EnviroPolitics Blog

Newark residents told toxics better left locked underground

By Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight

What lies beneath this cement cap along the riverfront in Newark’s Ironbound makes it one of America’s most toxic Superfund sites in the country. The Diamond Alkali chemical plant manufactured Agent Orange, used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, and it poisoned the site with dioxin — a cancer-causing byproduct so toxic, the EPA sent workers in hazmat moon-suits to vacuum the streets back in the early 1980s.

Residents still remember that, and more than 40 years later during a public hearing this week on the site’s future, they were still asking the EPA about its plans.

“What’s the plan to keep the community safe? In the past, the community got screwed,” complained one Ironbound resident named Sharon. “They were sitting outside watching people in hazmat suits cleaning up.”

Speaking at the hearing, Eugenia Naranjo, the EPA’s project manager, said the waste is “not migrating.”

“The community has no access,” she said. “There are no risks from it.”

EPA officials said that for 37 years, the agency contained the toxic chemicals on-site — locked up within underground slurry walls. The agency contends that remains the best, most cost-effective option to safely secure the site for years to come.

Read the full story here

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Siting debate postpones vote on new incinerator in Miami-Dade

The Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management is facing a budget shortfall after only increasing its fee three times in the last decade.

A Miami-Dade County side-loading waste collection truck picks up a garbage bin on a street.

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive

Miami-Dade County, Florida, officials once again delayed a decision on siting an incinerator in the county at a meeting Tuesday. The decision came as county commissioners said they needed more time to assess their options.

The decision was pushed back until the board’s Nov. 6 meeting, delaying the permitting process for what would be a facility with up to 4,000 tons per day of capacity.

Commissioner Keon Hardeman initially moved to defer the item from the county’s agenda. He said the decision should not be taken lightly given the history of “Old Smokey,” an incinerator that polluted the neighborhood of West Coconut Grove for decades, or the former refuse-derived fuel facility in Doral, which was destroyed in a fire last year.

“This plant burned down. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe it wasn’t. But whatever it is, I feel like we need to make the decision about it with all of the information and not feel rushed,” Hardeman said.

The county is currently considering four sites: a portion at the dormant Opa-Locka West Airport; the site of the former WTE facility run by Covanta, now Reworld, in Doral; a filled quarry site in Medley; and a site in Okeechobee offered by a developer. In a memo sent to county officials on Friday, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she supports the airport site, which her office said had the second-lowest total cost of development and second-quickest development time.

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Atlantic City mayor, wife charged with abusing daughter

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La’Quetta Small, the city’s superintendent of schools, have been indicted on child endangerment as well as other charges on allegations of emotional and physical abuse of their teenage daughter. Mayor Small was also charged with making terroristic threats.

By Briana Vannozzi, NJ Spotlight

Prosecutors alleged both parents abused their daughter on multiple occasions, including an allegation the mayor struck the girl on the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness, along with punching her and leaving bruises. Prosecutors also alleged the mayor threatened to “smack the weave out” of her head during the incident.

La’Quetta Small is accused of punching and bruising her daughter on several occasions. She is also accused of dragging her daughter by the hair and striking her with a belt on her shoulders.

According to the indictment, Small’s daughter, who was 15 at the time, reported the abuse allegations to Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman. Days-Chapman, who did not inform authorities as required by law, was indicted on official misconduct and child endangerment charges.

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Here is where east coast offshore-wind development is happening

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

Offshore wind energy is a rapidly growing sector in the United States, particularly along the eastern coastline. This region is ideal for wind energy due to its strong and consistent wind patterns.

Below we explore the status of offshore wind turbine installations, including projects that are operational, under construction, and those expected to begin soon.

Current Operational Projects

Block Island Wind Farm
- Developer: Deepwater Wind
- Location: Rhode Island
- Energy Generation: 30 MW
- Cost: $290 million
- Details: The first offshore wind farm in the U.S., operational since 2016, with five turbines providing power to about 17,000 homes.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) Pilot Project
- Developer: Dominion Energy
- Location: Virginia
- Energy Generation: 12 MW
- Cost: $300 million
- Details: A pilot project with two turbines, operational since 2020, serving as a precursor to a larger planned project.

Projects Under Construction

Revolution Wind
- Developer: Ørsted and Eversource
- Location: Rhode Island and Connecticut
- Energy Generation: 704 MW
- Cost: $2.8 billion
- Details: Expected to be operational by 2026, with 65 turbines providing power to 350,000 homes ¹.
- 2. Vineyard Wind 1
- Developer: Vineyard Wind LLC
- Location: Massachusetts
- Energy Generation: 800 MW
- Cost: $2.3 billion
- Details: The first large-scale offshore wind project in the U.S., expected to be operational by 2024, with 62 turbines.

Projects Expected to Begin Construction Within 12 Months

Skipjack Wind Farm
- Developer: Ørsted
- Location: Delaware
- Energy Generation: 120 MW
- Cost: $720 million
- Details: Expected to start construction in early 2025, with 15 turbines.

Table of Offshore Wind Projects

Project Name	Developer(s)	Status	Energy Generation (MW)	Cost (USD)	Expected Operation Year
Block Island Wind Farm	Deepwater Wind	Operational	30	$290 million	2016
CVOW Pilot Project	Dominion Energy	Operational	12	$300 million	2020
Revolution Wind	Ørsted, Eversource	Under Construction	704	$2.8 billion	2026
Vineyard Wind 1	Vineyard Wind LLC	Under Construction	800	$2.3 billion	2024
Skipjack Wind Farm	Ørsted	Planned	120	$720 million	2025

East coast offshore wind development is evolving. The data used here may change in the future. We hope our summary will be helpful for now. If you believe that any of our data is incorrect, please let us know. – EnviroPolitics Editor

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NJ offshore wind leases dumped by Ørsted may be snapped up

By Jon Hurdle for NJ Spotlight

When Ørsted abandoned its plans for a massive wind farm off the Jersey Shore, it was a major blow to the Murphy administration and its promise of more renewable energy serving the state by 2040.

But the energy developer’s exit does not represent a total loss, as it readies to sell its ocean leases amid signs of strong demand from developers.

According to industry analysts and others, the offshore wind industry is poised to buy up the ocean leases that could generate enough power for some 1 million New Jersey homes,

One or more developer is now expected to acquire the leases that would have allowed Ørsted to create its Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects about 15 miles off the coast of South Jersey in what would have been the state’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farms.

The Danish wind giant’s shocking withdrawal on Halloween last year was a major setback for the Murphy administration’s plan to install 11 gigawatts of carbon-emissions-free offshore wind power — enough to power more than 8 million homes — by 2040, prompting Gov. Phil Murphy to blast the decision as “outrageous.” It now seems unlikely that New Jersey will be able to meet that deadline given the long lead time and high cost of building wind farms.

But wind industry sources predict that new developers will soon offer to buy the leases, drawn by slowing inflation, lower expected interest rates, and more attractive terms for offshore wind power now offered by New Jersey regulators.

“The economics for offshore wind have been changing for the past year or so,” said Kris Ohleth, executive director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, a consultant to the industry. “If there’s an opportunity out there, developers are going to have a keen interest in getting into the market.”

Read the full story here

If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month.

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Gulf of Maine may be next site for offshore wind energy leases

University of Maine’s 9,000-pound prototype wind turbine generates power off the coast of Castine, Maine. It was the country’s first floating wind turbine.

By Peter McGuire, NHPR

The federal government is preparing to sell offshore wind power plots in the Gulf of Maine after determining that leasing the area would not harm the environment.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said that installing buoys and conducting surveys to assess leases across one million acres of ocean would have no significant environmental impact.

The actual installation of offshore turbines would require separate environmental reviews, according to the bureau.

But the report opens the door to a sale by the end of the year for eight lease areas off Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The agency said the areas could produce enough energy to power 5 million homes.

In a statement, bureau director Elizabeth Klein said it is committed to developing wind power “in a manner that reduces potential impacts on other ocean activities and the surrounding ecosystem.”

The state of Maine has already leased a small parcel in the Gulf to test floating wind turbines.

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