Plastic bags will soon be joining the dodo bird -- history
News Article • • by Joan Quigley at NJ.com
When you bring stuff home, what do you do with all the plastic bags it was packed in?
Do you cram them in the trash (probably into a bigger plastic bag) or do you stash them away for next time you need to carry something? Maybe keep them near the door to grab when you walk the dog and need to clean up after him. Or maybe you are one of those environmentally-conscious folks who saves them for the recycling box in the supermarket lobby.
No matter, really, because lawyers who draft bills and ordinances for government consider them all to be "single-use plastic bags."
Manufacturers disagree, of course, arguing they are 100 percent reusable and recyclable and claiming nine out of ten Americans reuse plastic bags at least once for everything from storage to waste disposal to packing materials.
LCV Action Fund Endorses Mikie Sherrill for Congress
Press Release •
Washington, D.C. - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will support sound environmental policies, announced today its endorsement of Mikie Sherrill for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District.
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“Jay Webber has a record in the state assembly of voting with polluter interests and against the health of New Jersey families,” said New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak. “Mikie Sherrill will stand up for clean air, clean water, and access to public lands for all New Jerseyans and we look forward to working with her in Congress.”
LCV ACTION FUND ENDORSES ANDY KIM FOR CONGRESS
Press Release •
Washington, D.C. – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will support sound environmental policies, announced today its endorsement of Andy Kim for Congress in New Jersey’s 3rd District.
“LCV Action Fund is proud to endorse Andy Kim because he has dedicated his career to service to our country,” said LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “He knows that a healthy environment is critical for safe and healthy families and is committed to enacting policies to address climate change and protect clean air and water for all.”
“Andy Kim will be a critical ally in Congress as New Jersey leads the nation in building our clean energy economy,” said New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak. “He will advocate for smart solutions to protect the Jersey shore from rising seas and fight back against threats to bring offshore drilling to our coast.”
State attorney general sues SJ Gas, Deull Fuel, over Atlantic City pollution
News Article • • by Michelle Brunetti Post at Press of Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY — The state is suing South Jersey Gas, the Deull Fuel Co. and other firms over contamination of a block of land near the bay where S.J. Gas has been cleaning up a former manufactured gas plant site for almost two years.
NEW JERSEY LCV STATEMENT ON THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S AND NEW JERSEY DEP’S MAJOR CIVIL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Press Release •
NEWARK, NJ—Ed Potosnak, executive director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, released the following statement today on the Attorney General’s Office and Department of Environmental Protection’s announcement of major civil enforcement actions, including Natural Resource Damage lawsuits:
FORMER EPA OFFICIAL TO LEAD HIGHLANDS COUNCIL
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
Lisa Plevin, a former chief of staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region II office, will become the new executive director of the Highlands Council.
The council voted unanimously to appoint Plevin, who’s expected to take up the post in August. She replaces Margaret Nordstrom, who held the job since 2014.
The appointment of Plevin, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), is the latest move by Gov. Phil Murphy to reshape the council, which oversees the Highlands region, a sprawling area of more than 800,000 acres of woodland, lakes and hills that provides drinking water to 6 million people.
New Jersey LCV applauds appointment of Lisa J. Plevin as Executive Director of the Highlands Council
Press Release •
CHESTER, NJ—Lisa J. Plevin, former Chief of Staff for Region 2 of the US Environmental Protection Agency, will become Executive Director of the Highlands Council.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have someone with Lisa’s legacy of environmental leadership to lead the Highlands Council,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “She has a long history of fighting against polluters and preserving New Jersey’s natural resources, and I have no doubt she will continue that fight in her new role."
In 2004, the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act was passed to protect the Highlands from the piecemeal development patterns that were consuming 5 square miles of Highlands forests and wetlands each year. The Highlands Council’s primary goal is to protect the Highlands, a physiographic region that provides water for more than 6.2 million people, more than 70% of New Jersey’s population.
IS NJ READY FOR WATER-USE FEE TO FUND BILLIONS IN UPGRADES OF AGING INFRASTRUCTURE?
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
State Sen. Bob Smith has long argued for a toll to help fund renewal of New Jersey’s century-old water system. He thinks the time just might be right to get it done
It has never won support in the past, but a state senator is reviving a decades-old bill that would impose a fee on water use to fund the rebuilding of New Jersey’s aging water infrastructure.
New Jersey environmentalists say plastic bag fee not enough
News Article • • by Jordan Schultz at Waste Dive
On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy removed any mention of a 5-cent fee associated with single-use bags from the state budget via a line-item veto, reports NJ.com.
Is 5-cent fee for plastic bags headed for the trash? N.J. environmentalists hope so
News Article • • by Michael Sol Warren at NJ.com
Nothing is in the bag when it comes to a proposed 5-cent fee for single-use bags.
The measure is in limbo after Gov. Phil Murphy used a line-item veto to remove any language related to the proposed bag fees from the state budget on Monday. It is unclear how Murphy views the proposed fees, but environmental groups want him to ditch the bill in favor of stricter regulations.