EnviroPolitics Blog

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns amid book scandal, health problems

Paul Schwartzman and Paul Schwartzman report for
the Washington Post

BALTIMORE — Mayor Catherine E. Pugh, who is under state and federal investigation over lucrative sales of her self-published children’s books, resigned Thursday, plunging this already rattled city into another political crisis.

Pugh (D), a former state lawmaker, has been under public scrutinysince at least March, following news reports about the book deals with companies that do business with the city and state.

Her attorney, Steven D. Silverman, announced her resignation at his downtown law office, calling it a “sad day for Baltimore” and reading a statement from Pugh, who was believed to be at her home elsewhere in the city.

“I am sorry for the harm I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor,” the statement said. “Baltimore deserves a mayor that can move our great city forward.”

Silverman departed without taking questions.

The resignation ends weeks of sometimes frenzied speculation over whether Pugh would try to stay in office despite the scandal, questions that even her own aides and associates were asking up until the final hours.

Her departure is another bruising setback for a city long besieged by poverty and violence and still recovering from a series of police corruption scandals and rioting in 2015 related to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Pugh, 69, is the second Baltimore mayor in the past decade to leave office while facing corruption allegations.

Federal agents remove items from the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh on April 25. (John Strohsacker/Getty Images)

“This was the right decision, as it was clear the mayor could no longer lead effectively,” Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who called for her resignation a week ago, said in a statement. “The federal and state investigations must and will continue to uncover the facts. Baltimore City can now begin to move forward.”

Read the full story

Like this? Click to receive free updates

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns amid book scandal, health problems Read More »

Dredging funds raised to keep boat racing afloat on the Schuylkill

Rowing crews compete in the first day of the Dad Vail Regatta in 2014 (Brad Larrison/for WHYY)

Catalina Jaramillo reports for PlanPhilly

Philadelphians will be able to continue enjoying the long tradition of rowing on the Schuylkill River.

That heritage is no longer in peril now that $4.5 million has been found to dredge shallow areas of silt around Boathouse Row and the national racecourse. The money came from members of the 10 rowing clubs of Boathouse Row; universities with rowing programs; the three major regatta organizations; and individual donors, foundations and institutions, as well as from city and state funds.

“Philadelphia is seen nationally and internationally as a leader and as a hub for the sport of rowing,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, the city’s Parks & Recreation commissioner. “It’s just become a part of our culture here in Philadelphia, it’s become very much a part of our park system. The Schuylkill River, and Boathouse Row, and Kelly Drive, and West River Drive have become iconic landmarks for us in the city of Philadelphia, and I just can’t imagine what the Schuylkill would be like if we didn’t have that recreational aspect to this beautiful natural asset.”

Like this? Click to receive free updates

Silt has accumulated in the riverbed since it was last dredged in 1999, resulting in uneven depth in the racecourse and in areas around the boathouses. The Schuylkill Navy, as the association of rowing clubs is known, has been trying to get it dredged for four years.

Paul Laskow, chair of the Schuylkill Navy’s River Restoration Committee, said access to the river has become unsafe because there is only a very narrow and shallow channel available right now. Famed regattas were beginning to lose competitors, he said, because organizers didn’t feel that all six lanes were safe and equal — lane six is less than 2 feet deep, while the others are closer to 10 feet deep.

The largest scholastic, collegiate and club regattas are held in Philadelphia, Laskow said. No dredging would have meant the end of the economic benefits brought to the city by such regattas as Dad Vail and the Stotesbury Cup. But it also would have meant the end of a rowing tradition here that goes back to the 19th century.

“Rowing in the United States really more or less started here, and this was the epicenter of rowing well into the 20th century,” Laskow said. “If there’s no rowing, the boathouses would go dark, as they did in the Depression. And that would be, I think, a blow to civic pride.”

The dredging work will be done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and take about 90 days to complete. The plan is to remove accumulated sediment shoals at four locations that include portions of the racecourse in the vicinity of Peter’s Island and the Strawberry Mansion Bridge; an area around the docks in front of Boathouse Row; and an adaptive rowing access point to the river below the Columbia Railroad Bridge.

An estimated 60,000 cubic yards of material will be removed and transported to Fairmount Dam, and then taken downstream to the Fort Mifflin Confined Disposal Facility, according to a public notice by the Army Corps. Work will start by mid-August and is expected to finish before the end of the year, without disrupting regattas.

Read the full story

Dredging funds raised to keep boat racing afloat on the Schuylkill Read More »

Oyster Creek nuclear license transfer decision expected in Summer

The former Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Gina Scala reports for The Sandpaper – May 1, 2019

FORKED RIVER, NJ — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is likely to render its decision on the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station license transfer application that would, if approved, allow Holtec Decommissioning International to kick-start the process of retiring the defunct plant by July 1.

Exelon Generation, which operated Oyster Creek until it shut down in September 2018, along with HDI, part of the Camden-based Holtec International energy conglomerate, submitted the license transfer application on Aug. 31, 2018. The companies requested a decision on the application be made by May 1.

In a separate but related matter, the presidentially appointed commission that oversees the NRC is expected to rule on two requests for a hearing on the license transfer application, said Neil Sheehan, public information officer for the NRC Region 1 office. One of those requests is from Lacey Township, which is home to the shuttered Oyster Creek plant. The other hearing request is from the Sierra Club.

“There is no timeframe available on when the commission may rule on the hearing requests,” Sheehan said earlier this week. “I can just tell you the staff intends to issue a decision on the application by July 1.”

Last month, the NRC issued its environmental assessment relating to Exelon Generation’s request for an exemption from certain emergency planning requirements to kick in at 285 days after permanent defueling of the plant, not the normal 365-day requirement. Exelon cited a new zirconium fire analysis that shows the possibility of fire in the spent fuel pool will be reduced to a point of significantly less risk sooner than initially estimated, Sheehan said.

In rendering its environmental assessment, NRC staff determined moving up the effective dates for certain emergency planning requirements would not significantly affect plant safety or increase the probability of an accident happening. “The proposed action would not have a significant effect on the environment. The reason the human environment would not be significantly affected is that the proposed exemption would not involve any construction or modification of the facility.”

Read the full story

Oyster Creek nuclear license transfer decision expected in Summer Read More »

NJ’s last vestige of coal power is gone

Looking down the fishing pier next to the B.L. England power plant in Upper Township, accessible to the public off of the company driveway off Route 9.

Michelle Brunetti and Avalon Zoppo report for the AC Press

B.L. England, the last coal-powered plant in New Jersey, was set to stop operations yesterday after more than 50 years of burning fossil fuels, Upper Township Mayor Rich Palombo said.

“They’re officially flipping the switch the morning of May 1,” he said Monday. “They’ll continue having people working at the plant as it’s decommissioning.”

R.C. Cape May Holdings, the owner of the Beesleys Point plant, did not return requests for comment.

Jason McGovern, a spokesman for grid operator PJM, said B.L. England submitted a deactivation notice for the plant in December 2016, but grid reliability upgrades stopped the facility for shutting down at that point.

Like this? Click to receive free updates

The closure could have some impact on the township’s $1.86 billion ratable base. The company has filed a tax appeal in state court for the 261.5-acre parcel the plant sits on, said Municipal Tax Assessor Megan McAfee.

The property is assessed at $2.36 million in land and $14.63 million in improvements, and for which the company paid the township $313,853.32 in property taxes in 2018.

McAfee could not discuss particulars of the case, as it is in litigation, she said.

But state law requires that the township keep receiving $6 million a year in energy receipts payments it has been getting in exchange for hosting the plant.

Residents will miss the old plant

“The neighbors and I went by, and it looked closed,” said Ellen Mallen, a 15-year resident of the Marmora section of Upper Township. “It’s been like a landmark. I always looked for the smoke.”

Dan Young, 53, lives in Marmora but grew up in Beesleys Point near the plant when it was owned by Atlantic City Electric. At the time, the plant provided recreational facilities for township residents, he said, including a pool and nine-hole golf course.

“I went there to the pool as far back as I can remember,” Young said of the late 1960s and early 1970s. “We would sneak onto the golf course at night when I was 10 or 11 years old. That’s where we taught ourselves to play golf.”

He also has fond memories of something he probably never told his parents about — jumping onto the coal cars as they slowly meandered down the railroad tracks to the plant, Young said.

Read the full story

NJ’s last vestige of coal power is gone Read More »

Cyclone Fani Set to Strike India as Hundreds of Thousands Evacuate

A satellite image of Cyclone Fani in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.CreditCreditNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

By Austin Ramzy for the New York Times

Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated parts of India’s eastern coast Thursday as a powerful cyclone moved north, bringing fears of widespread destruction in the coming hours.

Cyclone Fani was expected to hit the coast Friday with heavy rain, powerful winds and storm surge in some low-lying areas. More than 100 million people are potentially in the path of the storm, AccuWeather reported.

The India Meteorological Department classified Fani as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm,” the equivalent of a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, and said it would land with sustained winds of more than 100 miles per hour and gusts of up to 120 m.p.h.

As much as eight inches of rain is forecast to fall on northern parts of the state of Andhra Pradesh and on the state of Odisha. The storm is expected to continue north, hitting the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Bhutan, as well as parts of the Indian states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.

From the BBC

Clouds loom ahead of cyclone Fani in Visakhapatnam, India, May 1, 2019 — IStorm clouds gather over the Indian city of Visakhapatnam

Thousands of people are being evacuated from villages along India’s eastern coastline ahead of a severe cyclone.

Cyclone Fani is heading towards the state of Orissa with wind speeds in excess of 200 km/h (127 mph), and is expected to make landfall on Friday.

Officials have now shut down operations at two major ports on the east coast, and thousands of rescuers are helping people evacuate from low-lying areas.

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states are also on high alert.

Which areas will be affected?

The cyclone is currently moving up the Bay of Bengal, east of Andhra Pradesh.

HR Biswas, director of the meteorological centre in Orissa’s state capital, Bhubaneshwar, said at least 11 districts would be hit – and that they have “suggested people stay indoors”.

India’s National Disaster Management Authority has also warned people along the rest of India’s east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are “phenomenal”.

The agency said the “total destruction of thatched houses” was possible, as well as “extensive damage” to other structures.

Once the cyclone has made landfall in north-eastern India, it is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

The port city of Cox’s Bazar, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees live in camps with minimal shelter, is also on alert.

In February the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) began distributing tarpaulins ahead of the region’s “cyclone season” – but warned that if a deadly storm rolls in, shelters made of battered bamboo and shredded plastic would offer little protection.

How has India prepared?

Indian officials say they have set up more than 850 shelters, which are thought to be able to hold almost one million people.

The navy, the coast guard and the National Disaster Response Force have all been prepared for deployment.

Fishermen return to shore in Konark — Image captionFishermen returning to shore in Konark after a yellow warning was issued for Orissa

Local media report that about 81 trains travelling to and from coastal cities have been cancelled.

India’s electoral commission has relaxed its rules about what the government can do during election periods so that the authorities can carry out relief work.

The country is in the middle of a multi-phased election which started last month.

Under normal circumstances the incumbent government has certain powers suspended, so that it can’t announce new schemes or take new decisions during the voting period.

Although the election will continue until the end of May, Orissa has already voted.

A satellite image via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Cyclone Fani intensifying in the Bay of Bengal — Image captionA satellite image shows Cyclone Fani intensifying in the Bay of Bengal

Like this? Click to receive free updates

Cyclone Fani Set to Strike India as Hundreds of Thousands Evacuate Read More »

New York State announces $350,000 in grants available to protect Hudson River estuary

Grants Will Improve Water Quality and Protect Natural Resources

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced that $350,000 in competitive grant funding is available to help communities in the Hudson River Estuary watershed increase resiliency to flooding, protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and enhance natural resources.

The grants are provided through New York’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and are administered by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary program.

Like this? Click to receive free updates

To date, the Hudson River Estuary Program has awarded 525 grants totaling more than $21 million. The Local Stewardship Planning Request for Applications grants support planning for local stewardship of the river environment to help achieve the goals of the 2015-2020 Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda.

The deadline for applications is July 10, 2019, at 3 p.m. The Requests for Applications (RFA) for “Local Stewardship Planning” is available online through the NYS Grants Gateway.

The Grants Gateway is a web-based grants-management system that streamlines the way grants are administered by the State of New York. All grant applicants, including government agencies and not-for-profit corporations, must be registered in the NYS Grants Gateway to be eligible to apply for any state grant opportunity. Not-For-Profit applicants are required to “prequalify” in the Grants Gateway system. For more information about Grants Gateway, please visit the Grants Management website or contact the Grants Gateway Team at: grantsgateway@its.ny.gov.

General questions about the Hudson River Estuary grants application process may be directed to Susan Pepe, DEC’s Estuary Grants Manager, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3506; HREPgrants@dec.ny.gov. A description of the grant and application process is available on the DEC website.

Eligible project types for Local Stewardship Planning Grants, $350,000

The minimum grant award is $10,500 and the maximum award is $50,000. Additional points are given to projects in environmental justice areas and projects that support regional economic development strategies. The four categories of local projects and programs support planning for:

Hudson River shoreline communities to adapt land uses and decision-making to factor in climate change, flooding, heat, drought, and sea-level rise projections;
Making water infrastructure more resilient to flooding and/or sea-level rise;
Conservation of natural resources by creating a natural resources inventory, open space inventory/index, open space plan, conservation overlay zone, open space funding feasibility study, or connectivity plan; and
Watershed and source water management planning.

The Hudson River Estuary Program helps people enjoy, protect, and revitalize the Hudson River and its valley. Created in 1987, the program focuses on the tidal Hudson and its adjacent watershed from the dam at Troy to the Verrazano Narrows in New York City.

New York State announces $350,000 in grants available to protect Hudson River estuary Read More »