New Jersey Environmental Lobby Newsletter January-March 2008

NJEL Will Honor Assemblyman John McKeon, Mayor Meryl Frank and the Interfaith Community Organization -

The 2008 NJEL Awards Reception, will be held on Monday evening, March 3, in the University Center, at Seton Hall University, in South Orange. The Reception will be held immediately after the Precautionary Principle Conference that is being sponsored by the Environmental Education Fund and the Environmental Studies Program of Seton Hall. NJEL makes its selections very carefully. It presents the Frank Oliver Environmental Award to public officials who have demonstrated courage in achieving real improvements for New Jersey's environment. The Environmental Legacy Award was established to honor an environmental accomplishment or contribution that will benefit future generations.

This year, the Frank Oliver Award will be presented to Assemblyman John McKeon and to Meryl Frank, Mayor of the Borough of Highland Park. The Environmental Legacy Award will be accepted by community organizer Joe Morris on behalf of the Interfaith Community Organization.

Assemblyman John F. McKeon is the Assistant Majority Leader and the Chairman of the Assembly Environment & Solid Waste Committee. The Assemblyman has a long record of sponsoring and voting for legislation that protects New Jersey's natural resources and the health of its citizens. In 2007 he led the Assembly in securing a place on the ballot for the Open Space/Historic Preservation Funding initiative. He supported the VOTERS right to speak on the future of open space. The Assembly is considering several bills, sponsored or co-sponsored by Mr. McKeon, that will benefit the environment and public health. To name just a few, there are measures to encourage the use of renewable energy, provide fair property tax treatment for renewable energy equipment, require the recycling of electronic devices, and enhance enforcement of environmental laws.

Meryl L. Frank has been the mayor of Highland Park since 2000. A municipality is a complex entity, but from an environmental perspective, the outstanding feature of Mayor Frank's tenure is "sustainability." Under her leadership, Highland Park adopted Highland Park 2020, a long term plan for municipal sustainability. Ms. Frank also demonstrated leadership as founding chair of the NJ League of Municipalities Mayors' Committee on a Green Future.
Both Ms. Frank and the Borough are the winners of numerous awards and there is room here to mention only two. The Environmental Commission's web site is an ANJEC Award winner and includes an impressive array of topics. In 2005, Mayor Frank was the recipient of the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award in the category of Environmental Leadership.
Highland Park emphasizes preservation of biodiversity, with programs about native species, invasives, and wildlife habitats. HP established an impressive Environmental Education Center. The Borough promotes the programs of Edison Wetlands and informs its residents about other resources. Of particular note is the high priority that HP places on parks and on the viability of its downtown. Ms. Frank and her fellow residents apparently recognize that the best measures to ensure sustainability are not isolated. They are a system of interconnected components -social, environmental, economic, and structural. That is what HP 2020 reflects. For more about the Borough, Mayor Frank, and HP 2020, visit www.nj.gov/dep/opsc/profiles.html and the Borough web site, www.hpboro.com

The Interfaith Community Organization (ICO) was founded in 1986. Composed of religious congregations in Hudson County, ICO has improved the urban environment with park renovations, community policing, and the exposure of fraud in federally funded job training programs. Its greatest success was the resolution of a decade of effort to force polluters and government agencies to address Hudson County's industrial legacy of chromium contamination. ICO's involvement began when pastors and other leaders learned that some of their parishioners' homes were located on or near chromium dump sites. The issue was not new. Years before, Jersey City had notified corporate entities of a health threat from their corporate predecessors' slag dumps, which enveloped 34 acres and contaminated the Hackensack River. ICO developed a legal strategy based on the citizens' suit provision of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). ICO sued AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International) in 1995 to compel cleanup of the largest chromium waste site in the county. In 2003, ICO won the lawsuit in federal court, but two years of appeals by Honeywell delayed resolution. After the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal, the largest environmental cleanup in New Jersey's history finally began. ICO's struggle is a testament to the ability of a community to endure and act effectively. Its legacy is not only the recovery of this specific site, but also the example that will be used as a model for future cleanup negotiations and decisions. It set a precedent for complete and effective remediation and it is expected to discourage delaying tactics at numerous other sites that are similarly contaminated.

Long Beach Township in Ocean County is attempting to rescind the permit for a small scale windmill that has already been installed on residential property! This in spite of the fact that public support for this renewable energy initiative is evident.
NJEL member Rob Burke is working to overcome political resistance to his request for a permit for a single wind turbine at his commercial property on a business corridor in Wayne. Wayne Auto Spa uses a number of environmentally responsible car care practices and won a Governor's Environmental Excellence Award. A Planning Board meeting will be held on February 11 and Mr. Burke welcomes support from renewable energy advocates. Visit his web site www.wayneautospa.com for the latest information on his effort.

A Win or the Coastal Ocean Coalition (COC) - In January the NJ Assembly followed the Senate in passing the Coastal and Ocean Protection bill. As we reported in a previous newsletter, this was a priority of the COC. New Jersey's coasts are subject to the authority of several public bodies, laws, and regulations. The interests of property owners, fisherman, and tourism may sometimes conflict with environmental protection, but they are really interdependent. Property values, coastal industries, and residents' quality of life depend upon a sustainable coastal environment. The regulatory framework is confusing, and inherently produces narrow, species by species solutions and compliance issue decisions that do not take into account their effect on the larger environment and its ecology. They may even conflict with other public policies. The bill establishes a nine-member NJ Coastal & Ocean Protection Council that will be charged with adopting ecosystem-based management decisions. The Council will be expected to make recommendations to the NJDEP Commissioner for the purpose of restoring, protecting, and maintaining resources in a way that avoids the unintended negative consequences of single, narrow decisions. New Jersey now joins other states that have already adopted this method of coastal management.

NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act - In January, Governor Corzine signed the NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act, authorizing New Jersey to join an alliance of 10 northeastern and mid-Atlantic states in a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This legislation falls into the "better than nothing" category. Touted as the means to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets set by last summer's "Global Warming Response Act," the Act misses opportunities and contains loopholes. In early December environmentalists and other segments of the public and industry raised objections to specific provisions. Letters and call from opponents were ignored as the bill was put on a fast track and brought to a vote in the Assembly within days of the New Year.

The RGGI is a "cap and trade" program for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. NJRGGI initially applies only to power plants and not to other industrial facilities. Emissions will be capped to reflect the baseline period of 2003-2005. Each power producer must purchase an allowance for its tonnage of CO2 emissions. Over the course of the program, the amount of CO2 allocations will be reduced. Ideally, the costs of allowances should encourage the generators to reduce their CO2 discharges by using different fuels (for instance, renewables), making technological changes, or conserving. NJRGGI sets the minimum auction bid at $2 per ton, while in Europe, and states where auctions are already held, allowances are in the range of $13-20 per ton. It also exempts power "cogeneration" facilities if they sell less than 10% of their cogenerated power to the public power grid. A "cogen" facility is one that produces power as a byproduct of its main function. Examples include trash incinerators and industrial plants. In New Jersey, there are OIL REFINERIES that would qualify under this exception. It is NJEL's position that large industrial generators of CO2 should not be summarily exempted from the requirements of NJRGGI. Given that CO2 is an air pollutant, the cogen exclusion also is inappropriate. Finally, the purported incentives for cleaner fuels and technological innovations seem weak at best. Statements about "cleaner technologies" frequently translate into "clean coal." "Clean coal" technologies may result in lower emissions of some pollutants but extraction exacts a price from the environment.

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is the rule-making agency for the program and is authorized to sell, exchange, retire, assign, allocate, or auction the credits or allowances emissions. DEP is also charged with establishing a monitoring and reporting system. The respective bills passed the Assembly 42-31, with 5 abstentions. It passed in the Senate 23-16. There is already speculation that opponents of the final measure will introduce amendments. NJEL will take every opportunity to lobby for an improved RGGI.

NJEL's legislative director will represent us at the assembly environment committee hearings where the following bills will be considered.

As this newsletter is going to press, a number of positive bills are the subject of Assembly hearings.

A1559, sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, a past recipient of NJEL's Frank Oliver Award - It requires that a municipality's master plan contain a green buildings and environmental sustainability element. The sustainability element should consider the efficient use of natural resources, and impacts of buildings on the surrounding environment. NJEL will contact the sponsor's legislative staff to request that a renewable energy component be required in such an element.

A1636, sponsored by Mr. McKeon and Ms. Greenstein - This would provide low interest loans and grants to municipalities for innovative energy technologies and efficiency programs. To be eligible, a project would have to be identified by the municipality as a priority item and then approved by the Legislature.

A1629, with numerous sponsors, would require an energy subcode to the Uniform construction codes. These codes are used by local inspectors when inspecting and approving construction. The energy subcode would set minimum energy conservation requirements for construction. The bill also provides for financial assistance for purchasers of new construction to help pay for increased costs incurred to meet the enhanced energy subcode. Individual behavior and local jurisdictions hold the key to building global solutions and we see an energy subcode as a basic tool for reducing each locality's carbon footprint. We are seeking information about the fiscal implications of the proposed source of the financial assistance and its fiscal implications for the State budget. Competing bills have been introduced that have the objective of sheltering the costs of renewable energy systems from additional property taxes. Interestingly, a law passed in 1977 accomplished this but it expired in 1987 and was not renewed. The bills differ in what they include. One would cover only solar systems, another is more inclusive. We are seeking information about the details of each bill before taking a position.

REMEMBER!

The New Jersey Environmental Lobby is your voice in Trenton. We are an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on the preservation and protection of a healthy environment for all our citizens. We need your support! JOIN NJEL and help us change the laws!







	President: Anne Poole Legislative Director: Michael Pisauro


	Volume 37 No. 1

	January - March 2008

	NJEL Will Honor Assemblyman John McKeon, Mayor Meryl Frank and the Interfaith Community Organization - The 2008 NJEL Awards Reception, will be held on Monday evening, March 3, in the University Center, at Seton Hall University, in South Orange. Read More ... Local Resistance to Renewable Energy Installations - Long Beach Township in Ocean County is attempting to rescind the permit for a small scale windmill that has already been installed on residential property! Read More ... Legislative Update - **by Michael L. Pisauro, Legislative Director A Win or the Coastal Ocean Coalition (COC) - In January the NJ Assembly followed the Senate in passing the Coastal and Ocean Protection bill. NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act - In January, Governor Corzine signed the NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act. Read More ... Constructive Bills Under Consideration - NJEL's legislative director will represent us at the assembly environment committee hearings where the following bills will be considered. Read More ... NJEL Will Honor Assemblyman John McKeon, Mayor Meryl Frank and the Interfaith Community Organization - The 2008 NJEL Awards Reception, will be held on Monday evening, March 3, in the University Center, at Seton Hall University, in South Orange. The Reception will be held immediately after the Precautionary Principle Conference that is being sponsored by the Environmental Education Fund and the Environmental Studies Program of Seton Hall. NJEL makes its selections very carefully. It presents the Frank Oliver Environmental Award to public officials who have demonstrated courage in achieving real improvements for New Jersey's environment. The Environmental Legacy Award was established to honor an environmental accomplishment or contribution that will benefit future generations. This year, the Frank Oliver Award will be presented to Assemblyman John McKeon and to Meryl Frank, Mayor of the Borough of Highland Park. The Environmental Legacy Award will be accepted by community organizer Joe Morris on behalf of the Interfaith Community Organization. John F. McKeon Assemblyman John F. McKeon is the Assistant Majority Leader and the Chairman of the Assembly Environment & Solid Waste Committee. The Assemblyman has a long record of sponsoring and voting for legislation that protects New Jersey's natural resources and the health of its citizens. In 2007 he led the Assembly in securing a place on the ballot for the Open Space/Historic Preservation Funding initiative. He supported the VOTERS right to speak on the future of open space. The Assembly is considering several bills, sponsored or co-sponsored by Mr. McKeon, that will benefit the environment and public health. To name just a few, there are measures to encourage the use of renewable energy, provide fair property tax treatment for renewable energy equipment, require the recycling of electronic devices, and enhance enforcement of environmental laws. Meryl L. Frank Meryl L. Frank has been the mayor of Highland Park since 2000. A municipality is a complex entity, but from an environmental perspective, the outstanding feature of Mayor Frank's tenure is "sustainability." Under her leadership, Highland Park adopted Highland Park 2020, a long term plan for municipal sustainability. Ms. Frank also demonstrated leadership as founding chair of the NJ League of Municipalities Mayors' Committee on a Green Future. Both Ms. Frank and the Borough are the winners of numerous awards and there is room here to mention only two. The Environmental Commission's web site is an ANJEC Award winner and includes an impressive array of topics. In 2005, Mayor Frank was the recipient of the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award in the category of Environmental Leadership. Highland Park emphasizes preservation of biodiversity, with programs about native species, invasives, and wildlife habitats. HP established an impressive Environmental Education Center. The Borough promotes the programs of Edison Wetlands and informs its residents about other resources. Of particular note is the high priority that HP places on parks and on the viability of its downtown. Ms. Frank and her fellow residents apparently recognize that the best measures to ensure sustainability are not isolated. They are a system of interconnected components -social, environmental, economic, and structural. That is what HP 2020 reflects. For more about the Borough, Mayor Frank, and HP 2020, visit www.nj.gov/dep/opsc/profiles.html and the Borough web site, www.hpboro.com The Interfaith Community Organization The Interfaith Community Organization (ICO) was founded in 1986. Composed of religious congregations in Hudson County, ICO has improved the urban environment with park renovations, community policing, and the exposure of fraud in federally funded job training programs. Its greatest success was the resolution of a decade of effort to force polluters and government agencies to address Hudson County's industrial legacy of chromium contamination. ICO's involvement began when pastors and other leaders learned that some of their parishioners' homes were located on or near chromium dump sites. The issue was not new. Years before, Jersey City had notified corporate entities of a health threat from their corporate predecessors' slag dumps, which enveloped 34 acres and contaminated the Hackensack River. ICO developed a legal strategy based on the citizens' suit provision of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). ICO sued AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International) in 1995 to compel cleanup of the largest chromium waste site in the county. In 2003, ICO won the lawsuit in federal court, but two years of appeals by Honeywell delayed resolution. After the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal, the largest environmental cleanup in New Jersey's history finally began. ICO's struggle is a testament to the ability of a community to endure and act effectively. Its legacy is not only the recovery of this specific site, but also the example that will be used as a model for future cleanup negotiations and decisions. It set a precedent for complete and effective remediation and it is expected to discourage delaying tactics at numerous other sites that are similarly contaminated. Local Resistance to Renewable Energy Installations - Long Beach Township in Ocean County is attempting to rescind the permit for a small scale windmill that has already been installed on residential property! This in spite of the fact that public support for this renewable energy initiative is evident. NJEL member Rob Burke is working to overcome political resistance to his request for a permit for a single wind turbine at his commercial property on a business corridor in Wayne. Wayne Auto Spa uses a number of environmentally responsible car care practices and won a Governor's Environmental Excellence Award. A Planning Board meeting will be held on February 11 and Mr. Burke welcomes support from renewable energy advocates. Visit his web site www.wayneautospa.com for the latest information on his effort. Legislative Update - by Michael L. Pisauro, Legislative Director A Win or the Coastal Ocean Coalition (COC) - In January the NJ Assembly followed the Senate in passing the Coastal and Ocean Protection bill. As we reported in a previous newsletter, this was a priority of the COC. New Jersey's coasts are subject to the authority of several public bodies, laws, and regulations. The interests of property owners, fisherman, and tourism may sometimes conflict with environmental protection, but they are really interdependent. Property values, coastal industries, and residents' quality of life depend upon a sustainable coastal environment. The regulatory framework is confusing, and inherently produces narrow, species by species solutions and compliance issue decisions that do not take into account their effect on the larger environment and its ecology. They may even conflict with other public policies. The bill establishes a nine-member NJ Coastal & Ocean Protection Council that will be charged with adopting ecosystem-based management decisions. The Council will be expected to make recommendations to the NJDEP Commissioner for the purpose of restoring, protecting, and maintaining resources in a way that avoids the unintended negative consequences of single, narrow decisions. New Jersey now joins other states that have already adopted this method of coastal management. NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act - In January, Governor Corzine signed the NJ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act, authorizing New Jersey to join an alliance of 10 northeastern and mid-Atlantic states in a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This legislation falls into the "better than nothing" category. Touted as the means to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets set by last summer's "Global Warming Response Act," the Act misses opportunities and contains loopholes. In early December environmentalists and other segments of the public and industry raised objections to specific provisions. Letters and call from opponents were ignored as the bill was put on a fast track and brought to a vote in the Assembly within days of the New Year. The RGGI is a "cap and trade" program for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. NJRGGI initially applies only to power plants and not to other industrial facilities. Emissions will be capped to reflect the baseline period of 2003-2005. Each power producer must purchase an allowance for its tonnage of CO2 emissions. Over the course of the program, the amount of CO2 allocations will be reduced. Ideally, the costs of allowances should encourage the generators to reduce their CO2 discharges by using different fuels (for instance, renewables), making technological changes, or conserving. NJRGGI sets the minimum auction bid at $2 per ton, while in Europe, and states where auctions are already held, allowances are in the range of $13-20 per ton. It also exempts power "cogeneration" facilities if they sell less than 10% of their cogenerated power to the public power grid. A "cogen" facility is one that produces power as a byproduct of its main function. Examples include trash incinerators and industrial plants. In New Jersey, there are OIL REFINERIES that would qualify under this exception. It is NJEL's position that large industrial generators of CO2 should not be summarily exempted from the requirements of NJRGGI. Given that CO2 is an air pollutant, the cogen exclusion also is inappropriate. Finally, the purported incentives for cleaner fuels and technological innovations seem weak at best. Statements about "cleaner technologies" frequently translate into "clean coal." "Clean coal" technologies may result in lower emissions of some pollutants but extraction exacts a price from the environment. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is the rule-making agency for the program and is authorized to sell, exchange, retire, assign, allocate, or auction the credits or allowances emissions. DEP is also charged with establishing a monitoring and reporting system. The respective bills passed the Assembly 42-31, with 5 abstentions. It passed in the Senate 23-16. There is already speculation that opponents of the final measure will introduce amendments. NJEL will take every opportunity to lobby for an improved RGGI. Constructive Bills Under Consideration** - NJEL's legislative director will represent us at the assembly environment committee hearings where the following bills will be considered. As this newsletter is going to press, a number of positive bills are the subject of Assembly hearings. A1559, sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, a past recipient of NJEL's Frank Oliver Award - It requires that a municipality's master plan contain a green buildings and environmental sustainability element. The sustainability element should consider the efficient use of natural resources, and impacts of buildings on the surrounding environment. NJEL will contact the sponsor's legislative staff to request that a renewable energy component be required in such an element. A1636, sponsored by Mr. McKeon and Ms. Greenstein - This would provide low interest loans and grants to municipalities for innovative energy technologies and efficiency programs. To be eligible, a project would have to be identified by the municipality as a priority item and then approved by the Legislature. A1629, with numerous sponsors, would require an energy subcode to the Uniform construction codes. These codes are used by local inspectors when inspecting and approving construction. The energy subcode would set minimum energy conservation requirements for construction. The bill also provides for financial assistance for purchasers of new construction to help pay for increased costs incurred to meet the enhanced energy subcode. Individual behavior and local jurisdictions hold the key to building global solutions and we see an energy subcode as a basic tool for reducing each locality's carbon footprint. We are seeking information about the fiscal implications of the proposed source of the financial assistance and its fiscal implications for the State budget. Competing bills have been introduced that have the objective of sheltering the costs of renewable energy systems from additional property taxes. Interestingly, a law passed in 1977 accomplished this but it expired in 1987 and was not renewed. The bills differ in what they include. One would cover only solar systems, another is more inclusive. We are seeking information about the details of each bill before taking a position. *REMEMBER!* The New Jersey Environmental Lobby is your voice in Trenton. We are an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on the preservation and protection of a healthy environment for all our citizens. We need your support! JOIN NJEL and help us change the laws! BACK TO TOP