Environmental bills move ahead in the NJ Legislature


The following bills advanced today in the New Jersey Assembly:

 A2558 – “Vegetation Management Response Act”; concerns vegetation management related to electric public utility infrastructure.
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly 70-1-5

A2614 – Increases civil penalties for certain natural gas or hazardous liquid facility safety violations.
12/17/2018 Substituted by S-679

A4578 – Makes supplemental appropriation of $50 million from General Fund to DEP and adds language provisions concerning the use of certain environmental settlement monies for natural resource restoration projects.
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly 79-0-0

A4748 – Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend additional sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2019.
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly 79-0-0

A4751 – Appropriates $15.696 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to DEP for State acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including Blue Acres projects.
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly 79-0-0

ACR51 – Memorializes Administrator of EPA to expedite cleanup of Garfield Ground Water Contamination site and provide for temporary relocation of residents affected thereby.
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly 79-0-0

S679 – Increases civil penalties for certain natural gas or hazardous liquid facility safety violations.
12/17/2018 Substituted for A-2614
12/17/2018 Passed in Assembly, sent to Governor 78-0-0


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Drop in benzene in air follows shut down of NY coal facility


New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today released DEC’s analysis of air monitoring data for benzene and air samples collected by community residents from the neighborhood around the former Tonawanda Coke Corporation.

The data show an immediate drop in benzene following the shutdown of the facility in October 2018. Overall, DEC’s assessment of the data found no chemical concentrations that would be of concern for short- and long-term exposures and no public health concern for either short- or long-term exposure.


“For too long, Tonawanda Coke has been a blight on this community, and its owners will be held accountable for any damage to this community and the environment, ” Seggos said.

In response to concerns raised by local residents, DEC assessed neighborhood air quality by analyzing monitoring data and samples. It reports that air quality distinctly improved after the shutdown of Tonawanda Coke and that benzene, a toxic air pollutant, dropped precipitously. 

DEC and the USEPA are developing a cleanup plan for the site where the DEC has operated two monitors near the site since 2007. One monitor, located on Grand Island Boulevard, is 1,500 feet northeast of the facility and near interstates 190 and 290 and other industrial facilities. The second monitor is located in a residential neighborhood on Brookside Terrace West, 8,000 feet northeast of the facility. 

Earlier this year, in response to concerns about operations at Tonawanda Coke, DEC supplemented the Grand Island Boulevard toxics monitor with real-time benzene monitoring. Although benzene levels at Grand Island Boulevard were higher than recent years for much of 2018, the agency says that the shutdown of Tonawanda Coke in October corresponded with an immediate drop in benzene at that location. In addition, samples taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the period leading up to the plant closure did not detect levels of significance. For additional information, visit the DEC website.

In addition, DEC provided air sampling equipment to community residents engaged with DEC since the Tonawanda Community Air Quality Study, which DEC launched in 2007 to evaluate air quality in Tonawanda and emissions from Tonawanda Coke. In 2009, the study documented high levels of benzene released from Tonawanda Coke’s operation, which can be an indicator of certain improper operations at the facility. As a result, DEC required the facility to make repairs and operational modifications to address the releases of this pollutant. The facility worked to reduce benzene concentrations after DEC’s study and the area measurements for benzene had been reduced by 89 percent prior to the shutdown of the facility.


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EPA proposes $18.2M cleanup of toxic Meadowlands site

The Universal Oil Products Superfund site in 2010 on Route 17 in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo: File photo)

Scott Fallon reports for the North Jersey Record:

Another major toxic site in the Meadowlands is slated to be cleaned up under a proposed $18.2 million plan, unveiled this week by federal officials, for a former East Rutherford factory.

The proposal for Universal Oil Products comes just two months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chose a $332 million plan to dredge mercury-laden sediment from nearby Berry’s Creek.

The plan targets Ackerman’s Creek, which is tainted with lead, PCBs and other contaminants from Universal Oil Products.

Workers would remove the top 2 feet of sediment laced with lead, PCBs and other contaminants from the waterway on the west side of Murray Hill Parkway. That would total 16,300 cubic yards — enough to fill almost 1,200 average-sized dump trucks.

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The excavated areas would then be filled with clean sand and gravel.

EPA officials are supporting the $18.2 million plan over a $21.6 million plan that would excavate the first 3 feet of soil from the property for a total of 19,600 cubic yards.

Honeywell acquired the property in 2002 and would likely be among the parties to pay for the cleanup.

Officials said removing all of the contaminated sediment would not reduce the risk substantially more than a proposal to scoop up the first 2 feet and cap the remaining contaminants. Many environmental groups have criticized this practice, derisively calling it “pave and wave” and saying only complete excavation can ensure that there is no threat to public health.

As with most of New Jersey’s worst toxic sites, the pollution at Universal Oil Products dates back decades to when ink was manufactured at the site, off Route 17 near Paterson Plank Road.

The factory handled chemical waste for decades, and pollution would routinely seep from on-site wastewater lagoons into soil, groundwater, marshlands, and creeks.


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The right shape is key to recycling in this NJ county

Sorry, yogurt. You no longer make the cut 

Michelle Brunetti reports for the Atlantic City Press: 


The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is getting pickier about which materials it will accept for recycling, in response to an ongoing crackdown by China on what types of materials it wants.
Now, only plastics #1 and #2 that have necks smaller than their bases will be accepted for recycling, said ACUA Communications Manager Sara Verillo.
“The explanation we have been given is, even though some plastics have the same number, they still may have a different chemical makeup,” said Verillo. “Bottles, jugs, and containers of a similar shape (smaller top, larger bottom) are most likely to be made of high-density polyethylene or colored HDPE, which is what manufacturers want the most.”
The authority also can no longer accept shredded paper, pizza boxes, wrapping paper or tissue paper, aerosol cans or paint containers.
China is the world’s largest importer of materials for recycling, taking 48 percent of the world’s plastic waste in 2015, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. For about two years it has been rejecting bales of materials considered contaminated by mixing of materials or food waste sticking to them.
The company that handles the processing and marketing of recyclables for ACUA, Republic Services, decided it was time to ask residents to stop recycling items China will consider contaminants, even if they are marked like other items, she said.
Plastic items that are still good for recycling include soda and water bottles, ketchup and salad dressing bottles, and detergent jugs, she said. Lids should be removed and thrown into the trash, and bottles rinsed.
“That covers a lot of the plastics we use,” Verillo said.
A smaller number of plastics — yogurt containers, for example — will not be accepted anymore, she said.

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Philadelphia prisons say ‘Lock it Up’ to food waste


The following news release was issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

PHILADELPHIA (December 11, 2018) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the City of Philadelphia Department of Prisons for its food recovery achievements that include composting 44,344 tons of wasted food in 2017, which saves the city approximately $28,000 in landfill fees.
“EPA is proud of the way the Philadelphia Prison System has developed an innovative program to reduce food waste,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Through EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, EPA partners with municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, and other entities to reduce the amount of food in landfills and help them save money on waste disposal.”

The city received special recognition for its achievements nationally under the data-driven category.  Along with the composting, the Prison System’s food recovery program provides inmates with hands-on job training in horticulture and urban gardening onsite at the Orchard Program located on property behind Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center on State Street.

Since 2016, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons has maintained a comprehensive vocational training program for participating inmates. Under the program, the Department of Prisons has partnered with Temple University in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to provide classroom instruction for participating inmates in composting and urban land care.

The city was among more than 1,000 governments, businesses and organizations nationwide that participated in the 2017 EPA Food Recovery Challenge. Nationwide, Food Recovery Challenge participants diverted nearly 648,000 tons of wasted food from entering landfills or incinerators in 2017, nearly 214,000 tons of which were donated to people and animal feed.

For more information on the Food Recovery Challenge, visit: http://www2.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food.



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NJ legislation would create a food-waste task force


(TRENTON) – Legislation creating a 12-member panel tasked with finding ways New Jersey can reach its goal to reduce food waste 50 percent by 2030 has been released by the Assembly Appropriation Committee.

Sponsored by Assembly Democrats Linda Carter, Daniel Benson, and Pedro Mejia, the bill (A4705) was among 14 comprehensive measures released by the Assembly Human Services Panel working together to put an end to hunger in the state.

“Forty percent of the food produced in the United States ends up uneaten and tossed into the garbage each year,” said Carter (D-Union). “As one in 10 residents in New Jersey faces food insecurity, more than 400 pounds of food per person is lost or wasted. It’s a shame and we must figure out actionable steps to prevent and reduce food waste going forward.”

Legislation was signed into law in 2017 establishing a food waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030. The law requires the DEP, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, to develop a plan with public input to accomplish this goal, yet the plan has not been developed.

This legislation takes the next step and would establish the New Jersey Food Waste Task Force within the Department of Human Services to be responsible for identifying and examining the factors that lead to food waste in the State, and identifying strategies, policies, and legislative and executive actions that may be used to:

     * prevent food waste;

     * increase food donations;

     * provide consumers with education on food storage;

     * lower unreasonably high cosmetic standards for fruit and vegetables;

     * cease or significantly reduce the rejection of marginally imperfect-looking food;

     * build Statewide systems to distribute surplus edible food to charities;

     * eliminate unnecessary State statutes or regulations that contribute to food waste; and

     * modify “best by” food labels consistent with uniform national standards, to inform consumers of the latest possible date food can be safely consumed.

The work undertaken by the task force would supplement and be consistent with existing efforts and commitments to reduce food waste, including food donation efforts, composting efforts, date labeling efforts, and effective inventory management practices, which have been, or are being, undertaken at the national level pursuant to a uniform, nationwide model.

 The task force would be required to submit a report no later than one year after organization to the Governor and the Legislature, providing its findings, and recommendations for legislative, executive, or other action as may be appropriate to reduce food waste in this State. The task force would expire upon submission of its report.

The bill will now go to the Assembly Speaker for further consideration.


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