Are you involved in New Jersey's young but growing solar energy industry?
"Apparently, when the proper pigments and chemicals are added to black paint, the resulting color is currently being referred to as "mud-puddle brown."
Does your town, authority or corporation have a large swath of property requiring mowing an weed control? You might want to employ a hard-working (and all natural) lawn crew like this one....
They work sunup to sundown, drop to the ground for their breaks and never sneak away to Starbucks. And some of them even give birth to new workers on the spot.
But a good work ethic is only one of the benefits of the newest additions to San Jose's Green Vision. Nine hundred sheep and 100 goats have been on the job grazing around the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant since February, avoiding the use of dozens of pounds of herbicides.
"The joke in the office is you know they're working hard because their heads are
always down," said Jennifer Garnett, a spokeswoman for the city's environmental
services.
By having the sheep and goats do what they do naturally, the city also is helping to diminish pollution of waterways because there is no herbicide runoff where the woolly grazers are working. And, they're able to get the job done without the use of gas-powered mowers, one of the key goals of San Jose's Green Vision — reducing the use of nonrenewable energy.
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New Jersey’s budget troubles, overseeing chromium cleanups, sinking scallop boats, homeowners going geothermal, windmills, gas drilling, dead deer, and a former political powerhouse vanquished by a Philadelphia federal jury. 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 March 16-20, 2009.
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New Jersey Politics
Corzine offers a concession on N.J. taxes All New Jerseyans earning less than $150,000 will be able to deduct their property taxes on their income-tax bills, Gov. Corzine said yesterday, reversing course on one of the most politically volatile pieces of
his new budget Inquirer Star-Ledger
Corzine's budget is rife with fee hikes Cuts to property tax rebates are getting most of the attention, but Gov. Jon Corzine's proposed budget includes other "revenue solutions" that could
have residents and businesses paying more Star-Ledger
Corzine-Katz emails to remain secret A legal effort to force Gov. Jon Corzine to release e-mails with former girlfriend Carla Katz was turned down today by the New Jersey Supreme Court when it denied a petition filed by Tom Wilson, the chairman of New Jersey's Republican Party Star-Ledger Full text of court order
Jerseyans: Restrict gambling to Atlantic City Poll shows most in NJ think gambling should be allowed only in the 11 Atlantic City casinos—not in other areas of the state AP
New Jersey Environment
Pretrial intervention opposed in medical waste case The Philadelphia Main Line dentist accused of dumping medical waste off the Jersey Shore in August will not be permitted to enter a pretrial intervention program if the state Attorney General's Office has its way Inquirer
Overseer for chromium cleanup raises controversy Jersey City is asking a former deputy administrator for the U.S. EPA to oversee the cleanup of a chromium site. But while community and enviro groups praise his experience, they criticize the cleanup plan he would manage Jersey Journal
Homeowners going geothermal
Mitsu Yasukawa photo
When the air plunged to a bone-chilling 12 degrees earlier this month, the temperature a few hundred feet below ground remained a relatively balmy 54. It's a Natural fact that should help keep the Mandel family of Teaneck, NJ comfortable in all types of weather in any season The Star-Ledger
Scallop boat sinks offshore but crew is saved “Mayday” is the one radio call a fishing boat captain never wants to receive, but when Walt Hill Sr. heard it early Tuesday morning, he knew just what to do. Aboard the 87-foot Port of Cape May scalloper Amy Marie, Hill arrived just in time to rescue the three-man crew off a North Carolina scalloper that caught fire and sank some 30 miles offshore AC Press story and Coast Guard video
Senate approves second term for BPU's Jeanne Fox The State Senate yesterday, on a 23-13 vote, approved Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne Fox for a second six-year term as leader of New Jersey's chief regulatory authority S-Ledger
State poised to privatize toxic cleanups Private contractors will have more authority to oversee and perform toxic waste cleanups, part of a broad overhaul of state environmental policies approved yesterday by the Legislature Star-Ledger
Editorial: On windmills and wildlife A 312-page , study by the state DEP on the potential environmental impact of 300 windmills off of the coast of NJ is s stirring some controversy and producing (pardon the expression) some spin by two enviro groups- one in favor of the project and one opposed AC Press
Pennsylvania Environment
Editorial: DEP's leader says agency can balance drilling and environment The agency's critics say DEP cuts business off at the knee. That may be DEP's history, but its Acting Secretary says that's not the DEP of today Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Penn State Names New Ag Dean Bruce A. McPheron, associate dean for research and graduate education at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the PA Agricultural Experiment Station, has been appointed dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences Lancaster Farming
PA panel OKs use of gas-drilling funds Marcellus Shale revenues would be used to help plug the state budget deficit under legislation approved overwhelmingly by a Senate committee
Times-Tribune
PA deer harvest up 4 percent over previous year Hunters bagged about 336,000 deer last season in PA Inquirer
Stadium springs to life on Chester waterfront For the die-hard soccer fans who have been pilgrimaging to the site of the planned Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium in Chester on weekends to watch construction get under way, a big milestone came last week when contractors drove the first large, weight-bearing wood piles into the ground Delaware County Times
Consequences of gas drilling still unknown Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. caused natural gas to infiltrate into at least nine homes in Susquehanna County, according a letter of violation from the state DEP, but it remains unclear whether Cabot knowingly violated any regulations Times Leader
Pennsylvania Politics
Philadelphia Mayor introduces $3.84 billion budget
Daily News
Pension proposal a big test Of Philadelphia's many fiscal challenges, none is larger - or more complicated - than the woeful state of the city's pension fund Inquirer
Specter hints at showing his ‘independent’ side GOP senator says party switch would be a 'last resort' for the 2010 Pennsylvania race Morning Call
U.S. moves to seize Fumo's properties Now that former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is facing the prospect of a long prison term, federal prosecutors are moving quickly to go after his money Inquirer
Fumo jurors struck by ‘overwhelming evidence’ For 13 minutes, the word guilty rang out over and over in the hushed courtroom. In the end, the verdict against Vincent J. Fumo was a resounding affirmation of the federal case against the once-powerful lawmaker Inquirer
Ex-PA Senator Vincenet Fumo guilty on all 137 counts
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Both houses of the New Jersey Legislature yesterday passed legislation authorizing the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to license environmental engineers to oversee
the cleanup of contaminated sites.
The Licensed Site Professional legislation, expected to be signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine, is the work of the Legislature's top two environmental leaders, Senator Bob Smith and Assemblyman John McKeon.
Both lawmakers have been working on the legislation for several years, overseeing numerous versions, amendments, and public hearings with parties both supporting and opposing the legislation.
Smith and McKeon introduced their bills after declaring the state's present site remediation program--which has a backlog of more than 20,000 sites--to be broken beyond repair.
Once enacted, the legislation, S1897 /A2962 is expected to help the DEP cut into backlog, create employment opportunities in the consulting and construction fields and return so-called brownfield properties to the tax rolls and productive uses.
The legislation has been opposed by the state's primary environmental organizations. It has been supported by the Corzine Administration, the DEP, and most segments of the business community, including environmental engineering firms.
Arguments pro and con are available in our previous posts
(see below) and in reader comments.
State poised to privatize toxic cleanups
Contractors to oversee waste cleanups
NJ Licensed Site Professional bills advance
NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore
Will New Jersey see Licensed Site Professionals?
Op-Ed: LSP stands for ‘Lets Stay Polluted’
Op-Ed: New Jersey needs licensed site professionals
Editorial: An imperfect but needed solution
N.J. looks to outsource waste site cleanup
Bills aim to speed enviro-cleanups in New Jersey
Hiring a Licensed Site Professional in Massachusetts
Licensed Site Professional Association (Web Site)
Several New Jersey legislators are pushing hard to enact bills that will make it easier to site solar farms and wind turbines:
-- in industrial areas (A-2550-on Governor Corzine's desk) and,
-- on farms (S-1538 - Senate floor) and (A-2859 - Appropriations).
When they're finished with those projects, we've got a new location they might consider promoting--cemeteries.
Really. Consider the fact that many cemeteries have lots of space (which both types of alternative energy facilities require) and, well, aren't exactly bustling with activity.
Never happen, you say? Sorry, it already has.
In a Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a working-class town outside Barcelona, some 462 solar panels have been erected atop mausoleums at the town cemetery. They produce enough electricity to power 60 homes annually, and are expected to avoid 62 tons of CO2 emissions a year.
Check it out:
Spain's solar cemetery
Solar panels on graves power Spanish town
In Spain, a Solar-Powered Cemetery
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***This post was updated on Sunday, March 15, 2009**
Identical bills authorizing the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to license environmental engineers to oversee the cleanup of many of the state's 20,000 contaminated sites are scheduled for votes in the state Senate and Assembly on Monday, March 16, 2009.
Following the lead of a highly successful program in 
Massachusetts, Senator Bob Smith's S-1897 would establish a program under which Licensed Site Professionals, hired by private parties responsible for the polluted properties, would develop remediation plans and supervise the cleanup work. Their activities would be supervised by the DEP and subject to strict standards and timetables.
For years, the number of contaminated sites in the state has continued to grow. That's either been the result of slow-moving or overzealous DEP site managers or foot-dragging by private parties responsible for the cleanups. Or maybe a bit of both. It depends on who you ask.
Smith's bill should make it easier for motivated parties to get their sites cleaned up and recycled for new uses. Many of these so-called brownfield sites are in urban areas where revenue-strapped governments are desperate for new ratables. The LSP program should help.
The state's major environmental organizations have fought the bill at every turn. They claim it will allow the fox to watch over the hen house. But they've offered no reasonable alternative. Without an LSP program, the backlog of contaminated properties will only continue to grow.
Monday's floor debate on the bill should be interesting.
A companion bill, A-2962 (McKeon), is in place for a vote in the Assembly but no date for that vote has been announced.
To learn more about the issue, try the links below:
NJ Licensed Site Professional bills advance
NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore
Will New Jersey see Licensed Site Professionals?
Op-Ed: LSP stands for ‘Lets Stay Polluted’
Op-Ed: New Jersey needs licensed site professionals
Editorial: An imperfect but needed solution
N.J. looks to outsource waste site cleanup
Bills aim to speed enviro-cleanups in New Jersey
Hiring a Licensed Site Professional in Massachusetts
Licensed Site Professional Association (Web Site)
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"Wow, we knew that America's obsession with soft and fluffy toilet paper was a problem, but how bad is it really? According to Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council, America's toilet paper problem is actually worse for the planet than it's love of fuel-hogging SUVs. That's on account of the chemicals used in the manufacture of pulp and, of course, the fact that we're leveling old-growth forests to wipe our butts with.
"The outcry over America's bathroom habits is being promoting in part by recent data showing that 98% of the toilet paper consumed in the US in 2008 came from virgin fibers (compare that to 60% in Europe and Latin America). According to the NYT, a significant portion of the quilted, super fluffy, triple-ply TP that comes from the nation's leading brands comes from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Sadly, the super comfy paper that is enjoyed for only a couple of unsavory seconds takes decades, if not centuries, to grow. Of course, there are plenty of alternatives out there like recycled TP or -- for hardcore conservationists -- the cloth toilet wipe."
With the economy playing havoc with new vehicle sales, wouldn't this be a great time to pick up on a Hummer at at huge discount. Then you can drive it over to your local grocery wholesaler and fill its cavernous interior with crates of Greenpeace-recommended toilet paper made of high post-consumer and recycled content. 
Some 200 solar energy companies facing increased funding challenges in dismal economic times--and a smaller number of businesses offering energy efficiency services--could be in for a big boost thanks to the federal stimulus package.
NJBIZ reports today that about $90 million of federal stimulus money will go toward the State Energy Program for energy saving projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative fuels, according to the state Board of Public Utilities.
An additional $121.9 million will be provided through the Weatherization Assistance Program to improve energy efficiency in low-income housing units — an investment that could help to create more than 9,000 jobs in the state, according to some estimates.
“For a company like ours, it could more than double the work that we can do, and more than double the revenues we would otherwise be anticipating,” said S. Lynne Sutcliffe, chief executive of The EnergySolve, an energy services company based in Somerset, NJ. The company plans additional hiring, as well; it employs 50 at present.
For several years, New Jersey's solar-installation market was red hot due to extremely generous subsidies offered by the BPU for commercial and residential projects. When the money ran out, business fell off. The drying up of bank credit in the nation's current economic crisis has only made matters worse.
The stimulus funds, channeled through the BPU's NJGreen program (currently undergoing changes) could help to stabilize, if not revive, the state's alternative-energy industry.
Ed Seliga, vice president of Advanced Solar Products of Hopewell, NJ, the largest installer of solar power systems in the Mid-Atlantic region, said the proposed program could allow businesses to receive federal funds within a few months, shortening the payback period — the time between making an investment and realizing financial benefits — by a year. As a result, businesses “would borrow far less,” he said.
For New Jersey's young alternative energy businesses, that's not only a promising development, it may be an essential one.
Are you involved in an alternative energy business? Give us your thoughts on the current situation and what can/should be done. Use the comment box below. If you don't see one, click on the tiny 'comments' line below and it will appear.
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"They have tinkered. They have beefed up oversight of outside contracts. They have hired a management consultant. And they are weighing a long list of recommendations," the reporters noted of the Senate's response.
"The Fumo case created a foundation for the Senate to build a better government. Each count against him was part of a new building, and so far they don't even have a basement."
But Chris Christie? The two-fisted, political-corruption-fighting former federal prosecutor?
"Sometime in the next few days, three men will make a decision that comes awfully close to playing God with the Chesapeake Bay."
That's Washington Post writer David A. Fahrenthold's dramatic lead to his February 15 story on controversial plans to introduce a non-native species of oyster to the Chesapeake Bay and other locations where native oysters have suffered from decades of pollution and disease.
Photo by James M. Thresher/Washington Post
Ironically, at a time when America's flagging economy is being partially stabilized by China's massive purchases of our national debt, many American watermen and looking to the Asian Oyster as the possible savior of their historic industry.
Environmentalists generally oppose the idea saying the new species may drive out native oysters. (Echos, again of larger national debates)
Below are three recent that explore the oyster controversy in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia:
Oysters may yet thrive in Delaware Bay (Wilmington News Journal)
Another skirmish over Asian oysters (Baltimore Sun)
Seafood group seeks OK to grow Asian oysters (The Virginian-Pilot)
Jason Springer, over at the exuberantly left-leaning Blue Jersey blog, used one of our posts yesterday to set up a discussion of the controversial Licensed Site Professionals (LSP)legislation which is in place for floor votes in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature.
It wasn't the first time that Jason has made note of things we discuss here and we thank him for keeping an eye on us.
We try to read Blue Jersey every day. To keep our political scales in balance, In the Lobby is also on our daily must-read list. This blog has as much fun teasing Jersey Democrats as Blue Jersey does poking sticks at the GOP.
We wouldn't want to do without either.
OK, you 'Lobby' guys better say something nice about EnviroPolitics Blog soon or we're switching totally over to the dark side, as in...
Getting back to our LSP coverage, we've received a considerable number of reader comments and are keeping the doors open for more. You'll find them below the posts at:
NJ Licensed Site Professional bills advance (1 comment)
NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore ( 9 comments)
Folks on both sides of the issue are doing a nice job of arguing their case. Click on either one and then add your two-cents-worth in the comment box.
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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 23-27.
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New Jersey Politics
Corzine to Supreme Court: Don’t revisit ruling on Carla The state Supreme Court should not decide whether e-mails exchanged by Gov. Jon Corzine and former state workers union leader Carla Katz should be released to the public, lawyers for Governor Jon Corzine said today Star-Ledger
Lowenstein Sandler lays off 8 percent of attorneys The Roseland-based law firm let go of 21 lawyers and 32 staff employees and reduced its incoming associate class size by three spots New Jersey Law Journal
Lautenberg foundation sues Madoff brother over $7M Sen. Frank Lautenberg's family foundation, which invested more than $7 million with Bernard L. Madoff, filed a lawsuit today against the brother of the disgraced financier Star-Ledger
Corzine: Stimulus to deliver $1B in budget relief Gov. Jon Corzine said yesterday the federal stimulus package will soften the damage to the budget he will deliver next month by providing more than $1 billion in direct relief Star-Ledger
Star-Ledger, Record merge Statehouse reporting NJ's two largest newspapers, The Star-Ledger and The Bergen Record announce that they will form a combined Statehouse bureau. With a staff of 11, will be the nation’s largest Star-Ledger
New Jersey Environment
Trenton puts cleanups on a fast track A plan allowing private engineers to oversee the long-delayed cleanups of most of NJ's 24,000 polluted sites wins unanimous approval at a special session of Assembly and Senate committees, sending the measure to the Legislature despite intense opposition from environmental groups Star-Ledger Bergen Record EP Blog
Renewable energy bills make gains Two bills promoting renewable energy advanced in Trenton this week as part of the state's push to have 20 percent of its electricity generated by sources such as solar and wind power by 2020 Bergen Record
Enviros target proposed LNG facilities If three proposals on the drawing board win approval, there will be port storage and regasification (conversion of liquid back to gas) facilities for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) offshore from the New Jersey coastline The Examiner
Enviro groups oppose hydroelectric plant in Sparta The plant would create power during the day -- when demand is at its peak and most expensive -- by feeding water down a 2,000-foot cavern to feed electricity-producing turbines. During low-demand periods at night, the process is reversed and cheaper power is used to pump the water back up Star-Ledger
Towns plot Passaic River lawsuit strategy Some of the 70 North Jersey towns and cities named in a lawsuit that claims they're responsible for polluting the lower Passaic River are fighting back Bergen Record
Trail ends for wildlife volunteers State decommissions its team of unpaid deputy conservation officers who, armed and extensively trained, helped their full-time counterparts track down poachers, investigate dumping in state forests and report of people tearing up ecologically sensitive trails with all-terrain vehicles. Group falls victim tl budget shortfalls and concerns about insurance liability Star-Ledger
Pennsylvania Environment
Are Lehigh Canal mules a terror threat?
Photo: Kevin Mingora/The Morning Call
To most people, George and Hank are just mules that pull a canal boat through the Lehigh Canal in Easton, PA. But to Transportation Security
Administration officials, they're a matter of national security. Read why
Stricter air standards may put Lehigh Valley at 'unhealthy' level The federal agency that monitors air quality has noticed that people in the Lehigh Valley can breathe easier. Still, the EPA is expected to nail the region for too much smog Morning Call
Shale still delivering change in Pennsylvania Exploration of the gas-bearing shale underlying much of the state will continue to change the fiscal and environmental future of Northeast Pennsylvania despite the national economic crisis, presenters at a forum said Tuesday Scranton Times-Tribune
Concern grows about possible methane in water wells Times-Tribune
DEP runs short on funds for sewage reimbursement Barrett Supervisor Rick Scrudato was surprised Friday to hear his Monroe County township was one of 91 municipalities to see a delay in state reimbursement for costs to permit and inspect on-lot sewage systems Morning Call
PPL files deferral plan with regulators The company’s plan would allow customers to partly defer sharp price increases set to begin in 2010 Express-Times
Study of private water wells reveals good and bad news The levels of lead and nitrates in wells seem to have fallen sharply in the last 25 years, but 40 percent of the more than 700 wells tested failed to meet the state's safe-drinking-water standards for at least one contaminant Gant Daily
Pennsylvania Politics
Fumo’s defense: It’s all just a federal vendetta Inquirer
Living in 'Fumo World,' with a 'royalty complex' During his closing argument yesterday at the trial of former state Sen. Vince Fumo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Zauzmer said Fumo was a man with a "royalty complex" and a willingness to spend other people's money Inquirer
Court: No harm in lawmaker pay raise A panel of federal judges yesterday upheld a lower court decision dismissing claims that state lawmakers and top members of the judiciary conspired to enact the controversial 2005 pay raise Inquirer
Bushels of Bibles for state lawmakers With the state sinking deeper into a fiscal hole, the Pennsylvania General Assembly bought 220 Bibles and other holy books for legislators as they took the oath of office last month Inquirer
Ex-Philadelphia councilman's aide, two others guilty of fraud Inquirer
Who's the boss? In Harrisburg, scores of legislative staffers make more than lawmakers It's not often the average worker makes more than the boss, but in the Pennsylvania Legislature it happens all the time Morning Call
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Subscribers to EnviroPolitics get access to full versions of all the top environmental and political news stories in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York every business day. They also are alerted to environmental regulations proposed in Trenton and Harrisburg and are able to track all environmental legislation in both states--from introduction to enactment! See what you've been missing. Try a no-obligation, 30-day subscription: Free Trial *************************************************************
