Highlands Council trumps Planning Commission

In an 11-page opinion, written in April but only released this week, the New Jersey Attorney General's office says the Highlands Council's rules land-use rules will supersede local and county zoning, as well as the land-use guides of the State Planning Commission in the Highlands' preservation area. That area comprises roughly half of the 850,000-acre region.

The opinion was written as the result of a request by the State Planning Commission for legal advice from the Attorney General's Office on how provisions of the Highlands Act would affect the commission's duties. "

How do you see the opinion affect planning and development in the area? Share you views by clicking on the "comment" line below.

Putting pollution on the (Google) map

Want to check on a pollution-generating site anywhere in North America? Now you can on Google Earth.

Government environmental agencies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico are providing the search engine company with toxic-inventory-styled data that is being added as a layer to Google's free mapping service.

The three nation Commission for Environmental Cooperation explains that the new mapping tool allows anyone with access to a computer--whether in Manitoba, Mississippi, or Michoacán—"to find industrial facilities located near their homes, their workplaces, or their schools."

When you click on a specific industrial site, the map also generates a profile of the facility, including which pollutants are generated there and how the facility handles them. Users can also compare the performance of facilities in their community to similar facilities elsewhere in North America.

To access the map, visit the CEC's website here

Gimme a tank full of ole gray mare!

By now, most freshmen students of alternative fuels know that ethanol is primarily made from corn, sorghum or sugarcane and that biodiesel comes from vegetable oils.

But did you know that a less expensive source of biodiesel comes out of animal rendering plants?

That's right. The old gray mare is already providing horsepower (we couldn't resist) for diesel-powered trucks and sedans, and other animals are giving their parts, too, to help American reduce its dependency on imported petroleum.

Writing in the July issue of Biodiesel Magazine, Nicholas Zeman informs us that "material from rendering plants is considered a choice feedstock for the production of renewable diesel."

Apparently, there's lots of it around. Zeman says that "With 273 facilities in the United States, the rendering industry processes 60 billion pounds of raw materials a year and generates billions of dollars in revenue."

His article, "Recycling for Renewables" is an interesting piece. We recomend, however, that you don't read it over lunch, especially if you packed a nice Spam sandwich.

Howls grow over coyote in Princeton

Yes, you read it right...in Princeton!

New Jersey, the most densely populated (with humans) state in the nation, is now home to more than 3,000 coyotes, according to the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.

One of them has taken up residence in Battlefield State Park, not far from the Ivy League university itself. Several dog walkers there have reported run-ins with the coyote and labeled its behavior as "aggressive."

In the town that keeps "Hold that tiger" on the pop charts, a hold has been put on the coyote's capture. Officials fear the repercussions from animal lovers if the coyote is killed.

Maybe Princeton should negotiate a 'relocation' with the San Antonio Spurs. A little shot of 'aggression' sure couldn't hurt their mascot.

A big energy battle coming to a vote in PA

A keystone measure in Governor Ed Rendell's Energy Independence Strategy is HB 1201, which would mandate greater use of alternative energy sources, require the installation of advance electricity meters in homes to encourage conservation during peak-load periods, and create an $850M bond fund.

Money from this, so-called "Energy Independence Fund" would:

- pay rebates to consumers who replace inefficient electrical appliances

- provide grants and loans for the expansion of alternative energy companies, and

- provide development and equipment costs to attract new alternative energy investments

The environmental organization, PennFUTURE, supports the legislation. The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry opposes.

They don't differ over the environmental benefits of Rendell's program. This time it's strictly economics.

PennFUTURE's President and CEO John Hanger, in testimony before a state House committee, warns that Pennsylvania "will lose billions of dollars of investment and tens of thousands of jobs unless House Bill 1201 is passed." He notes that neighboring New Jersey and New York "are making substantial investments" to attract developers of developing technologies like wind power and bio-diesel.

Leskey Smith, who is director of communications for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, argues in yesterday's Patriot-News that "borrowing close to $1 billion to be repaid over the next three decades is not the answer" and questions the need to "subsidize companies that already have been guaranteed a market."

Care to share your own point of view? Click the "comments" link below. You can respond anonymously, but we believe a your opinion will carry more weight if you disclose your name and affiliation. Go ahead, tell us what you think.

Brits rebel against the plastic bag

Spurred by a filmmaker’s documentary, the English town of Modbury has become the first in Europe to ban them outright. Others may follow as stores, grass-roots groups, and citizens are joining forces to reduce national consumption of the ubiquitous convenience item.

British retailer Sainsbury introduced a limited-edition reusable cotton bag (left) designed by Anya Hindmarch. Priced at $10, all 20,000 sold out within an hour.

The Christian Science Monitor reports it all here.

Dozens of environmental bills posted today in NJ lawmakers' summer swan song

Jersey's beaches beckon and the State Legislature is heeding the call.

In what is expected to be the final sessions for both the State Senate and General Assembly prior to a traditional summer recess, legislators are scheduled to vote today in Trenton on a state budget and hundreds of additional pieces of legislation--including more than 40 environmental bills.

Among numerous environmental bills up for final legislative approval are:

A-383 / S-344 Requires the BPU to establish voluntary program for certification of renewable energy installers.

A-2039 /S-843 Requires certain State buildings to be designed and managed to meet high performance green building standards.

A-3301 / S-2114 The "Global Warming Response Act," which requires that the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the State be reduced to the 1990 level by January 1, 2020.

A-4344 /S-2762 Makes changes to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Financing Program.

A-4346 /S-2763 Authorizes New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects.

A-4402 The "Green Acres, Farmland, Blue Acres, and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2007"; authorizes issuance of $200 million in bonds

A-3983 /S-2631 Requires State to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs; requires the BPU to educate public on benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

NJ & PA plot greenhouse gas reductions

An Assembly committee in New Jersey last week approved A-3301, a bill that would require the state to cut heat-trapping emissions from burning coal, oil and gas by 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by mid-century. Those are the same goals Gov. Jon Corzine set in an executive order he signed in February.

The business community sent a mixed message at the hearing. The New Jersey Business and Industry voiced opposition to the bill, while the state's largest energy utility, Public Service Electric and Gas, supported it (after a key amendment was added to ensure customers wouldn't simply buy power from out-of-state utilities).

In Pennsylvania, Governor Rendell hasn't yet unveiled his energy strategy but a leading environmental group last week released a "Climate Change Roadmap" containing 40 recommendations it says will help the state combat global warming. The Pennsylvania Environmental Council said that, if its recommendations are incorporated into legislation, the Commonwealth might realize a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions, by 2025, from 2000.

Recent Superfund ruling explained

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that private parties may recover clean up costs, even if voluntarily incurred, from other parties who are potentially responsible for polluting a site.

The decision could have significant repercussions in Superfund-rich states like New Jersey where previous decisions have limited the ability of corporations and other private parties who voluntarily pay--sometimes into the millions--for site cleanups to seek reimbursement from others whose actions contributed to the the site's contamination.

One of New Jersey's preeminent Superfund attorneys, William H. Hyatt, Jr. analyzes the court's unanimous, June 11 decision in a K&L/Gates Environmental, Land Use and Natural Resources Alert published with colleagues Emily L. Won and Karyllan Dodson Mack

Action on enviro bills hot and heavy in Trenton

The New Jersey Legislature is racing to move as many bills as possible before breaking for its traditional summer recess at the end of June. With only a handfull of committee dates and floor sessions left, the pace is accelerating.

We counted more than 50 separate actions involving environmental bills yesterday. Here are just a few of them:

A-1839 (Greenstein) Provides for civil and criminal penalties for giving false information pertaining to violations of environmental laws.
Jun 14, 2007 – Posted for committee action but held

A-2039 (Chatzidakis) Requires certain State buildings to be designed and managed to meet high performance green building standards.
Jun 14, 2007 – Transferred to committee: Assembly Budget

A-3275 (Panter) Changes composition and revises authority of Fish and Game Council.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Assembly committee amendments

A-3301 (Stender) The "Global Warming Response Act."
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported as a Assembly committee substitute

A-3595 (McKeon) Authorizes enhancement of State Uniform Construction Code's energy subcode based on anticipated energy savings
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported by committee

A-3864 (Greenstein) Authorizes municipalities to establish receiving zones for transfer of development rights from Highlands Region or pinelands area; provides for impact fees and other incentives.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported as a Assembly committee substitute

A-3937 (Fisher) Increases certain fees and penalties of the Mine Safety Act.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported by committee

A-4022 (Greenwald) Establishes New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Assembly committee amendments

A-4086 (McKeon) Requires purchasing agents to complete a course in green product purchasing.
Jun 14, 2007 – Referred: Senate Economic Growth

A-4156 (Watson Coleman) Establishes minimum energy efficiency standards for certain products.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Assembly committee amendments

A-4211 (Panter) Requires developers to offer solar energy systems in all homes built within a development of 100 or more units.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Assembly committee amendments

A-4265 (Manzo) Provides combined State and local enforcement authority over recycling centers.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported by committee

A-4329 (Quigley) Concerns certain riparian lands in Jersey City.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Assembly committee amendments

S-2737 (Madden) Permits certain child care centers to receive $1,500 grants from Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported by committee

S-2743 (Doria) Revises procedures for condemnation of certain property and use of the power of eminent domain by railroads.
Jun 14, 2007 – Reported with Senate committee amendments

Alternative fuel user pays an unexpected price

Thinking about striking a blow for energy independence by modifying your car or truck to run on vegetable oil? Why not. There are millions of gallons of used veggie oil heading to landfills every day from the bazillions of fast-food fry pits across America. Why not divert some of it to a better fate? Why continue to shell out money to the sheiks when you can switch to the fuel that burns good, smells good and is made right here in the ole U.S. of A?

Charlotte, NC musician Bob Teixeira did. He paid $1200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes. He skipped the fry pits and bought soybean in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost. And what did it get him?

Would you believe a $1,000 fine for not paying state motor fuel taxes? Bob's been told to expect an additional $1,000 from the feds and, if he wants to get legal, North Carolina will oblige him but first he has to get a $2,500 bond.

A June 9 story in the Charlotte Observer details Bob's experience and his decision to pay the fine, get his bond, and keep on burning veggie oil.

So what about you? Are you ready to dump the gas pump?

The greasecar website can tell you how much a conversion kit will cost for your vehicle. Not mechanically inclined? No problem. It lists five certified installers in New York and one in Philadelphia. Sorry, no listings so far for New Jersey.

Know of anyone who's made the switch in the tri-state area? And what about our state laws? Will governors Corzine, Rendell and Spitzer expect their fair share in highway taxes? Are there bonds, permits, special fees or other financial hurdles to clear?

Kindly click on the comment link below and share what you know.

Wachovia goes beyond holding your green

According to an article in GreenerBuildings, Wachovia plans to build at least 300 LEED-certified green financial centers by the year 2010. It will begin opening its new California offices in 2007, and by the end of 2008 every new Wachovia financial center opened throughout the U.S. will be built to LEED specifications.

Doesn't sound like something a banker would do? Consider this:

"Wachovia expects to save up to $80,000 in construction costs for each of the new financial centers over a traditionally constructed branch, in addition to a reduction in operating costs of about 20 percent in the first year. "

Save money and reap the PR benefits of 'going green'? Even in the slow-to-change world of banking, this could launch a trend.

Is recycling worth the effort?

As the importance of recycling becomes more apparent, questions about it linger. Is it worth the effort? How does it work? Is recycling waste just going into a landfill in China? The Economist considers the questions and provides some answers.

Top court's dredge/wetlands decision clarified

Last year, the Supreme Court issued its so-called "Rapanos" decision on the scope of federal jurisdiction, under the Clean Water Act's section 404 program, for discharges of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands.

The split decision left a good deal of uncertainty in its wake among environmental attorneys and others. Now, a year later, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have jointly issued a long-awaited legal memorandum interpreting the top court's split decision.

K&L/Gates environmental attorneys Craig P. Wilson and Christopher R. Nestor examined the guidance document and break it all down for their clients (and you) in a recently released Environmental, Land Use and Natural Resources Alert

States should press ahead on emissions

Yesterday, we asked: "Should states control the tailpipe?"

Today, New Jersey's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger, carried an editorial noting President Bush's "recalcitrance'' on binding standards to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The editorial concluded:

It is imperative for New Jersey and other states to forge ahead. California already has passed tough greenhouse gas emissions targets, and New Jersey should follow suit by adopting bills now being considered in the Legislature that would set firm pollution limits, including cutting warming emissions in the state to 1990 levels or below over the next 13 years. As states act alone, industry will pressure Washington to come around because business would prefer a national system over a confusing patchwork of local laws.

Should states control the tailpipe?

The federal government has traditionally set vehicle emissions limits through EPA rules. But 10 states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, want to follow California's lead and impose tighter state standards on CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted from autos and other light-weight trucks.

California can't impose its tougher standards, however, until it receives a "waiver" from the EPA. It's been working for two years to get that green light but some members of Congress--Democrats of all people--are considering legislation to slam on the brakes.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, didn't miss his opportunity to use the issue to take a swipe at the Bush EPA. In a news release issued Friday, he says:

“When the federal government fails to protect the environment and the health of our citizens, as it has done when it comes to limiting greenhouse gas emissions, then the states must be allowed act.”

New Jersey State Senator Tom Kean Jr., a Republican, agrees with Rendell on the waiver issue but employs a different spin in his own news release

“The legislation being considered by top House Democrats represents a shocking reversal of their position on this issue given the torrent of criticism they have leveled against the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Isn't it great when opposing parties come together on an important issue?

As Bush fiddles, states take action on warming

The states aren't waiting around for President Bush to take action on greenhouse gas reductions. While the President was preaching a vague "goal-setting" solution at the G8 summit this week, numerous states, including New Jersey, were moving ahead on legislation that would require specific reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

On Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed into law a requirement that 25 percent of power delivered by the state's biggest utilities be made from renewable sources by 2025. Sources that will count toward the target include wind, solar, wave, geothermal, biomass, new hydro projects or efficiency upgrades to existing hydro projects.

Next Thursday, the NJ Assembly's Telecommunications and Utilities Committee will consider A-3301 which would limit emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020 (roughly a 20 percent cut from current levels).

Meanwhile, coal industry lobbyists are pushing hard on Capitol Hill for legislation to provide federal support for liquid coal research, development and subsidies. They say the technology would offer the nation an energy alternative to Middle East petroleum. Critics, however, argue that the technology is unproven and financially risky. They point to an MIT study estimating it would cost $70 billion to replace just 10 percent of current gasoline use.

Moreover, a recent NY Times story, Lawmakers Push for Big Subsidies for Coal Process used the graph (below) to illustrate how liquid coal, as a fuel source, would increase greenhouse gases emissions substantially more than other fuel alternatives.

Care to add your two-cent's worth? You can by clicking on the "comments" link below. We prefer that you use your real name and organization, but you also can create a label that offers you the protection of anonymity, i.e. "Bayonne Bob or "Punxsutawney Phil."

NJ governors too quick to tee up golf project?

Senior officials in both the McGreevey and Codey administrations signed off on a $212M loan for the EnCap golf communities project in the Meadowlands, even though subordinates warned that the cut-rate financing was a risk for taxpayers and bad environmental policy, according to a highly critical report in today's Bergen Record.

The EnCap loan "will not meet the Financing Program's normal creditworthiness standards," Samuel Wolfe, a former assistant DEP commissioner, wrote in a November 2004 memo to his superiors. Still, the state signed off and today the project is teetering on the brink of collapse.

"The developer is months behind in payments to its subcontractors, and on May 17 the state Attorney General's Office found EnCap in default of the terms of its deal with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. EnCap has until next Friday to submit a revised landfill cleanup budget -- or else the project could be canceled, " The Record reports

Despite the warnings from Wolfe and other ranking state bureaucrats, EnCap landed a deal "brimming with lucrative concessions while offering spotty security for taxpayers," the paper reports. How did such a risky venture get so "fast tracked" that, at one point, 10 employees of the DEP's Division of Water Quality were diverted to work full time on the developer's loan application? The Record points the finger at former Governor Jim McGreevey and his relationship with the powerhouse Democratic law firm DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler whose attorneys navigated the project around a number of significant institutional and environmental shoals.

An anonymous former administration official is quoted as saying: "McGreevey didn't really care what the loan was about. He cared who was getting it. For reasons obvious to everybody, DeCotiis projects got top priority.''

Jeez, even the postman's gone green

The U.S. Postal Service is the first is the only mailing or shipping company in the nation to achieve “Cradle to Cradle”SM Certification at the Silver level.
Postal Service mailing and shipping supplies already had exceeded government requirements, including recycled content standards from the EPA. Going beyond existing federal and state agency requirements was a goal in seeking certification.
Cradle to Cradle Certification is a scientifically based process that reviews specific criteria to assess the environmental attributes of materials used in products. In the review, 60 USPS packaging items were broken down into their 250 component materials. Some 1,400 individual ingredients in those component materials were further analyzed before the certification was made.
Based on the recycled content of the more than 500 million Express Mail and Priority Mail packages and envelopes the Postal Service provides its customers each year, more than 15,000 metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions (climate change gases) now will be prevented annually. Express Mail and Priority Mail boxes and envelopes also are 100 percent recyclable.
The USPS is requiring all 200 suppliers contributing to the manufacture of its envelopes and packages to complete a series of measurements and assessments of materials for human and environmental health.

Will Albany 'recycle' NYC's garbage plan?

Backed by a phalanx of city officials, community leaders and environmentalists, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news conference last week to urge state legislators to authorize the construction of a marine transfer station to handle recyclable paper, metal, glass and plastic at Pier 52 on the Gansevoort Peninsula in Manhattan.

The facility would handle those recyclables generated in Manhattan that currently are trucked to facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn and New Jersey. In doing so, the new facility would free-up capacity at an existing transfer station at 59th Street on the Hudson River to handle Manhattan's commercial waste.

The transfer station is seen as an essential part of the mayor's 20-year solid waste management plan that won approval from city council only after two years of jawboning and political compromises. But the effort is now in jeopardy, as the New York Times reported, because three Assembly members whose districts either include or are near the Gansevoort site say the city has never adequately studied alternative locations. The three are threatening to use their clout with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat who is also from Lower Manhattan, to kill it.

This battle has lots of political subplots and should be fun to watch from the sidelines.

New director of legislative affairs at PA-DEP

Scott Pauchnik of Dauphin County has been appointed as the department’s director of legislative affairs. Since 2003, Pauchnik has served as a legislative specialist in DEP’s Office of Legislative affairs, most recently as the assistant director. He was directly involved in the review and development of such legislation as the energy portfolio standard, Growing Greener II and water quality/clean air initiatives. He's also responded to inquiries and requests by members of the General Assembly and has worked with the DEP secretary and Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs on numerous legislative matters.

Pauchnik worked for two years at EAP Industries, an environmental service provider located in Atlasburg, Washington County, where he was involved in environmental response actions and mitigation projects. He also was involved in environmental permitting and held sales and marketing responsibilities. Pauchnik holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Slippery Rock University. A native of Atlasburg, he currently lives in Harrisburg.

Can dancing help save the planet?

Research conducted by a Dutch company concludes that an average-size dance club, open three nights a week, consumes 150 times the energy a four-person family does in a year. So an eco-minded couple, Stef van Dongen and Alijd van Doorn, have set out to develop designs that would change that. As reported in The Independent, they're working on a dance floor that will convert the movement of clubbers on it into electricity. Their prototype uses simple electro-mechanical system in which dancers' stomping feet squeeze a surface membrane in the floor which works a flywheel to generate voltage. The charge is then fed back into the system to light the dance floor up. Tweaking the floor system, they hope to generate excess electricity to contribute to powering the sound system, lighting or air conditioning. Another innovation involves capturing rising hot air from sweating dancers, passing it through a cooling chamber, and using the condensate to flush the lavatories. Hey, are you guys down at The Stone Pony listening to this?

In Paramus: Pesticides, Politics and bad PR

The Bergen Record had a journalistic field day last week, reporting on how Paramus (NJ) school officials had failed to tell parents about pesticides found in soil on the grounds of a middle school. Parents went nuts when they heard that the school district was aware of the problem for five months before disclosing the news.

At this point, any public relations practitioner would have advised school officials to quickly issue an apology, announce that swift steps would be taken to remedy the problem, and promise never again to withhold such information.

But no. Instead, a defensive school official protested that the district had no legal obligation to tell the parents about the potential health problem. Isn't that just what any concerned parent needed to hear?

The resulting uproar became such a hot political issue that the mayor stepped in and ordered the school shut. Governor Jon Corzine followed suit, ordering the DEP to remove the soils ASAP.

Here's the point in the story where calm should return to Paramus, right? Wrong! On Saturday, the reporter who broke the story showed up at the school site with a lab technician to gather soil samples for independent tests. How did the town handle it? They arrested both men for trespassing, confiscated the soil samples and both men's shoes and socks.

We're not making this up. Read it for yourself.

NJ's Public Advocate on eminent domain abuses

"I don't want their money, I want my house." - Louis Anzalone, Long Branch, NJ property owner

"To move heaven and earth and the New Jersey Legislature, it will take more than Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen and a few good citizens. But the report issued yesterday by the Office of the Public Advocate may well be the tipping point, " writes attorney William J. Ward in his blog, New Jersey Eminent Domain Law.

Is the Exxon Valdez litigation finlly over?

In September 1994, an Alaska jury awarded $5 billion to fishermen and residenets affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. Since then, Exxon has tied up the award in appeals. In December 2006, a three-judge panel reduced the original jury award to $2.5 billion and denied Exxon's petition for a panel rehearing. As Stephanie Lovett reports in The Legal Intelligencer, that could be the end of the case. But at least one plaintiff attorney cautions that Exxon may try one final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, now 18 years after the spill.

So, why are we blogging?

Many of you already are subscribers to the daily, electronic newsletter, EnviroPolitics. If you're not, let us explain that it is a paid-subscription publication covering the top environmental and political news in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Our readers say it's comprehensive, but also a focused, time-saving (and sometimes fun) way, to stay on top of the most important environmental issues--and the politics that drives them!

EnviroPolitics also provides access to all new environmental rules and regulations from all three states and offers introduction-to-enactment tracking of all environmental legislation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In addition, our subscribers learn about who is coming and going in environmentally related professions, businesses and industries in our EnviroBusiness News section, and they capitalize on valuable education and networking opportunities via our Enviro-Events Calendar.

So, if we already publish a newsletter, why add a blog?

We view it as an opportunity to go beyond the headlines and stories and present background information of value to our readers and non-subscribers alike. We also hope it can become a platform that a variety of environmental experts, advocates and others can use to offer their views and insights. We're starting out slow and see where it leads.

To add your views, click on the "comment" link at the bottom of any blog post. You can provide your name or respond anonymously. If you have comments that you do not want to appear on the blog, suggestions for future messages or questions, drop us an email to us at: editor@enviropolitics.com

We appreciate your time and welcome your participation.

Frank Brill
Editor
EnviroPolitics
215-295-9339

Enviros set to rip EPA's ocean monitoring shift

Clean Ocean Action will hold a seaside news conference Monday morning to blast EPA's recent decision to discontinue helicopter monitoring for dissolved oxygen (DO) and bacteria off New Jersey’s coast. Participants at the media event will include representatives of the state DEP, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, Jersey Coast Anglers Association, Surfers’ Environmental Alliance, and other environmental, fishing, diving, and surfing groups.

PA-DEP OKs 47% expansion of Arden Landfill

In a news release made public this afternoon, the PA Department of Environmental Protection announced it had approved an expansion of the municipal landfill in Chartiers Township, Washington County, from 280 acres to 434 acres over the next 10 years.