EnviroPolitics Blog

NJ Gov. Murphy takes state shutdown off the table but could veto parts of pending state budget

No NJ Government Shutdown, Gov. Phil Murphy Says

Tom Davis reports for The Patch

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there will be no government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Monday.

Murphy made the announcement on Thursday that, going into the July 4 holiday, beaches and parks will be open, state employees will be getting a paycheck and “the gates will be open” at state facilities.

“I cannot and will not subject our residents to the inconvenience they would suffer under a government shutdown,” Murphy said.

He said closing parks and beaches “only punishes the innocent.”

Murphy did, however, hint that he will possibly line-item veto parts of the budget as he continues to push for a millionaire’s tax.

“I will meet our constitutional deadline and sign a budget,” he said.

Murphy said talks between his administration and the Democratic-controlled legislature have been constructive and “all options are on the table” – except a shutdown.

“I’m taking a government shutdown off the table,” he said.

While both sides disagree over taxes, there are a number of issues that could have sidetracked state officials and led to the second New Jersey government shutdown in three years.

A government shutdown would have meant: shutting down Motor Vehicle Commission offices, courts and state parks and leaving thousands of state workers without a paycheck.

Murphy could line-item veto what he calls “pork” in the budget if he doesn’t get his signature plan – a tax on everyone making $1 million or more. Or he could take no action.

The lawmakers could override his vetoes, and there is a lot of acrimony between Murphy and the Democratic legislature that’s bigger than any tax, and a number of things could continue to cause problems – even without a shutdown:

Murphy wants what he calls “a modest fee” on opioid manufacturers and distributors to help offset state costs for programs to fight the opioid epidemic and support recovery. The Legislature’s budget, he said, “failed” to include Murphy’s proposed fee on opioid manufacturers and distributors, along with numerous other revenue raisers, to help offset the costs for additional spending. The assessment on manufacturers and distributors would raise an estimated $21.5 million in new revenue to fight the opioid crisis devastating New Jersey’s families, he said.’

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Enviros criticize Pa state budget shifting $10 million from environmental fund

Marie Cusick reports for StateImpact

A coalition of sixteen environmental groups sent an open letter to Gov. Tom Wolf and legislators Tuesday decrying the transfer of approximately $10 million out of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Stewardship Fund in this year’s state budget.

The fund was established nearly two decades ago to support environmental programs, including flooding and storm water management, Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts, and farmland preservation.

The budget, which is expected to pass this week, shifts the money to general government operating expenses. Joanne Kilgour heads the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club and said the state has been seeing increasing strains on its built and natural environments.

“It’s absolutely the wrong direction to be decreasing, rather than increasing, our contributions to environmental programs through the state budget,” Kilgour said.

The letter goes on to criticize lawmakers for expanding the state’s Rainy Day Fund, noting that Pennsylvania has been seeing more precipitation and flooding — the kinds of issues the Environmental Stewardship Fund was meant to address. They wrote that it delivers “on-the-ground results for communities now, and helps us avoid future costs from water pollution and property damage.”

Wolf’s spokesman J.J. Abbott said the proposed transfers in the budget would not cut previously allocated environmental projects.

“We believe these transfers will not affect or decrease the output from the [Environmental Stewardship Fund],” he wrote in an email.

Abbott added that Wolf’s Restore PA plan — a $4.5 billion infrastructure proposal that is separate from the state budget — would “dwarf” any previous environmental investments in the state. It outlines ways to address flooding, stormwater, new green infrastructure, brownfield clean-up, and the development of clean energy. Those investments would be funded through a severance tax on natural gas production.

As PA Post reported, Restore PA is Wolf’s fifth attempt in office to enact a severance tax, and it looks like lawmakers will not take it up until the fall.

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NY and Great Lakes States launch “Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz”

Zebra mussels, one type of aquatic invasive species

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced its participation in a campaign taking place at hundreds of water access sites throughout the Great Lakes region to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

The “Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz” runs from June 28 to July 7 and will inform boaters and others of the risks of introducing and spreading aquatic invasive species (AIS).

“New York is leading the charge to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species to protect our environment and economy from this urgent threat, and collaboration with other states and provinces is key as these species do not know state and provincial boundaries,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Starting June 28, New York watercraft inspection stewards will join forces with stewards in other Great Lakes states and provinces to raise awareness about AIS in Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and the St. Lawrence River and encourage all boaters, no matter where they are, to Clean, Drain, and Dry their watercraft and assist in our protection efforts.”

AIS are non-native aquatic plants and animals that can cause harm to the environment, economy and human health. AIS have been found in the lakes, ponds, and rivers of New York and can reproduce and spread at a rapid rate. AIS contribute to the decline of native plants, fish and wildlife, and can negatively impact recreational opportunities and income.

One of the main pathways for transfer of AIS between waterbodies is recreational water vehicles and equipment, including boats, canoes, kayaks and jet skis. Aquatic invasive plants and animals such as hydrilla, water chestnut, and zebra mussels can easily attach themselves to a water vessel and be transported to an uninvaded body of water and take over.

Read the full NYDEC news release here

http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/press.html

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Jersey girl Kellyanne Conway loves attention but maybe not this kind

Kellyanne Conway at the White House this month. House Democrats on the panel requested Ms. Conway’s testimony after the Office of Special Counsel recommended in a report released earlier this month that President Trump fire Ms. Conway.CreditCreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times
June 26, 2019

WASHINGTON — A House panel voted on Wednesday to subpoena Kellyanne Conway for her testimony after she failed to show to a hearing at which a special counsel told the committee she should be fired from the White House for her “egregious, repeated, and very public violations” of federal ethics law.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee’s action against Ms. Conway escalates the standoff between the Democratic House and President Trump as the White House stonewalls Democratic oversight inquiries, moving to keep the deliberations of its top officials confidential. The White House blocked Ms. Conway, a counselor to the president, from testifying about allegations of repeated violations of a federal ethics law that prohibits government officials from engaging in political activities at work

Her failure to show set up yet another clash between the executive branch and Congress that may end with an administration official held in contempt of Congress. Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, the one Republican who has called for President Trump’s impeachment, joined Democrats to vote for the subpoena, 25-16.

In pointed testimony, Henry J. Kerner, the special counsel, whose work is unrelated to the office that was run by Robert S. Mueller III, detailed how the White House counselor’s conduct created an “unprecedented challenge” to his ability to enforce the federal ethics law, known as the Hatch Act.

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Turns out U2’s The Edge is just another rich jerk

The Edge’s plan for Malibu rock and roll colony is dead. Here’s how U2 guitarist can win new fans — The coastal ridge in Malibu where U2’s The Edge wanted to build a residential compound of five houses. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Steve Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times

He’s rich.

He’s famous.

He wanted to build a colony of castles on a Malibu hillside, despite the years-long screams of conservationists.

But David Evans, who strums a guitar for U2, has become an exception to the rule that with money and power, you can buy anything your heart desires.

It’s been two weeks since the California Supreme Court delivered a near-fatal blow to Evans’ planned rock and roll colony on Sweetwater Mesa, which overlooks the Malibu pier and offers heavenly coastal views on a plot just outside the city of Malibu.

The court decided not to review a lower court ruling that the California Coastal Commission, which gave Evans the go-ahead in 2015, did not have the authority to do so.

So what happens next?

Unclear. I asked Evans’ attorney and he said he had passed along my query to his client. But in all the years I’ve been on this story, I’ve never been able to get hold of Evans. Maybe I should have gone to a U2 concert in Ireland, like Mark Vargas did. He’s the California Coastal Commissioner who met with Evans in Dublin and then came home to cast a vote in favor of the project. He said he paid for the Dublin trip and concert himself.

The Edge, also known as David Evans. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

It just so happens that I have a few suggestions on what Evans might do next, but let me back up before I move forward, because there’s a David and Goliath story to be told.

Evans and his wife bought the 150 acres of land for just under $9 million in 2005 and were part of a plan to erect five ridiculously gigantic homes on an otherwise pristine ridge. If that’s not offensive enough, he wanted to call the compound Leaves in the Wind.

The Coastal Commission took a look at Evans’ plans—which included running a long water-service line through the hills, and sinking dozens of caissons into a cliff to support an access road — and said, in effect, you’ve got to be kidding. The commission rejected Evan’s claim that there were five separate owners, contending instead that limited liability corporations were used to mask his role as the only owner.

But legal maneuvering aside, Peter Douglas, the agency’s executive director at the time, zeroed in on what was really at stake.

“In my 38 years with the commission,” Douglas said at the time, “I have never seen a project as environmentally devastating as this one.”

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Murphy picks for Pinelands panel waiting in a slow line

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

*Robert Jackson on a trip in the Pinelands in 2011* . Photo by Pinelands Preservation Alliance

Robert Jackson, a former commissioner, is being nominated for another term on the Pinelands Commission, a nomination that brings to five the number awaiting confirmation by the state Senate.

Jackson’s nomination by Gov. Phil Murphy was praised by conservationists, who have pressed the governor to appoint new members who care more about preserving the 1.1-million-acre Pinelands National Preserve than opening it for development.

In recent months, Murphy has sought to address that goal by nominating new candidates to serve on the commission, but as of yet, none have been confirmed by the state Senate.

Jackson, who served on the commission from 2008 to 2015, was onboard during disputes over the South Jersey Gas pipeline, a 22-mile-long project through parts of the Pinelands to supply fuel to the B.L. England plant in upper Cape May County.

Dead in the water

That project, long litigated in the courts, appears dead after the owners of the former coal plant abandoned their efforts to convert it to natural gas. The initiative has been remanded to the Pinelands Commission, which is expected to decide it sometime next month.

“The governor has made another great nomination for the Pinelands Commission, nominating Bob Jackson, who had served with great distinction until he was replaced by Gov. Christie,’’ said Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

Jackson’s nomination is the latest by Murphy to reshape the focus and direction of the commission, which had approved two new pipelines through the Pinelands despite vigorous opposition from environmentalists, and in some cases, four former governors.

Five proposed nominees have been recommended by Murphy, including one as long ago as Theresa Littman, in January. None have had a confirmation hearing yet scheduled, and are unlikely to do so before the Legislature breaks for its summer recess. They include three new nominees, and one holdover, longtime commissioner Edward Lloyd.

“You have five nominations for the Pinelands and nothing is happening,’’ said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We have five good nominees. We need to fight to get them through.’’

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