In surprise move, NJBPU holds off on two new rules

Agency decides not to move on regulations that would ease oversight of utility infrastructure investments, speed rate collection from customers

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:
 

mroz

Richard Mroz, president of the state Board of Public Utilities
A state agency yesterday unexpectedly held off advancing a pair of controversial new rules that ease scrutiny over how New Jersey utilities make infrastructure investments and collect rates from customers.
In an otherwise routine monthly meeting, the state Board of Public Utilities decided to withhold action that would have allowed the rules to be published in the “New Jersey Register,” an important step in adopting new regulations in a lengthy administrative process.
That the agency already was moving the rules forward came as a surprise to consumer advocates, who only learned of the proposals at the BPU’s last meeting in April. They fear the proposed changes will weaken consumer protections and agency oversight.
The proposals, backed by the trade association representing the state’s utilities and some companies, expedite investments in upgrades to power grids. They stem from a couple of broadly written straw proposals drafted by the BPU staff and only circulating for a few weeks.

From out of nowhere

“It came out of nowhere. It was on the fast train express,’’ said Steven Goldenberg, an energy lawyer who follows the BPU closely.
The regulations reflect various proposals floated in recent months to overhaul how utilities are regulated given the fundamental changes underway in the energy sector. They also respond to pressure from regulators to make their delivery systems more reliable and resilient to extreme storms.
Nevertheless, that the straw proposals emerged as draft regulations so quickly came as a shock to those who also follow the agency, not widely regarded as acting swiftly on any issue.
For instance, clean-energy advocates have waited more than six years for the BPU to adopt a financing mechanism to promote offshore wind. No such rule is pending.
“It’s extremely quick,’’ noted the director of the Division of Rate Counsel Stefanie Brand, who opposes the two rules. “I don’t think it’s needed. We are not sure what problem they are trying to solve.’’

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Shareholders order Exxon to open up on climate risks

The landmark investor vote defied Exxon’s management. It requires the oil giant to begin reporting climate-related risks to its business.

Exxon holds its shareholder meeting

Photo Credit: Karen Bleier/Getty Images
Marianne Lavelle reports for Inside Climate News:
ExxonMobil shareholders voted Wednesday to require the world’s largest oil and gas company to report on the impacts of climate change to its business—defying management, and marking a milestone in a 28-year effort by activist investors.
Sixty-two percent of shareholders voted for Exxon to begin producing an annual report that explains how the company will be affected by global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement. The analysis should address the financial risks the company faces as nations slash fossil fuel use in an effort to prevent worldwide temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Last year, 38 percent of Exxon shareholders supported essentially the same measure, which at the time was a record.
The vote at Exxon shows the rapid erosion of support for the company’s defiant stance on climate disclosure, and it caps a shareholder meeting season that saw unprecedented support for greater corporate disclosure on climate change. In recent weeks, shareholders voted in favor of climate risk analysis at two other major energy companies, Occidental Petroleum and PPL, Pennsylvania’s largest utility. Climate-related shareholder resolutions also garnered record support at other big U.S. utilities that rely on fossil fuels: Dominion Resources (47.8%), Duke Energy (46.4%) and DTE Energy (45%).
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NJ energy and environment bills in committee – Jun 1


SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
6/01/17 10:00 AM
Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
*Revised 5/30/17 – Public hearing on SCR-151 has been canceled and the
public hearing notice has been removed. 
S-3181 has been added for consideration.
Bills for consideration:

S-2306  Lesniak, R.J. (D-20)
Concerns regulation of solid waste, hazardous waste,
and recycling industries.
Related Bill: A-1352
      
S-3181  Smith, B. (D-17)
Permits solar electric power generation facility
projects not having commenced commercial operation to retain designation
through May 31, 2018 as connected to distribution system.
Related Bill: A-4756
     
S-3240  Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Authorizes NJ Environmental Infrastructure Trust to
expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for
FY2018.
      
S-3241  Smith, B. (D-17)
Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental
infrastructure projects for FY2018.
      
S-3242  Gordon, R.M. (D-38)
Clarifies procedures for approval of environmental and
transportation infrastructure projects.
     
SCR-151  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Amends Constitution to dedicate revenues from societal
benefits charge for various energy-related uses established by law.  Related Bill: ACR-235
      
SCR-153  Kyrillos, J.M. (R-13)
Approves FY 2018 Financial Plan of NJ Environmental
Infrastructure Trust.
   
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   
ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS
06/01/17  1:00 PM
Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
S-2834 (1R) is pending referral.
Bills for consideration:

A-4569  Eustace, T. (D-38); Diegnan, P.J. (D-18);
McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37); Benson, D.R. (D-14)
The “Water Quality Accountability Act”; imposes
certain testing, reporting, management, and infrastructure investment
requirements on water purveyors.
Related Bill: S-2834
    
A-4880  Prieto, V. (D-32); Jimenez, A.M. (D-32)
Amends law to limit DEP’s direct oversight of
remediation of portion of contaminated site under certain circumstances.
      
S-2834  Sweeney, S.M. (D-3); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14);
Bateman, C. (R-16)
The “Water Quality Accountability Act”;
imposes certain testing, reporting, management, and infrastructure investment
requirements on water purveyors.
Related Bill: A-4569

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Maurice River, NJ receiving $400K in EPA brownfield grants

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced:

Maurice River Township, NJ, was among 172 communities across the country selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today to receive funding for brownfield site revitalization to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies.

“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods. EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Maurice River Township will receive two brownfields grants totaling $400,000 as follows:

Cheli Sand and Gravel Site – $200,000

The $200,000 grant will be used to assess the Cheli Sand and Gravel site, a 13.65-acre abandoned sand and gravel mine/pit on Schooner Landing Road. The buildings that once stood on the property when the business was in operation have been demolished but the demolition debris remains on the site. In 2004, a site inspection raised many environmental concerns, including: underground storage tanks of unknown contents; a 5,000-gallon rail car that likely contained diesel fuel; evidence of illegal dumping of hazardous materials; and
pipe discharge from an on-site building to a wetland off-site.

Once cleaned up, the site may be offered to The Nature Conservancy to expand the 500-acre Manumuskin River Preserve. This project could further the community’s goal of preserving and protecting the sensitive natural resources within the preserve that surrounds the Cheli site.

Ackley Garage Site – $200,000

A $200,000 grant will be used to clean up the Ackley Garage site located on Route 47 within 900 feet of the Maurice River. The three-acre site operated as a gas station, automotive repair shop, general store, and residence until it was closed in the early 1990s. The funding will be used to remove and dispose contaminated soil, and remove contaminated debris, such as empty paint cans and car batteries. The funding will also be used to monitor groundwater contamination.


In addition, EPA grant funds will also be used to conduct community outreach, including distribution of updated fact sheets, development of a community involvement plan, and providing information materials at public meetings. In 2011, Maurice River Township received a $200,000 brownfield assessment grant that was used to assess the Ackley Garage site.

Assessment grants provide funding for a recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites, while cleanup grants provide funding for a recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. Maurice River Township has received $600,000 in past brownfields assessment and cleanup grants.

Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5% and more than 15%. and can increase property values within 1.24 miles of that site. A study analyzing data near 48 brownfield sites shows that an estimated $29 to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to those brownfields.

As of May 2017, more than 124,759 jobs and $24 billion of public and private funding has been leveraged across the country as a result of assessment grants and other EPA Brownfields grants. On average, $16.11 was leveraged for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 8.5 jobs leveraged per $100,000 of EPA brownfields funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.

About EPA’s brownfields program 


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PSEG retiring two largest coal-burning energy plants

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight

Shuttering the plants follows a national trend, as cleaner, cheaper natural gas supplants coal across the country

hudson county coal plant

Credit: PSEG
Hudson County coal-fired facility
The old power plant in Jersey City had not run the past seven months, but a couple of weeks ago in the middle of a mini-heat wave, the nearly half-century-old facility got called on one more time.
Not without some challenges, though: This time, the 625-megawatt Hudson unit was running on natural gas instead of the coal that routinely delivered electricity to 600,000 customers.
But tomorrow that era — for both coal and natural gas at that facility — ends once and for all, not only for the Hudson unit, but also for the Mercer coal-fired plant. Their owner, PSEG Power, is retiring the two biggest coal plants left in New Jersey.
It is a trend occurring around the nation, as low-priced natural gas crowds out the fuel that once provided the bulk of electricity, as well as most of the pollution — mercury and other airborne toxin and greenhouse-gas emissions that contributed to climate change.

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Exelon threatens to close Three Mile Island nuclear plant

Three Mile Island nuclear plant (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
Marc Levy reports for The Associated Press:
The owner of Three Mile Island, site of the United States’ worst commercial nuclear power accident, says it will shut down the plant in 2019 without a financial rescue from Pennsylvania. 
Exelon Corporation says the announcement comes after five years of losses on the power plant in Dauphin County and its recent failure in an auction to sell Three Mile Island’s power into the regional grid.  
The Chicago-based energy company wants the commonwealth to give nuclear power megawatts the kind of preferential treatment and premium payments that are given to renewable energies, such as wind and solar.  
Nuclear power plants have been hammered by the natural gas boom that has slashed electricity prices in competitive markets. 
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