Like to fish & float? Have we got a gig for you

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is searching for a new executive director to replace Douglas Austen, a man the commission has been trying to cast overboard for the last 18 months.

Commission members voted in January 2008 to fire Austen but the Patriot-News reports that they reversed themselves a week later "under threat of removal as commissioners by Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration."

Apparently, the 10-member group now has a green light from the front office. It announced on Monday that it was conducting a nationwide search for Austen's replacement. The commission's news release described the move as “a transition in leadership of the organization.”

Required qualifications include "upper level management or policy-making experience in a fisheries, wildlife, conservation, or natural resources organization and minimum of a bachelor’s degree from a college or university.”

In addition to directing the operations and activities of the agency, the executive director serves as the agency’s chief law enforcement officer, and is a member of the Environmental Quality Board, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Mid-Atlantic States Fisheries Management Council and an ex-officio member of the PFBC Boating Advisory Board.

Interested individuals should submit a résumé by Dec. 1, 2009 to: Executive Director - Search Committee, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, C/O Human Resource Office, 1601 Elmerton Ave., P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000

Related:
Search is on for new head of Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Fish and Boat Commission Launches Search for Executive Director
PA Fish and Boat Commission search within agency

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Will NJDEP's new water quality plan wipe out your development?
EPA developing remediation goals for dioxin
Offshore Rhode Island wind power at a dead calm
Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues

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Will NJDEP's new water quality plan wipe out your development?

NJBIZ reports that "the value and development potential of some real estate properties in New Jersey could take a hit as county and municipal governments prepare new wastewater management plans and redraw sewer service area boundaries.

"And despite the potentially devastating impact of such changes, many property owners are unaware they may be affected."

The business publication's Evelyn Lee explains:

"Last year, the state Department of Environmental Protection amended its Water Quality Management Planning rule, making county and municipal governments responsible for updating their wastewater management plans.

"The amended rule removes environmentally sensitive features — such as wetlands and endangered species — from sewer service areas, which encompass properties served by wastewater treatment systems. In amending the rule, the department came up with a draft map of sewer service areas to reflect the rule change, and guide counties and municipalities in developing their own sewer service area maps.

"The new maps could reassign properties currently within a sewer service area to a non-service area, said Ellen Radow Sadat, a partner at the Princeton office of law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP.

This could significantly reduce the value of the site by eliminating future development, she said, as “without sewer service, it’s very difficult for development to occur.”

Radow Sadat is calling for projects already underway to be grandfathered into the state’s new sewer service areas: “People have invested their money in the land, with the prospect of potentially growing and expanding in New Jersey.”

See the entire NJBIZ story here.

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Related:

Drinker Biddle: The potential demise of your development rights
Langan: Status of NJDEP efforts to update WQM plans

NJDEP Water Quallity Management Plan website

Our most recent posts:
EPA developing remediation goals for dioxin
Offshore Rhode Island wind power at a dead calm
Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues
Hate development surprises? Read this

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EPA developing remediation goals for dioxin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a plan to develop interim preliminary remediation goals (PRGs) for dioxin in soil at contaminated sites.

The plan includes a review of current dioxin cleanup guidance that has been established by the EPA, states and other countries, including the latest fully peer-reviewed dioxin toxicity assessments.

EPA will release the draft interim PRGs for public comment in December 2009, and anticipates issuing the final interim PRGs in June 2010.

The agency is currently undertaking a reassessment of dioxin, the results of which are expected to be released by the end of 2010.

More information on the plan and how to comment: www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/remedy/sfremedy/remedies/dioxininterimplan.html


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Offshore Rhode Island wind power at a dead calm
Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues
Hate development surprises? Read this.

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Offshore Rhode Island wind power at a dead calm

Plans to build the first offshore wind farm in Rhode Island have suffered a setback after the developer, Hoboken, New Jersey-based Deepwater Wind, failed to reach an agreement to sell electricity to the state’s largest electric utility, National Grid.

The Providence Journal reports: "National Grid this week rejected a proposal to purchase energy from a small wind farm that Deepwater Wind plans to build off Block Island. In documents filed with the state Public Utilities Commission Thursday, National Grid says that negotiations with Deepwater have so far failed to yield a “commercially reasonable” power-purchase agreement, mainly because the projected cost of electricity generated by the wind farm would be three times the price of energy from traditional sources.

“The [agreement], in pure financial terms, is uneconomic by a significant margin for Rhode Island customers for the entire term,” wrote National Grid attorney Ronald T. Gerwatowski.

The filing, submitted late Thursday afternoon to meet a deadline set by a new state law, does not signal an end to talks between the two sides. It is, however, a blow to Deepwater, which until now had encountered no significant obstacles in its race with other companies to install the first offshore wind turbines in the United States.

The New Jersey-based start-up company needs a contract not just because it would guarantee a buyer for its electricity, but also because such an agreement would help attract additional financing for its two projects in Rhode Island that will cost a total of $1.5 billion.

Deepwater first plans to install up to eight turbines three miles off the Block Island coast by 2012 and would follow that demonstration project with a much larger wind farm consisting of approximately 100 turbines at least 15 miles from the Rhode Island shore.

There is more to the story which continues here

Related:
With little precedent, cost of wind power up in the air
Maine pulls in $8M for floating offshore wind farm
DOE Awards $24 Million for Wind Energy Research
America's Offshore Wind Race is On
New York plans U.S.'s largest offshore wind farm
NJ's offshore wind energy pick is lobbying large

Our most recent posts:
Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues
Hate development surprises? Read this.
NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor

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NJ's Governor Candidates on 'Smart Growth'

New Jersey Future asked the state's three leading candidates for governor to respond to a questionnaire about smart growth.

The organization reports today that the responses given to six questions posed offered "many similarities-along with some nuanced differences."

Here's how New Jersey Future summarized the answers:

Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine, the incumbent, emphasizes steps his administration has taken, from the Global Warming Response Act to the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant Program, as evidence of his commitment to promote both a strong economy and a healthy environment. In a second term, he pledges that his Policy Office "will convene a State Plan cabinet working group to align state agency actions with State Plan objectives."

Republican Christopher Christie criticizes the Governor's failure in his first term "to coordinate and focus the efforts of multiple departments" in redevelopment activities and land-use management. He touts his own "Bringing Back Our Cities" plan, which includes tax incentives aimed at revitalizing urban areas, adding, "The Office of State Planning needs to be restored to a leadership role" in carrying out the State Plan.

Independent Christopher Daggett proposes to promote smart growth by expanding transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) programs statewide and restoring Regional Contribution Agreements (RCA) as a tool for producing new affordable-housing units in receiving municipalities. He also pledges to "reconvene state and local government officials, builders, environmentalists, business leaders and housing advocates to re-examine the State Plan."

Read the candidates' full answers to all six questions here.

Our most recent posts:
Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues
Hate development surprises? Read this.
NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor
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Independent shaking up Jersey's Governor's race

In New Jersey, races for governor run the same predictable course.

Democrats and Republicans each choose a candidate. The Democrat gets the support of the teachers, construction unions and enviro groups. The Republican wins the blessing of major business organizations and each gets the editorial endorsements of some of the state's daily newspapers.

Sure, there are other candidates on the ballot but they represent groups so far out on the fringe that even their relatives have a tough time pulling their lever.

This year is different. Voters will get to select from three credible candidates--Democrat Jon Corzine, Republican Chris Christie, and the Independent Chris Daggett.

And this time, the Independent is not some guy in a tin foil hat. Mr. Daggett has solid experience in government--both at the state and federal level--and has not only won the support of one of the state's largest environmental organizations, the Sierra Club, but, in a real shocker, also was endorsed over the weekend by the state's largest newspaper--the Star-Ledger.

An Independent endorsed by the Star-Ledger? Whoa, now that's big.

Why? Because Independents don't have a chance of winning.

Why? Because:

1. Voters are most influenced by television ad campaigns.

2. Television ad campaigns are very, very expensive.

3. Independents can't rely on interest groups to fund ad buys.

The Star-Ledger understands all this, so why would they back the Independent?

Here's their explanation:

The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight.

Only by breaking the hold of the Democratic and Republican mandarins on the governor’s office and putting a rein on their power will the state have any hope for the kind of change needed to halt its downward economic, political and ethical spiral.

New Jersey needs radical change in Trenton. Neither of the major parties is likely to provide it. Daggett’s election would send shock waves through New Jersey’s ossified political system and, we believe, provide a start in a new direction.

It would signal the entrenched leadership of both parties — and the interest groups they regularly represent — that an ill-served and angry electorate demands something better.

The lamentable fact is that the two parties are, themselves, little more than narrow special interests. Their competition for short-term political and/or monetary gain has jeopardized the state’s long-term economic health and left it with a tarnished national reputation.

Where the major parties have differed, their differences have been inconsequential. Where they’ve been the same, their similarities have been destructive.

They have contributed equally to gross overspending in Trenton by consistently pandering to the pay, pension and retirement policies demanded by powerful public employee unions. Democrats have financed the spree with tax hikes, Republicans with borrowed money, and both with pension-fund raids.

How do we now signal them that this has got to stop if not by rejecting their anointed candidates? How if not by electing Chris Daggett?

Agree? Disagree? Tell us what do you think in the comment box below. If you don't see one, click on the tiny 'comments' line to open it.

Related:
Voters are starting to listen to the independent candidate for governor
Independent Candidate Stirs Up the Governor’s Race in New Jersey
Star-Ledger endorses independent Chris Daggett for N.J. governor

Our most recent posts:
NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues
Hate development surprises? Read this.
NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor
Want to participate in the next RGGI auction?
'60 Minutes' on the problems with coal waste

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NJ governor hopefuls on key environmental issues

The (Newark) Star-Ledger got the the state's three gubernatorial candidates to answer questions on a number of important environmental issues today--from open-space funding and site cleanups to nuclear energy and bear hunts.

Several of the answers are refreshingly specific. You might even find a surprise or two. For example, Republican Chris Christie is the only one of the three to dismiss nuclear energy as a part of New Jersey's energy-growth picture.

You'll find the entire Star-Ledger interview here.

As always, we encourage you to share your point of view. Use the comment box below. If one doesn't appear, click the tiny 'comments' line to activate it.

Our most recent posts:

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NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor
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Hate development surprises? Read this.

"Does your project development due diligence checklist include a review of resolutions passed by the Council on Affordable Housing ("COAH")? If not, your project might be at risk, and you may not discover it until you are ready to start construction."

That's the alarm-bell opening paragraph in a bulletin sent by the Gibbons law firm to clients in New Jersey--especially those who have projects in the state's Highlands region.

The alert, authored by attorneys Douglas J. Janacek and Michael Miceli, both of the firm's Real Property & Environment practice, goes on to explain:

"Last year, Governor Corzine signed an Executive Order, which required the Highlands Council to cooperate with COAH, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Community Affairs to, among other things, ensure that municipalities in the Highlands maximize affordable housing opportunities while preserving critical environmental resources, including scarce land, water, and sewer resources, by dedicating those resources on a priority basis to the production of affordable housing.

"In response, the Highlands Council and COAH entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to "develop a cooperative planning process that will enable each agency to carry out their respective" responsibilities. Regarding the preservation of scarce resources, the MOU required COAH to issue a "scarce resource order" for all Highlands municipalities under COAH's jurisdiction.

"Outside the rubric of formal rulemaking (and thus, subject to little if any public scrutiny), COAH adopted a resolution implementing a scarce resource restraint on the 51 Highlands municipalities under its jurisdiction (since then, COAH has lifted the restraint on 12 Highlands municipalities that submitted third round housing element and fair share plans; it extended the deadline to submit for certification for the remaining municipalities, but kept the restraint in place for them). The restraint, which impacts developments in the Planning Area and Preservation Area of the Highlands, reserves scarce resources that may be essential to fulfill a municipality's fair share obligation. It applies to municipal actions associated with development approvals, water allocation, and wastewater allocation.

"What does that mean to you? Essentially, in the affected Highlands municipalities, the restraint becomes an unfulfilled condition precedent to any development approval or construction activity unless the application is exempt or is formally granted a waiver."

Interested in reading more? You'll find the entire IN-SITES newsletter article here.

Other COAH news:
Township to split architectural plans for COAH project
COAH obligation may be reduced
COAH is a four letter word in the suburbs

Our most recent posts:
NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor
Want to participate in the next RGGI auction?

'60 Minutes' on the problems with coal waste
Week's top environmental news: Sep. 28 - Oct. 2, 2009
New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules

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NJ enviro group backs Christie for governor

No that's not a typo in the headline.

The New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJEF), one of the largest enviro-activist organizations in the state has endorsed not only a (gulp) Republican for governor but (double-gulp) one who served in the federal government under Bush/Cheney.

Yes, we're talking about Chris Christie.

Surprised? Amazed? And maybe a bit baffled?
We are, too.

It was one thing for the Sierra Club to endorse former NJDEP Commissioner Chris Daggett's independent campaign for governor. But it's another for the NJEF, which had originally announced it would make no endorsement in the race, to come out for Christie.

What's going on? We don't know. But here's a theory.

The state's other big enviro group, the Sierra Club, didn't just stop with their endorsement of Daggett. Its leader went on, in press release after press release, to rip incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine's environmental record.

The pounding culminated in the astonishing claim that Corzine is
the worst environmental governor in history.

Whoa! Did they forget all about Christie (Honey, I shrunk the DEP) Whitman and Jim "fast track development" McGreevey?

Is this the same Jon Corzine who the rest of us have seen signing one environmental bill after another? The governor who got out ahead of virtually all other states in setting aggressive goals for greenhouse gas reductions. The guy who has backed cap-and-trade, solar-energy incentives and offshore wind power development?

And, even if the Sierra Club wasn't satisfied with Corzine's record, it's one thing to back another candidate to display your convictions but totally another to flay a sitting governor who just might win re-election. That, we submit, is just plain dumb.

So, our theory continues, rather than risk seeing the governor's office door slammed on the environmental community for the next four years, it might be a good idea for the other big green group to back the other major candidate...even if he is a Republican friend of Karl Rove.

There's one tiny weakness to the strategy. Corzine could win.

Then what happens?

The enviros may be counting on the fact that Jon can't seem to repress a single "progressive" reflex. They may have good reason to suspect that, after a decent interval for sulking, he'll succumb to let's kiss and make up.

But what if the governor has been in New Jersey long enough now to adopt a more native political reaction? You know, the one called: Piss me off and see who wins.

Time will tell. In the meanwhile, we thought you might enjoy the Star-Ledger video below.

Even after today's NJEF announcement, is still a pretty good summary of the New Jersey environmental community's current political quandry.

Want to participate in the next RGGI auction?

Interested in learning about the procedures
and qualifications necessary to participate in the next Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region RGGI auction to be held on December 2, 2009?

You'll get a chance to learn all you need in a free webinar that will be presented by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc (RGGI) from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 8.

The on-line seminar, which is open to all, will review the auction format, forms that need to be submitted, and bidder qualification processes. No registration is required. To access the webinar audio, dial the teleconference access number: (888) 875-4624 and enter
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For more information on the webinar and on RGGI, visit our
Enviro-Business News page.

While you're there, sign up for free email alerts and consider submitting your own news releases for publication.

Related:
Carbon Futures Fall to Low on U.S. Northeast Auction
Cap and Trade: Can the U.S. Afford It?

Our most recent posts:
'60 Minutes' on the problems with coal waste
Week's top environmental news: Sep. 28 - Oct. 2, 2009
New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules
EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list

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'60 Minutes' on the problems with coal waste

Lesley Stahl yesterday on 60 Minutes focused on the environmental and human health threats posed by the 130-million tons of ash and other wastes produced annually in the U.S. in the process of burning coal to make electricity.

Environmentalists and others have been pressing to have the material declared a hazardous waste because it contains arsenic,
lead and other toxic materials.

The coal and power industries say such a designation would force disposal costs to skyrocket.

They argue, instead, for other "beneficial uses" of the material, for example, as fill material under golf courses.

In an interview with Stahl, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says her agency is reviewing a number of factors including "the toxicity of the material and how it is currently managed."

Jackson said her agency "will make a regulatory proposal no later than December."

Read the entire story here or watch it below.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Use the comment box below to share your views on the issue.
If it's not visible, click on the tiny "comment" line below.

Related:
Alabama: Coal Ash Cleanup Advances
EPA Promoting Coal Ash for Consumer Use

Our most recent posts:
Week's top environmental news: Sep. 28 - Oct. 2
New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules
EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list
PSE&G's latest New Jersey power line concessions

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Week's top environmental news in NJ, PA & NY: Sep. 28 - Oct. 2, 2009

Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond that appeared in EnviroPolitics during the week of Sep. 28 to Oct 2, 2009.

New Jersey Environment

Popular oyster program nearly out of money
Federal funding has hit a predetermined $5M cap, and now the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Project can't go for more AC Press


NJ utility CEO fights for climate bill A new Senate bill putting limits on carbon dioxide emissions will raise the cost of electricity, but national regulation is needed and could makeNew Jersey more competitive, the head of the state’s largest utility said Wednesday The Record

Campaign seeks support for open space bond issue A coalition of 135 conservation, environmental and historic preservation groups launched a campaign today to win voter support for a $400 million referendum to replenish state funds for open space preservation Star-Ledger

Regulators want limit on weakfish by 2010 After a brief, dismal 2009 season for weakfish, recreational anglers may be limited to catching one or two weakfish on their 2010 trips — or not fishing for the species at all AP Press

Enviros, developers disagree over state plan's shape Enviro activists charged Thursday that an influential coalition of developers and their allies are hiding behind smart growth, economic recovery, and the election, to push a series of bills though the Legislature that the activists see as proposals that would undermine environmental protections NJ Newsroom Star-Ledger NJBIZ Gannett

New Jersey Politics

Governor candidates clash in first TV debate In the first televised debate of the hotly contested New Jersey governor's race, the three leading candidates last night focused on the economy, property taxes, health care, and education, with each arguing that he would be the best person to lead the state through difficult financial times Inquirer Star-Ledger Debate Excerpts

Former Irvington mayor admits corruption Former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele will serve at least five years in prison for accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks while working as the school business administrator Star-Ledger NJNR
> Opinion: The political culture must change Bob Villare

Sweeney says he has the votes to unseat Codey Key senators from all regions said to endorse him PolitickerNJ
> Codey accuses Norcross of underhanded campaign As he wages the fight of his life to hold on to his Senate presidency, Dick Codey sees work of his arch enemy everywhere Star-Ledger

Ex-Bergen Democratic counsel Oury pleads guilty Dennis Oury pleads guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and failing to file a tax return for 2006; plea comes two days before trial The Record

Poll: Property taxes top Jerseyans’ concerns Half the residents say they’d like to move out of state NJ Newsroom

Pennsylvania Environment

Enviros fight gas leasing in PA forests
A buried treasure of natural gas under Pennsylvania's state forests and hills has a lot of people hoping for a big payoff: rural landowners, big energy companies and, now, the state's politicians Inquirer Towanda Daily Review Editorial: Fools Gold

Pennsylvania farm pollution - from bad to worse? A PA environmental group is warning that pollution from large-scale livestock farms in that state is worsening, and it's calling for stricter government regulations and enforcement to help restore the Chesapeake Bay Baltimore Sun blog

Environmental compliance and safety promised by natural gas driller Nearly 200 people listened Monday night to remarks from a principal of Rice Energy LP, a company that plans to drill for natural gas beneath Farragut in the Marcellus Shale layer, and most of the queries were about how waste water is managed Sun-Gazette

Editorial: Sales-tax insanity The legislature might not be scrounging to pay for schools and roads if the statewide 6 percent sales tax were applied more fairly and were updated to reflect changes in the economy Inquirer

Opinion: Budget targets environment The state budget agreement being finalized by Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders would have a devastating impact on Pennsylvania's environment Inquirer

Pennsylvania Politics

State budget deal appears jeopardized The tenuous bipartisan budget deal that Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders announced two weeks ago appeared to be in jeopardy last night Inquirer
> Behind the budgetary chaos Inquirer

11th-hour gas pains cloud state budget deal Battle lines are drawn in the House over whether Pennsylvania should expand natural gas drilling in state-owned forests, raising $60 million a year, or join more than three-dozen other states and impose a ''severance tax'' on the extraction of natural resources Morning Call

New York/ Nation/ World

Mob infiltration seen in New York City Agency The latest indictment to hit the New York City Buildings Department taps into the usual themes of bribery, corruption and compromised inspections. But it also introduces a new criminal element into the agency: the mob New York Times

Study warns of mercury near site Elevated levels of toxic mercury and other heavy metals are in neighborhoods around the Lafarge cement plant in Ravena Albany Times Union

Experts advise re-licensing for Indian Point Independent experts advising federal regulators on nuclear safety say Indian Point should be granted a 20-year extension LoHud. News

US bans sea bass fishing in its waters The federal government is banning black sea bass angling, beginning Monday, for 180 days because the year's catch is already over the 2009 quota AC Press

Invasive species threaten New York's natural order As a threat, invasives have been judged second only to habitat loss when it comes to a region's biodiversity LoHud Journal

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New York proposes Marcellus Shale drilling rules

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) yesterday released its eagerly awaited draft environmental impact statement which, after public comment and final adoption, will guide the state in issuing permits for drilling in the natural-gas-rich Marcellus Shale region.

In developing the 500-page document, the DEC said it studied the potential impacts of :

(1) water withdrawals
(2) transportation of water to the site
(3) the use of additives in the water to enhance the hydraulic fracturing process
(4) space and facilities required at the well site to ensure proper handling of water and additives
(5) removal of spent fracturing fluid from the well site and its ultimate disposition, and
(6) potential impacts at well sites where multiple wells will be drilled during a three-year period.

Here's where you can view the entire Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement On The Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program

The public comment period will end on November 30, 2009.

There are three ways to submit comments:

1. By using an on line submission system which allows for written comments and attachments
2. By submitting e-mail comments (include your name, e-mail or return mail address to ensure you will receive notice of the Final SGEIS when it is available)
3. By submitting written comments to:
Attn: dSGEIS Comments
Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation
NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources
625 Broadway, Third Floor
Albany, NY 12233-6500.

Related:
NY regulators release gas drilling rules
NY regulators propose pre-emptive checks of gas wells
Schlumberger Presses for Shale-Gas Openness as Regulation Looms
Bad economy? Not in the Marcellus Shale
USGS report drills into Marcellus Shale concerns

Our most recent posts:
EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list
PSE&G's latest New Jersey power line concessions
A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers
New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time

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