Coast Guard to ship owner: Yes, we got your bananas



The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Linda Loyd reports:

The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed a
$65,000 civil fine against a cargo ship that delivered fresh fruit to the Port
of Wilmington earlier this month. The Nassau, Bahamas-flagged Discovery Bay
reefer was cited for “nonfunctioning” oil pollution prevention
equipment, and other infractions, during a routine inspection by the Coast
Guard on Jan. 4.
The captain and 20 crew are being detained while the ship gets new
equipment, and the crew is retrained, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Dennis Miller,
chief of prevention for the Delaware River and Bay.

The fruit came from Valparaiso, Chile.

The Coast Guard said the crew did not know how to work the equipment; the ship
was not in compliance with “safety management regulations,” and ship
records had been falsified, Miller said.


The proposed fine is $65,000, however, a Coast Guard hearing officer will
determine the penalty, Miller said. The ship is expected to be ready to sail
next week, Miller said.






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NJ State Sen. O’Toole announces it’s his last rodeo

NJ State Senator Kevin O’Toole  (Star Ledger photo Tony Kurdzuk)

New Jersey Republican State Senator Kevin O’Toole, a staunch defender
of Gov. Chris Christie, announced today that he will not seek re-election when
his current two-year term ends.
Matt Rooney writes in The Save New Jersey Blog:

(O’Toole’s) 40th Legislative District encompasses portions of Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties
and includes the towns of Allendale, Cedar Grove, Franklin Lakes,
Ho-Ho-Kus, Little Falls, Midland Park, Pequannock, Pompton Lakes, Ridgewood,
Riverdale, Totowa, Waldwick, Wayne, Woodland Park, and Wyckoff.

As such, his district has been swept up in the in-fighting that’s
dominated both Bergen and Passaic in recent years; last
cycle, running mates Asm. David Russo, Asm. Scott Rumana fought
off a ballot-related
legal challenge from Republican
opponents. O’Toole endorsement was expected to play a role in the upcoming
Bergen Chairman’s contest.

An Irish-Korean American lawyer
with the firm of O’Toole Fernandez Weiner
Vanlieu LLC who was first elected to the Assembly in 1995 and served
5-terms there before moving up to his current post in 2007, Senator
O’Toole is also a long-time staunch Christie political ally who was the lead
candidate in a failed post-Election 2013 coup attempt to replace Tom
Kean, Jr. as the Republican leader in the State Senate.
The veteran Essex Republican lost his own
position in the leadership in the fallout.

For
now, there’s still two years left for the veteran legislator who, it seems,
will wrap up his career in politics to coincide with Christie’s own departure
from Trenton. “While I have decided not to seek another term in office, I
intend to complete the remainder of my term – which ends in January of 2018,”
O’Toole announced.”
 
Susan K. Livio writes in NJ.com:
O’Toole has served on two of the most
influential committees, Senate Budget and Appropriations and Judiciary, which
vets judges, prosecutors, cabinet members and justices serving
on the state Supreme Court. He said his proudest accomplishments include
sponsoring the 2 percent cap on property taxes, tougher penalties on child
predators and a ban on dual office-holding.
“When I first ran for office in 1989,
at age 24, I never dared dream that I would be fortunate enough to serve the
public for 29 years — when my term ends,” O’Toole said in his statement.
“As when I voluntarily left the Cedar
Grove Town Council after 7 years, the party chairmanship after 12 years, and
now 22 years in the Legislature, I believe it is time to create opportunities
for the next — younger — generation of dedicated public servants to have their
chance to make a difference,” he said. 






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Biggest threat to power grid, hackers? Nope, this guy

An eastern gray squirrel, perhaps plotting an attack on your local power plant.
(AP Photo/J. David Ake)


Andrea Peterson reports for The Washington Post:



Researchers say that hackers caused a December power outage in Ukraine — an attack that came after years of warnings about the digital security of the power grid.  But some say that we should be more worried about a different, furrier threat.
Squirrels.
They can strike at almost any moment — gnawing through the insulation guarding power lines or burrowing into substations in risky missions that can leave thousands without power at a time. The bushy-tailed rodent has even sparked economic mayhem: Back in 1987, a rogue squirrel took out the power to a NASDAQ computer center for nearly an hour and half, stopping an estimated 20 million shares from being traded, according to the New York Times.
The critters are such a big problem that the American Public Power Association even tracks the blackouts they cause with its own “Squirrel Index.”

But among some cybersecurity researchers, this furry menace has become a meme that highlights what they see as the alarmist tone of policy discussions around cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.






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NJ-based Covanta shutting two biomass plants in Maine

Morristown NJ-based Covanta Energy Corp. is closing two biomass waste-to-energy plants in Maine in March—a decision driven by plummeting energy prices.

WasteDIVE reports:

The Jonesboro and West Enfield plants, which burn wood to generate electricity, collectively produce 49 megawatts of power and employ 44 people, as reported in Waste360.

According to the Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine, the closings may necessitate cutting 2,500 logging industry jobs in that state. The association asked Maine Gov. Paul LePage to help strengthen the state’s biomass electricity production efforts.
Dive Insight:

As is the case with the commodities industry, renewed energy for utility is an area that has its ups and downs, based on markets and the economy — and the downward spiral is affecting other dependent stakeholders, in this case the logging industry.

“Unfortunately, this happens with some frequency in the biomass industry when energy prices are not sufficient to cover the costs of operation and fuel supply,” according to a Covanta statement. “We have experienced similar situations in the past and resumed operations when the economics improved. We will continue to evaluate the future of the facilities.”

In the meantime, Covanta appears to be forging ahead with its waste-to-energy focus in other regions; having just extended a contract with a WTE facility in York, PA until 2035, where $30 million is planned in upgrades.

But the closings in Maine will be a major setback for that state’s logging industry, which has made a long-time livelihood of selling woody biomass waste from logging operations to plants.



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Funding for Stockton U. satellite campus projects in A.C.

Two major Atlantic City projects received approval from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority today for incentives through the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant Program, Andrew George reports in NJBIZ
Island Campus Redevelopment Associates LLC, a joint venture between the New Brunswick Development Company and AC Devco, received approval for two separate ERG grants to redevelop several blocks in the southern end of the city that it hopes will eventually serve as a satellite campus for Stockton University.
The EDA voted to approve a $38.4 million ERG for the construction of a new, five-story dormitory building that will house approximately 500 students, and a separate 56,000-square-foot academic building located across the street. Roughly 7,000 square feet of retail space will also be included in this portion of the project.
The dormitory building will comprise 121 total units featuring single- and double-occupant bedrooms. Stockton plans on offering students a shuttle service to its main campus in Galloway.
In a related but separate vote, the EDA also moved to approve a $29.9 million ERG for the construction of a new 332,500-square-foot, seven-story parking garage that will ultimately serve Stockton students and faculty as well as employees of South Jersey Industries. The garage, which is slated to offer 886 total spaces, will also feature approximately 7,500 square feet of retail space on its ground floor.
Atlantic City also saw a major ERG award approved for South Inlet Partners Urban Renewal, the limited liability company formed by Boraie Development for its proposed mixed-use project in the city’s South Inlet neighborhood.
The EDA approved a $24.4 million ERG award for the construction of three new four-story buildings that will feature 250 residential units, 7,500 square feet of retail space, 85,000 square feet of parking and 10,000 square feet of common space.
The project will sit on what is currently eight acres of vacant land along Atlantic Avenue. Of the planned 250 residential units, 50 will be marked for affordable housing.
Other projects approved for incentives Tuesday include:
Company: Aralez Pharmaceuticals US Inc.
Location: West Windsor Township
Award: 10-year, $5.6 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $30.3 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 90 new full-time jobs.
Company: C2 Imaging LLC
Location: Jersey City
Award: 10-year, $11.5 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $11.6 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 110 new full-time jobs.
Company: Fabuwood Cabinetry Corp.
Location: Newark
Award: 10-year, $39.9 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $44.1 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 276 new full-time jobs, retain 336 full-time positions.
Company: FXDirect Dealer LLC
Location: Jersey City
Award: 10-year, $9 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $88.4 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 121 new full-time jobs.
Company: Linde North America Inc.
Location: Bridgewater
Award: 10-year, $11 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $131.1 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 150 new full-time jobs, retain 450 full-time jobs.
Company: NYK Line Inc.
Location: Secaucus
Award: 10-year, $2.8 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $33 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would retain 114 full-time jobs.
Company: Rainforest Distribution Corp.
Location: Bayonne
Award: 10-year, $2.4 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $1 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 40 new full-time jobs.
Company: Showman Fabricators Inc.
Location: Bayonne
Award: 10-year, $8.7 million Grow NJ
Benefit: $4 million to the state over 20 years
Notable: Would create 90 new full-time jobs





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NJ Governor weighing merits of paint recycling legislation


[Modified on January 14 to clarify program costs]

If Gov. Chris Christie signs S-1420 (Beach), a bill sent to him last night after final passage in the state Assembly, New Jerseyans will soon have a way to recycle used indoor or exterior paint (five gallons or less) under a program to be administered and promoted by paint manufacturers.

The legislation requires paint manufacturers to “develop and implement a plan for an architectural paint
stewardship program that is designed to minimize public sector
involvement in the management of post-consumer architectural paint
by reducing its generation, promoting its reuse and recycling, and
negotiating and executing agreements for its collection, transportation,
reuse, recycling, burning for energy recovery, and disposal using
environmentally sound management practices.” 

In establishing collection sites, the plans would “use of geographic
information modeling, such that at least 90 percent of State residents
have a permanent collection site within 15 miles of their residence,
that permanent collection sites be established for every 30,000
residents of a population center, and that collection sites be distributed
to provide convenient and equitable access for residents within each
population center.”

Program costs would be covered by a ‘paint stewardship assessment’ added by retailers or distributors to the cost of each can of paint covered by the program.


Similar programs are in effect in Canada, California and Oregon.



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