Court rules Navy can be sued for PFAS claims



After two years of court losses, a federal appeals court ruling poked holes in a federal immunity defense as local residents seek to sue over local water contamination.
Kyle Bagenstose reports for the Bucks County Courier Times
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled Tuesday that Bucks and Montgomery County residents can proceed with claims over water contamination near area military bases, reversing two years’ worth of legal setbacks and what had looked like a watertight immunity defense for the U.S. Navy.
“I think it’s a very important principle for holding the government accountable for its pollution,” said Mark Cuker, an attorney with the Cuker Law Firm and counsel for the Giovanni family of Warrington.
A trio of justices on the court of appeals for the Third Circuit were tasked with deciding the fate of two similar cases, each of which requested the Navy provide for medical monitoring for the plaintiffs, who allegedly had been exposed to toxic perfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, in their drinking water. The chemicals are ingredients of firefighting foams that were used for decades at a trio of current and former military bases in the area, and eventually contaminated the water of approximately 70,000 residents in Warminster, Warrington and Horsham. The towns have since worked to purify their water of the chemicals.
The cases, one filed in the summer of 2016 and the second a year later, also sought a large-scale health study that would assess whether the chemicals caused unusual amounts of illness in the affected communities.
The Navy’s attorneys had early success arguing against the suits, first pulling them from county courts into U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. They then successfully argued that the country’s Superfund law shields them from having to take any such action until a site is cleaned up, leading to a dismissal last December.
“The (district) judge said that under the Superfund law, you can’t sue for blood testing or a health study until clean-up is complete,” Steven Angstreich, a partner at Philadelphia’s Weir & Partners and counsel for Ivyland’s Palmer family, said following the dismissal.
Cuker and Angstreich appealed and in April argued their case before the appellate judges. On Tuesday, the court ruled and reversed the district court’s dismissal, but only in part: The claim for medical monitoring could proceed, but the claim for the health study could not.
The justices determined that while the Superfund law says the military has full control over the cleanup process and cannot be sued to change course, residents can pursue funding for a private medical monitoring program. But because the federal government has formal mechanisms by which it can conduct a health study if it decides to, residents cannot sue to force the government to take that action.
The court further ruled against the Navy’s claims that it has “sovereign” immunity against being sued unless it consents to be sued. The justices cited a section of a federal environmental law they say waives such immunity and requires each federal agency “Be subject to, and comply with, all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements.”

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NJ utilities lining up for nuclear subsidies

While some residential customers may end up paying $30 more annually, large energy users may see their bills rise by $1 million a year

salem nuclear power plant



Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

It will be months before the state decides whether customers need to subsidize nuclear power, but New Jersey’s four electric utilities are already proposing how they will recover those costs.

In filings with the Board of Public Utilities, each of the utilities submitted tariffs disclosing how they will recoup the cost of buying Zero Emission Certificates (ZECs), the potential $300 million annual subsidy aimed at propping up the state’s supply of nuclear power.
The proposals are the latest in a series of filings that could boost bills to customers by billions of dollars if approved by the regulatory agency, most stemming from two bills signed into law this spring that will transform energy policy in New Jersey.


PSEG threatened to shut down units in South Jersey


The most contentious bill involved proposed subsidies to avert the closing of the three remaining nuclear power plants in New Jersey. Without financial incentives, Public Service Enterprise Group threatened to shut down the units it operates in South Jersey.
The company and advocates of the subsidies argued they are justified to preserve fuel diversity among power generators, as well as for their benefits in improving air quality and combating climate change.
In public hearings to begin tomorrow in Hackensack, the BPU will begin a two-step process of determining what nuclear plants, if any, will be awarded the subsidies. The initial proceeding is to establish the ZEC program to apply for subsidies; the second, to decide whether any plants deserve the incentives. A final decision is expected next April.
Meanwhile, each of the four utilities will hold public hearings beginning on October 17 on the proposed tariffs they have submitted. Under an order issued by the board, the utilities were required to submit the proposed tariffs by September 20.

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NJDEP’s Mans says states must take lead on climate

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Katie Tam reports for the Daily Princetonian:
Debbie Mans, Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, called for state governments to take more initiative with environmental challenges.
In a public lecture, Mans spoke about climate and energy challenges in New Jersey. Recent federal government pullbacks from key environmental initiatives have made efforts at the state level more important than ever.
“We can all do our part,” said Mans. “Now, states need to take the lead.”
She highlighted several actions that New Jersey governor Phil Murphy has taken to combat climate change.
For instance, Murphy issued Executive Order No. 7, directing New Jersey to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — a market-based method for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, New Jersey joined the U.S. Climate Initiative, a coalition of states pledging to follow principles similar to those in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Mans celebrated the outcomes of the New Jersey Global Warming Response Act. According to Mans, New Jersey achieved its 2018 target goal of reducing emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020.
Mans then spoke about continued efforts to expand clean energy in solar, wind, and electrical power. New Jersey recently had the largest solicitation of offshore wind development, enough to power 1.5 million homes. Community solar energy programs also allow neighborhoods to draw energy from a single shared source.
Mans emphasized that New Jersey’s Greenhouse Gas Emission profile shows that transportation accounts for 42 percent of the greenhouse contribution in New Jersey, compared to transportation only contributing 32 percent contribution for the rest of the U.S. To reduce transportation emissions, New Jersey has focused on expanding its public charging network. The “It Pay$ to Plug In” program provides grants to install charging stations.
“It’s really important now more than ever for key players in local and state governments and private businesses to get together and talk about what we’re doing to address climate change,” Mans said.
The lecture was held on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 4:30 p.m. in Maeder Hall Auditorium at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. It was the first event of the two-day conference “Accelerating Climate Action in the United States: What Are We Doing and What More Can Be Done?”, which will focus on evaluating U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from the power and transportation sectors. It will include input from researchers, policymakers, business and nonprofit leaders, and more. Events continue into Friday, Sept. 21, with a keynote address given by Tammy Snyder Murphy, the First Lady of the State of New Jersey.

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New Jersey backs away from new brewery rules, dilly dilly

Daniel J. Munoz reports for NJBIZ:The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is indefinitely suspending enforcement of new restrictions it placed last week on the state’s craft breweries, ABC Director David Rible announced Tuesday afternoon.

The rules, issued Sept. 24, will be suspended while the ABC meets with craft breweries, alcoholic beverage license holders and lawmakers to hammer out new regulations, be it through the division itself or new legislation, Rible said.

“We want to make sure that we get this right,” Rible said in a prepared statement. “We are committed to supporting the state’s growing craft beer industry, while also balancing the concerns of other stakeholders and ensuring compliance with state law.”

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Stephen Sweeney are vowing legislative action to overturn sweeping restrictions on craft breweries that the Alcoholic Beverage Commission put in place last week, joining a chorus of critical lawmakers and business owners.

Coughlin, D-19th District, said the regulations are inconsistent with the 2012 law aimed at fostering growth in the state’s nearly 100 craft breweries.

“I strongly believe the ruling by the director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is inconsistent with the law intending to help foster craft breweries in the state and sets unreasonable restrictions on small businesses taking advantage of the opportunities to grow and prosper,” Coughlin said in a statement Tuesday.

Sweeney, D-3rd District, said the legislation would allow for the continued successful operation of the state’s microbreweries. He noted he and other lawmakers would work on legislation that would “clarify” state regulations on how microbreweries can operate successfully while maintaining their distinction from traditional C-license restaurants.

“Microbreweries in New Jersey have been very successful in capitalizing on new opportunities that have attracted a growing number of customers, created new jobs and contributed to economic growth in their communities,” Sweeney said in a prepared statement. “These microbreweries epitomize the best qualities of small business and we should be doing what we can to support them.”

At a Facebook town hall Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy cast doubt on whether the ABC’s actions were the “sensible step to take” and that his administration is looking into the regulations, though he did not specify how officials are examining the new rules.




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If seafood runs short, this ocean farm could save us



Chris Woodyard reports for USA Today:

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – On a gray morning, hundreds of glistening black shells tumble down a chute to the deck of a retired Navy landing craft.

Mussels are peeled off heavy ropes, sorted by size and cleaned before five crewmen, seated around a table, inspect them for cracks or holes. The biggest and best are placed in bags, a bounty of bivalves destined for sale to restaurants and fish markets.

This farm-raised mussel business 6 miles off the coast of California’s Orange County marks a new direction for aquaculture by raising seafood in open ocean rather in bays, estuaries or other pens along the shoreline.

The Catalina Sea Ranch, a 100-acre collection of ropes and buoys, bills itself as the first commercial aquaculture operation in federal waters. It could be one of many to come.“Projects like Catalina, they are pioneers,” said Michael Rubino, director of the Office Of Aquaculture at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. “The technology is there and is rapidly expanding.”

Farmed fish, like salmon, trout and tilapia, have become commonplace. But the Catalina Sea Ranch takes a different approach.                                           

Harvesting mussels


By going offshore, the Catalina Sea Ranch aims to find cleaner water and a more stable environment with fewer water temperature fluctuations than shoreline operations would face. But it can be more expensive. And mussels, which grow quickly and live off plankton, aren’t broadly loved in America.

The project was a brainchild of Phil Cruver, a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in various ventures, with wind farms being among his most successful. He came to the idea seven years ago after being involved in an oyster bed restoration endeavor. Along the way, he made a couple of discoveries.



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Interior Dept. relaxes rules on offshore oil, gas production

Reuters reports: 

The Trump administration on Thursday eased safety rules on offshore oil and gas production put in place after the deadly 2010 BP Plc Deepwater Horizon disaster, as part of its effort to slash regulations and boost the energy industry.

The Interior Department revised the 2016 oil and gas production safety systems rule, part of a series of regulations the Obama administration enacted on offshore drilling and production after the drilling well disaster that killed 11 oil rig workers, led to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and cost BP about $65 billion.

The final rule will appear in the federal register as soon as Friday, according to a document seen by Reuters.

It eliminates or changes some safety standards for when a well is producing oil or gas, such as requiring that independent third parties certify devices. Other changes involve when operators have to notify the government about beginning oil and gas production and what they have to report about equipment failures.

The Interior Department said in the rule that “certain provisions in that (2016) rulemaking created potentially unduly burdensome requirements for oil and natural gas production operators on the Outer Continental Shelf, without meaningfully increasing safety of the workers or protection of the environment.”

The rule supports the administration’s “objective of facilitating energy dominance” it said.




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