African American Environmentalist Association - New York

$1 Million in DEC Environmental Justice Community Grants

2012-01-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

Awarded to 24 Organizations Statewide

Grants Help At-Risk Communities Mitigate Environmental Harm

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) awarded 24 Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants to organizations across the state that serve communities facing environmental harm and risk, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced today.

The Environmental Justice Grants Program, created with input from the DEC Environmental Justice Advisory Group, helps communities understand and mitigate environmental harms or risks to improve quality of life.

The funding comes from the Environmental Justice Community Impact Research Grant (EJ Grant) program. Launched in 2006, the program helps local organizations with projects to address environmental or public health concerns. The program concentrates on communities that historically have been overburdened by such problems as a high density of industrial emissions, a concentration of contaminated sites; disproportionate noise, air and water pollution; environmental health problems and lack of green space and waterfront access.

Interest in the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grant program has grown dramatically. This year, 123 groups from around the state applied for funding. Detailed reviews by DEC staff resulted in 24 grant awards totaling $1 million. Individual awards range from $5,180 to $50,000. A wide variety of projects will be supported this year, including community gardens and green infrastructure, air and water quality monitoring, waste recycling in public housing, lead poisoning prevention, building deconstruction and expansion of an urban aquaponics facility and environmental education for urban and Native American youth.

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

New York Metropolitan area - $441,970

• The Morningside Heights / West Harlem Sanitation Coalition - $25,000 for the "Public Housing Recycling Pilot Program"

• Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation - $49,991 for the "Gowanus Canal Pilot Sponge Park"

• The Newtown Creek Alliance - $39,848 for the project titled, "Aircasting"

• Brooklyn Food Coalition - $48,843 for the project titled, "Joining the Natural World: Gardens in All Our Schools"

• Roots of Peace Community Garden - $5,180 for the project titled, "Spreading the Roots of Peace"

• West Harlem Environmental Action - $28,200 for the project titled, "Building Community Capacity to Reduce Lead Poisoning Hazards"

• The Point Community Development Corp. - $50,000 for the project titled, "The Point's South Bronx Community Green Roof"

• Eastern Queens Alliance - $50,000 for the "Eastern Queens Alliance Environmental Awareness Community Advocacy Project"

• Bronx River Alliance - $50,000 for the "Bronx River Education Program"

• United Community Centers - $49,908 for the project titled, "East New York Farms!"

• Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corp. - $44,995 for the "NEBHDCo Healthy Green Environment Initiative"

Western New York - $295,280

• Massachusetts Avenue Project - $50,000 for the "Buffalo Aquaponics Project"

• Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper - $50,000 for the "Environmental Justice Education and Citizen Action for Buffalo and Niagara Rivers Project"

• Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo - $50,000 for the "Community Garden Workshop Series"

• Salamanca Healthy Homes Committee - $50,000 for the "Salamanca Healthy Homes Project"

• Groundwork Buffalo - $45,277 for the project titled, "Pelion Community Garden"

• Valley Community Association - $50,000 for the project titled, "In Our Backyard"

Central New York - $99,970

• Onondaga Earth Corps and Partnership for Onondaga Creek - $49,967 for the project titled, "Growing Syracuse's Next Generation of Environmental Justice Leaders"

• Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments - $50,000 for the "Binghamton Urban Farm Expansion and Remediation Project"

Rochester Area - $42,060

• North East Area Development - $42,060 for the "Building Deconstruction Research and Documentation Project"

Hudson Valley Region - $63,000

• Poughkeepsie Farm Project - $49,942 for the project titled, "Growing City Seeds"

• Groundwork Hudson Valley - $13,090 for the project titled, "Stewardship, Training and Restoration in Yonkers Public Housing"

North Country - $49,760

• Akwesasne Boys and Girls Club - $49,756 for the project titled, "The Documentation of Mohawk Traditional and Medicinal Uses of Aquatic Furbearer Mammals"

Capital Region - $10,367

• Green Tech Charter High School - $10,367 for the project titled, "Green Tech High Storm Water Management Research"

For a complete list of project descriptions, visit DEC's website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/31226.html.

For more information on the Environmental Justice Grants Program or the Environmental Justice Advisory Group, visit the DEC Office of Environmental Justice website.

New York Assembly Hearing on IPEC

2012-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

The New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Energy and Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions held a hearing on the Potential Closure of Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) on January 12, 2012 in New York City. The hearing examined alternatives to IPEC, including new generation facilities and upgrades to the state's electric transmission system that would prevent power supply disruptions and adequately address the electricity needs of New Yorkers.

Norris McDonald Statement

Dan Durett Statement

Indian Point Energy Center, located in Buchanan, Westchester County, New York, has two active nuclear reactors with a combined rated capacity of 2,000 megawatts. In 2012 and 2015 respectively, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) operational licenses for both reactors will expire. Entergy Corporation, which operates both reactors, has petitioned the NRC to operate the reactors for an additional 20 years.

Norris McDonald Interviewed by Channel 1

The hearing was held in New York City in the Assembly Hearing Room at 250 Broadway on the 19th floor in room 1923.

AAEA President Norris McDonald was interviewed by Channel 1, quoted in The New York Times (see article at link), and quoted in Your News Now.

Blacks Get Short End Of Stick In NY Set-Aside Contracts

2011-08-01T05:30:00.001-07:00

Blacks have trouble competing in the private sector largely because of continued discrimination. That is why government set-aside programs are necessary to 'allow Blacks to do some business.' But these programs usually fall far short of putting dollars into black business coffers. New York City's contracting set-aside program is about par for the course. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council approved a law in 2005 that set voluntary goals for awarding a certain percentage of contracts to businesses registered as owned by minorities or women.

In the last year and a half, about three-quarters of city dollars paid to contractors participating in the program went to companies owned by either Asian Americans or white women. Businesses run by Latinos received 15% of that pool of money. The smallest share, 7%, went to black-run firms. Overall, of the $28 billion paid to prime contractors since January 2010, less than 3% went to companies registered as minority or women-owned. Within that 3%—a pool of $700 million —40% went to firms certified as Asian American. And about 35% of that went to firms owned by white women.

A Long Island staffing agency with $5 million in contracts in 2010 was the black-owned certified company with the highest amount.

Bloomberg aides say the data are misleading, noting that the figures don't account for hundreds of millions going to minority subcontractors or firms that did not register with the program. The figures also don't account for contracts to nonprofits. City officials say black-run businesses have secured a larger and increasing share of sub-contract dollars. In 2010, black-certified firms won 20% of subcontract dollars awarded to firms participating in the program.

Clearly there needs to be a program targeted specifically to Black businesses. Until the private sector is more user-friendly to Black businesses, such government programs will remain necessary. (WSJ, 8/1/2011)

DEC Removes 'Nigger' From State Documents

2011-07-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

The term Nigger still lingers in environmental conservation laws classifying bodies of water in New York. A regional researcher alerted the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) about the racial epithet two years ago. Officials then did a computer search and found three other examples buried in regulatory indexes and a map. This week, the state quietly moved to correct the problem. While it can't rename local roads and water bodies, the agency is finally scrubbing the n-word from its regulations.

Since it's technically a rule change, the deletions can't happen instantaneously but must first be proposed. The result is one of the more unusual rule changes announced in the official state register, the latest edition of which carries the headline: "Removing a Racially Offensive Term That Appears in the Regulations."

The agency proposed it as a "consensus rule," obviating the need for any public hearings. "DEC has determined that no person is likely to object to the adoption of the rule as written," the register states.
In the meantime, DEC deleted the word from regulations posted on its website. One of those instances, a little, narrow lake in the wooded wilderness of Hamilton County, is now referred to as "unnamed lake."

The required public-comment period still stands, which means the regulations won't officially be amended for another month and a half.

An offensively named road in the town of Danby in Tompkins County is cited in a report posted online in February. The agency was unaware of that until a reporter brought it to its attention on Thursday.

The federal government began to strip the n-word from its topographic maps in the early 1960s. But within the more obscure reaches of cartographic bureaucracy, the n-word occasionally endures. (WSJ, 7/22/2011)

Power NY Act of 2011

2011-07-18T14:35:00.001-07:00

Article 10 Reauthorization Law

The Power NY Act of 2011

The New York Legislature has passed and Govern Andrew Cuomo has signed the “Power NY Act of 2011.” Section 12 of the new law reauthorizes and modernizes Article X of the Public Service Law, which expired on January 1, 2003, governing the siting and approval of power plants in New York.

Like its predecessor, the new version of Article X aims to centralize and streamline the siting approval process, although the threshold for application of the law has been lowered from 80 to 25 megawatts. The law creates and vests permitting authority with the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (“the Board”). The statute provides that two local residents will be part of the Board with the other five members being State officials for each proceeding. The law also provides for “intervenor funding” which will enable municipalities and other local parties to participate in all phases of the administrative review, including the mandated adjudicatory hearing.

The Board is given authority to override local laws and ordinances if they are “unreasonably burdensome.” Unless otherwise agreed to by an applicant or extended due to a “material and substantial amendment to the application” or “extraordinary circumstances,” Board decisions must be rendered within a year of the application being deemed complete.

Article X displaces the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process for covered projects, but mandates several environmental analyses of the facility’s impacts. These analyses include a “cumulative air quality analysis” of the combined effects from the proposed facility, other proposed sources and all existing sources; a description of the demographics of the surrounding community; and a description of “reasonable and available” alternative locations. It also requires the Board to find that the project minimizes or avoids disproportionate impacts on the surrounding community.

There are significant differences between the new version of Article X and the expired version. The lower 25 megawatt threshold will allow smaller projects to be covered by the law and may particularly benefit developers of wind projects, which in most cases would not have been covered by the expired version. The increased emphasis on environmental justice impacts addresses concerns stated by environmental groups. Current applicants for local and state permits for a power plant may elect to be covered by the new law. (Sive, Paget & Riesel, PC)

Governor Cuomo’s Memorandum on the Legislation

DEC Office of Environmental Justice to host Statewide Teleconference about Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants

2011-06-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Office of Environmental Justice is hosting a public teleconference on Thursday, July 14, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for individuals interested in the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants (EJ Grants). Aimee Vargas, the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice, will provide interested organizations with detailed information about the EJ Grants and the application process.

The EJ Grants are available to community-based organizations to fund various projects, including but not limited to community gardens and green roofs, air and water quality monitoring, lead poisoning prevention, urban forestry, subsistence fishing education, environmental education, inventories of local pollution sources, and green worker training. Larger not-for-profit organizations, universities and municipalities can partner with community organizations on funded projects. Community-based organizations, community leaders, municipal and university representatives, and other interested stakeholders are welcome to participate in the conference call, which is part of the DEC’s ongoing outreach efforts which included Technical Workshops throughout the State and an upcoming Video Conference/Webinar on August 10th.

Applications are due Friday, September 9, 2011, and awards are expected to be made in November.

The EJ Grants are funded through the Environmental Justice Community Impact Research Grant program. Launched in 2006 with input from the DEC Office of Environmental Justice’s Environmental Justice Advisory Group, the program helps local organizations with projects to address environmental and public health concerns. The program concentrates on communities that are historically overburdened by problems such as a high density of contaminated sites; noise, air and water pollution; health problems; and a lack of green space and waterfront access.

Individual awards will range from $2,500 to $50,000, and a total of approximately $1 million is available. During the last funding cycle in 2008, DEC awarded 50 grants totaling $1.6 million.

To join the teleconference, participants may call 1-866-394-2346. When prompted, dial the participant code 5385701554, followed by the # sign. When prompted again, press "1" to join the call.

If you have any questions about the teleconference or other questions about the EJ Grants, please call the DEC Office of Environmental Justice at 1-866-229-0497 or 518-402-8556, or e-mail the Office of EJ .

Funding Delay For Sanitation Sites Is Environmental Injustice

2011-04-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

City Council members and activists, including AAEA-NY, believe the mayor's plan to delay funding for four sanitation facilities will unfairly burden low-income and minority communities.

In 2006, following intense negotiations, the council and the mayor's administration agreed on a comprehensive "Solid Waste Management Plan" that sought to distribute equitably the siting of undesirable sanitation facilities in the five boroughs. But the mayor's current budget blueprint upends that objective by delaying funding for all of the proposed solid-waste marine-transfer stations in upscale Manhattan—and one in Brooklyn—for five to eight years, well past the end of Mr. Bloomberg's tenure at City Hall. An aide to the mayor said the proposed delay was necessary because of the economy.

The delayed facilities are:

East 91st Street marine transfer station along the East River in Manhattan (FY11 to FY16)

West 59th Street marine transfer station at Pier 99 on the Hudson River in Manhattan (FY 14 to FY 19)

Gansevoort marine transfer station at Pier 52 along the Hudson River in Manhattan (FY13 to FY18)

Southwest Brooklyn marine transfer station along Gravesend Bay (FY 11 to FY 16)

Source: City Hall; New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

The city already has long-term rail contracts in place and two marine transfer stations, along with a new recycling facility, are currently under construction. The delay in funding means the South Bronx, Sunset Park and East Williamsburg in Brooklyn will continue to shoulder the burden of handling the entire city's waste stream. (WSJ, 4/13/2011)

African American Environmental Association: 25th Anniversary

2010-11-20T08:57:00.001-08:00

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

Today is our 25th anniversary. We was incorporated on November 20, 1985. The African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA) is the outreach arm of the Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy (Center).

You can see a listing of many of our activities during that time at our original website, which we converted to Multiply when the original Msn Groups platform ended). There is more activity information at our History page. My career has been very satisfying. From my beginning in the Fall of 1979 at the Environmental Policy Center (now Friends of the Earth) until today, the adventure has been incredible. I started out in the Washington, D.C.-based environmental movement. Jimmy Carter was president and was just finishing a rough 4-year run. I shook his hand at the Democratic National Convention in New York in 1980 not knowing that Washington was about to get a completely new makeover. The Reagan era was interesting and quite the challenge for the environmental movement. I still remember his 'no standard standard' for appliance efficiency standards. I also remember the Air Florida crash and the Metro subway accident on the day that I was walking back from the U.S. Department of Energy after testifying on appliance standards.

Well, without sounding like the old guy in the room sharing old war time stories that nobody really wants to hear, the situation today is as exciting as ever. We are embarking on trying to build biomass power plants in Mississippi, California and in Kenya. The adventure continues and I am having more fun than ever. Our team is lean and mean and green.

I have kept the AAEA small on purpose and will continue to do so. I almost died from respiratory failure in 1991 and 1996 (intubated for 4 days in ICU each time). After getting divorced and full custody of my son when he was 2 years old, I decided that I wanted to stick around to see my son grow up. But I also wanted to continue with my entrepreneurial environmentalism. So keeping it small worked. Although I still struggle with a chronic acute asthma that could kill me any day, my son is now 18 and I am still 'doing my green thing.' Life is good. Hey, and we just opened a new Center Hollywood blog this week (Also see AAEA Hollywood). Oh, and if you're feeling generous, feel free to click on our Donation button on our sites.

2010-08-10T15:58:00.001-07:00

WE SUPPORT CHARLIE RANGEL

Remembering Environmental Justice Legend Dana Alston

2010-08-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

Dana Alston was 47 years old when she died 11 years ago on August 7, 1999.

Dana Alston, left, was a leader of the original environmental justice movement that started in the 1980's. She was one of the organizers of the first National Environmental Justice Leadership Summit in 1992. She participated in the meetings to convince the U.S. EPA to open an Office of Environmental Justice. She was a committed environmental justice activist and the movement clearly benefited from her leadership. We remember you Dana. And we will never forget you.

Dana Alston received a Bannerman Fellowship in 1992 in recognition of her leadership in the development of the environmental justice movement. The Bannerman Fellowship Program was founded in 1987 on the belief that the most effective approach to achieving progressive social change is by organizing low-income people at the grassroots level. In 2002, the Fellowship Program was renamed the Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Program in honor of Dana Alston.

Dana died on August 7, 1999 at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Dana was a native of New York and lived in Washington, D.C. She was in San Francisco for treatment of kidney disease and consequences of a stroke when she died.

Her son, Khalil Alston-Cobb, now 17, resides in Clinton, Maryland. He is (or was at 16) a skateboard enthusiast (see videos). Here is how Khalil describes himself on his MySpace page:

"I like Skateboarding, Playing videogames, listening to music, talking to Gurls, surfing the Web, and Chillin wit the Homies."

Khalil is also on Twitter. He has a great skateboarding video on MonsterArmy.com. He is listed on Children of the Struggle. Dana would be very proud of her teenage son. All who knew her are not surprised that Khalil is an energetic and productive young man.

How Cooling Towers Work: Guide For the Non-Engineer

2010-07-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

"Cooling Tower Heat Transfer 101"

By Brad Buecker

[Excerpts]

"Evaporation is utilized to its fullest extent in cooling towers, which are designed to expose the maximum transient water surface to the maximum flow of air – for the longest period of time.”1

For water to evaporate it must consume a large amount of energy to change state from a liquid to a gas.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows process conditions that could easily exist in a cooling system. We will calculate the mass flow rate of air needed to cool 150,000 gpm of tower inlet water to the desired temperature. We will also calculate the water lost by evaporation (go to link for full calculation). So, with an inlet cooling water flow rate of 150,000 gpm (1,251,000 lb/min), the calculated air flow is 1,248,000 lb/min, which, by chance in this case, is close to the cooling water flow rate. (Obviously, the air flow requirement would change significantly depending upon air temperature, inlet water temperature and flow rate, and other factors, and that is why cooling towers typically have multiple cells, often including fans that have adjustable speed control). The mass balance of water = 146,841 gpm. Thus, the water lost to evaporation is 3,159 gpm. A very interesting aspect of this calculation is that only about 2 percent evaporation is sufficient to provide so much cooling.

Evaporation causes dissolved and suspended solids in the cooling water to increase in concentration. This concentration factor is (logically) termed the cycles of concentration (C). Cycles of concentration can be monitored by comparing the ratio of the concentration of a very soluble ion, such as chloride or magnesium, in the makeup (MU) and recirculating (R) water. Very common is a comparison of the specific conductivity of the two streams, particularly where automatic control is utilized to bleed off recirculating water when it becomes too concentrated.

Besides blowdown, some water also escapes the process as fine moisture droplets in the cooling tower fan exhaust. This water loss is known as drift (D). Where towers are well-designed, drift is quite small and can be as low as 0.0005 percent of the recirculation rate.2 Drift particulate minimization is very important, as regulations on particulate emissions from cooling towers continue to tighten. Leaks in the cooling system are referred to as losses (L).

Reference:

1. J.C. Hensley, ed., Cooling Tower Fundamentals, 2nd Edition; The Marley Cooling Tower Company (now part of SPX Cooling Technologies, Overland Park, Kan.), 1985.
2. Personal conversation with Rich Aull of Brentwood Industries.

Power Engineering, July 2010

AAEA Testifies at Nuclear Power Plant Water Quality Hearing

2010-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

AAEA President Norris McDonald, right, presented testimony before two administrative law judges at a hearing near the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The hearing was held in Cortlandt, New York at Colonial Terrace. The hearing was to address the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's denial of Entergy's Water Quality Certificate Application.

Excerpts of McDonald's written statement:

"AAEA disagrees with DEC's denial of Entergy's Water Quality Certificate and will provide information that the agency overlooked in its evaluation of the certificate application. Entergy's application, including the addition of a cylindrical wedge-wire (CWW) screen system (as proposed in Entergy’s February 12, 2010, submission), not only complies with existing New York State water quality standards, it also enhances those standards.

But nowhere in its discussion of these “other impacts” is there any acknowledgement by the DEC of the air impacts its decision will have on minority communities. This omission is egregious, particularly in light of the DEC’s numerous policy pronouncements, including DEC Policy Statement CP-29: Environmental Justice and Permitting, issued on March 19, 2003, where DEC expressed its commitment to environmental justice. In Policy Statement CP-29, DEC stated:

'It is the general policy of DEC to promote environmental justice and incorporate measures for achieving environmental justice into its programs, policies, regulations, legislative proposals and activities. This policy is specifically intended to ensure that DEC’s environmental permit process promotes environmental justice.'
CP-29 applies to permit applications received after its effective date (March 19, 2003) and the WQC application was submitted to the DEC on April 6, 2009. Thus, CP-29 clearly applies to this certification process.

To date, DEC’s permitting procedure for the Indian Point 2 and 3 facilities, and in particular, DEC’s Notice of Denial, and other considerations and investigations for these facilities, wholly ignores the issue of environmental justice and turns a blind eye to the significant harm to human health. These substantive and significant deficiencies render the Notice of Denial null and void, and preclude the DEC denying the WQC."

Wedgewire Screens- Best Available Control Technology

2010-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Cylindrical Wedgewire Screens would significantly reduce entrainment and impingement of Hudson River fish.

Wedgewire screens allow water to be “filtered” prior to entering the plants' cooling system eliminating the possibility of clogging pumps.

Fish, fish larvae, and fish eggs larger than the slot size are excluded from the intake screens.
Flow-through slot velocity (0.5fps or less) eliminates the possibility of extrusion.

Wedgewire Screens in operation at Unit 2 in April 2013/14, and at Unit 3 in April 2014/15.
Wedgewire screens can be installed in 5 years.

Wedgewire Technology offers the best environmental solution to protect human health, the environment and the fish populations in the Hudson.

The screens can be installed by 2015, and begin to further enhance fish protection efforts a full 15 years ahead of Cooling Towers.

Cooling Towers pose significant environmental and permitting problems that are highly likely to generate numerous law suits that will delay the permitting and construction if in fact they can be permitted.

Video

Addressing Environmental Justice in New York City

2010-05-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

EPA, DEC, & DEP Host Discussion on Environmental Justice at EPA Region II Office

Norris McDonald at 290 Broadway
AAEA President Norris McDonald participated in the latest meeting of environmental justice activists and New York government agency officials. The meeting was held on Friday, April 30 from 3-5 pm. Approximately 50 environmental justice activists and others attended the meeting.

Opening and closing remarks were given by Judith Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator, Pete Grannis New York State DEC Commissioner, Cas Holloway, New York City DEP Commissioner. They also answered questions from the participants.

Various commenters listed their respective complaints from process to local problems. Topics on the agenda include: 1) EJ Concerns and Government Responses and 2) Opportunities to Strengthen Community-Government Relationships to Effectively Address NYC EJ Concerns.

Pete Grannis, Cas Holloway, Judith Enck

The meeting was a follow up to the previous meetings to address EJ issues. The particular focus of the meeting was supposed to be to address the August 2009 report: "New York City Environmental Justice Listening Session: Responses to Questions, Comments and Concerns." Most comments were on other issues but there was also some discussion about the issues included in the report. Questions about report, contact:

Terry Wesley, Environmental Justice Coordinator, EPA Region 2

Lisa F. Garcia, Chief Advocate for Environmental Justice and Equity, NYSDEC

Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Policy Advisor NYC Mayoral Office and Agencies

AAMW Hosts Successful Luncheon on 'Smart Grid'

2010-05-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Larry Gottlieb, Norris McDonald, Tony Savino, Hugh Marriott, Melvin Burruss

The African American Men of Westchester (AAMW) April 30th luncheon on the Smart Grid was very informative and about 55 people showed up to participate in the discussion and ask questions. The luncheon, at the elegant Renaissance Westchester Hotel, is another of a series of events AAMW has organized over the past few years to keep county residents informed about the latest energy and environmental issues. Melvin Burruss of Peekskill is president of AAMW and he has been a leader in providing valuable energy and environmental information to his members and the community at large.

A “smart grid” delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control equipment at the consumer‘s premise to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. Such a modernized electricity network is being promoted by many as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues. The panel addressing the smart grid issue included:

• Tony Savino – Business Development of the New York Power Authority

• Larry Gottlieb – Director of Westchester County Economic Development

• Norris McDonald – President of African American Environmentalist Association

The moderator was Hugh Marriott, CEO, InService Enterprise, LLC. A series of questions were posed by the moderator to the panelists:

· What are your thoughts on the Smart Grid and its implications to the business community? Is this a good thing?
· Why is it taking so long for it to hit mainstream?
· Where should the intelligence of the smart grid reside – in the meter, in the appliance, on a PC platform, the utility, the consumer, somewhere else, some or all of these?
· Will the market sort this out or is this a matter of regulatory policy? (follow up to the previous question).
· Security: energy consumption, pricing, and load control or demand response data could also be accessible to anyone in cyberspace. Does Smart Grid technology make us less secure or more secure?
· What are the real incentives for companies/consumers to adopt and embrace this technology?
· From an energy management perspective, what choices and opportunities can this technology enable for businesses?
· Can most (or a significant portion) of the net benefits from smart grid choices be captured much more cheaply through other means (e.g. load curtailment, critical peak pricing, traditional rate design, etc.)?
· What are the biggest obstacles to deploying Smart Grid equipment and to generating benefits from these deployments?

African American Men of Westchester Green Technology

2010-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

The African American Men of Westchester, Inc. (“AAMW”) host an Environmental Business Luncheon entitled Green Smart Technology “What is the Payback”

Westchester County, NY: Friday, April 30, 2010 at Renaissance Westchester Hotel, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Free and open to the public, however, there is limited seating.

Technology and market forces are converging to fundamentally change the way the grid operates, with consequences we will feel for generations. A “smart grid” delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control equipment at the consumer‘s premise to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. Such a modernized electricity network is being promoted by many as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues. To make those decisions and to quickly capture the benefits and payback from the smart grid the following panel of experts will give insights on this technology and what the payback could mean for your business and the customers you serve.

• Tony Savino – Business Development of the New York Power Authority

• Larry Gottlieb – Director of Westchester County Economic Development

• Norris McDonald – President of African American Environmentalist Association

Melvin Burruss of Peekskill and president of AAMW

For utilities, there is the possibility of limiting growth in the use of electricity at peak times, and in reducing the year-to-year growth in electricity demand. For residential users, there is the possibility of reducing electricity and saving money. For residential users with home-based power generation, there is the possibility of better compensation for home-generated power, when added to the grid

The smart grid enables suppliers and generators to use digital technology to both control consumption and encourage localized energy production. Smart meters in the home enable communications between supplier and consumer and the user to regulate their consumption.

AAMW is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 to capitalize on the vast talents of African Americans in our community. The goals of AAMW are to develop strategies for the advancement of African Americans in the areas of the environment, education, economic and community development, while strengthening family institutions. (PRLog)

AAEA President Delivers Keynote at Medgar Evers College

2010-03-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

AAEA President Norris McDonald delivered the keynote address at the 15th Annual Conference on Environmental Issues today in the Founder's Auditorium at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York. Approximately 25o people attended the auditorium presentation. The conference was co-sponsored by Con Edison. McDonald stated that this was one of the most inspiring events he has ever participated in and noted that the questions were the best in his 30 year career.

Medgar Evers College initiate this public service event, dubbed the Annual Environmental Issues Conference in March 1996. This conference has become an imporatnt venue for disseminating environmental information to the public and for environmental professionals to interact with students and community members. Today they focused on greening of the academic curriculum. The hope to demonstrate a link between a green inspired curriculum and a green economy.

Message from the Conference Chairperson

"While we in the colleges are developing a green inspired curriculum we must safeguard against any perception of "green" as yet another gimmick. The curriculum must stress the real-world connection of green with healthier communities, more energy efficient homes and environmental sustainability."

McDonald was introduced by Michael G. Flanigan, Development Manager, External Relations MEC. Drs. Wilber Hope and Mohsin Patwary presented awards. The afternoon session inluded panesl on Environmental Sustainability, Green Initiatives, and Science Panel.

Other Co-Sponsors include: NBC/Universal, NASA, National Science Foundation, Department of Physical , Environmental & Computer Sciences, Du Bois Bunche Center for Public Policy, MEC, and the School of Scenic, Health and Technology.

Dr. John A. Gibbs - Medgar Evers College

2010-03-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

Dr. John A. Gibbs joined the faculty at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York in 1988 where he has taught basic, general, health science and organic chemistry. In 1994 he spearheaded the development of a new BS degree program in Environmental Science. This degree program, the first environmental science degree program in the CUNY system was approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees and implemented in 1996.

The Medgar Evers College environmental science program strongly embraces the pressing and familiar issues of mainstream environmentalism, such as global warming, climate change, wildlife preservation, endangered species, but also gives an expanded focus to the urban environment. The program's unprecedented concentration on the environment of large urban areas fostered extensive research and studies on topics such as air and water pollution, drinking water quality, waste management, indoor air pollution and environmental health.

In conjunction with the implementation of the Environmental Science Degree Program, Dr. Gibbs co-founded the Annual Conference in March 2008. This conference has developed into an annual meeting place where scholars can discuss and make presentations on their research. Dr. Gibbs has guided graduates of the Medgar Evers College Environmental Science program to graduate programs in environmental chemistry, atmospheric science, soil science, occupational science and environmental education.

Energy Experts Discuss Northeastern Energy at National Grid

2010-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

Norris McDonald, Martin Cook, Carolyn Green, Frank Stewart
The American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) and the Alliance of Black Professionals (ABP)
held an energy forum today at National Grid in Brooklyn, New York with the theme:

“Future of Northeast Energy – What is on the Horizon?”

Panelists included:

Lisa Crutchfield, National Grid

Martin Cook, National Grid

Carolyn Green, National Chair of AABE

Frank Stewart, National President of AABE

Moderator: Norris McDonald, President Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy, African American Environmentalist Association

The forum was held in the Metrotech Auditorium and covered a broad array of electricity, energy and environmental issues facing the Northeast. Some questions considered included: Is there adequate electrical capacity to satisfy the needs of Northeastern states in the next few years? Will energy prices negatively affect the Northeast? How could pending carbon dioxide regulations affect the Northeast? What about the influence of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on a project 'low-carbon' future? Do you know of any policies that are being put into place to address energy efficiency and alternative technology marketing techniques? How are companies and organizations looking to address the "green divide" to make sure minority communities in the Northeast region are not being left behind? Many other questions were addressed during the forum.

Photo: Stephanie George. Renee McClure, Martin Cook, Norris McDonald, Jose Garcia (kneeling), Carolyn Green, Frank Stewart, Bill Suggs, Akil Friday

New York City Law Review Hosts EJ Discussion

2010-02-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

The New York City Law Review is sponsoring a panel discussion on environmental justice issues in New York City, "Whose Survival? Environmental Justice as a Civil Rights Issue, " on Thursday, February 18, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Auditorium, CUNY School of Law65-21 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11367

Featuring:

*Majora Carter – President, Majora Carter Group
*David Palmer – Interim Executive Director, Center for Working Families
*Miranda Massie – Senior Staff Attorney, N.Y. Lawyers for the Public Interest, Environmental Justice section
*Elizabeth Yeampierre – Executive Director, United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park

This panel will highlight how the purpose of the environmental justice movement is to combat “environmental racism,” a term used to refer to a multitude of racial and economic injustices wrought upon impoverished communities through the inequitable distribution of environmental burdens. The panel will trace the emergence and development of key issues in the environmental justice movement in New York City, including brownfield redevelopment, school siting and contaminants, air quality, and inequitable distribution of open space.

Panelists will address the role of communities and activists, as well as lawyers and policymakers in identifying and advocating against environmental injustices; the nature of interaction between these roles and the remedies each effects; and how such advocacy dovetails with community-building, local economic development, and the "green" revolution. This panel will be moderated by Professor Carmen Huertas-Noble, Director of the Community and Economic Development Clinic at the law school. Additionally, the CUNY Green Coalition will be hosting a 'wine and cheese' (local wines and organic snacks) reception following the panel to continue the discussion that the panel begins, where they will also be accepting donations for the BLSA-Green Coalition inaugural summer environmental law fellowship.

Attendance is free, but please RSVP for the panel discussion to.

The New York City Law Review is CUNY Law School’s student-run publication that seeks to publish the best of legal scholarship from all points of view on various legal topics within the broad framework of the Law School’s mission statement, “Law in the Service of Human Needs.”

More information about Law Review

Directions

Governor Paterson Releases Final NY State Energy Plan

2009-12-15T16:22:00.001-08:00

The 2009 New York State Energy Plan (Plan or Energy Plan) sets forth a vision for a robust and innovative clean energy economy that will stimulate investment, create jobs and meet the energy needs of residents and businesses over its 10-year planning horizon. To that end, the Plan provides the framework within which the State will try to meet its future energy needs in a cost-effective and sustainable manner, establishes policy objectives to guide State agencies and authorities as they address energyrelated issues and sets forth strategies and recommendations to achieve these objectives.

The Plan‘s strategies and recommendations have been designed to meet five policy objectives:

 Assure that New York has reliable energy and transportation systems;

 Support energy and transportation systems that enable the State to significantly reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both to do the State‘s part in responding to the dangers posed
by climate change and to position the State to compete in a national and global carbonconstrained economy;

 Address affordability concerns of residents and businesses caused by rising energy bills, and
improve the State‘s economic competitiveness;

 Reduce health and environmental risks associated with the production and use of energy across all sectors; and

 Improve the State‘s energy independence and fuel diversity by developing in-state energy supply resources.

Five strategies are outlined in the Plan, which simultaneously achieve these multiple policy objectives. The strategies are: (1) produce, deliver and use energy more efficiently; (2) support development of instate energy supplies; (3) invest in energy and transportation infrastructure; (4) stimulate innovation in a clean energy economy; and (5) engage others in achieving the State‘s policy objectives.

AAEA-NY on Harlem World Radio - The Danny Tisdale Show

2009-12-10T09:35:00.000-08:00

Harlem World Radio's The Danny Tisdale Show talks about the latest information on life, style, and business in Harlem. Danny's show also covers the latest hot topics of the week with surprise guests and experts.

AAEA is appearing on The Danny Tisdale Show today and the interview will be broadcast during it regulair air time. Also appearing are New York environmental activist Samara Swanston and Craig Wilson of the Safe Healthy Affordable Reliable Energy (SHARE).

The Danny Tisdale Show airs the second Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm.

Large Wind Project Proposed Offshore

2009-12-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

The New York City Offshore Wind Collaborative (OWC), a group of utilities and government agencies, is requesting proposals next year from developers for a 350-megawatt wind farm near the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean 13 miles from Queens. It is estimated that the project could cost more than $1 billion and involve more than 100 turbines. The OWC wants developers to finance the project and recoup their costs selling power to nearby utilities, beginning in 2015.

AAEA-NY supports the project. (WSJ, 12/9/09)

AAEA-NY Climate/Energy/Air Forum A Big Success

2009-11-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Frank Stewart, Amber Sisson Norris McDonald, Samara Swanston, Craig Wilson

The African American Environmentalist Association New York Office hosted a forum on "Air Quality and Electricity: Why It Matters To You," on Friday, October 30, 2009 at the City University of New York Graduate Center Segal Theatre. The theater was filled with students from the New York High School for Environmental Studies, members of the American Association of Blacks in Energy New York Chapter, representatives from the New York City Council and others.

Panelists included Amber Sisson-New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (NYAREA), Samara Swanston-environmentalist, Frank Stewart-President, American Association of Blacks in Energy and Craig Wilson-Safe Healthy Affordable Reliable Energy (SHARE). The forum was moderated by AAEA President Norris McDonald.

The forum covered numerous topics that were discussed by panelists and audience members. The issues included energy and air pollution in New York, green jobs, the Waxman/Markey and Boxer/Kerry climate change bills, New York Governor David A. Paterson's New Preliminary State Energy Plan, technical aspects of energy production and more. An issues brief produced by AAEA and NYAREA, "New York State and the Waxman-Markey Bill," was distributed at the forum.

Excellent box lunches were also provided to the participants.

The forum was coordinated by Urbanomics Consulting Group (UCG).

Official First Family Photograph

2009-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Obamas in the Green Room, Sept. 1, 2009, with Sasha, second from left, and Malia, right. (Annie Leibovitz for the White House)

DEC & DEP Holding Hearings on Marcellus Shale

2009-10-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

AAEA opposes drilling in the New York City watershed to produce natural gas from the underground Marcellus Shale layer. AAEA believes this activity could threaen New York City's drinking water supply and it simply is not worth the risk.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is currently drafting regulations to govern natural gas drilling in New York.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has scheduled four public hearings on the draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement (DSGEIS) for gas drilling in New York.

- Wednesday, Oct. 28, Sullivan County Community College, E Building, Seelig Theater, 112 College Rd., Loch Sheldrake, NY 12759.

- Tuesday, Nov. 10, Stuyvesant High School, High School Auditorium, 345 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10282.

- Thursday, Nov. 12, Chenango Valley High School, High School Auditorium, 221 Chenango Bridge Rd., Chenango Bridge, NY 13901.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Corning East High School Auditorium, 201 Cantigny St., Corning. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NYC Council’s Environmental Protection Committee will be holding a hearing on gas drilling at 10 am Friday, October 23rd in the Committee Room at City Hall. The Council is considering a resolution calling for a ban on drilling within the NYC Watershed and other important environmental areas.

Marcellus Shale Natural Gas

2009-10-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

AAEA opposes drilling in the New York City watershed to produce natural gas from the underground Marcellus Shale layer. AAEA believes this activity could threaen New York City's drinking water supply and it simply is not worth the risk.

AAEA-NY wants regulators to amend current state rules to bar drilling in the New York City watershed: a million acres of forests and farmlands whose streams supply the reservoirs that send drinking water to eight million people. Accidental leaks could threaten public health and require a filtration system the city can ill afford. State officials worry that if they deny landowners the right to lease the mineral resources under their property — 70 percent of the watershed is privately owned — they will face expensive “takings” claims. But the state has a right and responsibility to prevent drilling that poses a clear danger to public health.

Marcellus Shale is a subterranean layer of rock curving northward from West Virginia through Ohio and Pennsylvania to New York’s southern tier. The shale contains deposits of natural gas that could add to the region’s energy supplies. The process of extracting it, however, is not risk-free. Known as hydraulic fracturing, it involves shooting a mix of water, sand and chemicals — many of them highly toxic — into the ground at very high pressure to break down the rock formations and free the gas. The technique is used in 90 percent of the oil and gas operations in the United States. And while most drilling occurs without incident, “fracking” has been implicated in hundreds of cases of impaired or polluted drinking water supplies in states from Alabama to Wyoming.

The dangers are particularly acute in the Marcellus Shale, which, unlike the relatively shallow formations found elsewhere, lies miles underground. Getting the gas out will require far more water and heavy doses of chemicals. (NYT, 10/16/09)

AAEA-NY To Host Energy Forum at CUNY's Segal Theatre

2009-10-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

The African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA) will host Air Quality and Electricity: Why it Matters to You on Friday, October 30th from 10:00am-12:00pm at City University of New York’s Segal Theatre, located at 265 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The event will include discussions on Energy in New York, air pollution, green jobs, the Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill and the New York State Energy Plan.

To attend please RSVP by calling Lesley Cothran at(202) 944-3840 or via email at lcothran@urbanomics.com

NYDEC To Hold Environmental Justice Summit

2009-09-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

NYS DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis, left, is inviting the public to attend a summit on Environmental Justice, Climate Change and Air Quality in New York State.

Location: US EPA Office located at 290 Broadway, 27th Floor, Conf. Rm. A, New York, NY 10007

Date: October 7, 2009

Time: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The following individuals are scheduled to speak:

* Alan Belensz - Acting Director, Office of Climate Change; NYS DEC; Co- Chair Governor's Climate Council
* Cecil Corbin-Mark - Deputy Director/Director of Policy Initiative; WEACT
* Robin Schlaff - Special Counsel for Regional Affairs; NYS DEC; Chair of Sea Level Rise Task Force
* Jared Snyder - Assistant Commissioner, Air Resources, Climate Change and Energy; NYS DEC * Rob Sliwinski - Director, Bureau of Air Quality Planning; NYS DEC
* Elizabeth Yeampierre - Executive Director; UPROSE

Also invited: -City of New York, -U.S. EPA

Topics to be discussed include:

Climate Justice
Climate Policy and Addressing Climate Impacts in NYS
Air regulations in NYS
Governor Paterson's Executive Order 24
NYS's Sea Level Rise Task Force
Community Resilience, Adaptation and Mitigation

RSVP to Keisha Wilkerson at kjwilker@gw.dec.state.ny.us or call at (518) 402-8556

Lisa F. Garcia, Esq., Chief Advocate for Environmental Justice and Equity
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, 47-40 21st Street, Long Island City, NY 11101-5401 Tel: (518) 402-8556, (718) 482-4009 Fax: (718) 482-4962 lfgarcia@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Governor Paterson Issues Preliminary State Energy Plan

2009-08-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

In March 2008, Governor David A. Paterson, left, issued Executive Order 2 directing the creation of a State Energy Plan. To create the new State Energy Plan, the Governor convened the State Energy Planning Board to conduct the planning process.

This morning, Governor Paterson and the State Energy Planning Board unveiled the State’s preliminary State Energy Plan. (NYAREA)

How Will Federal “Cap & Trade” Legislation Impact New York?

2009-08-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Click Image For Document

AAEA-NY, in cooperation with the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA), has published the issue brief, “New York State and the Waxman-Markey Bill.” Norris McDonald is a NY AREA advisory board member and he provides an overview of the legislation’s potential impact on New York and documents the state’s notable clean electricity generating portfolio.

NAACP Joins the Fight for Clean Energy

2009-07-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

Due to the work of Jerome Ringo, John Grant and Marc Littlejohn, the NAACP approved a historic resolution addressing climate change for the first time in the organization's history at its Centennial Convention in New York.

During the legislative session of the NAACP Centennial Convention, delegates ratified a climate change resolution to support legislation that curbs global warming pollution. Calling on our nation’s elected leaders, the NAACP resolution pledges to “ensure that the response to climate change can take a higher ground than business as usual – one that ensures that we capture the real public benefits from the new energy economy.”

Jerome Ringo is past chairman of the National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors and president of the Apollo Alliance. John Grant is on the National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors and is CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta. Marc Littlejohn is manager of Diversity Partnerships, National Wildlife Federation

USDA Secretary Vilsack Speaks At NAACP Convention

2009-07-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, left, participated in the NAACP's 100th Anniversary celebration in New York, N.Y., and reaffirmed his commitment to advancing civil rights at the agency - both for the department's customers and employees. He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is implementing a comprehensive and aggressive program to improve the department's record on civil rights by correcting past errors, learning from mistakes, and moving into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider.

The Obama Administration has already taken several actions to improve civil rights at USDA. In May, President Obama announced his plans to include settlement funds for black farmers in the FY 2010 budget to bring closure to their long-standing lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1999, the USDA entered into a consent agreement with black farmers in which the agency agreed to pay farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs. Thousands of claims have been adjudicated, but thousands of other claims were not considered on their merits because problems with the notification and claims process hindered some farmers' ability to participate. The total amount offered by the federal government is $1.25 billion.

President Obama's announcement followed a memorandum released by Vilsack in April, which detailed an aggressive plan to promote civil rights and equal access at USDA. The memo announced the following: Temporarily suspending all foreclosures within the Farm Service Agency's farm loan program, which is not only aiding farmers facing economic hardship but also providing the opportunity to review the loan granting process for possible discriminatory conduct; Creating a Task Force to conduct a review of a sample of program civil rights complaints that have been processed or that are currently being processed - the complaints and inquiries total over 14,000, including over 3,000 that have not been processed; and Granting greater authority to USDA's Office of Civil Rights.

The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights will collaborate with the other agencies to develop and implement a proposal for data collection across USDA, make sure all complaints are incorporated as part of one data system; and develop USDA policy and training to ensure that all complaints are received and dealt with in a consistent manner within a specific timeframe. (USDA)

NY Supreme Court Decision on Adverse Environmental Impact

2009-07-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

On June 19th, the New York Supreme Court issued its decision in Entergy's Article 78 petition. As background, the Assistant Commissioner decided that adverse environmental impact (AEI) caused by the Indian Point cooling water intake structure already had been established and therefore, Entergy could litigate that issue in the SPDES proceeding. Entergy appealed that aspect of the Interim Decision because Entergy viewed AEI as a threshold question. In other words, if the intake structure does not cause AEI, then there is no need for the best technology available (BTA) analysis. The court dismissed the petition for lack of ripeness.

The court did not hold that Indian Point’s cooling water system causes adverse environmental impact. The opinion recognizes that Indian Point currently operates under a valid SPDES permit. The opinion says the draft SPDES permit, which states that the intake structures cause an adverse environmental impact and establishes cooling towers as the best technology available, are non-final agency action. Therefore, there is currently no valid BTA determination and the contents of the final SPDES permit (including whether AEI exists or whether cooling towers are the best technology available) are uncertain until the completion of the pending administrative process.

New York Supreme Court Decision

4th RGGI Auction Yields $104 Million For Investments

2009-06-19T08:04:00.001-07:00

The states participating in the first-in-the-nation cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases conducted their fourth regional auction of carbon allowances Wednesday, June 17th, raising $104.2 million for investment in the clean energy economy. Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), these ten partnering states hold quarterly allowance auctions and invest the proceeds in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other programs that benefit energy consumers and create green jobs. All of the 30,887,620 allowances for the 2009 vintage offered in Wednesday’s auction sold at a price of $3.23.

Potomac Economics, the RGGI independent market monitor, found participation in the 2009 offering to be robust with 54 separate entities submitting bids to purchase 2.6 times the available supply of 2009 allowances. Compliance entities and their affiliates purchased 85 percent of the 2009 allowances offered.

In a parallel offering, the RGGI states also auctioned allowances for the second three-year control period beginning January 1, 2012. All of the 2,172,540 allowances for the 2012 vintage sold at a price of $2.06 with 13 entities submitting bids to purchase 1.5 times the available supply of 2012 allowances. Compliance entities and their affiliates purchased 81 percent of the 2012 allowances offered.

The states have now auctioned more than 110 million allowances and raised a total of $366.5 million since the first RGGI auction in September of 2008. The states are investing RGGI proceeds in energy efficiency, renewable energy, technology development and other consumer benefit programs. Overall, the states are investing the vast majority of proceeds in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Across the region, state energy efficiency programs are engaging municipalities, electric utilities, homeowners, businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Funds are being used to weatherize low-income homes, hire and train energy efficiency auditors, deploy combined heat and power and district heating and cooling systems, subsidize energy efficiency improvements for small businesses, educate contractors about energy efficiency and other initiatives.

The complete Market Monitor Report for Auction 4

Heather Jones New Resident Inspector at Vermont Yankee

2009-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania have selected Heather Jones, right, as the new resident inspector at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt. She joins NRC Acting Senior Resident Inspector Dave Spindler at the plant, which is operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Jones joined the agency’s Region I office in 2005 after earning a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of the NRC’s Nuclear Safety Professional Development Program, a two-year training program that provides specialized training in nuclear safety and a broad perspective of NRC regulatory activities. Jones also completed a rigorous NRC inspector qualification program. Most recently, she was assigned as a reactor inspector in the Region I Division of Reactor Safety, performing engineering inspections.

Each U.S. commercial nuclear plant has at least two NRC resident inspectors. They serve as the agency's eyes and ears at the facility, conducting inspections, monitoring major work projects and interacting with plant workers and the public. Resident Inspectors can be assigned to any one site for up to seven years. (NRC)

Governor Patterson Proposes Energy Lesiglation

2009-06-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Governor David Paterson, right, is proposing energy legislation to:

1) Extend the Power for Jobs program that expires this month. The program is supposed to provide lower cost energy to companies that retain and create jobs.

2) Allow the New York Power Authority to provide energy efficiency services to local governments.

3) Authorize the start of a pilot project to collect carbon dioxide from smoke stacks and shoot it deep into the ground for storage as part of his "Jamestown Project." The Jamestown Project was first announced a year ago. Now Paterson wants the Legislature to authorize a demonstration project in the city in southwestern New York.

The Legislature session ends June 22. (Newsday.com, 6/4/09)

AAEA Registered to Participate in RGGI Offset Program

2009-06-04T19:21:00.001-07:00

AAEA has registered to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) offset program. AAEA established a Carbon Mercantile Exchange (CMX) to provide an offset trading service. AAEA is also developing projects to produce greenhouse gas offsets. Our participation in the RGGI offset program will serve to enhance our efforts to mitigate global climate change and warming.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.) has contracted with Perrin Quarles Associates to administer RGGI COATS. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative effort by participating states to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. More information RGGI, Inc. is a non-profit corporation created to provide technical and administrative services to the CO2 Budget Trading Programs of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Supreme Court Rules Cooling Water Costs Can Be Considered

2009-04-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court ruled today that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can compare costs with benefits to determine the technology that must be used at structures that cool water at electricity power plants. By a 6-3 vote, the high court handed a victory to Entergy Corporation, other electric utilities and the general public. The justices overturned a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that previously ruled that the Clean Water Act does not permit the EPA to consider the cost-benefit relationship in deciding the best technology available to minimize adverse environmental impact.

AAEA-NY supports the U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court's decision is a victory for global warming mitigation because nuclear power plants do not emit any greenhouse gases and some traditional environmental groups are trying to use water permits as a way to shut them down. Although some fish eggs are destroyed by all power plant intakes, unreasonable expenses that would close plants and lead to rate shock to customers should be considered. The Supreme Court made the right decision. Morever, current Ristroph Screens provide sufficient protection at these intake areas. A negative ruling could have required hundreds of power plants to install super expensive cooling towers. Companies would shut down older plants before building cooling towers. AAEA President Norris McDonald, pictured above right, attended the December 2, 2008 hearing. (AP, Reuters)

New York To Get $517.8 Million for Weatherization

2009-03-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

New York will receive about $517.8 million for weatherization and energy efficiency grants as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Grant Program provides federal grants to states, counties, local governments and tribes to lessen energy use and fossil fuel emissions. New York will get about $394.7 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program and about $123.1 million for the State Energy Program, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (PoughkeepsieJournal.com) Hat Tip: NYAREA

Governor Paterson Verifies AAEA CO2 Allowance Stance

2009-03-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

AAEA supports the free allocation of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances in the upcoming national legislation to address global warming. President Obama should take Governor David A. Paterson's example and eliminate the auction of allowances in his proposal for a national global warming program. Auctioning the initial allowance unnecessarily raises the cost of a carbon reduction program. The utilities should be allowed to decide how they are going to invest any climate change mitigation program.

Governor Paterson intends to direct the State Departmentof Environmental Conservation to alter regulations in which utilities buy or trade allowances to cover carbon dioxide emissions. This alteration of the New York reg has implications for the other nine Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), who might also back off of auctioning allowances in order to keep electricity rates at reasonable levels. This situation also shows the need for national legislation.

RGGI, which New York signed onto four years ago, established a system whereby power producers were required to obtain what are called allowances, which permit them to release certain levels of carbon dioxide emissions. They typically obtain the allowances by buying them at auction or trading them. The requirement for utilities to obtain the allowances in this way was established not only as a financial disincentive to discourage them from polluting, but as a way for states to raise money for greener energy initiatives.

Governor Paterson plans to increase the number of free allowances provided by the state, which would lower the industry’s costs of compliance. The industry says the system hurts those power producers that signed long-term contracts with utilities years ago, without being able to factor in the price of the allowances. The additional allowances would be distributed to those that signed long-term contracts. “

Industry executives asked that the free allowances, which currently allow for the release of 1.5 million tons of emissions, be increased to 6.5 million tons, which, according to the most recent auction price, could save them $16.9 million. (NYT, 3/5/09)

AAEA Testifies At NRC Hearing In New York

2009-02-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

AAEA-New York presented testimony at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hearing on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) at Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor, New York on February 12, 2009. The hearing was on the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 38, Regarding Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3, Draft Report for Comment Main Report.

AAEA New York Director Dan Durett, photo above, AAEA President Norris McDonald and AAEA Vice President Derry Bigby presented testimony on behalf of our local chapter.

AAEA staff also toured Indian Point nuclear power plant the next day.

Photo at right: Dan Durett hitting SCRAM button in simulator to shut down reactor within two seconds.

Dan Durett Video

Dan Durett Statement

Norris McDonald Video

Norris McDonald Statement

Derry Bigby Video

Derry Bigby Statement

AAEA-NY Supports New York Environmental Justice Bill

2009-02-04T08:23:00.001-08:00

AAEA-NY supports New York State Assembly Bill AO 1985, the "New York State Environmental Justice Act." The act amends the Environmental Conservation Law to develop and implement a procedure within the State's agencies, boards and commission to insure that all New York communities are afforded fair treatment and meaningful involvement in environmental decision making.

The bill:

Declares the findings that racial and ethnic minority populations and low-income communities bear a disproportionate share of health risks caused by polluted air and contaminated water, solid waste landfills, hazardous waste facilities, waste water treatment plants, waste incinerators, and other similar projects.

Defines environmental justice, requires all agencies to adopt andimplement environmental justice policies, requires all state environmental protection programs and policies to be periodically reviewed, requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to create an Environmental Justice Advisory Council and an Environmental Justice Task Force.

Provides that the Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the Environmental Justice Task Force will be established and operating by October 1, 2008. Passage of the bill would show that the State of New York will be committed to ensuring that communities are afforded fair treatment and meaningful involvement in decision-making through government procedures that will safeguard the health and welfare of residents and achieve environmental justice.

Van Jones Receives $100,000 Puffin/Nation Prize

2009-01-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

Van Jones, left, is the 2008 recipient of the $100,000 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship. Mr. Jones is the founder and president of Green For All, a national advocacy organization based in Oakland, California, that is committed to building an inclusive, green economy. He is also the author of The Green Collar Economy (Harper One, 2008). Mr. Jones received the annual award on December 8, 2008 at The Nation Institute Annual Dinner Gala in New York City.

In 2007, Mr. Jones helped the city of Oakland pass a “Green Jobs Corps” proposal, which allocated funds to train residents in eco-friendly “green-collar jobs.” Last year, at the national level, he worked successfully with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007. That path-breaking, historic legislation authorized $125 million in funding to train 35,000 people a year in “green-collar jobs.” AAEA supported the bill and has promoted green jobs for decades.

The Shoreham Conundrum: The Return of Nuclear Power

2009-01-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

It is ironic that Long Island residents killed the Shoreham nuclear power plant but now they are importing a large percentage of their electricity from the Nine Mile Point and James Fitzpatrick nuclear power plants. Maybe they do not care as long as the global warming mitigation technologies are not located in their back yard. They might figure out one day that it was one of the biggest energy mistakes in the history of New York. For if allowed to operate, it would be a major asset right now in terms of price and climate change mitigation.

The Shoreham plant was originally owned by the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) and from conception in 1965 to testing at low power in 1985, it was closed without ever going online for commercial use in 1989 in a deal between the company and Governor Mario M. Cuomo. Lilco later merged with Brooklyn Union Gas to form the KeySpan Corporation, which in turn was acquired by British-owned National Grid two years ago. The closing of the Shoreham plant followed years of protests that evacuation would be impossible in the event of an accident at the 800-megawatt plant. Lilco sold the plant to LIPA for a ceremonial $1 in 1992. The authority assumed the $6 billion plant debt. (The New York Times, 1/9/09)

CEO & COO of the New York Power Authority

2008-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Richard M. Kessel took office as president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, on October 14, 2008. Mr. Kessel, an expert on New York energy issues, served as chief executive officer of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) from 1997 to 2006, and chairman of the LIPA Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1995. Mr. Kessel was responsible for several notable achievements during his tenure at LIPA.

Gil C. Quiniones is Chief Operating Officer of the New York Power Authority. Quiniones is a Subcommittee Co-Chair for Distributed Generation, on Governor Paterson’s Renewable Energy Task Force, Before coming to the Power Authority, Quiniones served for more than four years as Senior Vice President of Energy and Telecommunications for the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). While there, Quiniones acted as the city’s chief consultant on energy policy issues. Prior to being COO, Mr. Quiniones was senior vice president of Energy and Telecommunications at the New York City Economic Development Corporation and chairman of the New York City Energy Policy Task Force.

The New York Power Authority

2008-12-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

Click On Image To Enlarge

The New York Power Authority (NYPA)operates 18 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. NYPA sells power to government agencies; community-owned electric systems and rural electric cooperatives; companies; private utilities for resale—without profit—to their customers; and neighboring states, under federal requirements.

Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt established New York's model for public power through legislation signed in 1931. This effort to secure public control of New York's hydropower resources was the result of a bipartisan effort that began with Governor Charles Evans Hughes in 1907.

NYPA serves as a non-profit, public-benefit energy corporation that does not use any tax revenue or state credit. NYPA finances construction of our projects through bond sales to private investors, repaying bondholders with proceeds from our operations.

AAEA Energy Audits and Weatherization Circa 1988

2008-12-08T05:40:00.001-08:00

AAEA was doing green jobs 20 years ago. From energy audits and weatherization to water efficiency retrofits (fixing leaks and changing out toilet parts) and influencing policy decision making, AAEA was in the forefront of what today appears to be a new thing. AAEA audited, weatherized and installed water improvements in hundreds of homes in the 1980's. AAEA Vice President Derry Bigby and AAEA President are pictured at right with another technician (middle) in the basement of a home reviewing the results of an energy audit in 1988. Note the beard, mustache and afro.

Today AAEA has expanded its scope to include a mix of energy sources. It takes a combination of energy sources to power America because our country is made great by having abundant supplies of energy at reasonable prices. AAEA believes in this ethic and supplements it with the belief that technology, combined with good policies, can keep the USA secure with reliable sources of energy. AAEA promotes clean coal technology, wind & solar, conservation and efficiency, natural gas and nuclear power. AAEA will continue to promote green jobs and sustainable development. We also work on toxics remediation, environmental justice and global warming mitigation projects. AAEA is also the only environmental organization in the United States that uses objective criteria in evaluating its support or opposition for development projects.

Should Blacks Own Coal Mines in a Global Warming World?

2008-12-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

We asked once and we are asking again, should African Americans participate in the coal business? Or should blacks join with mainstream environmental groups to end the use of coal as a fuel to produce electricity? Let us know.

Regardless of your opinion, you should know that coal is currently used to produce 50% of America's electricity. If you want to shut down the coal industry you can contact the Sierra Club. If you're interested in getting into the coal business you can click here. Of course, the real question here is: will the established coal industry allow blacks in? Clearly the traditional environmental movement has big trouble in this area.

AAEA is promoting a realistic model for using coal in an environmentally friendly manner that also includes the production of hydrogen and transportation fuels. The AAEA Energy Defense Reservations Program (EDR) would be extremely expensive, but considering the money being doled out to bail out antiquated businesses, this program should be the future. The federal government should direct $300 billion to the EDR Program, which would complement the green jobs program being promoted by President-elect Obama. AAEA supports green jobs and the use of coal in an EDR Program to satisfy America's dynamic electricity needs.

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Cooling Tower Case

2008-12-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Entergy Corp. v. EPA on December 2, 2008. AAEA President Norris McDonald attended the hearing. The case will determine whether or not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to compare costs with benefits in determining the “best technology available” (BTA) for the cooling water intake structures of existing power plants. AAEA-NY believes cost/benefit analyses should be included in determining BTA.

This case will affect electric power plants that use a 'once-through' water-use process to cool heated water (steam) used to produce electricity. One interesting question in the proceeding: what is the cost of a fish egg?

President-Elect Obama Should Question Green Segregation

2008-11-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: By Norris McDonald. Traditional environmental groups are giddy about the prospects of how an Obama administration can accelerate the goals of our movement. Yet these same groups are as segregated as they have ever been. Before they go asking the Obama administration for anything, President-Elect Obama should inquire about their historical discriminatory hiring and retention practices. Although the vast majority of groups arrogantly ignored our Diversity Survey, one peep from any Obama official will probably get a rapid response. A list of 30 groups recently provided their wish list of recommendations for the Obama transition team. Notice how AAEA is conveniently excluded from their little list. It is partly because we pose this pesky question about their discriminatory hiring practices. One of the largest groups even admitted to us that they had never hired a Black person in a policy position.

I have been around for 30 years and there are as few black professionals working for mainstream environmental groups now as there were in 1979. I was the only black professional working in the Washington, D.C.-based environmental movement then. At a very minimum the $6 billion per year green movement could create Vice President for Government Relations, or Vice President for Outreach or Vice Prisident for Human Resources the same way the industry groups and their associations do it. Mainstream green groups can continue to arrogantly run, but they can no longer hide (I hope). President Obama is going to find out. Now although America has stepped up to the plate, will the environmental movement finally integrate? Or maybe groups such as ours, Green For All, and the National Hispanic Environmental Council will still be necesary and have to carry all the load in getting expanded perspectives included in the environmental agenda. So mainstream green groups, don't go thinking President Obama is going to fall for some 'post-racial' gobbledygook.

President-Elect Obama will not be bamboozled by the enthusiasm of the green groups. America took a great step forward in electing Senator Obama, but the environmental movement is still stuck in the pre-first-Earth Day-segregated 1960s. I voted for President-Elect Obama and so did the members of these groups. Unfortunately, they seem to be secretly proud of their racial exclusivity. At least that is my opinion. I think President-Elect Obama and his transition team should at least take a look at our Diversity Report Card and see if you can help us to get the groups to answer us. We would appreciate it.

AAEA-NY Director Testifies At DEC Waste Siting Hearing

2008-11-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

AAEA-NY Director Dan Durett participated in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) public hearing for the Draft New York State Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Plan (“The Siting Plan”) and the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS). Some of his comments are listed below:

First, there is a need for greater involvement from the African-American, and other impacted communities as the DEC moves forward on this issue, not only in public hearings or the solicitation of written comments, but also, and perhaps more importantly, during the various implementation processes that result from these activates.

Second, we are concerned with the major finding that “Before 2002, New York imported more hazardous waste for management than it exported. Since 2002, New York has exported more hazardous waste than it has imported.” We would question whether transferred waste is being sent to communities of concern to AAEA-NY?

Third, we ask DEC to review its observation that states: “Based on the history of hazardous waste management facility capacity and hazardous waste generation trends, it is reasonable to conclude that the private sector will continue to provide sufficient, needed capacity for New York State generated hazardous wastes. (See Chapter 6.)

Finally, we applaud the inclusion of the statement in the draft document that:"Preventing and reducing hazardous waste generation is a top priority for the Department and the State, as mandated by the preferred hazardous waste management hierarchy (ECL 27-0105.) This approach will continue to be used to guide all hazardous waste management policies and decisions of the Department, including permitting and other regulatory activities."

FULL STATEMENT

Entergy Disputes Fishy DEC Decision in Court

2008-10-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Entergy, the owner of Indian Point nuclear power plant, has taken the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to court to reverse the agency's ruling that the plant kills too many fish eggs with its current 'once through' Hudson river water cooling system. As such, the company disagrees with building a $2 billion cooling tower that DEC is attempting to force them to build to reduce fish eggs kills.

A regulatory adjudication is also pending to address these issues . One point of contention is that DEC already ruled that the facility causes an 'adverse environmental impact' via fish kills before the adjudication.

The DEC recently issued a permit to Entergy's FitzPatrick station, a nuclear plant on the southeastern Lake Ontario shore where no closed-cycle cooling has been required. AAEA participated in this proceeding. (LoHud.com)

Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court hear a case in December examining whether the Clean Water Act can force a change to the best technology available without regard to costs.

New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI)

2008-10-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

The New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI) is a plan to build a 190-mile $2.1 billion 1,200-megawatt transmission line from the Utica area through seven upstate New York counties to Orange County to the New York City area. NYRI is a U.S. corporation owned by a series of Canadian holding companies . The high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) power line is needed to improve the state's aging power grid and reduce the threat of blackouts like the one that struck the state in 2003. The state Public Service Commission is holding a serious of 13 public hearings on the project. AAEA supports the project. If approved, the project is expected to be completed in 2018. [Note: we still do not understand why direct current will be used because AC is a more efficient way to move electricity].

The cables are made of steel with aluminum cladding and will be uninsulated. The pipeline route will have 83’- 120’ high scaffold-like towers and the river route 130’-180’ high monopoles. Each main cable would carry 400,000V and 1.2 billion watts. There will be at least 2 cables on each pole or tower, plus a return. On the monopoles, there would be room for 2 more cables.

Sources: Stop the Power Lines, PSC, various newspapers.

Silda Wall Spitzer Working on "Green-Tech" Projects

2008-10-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

It is being reported that Silda Spitzer, right, is working at a private [we guess there is still such a thing] investment firm where she will focus on funding "green-tech" projects and alternative energy. Well we have an exciting new green tech project for you Mrs. Spitzer. It involves LEDs and a Chinese partner. We would be happy to work with you on developing this state-of-the-art project. We also intend to create green jobs that will focus on assisting ex offenders and low-income people. Give us a call. Oh. And please do not be distracted by our name. Just as the National Wildlife Federation works on energy issues, so do we. (Daily News, 10/19/09)

Mothers on the Move Mitigate Bronx Organic Fertilizer Site

2008-10-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

The Mothers on the Move protests against the New York Organic Fertilizer (NYOFCo) site in Hunts Point in the Bronx (pictured at left in March) led the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to modify the permit requirements of the firm to reduce odors coming from the facility. The question now is: how will they do that? Trash transfer stations usually use perfumes sprayed into the air and negative pressure for enclosed facilities. For asthmatics and others with breathing problems, perfumes only add to the problem. You get a sweetened odor that still irritates airways. The only way sewage treatment plants were able to reduce smells from their sites was to ship the sludge out to area farms instead of letting it dry on site.

The amended permit requirements are due to a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on behalf of 10 plaintiffs and Mothers on the Move. NYOFCo processes about half of the city's sewage sludge into fertilizer pellets. The modified permit calls for the installation of an air pressure alarm to help keep odors from escaping the plant. It will be interesting to see how this situation will be resolved. The bottom line is that the facility probably does not need to be in Hunts Point, which is already inundated with a disproportionately large number of polluting entitites. (NY Daily News, 10/10/08--photo by Susan Watts/Daily News)

Electricity Cut Offs Rising Sharply

2008-10-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

According to Con Edison, almost 10,000 residential customers, through September of this year, had their electricity turned off because they failed to pay their bills, 13 percent more than in the same period in 2007. The value of those unpaid bills is $8.9 million. During the same period, 1,600 nonresidential customers (shops, offices, factories and so on) had their power turned off, an 8 percent increase.

Con Ed sends up to five warning letters over a 90-day period before ultimately turning a customer’s electricity off. Most people who get their electricity turned off are back on within a month because they have entered a payment plan or made a payment.

Between January and the end of September, 342,073 residential customers were in arrears for more than 60 days, an 18 percent jump. (The New York Times, 10/9/08)

1st RGGI CO2 Auction Brings Clearing Price of $3.07

2008-09-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

AAEA's price for allowances is $20.00 per ton at our Green Carbon Bank and Carbon Mercantile Exchange.

The states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) announced that all of the 12,565,387 allowances offered for sale on September 25, 2008 were sold at a clearing price of $ 3.07 per allowance. RGGI, Inc. reported that 59 participants from the energy, financial and environmental sectors took part in the first-in-the-nation auction, indicating a strong start in the first of many CO2 allowance auctions. The demand for the allowances appeared to have been very strong with a total of quantity of 51,761,000 allowances demanded which was four times available supply for this first auction. The $ 38,575,783 in proceeds produced from the auction will be distributed to Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont, the six RGGI states that offered allowances for sale during the first auction. The states are investing those funds in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, and programs to benefit energy consumers.

The RGGI auction was administered by World Energy Solutions, Inc (TSX: XWE), which operates online exchanges for energy and green commodities. World Energy Solutions concluded that the software executed the auction seamlessly, the process ran as expected and there were no issues that affected the ability of bidders to participate. The RGGI auction was overseen by RGGI, Inc.’s independent market monitor, Potomac Economics, a leader in the field of monitoring and competitive assessment of wholesale electricity markets in the U.S. Potomac Economics also serves as the Independent Market Monitor for the Midwest ISO and ERCOT, as the Independent Market Advisor for the New York ISO, and as the Independent Market Monitoring Unit for ISO New England. Any CO2 allowances purchased at the first auction can be used by a regulated facility for compliance in any of the RGGI states, even if that state did not offer allowances in the first auction.

The next allowance auction is set for December 17, 2008. These early auctions, combined with the others being held in the first compliance period, will ensure an ample opportunity for bidders to obtain the allowances they will need for compliance across the entire 10-state region. RGGI intends to hold quarterly auctions during the first RGGI three-year compliance period, which will be from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011.

Under the RGGI process, the then participating states will stabilize power sector CO2 emissions at the capped level through 2014. The cap will then be reduced by 2.5 percent in each of the four years 2015 through 2018, for a total reduction of 10 percent. The ten states participating in RGGI are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
For more information about RGGI, turn to: http://www.rggi.org

First Auction of CO2 Emission Allowances in United States

2008-09-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

At a bell-ringing ceremony held today at the New York Mercantile Exchange in lower Manhattan, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) marked the opening of the first-in-the-nation auction for carbon dioxide emission allowances. The ceremony, which was attended by Governor David A. Paterson of New York and Governor Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey, Ian A. Bowles, Secretary for Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Laurie Burt, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Robert Calendar, Vice President of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Phil Guidice, Commissioner of Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, Lisa Jackson, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and Shari Wilson, Secretary, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection, served to mark the most serious effort yet in the United States to address climate change.

RGGI will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through a mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade program. Under RGGI, the ten participating states will stabilize power sector carbon emissions at their capped level, and then reduce the cap by 10 percent at a rate of 2.5 percent each year between 2015 and 2018. As promised in the 2005 RGGI Memorandum of Understanding, all participating states plan to have implementing regulations in place by January 1, 2009. Revenues from the carbon allowance auctions will be invested by the participating states in energy efficiency programs, renewable energy stimulus efforts and other programs to benefit consumers.

The RGGI auction held today offered 12,565,387 allowances, including CO2 allowances issued by Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. The CO2 allowances purchased at this auction can be used by a regulated facility for compliance in any of the RGGI states, even if that state did not offer allowances in this auction.

Other RGGI participating states will offer allowances for sale in future auctions as they complete their necessary rulemaking proceedings. A second auction is scheduled for December 2008, with all RGGI participating states expected to offer allowances for sale in the first 2009 auction. Future sales of CO2 allowances are planned through a steady offering of allowances in quarterly auctions. States have committed to offer for sale before the end of 2011 all of the allowances they are putting into the auctions for the first three-year compliance period. Regulated power companies must hold enough allowances to match their CO2 emissions for the first compliance period by March 1, 2012.

The RGGI states have retained a professional independent market monitor, Potomac Economics, to oversee auctions and subsequent market activity. The monitor will observe the conduct of the auction qualification process as well as the auction itself, and will report on whether the auction was conducted in accordance with the participating states’ regulations and the noticed auction procedures and whether the auction results represented a competitive outcome.

AAEA-NY To Seek Environmental Justice Fix at DEC

2008-09-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

AAEA will be seeking a change in the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Policy 29, Environmental Justice and Permitting to enhance the policy. AAEA is being prevented from utilizing the provisions of the regulation because one sentence states:

"Any application for a permit received after the effective date of this policy will be subject to the provisions of this policy."

CP-29 was issued on March 19, 2003 and AAEA-NY is an intervenor on a permit that was initiated at an earlier date. Clearly, environmental justice issues pursuant to the state's policy should not be excluded because of the time of the submission of the permit. We understand that there should not be a burden on the permit applicant to retroactively analyze EJ issues, but stakeholders should not be precluded from utilizing the policy if they want to do so. Moreover, in cases where the permit applicant would want to include environmental justice as instituted by CP-29, the prospective permittee should be allowed to do so. The policy makes provision for such a change by stating:

"This policy may be subject to change at the discretion of DEC."

The DEC continues:

"... the DEC expects that the policy will be revised regularly to account for new information in the area of environmental justice and other issues encountered during the implementation of CP-29."

Moreover, in areas where there are potentially serious negative environmental consequences, provision should be made to include CP-29. The public, DEC and specific stakeholders have a vested interest in assuring that vulnerable populations receive every possible avenue to share their concerns. DEC also states in CP-29 that the policy is:

"To ensure meaningful and effective public participation, this policy requires applicants for permits covered by this policy to actively seek public participation throughout the permit review process. Applicants are encouraged to consider implementing the public participation plan components prior to application submission."

Our ultimate goal is the same as that stated by DEC in CP-29 under Procedure V, Section M, Decision and Findings Requirement:

"Consistent with existing regulations, any adverse environmental impact related to an action must be avoided or minimized to the greatest extent practicable."

We also need to revisit Part V, Procedure, A, Applicability, 2:

"This policy shall not apply to permit applications for minor modifications, except as provided above, nor to renewals, registrations or general permits."

CP-29 should apply to renewals that did not consider environmental justice in the original process if the permittee, DEC and a stakeholder all agree that it would not be overly burdensome to the permitee.

Earn Your MPA in Environmental Science & Policy

2008-09-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Workshop courses in the 12-month Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University develop students' professional skills and combine the university's hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with pioneering thinking about the environment and sustainable development. The workshop is part of the core curriculum in this innovative program. Students learn how to develop professional presentations and reports on environmental and sustainable development legislation. In previous years, students have advised clients such as the Mayor's Office of New York City, the UN, and the EPA Region II during the spring semester 6-point Workshop. For more information about our Workshops, please visit the program's Workshop archive page. Representatives from our office will be traveling throughout the country this fall to share more information about the program with prospective students and review the application process and upcoming deadlines. For a full list of scheduled trips.

The Early Decision application deadline is November 1st. The Regular Decision application (with fellowship consideration) deadline is January 15th and the final application deadline is February 15th. Interested students are welcome to contact our office at Columbia University to speak with the program's coordinator, Audrey Lapiner, directly at 212-854-3142 or via email at. For more information about our program, please visit our website. Contact: Columbia Univ. School of Int'l & Public Affairs, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027

In Memoriam: Robert J. Knox

2008-09-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

Bob Knox was a friend and inspiration to AAEA as he was to many other institutions and people all over the country.

Robert J. Knox was a founding Deputy Director and former Acting Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice(OEJ). Mr. Knox was an engineer by training and he began his career in Region 4 as a manpower development specialist working on water related issues. He moved to Region 2 where he led manpower and training programs.

In the early 1980s he served as the Director of the Office of Civil Rights. Thereafter, he was the Hazardous Waste Ombudsman for OSWER. When the Office of Environmental Justice was formed in 1992, he served as the founding Deputy Office Director with Dr. Clarice Gaylord, then OEJ Director. Bob spent his last 12 years in EPA working on community engagement activities. Bob retired from EPA in December 2004. In his retirement, he began taking coursework toward a masters degree from Howard University's School of Divinity. He was also a former deacon at the Gethsemane Baptist Church.

Riverkeeper Worked To Exclude African American Environmentalist Association

2008-09-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

In the ongoing battle to provide cleaner air to New Yorkers, Riverkeeper has worked, and we assume will continue to work, to exclude AAEA from participating in a state hearing considering this life and death issue. The basic issue pits Hudson River fish eggs against asthmatic children and elderly in Harlem and the South Bronx. Riverkeeper chooses protection of some fish eggs over asthmatic children in Harlem. AAEA chooses asthmatic children and elderly over protection of some fish eggs.

Fortunately, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) ruled, over the objections of Riverkeeper, that AAEA could participate in a pending environmental permit hearing. It is simply unconscionable to us that Riverkeeper and others would attempt to exclude the environmental justice issue relevant to this extremely important air quality issue. The official state record clearly shows Riverkeeper's attempt to get AAEA excluded from the process:

"Riverkeeper argued that the issues identified by the AAEA failed to particularize the criteria in question in the draft permit. According to Riverkeeper, the AAEA's offers of proof with respect to the issues proposed did not identify permit conditions and indicate why those conditions were not in conformance with applicable law and permitting standards. Riverkeeper argued further that the AAEA's arguments with respect to outages at the Stations were merely general concerns about impacts on an unspecified population, and Riverkeeper went on to assert that the impacts were not specified. Finally, Riverkeeper contended that environmental justice concerns fall more within the purview of SEQRA, and should be addressed in that process, rather than in the context of non-compliance with a SPDES permit requirement."

AAEA responded:

"In response, the AAEA argued that the Department's Environmental Justice policy specifically states that it is applicable to the permitting process, noting that allowing AAEA to participate would further the Department's goal of ensuring that the concerns of low income and minority communities are considered in permitting decisions. The AAEA maintained that even one outage day could result in health impacts...Shutdowns of 42 days could increase emissions from such plants by over 1.2 million tons during ozone season, including an increase in oxides of nitrogen. Moreover, the AAEA indicated that it is prepared to offer testimony to establish that the Department in fact failed to take environmental justice considerations into account in the process of arriving at the terms of the draft permit.

Fortunately, the DEC ruled:

"This issue is substantive because, based on the AAEA's offer of proof, and upon this record, capacity may be limited by such installation. The issue is significant because, after hearing, the proposed draft permit may be modified to address air emission concerns... The NYSDEC Commissioner's Interim Decision upholding the Administrative Law Judge's February 3, 2006 Decision, which granted "standing" to AAEA for the adjudicatory hearing process in this atter. Accordingly, AAEA shall have full party status in this proceeding. In addressing this issue in the adjudicatory proceeding, generalized and nonspecific arguments will not be sufficient. AAEA should present evidence regarding air quality impacts on specific environmental justice communities, and should address the extent to which such impacts on those communities are disproportionate."

We thank the state for allowing us to provide evidence that urban children and elderly, the most highly impacted, will be negatively impacted if there is a negative ruling on the environmental justice issues that AAEA is defending at the upcoming hearing.

NRC Renews License of FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant

2008-09-11T09:48:00.001-07:00

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant for an additional 20 years. The FitzPatrick plant, located 8 miles northeast of Oswego, N.Y., began commercial operations in 1975, and its operating license was set to expire in 2014. The licensee, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., submitted its license renewal application Aug. 1, 2006. With the renewal, signed Sept. 8, the license is extended until Oct. 17, 2034.

On March 20, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards - an independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission - issued its recommendation that the operating license for FitzPatrick be renewed. That recommendation is contained in “Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.”

The FitzPatrick renewal brings the total number of operating license renewals to 49 reactor units. Renewal application.

Spanish Company MIGHT Develop Wind Power in New York

2008-09-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Public Service Commission voted unanimously to allow Iberdrola S.A., a Spanish energy conglomerate, to acquire Energy East, a Maine-based utility with operations in five states.
Iberdrola has said it will invest at least $2 billion in wind turbines across upstate New York if the commission allowed it to acquire Energy East, subsidiaries of which supply electricity or natural gas to 1.7 million customers in the state. The commission’s decision was the final hurdle for the $4.6 billion deal, which had been approved by federal and other state regulators.

Opponents of the deal, including the Independent Power Producers of New York, a trade group of utilities, said they remained worried that Iberdrola would gain too much market power under the deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Iberdrola would be bound to invest $200 million in wind power. The company has promised to spend 10 times that amount, with plans for numerous wind parks spread throughout upstate New York. The plan would add about 133 megawatts of wind capacity to the state, if and when the wind turbines could be site approved and built, probably in at least ten years. This would provide enough power for 133,000 homes. The commission’s proposal also included a requirement that Iberdrola insulate its New York operations from any financial risks the company assumes in other states or abroad. Iberdrola would also have to divest Energy East’s fossil fuel generating plants, though it could retain the company’s hydroelectric power operations. (The New York Times, 9/4/08)

Energy Service Companies Offer Alternative Electricity

2008-09-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Alternative energy service companies (ESCOs) are offering to supply gas and electricity cheaper than large, established utility companies like Con Edison, which still delivers the power even if people sign with ESCOs. Part of the ESCO multilevel marketing business model is like Amway, people sell friends the natural gas or electricity service who then sell friends the service, with each seller getting a piece of the recruit’s spending in return. The approach is a byproduct of utility deregulation that began in the 1990's with broken-up utility monopolies now facing competition from companies such as Direct Energy Services, IDT Energy and Ambit. ESCOs are eager to capitalize on fears over high fuel prices and use mass mailings, Web sites and door-to-door salespeople to recruit customers from Con Ed by promising they will save 7 percent on their supply cost for the first two months, and avoid taxes on the delivery of that supply. Direct Energy estimates that customers in a typical New York City apartment can shave about $6.50 off their monthly electric bill. Companies offer perks, too. Energy Plus gives customers bonus miles on various airlines for every dollar they spend on electricity.

The network-marketing model is preferred by some companies, betting that people are more likely to buy electricity from someone they know than from a stranger at their door and that sales agents who earn residuals from those they enlist will be more motivated than those who work for a salary or straight commission. With some ESCOs, consultants pay $399 (plus $25 a month for a personalized Web site) and the initial $399 sign-up fee is recouped by signing up 30 new customers within 12 weeks. Each month, consultants get 5 cents to $5 for each customer, depending on when they signed up and their energy usage. There are bonuses for signing people up as consultants, and, as with so many network-marketers, free trips to Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

But ESCOs operating in New York have caught the attention of state regulators and consumer advocates, who say some sales representatives have inflated potential savings, misrepresented contracts and been overly aggressive with vulnerable constituencies like the elderly and nonnative English speakers. Some agents have been accused of exploiting the complex way gas and electricity is priced and the difficulty of deciphering which companies offer the best deals.
Con Edison estimates rates on each month’s bill and later reconciles them based on actual prices that fluctuate daily. ESCOs generally offer fixed-rate one- and two-year contracts, ignoring the volatile market; they also post average rates on Web sites like one from the State Public Service Commission, powertochooseny.com, potentially confusing people about their actual costs.

Since January 2007, the state’s Public Service Commission has received nearly 3,000 complaints about the 50-plus ESCOs operating in New York, In July, U.S. Energy Savings agreed to pay $200,000 in costs and penalties after customers complained to the state attorney general’s office about $600 termination fees they had to pay to cancel long-term contracts. Nationally, some ESCO customers have found themselves double-paying for power, when the some companies went out of business before the term of a prepaid contract was up, forcing them back to the big utilities. The Consumer Protection Board and New York City Department of Consumer Affairs have urged the Public Service Commission to make mandatory the voluntary guidelines that were developed by the ESCOs and the commission in 2006. (Thirty-one ESCOs in New York had signed on by March.)

Many customers should be very careful in considering the ESCO service because it can be a complex affair to calculate whether savings are really accomplished. Most people have a hard enough time just understanding their regular bill. According to Con Edison, savings are generally insignificant for residential customers, who use relatively little power.

Consultants earn money by getting people to sign up with a genuine gas and electricity provider, and by commissions on fuel and power purchases by customers, as well as by signing up new consultants. The service provides customers with a chance to save a few dollars on their electric bill. In one example one person recruited 10 people, who recruited enough people to build him a network of 1,030 customers. The person claimed to earn about $1,500 a month. Shell Energy Trading, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, sells energy to ESCOs. (The New York Times, 8/31/2008)

AAEA New York Helps With Power Plant License Renewal

2008-08-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

AAEA presented a statement at a public hearing before the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on July 15, 2008 in Scriba, New York that was helpful in getting approval in July of the license renewal for the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit and Water Quality Certification (WQC). The meeting was an opportunity for members of the public to state their views on the station’s renewed SPDES permit and WQC. FitzPatrick expects its 20-year license renewal from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) soon, extending the station’s current 40-year license to 2034. AAEA is proud to have played a small part in the license renewals for this facility that will help in reducing global warming.

Concurrently, the New York Department of State Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) issued its consistency determination for the renewed NRC license. The WQC and CZMA determination reflect New York State’s acknowledgement of the important role of the FitzPatrick plant to the New York power supply and the absence of adverse aquatic impacts associated with its operations. AAEA President Norris McDonald is pictured above at the plant.

AAEA Statement (Video)

Full Written Statement

Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wants Windmills All Over NY

2008-08-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

Bronx Community College Sustainable Energy Courses

2008-08-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

How to Sell Solar Systems in New York and New Jersey:

Making the financial case to your customers (3 hrs.) For Solar Professionals ONLY This seminar will cover the basics of understanding the typical costs and incentives of solar PV projects; everything from evaluating the size of the system needed and calculating the potential energy savings to determining financial options and rebates. The class will also build a financial model spread sheet.

Bronx Community College October 24, 2008 Instructor: Rob Ashmore is the President and Owner of AeonSolar, a New York and New Jersey based solar sales and installation company and has worked in several markets over the past 7 years. He is NABCEP certified and has been project manager on hundreds of solar projects.

Photovoltaic Installation and Math/Electricity Basics

The Center for Sustainable Energy is pleased to offer the following course as part of the CUNY Photovoltaic (PV) Training Program, funded by NYSERDA. Completion of the course will allow the student to recognize and identify all components of the stand alone and net metered, grid inter-tied PV system and understand the interlink between design criteria and the economic impact of various options. Hands on skills will be taught and representative installations will be visited, discussed, and analyzed. NABCEP test preparation will be provided. Each PV class is preceded by a 2 session Math/Electricity Basics class for students who need to brush up on electricity concepts.

Bronx Community College September 7- November 15
FULL. Email Jill Cotter to be placed on a waiting list for the next available courseInstructor: Scott Sousa is project manager for Sun Power Systems with 25 years experience. He is a NY licensed master electrician and NABCEP Solar PV Certified and has installed over 100 solar electric systems on Long Island; residential, commercial and municipal. New York City Tech September 2- October 11FULL. Email Jill Cotter to be placed on a waiting list for the next available course

Instructor: Ron Stephan, Design Engineer with Solar Energy Systems, Inc., graduated from the FHTW Berlin, University of Applied Science with a degree in Environmental Engineering/Regenerative Energies and previously worked for Conergy AG in Germany on product management of mounting systems for PV systems. Instructor: Hugo Pedernera, Project Manager with Mercury Solar, has been active in all facets of PV projects for over 14 years. Hugo has worked for Solar Energy Systems , Odyne and altPower, designing and installing commercial and residential turnkey projects.

REGISTER ONLINE

Indian Point Independent Safety Evaluation (ISE)

2008-07-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Indian Point Independent Safety Evaluation (ISE) Panel is a body of 12 experts in nuclear safety, security, emergency preparedness and public policy. At the request of Entergy Corporation, the owner of the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC), the Panel conducted a comprehensive, independent evaluation of the Indian Point nuclear power station in Buchanan, New York. The Panel operated openly and transparently, as required in its Charter. They evaluated Indian Point performance in comparison with their own experience and expectations for high-performing nuclear plants both in the United States and internationally.The Panel concluded that the IPEC is a safe plant and that Entergy is attentive to nuclear safety.

Operations are conducted competently and professionally, meeting the high standards of the U.S. nuclear industry. Plant safety systems are well maintained and reliable. IPEC’s performance compares favorably to high performing plants in most aspects of nuclear safety.

However, the Panel found that IPEC’s relationship with the public and stakeholders, particularly on matters of emergency preparedness, is not healthy. Overall, the Panel found that security at the plant is strong. The Panel operated with complete independence and had full access to the plant and its employees. Its written report, prepared independently from Entergy, is being made available to the public without editing by any party. (ISE Report)

Green Taxis Required By October 1st

2008-07-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

New York is the only city in the United States that has mandated the use of hybrid gas-electric vehicles for its taxi fleet. The old taxis that get less than 25 miles per gallon must be replaced by Oct 1, 2008. The following models have been approved: Lexus RX 400h, Toyota Camry, Toyota Pius, Toyota Highlander, Mercury Mariner, Ford Escape, Saturn Vue Green Line, Chevrolet Malibu and Nissan Altima. It is estimated that 500,000 tons of greenouse gas emissions will be cut each year by this change over. There are approximately 13,000 taxis in New York City. Normally, about 3,000 are replaced each year. (USA Today, 7/18/08)

RGGI CO2 Allowance Tracking System Now Available

2008-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

The RGGI CO2 Allowance Tracking System (RGGI COATS) is now available and can also be accessed through the track system. Parties that wish to participate in the first RGGI CO2 Allowance Auction on September 25, 2008 must open a general account in RGGI COATS.

The auction process for the first RGGI CO2 Allowance Auction begins with the release of the Auction Notice and application materials at 8:00 AM EDT on Thursday, July 24, 2008. To learn more about how to participate in the first auction, you can log onto a conference call webinar on Thursday, July 24, 2008 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM EDT. Important details about how to participate in the auction will be covered. No questions will be taken during the webinar; however, an online question window opens the same day. The slide presentation for the webinar is available online: [Enter participant code 555661 and name, company, email address, and title]. To hear the audio presentation, participants must dial in to the following teleconference number: 1.888.875.4624 and participant code 555661#.

AAEA-NY Defends FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant

2008-07-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Statement Before Administrative Law Judge Helene Goldberger:

In connection with the Entergy Nuclear Fitzpatrick LLC (Fitzpatrick) Application for a New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Water Quality Certification (“WQC”), the African American Environmentalist Association-New York (“AAEA-NY”) submitted comments in support of granting a WQC based on environmental justice considerations.

The draft denial of the WQC may lead to the closure of the facility if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) denies a license renewal based on the denial of a WQC. Any substantial reduction in the amount of electricity generated by Fitzpatrick will spark demand for replacement electricity from power plants in other parts of the state. Unfortunately, these plants are, for the most part, pollution-emitting fossil-fuel plants.

In New York City these plants are largely located in low-income and minority communities. As production at these fossil-fuel plants increases, the air quality in and around these plants will further deteriorate, causing a spike in the incidences of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in these vulnerable communities. The denial of the WQC, to the extent that it leads to fossil fuel replacement of Fitzpatrick, effectively places the interests of Lake Ontario fish eggs and larva over the health of New York’s low-income and minority communities.

Photo: Norris McDonald at FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Scriba, New York.

FULL STATEMENT

All Videos

Pedicab: Asian Rickshaw Technology Environmentally Friendly

2008-07-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

Pedicabs are a combination of entertainment, transportation, environmental statement and fill a unique cultural niche. There are about 500 pedicabs in NYC charging from $15 to $40 for a 10-30 minute ride. In Central Park, pedicabs now compete with horse-drawn carriages for romantic rides.

Manhattan Rickshaw Company (212) 604-4729 offers tours led by licensed guides. Southern Loop of Central Park ($75; 30-45 minutes), Greenwich Village ($75; 60-75 minutes) and Lower East Side/Chinatown/Little Italy ($140; up to two hours). Prices are per vehicle, which fit up to three passengers. The company will also design a tour designed to meet your interests.

Costco In Harlem?

2008-06-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

We like the idea. You can buy everything at Costco. Well not everything but many things. And at very reasonable prices. The joing fee is not bad either.

It appears that Harlem might get a Costco because HomeDepot is having technical difficulties and is looking for another big box store to replace them. The store would be located at the East River Plaza shopping center, currently being constructed at costs that have mushroomed to $440 million. The Costco site would take up 110,000 square feet of the first floor of the shopping center.

The 485,000 square foot shopping center will have an attached 1,248 space parking facility and is along the FDR Drive between E. 166th and E. 199th streets. The project is expected to create 1,400 full-time jobs. (Daily News 6/23/08)

Hunts Point Produce Market Move Could Help Clean Air

2008-06-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Although the Hunts Point produce market is the most profitable such facility in the world with about $2 billion in annual revenues, the bounty does not seem to benefit the surrounding area and air pollution is significantly increased due to all of the truck traffic. The privately owned wholesale fruit and vegetable cooperative is threatening to move because the city will not put up $150 million to help build a new $750 facility. The Hunts Point Food Distribution Center also houses the New Fulton Fish Market and includes other meats. Our take on the move threat: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

The Bronx is already inundated with all kinds of pollution generating sites. Losing this massive source of truck traffic will ease the air pollution burden on this section of New York. There are already power plants nearby, sewage treatment, bus depots, trash transfer stations and highway thoroughfares undermining the health of residents. Let the lease expire in 2011. Turn it into a park or green jobs center. Put that $150 million into manufacturing green products. Maybe there should be multiple facilities anyway instead of one central wholesale outlet in the area. (New York Post 6/11/08)

Legislature Fails To Renew Article X Again

2008-06-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Article X is a streamlined process for licensing electricity generating power plants in New York. The law expired at the end of 2001 and has not been renewed so there is no reasonable process for siting new large power plants. State Senator George Maziarz (R-Newfane), who heads the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, says legislation will be considered during the 2009 session. The Senate 2008 legislative session ends June 23. The state Assembly is scheduled to adjourn later that week.

Under Article X, it took approximately five years from the submittal of the license application to the opening of a new power plant. Power plants can still be sited in the state today, but the permitting process is much slower because of having to complete separate reviews before various municipal governments and agencies. That process is impractical and prohibitive to utility companies. Plants under 80 megawatts can still be constructed without Article X reauthorization. (BizJournals, The Business Review, 6/3/08)

New York Urban League 43rd Annual Frederick Douglass Award Dinner

2008-05-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

The New York Urban League honored three people at its 43rd Annual Frederick Douglass Award Dinner: 1) Marva Allen, Owner, Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe, 2) Raymond J. McGuire, Co-Head, Global Investment Banking, Institutional Clients Group, Citi, and 3) Franklin A. Thomas, Consultant, TFF Study Group (formerly President of the Ford Foundation). Masters of Ceremony for the event were Michelle Miller, New York Based Correspondent, CBS News and Peter Thorne, Weekend Anchor/Reporter, CW11 News at Ten.

Champions of Diversity Awards went to: Bank of America, Darden Restaurants, FedEx Express and Yoyota Motor North America.

AAEA President Norris McDonald attended the event and noted that he was delighted to meet Melvin Van Peebles and greet Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The dinner was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the views down onto Columbus Circle and Central Park were stunning.

Compact Fluorescent Light Replacements for Public Housing

2008-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Approximately 19,000 incandescent light bulbs are being replaced with complex fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the 343 public housing complexes in the city. The New York Public Housing Authority currently spends about $7.4 million a year for electricity at Castle Hill Houses and Queensbridge South and North complexes. It is projected that the CFLs will reduce electricity costa by 17%. (Daily News, 4/29/08)

Broadwater Appeals State Rejection To Fed Commerce Dept

2008-05-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Broadwater Energy (Shell Oil & TransCanada) are bypassing the state and appealing to the U.S. Department of Commerce to get approval for their proposed floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in the middle of Long Island Sound.

Governor Patterson rejected the LNG proposal in April on environmental and safety grounds and the project was also opposed by Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell. The $700 million project would probably be very helpful in providing natural gas to TransCanada's recently purchased Ravenswood power plant.

Replacing Charles Poletti With A New Electricity Powerplant

2008-05-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has authorized the selection of Astoria Energy LLC to provide electricity to NYPA's government customers in the city. Astoria Energy plans to build a new natural gas-fueled generating plant in Queens to supply power under a proposed 20-year contract with NYPA. The plant will help make up for the Power Authority's scheduled retirement in January 2010 of the Charles Poletti Power Project, also in Astoria. Astoria Energy expects the new plant, which is fully licensed, to be in service by the summer of 2011.

We were wondering how a new powerplant could be approved without an Article X powerplant licensing law (review process) in place, but evidently this plant had been previously approved before the expiration of Article X of the New York State Public Service Law . In 2001, the New York State Siting Board approved the construction of 1,000 mw of generating capacity at a 23-acre site in Astoria. Astoria Energy completed the first phase of the project in May 2006 when it placed in service a 500-mw combined-cycle facility for providing power to Con Edison. The pending supply contract with the Power Authority provides for Astoria Energy's implementation of the next phase with the construction of the second 500-mw facility.

NYPA trustees authorized the new supply contract, pending completion of final negotiations with Astoria Energy and the approval of the agreement by the New York City governmental customers, for the supply of 500 megawatts (mw) of generating capacity. The customers include the City of New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York City Housing Authority and the New York State Office of General Services. The new supply contract will provide reliable generating capacity for New York City schools and hospitals, the subways and commuter trains, public housing and other essential services in the city.

The new state-of-the-art, natural gas fueled power plant planned by Astoria Energy

will use a combined-cycle technology in which hot exhaust gas normally lost in the combustion process is captured by heatrecovery steam generators to produce additional electricity. The new facility will consume 30 percent less fuel per unit of electricity than a conventional power plant. Combined-cycle technology enables NYPA's 500-mw power plant to generate 50 percent more electricity from its fuel than it would with a conventional single-cycle power system. Under this dual-phase system, two combustion turbine-generators operate in conjunction with two heat-recovery steam generators and a steam turbine-generator. In the first cycle, fuel is burned and the resulting combustion gases power two turbine-generators to produce electricity. Hot exhaust normally lost during this process is captured and routed through the two heat-recovery steam generators. These units boil water to create steam, which spins an additional turbine-generator and produces more electricity. Finally, the steam is discharged into a condenser, which returns the steam to its liquid state for recycling.

In addition to that proposal, NYPA previously selected a joint proposal by Hudson Transmission and FPL Energy, in November 2006 that would involve construction of a new 345- kilovolt transmission line under the Hudson River to deliver up to 500 mw of supply capacity from an existing power plant in Central New Jersey. The additional power supplies from both RFPs are needed for the New York City governmental customers' long-term needs.

NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. It is the nation's largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. (The Queens Gazette) (NYPA Combined Cycle)

Entergy 1st Utility To Purchase Carbon Emissions Credits

2008-04-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

According to the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, in December 2003, Entergy became the first U.S. utility to purchase carbon emissions credits from geological sequestration projects. Entergy also sequesters CO2 by planting thousands of trees on its landholdings and among other credits, leased 30,000 tons of CO2 offset credits from the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association. (Electric Light & Power)

See also: The Lieberman-Warner America's Climate Security Act of 2007

New York City Drinking Water Supply System

2008-04-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

The New York City water supply system utilizes three separate systems of reservoirs, which obtain water from some 2,000 square miles of watershed in upstate New York. The three systems include the Croton System, the Catskill System and the Delaware System. The three elements of the New York City delivery system represent separate systems without direct inter-connections. Two tunnels City Tunnel No. 1 and No. 2 carry water from the Croton System to New York City. The Richmond Tunnel carries water from City Tunnel No. 2 to Staten Island. A new tunnel, City Tunnel No. 3, has been under construction since 1970. Most of the work in Manhattan and the Bronx has been completed. Tunneling is underway in Brooklyn and Queens.

Today, 50% of the city’s water comes from the Delaware system, 40% from the Catskill system, and the remaining 10% comes from the Croton system. The city now has 19 reservoirs; the farthest is 120 miles from central Manhattan. This long travel time, which is powered by gravity, results in most of the microbes dying naturally. The water is treated with:

chlorine to kill organisms,
fluoride to prevent
tooth decay,
sodium hydroxide to raise pH levels, and
orthophosphate, a substance that coats pipes, to prevent lead from leaching into the drinking water.

The Croton System is the oldest controlling flow from 12 reservoirs and five lakes which covers about 370 square miles of the Croton River Drainage Basin. The average yield of the system is 300 million gallons per day (MGD). The Catskill System consists of two reservoirs, the Ashokan and the Schoharie. The Ashokan Reservoir impounds water from 247 square miles of the drainage and the Schoharie Reservoir impounds water from the 314 square mile drainage basin. The Ashokan and Schoharie Reservoirs drain into the Catskill Aqueduct with a capacity of 550 MGD. The Delaware System consists of three reservoirs located in the Delaware River Basin, the Canonsville, Pepacton and Neversink Reservoirs, and the Rondout Reservoir on Rondout Creek in the Hudson River Basin. The safe yield of the entire Delaware water system is 610 MGD. (New York City Water Supply)

$3 Billion Bronx Water Filtration Plant Targeted For 2012

2008-04-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection is building a water filtration plant in the Bronx capable of purifying 300 million gallons of water a day. It will be one of the largest in the world when completed in 2012. The 10-story-deep hole for the plant was blasted out of bedrock (Fordham gneiss), which forms the pit's walls, and will filter water from the Croton watershed in Westchester County. The original cost estimate for the project in 1998 was $660 million but the cost is now estimated to be $3 billion.

The pipe that will bring in untreated water from the Croton reservoir system is 12 feet in diameter. The two outflow pipes have 9-foot diameters. The water will be purified in a “stacked dissolved air flotation system,” which uses several layers of filters to remove impurities.

The city was forced to build the plant because water from the Croton watershed did not meet federal standards for safety and purity. Although the Croton system can supply nearly 30 percent of the city’s 1.1 billion gallons a day of drinking water, generally it supplies just 10 percent, mostly in the Bronx and northern Manhattan. The rest of the city’s water comes from the Catskill Mountains and the Delaware System and is so clean that the city last year won a 10-year exemption from federal regulations requiring that all surface drinking water be filtered. (The New York Times)

Omar Freilla: Green Jobs Guru of the South Bronx

2008-04-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

Omar Freilla, left, was promoting green jobs before it was cool. His Green Worker Cooperative (GWC) on Timpson Place between Bruckner and Southern Boulevards and East 149th Streets is demonstrating how recycling can help save the environment and create valuable jobs. If Mr. Freilla has his way he will turn the Hunts Point dumping ground into a mecca for urban recycling.

His Green Worker Cooperative recently received $900,000 in financing from the state, other cooperatives and church groups to run the operation for a few years. GWC is accumulating toilets, doors, decorative gravel, ceiling fans and every other item it can to process at its 18,000-square-foot warehouse. New items are sold at a 25 percent discount, while used goods would be sold for half price.

AAEA has particulated in conferences organized by Mr. Freilla. His dedication is second to none and we are sure that he will be very successful in establishing recycling as a renewable energy jobs alternative in the South Bronx. AAEA stands prepared to cooperate with Mr. Freilla in any way we can. Keep up the great work Omar. (The New York Times)

Another Jones Beach Wind Farm Electricity Proposal

2008-04-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Florida Power and Light tried and failed last year to get permission from Long Island Power and Light (LIPA) to construct a wind farm off the coast of Jones Beach. Now Winergy intends to convince LIPA that it can build 86 turbines 15 miles in the Atlantic Ocean that will provide about 300 megawatts of electricity, enough power for 300,000 homes. Winergy actually amended its proposal to include 260 turbines that would provide 940 megawatts, which would provide enough electricity for almost a million homes. The turbines would be about 15 miles offshore. Cape Wind is seeking permission to build a similar project in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts. AAEA supports both projects. (testimony)

In addition to the Jones Beach proposal, Winergy has a proposal for a 600 megawatt farm adjacent to the Long Island proposal that would include 167 turbines and connect to a ConEd substation in Manhattan. (Newsday.com)

Mirant Decides to Close Lovett Electric Power Plant

2008-04-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

Mirant Corp. has decided to completely close and demolish the Lovett electricity generation plant at Tomkins Cove in Stony Point, New York. In 2009 the tax a reassessment for empty land where the Lovett plants now stands could drop significantly from the $11 million now paid to the North Rockland school district and the $3 million that goes to the town and county. A significant number of jobs will be lost too. Lovett Generating Station did not want to pay approximately $150 million to upgrade pollution controls. (Lovett Generating Plant)

Governor David Paterson Rejects Broadwater LNG Project

2008-04-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Governor Patterson rejected the Broadwater LNG project on April 10th, proposed to float in the middle of the Long Island Sound, during a statement at Sunken Meadow State Park with the Sound in the background. The New York Department of State officially deemed the terminal "inconsistent" with state coastal zone management policies, primarily on environmental and visual grounds and interference with public use to the Sound. AAEA New York supports the Broadwater project because it is environmentally friendly, does not represent visual pollution, is desperately needed for reliable electricity delivery in New York and is not an environmental injustice issue. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously voted in Washington, D.C. in March. Broadwater would be the nation's first floating liquefied natural gas processing plant.

New York City Rooftop Water Tanks & Pneumatic Systems

2008-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

Many New Yorkers do not think about how they get water in high-rise buildings for drinking, bathing, and mechanical uses, such as cooling towers and supplying HVAC equipment. Rooftop water tank systems, left, started being used in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They combined with constant-speed pumps that operated by a level switch in the tank and when the level in the tank would approach a pre-determined height, the pumps would either turn on to pump more water to the

tank or turn off because the tank was full. In winter the tanks have internal heaters to prevent freezing. In the 1950s, pneumatic pressure tank systems, left, started replacing many roof tank systems.

Building owners now use state-of-the-art variable-speed control in choosing water pressure systems or booster systems. This significantly cut energy bills from the old 50's constant speed systems that had little to no controls. Variable-speed water pressure systems use a transducer to sense pressure and automatically adjust the speed of the pump in order to maintain a constant discharge pressure regardless of demand or flow.

As city water mains age, their ability to deliver water pressure to buildings is reduced, which is why most multi-story buildings need a booster pump system to pressurize water on upper floors. Typically, a pressure of 40 psi at the top of a building is ideal. Multistage centrifugal and turbine pumps, right, are generally used for high head applications. The pumps’ multistage design affords high efficiency on low-, medium- and high-flow systems. The diagram at left is of a pneumatic tank pump system. (Source: PMEngineer, Paul Larson P.E.)

New York City Subway Uses 500 MW of Electrical Power

2008-04-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

The New York City Rapid Transit Commission (RTC) officially broke ground for the city’s subway system on 24 March 1900. Beginning in 1892, Thomas Edison-style direct current (DC) generators powered trolleys and elevated trains (Els) in Brooklyn. But by the mid-1890s, the Tesla-Westinghouse alternating current (AC) system proved much more practical for powering homes, industry and transportation, as AC could be transmitted efficiently over long distances — a critical advantage to the subway project. In November 1898, Westinghouse received a contract for what would be the subway’s main power station and eight substations. The company had installed large-scale AC dynamos at Niagara Falls, and the RTC needed Westinghouse’s electrical expertise.

Today, the NYC Subway is the city’s largest user of electricity. AC operates signals, station and tunnel lighting, ventilation and miscellaneous line equipment, while DC operates trains and such auxiliary equipment as water pumps and emergency lighting. The system’s 215 electric substations receive high- and low-voltage power from the New York Power Authority, at voltages as high as 27kV AC, prior to transforming it for use within the system. The subway's third rail requires 625 volts DC for operating the trains. Power is distributed throughout the system via 2,500 miles of cable, which passes beneath 7,651 manholes located throughout the city. The power required to operate the subway system during peak hours is about 500 MW. And at 1.8 billion kilowatt hours, the subway’s annual power consumption equals that of the city of Buffalo, New York. (IEEE)

TransCanada To Purchase Ravenswood Power Plant

2008-04-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

TransCanada Corp agreed to buy the 2,490 megawwatt Ravenswood power station, right, for $2.9 billion from National Grid PLC of Britain, which needed to divest itself of the property to comply with New York state regulation. National Grid had acquired the Ravenswood power station as part of its $7.3 billion takeover of KeySpan, a New York utility, in August 2007. Divestiture of Ravenswood was a condition of the New York Public Service Commission. The Ravenswood plant accounts for more than 20% of New York City's supply of electricity.

TransCanada owns or has interests in the producers of approximately 7,700 megawatts of power generation. The company also owns generators in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to its Web site. TransCanada, along with Shell US Gas and Power LLC, is also planning to build the Broadwater Energy liquefied natural gas terminal off Long Island Sound, which could bring the gas from Broadwater to Ravenswood and convert it to electrical power and sell it to the people of New York. TransCanada is based in Calgary, Alberta and is one of North America's largest natural gas grid operators and one of the largest gas storage providers with approximately 355 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. (The Wall Street Journal 4/2/2008)

TransGas Energy Electricity Power Plant Proposal Killed

2008-04-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

On March 27, the Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment refused to issue TransGas Energy Systems (TGE) a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, a document necessary for TGE to proceed with construction of a gas-fired power plant. The Siting Board concluded the proposed facility is:

* Incompatible with public health and safety because the back-up oil storage tank is needed; * Inconsistent with New York City’s land use regulations because of 2 million gallons of oil storage capacity;
* Inconsistent with the State’s interest in recreational resources, in light of New York City’s plan to construct a 28-acre park surrounding Bushwick Inlet;
* Unable to minimize adverse environmental impacts considering the interest of the state with respect to aesthetics;
* Not in compliance with the applicable local coastal zone management policy; and The benefits to the electric system of Con Ed, its customers and the general public do not outweigh the adverse environmental impacts that would result from the construction of the facility.

TransGas Energy Systems LLC (TGE) proposed to construct and operate the TransGas Energy Facility (the Project), a 1,100-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power generation facility on the East River between the Greenpoint and Williamsburg’s North Side sections of Brooklyn. The proposed Project wouldhave been fueled primarily by natural gas. The Project was designed to provide baseload electricity to one or more New York City load pockets and also includes the heat recovery and delivery infrastructure for potential steam sales to the steam system of the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison).

The Project was to have consisted of four 501F Siemens Westinghouse combustion turbines, Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs), two steam turbines, water treatment infrastructure, an electrical switchyard, and a steam cycle cooling system. When natural gas supplies are curtailed during cold, winter weather, the Project proposes to use the lowest available sulfur content backup oil (at most 0.05%). The Project site is zoned for heavy industrial use (M3), the only zoning district category in New York City that permits electric generating. The site is heavily contaminated, and will be remediated as part of Project construction. (Complete TGE Project Description)

The Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks & Planning (GWAPP) opposed the project. They believe the area should be a continuous waterfront promenade that would culminate at the Bushwick Inlet, bringing Greenpoint and Williamsburge Waterfronts together and linking them to upland neighborhoods, including McCarren Park. They cite the Brooklyn Community Board 1's 197-a plans for the Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfronts and he Williamsburg and Greenpoint 197-a plans as calling for the promenade. The GWAPP believes this waterfront park would also serve as a piece of the coming Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, linking Brooklyn neighborhoods along the waterfront from Greenpoint to Bay Ridge. They believe the powerplant threatens the city's planned 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park. They complain that the 325-foot smokestacks would spew 1,075 tons per year of toxic emissions. Some local groups also claim that this plant is not needed to meet NYC's energy needs. (See: StopthePowerPlant)

AAEA did not take a position on the plant proposal.

Final Indian Point Nuclear Leak Report Submitted to NRC

2008-03-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. (GZA) submitted the Hydrogeologic
Site Investigation Report [Executive Summary]for the Indian Point Energy Center to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on January 7, 2008. The report provides a summary of the investigative methods, findings/conclusions and recommendations for work conducted from September 2005 through the end of September 2007. The report presents the results of a two-year comprehensive hydrogeologic site investigation of the Indian Point Energy Center (Site) conducted by GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. (GZA).

The study was initiated in response to a release of Tritium to the subsurface, initially discovered in August of 2005 during Unit 2 construction activities associated with the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Project. These investigations were subsequently expanded to include areas of the Site where credible potential sources of leakage might exist, and encompassed all three reactor units. Ultimately, these investigations traced the contamination back to two separate structures, the Unit 2 and Unit 1 Spent Fuel Pools (SFPs). The two commingled plumes, resulting from these SFPs releases, have been fully characterized and their extent, activity and impact determined. The two primary radionuclide contaminants of interest were found to be Tritium and Strontium.

The report concludes:

"At no time have analyses of existing Site conditions yielded any indication of potential adverse environmental or health risk. In fact, radiological assessments have consistently shown that the releases to the environment are a small percentage of regulatory limits."

RGGI RFP Released For Market Monitoring Services

2008-03-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

On March 26, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. ( RGGI, Inc.) released a request for proposals for market monitoring services. The RFP outlines a request for monitoring services for RGGI CO2 allowance auctions and the secondary RGGI allowance market.RGGI, Inc. is a non-profit corporation formed to provide technical advisory services to the RGGI participating states in the development and implementation of the CO2 Budget Trading Program under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The RFP.

All communications regarding this RFP should be addressed to Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), which is facilitating communication related to the RFP on behalf of RGGI, Inc.

Contact information and submittal instructions are specified in the RFP.

Key dates for the RFP include:

1) A due date for proposal submissions of April 30, 2008, by 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

2) Submission of Notice of Intent (NOI) to Propose forms are due by 5:00 pm EST on April 4.

The NOI forms are to allow for participation in a proposers conference call. Submission of a Notice of Intent to Propose form and attendance of the conference call are optional.

News 12 Television To Host Town Meeting on Broadwater

2008-03-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

News 12 Long Island is conducting a live Town Meeting on Broadwater, at the Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville on Thursday, March 27th from 7 pm to 8:30pm. Scott Feldman will host the special “Long Island Talks” event featuring 6 panelists and an audience of approximately 350 people. Confirmed panelists include: Suffolk County Executive, Steve Levy; Representative Tim Bishop; Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal; Citizens Campaign for the Environment representative, Adrienne Esposito; and Director of Center for Management Analysis at C.W. Post, Dr. Matthew Cardaro (member of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance).

News 12 Long Island has been covering the Broadwater controversy since the beginning. This town meeting culminates all of the discussion points and allows the general public to voice their opinions prior to the final decision making on the initiative. Anyone is invited to attend in the audience, up to 350 person room capacity. Audience members will be invited to participate with live microphones.

Representatives from Broadwater and Shell Oil were invited to attend as panelists, but declined News 12’s invitation.

WHO: News 12 Long Island
Scott Feldman, anchor/host
Steve Levy, Suffolk County Executive
Rep. Tim Bishop, Congressman, District 1
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Attorney General
Andrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Dr. Matthew Cardaro, Director of Center Management Analysis at C.W. Post

WHERE: Brookhaven Town Hall, One Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY 11738

WHEN/TIME: Thursday, MARCH 27: 7 PM – 8:30 PM (live program on News 12 Long Island)

CONTACTS: Debi Gade, News 12 Long Island, 516-393-1070

FERC Approves Final EIS For Broadwater LNG Project

2008-03-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the $700 million Broadwater Energy (Shell & TransCanada) floating liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) terminal proposed to be built in the middle of Long Island Sound. The 1,200-foot-long, 82-foot-high floating storage and regasification terminal is designed to supply 1.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day to New York and Connecticut -- enough to generate electricity for 4 million homes. The facility would be about 10.2 miles off Guilford in the middle of the Sound. A 22-mile pipeline extending from the terminal to a underwater interconnection with the Iroquois Gas Transmission System would bring the gas onshore.

According to FERC:

"Based on all available scientific facts, we approve the Broadwater project today... it can meet the projected energy needs for New York City, Long Island and Connecticut, and can provide the service safely, securely and with limited adverse impact on the environment. Without increased natural gas supplies in the region, consumers will experience higher prices and reduced reliability of natural gas supply."

LNG is natural gas super cooled into a liquid for transportation aboard ocean tankers. When cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 Celsius), the gas changes into a liquid and shrinks to less than 1/600th of its original volume. LNG accounts for almost 4 percent of total U.S. natural gas supplies, but that is forecast to increase to 17 percent by 2030 (EIA). The project still needs approvals from state agencies before construction can begin. AAEA supports the project. (More AAEA LNG Info)

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Update

2008-03-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

The states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have released a summary of design elements for conducting regional allowance auctions. In addition, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.), the non-profit organization set up to provide technical assistance to support the implementation of the RGGI cap-and-trade program by the RGGI participating states, announced the selection of a number of firms to support RGGI implementation. These firms were selected through a competitive RFP process.

A final report containing research and recommendations for the design of a CO2 allowance auction as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has also been released by the research team from the University of Virginia, Resources for the Future, and the California Institute of Technology.

Carbon Mercantile Exchange

Con Ed Gets Rate Increase

2008-03-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

The New York Public Service Commission approved a one year $425 million rate increase for Consolidated Edison on March 19. Con Ed originally requested a $1.2 billion increase. This will translate into a $4.25 increase in the average NYC monthly bill ($5.60 for Westchester County) starting in April. Although ratepayers hate rate increases, and New Yorkers have the highest rates in the country, they are necessary to pay for improvements in the distribution network and to cope with the steady growth of the New York metropolitan region. The average NYC residential customer pays about $70 a month for electricity.

NRC Hearing On Indian Point Considers Preliminary Issues

2008-03-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board heard oral arguments on whether the NRC should renew the Indian Point nuclear power plant operating license for an additional twenty years on Monday, March 10, Tuesday, March 11, and Wednesday, March 12. The oral arguments were heard at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains, from 9 am - 5 pm. Several groups presented their views opposing the renewal of the Indian Point operating license. Opponents included Riverkeeper, and New York State (represented by the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Environmental Conservation).

The point of the preliminary hearing was to determine which issues will have standing in the actual license renewal hearing process. The panel heard concerns about four areas: 1) Terrorism Risks and Severe Accidents, 2) Safety Problems, 3) Killing of Hudson River Fish and Aquatic Life and 4) Radioactive Leaks and Radioactive Waste. AAEA-NY supports the relicensing and has specific concerns about plans of opponents to try to use the false fish egg complaint as a backdoor way to close the plant. Opponents state that:

"Entergy fails to accurately assess the impacts of Indian Point’s cooling water intake system on Hudson River fisheries caused by entrainment, impingement and heat shock (thermal discharge). Using once-through cooling systems, Indian Point withdraws up to 2.5 billion gallons of Hudson River water per day, killing a billion Hudson River fish, eggs, and larvae annually."

We strongly disagree with this contention because fish eggs are threatened by many sources of pollution, particularly poison runoff from cities, towns, farms and residences. Our biggest complaint is that if Indian Point is closed more pollution will be generated from other sources to make up for IP's 2,000 megawatts of emission free electricity. Basically fish, eggs and larvae are being pitted against the lives of asthmatic children in Harlem and the Bronx.

Westchester County Business Journal: Letters To The Editor

2008-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Reducing Westchester’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions

To the editor:

Your informative March 3 story, “Greenhouse Gas Key To County Initiative,” talks about many positive steps Westchester businesses are taking and the importance of reducing greenhouse emissions in the county overall. However, all of these good efforts will essentially be wiped away if County Executive Spano has his way and closes Indian Point.

Mr. Spano’s plan to reduce Westchester’s carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2015 will be meaningless if Indian Point is closed. Indian Point emits practically zero carbon emissions. If its power could somehow be replaced by other sources serving New York state (and it can’t), carbon dioxide emissions would increase by 14 million tons annually, not much different than Westchester County’s total 2005 carbon dioxide emissions (13,140,000 tons).

Power generation accounts for more than 33 percent of America’s carbon dioxide emissions. As such, it is unfortunate that the county executive’s report does not discuss electricity power generating sources. One cannot address the carbon dioxide challenge by ignoring one of the major contributing factors.

Without Indian Point, there would need to be at least four more fossil fuel plants in the region – and in addition to carbon dioxide, that would also increase sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions, both of which produce serious negative health issues.

Sincerely,
Norris McDonald
President, African American Environmentalist Association
Staten Island