instruction for the new school year.

The bill — sponsored by Assembly Democrats Mila Jasey, Pamela Lampitt and Joann Downey — goes against the plan introduced by Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Department of Education that calls for all public school districts to offer at least some in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year.

Only special education and related services would be delivered in person, according to the proposed bill.

“The reality is the pandemic isn’t over. School is set to begin in just a few weeks, and it is not clear that a safe and comfortable environment can be maintained for students and staff,” said Jasey, D-Essex. “As a former Board of Education member and a public health nurse, I understand that New Jersey has made strong progress in combating COVID-19, but reopening schools for in-person instruction would feel like a step backward at this time.”

More than 500 school districts in New Jersey are currently preparing reopening plans that need to be presented to the state education department and local communities by early August. But some educators, including the teachers’ unions in Essex County and Paterson, have called on the state to reverse the plan and keep school buildings closed.

It is unclear how much support the proposed bill to delay the start of in-person classes will have in the state Legislature. It would need to be approved by the full Assembly and the state Senate would need pass identical legislation before it would head to Murphy for his signature.

Under the proposed bill, public schools would start the year with virtual learning at home only. Starting on Oct. 31, reopening schools for in-person classes would be evaluated on a monthly basis by Murphy, with the help of the state education and health departments based on COVID-19 infection data and other statistics.

Read the full story

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

Three NJ lawmakers want school buildings to stay closed this fall Read More »