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)

Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates
See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column — >>


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

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.


Should NJ’s environment be constitutionally protected? Read More »

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.”

Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates
See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column —
>>


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

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.
Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates
See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column —
>>

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

New industry-led coalition fights nuclear subsidies to PSEG


Deriding ‘PSEG energy tax,’ group argues there’s no need for subsidies since company’s South Jersey nuclear plants are still profitable

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

artificial island

PSEG Power’s nuclear generating facility on Artificial Island
A new industry-led coalition is lining up to oppose efforts by the state’s largest energy company to ask ratepayers to subsidize its three nuclear power plants in South Jersey.
The New Jersey Coalition of Fair Energy said it would campaign to “Stop the PSEG Energy Tax,’’ a reference to a lobbying drive by the Public Service Enterprise Group to prop up its nuclear units with subsidies similar to those imposed on utility customers in New York and Illinois.
The announcement comes at a time when opponents worry PSEG will try to steer a yet-to-be-seen bill through the lame-duck session in the next five weeks — before a new Legislature and governor take office.


Ratepayer subsidies in place

With cheap natural gas driving power prices down, the nation’s nuclear and coal plants are facing economic challenges with more than a half-dozen closing prematurely in the past few years. New York and Illinois have approved ratepayer subsidies to prevent retirement of nuclear units in their states, while PSEG has threatened to close its units here if they turn unprofitable.
“We’re here to say that New Jersey residents can’t afford another tax increase that will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars on their electricity bills,’’ said Matt Fossen, a spokesman for the coalition. The coalition includes Calpine Corp., Dynergy, and NRG Energy of Princeton, as well as the Electric Power Supply Association, an industry trade group.
“PSEG has earned billions of dollars in revenue in recent years and the company is on record saying its plants will remain financially viable in the future,’’ Fossen added. “The PSEG energy tax is a ‘solution’ to a problem that does not exist.’’


Crucial to reliability

Ralph Izzo, PSEG’s CEO, president, and chairman, has acknowledged the plants are currently profitable, but warned, given industry trends, the units could turn unprofitable in the next few years. The company argues nuclear units are undervalued because they produce carbon-free electricity and provide needed fuel diversity for the energy sector, crucial to the reliability of the power grid.
The changes roiling the industry have prompted efforts to prop up both coal and nuclear at the federal level; the Trump administration has proposed giving financial incentives to those plants and at PJM Interconnection, the regional power-grid operator. Neither plan has been acted on yet.
New Jersey also is expected to rejoin a regional initiative to curb greenhouse gas emission from power plants, a step that could bolster the economics of PSEG’s nuclear units, the coalition noted. With the proposal by PJM, the policies, if adopted, could make the nuclear units more profitable, Fossen said.
“They should be given a chance to work,’’ he said. “There is no need for the Legislature to rush to pass a bill of such magnitude in a lame-duck session without a full and thoughtful examination of a subsidy and its implications on the cost of electricity and its impact on a fair, level, and competitive marketplace.’’

Read the full story


Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates
See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column —
>>

New industry-led coalition fights nuclear subsidies to PSEG Read More »

Verified by MonsterInsights