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— A presser on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s veto of a bill aimed at protecting Jamaica Bay from dredge material contaminants is planned for 10 a.m., Crossbay Kiteboarding Launch Area, just off the Joseph P. Addabbo Bridge, Broad Channel. Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.; Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato; Assemblywoman Jaime R. Williams; and community leaders will attend.
— Transportation emissions, waste issues, funding for water infrastructure and resiliency are among the array of topics that will be the focus for environmental advocates in the upcoming session.
— New York City’s dream of reducing organic waste flowing into landfills has fallen far short.
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NYC ORGANICS EFFORT FALTERS — POLITICO’s Sally Goldenberg and Danielle Muoio: Mayor Mike Bloomberg was winding down his final year in office when he gathered residents of a highrise Manhattan co-op and announced plans to tackle what he called the “final recycling frontier — organic waste.” Six years later, the now presidential candidate’s goal of a robust recycling program for food and yard scraps remains a pipe dream — the victim of municipal budget skeptics who think it’s too costly and a current mayor who has heeded their concerns and suspended the program’s expansion. The unkept promise amounts to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s most profound failure to improve the city’s dismal recycling rate and thereby reduce the amount of trash New Yorkers send to landfills around the region. Food and yard rubbish make up one-third of the residential waste stream and, left to rot in landfills, emit methane — a greenhouse gas considered far more potent than carbon dioxide.
GREEN SESSION PRIORITIES — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Last year’s passage of a nation-leading climate law will be a tough act for legislators to follow in the 2020 session, but environmental lobbyists see plenty of opportunities. The implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets an ambitious mandate for the state to hit net-zero emission in just three decades, will be a major focus for policymakers, legislators, advocates and business interests. Some environmentalists said tweaks to the law should be avoided for now, while others see a need for modifications. Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Nassau), who chairs the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, emphasized the importance of fully enacting a Climate Action Council, which the new law mandated. But, he said, there’s still room for lawmakers to build on last year’s measures. “We have to look and see where we can make important improvements now and yes, the Legislature … intends to be proactive on climate and continue the great work we did last session,” Kaminsky said.
CANAL INVESTMENT PLAN — POLITICO’s Marie: Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the New York Power Authority to invest $300 million in the state’s money-losing canal system over five years as part of a push to “Reimagine the Canals.” The investments, which will require approval from the NYPA board of trustees, are the culmination of an in-depth task force report. Funding will be directed toward individual projects related to connecting communities along Cuomo’s planned Empire State Trail and canal system, reducing flooding from ice jams in Schenectady, promoting recreation and tourism and reusing old industrial properties. Other priorities identified in the report involve examining the use of canal water for irrigation as climate change increases drought risks, figuring out how to restore wetlands that were drained when the canal was built, reconnecting tributaries and other ecological restoration opportunities. The NYPA 2020 budget and 2020-23 financial plan did not include this funding, but NYPA president and CEO Gil Quiniones indicated to trustees in December that a proposal from the Reimagine the Canals task force was coming and modifications would be made to include new financial projections.
EV BILL MOVES IN NEW JERSEY — POLITICO’s Samantha Maldonado: Two Assembly committees advanced long-stalled legislation on Monday that would create a statewide electric vehicle program, after changes were made pertaining to the development of charging infrastructure. The bill is designed to stimulate the sale of electric vehicles, offering rebates of up to $5,000 for new plug-in electric vehicles through a $30 million, 10-year incentive program. The legislation, which hadn’t advanced in the lower house since it was introduced in 2018, also sets targets for the number of EVs on the road — 330,000 by 2025, two million registered by 2035 and at least 85 percent of all vehicles sold by 2040 — and for building charging infrastructure
— NorthJersey.com: “The measure is seen as a cornerstone of efforts to reduce air pollution, including greenhouse gases, in a state that continually receives failing grades for smog.”
— NJTV: “To get more electric vehicles on the road, bill works to remove obstacles”
HAZ MAT BILL — by Samantha: The Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced a bill Monday that would require rail companies to create a spill response, clean-up and contingency plan in order to transport hazardous materials through New Jersey. “It’s not unreasonable to say these rail companies should be helping us to be prepared do better,” said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester), who recalled a 2012 spill of vinyl chloride in Paulsboro, where he formerly served as mayor.
INDIAN POINT DECOMMISSIONING PLANS — Journal News’ Thomas Zambito: “The company hired to tear down Indian Point is considering using barges to transport large chunks of the nuclear power plant down the Hudson River when the plant is dismantled after it shuts down next year, according to documents filed with federal regulators. New Jersey-based Holtec International says the dismantling and demolition of a power plant that’s generated electricity for Westchester County and New York City for nearly 60 years will take 12 to 15 years and cost $2.3 billion, the company revealed for the first time in documents.”
— Independent contractors who install and service heating and air-conditioning equipment are crying foul over the entry last year of a competitor known as PSEG WorryFree, saying the apparent affiliation gives the company an unfair advantage in attracting customers.
— Essex County is gearing up to launch a bus system to shuttle hikers to and from popular trailheads along state Route 73 this summer with funding from the state.
— Wegmans has announced it is removing all single-use plastic grocery bags from New York stores on Monday, Jan. 27. The company plans to charge a five-cent fee for paper bags even where local governments don’t impose one.
— Researchers from Stony Brook University plan to study how mechanical shellfish harvesting kicks up sediment in Oyster Bay Harbor over the coming year.
— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin seeking bids Wednesday for a project to replenish a severely eroded beach along Dune Road in Hampton Bays after lawmakers pushed for the federal agency to fast-track the work.
— The Shinnecock Indian Nation has reached an agreement with PSEG Long Island and LIPA that provides for the Southampton tribe to receive payment for allowing the utility to run a cable under tribal land on Sunrise Highway.
— The Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced legislation that would modify the Clean Energy Act as it relates to spending on solar incentives.
— New Jersey officials are seeking to dredge nine navigation channels in Barnegat Bay.
— Just a couple of weeks after Island Beach State Park officials put out a call for discarded Christmas trees to help build sand dunes, they announced Monday morning the response has been overwhelming.
— Lead levels in Newark’s drinking water remain elevated but dropped slightly in the last six months, the latest sampling shows.
— Paper or reusable bag: It’s a decision shoppers in Asbury Park will have to face now, and it’s a decision shoppers statewide could face if New Jersey passes a similar bill under consideration. A ban on single-use plastic bags went into effect on Jan. 1 in Asbury Park.
— OPINION: The past year brought in some good progress with clean energy, land preservation, stopping harmful pipelines and prosecuting industrial polluters. But there were setbacks, too.
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