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The State Of NJ Has Gone BACKWARDS On Climate Change Policy Over The Last 30 Years

January 4th, 2020 No comments

A few months ago, the NY Times got a lot of mileage out of an important major story:

That story took an historical overview of the evolution (or devolution) of climate science and public policy debates, ever since world renowned climate scientist Jim Hansen’s groundbreaking testimony to Congress in 1988:

I would like to draw three main conclusions. Number one, the earth is warmer in 1988 than at any time in the history of instrumental measurements. Number two, the global warming is now large enough that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship to the greenhouse effect. And number three, our computer climate simulations indicate that the greenhouse effect is already large enough to begin to effect the probability of extreme events such as summer heat waves.

[Update 2/3/20 – My apologies to “Wally” for missing his work – Dr. Wallace S. Broecker – “grandfather” of global warming science, who just died.]

Sadly, that NYT story did not prompt followup investigative pieces or spark public outrage – and certainly none in New Jersey, a purported national leader in environment, energy and climate science and policy.

So, I took a cursory look at relevant NJ policy history, and quickly came to the stunning conclusion that NJ has gone BACKWARDS on climate policy over the last 30 years, the same period of time that science has shown the problems getting far worse and much quicker than predicted.

Just consider the following:

In 1989 – that’s 31 years ago – NJ Gov. Tom Kean issued Executive Order #219 – while I am not certain, I assume that the “scientific consensus” Gov. Kean referred to was based on Jim Hansen’s 1988 Congressional  testimony, as well as the science on CFC’s and depletion of the ozone layer:

WHEREAS, A scientific consensus exists that emissions of certain gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (hereinafter “CFCs”), and halons are causing significant changes in the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere

WHEREAS, A scientific consensus also exists that these emissions are likely to cause significant changes in the Earth’s climate, including overall warming, increased drought, an increase in the intensity of hurricanes and other major storms, as well as increased incidence of harmful ultraviolet radiation; and

Remarkably, that Kean Executive Order goes far beyond current policy and regulation in at least 3 critically important ways:

1. Science based public eduction was emphasized and provided resources, not run away from and defunded – the obvious assumption being that an educated public would support strong climate initiatives:

All State entities shall review their programs designed to facilitate public awareness of environmental issues and revise such programs to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, the effective communication of information that will enhance the public’s understanding of the basic processes involved in global climate change, the causes of such change, and possible approaches to reducing and adapting to such change.

Thirty years later, a recent Rutgers – Eagleton poll found that the public still does not understand the fundamentals of global warming and climate catastrophe, never mind the causes and approaches to reducing GHG emissions and adapting to climate change.

Contrast that public ignorance on climate change with the huge investments Kean & subsequent NJ Gov.’s made in educating the public on recycling, a campaign that led to strong public knowledge and support for the recycling program and high participation rates (and while there are significant differences in how the two programs impact corporate profits, there are no recycling deniers).

2. State agencies were directed to develop regulatory responses – including land use restrictions – to respond to sea level rise:

All State entities with responsibility for policies or regulations affecting the location, construction or maintenance of public or private facilities (including residential developments) shall:

a. Ascertain the degree to which those facilities will be affected by predicted changes in sea level; and

b. Develop policies, in consultation with the general public and other governmental entities, to respond to such predicted changes in sea level.

While it was on the Table 31 years ago, DEP land use regulation to reduce climate risks is a taboo topic today.

Lack of effective regulation is one of the main reasons why NJ is the third worst states in the country for filing repeat claims in the federal flood insurance program and why Sandy caused so much damage.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Source: Wall Street Journal

Current DEP CAFRA (coastal development), Flood Hazard (stream encroachment), wetlands and water quality land use AND infrastructure regulations are not based upon and do not even mention climate change, nor do the Pinelands, and the Highlands, and the Hackensack Meadowlands regional plans and regulations.

Although Murphy DEP Commissioner McCabe claims to be working on something, NJ still does not have a climate adaptation plan.

Just think of how much development has occurred in hazardous areas over the last 30 years. How much of that was wiped out by Sandy and other major floods since 1989?

Just think about many homes lost, lives lost, and billions of dollars spent would have been prevented had  DEP developed regulatory controls under CAFRA and the Flood Hazard Act to address flooding and sea level rise associated with climate change back in 1989.

But instead of strict regulation, just last year, the Murphy DEP weakened coastal & flooding protections.

3. Kean put DEP regulatory controls on energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions on the table:

State entities shall foster energy conservation to the maximum extent practicable, in order to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global climate change.

a. All State entities with responsibility for constructing, purchasing, leasing, operating or maintaining capital facilities and equipment shall employ state-of-the-art equipment for efficient heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting, and in other major energy using applications, where such equipment or techniques will result in lower costs over the lifetime of the equipment.

b. All State entities exercising regulatory authority over actions that directly or indirectly relate to the production or consumption of energy shall review their policies and regulatory practices to ensure that they provide maximum incentives designed to conserve energy and increase reliance upon sources of energy that contribute fewer emissions of those gases responsible for global climate change.

Today, DEP regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is virtually unthinkable – not even on the table.

But just think how much lower NJ’s greenhouse gas emissions would have been had DEP adopted regulatory mandates to require energy efficiency, renewable energy and limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Or how many electric vehicles and charging stations there would be if DEP mandated them back in 1989.

Instead, the BPU has assumed virtually complete control of climate and energy policy.

DEP does not consider climate impacts in there various regulatory reviews, policies and plans and DEP’s various permit regulations do not consider climate change at all:

when the NJ Department of environmental protection issues any permit or approval – including for oil and gas pipelines, for fossil fueled power plants, or for any form of development, including coastal or riverfront development that would be inundated by climate driven flooding, storm surge, or sea level rise – the applicant is not required to provide data on greenhouse gas emissions and NJ DEP experts do not review or consider greenhouse gas emissions or climate change impacts.

NJ DEP regulations do not authorize the DEP to condition or deny a permit based on potential greenhouse gas emissions of potential climate impacts.

No NJ DEP regulatory standard is is based on climate science – NONE – including air quality permit standards that govern air permits for major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

Thirty years after Gov. Kean’s Executive Order, DEP regulatory controls are not even on the table.

Worse, instead, energy generation has been deregulated.

Right now, DEP relies on voluntary individual consumer choices, market forces, and marginal, small bore and ineffective market based efforts like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). For details, see:

Nationally, we simply failed to aggressively respond to the climate crisis over the last 30 years, as the NY Times story documents.

It’s worse in NJ – where we have gone backwards.

Word.

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The Murphy DEP Did NOT “Deny” The PennEast Pipeline Permits

January 2nd, 2020 No comments

Gov. Murphy’s Tweet Was Trump-Like In It’s Exaggeration & Falsehood 

Starting the New Year On The Wrong Foot – NJ Spotlight Again Gets It Wrong

[Update: 1/6/20NJ Spotlight reports the latest on PennEast, who is seeking at least a 2 year delay in FERC certificate in service timetables.

Once again, they got it wrong on the permit status:

In October, the DEP denied PennEast’s application for a water-quality permit for the second time, saying the Third Circuit’s ruling means the company “no longer has the legal authority to perform activities” on the 49 parcels.

Wrong again – the “no longer has the legal authority” issue is NOT a denial of the permits on the technical merits. The DEP deemed the applications incomplete because company can’t submit a complete application because they are blocked from condemning state land.

The reason why this distinction is important is because DEP sets no regulatory precedent, while avoiding any focus on loopholes in DEP regulations regarding water quality certification and lack of greenhouse gas emission standards. That means OTHER pipelines and fossil infrastructure can be approved.

If DEP were forced to make a regulatory decision on the merits, that would trigger the obvious need for a Gubernatorial moratorium and reforms to DEP regulations regarding pipeline reviews. This moratorium and regulatory ratchet down would apply to ALL fossil infrastructure, not just PennEast.  Spotlight can’t seem to understand these issues and is listening to the selfish perspective of Tom Gilbert, who only cares about the PennEast pipeline.  ~~~ end update]

I had planned to correct the false impression that DEP had “denied” the PennEast pipeline permit applications when that story was first reported by NJ Spotlight back on October 11, but got diverted.

Then my head exploded when I saw Gov. Murphy’s  over the top Tweet declaring victory:

My Administration fought and won in court to stop the proposed 116-mile Penn East natural gas pipeline. This week, @NewJerseyDEP denied and closed the application.

Gov. Murphy is spouting falsehoods: The permits were not “denied” and the application is not “closed”. The permits are pending and the application is open.

I can understand getting the fast breaking story wrong on the first report, back on October 11, before folks had  chance to digest the documents and talk to experts. But it’s been almost 3 months for the reality to emerge, including submission of a response to DEP by PennEast (see below), so it is unforgivable to repeat the lies and spin.

So today, we’re starting the new year on the right foot. I plan on exposing this crap every time I read it.

See my letter to NJ Spotlight reporter Jon Hurdle below, which corrects the errors and provides supporting links to the documents.

This is a correction you will not get from the Rethink NJ Murphy sycophants and DEP cheerleaders:

Jon – I hate to kick off the new year with a headache, but you are being spun and I have to correct a very misleading piece of today’s preview.

You report – based on a prior Spotlight story – that DEP “denied permits for a planned natural-gas pipeline”.

That is highly misleading if not downright false.

DEP did NOT “deny” the PennEast pipeline permits. DEP determined that they were “administratively incomplete” and sent them back for supplementation.

That is a minor and routine practice in the DEP permit process. The DEP issued what is known as a “deficiency letter”. DEP notes that on it’s website, see:

https://www.nj.gov/dep/penneast/

That DEP letter is NOT a “denial” on the merits and if you read the DEP letter, it explicitly says that the permits were NOT denied “with prejudice” (i.e. on the merits).See:

https://www.nj.gov/dep/penneast/docs/admin-def-penneast20190409.pdf

In fact, if you read PennEast’s 10/11/19 response letter to the DEP, you will note that DEP made embarrassing technical errors and misinterpreted their own regulations, see:

https://www.nj.gov/dep/penneast/docs/deficiency-response-20190911.pdf

(for some reason, I can’t get the PennEast letter link to work, both the DEP version and NJ BIA’s links. Try cut & paste into your browser)

Your readers deserve an accurate understanding of the DEP permit process. This was a procedural move and delaying tactic, at most.

Gov. Murphy’s Tweet claiming a permit “denial” was an outrageous example of Trump like spin and exaggeration.

Wolfe

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