EnviroPolitics Blog

Legislation restricting scrap yards clears NJ Assembly committee

From New Jersey Assembly Democrats

(TRENTON) – Assemblyman William F. Moen Jr.’s legislation, crafted in response to an industrial fire in Camden City earlier this year, recently cleared the Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee. The February 21st fire displaced residents, shuttered roads, and led to environmental and health concerns.

“Though the flames of this fire have long been extinguished, the questions and anguish by residents still remain,” said Assemblyman Moen (D-Camden, Gloucester). “As a legislator and someone whose family has called the city of Camden home for 5 generations, I share the community’s concerns. This package of bills seeks to minimize the chances that a fire of this magnitude can happen again.”

The industrial fire at a recycling facility forced the evacuation of approximately 100 residents, including senior citizens, disabled residents, and children. The owner of the company where the fire broke out determined that the fire was likely caused by a lithium-ion battery that was wrongly sent to the scrap recycling facility. Currently, the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety has a fact sheet outlining the risks of lithium-ion battery fires as well as how to safely use and dispose of them.

One bill, A5533, would establish requirements for receipt and purchase of scrap metals containing propulsion batteries, including but not limited to lithium-ion batteries.

Another bill, A5535, would prohibit owners or operators of scrap metal facilities from storing or processing automotive shredder residue without first obtaining a permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It would also amend the “Solid Waste Management Act” to define “hazardous waste” and “automotive shredder residue.”

Bill A5534 would require any business that receives a state economic development subsidy and is found to have violated state environmental laws to forfeit either 20 percent of the subsidies or the total costs to address the environmental incident, whichever is greater. The bill would also require the proceeds of any payments received by the State to be deposited into a new Environmental Incident Recovery Fund, which would be used to reimburse residents impacted by certain environmental incidents.

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NJ Gov announces plan to soften blow of big electric rate hikes

Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement comes less than a month before a statewide rate hike scheduled to begin on June 1.

Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled a series of executive actions on Wednesday that he said will help New Jersey residents manage electric costs ahead of a rate hike scheduled to begin on June 1. (Shutterstock)

By Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled a series of executive actions on Wednesday that he said will help New Jersey residents manage electric costs ahead of a rate hike scheduled to begin on June 1.

The announcement comes two weeks after the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) said it would require New Jersey’s four electric utility companies — Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G, Jersey Central Power & Light and Rockland Energy — to come up with plans to mitigate overall bill impacts to residential customers during high usage summer months.

The state also asked the utility companies to defer rate increases until later in the year during lower-usage months, as well as identify other opportunities to stabilize rates and provide cost-saving opportunities wherever possible.

Murphy’s office said the filings were received by May 7.

“New Jersey ratepayers are preparing for an unprecedented increase in utility costs,” Murphy said in a statement. “While the utilities are not responsible for the rate increases, they have a responsibility to protect ratepayers. It’s clear that New Jersey’s four hometown electric utilities need to deliver more reasonable options.”

In Wednesday’s announcement, Murphy said he plans to build on his administration’s previous efforts by implementing several additional measures to mitigate utility costs. Those measures include:

Read the full story here

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Penn State president wants to close these campuses

By Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA State College | May 13, 2025

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi has asked university trustees to approve closing seven of its commonwealth campuses because the current statewide model “subsidizes decline,” according to internal records obtained by Spotlight PA.

“Fulfilling our land-grant mission does not require a four-year campus in every corner of Pennsylvania,” the president wrote. Instead, under the proposal, online classes could replace some in-person offerings and a leaner university with fewer locations could invest in the parts of Pennsylvania where Penn State believes it can still succeed.

Bendapudi has proposed closing Penn State’s DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York campuses. More than 500 employees and thousands of students would be affected by the move.

“These are not just campuses; they are homes, launching pads, and sources of deep pride. And yet … if we delay action, the pressures we face—demographic, financial, competitive—will continue to mount. In time, those forces will make decisions for us, not with the care, intention, or commitment to students and communities that this process allows,” Bendapudi wrote to trustees.

Read the full story here

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Look who’s prowling off the coast

With Memorial Day two weeks away, a great white shark was spotted off the coast of Long Island.

A file photo of a great white shark. Photo Credit: *Wikipedia/Terry Goss*

By Joe Lombardi, Daily Voice

Drone footage shows it off the shore of Montauk, the eastern-most point in the Hamptons, on Monday, May 12.

It was captured by photographer Joanna L Steidle, who told Storyful, “I have been flying these waters for eight years and this is the earliest shark spotting I have had in a season and it is also the closest to shore I have spotted a great white.”

Click here to view the drone footage on Storyful.

Lifeguards don’t go on duty until later this month.

Great white sharks, the largest predatory fish, can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh over 4,000 pounds.

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EPA extends final reporting deadline for PFAS manufacturers

From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an interim final rule to extend the dates of the reporting period for data submitted on the manufacture of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This extension will allow EPA to further develop and test the software being used to collect the data from manufacturers, thereby providing critical feedback to EPA, including what additional guidance would be useful for the reporting community.

Under section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA finalized a rule in October 2023 requiring anyone who has manufactured (including imported) a PFAS in any year from 2011 through 2022 to submit information to EPA regarding manufacturing, use, disposal, byproducts, worker exposures, and environmental and health effects of those PFAS. This interim final rule delays the start of the submission period by nine months, from July 11, 2025, to April 13, 2026. Submissions will now be due by October 13, 2026, for most manufacturers, and by April 13, 2027, for small manufacturers reporting exclusively as article importers.

While the delay to the start of the submission period is effectively immediately, EPA will accept public comments on the reporting period change for 30 days. Additionally, the agency is considering a separate action to reopen other aspects of this rule for public comment. EPA plans to address any comments submitted on this interim final rule and on the future proposed rule concurrently. Comments can be submitted on the interim final rule on www.regulations.gov in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549.

The interim final rule is now available.

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As fish move with climate change, will appetites follow?

By Coco Liu, Bloomberg Greener Living

For years, Kate Masury, a Rhode Island-based environmentalist and seafood lover, heard from the fishing industry that the species they’ve been catching were changing. Staples such as Atlantic cod were dwindling and American lobsters — another local top-seller — were moving farther north.

Other species not common to the area, like Spanish mackerel and blue crab, were appearing and becoming more abundant as ocean temperatures rose.Fishermen were saying “I wish we could catch more of it,” she said. But they weren’t sure they’d be able to sell seafood that locals never heard of or knew.

As the executive director of Eating With the Ecosystem, a New England nonprofit that helps the seafood industry adapt to climate change, Masury has been trying to convince the whole supply chain, from fishermen to restaurant goers, to incorporate these species that thrive in warmer water, which she calls “climate winners.”

Bloomberg Green spoke with Masury about her experience of introducing “climate winners” to consumers, the surprises she’s discovered along the way, and the barriers to inserting those less-familiar species in our seafood supplies. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Read the full story here

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