Solar farms developers making offers to landowners in PA’s Susquehanna Valley

Solar panel at Susquehanna University Robert Inglis photo for The Daily Item

Solar energy farms could soon sprout from farmland stretched beneath high voltage power lines across the Valley as renewable energy companies are pitching lease proposals to local property owners.

Supervisors in both East and West Chillisquaque townships worked jointly with respective planning commissions and a solar industry representative to create zoning ordinance amendments regulating ground-mounted solar farm systems to get ahead of the installation of such developments.

The amendments call for restrictions on glare, establishes minimum setbacks and stormwater requirements and sets requirements for decommissioning and removing solar systems.

“There were five (companies) that talked to me to lease my ground, but I wasn’t interested,” said Bob Pardoe, secretary of the West Chillisquaque Township Planning Commission.

Pardoe estimated 10 property owners in his township were seriously considering proposals.

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A Massachusetts-based firm, Nexamp: Solar Energy Solutions, mailed exploratory letters to property owners in Union County offering an estimated $1,500 per acre annually. The letter said the firm typically seeks 5 to 25 acres.

Legislation signed by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017 and implemented in 2018 by the Public Utility Commission closed the Keystone State’s borders on solar tax credits.

The move raises the value of such credits, in part, by restricting participation in the state’s renewable energy tax credit program to systems built in Pennsylvania. In the past, Pennsylvania was an open border state and credits could be used from systems in 13 surrounding states and the District of Columbia, according to the PennFuture Energy Center.

Bid prices on such credits were at $35 Thursday compared to $22 on the same date in 2017, according to online market site SREC Trade.

Keith Hevenor, Nexamp communication manager, said this change and other bills pending in the state legislature make Pennsylvania a favorable place to build solar energy farms.

“The legislation has to be in place to be able to turn the energy we are generating into credits that can be monetized,” Hevenor said.

Nexamp hasn’t finalized developments in the Valley, but is currently pursuing agreements in the PPL Electric service area, including the greater Sunbury area, he said.

Free-standing solar farms

Solar panels can be found on rooftops throughout the Valley. What makes the proposed solar farms different is that they’re free-standing.

Hevenor said Nexamp’s systems don’t create large permanent environmental footprints. Concrete pads measuring about 100 square feet are poured for equipment that directs the energy from the panels to the power lines. The panels themselves are affixed to poles that are sunk into the ground without a concrete foundation. The wiring is above ground, he added.

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Hevenor said the company establishes funds to remove the systems at no cost to the landowners when a lease ends or isn’t renewed. Leases last about 20 to 40 years on average, he added.

West Chillisquaque Township Supervisor Vaughn Murray said, in working to develop the ordinance amendment, the closest municipality with relative solar regulations was in Cumberland County.

The township has strict stormwater regulations, Murray said, and the farms as proposed are a unique fit.

“It’s not like you’re paving a parking lot. There’s still a chance for water to infiltrate the ground, but it’s not going to infiltrate the way it would in a field of corn,” Murray said.

Farm registration

Cindy Kahley administers the Agland Preservation program for Union County Conservation District. Registered farms are restricted from developing free-standing solar farms, she said. The program has about 8,000 acres of registered farmland. Farms not registered in the program must abide by municipal ordinance, she added.

Kahley said she’s aware of companies approaching landowners in Gregg, Buffalo and Kelly townships.

“A lot of the land I’ve seen that they have been approaching are prime and statewide soils, which are the best soils for farming,” Kahley said. “It would be a huge impact to take that land out of production, which has good prime soils, and have it sit there with free-standing panels.”

That’s not the case in West Chillisquaque Township in Northumberland County, according to Pardoe. The “majority” of land targeted there hasn’t been prime farmland, he said.

Shawn McLaughlin, Union County’s planning and economic development director, said solar farms are worth exploring, but that he’d rather it happen on rooftops or other developed sites.

“I’d prefer to see solar panels and arrays on those first rather than taking up our best farmland or best development sites,” McLaughlin said.

A public hearing on West Chillisquaque’s ordinance proposal will be held tonight followed by a joint meeting of the supervisors and planning commission members Tuesday morning to further discuss related issues.

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Toxic substances found in the glass of alcoholic beverage bottles

Newswise — Bottles of beer, wine and spirits contain potentially harmful levels of toxic elements, such as lead and cadmium, in their enamelled decorations, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Plymouth in England analysed both the glass and enamelled decorations on a variety of clear and coloured bottles readily available in shops and supermarkets.

They showed that cadmium, lead and chromium were all present in the glass, but at concentrations where their environmental and health risks were deemed to be of low significance.

However, the enamels were of greater concern, with cadmium concentrations of up to 20,000 parts per million in the decorated regions on a range of spirits, beer and wine bottles, and lead concentrations up to 80,000ppm in the décor of various wine bottles. The limit for lead in consumer paints is 90ppm.

The study also showed the elements had the potential to leach from enamelled glass fragments, and when subjected to a standard test that simulates rainfall in a landfill site, several fragments exceeded the US Model Toxins in Packaging Legislation and could be defined as “hazardous”.

Published in Environmental Science and Technology, the research was carried out by Associate Professor (Reader) in Aquatic Geochemistry and Pollution Science, Dr Andrew Turner.

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Baroni asks for immediate release from prison, in wake of stunning Supreme Court decision to hear Bridgegate case

BIll Baroni, who is currently serving an 18-month prison term.

By Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Former Port Authority deputy executive director Bill Baroni, now in federal prison serving an 18-month sentence for his role in the Bridgegate corruption scandal, filed a motion early Monday morning to be released on bail after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review his conviction.

“Based on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case, Baroni respectfully moves for immediate release on bail from the sentence he is currently serving, pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case,” they wrote in a six-page brief seeking release.

Federal prosecutors did not oppose the request.

Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, one-time deputy chief of staff to then-Gov. Chris Christie were both found guilty in November 2016 of fraud and conspiracy in connection with a scheme of political retribution for their role in shutting down local toll lanes of the George Washington Bridge to create huge traffic tie-ups in Fort Lee.

Prosecutors said the end game was to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, when the Democratic mayor back away from an expected endorsement of Christie, a Republican, during the governor’s 2013 re-election campaign.

The governor was never charged with any wrongdoing and denied any knowledge of the plan.

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Bridget Anne Kelly

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Bridgegate appeal. Stunning move keeps alive case that dogged Christie.

Bridget Anne Kelly, the former aide to the governor, will get a final chance to argue she was wrongfully convicted.

Attorneys for both Kelly and Baroni have argued that whatever happened at the George Washington Bridge, it was not a federal crime. They said in prosecuting the two, the government cited laws normally used in theft and bribery cases to level charges where no theft or bribery was alleged to have occurred.

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Lake Hopatcong’s phosphorous levels this June are the highest in 17 years of data. DEP warns of contact with water

Harmful algae blooms keep water sports on hold at lakes in NJ, NY, and PA

By James M. O’Neill, North Jersey Record

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Lake Hopatcong’s phosphorous levels this June are the highest in 17 years of data .
  • Exposure to the toxins that the cyanobacteria create can cause a range of health effects, including rashes, allergy-like reactions, flu-like symptoms, gastroenteritis, respiratory irritation, skin rashes and eye irritation.

The kind of weather New Jersey gets in the coming days will determine whether the dangerous algae blooms affecting Lake Hopatcong and Spruce Run Reservoir will last days, weeks — or much of the summer.

A stretch of sunny days could help cause the blooms to crash, said Fred Lubnow, an aquatic and watershed management expert with Princeton Hydro. Or, a major storm with lots of rain could help flush the lakes clean.

But a continued pattern of short, intense storms followed by warm days could set the lakes up for persistent algae blooms through the summer, he said.

The state has bathing beach closures in effect for Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey’s largest lake, bordered by Sussex, Passaic and Morris counties, as well as at Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County — putting a damper on this weekend’s water sports activities there.

The current bloom in Lake Hopatcong “is the first of this magnitude in New Jersey,” Bruce Friedman, director of water monitoring at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Friday evening. “We’ve never seen a bloom that covers a majority of a New Jersey lake.” Usually they have been limited to a specific cove.

“How long the bloom will persist is impossible to estimate,” Friedman said. “Some blooms in the past have persisted into the fall. Hopefully that won’t happen here, but it is a possibility.”

Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County has had bathing beach closures because of a harmful algae bloom

Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County has had bathing beach closures because of a harmful algae bloom (Photo: Chris Pedota /The Record)

So far this year the harmful blooms have also hit Deal and Sunset lakes in Monmouth County, and Swartswood Lake and Lake Mohawk in Sussex County.

The problem has also cropped up in lakes in New York and Pennsylvania. “This has been a regional phenomenon,” Lubnow said Friday.

“One reason is that last week we got a lot of intense short storms where it rained heavily for 20 to 30 minutes and then stopped and were followed by 80-degree days,” he said. “That rinsed the watershed of nutrients, which went into the lakes, where they sat.”

Those nutrients – mainly phosphorous – provided an abundance of food for the algae to feed on. The blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, prefer three conditions to bloom – warmer water, still water and elevated nutrient concentrations.

More: $119 Billion plan to protect NY/NJ from another Sandy raises concerns over impact, cost

More: Stranger Jersey: The Monster of Lake Hopatcong

Smaller lakes have not been as affected this year so far because even during short rain storms the water level will spill over the lakes’ dams, helping to clear out the algae and nutrients.

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On the first day of Jersey City’s ban on plastic grocery bags, here’s how it went

Editor’s Note: Let’s face it, no one likes change. But ShopRite
in Jersey City did an exemplary job preparing its customers to meet the city’s new ban on the use of single-use plastic bags. They had advance signs posted for weeks throughout the store and a large countdown sign warning of yesterday’s effective day. Their employees even wore special tee shirts. A very small customer price for sturdy reusable bags also helped with the transition. Still, not all were pleased on Day 1. Our prediction: Six months from now, the hubbub will give way to ho-hum as new habits are formed. Congratulations, Jersey City and all city grocers! — FB

By Falyn Stempler | The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY — If city residents still haven’t weaned themselves off single-use plastic bags, too bad.

A plastic bag ban unanimously passed by the City Council a year ago went into full effect Friday and city officials marked the historic day with a kickoff event at ShopRite at 400 Marin Blvd.

The ban prohibits commercial retailers from giving customers merchandise in plastic bags as part of an effort to decrease litter and reduce environmental impact. Plastic is not biodegradable and often ends up in landfills and pollutes oceans, streets, parks and more.

NJTV News

“We invested dollars in it to do our part to make sure the planet is a better place than the way we found it,” said Mayor Steve Fulop, who attended the event with members of his staff. “Hopefully this paves the way for the entire state of New Jersey.”

All retailers must provide reusable and durable bags with handles and can choose to charge a nominal fee. ShopRite is charging customers 10 cents for each bag. Additionally, ShopRite has larger non-plastic bags that customers can purchase on a buy-one-get-one-free basis. Violating this municipal code could result in a minimum fine of $100.

PIX 11 News

City resident Jeff Fung said he thinks it is worth spending a few extra cents to help the environment.

“I think it’s worth it,” he said. “For the environmental protection, it’s worth it. … I don’t mind 10 cents, not too bad.”

Fulop was joined by the owners, managers, and workers of ShopRite on Friday handing out free reusable bags to some customers as part of the first-day promotion. Katherine Lawrence, director of the city Office of Sustainability, said the government hopes this ban will make residents change their behavior and bring their own bags.

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Has your town implemented a plastic bag ban? Is there one in the works? Do you support or oppose the change? Let us know why–or any other thoughts you have on plastic bags–in the comment box below

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As Cape Cod readies for tourist season, last year’s deadly shark attack is on everyone’s mind

By Kellen Browning Boston Globe Correspondent
June 28, 2019, 8:04 p.m.11

Aiden O’Dell, 9, of Wellfleet, headed into the surf at Newcomb Hollow Beach. His mother, a lifeguard, was on duty.
Aiden O’Dell, 9, of Wellfleet, headed into the surf at Newcomb Hollow Beach. His mother, a lifeguard, was on duty.(JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF)

WELLFLEET — Christiane Boezio stood overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at Newcomb Hollow Beach on a sunny afternoon, keeping a watchful eye on her two young children.

Anthony, 6, and Oliver, 4, were entertaining themselves with plastic boats in a shallow tide pool cut off from the ocean by a sandbar, and Mom wanted to keep it that way.

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“We used to go all the way out in the water and not have any concerns about swimming,” said Boezio, of Somerville.

Last year, though, a fatal shark attack at Newcomb Hollow, a favorite spot for Cape Cod locals and a haven for tourists from New York to the Carolinas, changed everything.

The death of 26-year-old Arthur Medici prompted local officials and legislators to take several steps to keep people safer on the Cape’s beaches, including new warning systems, improved call systems to summon emergency personnel, and better medical treatment.

Medici, an avid surfer from Revere, was boogie boarding 300 yards offshore when he was dragged underwater and badly bitten by a shark. He died from his injuries, marking the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts since 1936.

Because cellphone service at Cape beaches is spotty, officials have installed emergency landline phones in many beach parking lots. The phones automatically dial 911 when picked up. Many beaches also have publicly accessible “stop-the-bleed” kits with a tourniquet and special bandages that encourage blood clotting.

Many beaches have taken measures to deal with possible emergencies, including the installation of bleeding control kits.
Many beaches have taken measures to deal with possible emergencies, including the installation of bleeding control kits.(JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF)

Suzanne Grout Thomas, Wellfleet’s beach administrator, said lifeguards were trained to use the kits, but they can also be used by beachgoers to “stem the bleeding until paramedics and ambulance could arrive.”

Grout Thomas said the town also bought an inflatable boat with a jet engine, which lifeguards can use to check for sharks if someone reports seeing a fin in the water. On Saturday, Wellfleet will receive an off-road vehicle that can quickly traverse sand dunes with a medical kit and stretcher, she said.

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