Murphy administration drops the Jersey hammer on natural resource polluters; Sues three for restoration costs

‘We are demanding our money back,’ says Attorney General when announcing lawsuits for cleanup and restoration













Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

For the first time in 10 years, the state is filing suit against polluters to have them pay to restore New Jersey’s natural resources, an important environmental tool that averts using taxpayer dollars to clean up contaminated groundwater, wetlands, and other sites.

The administration of Gov. Phil Murphy yesterday filed three Natural Resource Damage lawsuits, signaling an aggressive new effort to not only clean up the thousands of contaminated sites in New Jersey, but also to restore natural areas harmed by spills, illegal dumping, and other activities.

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“Today, we are demanding our money back,’’ said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, on an empty lot in Newark’s Ironbound section, near a housing development built on top of a former manufacturer of cigarette lighters. It polluted soil and groundwater at the site, and vapors from the contaminants are now seeping into nearby homes.

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In this case, the state is seeking to recover the costs it incurred in cleaning up the soil, and the vapor-mitigation systems it installed to prevent dangerous vapors from entering the homes. Two other cost-recovery lawsuits also were filed by the Attorney General.
“We are going to hold polluters accountable — no matter how big, no matter how powerful, no matter how long they’ve been getting away with it,’’ Grewal said. “And we’re sending a message to every company across the state: If you pollute our natural resources, we are going to make you pay.’’
NRD lawsuits have been used in the past to restore numerous resources in the state, including not far away from yesterday’s press conference where a previous settlement has provided $23 million to create and expand a riverfront park on the Passaic River, according to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe.

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Opinion: Let’s take a closer look before Exelon unloads its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey

Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey Township, NJ (Getty photo) 

By Janet Tauro
NJ Board Chairperson for Clean Water Action
It certainly sounds like good news! A New Jersey-based company wants to buy the dilapidated Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township and promises a speedy decommissioning within nine years.

That would seem like welcome news after a recent chorus of outrage from local residents and environmental groups to Exelon’s plan to take up to 60 years to decommission the plant after it ceases operation in just a short while, September 17.

But, before there is any celebration, there are many angles to consider.

Holtec International, the Camden-based company interested in buying Oyster Creek is also the manufacturer of dry casks. It seems a conflict of interest for Holtec to both manage the Oyster Creek decommissioning, and then market their dry casks for the storage of the highly radioactive waste that has accumulated since the plant began operation in 1969. 

Holtec International also has an application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to open an interim nuclear waste storage facility in New Mexico. Oyster Creek’s 1.2 million pounds of waste would be shipped there if the site is approved. That may cause a huge sigh of relief for those of us living in Ocean County, but think of the logistics. That waste would be shipped across country by road, rail, or barge through densely populated areas. They would be deadly, traveling mini-Chernobyls; an incredibly high safety risk for millions.

The unvarnished, sad truth is that there isn’t a technology on earth that can address the question of how to safely store highly radioactive waste for thousands upon thousands of years. When talking about options, there are no best options. There are only least-bad options.

During the relicensing process over a decade ago, a coalition of citizens and environmental groups showed that areas of Oyster Creek were extensively corroded and degrading. This rusting plant won’t be generating electricity in another 6 weeks. So, why would a firm want to buy the plant? Included in the deal is Oyster Creek’s over $550 million decommissioning fund. Will every single cent of that fund, money that was generated by New Jersey ratepayers, go toward the decommissioning Oyster Creek? Who will ensure that no corners are cut for corporate profit?

These are questions that need to be asked and thoroughly vetted. 


The crucial missing piece here is a state-legislated independent nuclear decommissioning citizen advisory panel. Both Vermont and Maine established oversight panels when the Yankee nuclear plants were closed and decommissioned.

Independence and transparency will be essential, particularly since the NRC plans on having only one inspector on site during decommissioning. Public safety, health, and care for the environment should not be put at risk.
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Editor’s Note: Opinions shared here are those of the author only. EnviroPolitics welcomes thoughtful opinion submissions on environmental, energy and political issues. For consideration, send your essay to editor@enviropolitics.com If we fail to respond within three days, please resend. 



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MacArthur, Dem challenger Andy Kim face off in forum

Democrat Andy Kim (left) and Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur face off at the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce meeting in Mouth Laurel. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Michael Catallini reports for The Associated Press:

New Jersey Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur and Democratic challenger Andy Kim sparred Tuesday over who could bring greater bipartisanship to Washington and clashed over taxes and health care in their first head-to-head forum in one of New Jersey’s most-watched congressional races.
MacArthur and Kim met in a roughly hour-long and at times pointed forum in Mount Laurel sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey.
The 3rd Congressional District election on Nov. 6 is being closely watched as a potential Democratic pickup opportunity as the party aims to net 24 seats and win control from Republicans.
The event gave Kim, who is seeking his first elected office, a chance to introduce himself to voters in the district where he grew up and is now raising his two young sons.
He cast his experience from 2013 to 2015 as Democratic President Barack Obama’s Iraq director on the National Security Council as a proving ground for finding nonpartisan solutions to problems.
“What my campaign has been about from day one is working for a government that’s going have solutions,” Kim said.
The event also gave the two-term GOP incumbent MacArthur an opportunity to brandish the bipartisan reputation he’s cultivated since he first won election in 2014. MacArthur cast Kim as part of a resistance-oriented group of Democrats bent on opposing Republican President Donald Trump.
“We don’t need a House that’s obsessed with impeachment. We need pragmatism,” MacArthur said.

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NY may increase payments for distributed solar generation

Robert Walton reports for Waste Dive:

Distributed generation is already paying off for New York, and state regulators say they want to ensure more is added. The PSC says distributed generation has helped lower carbon emissions and boosted economic activity, along with generating ratepayer savings, and helping grid resiliency.
Proposals, which the commission said would be important steps in “the evolution of the state’s VDER policy,” include:
  • A consideration of enhanced and additional opportunities for electric customers to receive market transition credits in areas of New York where CDG market development has not been strong.
  • Alternative incentive mechanisms may be developed for community solar in areas where CDG development has been successful, including Central Hudson Gas & Electric and Orange and Rockland service territories.
  • Regulators want to make improvements in calculating and compensating the distribution value of distributed resources.
  • Another idea is to consider the extension of net energy metering to systems up to 750 kW, in cases where onsite energy generation is primarily used to satisfy a customer’s demand.

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Court abides those painted ponies in a Jersey Shore swap

Conservationists tried to block trade, which brings almost 70 acres of land to Toms River, by arguing Green Acres property should not be ‘diverted into private hands’ in Seaside Heights

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

carousel seaside heights

A state appeals court yesterday upheld a disputed deal that transferred 1.37 acres of municipally owned beach property in Seaside Heights to the owner of a local pier to allow it to be rebuilt following Hurricane Sandy.
The transaction allowed the borough to obtain and preserve a historic wooden carousel and acquire a 67-acre tract in Toms River adjacent to a park in exchange for the sliver of beach owned by the municipality.
The case is the latest in which Green Acres-protected property has been disposed to promote other interests — in this case, parts of a public beach at one of the more popular tourist attractions at the Jersey Shore traded to a private developer.

Proceed at your own risk

As it happens, the developer, AFMV, went ahead and rebuilt the portion of the damaged pier at its own risk as the case was litigated. The pier has reopened with new amusement rides on the contested sliver of beach.
The transaction had been challenged by the American Littoral Society, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, and two local residents and consolidated into one appeal by the court. The latter portion of the case was dismissed on a technicality.
Essentially, the conservation groups contested actions by the state Department of Environmental Protection and State House Commission in approving the deal, arguing they lacked authority to do so under Green Acres statute and regulations and failed to consider common-law public trust doctrine.
“We don’t like to see Green Acres land, which is supposed to be protected and preserved, to be diverted into private hands,’’ particularly public beaches, said Andrew Provence, an attorney for the conservationists. “It’s the best type of parkland we have. Here, in this case, it was traded.’’
In a 35-page decision, the court said it found no merit in the appellants’ argument. “We are limited to deciding whether the agency’s decisions are lawful; it is not our role to second-guess the wisdom of [the] agency’s policy choices,’’ the court found.

Merry-go-round museum

The court, however, did modify one aspect of the State House Commission’s decision, ruling that the carousel be built in a museum on a boardwalk-fronting parcel owned by the developer to ensure public access to it. That ensures the transaction involves replacement land in transfers, not just personal property, to comply with state law.
The historic carousel, one of only four wooden carousels remaining in New Jersey, was cited by the DEP as the “determining factor’’ in its decision to approve the transfer. Described as an “irreplaceable historic asset’’ by the agency, it features wooden animals carved between the 1890s and 1910s during the golden age of carousels.
The conservation groups argued the DEP and the SHC acted beyond their authority because their acquisition of personal property to be housed indoors is beyond the mandate of the commission’s and department’s Green Acres program.
The court found otherwise, noting the Garden State Preservation Trust Act authorizes the use of land to preserve historic properties, including historic objects. The court also contended the public will continue to have ample beach access on the borough’s remaining 33 acres of publicly owned beach.

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Oyster Creek nuclear plant to be sold to Holtec


Amanda Oglesby reports for the Asbury Park Press:

LACEY — A Camden-based company specializing in nuclear and solar energy intends to purchase Oyster Creek Generating Station and decommission the plant in eight years, more than half a century earlier than previously planned.

The deal will transfer ownership of Oyster Creek to Camden-based Holtec International. The company will also take over the plant’s spent nuclear waste and its decommissioning trust fund, worth more than $890 million.

The deal is expected to be finalized sometime in 2019, but needs approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other regulators. The plant’s current parent company, Exelon, said the purchase will not impact current decommissioning activities. The plant is scheduled to stop generating electricity mid-September.

“This landmark agreement is good news for Oyster Creek employees, the Lacey community and the state of New Jersey,” Exelon chief’s nuclear officer Bryan Hanson said in a news release. “Holtec’s commitment to the nuclear industry and its presence in New Jersey will allow many of our employees previously facing relocation to continue living and working in the

Exelon’s original plan including storing the plant for more than a half-century to allow radiation levels to drop and its trust fund to accrue more money before taking down the plant.

Holtec’s ownership will speed up the process. The company intends to hire Comprehensive Decommissioning International (CDI), a joint venture company of Holtec and engineering and nuclear waste management firm SNC-Lavalin, to help decontaminate and decommission the plant. Terms of the sale agreement require CDI to offer jobs to current Oyster Creek decommissioning employee.

Holtec’s President and CEO Kris Singh said in a news release that the company will use the latest technologies to preserve the shore near the plant and minimize radiation exposure to workers.



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