Stormwater utilities bill signed into law in New Jersey


By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor


Legislation that will allow counties and municipalities in New Jersey to establish stormwater utilities and management policies was signed into law today by Governor Phil Murphy.


“The lack of regulation and management of stormwater has caused extensive problems for New Jersey,” said John McKeon (D-Essex, Morris), who sponsored the Assembly version of the legislation with colleagues Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex) and Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex). The Senate version was sponsored by Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), Kip Bateman (R-Somerset), Dick Codey (R-Essex) and Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer).   


“Rainwater run-off carries with it debris, bacteria, and chemicals which can lead to pollution of our waters and drinking water sources. Without regulation, we will continue to see a rise in pollution, flooding and property damage. This law enables towns and counties to take the next step in stemming the problems caused by stormwater,” McKeon said.


The legislation was supported by a wide number of environmental organizations like the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action and New Jersey Future. 


It was opposed by business groups representing members with large properties that would be subject to fees to operate the stormwater utilities.


While the legislation was moving through both houses,  Dennis Hart, executive director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, testified that his members are bearing a heavy tax burden that makes them less competitive with manufacturers in other states and they also are paying to maintain on-site stormwater management programs required by the NJDEP.  


In response, the bill was amended in the Assembly to provide a partial fee reduction in the form of a credit “for any property that maintains and operates a stormwater management system that complies with the State and local stormwater management standards that were in place at the time the system was approved.”   
Republicans are fighting similar legislation in other states and they pounced on the New Jersey bill, labeling it a ‘rain tax.’ 
Stormwater utilities exist in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia. 


The legislation is voluntary so the political fight will now move to the local level where environmentalists will press counties and municipalities to create the utilities, while affected businesses likely will argue against it.


Related: Local stormwater utility bill approved in NJ Senate


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Monmouth U. Welcomes World-Renowned Climate Change Experts for Symposium April 17-18

[News release]

WEST LONG BRANCH – Leading experts from around the world in the areas of climate change adaptation law and science will assemble at Monmouth University on April 17-18 for the Climate, Coasts & Communities Symposium.

With the “new normal” of increased storm events, flooding, sea level rise and coastal erosion being caused by climate change, the event will focus on lessons from other states and abroad that can help New Jersey navigate the challenges. Discussion topics will include climate change impacts to voiceless communities, including future generations, wildlife and natural resources; the public health dimensions of coastal adaptation; and scientific strategies to combat climate change-induced factors that are harming marine and coastal ecosystems.

Keynote speakers include Global Ocean Forum President Biliana Cicin-Sain, University of Tasmania Faculty of Law Professor Jan McDonald and University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Professor Robin Craig. The two-day symposium will kick off with a panel of Monmouth University students presenting their research on issues including the transfer of development rights and easements to improve coastal resilience and the threats extreme weather events pose to water supplies.

For registration and more information, visit monmouth.edu/climate-coasts-communities or contact Professor Randall Abate at rabate@monmouth.edu. The event is free for Monmouth University students and employees (registration required), $35 for members of the public and $25 for Monmouth alumni and non-Monmouth students. The admission cost covers an opening night reception, Thursday continental breakfast and lunch, and refreshments.

The event is being hosted by Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute, Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Science, Office of the Provost, Global Education Office, Department of Political Science and Sociology, and Youth Activists Group.

**See more like this on our Enviro-Events Calendar**  

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NJ counties with the highest and lowest property taxes

By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey’s average property tax bill was $8,767 last year, but that can vary a whole lot depending on which county you call home.
For the first time, homeowners in one county paid more than $12,000 on average for property taxes. Five counties topped $10,000.
Meanwhile, the average tax bills in three counties were below $6,000.
See where your county falls as we rank them from lowest to highest:

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Connecticut’s solar panel industry presses for change in state law it sees as threat to its existence

Connecticut’s solar panel industry presses for change in state law it sees as threat to its existence

Panels are placed on a solar
array installed on the roof of a Bristol church in this April 2018 file photo.
The solar industry is lobbying to change a law that governs how residential
users generate solar power. (John Woike)By STEPHEN SINGER | HARTFORD COURANT Connecticut’s solar industry and environmental advocates are fiercely lobbying state lawmakers to reverse or at least delay action they took last year changing how consumers are compensated for solar energy generated from rooftop panels.About three dozen workers in the industry that installs solar panels gathered Wednesday at the Capitol, urging legislation they say will save industry jobs in Connecticut, estimated at more than 2,000. The legislature’s clean energy caucus said the state’s solar industry faces an “existential crisis.”Tim Schneider, co-owner of Earthlight Technologies, an Ellington installer of solar panels that employs 69 workers, said if changes are not made to last year’s law, “I’ll be laying off half my crew.”The 2018 law schedules the termination later this year of net metering, a way residential users are credited for solar energy for electricity they add to the grid.Like this? Click to receive free updatesEnding net metering “takes the financial incentive off the table,” said Michael Trahan, executive director of Solar Connecticut Inc., the industry trade group.In its place would be a system of tariffs, or charges applied by energy providers to customers for electricity use. Connecticut’s solar industry, environmental advocates and others say tariffs work in states where solar energy accounts for 10 percent or more of electricity.In Connecticut, it’s about 2 percent, Trahan said.Stephen Lewis of South Windsor told state lawmakers in written testimony for a recent public hearing that he would not have installed home rooftop solar panels in 2017 without net metering.“I use my home solar to pay for my already efficient home electric use, to charge my EV for a daily commute and have now charged 17,000 all electric miles, and to help pay for my home heat pump so I do not need to use as much home heating oil,” he said.Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport and a member of the legislature’s energy and technology committee, said a pause for a couple of years would help policymakers gather more information.The 2018 law was a “radical departure, making a rather precipitous lurch,” he said.Environment Connecticut State Director Chris Phelps told lawmakers they have the opportunity to change the 2018 law and “restore policies supporting continued growth of solar power” in Connecticut.“Over the past eight years, hundreds of megawatts of solar power have been built statewide,” he said. “Solar power, ranging from large grid-connected systems to single homes with rooftop panels, is helping move our state towards a renewable energy future.”Katie Dykes, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told lawmakers in written testimony at a recent public hearing that the 2018 law began a transition of Connecticut’s on-site energy generation, such as rooftop solar panels, “to a more market-driven, competitive, cost-effective and transparent framework.”She said more time may be needed for project developers and financiers to adapt business models to new policies and compensation structures “and for the electric distribution utilities to adjust and modernize their metering and billing systems.”“An extension of time should not, however, halt or reverse the progress to date on new tariff development,” Dykes said.Patrick McDonnell, vice president of regulatory affairs at UIL Holdings Corp., the parent company of United Illuminating, said the 2018 law is an example of a “deliberate strategy” to promote zero-carbon energy.“While these changes are critical adjustments to the incentive policies that are important to transition renewable energy from a subsidy based offering to one that competes in the competitive energy, there needs to be a smooth transition to accomplish these goals,” he told lawmakers.Like this? Click to receive free updates

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Fire sale? Philadelphia’s Kensington-Port Richmond scrapyards are cashing out to developers



The industrial stretch along Lehigh Avenue is being filled up with condos.
Lehigh and Aramingo Ave.

Lehigh and Aramingo Ave. 

SYDNEY SCHAEFER / BILLY PENN


Max Marin reports for BillyPenn
The industrial strip along the Lehigh Avenue corridor — home to that scrapyard fire of mythological proportions last year — is one condo closer to calling it a night.
While the sale has yet to be finalized, Bruce Paul Auto Parts is the second salvage yard within a year to cash out along this stretch of open land between the suddenly-booming Kensington and Port Richmond neighborhoods. Developers scooping up the 80,000-square-foot parcel have already begun pitching their plans to community groups.
The proposed project — four apartment buildings featuring some commercial space — is still very much in the nascent stages, requiring both zoning variances and community input before it can move forward. But it’s a sign of things to come for the rapidly gentrifying borderlands where long-standing industrial beacons are giving way to the forces of market-rate housing.
Bruce Paul says the jig is up for the junkyard kings in this part of town.
“Anybody that’s working with their hands can’t afford to stay around here anymore,” Paul told Billy Penn. “I’m not gonna put up with my taxes doubling every other year. They’re forcing everybody out. Welcome to Philadelphia.”

Scrapyards, opioids and developers

It’s been a tumultuous year on the strip where Paul’s yard sits. Last summer’s massive inferno at the Philadelphia Metal & Resource Recovery brought increased scrutiny to the cluster of junkyards.
Some neighbors aired grievances about the environmental hazards of such scrapyards existing in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. The multi-million-dollar developments now going up will likely intensify those concerns.
“I work seven days,” Paul said. “They don’t want to see my cranking up the crane on a Sunday.”
The development tide is swelling in tandem with the city’s efforts to clean up the opioid-ravaged neighborhoods around the scrap strip. In January, officials shuttered the last of four homeless encampments that sprung up along the Lehigh trestle and under the bridges. Developers are now rehabbing old factory buildings that crumbled into Kensington’s drug era, which stand as bleak reminders of a neighborhood the city turned its back on for decades.
Throughout the decline, however, scrapyards have been a steadfast presence. After Paul’s closes its gates for good, three auto- and scrap-related businesses will remain along this stretch of Lehigh — including Philadelphia Metal & Resource Exchange.
Last September, a few months after the fire there, owner David Feinberg settled his outstanding code violations with the city for $125,000.
The scrap metal industry has suffered heavy blows in recent years, many tied to the global economy and less to neighborhood development. Feinberg thinks he can survive — but for how long he isn’t sure. “Who knows?” Feinberg said.

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