How much did you say it will cost to fix NJ’s leaking pipes?


Jersey Water Works, a collaborative with some 350 members, wants to make water systems and their problems highly visible, even though they’re typically underground

Jon Hurdle reports for NJ Spotlight:

water pipe break

If New Jersey’s aging network of water pipes and sewers wasn’t buried underground, it might be easier to convince the public that it is in such bad shape it needs repairs and renovations that would cost tens of billions of dollars.
But since it is out of sight and mostly out of mind, advocates for a massive upgrade to the system have been frustrated in their efforts to convince people that sound water infrastructure is essential for the economy, the environment, and public health.
That’s why Jersey Water Works, a multi-interest collaborative representing about 350 organizations, is stepping up its efforts to educate the public on the urgent need for an overhaul to the system and to build political will for the big-ticket spending that will be required.


The $25 billion fix

The organization says leaking pipes lose 130 million gallons of treated water a day, and dump 7 billion gallons of raw sewage into waterways every year. The price tag for fixing the system would be some $25 billion over 20 years, the group says.
In a report released at its annual meeting on Friday, the organization called for a bigger effort to raise public awareness of the importance of taking care of water infrastructure. It said elected officials can be effective spokespeople for the cause, and should help to convince the public that the cost of deferring maintenance will be higher the longer repairs are deferred.


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Park protectors tell NJ Gov. Christie: Keep your hands off


Neither confirming nor denying that plans are afoot to to turn the popular southern end of Liberty State Park into a marina, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has assured park advocates that any development plan would be transparent and involve public hearings.


But Sam Pesin, who is convinced that Chris Christie will try to jam through the change during the last two months of his final term as governor, rallied 250 members of his Friends of Liberty State Park and others on Saturday to protest any such attempt.

Joan Verdon and Scott Fallon report on the event for The Record here and the video above. 


Related news story:

Liberty State Park group holds protest of state marina plan: ‘The people own this park!’ (Corey W. McDonald/Jersey Journal)

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Should NJ’s environment be constitutionally protected?


Ryan Hutchins reports for Politico:

Several lawmakers in New Jersey want voters to add the right to clean air and water to the state Constitution, a move that supporters admit would create legal uncertainty for both government and industry.

Assemblyman Tim Eustace and two other Democratic colleagues said Thursday that they planned to introduce the proposed ballot measure. It was unclear if they had any support from Democratic leadership in their house, but they said they’d begun to push the proposal with fellow lawmakers.


We’re talking about an environmental bill of rights. We’re talking about a bill that would guarantee every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment here in New Jersey,” Eustace said during a press conference at the statehouse. “Sounds like something that’s absolute common sense and something we’d all want to fight for.”

If the measure were to appear on the ballot and win approval from voters, New Jersey would be just the third state to provide a constitutional guarantee against pollution, after Pennsylvania and Montana.

While the measure itself lacks any sort of enforcement mechanism and does not require any action by the government, supporters say the changes would give environmental protection agencies a legal framework to go after polluters and also allow the public to hold government accountable.

A constitutional amendment would also force governments across the state to think about the environmental impact of their actions, supporters say, and would slowly build into a body of case law.


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Striped bass poachers beware, the Coast Guard’s on patrol

U.S. Coast Guard image.

U.S. Coast Guard image.
Justin Auciello reports for WHYY’s Down the Shore blog:

The U.S. Coast Guard is ready to issue fines to anglers who
catch striped bass outside of the allowable boundary, officials
say.
Striped bass are federally protected within the “Exclusive
Economic Zone,” which begins three miles offshore. The
prohibition allows striped bass “to grow and prevent overfishing”
said Lt. Matthew Kahley, an officer who deals with fisheries
enforcement at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in
Philadelphia.
The fine is $500 per fish, and anglers caught with more than
five fish could face even larger fines, according to NOAA
spokesperson Kate Brogan. NOAA assists the Coast Guard
with enforcing the regulation.
In the release, the Coast Guard acknowledges that the
excitement and passion that comes with striped bass fishing
sometimes results in anglers losing track of their location.
To prevent straying into the Exclusive Economic Zone, the
agency recommends that captains use electronic charts and
marine band radio.
“Protecting marine resources has long been a Coast Guard
mission, and we have Coast Guard members out actively
patrolling and enforcing these rules,” said Kahley. “If we find
someone who is fishing for Striped Bass in the prohibited
area, they should expect to receive a violation.”

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Why some are looking for jobs in the Pa. coal industry


Reid Frazier reports for StateImpact:

At a gymnasium in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Trenton Phillips is looking for a job as a coal miner.
Phillips already works at a company that fixes belt lines at coal mines. He’s at a job fair in Greene County today. He passes booths for health care and trucking jobs. He stops only at a booth for a coal mine contractor. He wants to become a mine foreman or supervisor.
“I’m currently looking for something where I can advance. Maybe one day be somewhere higher up, not have to break my back and use my head a little more,” says Phillips.
Phillips, 24, got a job at a union coal mine after graduating high school six years ago, during better times for the coal industry. With overtime, he says he made up to $90,000 a year.
“It was pretty much boomin’ when I was coming right out of high school so that seemed like the thing to do,” said Phillips.
The mine closed in 2015. So Phillips drove a truck in the oil and gas industry for a year. But the hours were unpredictable. So, when a job opened up at the belt repair company, he grabbed it.
He says he’s not afraid of another coal industry slump, now that President Trump is in the White House. Trump has begun rolling back regulations on coal mine waste and its carbon pollution. Trump has promised to revive the coal industry, and coal miners are taking this promise to heart, sticking with an industry that has been walloped in recent years.
“Now everything seems to be going back up and it’s going in the right direction,” he said.
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