Friday, February 27, 2009

NJ Licensed Site Professional bills advance


After two and a half years of negotiations with "stakeholder groups," numerous public hearings and dozens of amendments, members of the environmental committees in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly yesterday afternoon unanimously released two identical bills creating a Licensed Site Professionals (LSP) program within the Department of Environmental Protection.

The bills are now in position for floor votes in both houses. Governor Corzine would like to have them delivered to his desk for his signature before the Legislature recesses for the summer.
Despite a backlog of 20,000 sites and no prospects for funding to increase staffing at the DEP, the state's major environmental groups continued their inexplicable, all-out opposition to the legislation at yesterday's hearing.

The bill sponsors, committee members (gathered in a rare joint meeting) and representatives of various industry groups that have been active in the negotiations process, all saluted the work of Assistant DEP Commissioner Irene Kropp who oversees the Department's site remediation program.

Kropp responded to enviro-critics who have been spreading misinformation about the bills by pointing out that the legislation:
  1. Does not lower any cleanup standards and, in fact, strengthens DEP's enforcement capabilities

  2. Provides greater protections for schools, child care facilities and residential housing

  3. Furthers DEP's ability to require cleanups to unrestricted standards

  4. Does not privitize, does not deregulate and does not eliminate DEP enforcement or limit the Department's review to 10 percent of all cleanup project submittals

  5. Insures DEP review of all documents (not done today)

  6. Provides for the toughest requirements at "recalcitrant" sites (those where responsible parties try to evade or postpone cleanup)

  7. Reinforces and strengthens the 'polluter pays' concept

  8. Holds licensed site professionals (LSPs) to a higher standard of performance, makes them accountable for their work, requires their licensure, and provides significant penalties, including criminal prosecution, against any LSP who violates cleanup rules and law

Newspaper coverage of the hearing can be found at:
Contaminated sites bill progresses after two-year debate (Bergen Record)
Trenton puts cleanups on a fast track (Star-Ledger)

You can listed to a tape of the entire hearing here.

A number of readers have appended interesting comments on the LSP issue to our most recent post on the subject at NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore. If you'd like to add your two-cents worth, we suggest that you comment at that post so all reaction can be found at one location. If you're the type who prefers to color outside the lines, feel free to add your opinion to this post by clicking on the 'comment' line below.

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Proof of a horrid economy: Lawyer layoffs

One of New Jersey's most prominent law firms, Lowenstein Sandler, has announced the layoffs of eight percent of its attorneys. The firm yesterday furloughed 21 lawyers and 32 staff employees and reduced its incoming associate class size by three spots.

They aren't the only law firm forced to cut back, just the latest.

For details, see the story in today's New Jersey Law Journal.

Some Friday fun: Clean Coal Air Freshener

Our thanks to the Forced Green blog for turning us onto the Coen Brothers video below which spoofs the coal industry's latest 'green' campaign slogan.

If their name sounds familiar but you just can't quite place it, Joel and Ethan Coen are the brothers who directed such hard-boiled films as: Raising Arizona , Simple Blood and No Country for Old Men .

In a totally different vein (no coal industry pun intended), they're also responsible for what may be the greatest slacker film ever made, The Big Lebowski. If you haven't seen it, we recommend that you rent it this weekend.

Click here to start YouTube video

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore


It's hard to believe but legislation designed to breathe life into New Jersey's near moribund site cleanup program (20,000 contaminated properties and counting) is up in the Legislature's two environmental committees on Thursday for the fourth time since June.

And despite the fact that the legislation (S-1897 and A-2962) has been amended again and again to meet objections raised by the Sierra Club and others, there's no guarantee that it will get out of committee this time either.

Wait a minute. Isn't this the bill that DEP Commissioner Mark
Mauriello and his predecessor, Lisa Jackson, testified is essential to get cleanups going? Yes it is.

Isn't this the bill that mirrors a program in Massachusetts that has spurred the cleanup of hundreds of polluted sites over the past 15 years? Yes, again.

Isn't it a bill personally sponsored by the powerful chairmen of the environmental committees in both houses--Senator Bob Smith (left) and Assemblyman John McKeon? Yup.



And backed by the governor?

Right, again.





So what's the problem?




Jeff Tittel doesn't like it.






Actually, it's just that simple.

Jeff Tittle leads the state's Sierra Club, an organization you'd think would be screaming bloody murder over the fact that 20,000 sites contaminated sites have been virtually ignored for years.

Isn't this, after all, the same organization that doesn't want a single house going up within hundreds of yards of certain streams? Don't 20,000 aging and possibly leaking contaminated sites pose a far greater threat to groundwater?

So what's Jeff's problem?

He says that the legislation, which will allow the DEP to license environmental engineers to oversee individual cleanups, under the state's oversight, puts the fox in charge of the hen house.

Jeff's apparently convinced that the owners and managers of highly respected engineering firms are going to risk their professional reputations and their firms' million-dollar-operations by cutting corners for clients.

What are the chances of that ever happening? If the bill ever gets passed, one imagines some folks actually could try it. But the bill's significant penalties, combined with DEP oversight and public censure, all combine to argue against it.

But what if some actually did? What if an astonishing 10% of those 20,000 sites did not utilize the very best cleanup technologies and didn't remove every molecule of contamination?

In fact, let's pose the worst case scenario. What if 10% of all the cleanups turn out to be absolute frauds?

Well, wouldn't that still leave 18,000 sites cleaned up? And available for new use--many in municipalities desperate for new business, new jobs and new ratables?

Isn't that a gamble worth taking? The DEP and the governor and the environmental leaders in the Legislature think so.

But Jeff Tittle doesn't. And for some reason, on issues like these, his opinion seems to be the only one that counts.

What do you think? Let us know in the "comment" section below.

MORE:

Op-Ed: LSP stands for ‘Lets Stay Polluted’
Op-Ed: New Jersey needs licensed site professionals
Editorial: An imperfect but needed cleanup solution

Jeff Tittel, Jersey's Enviro-Vigilant Go-To Guy

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Week's top environmental & political news in NJ and PA: Feb 16-20 2009


Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey and Pennsylvania that appeared in
EnviroPolitics during the week of February 16-20

New Jersey Politics

Corzine to replenish one trust fund with cash from another For years, New Jersey's unemployment trust fund was used as a piggy bank. Now, is it disability fund’s turn? Inquirer
> Governor prepares to take ax to rebates Corzine is running out of options, sources say Star-Ledger

As budget crisis worsens, Corzine seeks 2-day furloughs The governor calls for a two-day furlough of state workers and warns of more furloughs or layoffs if unions do not accept a wage freeze starting in July Star-Ledger Inquirer Gannett

Governor warns layoffs could be next step Gov. Jon Corzine dug in his heels against the state workers unions yesterday, saying a two-day furlough is within his authority to balance the budget and that he will turn to layoffs if a stalemate over wages continues Star-Ledger

NJ may get $6B with new stimulus The economic stimulus bill President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign into law today contains more than $6B for NJ, according to a comprehensive yet preliminary analysis of the $787 billion measure
Gannett

New Jersey Environment

Cleanup on tap for Hudson County sites NJ authorities and a Pittsburgh corporation blamed for chromium pollution throughout Hudson County reach an agreement for cleaning up a site in Jersey City within five years. PPG Industries will remediate soil and other sources of chromium contamination on the 16 acre site of a chromite ore refinement plant that operated from 1924 to 1963. The deal will not be finalized until after a 30-day public comment period Star-Ledger Jersey Journal

AAA asks Corzine to veto $9.5M of DRPA plan The AAA Mid-Atlantic auto club asks Gov. Corzine to veto plans by the Delaware River Port Authority to spend $9.5 million on economic-development projects in Camden and Philadelphia, including a President's House memorial near the Liberty Bell Phila Daily News

‘UFO’ mystery solved… The hot chunk of metal that crashed through the roof of a Jersey City business wasn’t space debris after all. It was the missing tooth of a gigantic wood mulching machine located roughly three football fields away Jersey Journal
…Next mystery: Strange red lights in the sky
Daily Record


NRG subsidiary sued by the EPA A subsidiary of Princeton-based NRG Energy Inc is the target of a lawsuit filed by federal environmental regulators that alleges the company’s coal-fired plant in Louisiana does not have proper emissions controls AP

Port Authority to put dredging contract up for bid A multibillion-dollar effort to create a network of deeper channels that will allow bigger ships to safely navigate the Port of NY and NJ has turn into a fight involving political muscle, mounting lawsuits and other battles among companies looking for a piece of a $2.5 billion project. The fight is expected to get even more complex after a decision behind the scenes last week to bid a crucial part of the contract
Star-Ledger

New Jersey’s enviro-vigilant, go-to-guy










Over the past two years, NJ Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel was quoted 400 more times than Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts. The state’s “grumpiest greenie” grouses that Christie Whitman was the ‘brownest’ governor but Jon Corzine might yet outdo her
Star-Ledger

The Green Governors It isn't often people say nice things about New Jersey's governors. But when it comes to protecting the environment, they deserve some praise Star-Ledger

Bill gives windmills same status as schools, hospitals A bill making its way through the Legislature would declare renewable energy facilities “inherently beneficial,” making them more difficult for local zoners to deny AC Press

Pennsylvania Environment

Pennsylvania announces $21.5M in 'growing greener' projects Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the investment of more than $21.5 million in 144 Growing Greener projects to reduce pollution from stormwater runoff and farms, treat acid mine drainage, reduce flooding and improve water quality across the commonwealth PA-DEP

EPA probing creek for fly ash pollution Federal technicians are checking a complaint that fly ash disposed in Mahanoy Township is polluting the mine pool and threatening water quality in Mahanoy Creek Hazleton Standard-Speaker

State out of money for septic-system checks Pennsylvania has run out of money for reimbursing local sewage agencies for most of the cost of issuing permits for and inspecting septic systems AP

Philadelphia weighs trash pickup fee City officials are seriously considering a $5 weekly garbage-collection fee as part of the response to the current fiscal crisis Inquirer

Stimulus to pump billions into PA Separate funds totaling $224M can pay for water infrastructure projects in the state. And alternative energy investments will have access to more than $101M through the state's energy program Morning Call

Study: Turbine not a threat to birds A nearly two-year independent study finds that a wind turbine poses no overt threat to bird and bat life while it generates supplemental power at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie
Gant Daily

Pennsylvania Politics

Bonus probe costing millions The state legislature has burned through $5.8M in taxpayer money so far on legal fees and other expenses stemming from an investigation into staff bonuses and potential misuse of public resources AP

Fumo trial wraps up A lawyer who told then-state Sen. Vince Fumo he could continue the "normal course of district office business" after a nonprofit organization that he founded was served with a grand-jury subpoena in April 2004 said under cross-examination yesterday that did not mean Fumo could delete e-mails Phila Daily News

A sweeping new plan for Philadelphia schools Controversial proposal includes shutting down failing schools and potentially reopening them as charter schools, reducing class sizes, and overhauling teacher hiring Inquirer

Rendell’s former law firm does well by the DRPA The Delaware River Port Authority spent nearly $2M on outside legal firms in 2007 and 2008, and the biggest beneficiary was the former firm of Gov. Rendell, who chairs the DRPA Inquirer 'toon

Knocks on budget make Nutter open up With the reputation of his administration on the line, Philadelphia’s mayor shelves what critics view as a go-it-alone governing style for a more transparent approach that harks back to his election campaign Inquirer

Laurie Magid named U.S. Attorney for Eastern PA Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid has been appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, making her the first woman to hold this position in this district Express-Times

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Natural Resource Damages ruling helps, hurts New Jersey's DEP

In a double-edged decision last month, a state court ruled that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection can order responsible parties to pay for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) even if the site contamination occurred prior to the April 1, 1977 adoption of the state's Spill Act.

The ruling was a defeat for ExxonMobil which, under a 1991 Administrative Court Order, has been remediating refinery sites in Linden and Bayonne while actively opposing the payment of pre-Spill Act NRD claims.

That portion of the decision was a big victory for the state and is likely to lead to substantial financial awards. The state says its prosecution of NRD cases has already produced $55 million for restoration projects.

But the judge also ruled that the state could not recover its attorney fees incurred in pursuit of pre-Spill Act NRD claims.

That has to be a serious blow to the Department since it has used private law firms to pursue virtually all of its major NRD claims on a contingency fee basis.

For more, check out:

Saul Ewing environmental attorney David C. Apy's analysis of the ruling

N.J. going after ExxonMobil $$$ (Jersey Journal article)

N.J. wins court round in ExxonMobil spill case (NJBIZ)

A September, 2003 DEP policy directive on natural resource damages


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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Week's top environmental & political news in NJ and PA: Feb 9-13 2009


Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey and Pennsylvania which appeared in
EnviroPolitics during the week of February 9-13.

New Jersey Politics

Poll shows Corzine struggling for voter approval Gov. Jon Corzine has an upside-down 34%-51% approval rating and gets a grade of D+ on providing property tax relief, according to a new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll PolitickerNJ
> Will stimulus package help the governor? In the Lobby









Carla Katz's in-law pitching book on Corzine Rocco Riccio, a self-described former "street thug," is trying to publish a book about his one-time friendship with Gov. Corzine, promising to expose details of the governor's breakup with former labor leader Carla Katz. Riccio, who is married to Katz's sister Inquirer

‘Doughnut’ towns are just too irresistible A state lawmaker says one way to put property taxes on a diet would be to ditch the “doughnuts” Star-Ledger

New Jersey Environment

Editorial: Reefs and subway cars The Atlantic Ocean is doing what years of debate could not—washing away the delusion that some material dumped off our coast to create artificial reefs is anything but trash AC Press

McGuire Air Force Base gets $3.2M for biofuel project More than 350 "green" jobs could be created in South Jersey with a $3.2M project to produce alternative and renewable energy at McGuire Air Force Base, two South Jersey congressman say AP Press

Editorial: An imperfect but needed cleanup solution A huge backlog of contaminated sites and a relatively small number of DEP case managers to oversee cleanups argue for adoption of Senator Smith’s licensed site professional legislation AC Press

Jackson's EPA bid has support of many Jersey enviros As Lisa Jackson steps closer to confirmation as chief of the federal Environmental Protection Agency this week, some New Jersey "green" groups are urging the U.S. Senate to separate her record from that of her mentor -- Jon Corzine, who they increasingly dub environmentally unfriendly Star-Ledger


NJ Utility Plans Major Solar Project
Public Service Electric and Gas, New Jersey’s largest utility, will seek state approval for a five-year, one-of-a-kind plan to install solar panels on 200,000 utility poles in its service territory, plus schools, municipal buildings, low-income housing and closed garbage dumps New York Times


Corzine endorses Fisher as NJ Agriculture chief South Jersey Assemblyman Doug Fisher has been nominated as the state's next agriculture secretary -- a choice Gov. Jon Corzine endorsed today at NJ’s annual agriculture convention AP

Trump golf course called out of bounds Colt’s Neck’s Environmental Commission says the Planning Board should not allow the Trump Organization to construct a 19th hole in the middle of a conservation easement on its golf course AP Press

Pennsylvania Politics

Rendell says state escaped disaster The dust had not yet settled on the federal stimulus debate when Gov. Rendell said yesterday that Pennsylvania had escaped economic disaster Inquirer

Fumo: 'I wish I never got elected' Former Senate powerhouse on the stand for the fourth day at corruption trial Inquirer
> Fumo says he erred on staffer's work site Inquirer

Salaries of top-paid legislative staffers questioned Facing a $2.3B billion deficit, PA is preparing to cut programs statewide, including possible layoffs, but highest-paid employees in the House of Representatives aren't feeling the pinch Inquirer

Pennsylvania Environment

Gas drilling spurs major pipeline expansion An expansion of a major Texas-to-New England gas pipeline is being proposed to handle a drilling rush on the Marcellus Shale rock formation in Northeast Pennsylvania Times Tribune

966 homes proposed near Route 230 School Heights Village could become not only become Londonderry Township's first traditional neighborhood development, but also its largest development , bringing 966 homes and a mix of retail Patriot News

Opponents blast plan to reactivate rail line The prospect of a rail line serving a proposed landfill in Rush Twp drew a crowd to an open house Tuesday night, including opponents of both projects Centre Daily

DEP fines Del Monte for wastewater violation Company fined $3,500 for exceeding discharge permit limit last fall PA-DEP

State appeals ruling blocking mercury emissions rules The state DEP has appealed a Commonwealth Court ruling blocking the continued implementation of state regulations that would quickly reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

New funding for small business energy efficiency upgrades The state DEP is making $3 million available on a first-come, first-served basis Lock-Haven Express

Op-Ed: DEP proposal fails to protect our rivers, streams Patriot-News

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

The alternative energy industry is DOA...or is it?


How many stories have you read in the last two weeks declaring that the worldwide economic slowdown and credit crunch are combining to strangle the alternative energy industry in its cradle? A prime example is the NY Times piece Dark Days for Green Energy

Well...check out this Atlantic City Press story that
EnviroPolitics readers saw in yesterday's issue...

Vineland, Conectiv plan solar power site
Conectiv Energy plans to build in Vineland a four-megawatt solar power plant that would be twice the size of New Jersey's largest current solar production site.

Conectiv will partner with the city of Vineland to raise solar panels on 28 acres of land owned by the Landis Sewerage Authority, city and company officials announced Tuesday. The city will lease the land along Route 55 to Conectiv, which will spend more than $20 million to raise the array and then sell electricity back to city customers at a discount of 3 to 5 percent.

"We intend for Vineland to be a leader in the solar area," said Joe Isabella, director of the Vineland Municipal Electric Utility. Conectiv Chief Financial Officer Art Agra said he expected the first two megawatts worth of solar panels to be online by year's end and for the second two megawatts to be online by June 1, 2010. All told, the energy produced is expected to be enough to power 400 to 500 homes. Full story here

We've also been bombarded by stories declaring that new car sales have all but skidded to a halt. While vehicle manufacturing surely is taking a pummeling, there was this story in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer......

Subaru does it again as sales rise 8 percent for January
OK, Subaru of America Inc. is really starting to make a habit of this. While the rest of the auto industry shows off its January sales wounds, the small Cherry Hill-based automaker once again reported monthly sales that were higher than a year ago.

Subaru today said it sold 12,194 units last month, up 8 percent from the 11,289 units in January 2008.

That sales success follows a 2008 when Subaru was the only automaker to sell more vehicles than it did the year before.

Now the company is small, with only five models: the Legacy, Outback, Impreza, Forester and Tribeca. And its market share is less than 2 percent of the U.S. new vehicle market.

But still, the 41-year-old company deserves some credit. Volkswagen of America Inc., which has a slightly bigger market share, reported its January sales were down 11.6 percent over January 2008. The German automaker sold 12,744 units in the U.S.

(Hyundai, which sells twice the number of vehicles Subaru does in the U.S., also had a good January with sales up 14 percent to 24,512 units.) Full story here

And, finally, while recent earnings and job-loss headlines might have us concluding that all business is failing and everyone's heading for the unemployment lines, consider these rays of light....

Merck, Schering-Plough top forecasts on cost cuts
Stocks jump following rebound in home sales
Sunoco posts $204M 4Q profit

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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The weather outside is frightful but this Jersey beach rap so delightful

As the snow piles up outside, we thank Star-Ledger columnist Paul Mulshine for calling our attention today to rapper B T Wall's ode to summer life at the Jersey Shore...

Arrive on Vacation, Leave on Probation

Monday, February 2, 2009

NJ's Great Power Line Debate: Round 2


In case you're just joining New Jersey's big power-line debate, here's where things stand.

Public Service Electric & Gas, New Jersey's largest and most politically powerful utility, wants to erect the 500-kv Susquehanna-Roseland electric transmission line between the Delaware Water Gap in Warren County and the town of Roseland in Essex County.

A number of municipalities and residents along the route, joined by a coalition of environmental organizations, oppose the project for various reasons, principally centering on concerns involving property values, health questions and the project's potential to encourage sprawl and degrade the environment.

Part of the power line would run through the Highlands, an area of the state that the Legislature has put off limits to development because of its perceived environmental sensitivity.

Staff members of the Highlands Council, the state agency riding herd on all development in the area, has reviewed the PSE&G proposal and determined that it is not in compliance with the Highlands Act, the Highlands Regional Master Plan and with NJDEP's rules governing the Highlands Preservation Area. The staff reported its findings on December 22, 2008.

On January 30, 2009,PSE&G formally responded with comments arguing that the project, as a "utility line upgrade," need only be consistent with the Highlands Act's "goals and purposes."

The utility's arguments are summarized in a three-page cover letter to the Council from PSE&G's Director of Environmental Policy and Strategy Donald McCloskey, and detailed in a seven-page legal analysis by Dennis M. Toft, an attorney with the firm of Wolff and Samson.

The arguments no doubt will be scrutinized by project foes and their attorneys. That's because they provide the legal platform that political leaders can stand on should they decide to grant PSE&G an exemption, allowing the project to move ahead.

That's the legal side of the fight and it likely will receive its next airing when the Highlands Council meets on February 23.

Big public policy decisions in New Jersey, however, are not made on the basis of legalities alone. So PSE&G, as politically astute a corporation as you'll find anywhere, also continues to advance its case on the public relations front in a series of paid "advertorials" appearing on the opinion pages of New Jersey's largest daily newspaper, the Star-Ledger.

These pieces of persuasion are so devilishly masterful, both in design and execution, that they deserve separate attention, which I plan to provide in an upcoming post.

Stay tuned.

MORE:

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Week's top environmental news in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Jan. 24-30



Below are just a few of the environmental news stories for New Jersey and Pennsylvania which appeared in
EnviroPolitics during the week of January 24-30.

New Jersey

State hits tomato grower with $900K fine Calling the violations "the most serious ... ever uncovered," the state DEP y fines a Florida tomato growing company for improperly using pesticides on 17 fields it operates in New Jersey, putting workers and consumers alike in jeopardy Star-Ledger AC Press

Hackensack developer files for Chapter 11 SkyMark Holdings Inc., a Hackensack developer, and its CEO, Robert L’Abbate of Washington Township, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, apparently victims of the worst real estate market in decades Bergen Record

Deal reached in Passaic River pollution study The federal government will be reimbursed for $600,000 used to study the effects of the lower Passaic River pollution on wildlife under an agreement with 23 companies, officials say Bergen Record

NJ air gets boost from Obama President Obama opened the way Monday for New Jersey, California and other states to impose aggressive limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks Bergen Record
> Editorial: The days of denial are over Bergen Record


NJ pushing for restrictions on diesel trucks at ports The Port Authority could potentially ban the oldest and most toxic diesel trucks from its Newark and Elizabeth seaports, a move scientists say would cut down on 1,000 premature deaths and 68,000 asthma attacks in New Jersey every year Bergen Record

Pennsylvania

PennsylvaniaDEP zeros in on gas tainting water
Natural gas invading at least nine water wells in Dimmock Township has been tracked to the Marcellus Shale or a similar formation being tapped by drilling crews working in the area Press and Sun Bulletin


State could take lead in clean coal tech development State government would assume a leading role in developing clean coal technology under legislation unveiled Wednesday with support from the Rendell administration Citizens Voice

Clearfield, other counties removed from drought watch DEP Acting Secretary John Hanger lifts drought watch declaration for 29 counties today in western and north central PA citing improved groundwater and stream-flow levels Gant Daily

Pottstown’s Authority wants feedback on fluoride in water supply Pottstown is one of only nine public water systems in all of southeast Pennsylvania that adds fluoride to its water. A proposal would cut the use in half The Mercury

Editorial: NY should lower levels of Delaware River reservoirs Express-Times

DEP looking out for those ‘bullied’ by developers Low-income property owner who may feel "bullied" by developers - especially potential natural gas drillers - have a friend in Harrisburg The Express


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