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Capitol-attack televised hearing opens today at 1 p.m.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is holding its final public meeting today at 1 p.m.. 

The panel has heard from more than 1,000 witnesses, gone over millions of pages of documents, and held nine public hearings as part of its year-plus investigation into what happened when supporters of former President Trump stormed the Capitol in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results and what led to that day. 

The committee has spent more than a year making the case that Trump was squarely at the center of efforts to overturn the election and was ultimately responsible for the deadly riot.

Today, the lawmakers will vote on whether to recommend the Justice Department file criminal charges against him and others and present a summary of its findings. 

Where to watch: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. Watch live in the video above or on major TV stations and on YouTube.

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New Jersey utility rate counsel suggests state slow down the pace of offshore wind development

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight

Offshore wind farms in New Jersey should consider scaling back how much new offshore wind capacity is approved next year because economic and financial uncertainties could lead to higher prices, according to the Division of Rate Counsel. 

Rate Counsel Director Brian Lipman suggested slowing down the pace of offshore wind development as higher interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures are causing some developers to seek to renegotiate the contracts they have been awarded to build wind farms. 

“This is of great concern,’’ Lipman told the staff of the state Board of Public Utilities Tuesday during a stakeholder meeting. The board was meeting to discuss making a third solicitation for offshore wind projects early next year. Lipman suggested that the board’s staff develop guidelines to prevent after-the-fact increases to contracts awarded to developers. 

Ørsted, the developer of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm about 15 miles off Atlantic City, has acknowledged it is not earning what it expected on its U.S. projects. If the company seeks to renegotiate its contract, it must file a petition with the BPU, Lipman said. 

“Ratepayers simply cannot afford drastically higher electric bills,’’ he said. Utility customers already have been hit with steep increases this winter in their heating bills because of the rising costs of natural gas. Monthly bills increased for the state’s four gas utilities from 15% to as much as 24% this fall. 

Read the full story here

If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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Legislation in NJ would take a new approach to regulating toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Bill says chemicals should be regulated as a class, not individually, to better protect public health

By JON HURDLE, NJ Spotlight

New Jersey lawmakers are working to set strict health limits on so-called forever chemicals as a class rather than regulating them one by one, as now happens.

Since there are thousands of the chemicals and only three subject to health limits in New Jersey’s drinking water, it would make sense to subject all of them to state regulation to reduce public exposure to substances that are linked to some cancers, immune impairment, developmental problems in young children and other serious health conditions, supporters say.

A bill (S-3176) that cleared a Senate committee would require the Department of Environmental Protection to examine the feasibility of regulating the chemicals as a group and to work with scientists at the state’s Drinking Water Quality Institute and report back to lawmakers within two years.

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The measure is one of five bills introduced by Sens. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) and Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer) in early October that would strengthen the state’s efforts to protect public health from the chemicals, which are formally known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The other four bills have yet to go before their first legislative panel, the Senate’s Environment and Energy Committee, which is chaired by Smith.

‘We in New Jersey have a huge problem with PFAS chemicals.’ — Sen. Bob Smith

Smith and other advocates for tighter regulation of the chemicals say New Jersey’s current limits on three of the most found types of PFAS chemicals don’t come close to shielding consumers from the class as a whole because there are so many of them, and that New Jersey has a higher rate of PFAS contamination than many other states because of its long industrial history.

Mass action?

In the last eight years, New Jersey has set strict limits on the presence of PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA in drinking water, becoming a national leader in efforts to curb the chemicals. But those efforts aren’t enough to fully protect public health, advocates say.

Read the full story here

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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How NJ towns are imlementing DEP’s revised stormwater management rules, one year in


 By Sasha Weber, New Jersey Future, June 27th, 2022

It has been just over a year since the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) 2020 amendment to the Stormwater Management Rule (NJAC 7:8) took effect. Since March 2, 2021, NJ municipalities have been required to utilize green infrastructure—systems that mimic natural hydrologic processes to capture and reuse stormwater—as a stormwater management technique on all new public and private major developments (see our March 2021 article for an overview of the new stormwater rules). Localities carry out these requirements through their Stormwater Control Ordinances.

Once enacted, Stormwater Control Ordinances set a threshold for the size of an individual development project. If the project disturbs more than one acre of land, NJDEP requires that it employ green infrastructure. If it disturbs less than one acre of land, green infrastructure is not required. 

What Constitutes “Above and Beyond?”

In the Enhanced Model Stormwater Ordinance for Municipalities, New Jersey Future (NJF) highlights several steps that municipalities can take to further enhance their Stormwater Control Ordinances and go above and beyond DEP’s requirements.

These recommendations for advancement include redefining the threshold for “Major Development;” adding a definition and requirements for “Minor Development;” requiring stormwater management on existing (not just new) impervious surfaces; requiring infiltration of a specific volume of stormwater onsite, and reducing “maximum contributory drainage areas.” All of these changes would increase the amount of green infrastructure in localities.  

Case Studies

Curious how some municipalities have implemented and/or gone above and beyond NJDEP’s requirements to reap the benefits of green infrastructure? Check out the following case studies to learn how these requirements are put into action. 

Read the full story here

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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NJ State Senator Steve Oroho labels energy master plan a ‘political whitewash’

The latest ratepayer impact study of Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan inexplicably ignores many of the most costly mandates, said Senator Steven Oroho today in a news release.

The latest ratepayer impact study of Gov. Murphy’s Energy Master Plan inexplicably ignores many of the most costly mandates, said Sen. Steven Oroho today, as he blamed the Murphy Administration for continuing to obscure the true fiscal impact.

“It is untenable, but Murphy’s ridiculously expensive Energy Master Plan (EMP) goes into effect in about four months, and New Jersey residents still cannot get a straight answer about how much it is going to cost them,” said Oroho (R-24). “The study released Wednesday omits many of the most noteworthy cost-drivers and shamelessly sugar-coats the price tag of the Governor’s green energy fantasy.

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“The emphasis on offshore wind generation, massive utility-scale solar installations, and behind-the-scenes costs of converting homes and businesses from natural gas to electric demands enormous public and private investment and simply cannot be glossed over, yet the Brattle study does just that,” the Senator continued.

Oroho noted that the study, commissioned by the Board of Public Utilities, touted EMP’s unsubstantiated energy savings projections, but failed to emphasize the expenses associated with the conversion to electric vehicles, including residential, commercial, and governmental infrastructure investment.

“The study simply cherry-picks items to artificially present the plan in the best light,” said Oroho. “But reality is going to paint a far different picture in the future, and the residents of our state, already one of the most expensive places to live in the nation, are going to be feeling the painful impact of it for decades to come.

Families and businesses will be forced to foot the bill to rip out and replace perfectly functional and energy-efficient heating units to convert to electric. In whose world does it make sense to spend as much as $40,000 or more to scrap operating boilers and furnaces?” asked the Senator.

An over-reliance on electricity before the supply chain was capable of handling it has contributed to the current energy crisis in Europe, Oroho cautioned.

“There is a real danger in moving too fast. In Germany and the United Kingdom, electric rates are soaring and there are serious concerns about whether they will be able to meet the growing demand for electricity this winter,” Oroho said. “This should be a warning for the Governor. Pump the breaks and slow down.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation

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How we can afford to build protections against rising sea levels along the U.S. coast

Nearly one trillion dollars of US real estate is threatened by rising seas, and the risk is already affecting home values

Nearly one trillion dollars of US real estate is threatened by rising seas, and the risk is already affecting home values — Business Insider

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

It’s inescapable: Global warming is real. It is triggering unprecedented droughts and raging forest fires in the west, punishing floods in farm states, and rising ocean levels along our east coast.

Taxi parking lot in Hoboken, NJ hit by Superstorm Sandy

Global warming cannot be denied, except by political idealogues, conspiracy theory spreaders, and self-serving fossil-fuel corporations. It’s getting worse by the day and the projected costs to deal with it are staggering.

Mike Italiano helped create the U.S. Green Building Council and its LEED building standards that are rewarding forward-looking companies with higher building occupancy and lower operating costs

Mike Italiano, CEO, Capital Markets Partnership

We will sit down with Mike next week for a video interview to learn about his team’s funding plan–one, he says, that would not involve tax-payer contributions.

Too good to be true? We recommend that you watch the interview, take notes, and submit your follow-up questions for Mike’s response.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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It’s 101 in Trenton today but the political temps could rise even higher at this upcoming hearing

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

The Senate and Assembly environmental committees will meet jointly in Toms River next Thursday on bills to prohibit state pension fund investments in the nation’s largest 200 fossil fuel companies.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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Ohio plans federally-funded fast EV charging station near I-77/US 30 interchange

By Robert Wang, The Repository

CANTON – Ohio plans to spend about $100 million over the next five years to build fast-charging stations for electric vehicles along highways, including possibly two in Stark County.

A map in a state draft plan proposes such stations be located near the Interstate 77/U.S. Route 30 interchange and off the Whipple Avenue NW/Everhard Road NW exit.

The Ohio Department of Transportation, using federal money, wants to place one EV station every 50 miles along interstate highways. Each station, which could charge at least four vehicles at a time, would cost anywhere from $600,000 to $1.2 million to build.

The Federal Highway Administration has designated all of I-77 in Ohio and Route 30 west of I-77 as alternative fuel corridors where planners would want to build EV charging stations.

At the end of May, Ohio had 24,502 registered electric vehicles, according to DriveOhio’s registered alternative fuel vehicles dashboard. Ohio has 8.1 million registered passenger vehicles overall. 

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9/11 families grieve anew as Saudi LIV tournament gets underway at Trump’s New Jersey golf course

By Mike Kelly, NorthJersey.com

BEDMINSTER, New Jersey — After nearly 21 years and what seems to be an endless river of pain, this is what the 9/11 story has come to.

Three relatives of victims of America’s deadliest terror attack — a wife who lost her husband; a mother who lost her son; a son who lost his father — stood Tuesday on a patch of grass by the local public library in this community of rolling hills and horse pastures. Two miles away sat a golf course owned by former President Donald Trump.

It was 9:20 a.m. The humidity and 90-degree temperatures of recent days had softened. But tempers still steamed over Trump’s decision to host a golf tournament financed by Saudi Arabia despite new declassified FBI files with evidence that at least a dozen Saudi officials provided financial and logistical support to the team of Islamists who pulled off the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The LIV Golf tournament, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, begins Thursday with a one-day pro-am competition, followed on Friday by a three-day, 54-hole tournament featuring such stars as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Reed.

The LIV Golf series, which features several tournaments in the coming months, culminating at Trump’s Doral course in Miami, describes itself as “golf as you’ve never seen it.” That may be one of the most prophetic understatements of sports — in this case, with the additional controversy of 9/11 and Saudi Arabia’s alleged links to Islamist terrorism lurking in the shadows.

Read the full story here

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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