Judge in Pa. halts Mariner East 2 pipeline construction

Mariner East 2 pipeline construction in Aston, Delaware County. Construction includes underground drilling along parts of the route. In Chester County, Sunoco's crews punctured an aquifer, leading to some residents having to drink bottled water and shower at hotels.

EMILY COHEN / STATEIMPACT PA
Mariner East 2 pipeline construction in Aston, Delaware County. Construction includes underground drilling along parts of the route. The PUC halted construction of the line in West Goshen Township after finding Sunoco misled township officials on where it was planning to build a valve station.
Jon Hurdle reports for StateImpact:
A judge ordered Sunoco Pipeline to stop work on installing a valve along the Mariner East 2 pipeline route in Chester County’s West Goshen Township, the first time a court has blocked any part of the controversial cross-state project.
Administrative law judge Elizabeth Barnes of the Public Utility Commission late Monday granted an interim emergency order sought by the township to halt construction of the valve and equipment associated with it until a full hearing of the PUC can determine the matter.
The judge ordered Sunoco to “cease and desist all current construction” including that of the valve and its “appurtenant facilities.” She also instructed the company to stop horizontal directional drilling on a private property that the township says is not covered by a 2015 settlement agreement on where a valve may be built.
The ruling is a response to a complaint filed by the township with the PUC in February, alleging that Sunoco violated the agreement, misled the township on where it planned to build a valve station, and exposed residents to “clear and present danger” if there was a leak, the township said then.
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Questions raised about Trump FBI nominee Wray’s retainer as Gov. Chris Christie’s Bridgegate attorney

President Donald Trump
Trump’s pick to run the FBI, NJ criminal attorney Christopher Wray



Wray’s Bridgegate client, NJ Gov. Chris Christie


Matt Katz reports for WNYC News:

President Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Christopher Wray, represented New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as his personal, publicly-funded Bridgegate attorney for 11 months before signing a mandatory retainer agreement, according to new documents provided to WNYC through a public records request.
Wray began working for Christie as his personal, publicly-funded attorney, according to bills submitted to the state, in September 2014. But it wasn’t until August 2015, 11 months later, that Wray and Christie formally agreed to the arrangement.
Several lawyers who work with the government said the extended delay was extraordinarily unusual, possibly unethical, and could indicate that Christie, who was preparing to run for president at the time, was keeping it hidden from the public that he had a taxpayer-funded criminal attorney.
Indeed it wasn’t until the summer of 2016 that it was revealed that Wray was holding onto a piece of potential evidence — one of Christie’s cell phones that his former aides, charged in the Bridgegate affair, unsuccessfully sought to subpoena.
Wray and his colleagues would ultimately bill taxpayers more than $2 million in fees and expenses, including meals, hotel rooms, cab fare and flights. They continued working — and being paid — even after the Bridgegate trial ended and those convicted were sentenced to prison. It is unclear what work was done, since the governor was neither charged nor called to testify.
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Philly-area congressmen link military funds-water studies

Former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove and present day Horsham Air Guard Station (AP photo) 

Danielle Fox reports for newsworks:

Three area congressmen successfully added amendments concerning drinking water contamination to a must-pass military spending bill.  The larger bill will get a vote later in the year. 
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Philadelphia Democrat, Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican representing Bucks and part of Montgomery County, and Pat Meehan, a Republican representing parts of five counties west of Philadelphia, each announced an amendment to the House’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with the goal of changing military action on water contamination from firefighting foam.
For decades, the military used firefighting foams with perfluorinated compounds PFOS and PFOA on bases across the country. In the past several years, concern has spiked over whether the chemicals are toxic, potentially endangering local communities whose water supply may have been tainted. According to the Bucks County Courier Times, since 2014, chemical contamination from military bases has closed 16
water wells and over 200 private wells, serving 70,000 people, in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
While the military has investigated drinking water contamination, offering to pay for replacement water or filtration systems, many affected residents say they could do more. After futile attempts of calling on the military to fund a health study, the trio of area congressmen strategically folded amendments for health screenings and a study into an annual spending bill. The research could flag the health effects from exposure to the compounds, paving the way for future studies.
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NJ commits to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030

Keeping food waste out of dumps and landfills can help reduce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming

food waste

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:


Within the next 13 years, the state aims to reduce the amount of food waste in New Jersey by 50 percent.
Gov. Chris Christie signed the legislation (S-3027) on Friday without comment, one of dozens of bills he enacted into law.
Drawing little attention as it sailed through both houses of the Legislature unanimously, the bill is designed to address a well-recognized problem across America as evidenced by 160 billion pounds of food waste each year.
The law, part of a package of bills dealing with the issue still awaiting final approval, gives the state Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, one year to develop and begin implementing a plan to accomplish the goal.
As much as 40 percent of the food that is grown, processed, and transported is never eaten, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. About 42 million Americans live in food-insecure households, according to federal agricultural officials.
“Wasting food does not make economic or environmental sense,’’ said Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. “As a state, we need to reduce food waste.’’
Food waste constitutes one of the largest sources of municipal waste that winds up in a landfill, where it can ultimately emit methane, one of the more potent greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.
“Fifty percent is an ambitious goal, but one we can reach,’’ said Guy Watson, president of the New Jersey Association of Recyclers on the governor signing the bill.
“New Jersey has long been a leader in recycling,’’ Watson said. “This is our chance to turn what now is worthless garbage into valuable energy, agricultural, and landscaping products.’’

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Wolf signs longwall mining bill, angering environmentalists

A group of coal miners listen to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt during his visit to Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pa., Thursday, April 13, 2017.

AP PHOTO/GENE J. PUSKAR
A group of coal miners listen to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt during his visit to Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company’s Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pa., Thursday, April 13, 2017. Gov. Wolf refused to veto a bill that would make it easier for Consol to develop a coal mine beneath a Greene County state park. Supporters say it will create jobs.
Jon Hurdle reports for StateImpact:

Gov. Tom Wolf declined on Friday to veto a bill that makes it easier to develop a long-wall coal mine beneath a state park in Greene County, allowing it to become law despite pressure from environmentalists who say it will damage streams.
Senate Bill 624 allows the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for the expansion of the Consol Energy mine at Ryerson State Park on the assumption that the mining would not cause permanent damage to waterways that flow above the coal face.
The bill’s sponsors, led by Republican Senator Joe Scarnati, argue that the law will facilitate mine development and create jobs while requiring the operator, or other mine owners, to restore any stream to its original condition after it is blocked or diverted during the mine work.
Wolf said in a statement that the new law would not weaken environmental protections.
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Body of missing NJ hiker found in NH’s White Mountains

Gregory Auriemma, an environmentalist from Ocean County, NJ was missing for weeks in the White Mountains .
         



























Frank Kummer reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer:

New Hampshire authorities said Friday that they were working to retrieve the body of Gregory Auriemma, chair of the Ocean County chapter of the Sierra Club, from a rugged, remote area of the White Mountains.


A friend of Auriemma’s disclosed that the avid hiker, 63, had been dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and set out on a trip in June into the wilderness to celebrate after getting some good news about his illness.


Auriemma’s body was found Thursday in woods off a trail in the White Mountains, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. But it took authorities more than a week to find him.


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Related news story
NJ Sierra Club statement


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