NJDEP Gets More Time for 3M & DuPont PFAS Settlements

As previously reported here and here, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced settlements with 3M and DuPont and its related companies (the DuPont Entities), totaling $2.5 billion, to resolve statewide PFAS claims.  NJDEP moved to enter the settlements, embodied in Judicial Consent Orders (“JCOs”), in November 2025, and objections were filed by the Association of Environmental Authorities of New Jersey, and several of its members (the “Objectors”).

The Objectors asserted that the settlements would not provide sufficient funding to meet the long-term needs of local governments to address PFAS impacts.  In response, the Court required NJDEP to supplement the record by April 2, 2026, with a Supplementary Report that would include evidence demonstrating that the concerns of the Objectors had been considered.

In its most recent filing, NJDEP reported to the Court that since the January 7, 2026, hearing on the JCOs, NJDEP and the Objectors have engaged in multiple mediation sessions, and NJDEP requested more time to continue to meet with the Objectors.  On March 31, 2026, the Court issued an Order extending NJDEP’s deadline to file the Supplementary Report to April 16, 2026.  The Objectors may file responses to the Supplementary Report by May 11, 2026.

 More information on the settlements is available on the NJDEP website here and here. 

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Government overreach? NJ delays opening of famed oyster stand

By Michael Klein, Philadelphia Inquirer, Published April 7, 2026

Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen, the nationally known oyster stand and eatery in the New Jersey Pinelands, says it has paused its 2026 opening as it awaits a governmental review of its seating plans.

The rustic roadside stand offered indoor and outdoor seating when it opened in 2021 on Harding Highway in Newfield, Gloucester County, a popular route to the Jersey Shore. But in August 2023, lacking the proper permitting, it was ordered to shut down. Two days later, it reopened with takeout and outdoor picnic-table seating, but no indoor dining.

Management announced Monday that it had to remove the picnic tables while the Pinelands Commission, as well as county and local authorities, review Sweet Amalia’s plans to allow seating. Land use in the ecologically fragile Pinelands is highly regulated. On its social media accounts, Sweet Amalia described the region, which spans parts of seven counties, as “a 1.1-million-acre treasure in our densely populated state.”

“They gave us the option to do takeout,” owner Lisa Calvo told The Inquirer. “But given the nature of the food and our customer base, we just didn’t feel like that was a great translation of our business model. The oyster bar business is not takeout. It’s people stopping, enjoying the vibe, hanging out, eating oysters freshly shucked.”

Sweet Amalia grew out of Calvo’s oyster business, Sweet Amalia Oyster Farm, founded in 2012 on the Delaware Bay. During the pandemic, Calvo and partners turned the roadside market in her hometown into a seasonal kitchen and retail operation centered on oysters, seafood, sandwiches, and local goods, an outlet for local growers and producers.

Calvo said she did not have an exact date for the reopening. “We hope everybody will be patient,” she said.

READ MORE: New Jersey’s oyster business enjoys a resurgence

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What a day at the Jersey Shore will cost this summer

By the Patch Staff

NEW JERSEY — If you’re planning your summer beach trips to the Jersey Shore, you’re probably trying to figure out how much those trips are going to cost, including your beach badges.

Here is Patch’s annual guide to beach fees and more.

While most towns are scheduled to open their beaches Memorial Day weekend, many are selling beach badges now at discounted rates.

Lifeguard staffing typically begins Memorial Day weekend and continues on weekends until mid-June due to staff availability, which increases once schools are closed for the summer.

That means that just because it’s warm, it doesn’t mean it’s safe to go in the water. Swimming is banned on ocean beaches up and down the shore when lifeguards are not present, for safety reasons. Rip currents can be present at any time of year and can be deadly.

Here is the list of towns and beaches, with their beach fees for 2026, as of April 1. Daily badge prices may not be available everywhere immediately.

Read the full story

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Google reversing climate goals with gas plan for huge AI datacenter

Texas power plant would emit 4.5m tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than that of the entire city of San Francisco

By Dara Kerr, The Guardian

Texas power plant would emit 4.5m tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than that of the entire city of San Francisco

Google’s plan to partner with a natural gas power plant to supply energy to one of its data centers in Texas was unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the tech giant, which once pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has long been seen as a pioneer in clean energy.

The gas power plant is slated for construction in Armstrong County, a sparsely populated area in the Texas Panhandle. According to a report by the research organization Cleanview, the project is being led by Crusoe Energy, which partnered with Google to develop the datacenter campus known as “Goodnight”, named after a nearby town.

Crusoe filed for a permit in January to build the 933-megawatt power plant on the site of the Goodnight campus, indicating the facility would operate off the grid and supply energy to at least two buildings on campus, according to Cleanview. Satellite images commissioned by Cleanview confirm construction is well under way.

Read the full story

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NJ shore town to put the hook on beached sailboat

By Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press

SEA GIRT -‑ In the end, Lawrence Kaehler did not return for his beached sailboat Alestorm, and a judge ruled that he must turn over its ownership to the borough and pay a $2,000 fine.

Kaehler, 52 of Deltona, Florida, appeared virtually in Municipal Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to improper storage of a vessel on the borough beach. An additional charge from the New Jersey State Police for abandonment of a vessel was dropped.

In lieu of that charge, however, Kaehler must sign over the title of the vessel to the borough within one week of Wednesday’s court ruling, so that the borough can take possession of it in order to remove it from the beach at the borough’s expense.

If Kaehler does not sign the papers, Judge Paul Capotorto said an additional $3,000 fine will be tacked on. Capotorto added that if Kaehler does not sign the papers, he must fly to Sea Girt next week and sign them in person. If not, a bench warrant will be placed on him for his arrest.

Kaehler stranded the sailboat on the Sea Girt beach on Sept. 20. He previously told the Asbury Park Press that he bought the 30-foot sailboat from a private owner in Great Kills, Staten Island, and was on his way to Cocoa Beach, Florida, when he hit a rough patch of water.

He beached next to the Wreck Pond outfall pipe. He said he mistook the beacon on the pipe for the Manasquan Inlet. Coincidentally, he beached in front of the historic Sea Girt Lighthouse at the location of the old Wreck Pond inlet, which has been sanded in for decades, save for when Superstorm Sandy reopened it in 2012.

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