Gov. Christie signs permit-extension bill for Sandy counties

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed into law A-3617. The bill extends certain government approvals
for land located in the Superstorm Sandy-impacted counties
until December 31, 2016 and, for many, to June 30, 2017.

The new law sets the nine Superstorm Sandy-impacted counties as
Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth,
Ocean, and Union.

Bill sponsors explained that:

“Once-approved permits are in danger of expiring or lapsing
because gaining a permit extension is difficult and costly and
developers do not have the resources to obtain extensions. The effects
of Superstorm Sandy exacerbated this problem as areas in this State
attempt to recover from the devastation caused by the storm.

“As permit
approvals lapse, lenders must re-appraise and thereafter substantially
lower real estate valuations established in conjunction with approved
projects, thereby requiring the reclassification of numerous loans.
This in turn affects the stability of the banking system and reduces the
funds available for future lending, thus creating more severe
restrictions on credit and leading to a vicious cycle of default.

“Accordingly, this bill would extend permits which have been
granted by State, regional, county, and municipal agencies for an
additional one year in the Superstorm Sandy-“impacted counties in
order to prevent a waste of public and private resources.

The New Jersey Sierra Club had urged legislators to vote no, asserting that the measure would result in new construction in high-risk flood areas of the coast. The legislature disagreed and approved the measure on a 78-0 vote in the Assembly and 39-0 in the Senate.

Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates

See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column — >>

Gov. Christie signs permit-extension bill for Sandy counties Read More »

Another delay in setting PFOA safe-health levels in NJ

Just the latest in a series of delays on urgent matters of public health, environmental advocates say

Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight:

water fountain

With rising fears about the presence of toxins in drinking water, local advocates say the scientific panel that is charged with recommending safety standards for New Jersey’s drinking water may be dragging its feet.
The Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) put off recommending a safe limit for the presence of a particular toxic chemical in drinking water on Thursday, saying it needed more time to evaluate its health effects. The chemical, PFOA — perfluorooctanic acid –once used in nonstick cookware, carpets, and clothing, and which is now present in some public water systems, has been the subject of a year-long investigation by the DWQI.
The institute, a scientific panel that advises the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), was expected to release its findings this week. Instead, it met in closed session and said it would recommend a safe level of PFOA on its website in August.
After a 30-day public comment period, the panel will send its recommendation for a Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) to DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. By setting a MCL for PFOA, the state could step up its control of the chemical through regulation.
The chemical, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls a likely carcinogen, has been found in 12 New Jersey water systems at or above a “guidance” level set by the DEP in 2009.
Advocates questioned why the group had to meet in private and complained about another delay. Dr. Keith Cooper, a Rutgers University toxicologist who chairs the DWQI, said during the public portion of the meeting that it was necessary to also hold a closed session to evaluate the findings of three subcommittees (on health effects, detection, and treatment), and so that members could speak freely.
The panel has met in closed session before, Cooper said. “In reality, we can go into closed session any time we want.”
He said the investigation of PFOA has been delayed because of the difficulty of coordinating the schedules of its members — who include academics, water company executives, and state officials, and are all volunteers.
Environmental advocates often accuse the DWQI of moving slowly on urgent matters of public health, and note that it did not meet for almost four years between 2010 and 2014 because of what they say was a “shutdown” by the Christie administration.
Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said the public has been waiting for the DWQI to make its recommendation on PFOA for a year, and that officials who run public water systems are anxiously awaiting state action on the issue.
Like
this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates
See
popular posts from the last 30 days in right column — >>


Another delay in setting PFOA safe-health levels in NJ Read More »

Another delay in setting PFOA safe-health levels in NJ

Just the latest in a series of delays on urgent matters of public health, environmental advocates say

Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight:

water fountain

With rising fears about the presence of toxins in drinking water, local advocates say the scientific panel that is charged with recommending safety standards for New Jersey’s drinking water may be dragging its feet.
The Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) put off recommending a safe limit for the presence of a particular toxic chemical in drinking water on Thursday, saying it needed more time to evaluate its health effects. The chemical, PFOA — perfluorooctanic acid –once used in nonstick cookware, carpets, and clothing, and which is now present in some public water systems, has been the subject of a year-long investigation by the DWQI.
The institute, a scientific panel that advises the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), was expected to release its findings this week. Instead, it met in closed session and said it would recommend a safe level of PFOA on its website in August.
After a 30-day public comment period, the panel will send its recommendation for a Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) to DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. By setting a MCL for PFOA, the state could step up its control of the chemical through regulation.
The chemical, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls a likely carcinogen, has been found in 12 New Jersey water systems at or above a “guidance” level set by the DEP in 2009.
Advocates questioned why the group had to meet in private and complained about another delay. Dr. Keith Cooper, a Rutgers University toxicologist who chairs the DWQI, said during the public portion of the meeting that it was necessary to also hold a closed session to evaluate the findings of three subcommittees (on health effects, detection, and treatment), and so that members could speak freely.
The panel has met in closed session before, Cooper said. “In reality, we can go into closed session any time we want.”
He said the investigation of PFOA has been delayed because of the difficulty of coordinating the schedules of its members — who include academics, water company executives, and state officials, and are all volunteers.
Environmental advocates often accuse the DWQI of moving slowly on urgent matters of public health, and note that it did not meet for almost four years between 2010 and 2014 because of what they say was a “shutdown” by the Christie administration.
Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said the public has been waiting for the DWQI to make its recommendation on PFOA for a year, and that officials who run public water systems are anxiously awaiting state action on the issue.

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



Another delay in setting PFOA safe-health levels in NJ Read More »

Groups press NY Gov. Cuomo on offshore wind energy

(Ad Meskens photo/Wikimedia Commons)


A coalition of environmental,
business and labor organizations on Wednesday reminded Gov. Andrew Cuomo of a
massive, untapped source of clean, renewable energy lies just off New York’s
shores. 

Adrienne Esposito, director of Citizens Campaign
for the Environment, wants the governor to know there’s a great opportunity
coming up for the state to start a new chapter in its drive for a clean energy
future.

“81,000 acres of bottomland off of the south
shore of Long Island is going up for lease,” she states. “And we want to
get, for the first time, offshore wind power for New York.”

More than 60 groups delivered a letter to the governor calling for a large scale, long-term commitment to
wind power.

Recently, the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority announced its intent to pursue an offshore lease for
wind-power development. 

But Esposito says the governor needs to provide
the leadership.

“We need the governor to stand up and say,
‘I want offshore wind. I’m going to support it. I want to move the process
forward. Let’s get it done,’ ” she states.

New York has pledged to generate 50 percent of
its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.

Esposito maintains offshore wind could play an
important part in meeting that goal.

“We’re not going to achieve that rooftop by
rooftop,” she says. “We will achieve this big, ambitious goal by implementing
some big, ambitious projects. Offshore wind is one of them.”

The federal Bureau of Ocean Management held a
public hearing in New York City on Wednesday evening on the up-coming
lease auction for the New York Wind Energy Area.


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


Groups press NY Gov. Cuomo on offshore wind energy Read More »

Sniffing out what’s befouling the Navesink River

Navesink River pollution meeting Tuesday in Rumson, NJ (EnviroPolitics photo) 



















    If there was any doubt about the determination of environmental groups, the
New Jersey DEP, local officials, and residents to reverse the trend of declining
water quality in the Navesink River they were dispelled last night by the large
crowd of people who sat patiently for hours in a humid hall in Rumson, listening
to presentations about the problem and possible solutions.
John T. Ward covered the event for Red Bank Green and reports:

An alarming rise in bacterial pollution levels of the Navesink River drew more than 100 people to the historic Bingham Hall in Rumson on a humid summer night Tuesday.
Among many questions to be addressed were what’s causing a rise in fecal coliform levels, and how can it be stopped?
“We all know what the smoking gun is: stormwater runoff,” Christopher Obropta, a specialist in water resources with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
The event, organized by Clean Ocean Action, came 18 months after the the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection suspended shellfish harvesting in 566 acres of the Navesink because of unacceptably high levels of fecal coliform, bacteria that occur in the intestines of warmblooded animals. This February, the DEP finalized the downgrade.
Marina on the Navesink River in Rumson, NJ (EnviroPolitics)

Cindy Zipf, Clean Ocean Action’s founder and executive director, told the audience that the purpose of the event was to rally not only government agencies but environmental organizations and individuals to attack the problem.

“We’re going to lose that final direct-harvest clam bed [in the New York region] if we don’t do something,” she said. Invoking the ocean-dumping of raw sewage that gave rise to the Sandy Hook-based nonprofit in 1984, she said, “nobody thought we could bring back the ocean, but we did.”
Clean Ocean Action attorney Zach Lees unveiled the findings of a yearlong study he authored that takes a comprehensive historical and scientific view of the Navesink.
Among its findings: the waterway is “safe for boating,” according to the DEP, but doesn’t meet swimmable water quality standards.
“We’re still getting fecal counts over what we consider safe for swimming,” Lees said. Zipf called the safe-boating designation “a pretty low bar.”
Here’s the full report: COA Navesink Pathogens 062816
The event featured presentations by a handful of experts, including Bob Schuster, of the DEP’s bureau of marine water monitoring, who described changes in agency’s nonpoint source tracking program aimed at expediting the delivery of data about pollution levels to municipal officials, with the aim of attacking bacterial incursions at their sources.

Read the full story here

Related news story: Navesink River’s water quality under review

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

Sniffing out what’s befouling the Navesink River Read More »

Bottled-up projects may get open space funding soon in NJ

Deal could end ongoing argument between lawmakers and Christie that has stalled projects to preserve farmland, historic structures, undeveloped land

Tom Johnson reports today in NJ Spotlight:

 A last-minute compromise yesterday resolved an impasse on how to spend up to $146 million for open-space preservation, with the Legislature approving a slightly modified version of a bill initially conditionally vetoed by the governor.
The agreement reached late in the afternoon of a marathon legislative session averts prolonging a dispute between the governor’s office and lawmakers that had held up projects to protect farmland, historic structures, and undeveloped land — as well as to enhance existing parks.
The legislation (S-2456) won approval in both houses without debate, in contrast to the acrimony the issue had previously raised. It now heads to the governor’s desk where Christie has signaled his willingness to go along with the compromise, a step that also avoids a possible override vote by the Legislature.
The new bill provides a framework for how money taken from the state’s corporate business taxes will be used to fund a range of conservation projects, including buyouts of flood-prone properties in the state. That issue was a concern mentioned by Gov. Chris Christie, lawmakers, and some environmentalists.
By ending the months-long stalemate, towns, counties, and nonprofit groups will obtain the funding for preservation projects for the first time since voters approved a constitutional amendment in a statewide ballot question in 2014.

Like this? Use form in upper right to receive free updates

See popular posts from the last 30 days in right column — >>

For proponents of the issue, the bill marks a victory, since it would not use proceeds from the corporate business taxes to pay for salaries and maintenance at state parks, as was done in the current fiscal year, which ends Thursday. Christie had proposed diverting nearly $20 million in open-space funds again in his budget submitted to the Legislature earlier this year.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature has proposed its own diversion to pay for park salaries and maintenance, siphoning off $20 million from the Clean Energy Fund. That tactic was tried, too, last June, but the money was line-item vetoed by the governor.
In a statement issued after the vote, Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the sponsor of both preservation bills, said the compromise will implement the intended goals of the amendment voters approved in 2014.
“It will also ensure that open-space funds are not used for administrative costs like salaries, and will dedicate 4 percent to the Blue Acres program,’’ Smith said. The 4 percent allocation amounts to roughly $2.6 million.
Ed Potosnak, chairman of the New Jersey Keep It Green coalition, representing more than 100 conservation, park, and recreational organizations backing the bill, lauded the compromise.
“It really upholds the will of the voters,’’ he said. “It will pay for preservation programs.’’
With the continuing impasse over how to spend the money, many of those preservation programs have run out of funds to preserve agricultural land and historic buildings, according to proponents of the bill.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said it is a positive that money from the constitutional amendment will be freed up to be spent, but the compromise leaves many issues still to be worked out. They include possible plans to privatize some operations at the state Department of Environmental Protection and the agency’s long-term funding needs.
Related: Christie cuts last-minute open space deal to avoid first veto override 

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


Bottled-up projects may get open space funding soon in NJ Read More »