New bill fails to quell NJ battle over Liberty State Park

"It’s a war over words," NJTV News correspondent David Cruz reports.

" A new bill intended to ensure that the state’s most-visited state park remains a state-controlled park is falling short, say critics. Last week, the governor signed a bill that gave oversight of future development of the Liberty State Park to the newly-formed Meadowlands Regional Commission, promising that language in a new bill would make sure that decisions on the park’s future development would remain with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

But, advocates for the park say the new bill doesn’t guarantee anything.

“This language still doesn’t even make clear that the DEP would have final say in approvals because it clearly says that the commission shall approve and implement plans,” said Sam Pesin, president of the Friends of Liberty State Park.
 
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Environmental bills in four NJ legislative committees

Eight bills with environmental impacts will be considered today in four committees of the New Jersey Legislature.


Here’s the lineup:
 
ASSEMBLY TRANSPORTATION AND INDEPENDENT AUTHORITIES
10:00 AM
Committee Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
 
A-1728  Eustace, T. (D-38)
Requires New Jersey Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority to provide natural gas refueling, propane refueling, and electric vehicle recharging stations at certain rest areas on New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic
    
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SENATE ECONOMIC GROWTH
10:30 AM
Committee Room 1, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ

A-3257  Cryan, J. (D-20); Andrzejczak, B. (D-1); Mazzeo, V. (D-2); Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Wilson, G.L. (D-5)
Expands type of use qualifying as low intensity recreational use on lands in Pinelands agricultural production areas.
Related Bill: S-2125
    
S-2125  Van Drew, J. (D-1); Lesniak, R.J. (D-20)
Expands type of use qualifying as low intensity recreational use on lands in Pinelands agricultural production areas.
Related Bill: A-3257
   
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SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT, WAGERING, TOURISM & HISTORIC PRESERVATION
1:00 PM
Committee Room 7, 2nd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
 
S-1736  Oroho, S.V. (R-24); Van Drew, J. (D-1)
Revises "Administrative Procedure Act" concerning conflicts between rules of different
State agencies.
Related Bill: A-1879
   
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ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
2:00 PM
Committee Room 15, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
 
A-3318  Schaer, G.S. (D-36); Webber, J. (R-26)
Expands definition of "acquisition," for purposes of county and municipal open space trust funds, to include demolition, removal of debris, and restoration of lands being acquired.
Related Bill: S-707
      
A-4079  Eustace, T. (D-38); Andrzejczak, B. (D-1)
Directs Department of Agriculture to publish on its website "New Jersey Gleaning Week" and "Farmers Against Hunger Day" page.
      
 A-4146  Andrzejczak, B. (D-1)
Authorizes DEP and NJ Marine Fisheries Council to regulate taking and management of striped bass; establishes interim taking restrictions.
Related Bill: S-2733
     
AJR-93  Eustace, T. (D-38); Andrzejczak, B. (D-1)
Designates last week of September as "New Jersey Gleaning Week."
 
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Hearing exposes turmoil in electronics recycling in NJ

Worn out televisions and computers constitute e-waste

Members of the New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee on Monday heard from a half dozen witnesses who testified on problems that have caused several municipal and county recycling programs to abandon the collection of worn- out televisions and computers.

John Purves, an attorney representing a group of South Jersey private recyclers who process electronic waste for TV and computer makers, said there were several reasons why the state’s
five-year-old Electronic Waste Recycling Act was no longer working as well as it did when it was launched.

He laid the primary blame on product manufacturers who, he said, are no longer paying recyclers adequate rates to keep the system viable.

Starting in 2013, manufacturers. who are obligated to pay for the recycling of the electronic products they sell in the state, began to pay less, Purves said. Within a year, they also were collecting less and material began to pile up.

“Now we have a situation in New Jersey where the facilities have notified county and municipal governments that they can no longer take back the material in the manner that the law intended–free and convenient,” he said.  “It was the intent of the law that the cost of the recycling would be borne by the manufacturers.”

                

Purves’s contentions were supported in letters and testimony from members of the NJ Association of Counties, the Association of New Jersey Recyclers and the Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators.

Monica Gismondi told the committee that Gloucester County had been providing free e-waste recycling for years via municipal drop-off sites and at the county landfill. In 2014, the recycler who took the county and municipal material began collecting a fee of more than $12,000 for the service.

Monica Gismondi of Gloucester County testifies on e-waste

Atlantic County dropped its program when the fees kicked in and left neighbors to fend for themselves, she said. “Counties are all now scraping to find the money to continue their programs.”

Gismondi laid some of the blame at the feet of the state Department of Environmental Protection which, she said, established quotas for each manufacturer which were too low.

In September of 2013, the manufacturers said ‘we’ve reached our quota’ and I’m not collecting any more until January 1,” she testified. This resulted in the stockpiling of electronic waste. The same thing happened in 2014, she said.

Walter Alcorn of the Consumer Electronics Association, representing a number of manufacturers, including NJ-based Panasonic, Samsung and Sharp, said several of his manufacturers spend $10 million a year in New Jersey alone supporting electronics recycling. He noted that the problem of payments had been complicated by the collapse of the recycling market for leaded, television Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT’s) in 2013. Alcorn said that there basically is no market for CRT’s so recyclers now must pay to handle them.

David Thomson of Panasonic said that DEP had raised the quota for manufacturers to meet this year and recommended that no legislative change be enacted until the result of that adjustment is know.

While no legislation has been introduced to address the problem, Senator Smith is believed to be contemplating a bill.

This was his response at the close of the hearing when we asked for his assessment.
                   
                  


Disclosure: Our sister company, Brill Public Affairs, provides legislative advice to the 
Association of New Jersey Recyclers.
 
Related environmental news stories:
South Jersey flooded with growing piles of electronic waste – Press of Atlantic City
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 01:39:58 GMT
South Jersey flooded with growing piles of electronic wastePress of Atlantic CityCape May County’s decision to stop e-waste recycling has left municipalities wondering what to do. Some currently pick up the waste from residents and hold it until the …Read more 

New York’s Electronic Waste Ban Begins In 2015 – WAMC
Fri, 02 Jan 2015 17:45:02 GMT

WAMCNew York’s Electronic Waste Ban Begins In 2015WAMCAccording to the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse, 24 states so far have passed some sort of e-waste legislation, including Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Unde …Read more 

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Christie re-files, files council, commission nominations

New Jersey governor Chris Christie attends a statewide prayer service at The New Hope Baptist Church on the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in Newark, New Jersey on October 29, 2013. Superstorm Sandy left more then 100 people dead and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. AFP PHOTO/POOL/Eric Thayer According to PolitickerNJ:

Governor Chris Christie re-filed the following nominations with the State Senate. These nominations were filed during the 2014 annual session, but the State Senate did not act on them, according to the Governor’s Office. Christie also filed direct appointments with the Secretary of State’s Office.

We are listing the nominations of most interest to EnviroPolitics readers.  
RE-FILED NOMINATIONS
Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management
Public Members
Nominate for reappointment MaryEllen M. Lyons (Wayne, Passaic)
Nominate for appointment Richard J. Hills (Millstone Township, Monmouth) 
Nominate for appointment Wayne D. DeFeo (Warren Township, Somerset)
Nominate for appointment Joseph Ferrante, Jr., Esq. (Ridgewood, Bergen)
Licensed Health Professional from the Medical or Dental Community
Nominate for appointment Lois V. Greene, RN (Newark, Essex)
Health Professional Representing the New Jersey Hospital Association
Nominate for appointment Nancy E. Shafer-Winter, MSN, RN, NE-BC (Asbury Park, Monmouth)
Industry Representative
Nominate for appointment Scott A. Johnson (Colmar, PA)
Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries Representative
Nominate for appointment Peter DeCenzo (Red Bank, Monmouth)
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Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission
Public Member
Nominate for appointment John H. Gilbert (Bedminster, Somerset)
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Fish and Game Council
Farmer (Central)
Nominate for appointment George G. Conover (Old Bridge, Middlesex)
Farmer (North)
Nominate for reappointment Phillip Brodhecker (Hampton Township, Sussex)
Farmer (South)
Nominate for reappointment Jeffrey Link (Franklinville, Gloucester)
Sportsman (North)
Nominate for appointment James R. De Stephano (West Milford, Passaic)
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Landscape Irrigation Contractors Examining Board
Irrigation Contractor
Nominate for appointment Michael M. Kukol (Franklin Lakes, Bergen)
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New Jersey Maritime Pilot and Docking Pilot Commission
Public Members
Nominate for appointment John C. Lane (Branchburg, Somerset)
Nominate for appointment Captain James J. McNamara (Chatham Township, Morris)
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DIRECT APPOINTMENTS
New Jersey Real Estate Commission
Real Estate Broker
Appoint Cindy L. Marsh-Tichy (Randolph, Morris)
State Government Representative
Appoint Denise M. Illes, Esq. (Shamong, Burlington)
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State Commission of Investigation
Governor Appointee
Appoint Rosemary Iannacone (Monroe Township, Middlesex)
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Climate is a big issue to Hispanics, and personal, too

                                            Photo: Matt Black for the New York Times
According to a poll conducted last month by The New York Times, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future, Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to view global warming as a problem that affects them personally. 

It also found that they are more likely to support policies, such as taxes and regulations on greenhouse gas pollution, aimed at curbing it, the Times reported yesterday.

"The findings in the poll could have significant implications for the 2016 presidential campaign as both parties seek to win votes from Hispanics, particularly in states like Florida and Colorado that will be influential in determining the outcome of the election. The poll also shows the challenge for the potential Republican presidential candidates — including two Hispanics — many of whom question or deny the scientific basis for the finding that humans caused global warming. 
"Among Hispanic respondents to the poll, 54 percent rated global warming as extremely or very important to them personally, compared with 37 percent of whites. Sixty-seven percent of Hispanics said they would be hurt personally to a significant degree if nothing was done to reduce global warming, compared with half of whites.
"And 63 percent of Hispanics said the federal government should act broadly to address global warming, compared with 49 percent of whites.
"A greater percentage of Hispanics than whites identify as Democrats, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to say that the government should fight climate change. In the poll, 48 percent of Hispanics identified as Democrats, 31 percent as independents and 15 percent as Republicans. Among whites, 23 percent identified as Democrats, 41 percent as independents and 27 percent as Republicans.
"Over all, the findings of the poll run contrary to a longstanding view in politics that the environment is largely a concern of affluent, white liberals."
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Who loves their oysters more, New York or New Jersey?

How – and why – did 50,000 living oysters wind up in a dumpster? NJ Advance Media commentator Brian Donohue examines the State of New Jersey’s continued ban on oyster restoration projects in the north Jersey waters amid a push by other east coast states to greatly expand their efforts to restore oyster populations to combat pollution and storm surges. (Video by Brian Donohue | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
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