Ethics probe of overseas trip by Lance, other congressmen

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
Paul Milo reports for NJ.com:
Rep. Leonard Lance is one of 10 members of Congress who took a trip to the central Asian nation of Azerbaijan that is now the focus of an ethics probe, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The Post, citing a confidential report it obtained prepared by the Office of Congressional Ethics, said the May 2013 trip was secretly funded by state-owned SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic. Lance’s $1,885 airfare was paid by the company, according to the OCE report, which also funded expenses incurred and gifts received by other lawmakers during the conference in the city of Baku on the Caspian Sea.
The money for the 10 Congress members’ trips and several staffers, about $750,000, was channeled through two U.S.-based nonprofit organizations. In a filing, the corporations claimed they were actually funding the trips, the Post reported.
The trip came as Congress was considering sanctions against Iran, which has a partnership with SOCAR. Because of congressional rules barring foreign governments from attempting to influence foreign policy, the OCE report has been referred to the House Committee on Ethics for investigation of possible violations, the Post also reported.
Several of the Congress members mentioned in the report have denied any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman for Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, told the Associated Press that the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, one of the groups, told Poe’s office and the Ethics Committee before the trip that it was the sponsor of the event. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., reported a gift of two rugs received during the trip and later decided to return them.
Lance, a Hunterdon County Republican, also received a rug as well as earrings during the trip but also gave them back, his office told NorthJersey.com.
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Report: Fracking methane emissions up 20 percent in Pa.

Methane flaring. Photo credit: Sierra Club


Frank Kummer reports for Philly.com:

Emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are increasing at natural gas industry sites in Pennsylvania at a rate greater than gas production, alarming some environmental groups.

That news released this week was tempered somewhat Wednesday for environmentalists when the U.S. Senate voted to block a Trump administration attempt to roll back Obama-era methane rules on federal lands, none of which are in Pennsylvania, however.

PennFuture says new data being self-reported by the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania show a 20 percent increase in methane, which is a byproduct of flaring and venting that occur during natural gas production. The data are for the years 2014 and 2015, the latest available.

At the same time, gas production rose about 12 percent, according to the Energy Information Agency.

“Any time emissions are rising faster than production, it’s clear that voluntary efforts to cut emissions are not working,” Rob Altenburg, director of PennFuture’s Energy Center, said in a statement.

The methane emissions are reported under federal New Source Performance Standards by drillers and compressor station owners. Natural gas industry operators are required to capture methane.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing some aspects of its methane permitting.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Senate voted, 51-49, to block President Trump’s effort to do away with a 2016 rule that would seek to slow emissions from oil and gas drilling operations on Bureau of Land Management acreage, most if which is in the western U.S.

Under the rule, oil and gas companies would have to capture leaked gas and pay more for use of public land. The vote was a blow to the Trump administration and Republicans who tried for weeks to muster enough votes to support rolling back the methane rule.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Susan Collins of Maine all voted with Democrats.

“In a big win against fracking and pipelines, the Senate has stood up to the oil and gas industry by stopping Congress from overturning the methane emissions rule,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This was a crucial victory for climate change and the environment because methane is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.”


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Delaware taking a fresh look at offshore wind energy

Carney establishes working group to study development options
Delaware leaders plan to revisit the potential of offshore wind. The wind turbine shown here at the University of Delaware in Lewes near the Great Marsh is the only commercial-sized wind turbine in the First State. NICK ROTH PHOTO
Maddy Lauria and Chris Flood report for the Cape Gazette:
Delaware is revisiting the potential of offshore wind energy.
Gov. John Carney signed an executive order Aug. 28 establishing a 17-member working group to explore environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind turbines on the First State’s coast.
“We must look for ways to participate in the development of alternative energy sources,” said the governor, who also has been outspoken in his disapproval of offshore drilling for oil and gas.
The Offshore Wind Working Group will begin meeting this month, and is expected to deliver a report on its findings by Friday, Dec. 15. That report will outline strategies for the development of wind power and propose draft legislation.
University of Delaware professor Jeremy Firestone, who has been studying wind energy since 2003 and will serve as a member of the working group, said the group will examine the costs and environmental benefits, projections of what ratepayers can expect from wind energy, and legislation to support the alternate energy source.
“We’ve surveyed the public many times, and they’re supportive of offshore wind,” Firestone said. “They hunger for an energy transformation.”
It’s been nearly a decade since Delaware last considered using wind energy to power its grid. Firestone said Delaware imports its power, most of which comes from fossil fuel and nuclear sources.
Back in 2007, Bluewater Wind was one of three bidders seeking to provide wind-generated power to the First State through a Public Service Commission-approved power-purchase agreement with Delmarva Power. Delaware was poised to be the nation’s offshore wind pioneer, Firestone said.
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Archbishop to Trump: Don’t deport young ‘Dreamers’

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput – Cameron B. Pollack photo for Philly.com 

Jeff Gammage reports for Philly.com:


Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput spoke out Friday morning in support of a federal program that blocks the deportation of people who as children were illegally brought to this country — an initiative now on the presidential chopping block.

“It’s one thing to tighten the security of our borders and to deport violent criminals,” the archbishop said in a statement. “It’s a different and much uglier thing to punish young people who’ve grown up in the United States as their home.”

DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, allows certain people who entered the country as minors to gain a renewable, two-year deferment from deportation and to be eligible for work permits.

Commonly called “Dreamers” — for Dream Act legislation that has not passed — recipients may live, work and seek education in the U.S. They do not receive citizenship or legal status. Nearly 790,000 recipients who have largely grown up the U.S. have been able to contribute to their communities, pay taxes, hold jobs, and support families without fear of being deported.

“The White House has the power to end DACA. It has threatened to do so as early as today. This would be a drastic mistake,” Archbishop Chaput said. “It can only make our complicated immigration issues worse. It will poison our national debates and damage the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people who pose no threat to anyone.

“I ask the people of the Archdiocese to press their federal lawmakers to find a positive legislative replacement for DACA, and to prevent the deportation of these young people.”

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Big changes coming to the NJ State Legislature in 2018













Alyana Alfaro reports for the Observer on known departures from the New Jersey Legislature at the end of the year and the possible losses of several other key figures:

A sea change in New Jersey politics is coming next year, not only because Gov. Chris Christie will be leaving office, but because many prominent voices in the Legislature will be gone or are shuffling into other positions.

A string of departures announced this year in the Assembly and Senate and the death of state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) will take a toll on the body’s institutional knowledge. And, depending on the outcome of the November elections, even more legislative leaders and longtime hands could be headed for the exit. 


Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) likely will be ousted from the top job in the lower house by his fellow Democrats and replaced with Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), and there’s a chance Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) could lose re-election in his district to a Republican challenger backed by the powerful New Jersey Education Association.

In the Senate, Whelan was the go-to lawmaker on Atlantic City issues during a time when the resort has seen unprecedented financial troubles, five casino closures and a state takeover of its finances. State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) is retiring after a long career pressing liberal causes, including animal rights, criminal justice reform, same-sex marriage and environmental protections.
Three Republican senators with a long record of bipartisanship — state Sens. Diane Allen (R-Burlington), Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) and Kevin O’Toole (R-Essex) — are also out the door. O’Toole, who often teamed up with Christie as the point man cutting deals with Democrats, already resigned and took over as chairman of the Port Authority. Allen, a popular Republican with a track record of working with Democrats on women and children’s issues, is retiring after this term. Kyrillos, a well-connected GOP fundraiser who also partnered with Democrats on big projects, is moving on. Those three departures alone could make bipartisan deals harder to reach in the Senate.
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