EPA not the only one caving to the chemical industry
Under a blaring boldfaced banner “Watchdog Reports”, in a fine example of investigative journalism we seem to have lost the ability to produce here in NJ, the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reports:
EPA veils hazardous substances
By Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 20, 2008
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/36514449.html
Read more…
It is a sad fact that New Jersey newspapers continue to downsize and fail to cover important environmental news, especially policy stories out of Trenton. The few issues they do cover reflect constraints imposed by news deadlines or space limits that prevent in depth substantive coverage. Complex topics or policy issues are avoided in favor of human interest puff pieces. Coverage often is inaccurate, or reflects the self serving spin of government officials or vapid political soundbites from friendly lobbyists.
These trends do not bode well for the health of our democracy or the environment: for example, witness the dearth of substantive coverage of the record of NJ DEP Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson after she was nominated by President Elect Obama to be EPA Administrator.
Despite persistent failures of the media to hold polluters and government accountable, we had quite a year in 2008 writing important environmental stories in New Jersey. http://www.peer.org/state/state_info.php?sid=nj
I am taking nominations on your favorites from the long list below! Vote in the comments section. Each story comes with extensive links to supporting documents, provided for the inquiring reader, blogger, intrepid journalist and citizen activist:
February 6, 2008 NEW JERSEY CUTS DEEPLY INTO PROTECTED STREAM BUFFERS — Commissioner Revokes Her Year-Old Order, Leaving Buffers at Mercy of Politics
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=986
Read more…
Bush Unveils White House Portrait of Worst. President. Ever.
Adverse Findings Call Into Question Half of EPA Global Warming Reductions – Similar Questions Raised About NJ’s Programs
In yet another illustration of failed voluntary market based environmental programs, the Office of Inspector General (IG) of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just released a critical audit of the “Energy Star” Program. See:
http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2009/20081217-09-P-0061.pdf
The Energy Star audit comes in the wake of a July 2008 IG Audit, that made similar negative findings regarding the performance of voluntary market based programs as alternatives to regulation. The July Audit was titled:
Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs Have Limited Potential:
Read more…
The American Prospect just posted an important piece titled:
Will Environmental Justice Finally Get Its Due?
Obama’s environment, energy, and urban affairs appointees are poised to enact policies that environmental justice activists have long been pushing for.
BRENTIN MOCK | December 22, 2008 |
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=will_environmental_justice_finally_get_its_due
Bill WolfeObama speaks at a Harrisburg Pennsylvania campaign rally.The title is in the form of a question – so let’s look at Obama EPA nominee Lisa Jackson’s NJ record and explore the premise of the piece, which is as follows:
“If President-Elect Barack Obama’s recent cabinet choices are any indication, the decades-old environmental justice movement may finally see many of its top policy goals fulfilled. The Obama administration is poised to finally deliver on White House promises made in the early 1990s to protect minorities from toxic waste, and with the addition of an Office of Urban Policy, it may go even further toward correcting historical racial disparities when it comes to environmental hazards.”:
Read more…
Jackson Global Warming Plan an Exercise in Magical Thinking
Last Thursday – coincidentally the same day that Barack Obama nominated Lisa Jackson to become head of the US Environmental Protection Agency – the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released Jackson’s long overdue plan to implement the “Global Warming Response Act” (GWRA). http://www.nj.gov/globalwarming/home/documents/pdf/final_report20081215.pdf
The GWRA established ambitious emissions reduction goals and required that DEP produce a Plan no later than June 30, 2008 demonstrating how the goals were to be achieved. Jackson has come under criticism for failing to meet this deadline.
Read more…
Bush EPA rejects regulation of carbon dioxide pollution – move designed to speed approval of new coal plants
Bill WolfeThe Bush administration has come under widespread criticism for a series of last minute changes that would gut various environmental regulations. They have been dubbed the “MidNight rules” (see:
Can Obama Reverse Bush’s Midnight Rules?
http://www.propublica.org/article/politico-can-obama-reverse-bushs-midnight-rules
Last Call for the Bush Administration (Bill Moyers)
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11212008/profile3.html
Midnight rules – Bush “Burrowing” in bureaucracy
http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2008/11/bush_hacks_burrowing_in_federa.html
But in a quiet move that has received far less critical news coverage, on Thursday, outgoing Bush Environmental Protection Agency head Stephen Johnson issued by far the worst “midnight ruling”.
According to the New York Times Business page, Johnson ruled that
“Officials weighing federal applications by utilities to build new coal-fired power plants cannot consider their greenhouse gas output …
“a memorandum issued by Mr. Johnson late Thursday puts the agency on record saying that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant to be regulated when approving power plants. ”
E.P.A. Ruling Could Speed Up Approval of Coal Plants
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/business/19coal.html?_r=1
The decision could have HUGE impacts. The NY Times reports that
“Vickie Patton, deputy general counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, estimated that as much as 8,000 megawatts of new coal-fired power plants could win swifter approval as a result of the ruling.”
Bill WolfeLisa P. Jackson, Commissioner NJ Department of Environmental Protection speaks before the NJ Clean Air CouncilThis latest pro-polluter Bush move dumped a major problem in the lap of Lisa Jackson, Obama’s nominee to head the EPA.
Although Jackson is touted as a leader on global warming, few realize that she has done nothing to regulate green house gas emissions as NJ DEP Commissioner, despite having existing regulatory authority to do so. The Jackson record amounts to the same as the Bush policy – no regulation, no action, no reductions.
As documented by NJ DEP’s recently released global warming plan, in 2005, DEP adopted EXACTLY the kind of regulations just rejected by the Bush EPA Administrator. The DEP states:
“CO2 as a Pollutant
“In November 2005, New Jersey adopted a new regulation under the authority of New Jersey’s Air Pollution Control Act to classify CO2 as an air contaminant. This rule enables the State to implement its responsibilities under the RGGI (discussed in greater detail below) and to enact additional rules to reduce CO2 emissions from other sectors as necessary. It also sends a powerful message in light of the federal government’s failure to regulate CO2 under its existing Clean Air Act Authority. New Jersey also added CO2 as an air pollutant in its emission statement program requirements. The emission statement program require the annual reporting of actual emissions of about 50 air contaminants by approximately 700 of the largest stationary sources of air pollution in New Jersey.” (page 100)
http://www.nj.gov/globalwarming/home/documents/pdf/final_report20081215.pdf
Jackson has done nothing with this power, other than – as DEP so crudely puts it – “to send a message”.
All the media praise and cheerleading by environmental groups is not helping get the word out on this complex issue and hold Jackson accountable for her failure to regulate green house gas emissions.
The Senate confrmation process of the Jackson EPA nomination MUST probe this question and pin her down on her failed NJ record.
Members of the the Senate Committee must demand that Jackson commit the Obama administration to reversing the Bush ruling and adopting strong regulations of green house gas emissions.
This will not happen unless and until Jackson’s NJ record on the same issue of regulatory controls of green house gas emissions is exposed.
Bill Wolfe
