EnviroPolitics Blog

Shadow fleet tanker captain can’t outrun U.S. Coast Guard. Sentenced to 10 months after weeks-long chase

Avtandil Kalandadze, 47, a citizen of Georgia and former master of the tanker Bella 1, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after pleading guilty in June to one count of failing to heave to a Coast Guard cutter. He will be deported after completing his prison term.

“Kalandadze captained a vessel used to conceal illicit oil shipments for U.S. adversaries, and when the Coast Guard ordered him to stop, he fled,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said. “This case demonstrates that those who try to evade U.S. law enforcement even on the open sea will be held accountable.” “

The sentencing brings another chapter to a case that became one of the most closely watched maritime sanctions enforcement operations in recent years, involving a pursuit that stretched from the Caribbean into the North Atlantic before U.S. authorities ultimately seized the tanker.

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Burke to depart role as SWANA leader

By Jacob Wallace, Senior Reporter, WasteDive

Amy Lestition Burke, CEO and executive director of SWANA, and Tammy Hayes, president of SWANA’s board of directors, speak on the main stage at Wastecon in Grapevine, Texas, on Oct. 22, 2024. The two announced the event would be rebranded to RCon in future years. Jacob Wallace/Waste Div

By Jacob Wallace, Senior Reporter, WasteDive

The Solid Waste Association of North America announced Monday that Amy Lestition Burke will leave her role as executive director and CEO after about three years in the position. The trade association did not disclose the exact date she’ll depart.

Carolyn Muller, currently SWANA’s vice president of industry engagement, will serve as interim CEO while the organization conducts a national search for a permanent leader, per a news release. SWANA aims to have a permanent CEO in place by the end of the year.

Burke joined SWANA in November 2023, and she previously served as vice president of industry solutions at the Consumer Brands Association. During her tenure with SWANA, she helped guide the organization’s work to position industry members as employers of choice for a younger and more diverse workforce.

Burke said during a 2024 interview with Waste Dive that she was excited to helm the organization amid a shift in focus from disposal to responsible resource management. “I was brought here to be proactive and to be that change agent to move the profession and the industry forward,” she said at the time.

The organization said Monday that Burke led and helped rebuild SWANA’s membership during a period of transition.

“We are grateful for her leadership, dedication, and the many contributions she has made to both SWANA and the solid waste industry. We sincerely thank Amy for her service and wish her every success in her future endeavors,” SWANA wrote in its release.

It’s unclear if the leadership change will have an impact on SWANA’s existing programs. The organization did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

In 2024, SWANA announced it would revamp its Wastecon and Soar technical conferences to create RCon, its new flagship annual event. The second annual RCon is scheduled to take place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 in St. Louis.

The full story here.

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NJ Congressman Pallone calls for EPA testing near Keyport landfill

By Krystal Knapp, The Jersey Vindicator

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone is calling on federal environmental officials to conduct additional testing in residential areas near a former Keyport landfill amid renewed concerns about possible toxin and heavy metal contamination.

Pallone asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and EPA Region 2 Administrator Mike Martucci to conduct testing in the residential area near the former Aeromarine landfill, where state officials are already testing groundwater and soil.

“The reports coming from Keyport continue to be concerning enough for my constituents to repeatedly and urgently share their concerns with me,” Pallone said. “We need more data to provide the Keyport residents I represent the peace of mind they deserve.”

The request follows the release of independent testing that Pallone said indicated potential soil contamination beyond the landfill. The congressman cautioned in his letter that the findings were not vetted or overseen by a government agency but said they warranted further investigation.

“Now is the time for federal assistance to complete further testing in residential areas to determine the validity of preliminary tests and the safety of the communities in the area of concern,” Pallone wrote.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has been testing the former landfill site for toxins and heavy metals and investigating potential ways nearby residents could have been exposed, according to Pallone.

Earlier this year, the congressman called for a state and federal investigation after reports identified more than 40 cancer cases near the site, including 28 on one street. Pallone said reports of cancer cases in the area have continued to grow since then.

Pallone, who attended a community meeting in Keyport on July 30, previously sought assistance from Zeldin in April as residents raised concerns about the site.

“The families I represent in Keyport deserve peace of mind knowing your Administration is doing everything possible to ensure their safety,” Pallone wrote.

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NJ lawmakers introduce aid bill for farmers hurt by Spring freeze

NJ State Senator Parker Space, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, and Assemblyman Michael Inganamort (all R-Morris, Sussex, Warren) are introducing legislation to provide direct financial assistance to New Jersey farmers devastated by the historic April 2026 freeze.

The legislation would establish a one-time Emergency Crop Loss Relief Program within the Department of Agriculture to provide grants or reimbursements for verified crop losses resulting from the freeze. The bill includes a streamlined application process, a per-farm funding cap, and authorizes the NJ Department of Agriculture to adopt emergency regulations to expedite relief.

The bill responds to the unprecedented weather event that struck between April 19 and April 22, 2026, when unseasonably warm temperatures caused crops to bloom early before a sudden hard freeze destroyed blossoms and developing fruit across the state, causing an estimated $300 million in agricultural losses.

“New Jersey’s farmers are why we earn the nickname the ‘Garden State’, and they experienced catastrophic losses through no fault of their own,” said Senator Space. “Many invested an entire season’s worth of labor and resources only to see their crops destroyed by a single weather event. This legislation will provide the emergency assistance they need to recover and continue feeding New Jersey.”

“In talking with farmers from District 24 and throughout the state, the need for direct financial assistance is crystal clear,” said Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, a member of the Assembly Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee. “The spring freeze produced devastating agricultural production losses and the legislature needs to step in to help ensure the viability of our farms.”

The April freeze placed an immediate financial burden on New Jersey farmers, who had already made their annual investments in labor, fertilizer, equipment, and irrigation expenses before their crops were destroyed. Many now face debt, property taxes, insurance premiums, and payroll costs despite having little or no harvest to sell. Although the State did successfully secure a Secretarial Disaster Designation from the US Department of Agriculture which enables impacted farmers to apply for emergency low-interest loans through the federal government, direct financial assistance from the State will help fill in the gaps.

“These are hardworking families and small businesses that had already invested heavily in this year’s crop, only to watch months of work disappear in a matter of hours,” said Assemblyman Michael Inganamort. “We cannot undo the freeze, but we can make sure a temporary disaster doesn’t become a permanent loss for the farms and communities that depend on agriculture. This legislation is about giving New Jersey farmers a fighting chance to recover and plant again next season.”

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Hochul steamrolled New York’s climate movement. How will they react? NJ green groups face a similar dilemma

By Marie J. French, Politico,8/10/2026

But Hochul (D) — who hammered on cost concerns tied to the 2019 law — isn’t likely to pay a tangible political price. A left-flank primary challenge collapsed after she was endorsed by the state’s most prominent progressive, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and she’s now facing off against a pro-fracking Republican opponent opposed to renewables.

That leaves environmental advocates in New York split over what to do next: keep fighting Hochul over her energy agenda, or work with her and try to shape what she’s still willing to do to slow climate change.

Despite their bitter defeat, many institutional green groups are picking the latter as she faces voters in November.

“I certainly wouldn’t call it a breakup over the [climate law]. I see this a bit as a spat, someone sleeping on the couch, but definitely not a divorce. So there is a way back,” said Eric Miller, regional director for the Northeast and mid-Atlantic with Evergreen Action.

The “spat” included harsh words from the governor’s spokesperson about “head in the sand” advocates and scathing criticisms of Hochul. The moderate Democrat, who regularly touts her environmental credentials, said delayed deadlines for emissions-reduction targets in the climate law were necessary to address rising costs and federal headwinds.

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A Generation of Workers Is Left Behind as Trump Throttles Offshore Wind

Building trades spent the past five years preparing for an offshore wind boom that went bust. Now, U.S. workers mourn the well-paying careers they don’t see coming back.

By Ajani Stella, Climate News, August 9, 2026

When Gerard Mullin decided to train in offshore wind, he didn’t know what to expect. But on his first long-term project in Massachusetts, he immediately relished the consistency of the work, the good pay and the novelty of laboring at sea.

“I thought it was the best thing in the world,” he said.

In his first eight weeks working offshore, Mullin made more money than he had saved in the previous five years.

But the industry was on shaky ground. Mullin had his bags packed for five weeks offshore with Empire Wind in New York when President Donald Trump’s stop-work order last year stranded him at home in Boston. Trump—who had railed against the industry in his 2024 election campaign—halted all future permitting last year and canceled 12 offshore wind leases this spring and summer.

Thousands of workers like Mullin who were promised steady, well-paying careers in offshore wind now find themselves racing to secure the few positions left or returning to their prior work. Meanwhile, the supply chain that emerged to support offshore development has been left adrift, including in towns in need of a promised economic boost.

The full story here

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