NUCLEAR SUBSIDY BILL STALLS IN SENATE, ENVIROS SAY DELAY IS NEEDED
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
In an unexpected setback, a bill to subsidize nuclear power and clean energy yesterday failed to advance in the Senate, a reprieve, if only temporary, for an unwieldy coalition of opponents.
The legislation (S-877) could face significant revisions, including the possibility it might revert to its original intent — a bill that could provide subsidies of $300 million a year to nuclear power plants while omitting clean-energy initiatives backed by Gov. Phil Murphy.
The bill, or earlier versions of it, has been pushed by Public Service Enterprise Group to prop up three nuclear units it operates in South Jersey. Without an infusion of ratepayer subsidies, the company has threatened to close the plants.
New Jersey Senate Shelves Vote on Nuclear Subsidy Bill
News Article • • by Christian Hetrick at Observer
A controversial bill that could force New Jersey ratepayers to bail out the state’s nuclear power plants hit a snag on Monday as the Senate shelved a vote on the legislation.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said lawmakers are still making adjustments to the legislation, which has already gone under several revisions. Sweeney said the Senate could vote on the bill next month.
“It’s a big bill. It’s a complicated bill. And we’re going to continue to press forward,” Sweeney said. “Like everything else, we’re adjusting things and look forward to getting it passed.”
In its current form, the bill (S877) would effectively impose a surcharge on ratepayers to prop up nuclear power plants owned by PSEG—the state’s largest energy company—if a state board determines the plants need financial assistance. A typical household could see energy bills rise $31 to $41 per year to cover the cost of the estimated $300 million subsidy, officials have said.
NEW JERSEY LCV STATEMENT ON S877 ESTABLISHING A NUCLEAR DIVERSITY CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
Press Release •
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters would like to thank the state Senate for holding the bill S877 establishing a Nuclear Diversity Certificate program. This bill attempts to put forth a clean energy plan for the state, but would undermine its own goals by putting a cap on renewable energy investment. New Jersey LCV supports asking the BPU how to achieve clean energy goals at the lowest possible consumer cost, which has been their role historically, and creating an Energy Master Plan that takes common sense renewable energy goals into consideration.
CAN STORMWATER UTILITIES HELP NJ REDUCE RUNOFF POLLUTION?
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
New Jersey may take another stab at creating new utilities to deal with stormwater runoff, the state's most persistent problem fouling its waterways and causing major flooding.
The Senate Environment and Energy Committee is reviving a bill (S-1073) that would allow municipalities, counties, and certain authorities to create stormwater utilities, an approach used in other states to limit pollution caused by runoff.
The concept is not new in New Jersey, but it has failed to win final legislative approval in the past, even though the federal Environmental Protection Agency has ranked stormwater management as the state's most expensive water-related funding need at $15.6 billion.
Climate Summit, Brainchild Of Mayor Kramer, Gets Rave Reviews
News Article •
About 160 people attended a “Mayors’ Climate Summit” at Rutgers University Feb. 3, an event that was the brainchild of Mayor Phil Kramer.
The summit was held at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick and was attended mainly by mayors and other elected officials from throughout the state.
Sponsored by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Sustainable Jersey and the Bloustein School, the summit was seen as a way for elected officials to meet and share ideas of dealing with the effects of climate change, in light of the Trump administration’s decision to remove the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is a multinational agreement, under the auspices of the United Nations, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2020.
Attendees hailed the event as a success and looked forward to future meetings.
Murphy joins governors calling for fracking ban in Delaware watershed
News Article • • by Michelle Brunetti Post at Press of Atlantic City
PHILLIPSBURG — Gov. Phil Murphy has announced he will join the governors of Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware to support a ban on fracking in the 3,000-square-mile Delaware River watershed.
Murphy called fracking "one of modern times' most damaging threats." Its use of chemicals, and their ability to pollute water systems, puts at risk the health and safety of people and the economic life of Delaware River towns, he said.
It was the latest of several environmental actions Murphy took last week.
NEW JERSEY LCV’s POTOSNAK CELEBRATES GOV MURPHY’S BAN ON FRACKING IN THE DELAWARE
Press Release •
Following Governor Phil Murphy’s administrative action on fracking, New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak released the following statement:
“Governor Murphy doubled down on protecting drinking water with his administrative action to ban fracking in the Delaware River Watershed. This action shows his commitment to protecting the drinking water of all New Jerseyans, as well as the eco-economy that is so important to towns up and down the Delaware.”
Murphy restarts big offshore wind plan for New Jersey
News Article • • by Michelle Brunetti Post at Press of Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY — Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order Wednesday to return the state to national leadership in offshore wind energy.
New Jersey will finally implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act of 2010, which languished under Gov. Chris Christie, Murphy said at a press conference at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s wind farm and wastewater treatment plant.
NEW JERSEY LCV’s POTOSNAK CELEBRATES GOV MURPHY ACTION ON OFFSHORE WIND
Press Release •
Following Governor Phil Murphy’s release of Executive Order 8, New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak released the following statement:
“Governor Murphy’s Executive Order promoting offshore wind sends a clear message that New Jersey is serious about being the greenest state in the country, while also creating good paying, clean energy jobs in our state.”
Environmental Justice Should Be Core Principle of Murphy Administration
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
The Murphy administration needs to focus on the disproportionate impacts of pollution and contamination on poor urban communities, according to a transition team report for Gov. Phil Murphy.
The 15-page environmental and energy report suggests that addressing the environmental-justice disparities in low-income and mostly communities of color ought to be promoted as a core principle of the new administration, one that is reflected across all departments and programs.
The recommendation, one of four overarching priorities identified by the transition team, calls for reducing the air and water pollution burdening those communities, and proposes that a substantial portion of the new funding on its way be dedicated to these initiatives.