EnviroPolitics Blog

Envrios claim EPA is giving 'dirty diesel' a free pass

Editor@EnviroPolitics.com (Frank Brill) — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:30:45 PDT

The green trio of PennFuture, Sierra Club, and NRDC today blasted new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The activists say the rules create loopholes for dirty diesel and gas electricity generators, allowing them to avoid installing pollution controls for toxic and other air pollution emissions.

"These proposed rules sacrifice local air quality and public health, distort energy markets, and could endanger electricity reliability in our region," said Christina Simeone, director of the PennFuture Energy Center, a program of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future.

Several years ago, EPA adopted rules limiting the amount of toxic air emissions -- like formaldehyde and benzene -- that are released from small diesel and gas-fired generators.

In a news release the organizations say that EPA is now proposing to allow dirty generators to increase by six times the number of hours they may operate in electricity planning programs without any pollution controls.

"EPA's proposal would create a loophole allowing dirty generators to participate in profitable electricity market programs, giving them additional revenue while avoiding life-saving pollution controls," said Courtney Lane, senior policy analyst at PennFuture.

"The loophole in these rules could result in reduced reliability and will result in increased air pollution, by making the electricity system more dependent on small, dirty sources of electricity. Closing this loophole will send market signals to invest in cleaner generation and conservation while better protecting Americans' health," said John Walke, clean air director and senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

"Nobody gets a free pass," said Mark Kresowik, eastern region deputy director for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. "Even the local operators of the electric grid say that our energy supply is secure. Don't tell mothers that the only way to ensure a stable electric supply is to put their kids' health in danger... The technologies exist to reduce this pollution, and that's why EPA should close the loophole."

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Our most recent posts:|
NJ Assembly voting on 'waiver' bill and a gas from past
After 25 years, how's recycling doing in NJ? - Part 1
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NJ Assembly voting on 'waiver' bill and a gas from past

Editor@EnviroPolitics.com (Frank Brill) — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:17:12 PDT

NJ Assembly Chamber - Tony Kurdzuk (Star Ledger)

New Jersey environmental groups are pushing hard for passage today of two bills in the state Assembly. The first would force the NJDEP to rewrite or withdraw its controversial 'waiver' rule. The second would invalidate Governor Chris Christie's removal of the state from RGGI, a regional greenhouse gas compact.

Waiver rule: A common sense tool or environmental protection threat?

Commissioner Bob Martin describes the Department of Environmental Protection's new
waiver rule, effective Aug. 1, as a common sense move, providing the agency with flexibility
to modify compliance with development rules in circumstances that do not compromise environmental protections.

Martin argues that the waiver process will be transparent, with all applications and actions posted prominently on the DEP's web site.

To be approved, a developer would have to demonstrate at least one of four criteria:

Public Emergency -- There is a public emergency that has been formally declared.
Conflicting Rules -- Conflicting rules (between federal and state agencies, or between state agencies) are adversely impacting a project or activity from proceeding.
Net Environmental Benefit -- A net environmental benefit would be achieved.
Undue Hardship -- Undue hardship is being imposed by the rule requirements.

"A lack of flexibility can sometimes produce unreasonable, unfair or unintended results that actually undermine the goal the rule or requirement was intended to attain,'' Martin said.

Are both sides talking about the same rule?

In dramatic contrast, environmental groups see the rule as "one of the biggest threats to the environment in the history of the Department of Environmental Protection,” according to Sierra Club President Jeff Tittel whose organization has joined with others in a law suit to block it.

"The waiver rule is an egregious affront to the laws that protect New Jersey’s environment and our health," echoed the Raritan Headwaters Association.

“Under the guise of improving the environment, DEP’s waiver rule actually reduces the environmental protection that each and every New Jersey citizen is entitled to, and in adopting a blanket waiver rule DEP has unconstitutionally exceeded the authority granted to it by the legislature,” stated Michael Pisauro of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby.

Resolution would amend or kill DEP's waiver rule

Set for a vote today in the Assembly is ACR 37 (Barnes). It declares the waiver rule to be inconsistent with legislative intent and orders it to be rewritten or withdrawn within 30 days.

Business groups like the NJ Chamber of Commerce, NJ Business and Industry Association and the NJ Builders Association oppose the resolution.

Look for a party line vote, with Republicans siding with the Christie Administration.

RGGI Redux

Two bills also scheduled for Assembly votes today (A-1998/McKeon and S-1322/Sweeney) intend to put New Jersey back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (pronounced "Reggie") which Republican Governor Chris Christie declared to be environmentally ineffective and too costly to business when he ended the state's participation in 2011.

If the legislation looks familiar, it's because the Legislature passed a similar measure at the end of in the previous session. Governor Christie, as he had promised, vetoed it.

There's no reason to suspect that the outcome will be any different this time around.
(See: Enviros pushing lawmakers to get NJ back into RGGI)

Other energy and environmental bills up for Assembly votes today

A-1459 Gusciora, R. (D-15); McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Barnes III, P.J. (D-18)
Revises "Electronic Waste Management Act." Related Bill: S-822

A-1527 Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Concerns Watershed Property Review Board in DEP. Related Bill: S-525

A-1534 Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Requires DEP to conduct analysis of "Pollution Prevention Act."

A-2316 Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); McKeon, J.F. (D-27)
Authorizes certain municipalities and rural electric cooperatives to establish a municipal shared services energy authority. Related Bill: S-1389

A-2504 Prieto, V. (D-32); Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37)
Provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns for the Meadowlands Conservation Trust.

A-2584 Ramos Jr., R.J. (D-33); Caputo, R.R. (D-28); Amodeo, J.F. (R-2); Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3)
Requires DEP to allow for correction of technical and administrative permit application violations; and subjects adoption of DEP technical manuals to Administrative Procedure Act."

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Our most recent posts:
After 25 years, how's recycling doing in NJ? - Part 1
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After 25 years, how's recycling doing in NJ? - Part 1

Editor@EnviroPolitics.com (Frank Brill) — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:48:17 PDT

On the 25th anniversary of New Jersey's mandatory recycling law, L. Grace Spencer, chairwoman of the state Assembly's Environment and Solid Waste Committee called together state agencies and public and private recycling interest on Monday to ask the question: How's New Jersey doing?

The disappointing news is that the 1987 Recycling Act's goal of recycling 50 percent of all municipal solid waste by 1995 is still only a goal today.

The good news is that, despite backsliding from a high of 42.8 percent in 1997 to a range in the low-to-mid 30s through much of the past decade, recycling numbers again are on the upswing.

The amount of municipal solid waste recycled in the state reached 40 percent in 2010--the latest year for which total statistics are available--a three percent increase over 2009 totals.

Why recycling rates are improving

Advances in technology have allowed numerous counties and towns to combine what used to be separate recycling containers (cans and bottles in one--newspaper in another) into a single household recycling receptacle.

Called 'single-stream,' this approach is proving to increase per-household recycling. It also is credited with lowering municipal and county collection costs (although sometimes requiring a substantial investment to modify sorting and processing facilities).

The state's recycling numbers also have been boosted by a more recent law requiring the recycling of so-called 'e-waste'--worn out electronic equipment like computers, monitors, printers and TV sets that previously would have gone to landfills.

DEP's Assistant Commissioner Jane Kozinski told the committee that some 20,000 tons of e-waste was accepted at 520 sites in New Jersey last year.

Kozinski reeled off some discouraging facts and statistics:

Only one county (Gloucester) reached a 50% recycling rate in 2010.
A third of all municipalities recycled less than 25% of their waste, while 16 percent reached 50%
Many commercial businesses, offices and institutions still do not know that recycling is mandatory.
The capacity of recycling containers can be an impediment--recycling stops when the can is full.
Some towns do not have curbside pickups and their drop off centers are not conveniently located, or have limited hours of operation, or may not be available to commercial residents.

And some positives, too:

A recycling fee, imposed on solid waste disposed of in New Jersey, generated $19 million last year.
Municipalities reaped $13.5 million of the total in the form of grants to fund their recycling programs.
Counties received $5.5 million to support their recycling efforts, with the balance going to university research on recycling and to the DEP for program administration costs.
The additional 364,000 tons of material recycled in 2010 (over 2009) saved $26 million in disposal costs and generated $45.5 million in sales of recyclable material.
Some 31,000 jobs were supported in 2010 by New Jersey recycling.
If the state can increase its rate to 50 percent, another 10,000 jobs could be created inside and outside the state

NEXT: In Part 2 of our report, other recycling participants tell their stories

Have a suggestion on how New Jersey can reach or exceed its 50% recycling goal? Care to share a notable recycling success? Or failure? You don't have to politely wait for us to finish this topic before you chime in. Tell us what you think about recycling right now in the opinion box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny 'comments' line.

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Our most recent posts:
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