Study: Older Pa. gas storage wells threaten methane leaks

An academic study raised questions about the safety of underground storage of gas from wells like this in Dimock, Pa.

SCOTT DETROW / STATEIMPACT PA
An academic study raises questions about the safety of underground storage of gas from wells like this one in Dimock, Pa.

Jon Hurdle reports for StateImpact:
 Pennsylvania has hundreds of underground natural gas storage sites that are vulnerable to methane leaks because they were built at least 60 years ago, and were probably never designed to store gas, according to a Harvard University study released on Tuesday.
The national study said Pennsylvania has 830 such sites that are in active use for gas storage, 370 of which are older wells that likely have design deficiencies such as only one casing.  One hundred twenty-three of them were built more than 100 years ago.
Older wells are increasingly vulnerable to leaks as has been happening in California’s Aliso Canyon. Beginning in late 2015 leaks there forced nearby residents to leave their homes, and resulted in the biggest accidental leak of greenhouse gases in U.S. history, according to the authors of the study. They said the older storage wells in Pennsylvania and other states are likely to have been built to similar standards as in California.
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NJ senate floor votes on environment bills tomorrow


The following bills are posted for votes in the New Jersey Senate tomorrow (May 25) 

A-4350  Eustace, T. (D-38); Diegnan, P.J. (D-18)
Precludes DEP from imposing certain certification
requirements on installers of individual subsurface sewage disposal systems.  Related Bill: S-2914
      
A-4583  Zwicker, A. (D-16); Conaway, H. (D-7); Land,
R.B. (D-1); Downey, J. (D-11)
Appropriates $2,988,859 from 2009 Historic Preservation
Fund and constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to provide capital
preservation grants for certain historic preservation projects.  Related Bill: S-2991
     
A-4701  Eustace, T. (D-38); Zwicker, A. (D-16);
Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37); Gusciora, R. (D-15); Kennedy, J.J. (D-22); Benson,
D.R. (D-14); Jasey, M.M. (D-27)
Requires State’s full participation in Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Related: S-3059
   
ACR-192  McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Spencer, L.G. (D-29);
Muoio, E.M. (D-15)
Determines that DEP’s proposal to amend septic system
density standards in Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act Rules is inconsistent
with legislative intent.
Related Bill: SCR-148
      
S-481  Oroho, S.V. (R-24); Cunningham, S.B. (D-31)
Revises definition of “landlord” to include
rooming and boarding house owners and operators with regard to ordinances
holding landlords to certain standards of responsibility.
     
S-771  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Requires large food waste generators to separate and
recycle food waste and amends definition of “Class I renewable
energy.”  Related Bill: A-2417
     
S-806  Weinberg, L. (D-37); Gordon, R.M. (D-38);
Eustace, T. (D-38)
Requires owner or operator of certain trains to have
discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain
hazardous materials by rail; requires NJ DOT to request bridge inspection
reports from US DOT.  Related Bill: A-2463
     
S-2360  Allen, D.B. (R-7); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14);
Bateman, C. (R-16); Smith, B. (D-17)
Requires Department of Agriculture to develop voluntary
guidelines to encourage school districts and institutions of higher education
to donate excess food; extends “Food Bank Good Samaritan Act”
protections to school districts.  Related Bill: A-3056
     
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
S-2914  Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Precludes DEP from imposing certain certification
requirements on installers of individual subsurface sewage disposal systems.  Related Bill: A-4350     
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Bill monitoring by BillTrak

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S-2991  Turner, S.K. (D-15); Kean, T.H. (R-21)
Appropriates $2,988,859 from 2009 Historic Preservation
Fund and constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to provide capital
preservation grants for certain historic preservation projects.  Related Bill: A-4583
     
S-3027  Smith, B. (D-17); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Establishes State food waste reduction goal of 50
percent by 2030.
Related Bill: A-4631
S-3059  Sweeney, S.M. (D-3); Smith, B. (D-17)
Requires State’s full participation in Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Related Bill: A-4701
S-3065  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Provides gross income tax credit for costs to purchase
and install smart thermostats.
Related Bill: A-4740
     
SCR-144  Sweeney, S.M. (D-3)
Commends Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation
Laboratory for contributions to ocean research, data collection, technology,
and forecasting.  Related Bill: ACR-231
SR-107  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Urges relevant federal and State authorities to
investigate actions taken by Argentinian state oil company to discharge
Superfund obligations through bankruptcy proceedings.  Related Bill: AR-219
SR-110  Smith, B. (D-17); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Urges BPU to adopt goal to equip 500,000 homes with
energy-saving smart thermostats by 2023.  Related Bill: AR-227
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Bill monitoring by BillTrak

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Hold on to your wallet, NJ, power prices are heading north

PSEG Power’s decision to retire two coal-burning plants contributes to steep increase, along with continuing problems of congestion on the grid


Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

natural gas power plant

After months of mostly good news about energy costs, the price consumers will pay to power their homes and businesses is shooting upward once again.  
Electricity prices spiked higher in an obscure auction this week that helps determine what customers pay on their monthly bills, a sign of the continuing volatility of the competitive energy marketplace.  
The auction, conducted by PJM Interconnection, the operator of the nation’s largest power grid, locks up power supplies the region will require in the future, but this year the prices for customers in New Jersey increased dramatically, a year after they fell sharply.  
PJM conducts the auction to ensure there is enough power to meet demand for the 65 million people it serves. In doing so, it purchases so-called capacity, reserve power to call on from electricity suppliers to provide to customers. PJM secures supplies three years in advance to ensure reliable capacity.
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Christie runs into yet another Trump son-in-law roadblock

Gov. Chris Christie (right) and Jared Kushner are supporting different candidates for U.S. Attorney for NJ (AP) 


 &  report for The Inquirer


Gov. Christie is pushing to have a former colleague and Bridgegate lawyer appointed as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, but he faces stiff headwinds from within the White House, where the governor has frequently clashed with President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to interviews with a dozen political and legal sources familiar with the maneuvering.

Christie enlisted the state’s Republican congressmen to send a letter to Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions endorsing Craig Carpenito, a former federal prosecutor who defended Christie in a citizen’s complaint accusing him of official misconduct in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scheme.

But Carpenito, who worked under Christie in the U.S. Attorney’s office, is running behind Geoffrey S. Berman, another ex-prosecutor who served on Trump’s transition team and has backing at the top levels of the White House. Berman’s allies, both inside and outside the Trump administration, have Kushner’s ear and support, said three sources with knowledge of the jockeying, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss the private wrangling involving two major political figures.



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Christie budget shifts climate money to brownfields


Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

Budget proposal shifts $6 million from Global Warming Solutions Fund to general budget to help restore

contaminated sites

The Christie administration is putting cleaning up contaminated brownfields ahead of trying to ease climate change in its current budget proposal. 

In language in the fiscal year 2018 budget, the administration is shifting $6 million in un-expended funds in the Global Warming Solutions Fund to the general budget to provide assistance to developers seeking to return contaminated sites to productive use.

Read the full story

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Hiring, promotion at Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary has hired

Claire Birney

Claire Birney, CFRE as its new director of development. She leads a three-person team working to attain the funding needed to restore the tidal Delaware River and Bay in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.


Birney has been a leader in nonprofit fundraising across the Delaware Valley for over 25 years. Most recently she was the director of philanthropy at The Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania chapter. Before that she was director of development at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Other employers have included the West Chester University Foundation, Stroud Water Research Center, Upland Country Day School, Delaware Symphony, and Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

Birney served for 12 years as a board member at the Brandywine Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She was the chapter’s 2007 Fund Raising Executive of the Year. Other board memberships have included the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls and Lehigh University’s College of Education Advisory Committee.

Birney received her B.A. in communications from West Chester University. Since 2002, she has maintained her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification.

When she is not working to protect nature, Birney likes to enjoy nature. She enjoys taking daily walks with her terriers, Rusty and Crickette, in West Grove, Pennsylvania where she lives. She also enjoys long hikes with her husband and friends, or walking the beach with her daughter.

Sandra Demberger 

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Sandra Demberger

has promoted Sandra Demberger to monitoring fellow following a year-long internship. In this role she will evaluate the health of valuable wetlands.

Demberger graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a minor in wildlife conservation. Part of her education included research on water pollution resulting from excess nitrogen, which runs off the land and into estuaries. She also interned with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Demberger lives in Wilmington, Delaware, where she spends a great deal of time hiking and traveling.

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