Latest news with #LeagueofConservationVoters
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
New York's $2.5 billion offshore wind farm halted by Trump administration
Construction of a massive offshore wind farm that was supposed to power half a million homes in New York is being halted by the Trump administration. The White House said permits for the $2.5 billion Empire Wind project , which is based at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and already under construction , were rushed through approval. Empire Wind was hailed as a key to the clean energy transition and ocean turbine installations were set to start in May, but Interior Secretary Doug Bergum brought it to a screeching halt. The prior administration "rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis," Bergum said in a letter. "They did a completely thorough review. Suddenly, also the Trump administration cares about the environment? I don't think so," said Julie Tighe with the League of Conservation Voters. The process took seen years. On Thursday, advocates gathered with Congressman Dan Goldman, who is urging the administration to reconsider. "It's destructive to any desire for American manufacturing, for building jobs here," Goldman said. "If you truly want to be America first, then you reopen this project." Equinor says it will "safely halt the offshore construction in the waters of the outer continental shelf for the Empire Wind project. Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order." The reversal will immediately impact livelihoods. "We were ready to take a bold step in New York state with the offshore wind," said Chris Erikson, with IBEW Local Union 3. "Long-term work opportunity for the members of the building trades to put those turbines out there and so, yeah, we're angry." Equinor leased the federal site in 2017. Fifty-four turbines are to go more than 15 miles off New York and New Jersey. Opponents hailing the halt include Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who said there is a place for alternative energy, but not offshore wind. "It was ill-conceived. It was rushed. It was a money grab and, basically it needs to be investigated further," Blakeman said. Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement in response to the federal government's decision saying: Doreen M. Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Research and Development Authority, said in a statement: The halt will be in effect until further review.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wildlands exemption bill passes
ANNAPOLIS — In an unusual scenario, three Western Maryland Republican delegates voted with nearly every House Democrat to approve a bill that will strip wildland designations from parts of Allegany and Garrett counties to facilitate construction of overhead transmission lines. The legislation pertains to a new 105-mile line that NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Inc. wants to construct from Pennsylvania to Virginia, although route details haven't been made public. Senate Bill 399, introduced earlier this year by state Sen. Mike McKay — a Republican who represents Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties, includes that wildland designations will be exempt in 'areas in the Big Savage Mountain Wildland, Bear Pen Wildland and Dan's Mountain Wildland' subject to a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct the lines. According to the proposed legislation, the Public Service Commission will require the applicant for the certificate 'to provide wildland impact mitigation guarantees.' The bill, which went before the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee in February, was met with unfavorable testimony from more than 30 people and organizations, including The Nature Conservancy and the Maryland Ornithological Society. Language was added to the measure that included design consultation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to minimize forest loss, and a replacement of lost designated wildland acreage. Friday, McKay said the revisions helped the bill pass. 'I am glad to see that amendments were adopted by both houses to satisfy the League of Conservation Voters and others to take a position of neutral on SB399,' he said. 'Now, the work begins to make sure that balance is struck between conservation, economic prosperity, energy security and responsible governance,' McKay said. 'I encourage everyone to participate in the public meetings planned in Garrett and Allegany counties.' Officials for the League of Conservation Voters Friday said their position on the bill is 'grumpy neutral.' Marisa Olszewski, environment and community program manager for the organization, said the amendments satisfied some of the group's concerns. 'We're not happy about it,' she said of the bill's passage, adding that the organization prefers the wildlands remain protected. The bill was 'moving forward,' Olszewski said. 'We didn't want them passing the very bad bill with no amendments,' she said. 'It doesn't mean that we became positive about the bill.' 'Precedent' This week, Dels. Jason Buckel, Jim Hinebaugh, who sponsored a cross-file to McKay's bill, and Terry Baker were among a small group of Republicans and roughly 100 Democrats who passed SB399. None of the three responded to Cumberland Times-News questions that included, 'Why did you vote to pass the bill?' About 30 Republicans from across the state voted against the bill, which will destroy Maryland's protected wildlands, Del. Robin Grammer, R-Baltimore County, said. 'Because we have to seek energy from adjacent states, we're now having to create these transmission lines and in many cases wreck areas that have not historically been touched in probably thousands of years,' he said. The project would not serve ratepayers or energy delivery in Maryland, Grammer said. 'There are some cases where they will likely have to take additional private property,' he said. 'We put these extreme energy mandates in place and now we're having to criss-cross the state in this case for a project that doesn't actually serve Maryland,' Grammer said. 'I think this is one of the saddest bills of the session,' he said. Del. Lauren Arikan, R-Hartford County, said 'running wires through our wildlands cannot be the answer.' She warned that the bill's passage would grant permission for future projects in protected areas of Maryland. 'This is a legal precedent we're setting,' Arikan said. 'I'm hoping that the people will speak loudly in the next election cycle and let us know how they feel about it,' she said. Del. C.T. Wilson, D-Charles County, said the bill would require NextEra to replace any wildlands the company takes. 'We are part of a 13-state grid' that means 'sometimes having transmission lines go through out state,' he said. SB399 passed by a 109-29 vote and is now on Gov. Wes Moore's desk. Amendment Grammer drafted an amendment to the bill that he said, 'prevents eminent domain' for construction or maintenance of transmission lines. 'Unfortunately, I think a lot of our state woodlands both private and public are at risk,' he said. 'This bill does not guarantee that we will run these transmission lines through the specified area,' Grammer said. Del. Brian Crosby, D-St. Mary's County, urged the body to resist the amendment. 'This project doesn't use any eminent domain,' he said. The amendment failed with 38 votes in favor and 100 against. Veto Frostburg resident and former Maryland senator John Bambacus said he hopes Moore will veto the bill. 'None of this makes sense to me,' he said, calling the way the legislation came about 'very suspect.' The bill 'from the beginning was a mystery,' Bambacus said, adding that no public discussions were held about the issue. DNR in March hosted a meeting to collect feedback from the public about possible construction of the transmission lines through protected wildlands. However, the organization at that time didn't take a position on the project and said via press release, 'there will be no formal presentations by the department' at the meeting. 'There was no transparency whatsoever,' Bambacus said. 'This is troubling to me on a lot of different levels.' 'Undermined' Garrett County resident and farm owner Steve Storck said there must be accountability for the passage of the bill. 'Preservation is dead in Maryland,' he said. 'In one year the Scenic and Wild Rivers Act, Irreplaceable Natural Areas Act and now the Wildlands Preservation System statute have all been undermined,' Storck said. 'This is all under the leadership of the Moore administration and with the support of DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz,' he said. Restoration and conservation 'are positive things but if we don't protect what is already set aside, what is the point?' Storck said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Without county-line ballots, how will endorsements impact NJ's race for governor?
While there are still more than 100 days until the recently rescheduled June primary, that hasn't stopped contenders of both parties from raking in endorsements from elected officials, county parties and advocacy organizations throughout the state. It remains to be seen exactly what, if any, impact those endorsements will have on the primary now that a new ballot without the traditional county line design will be used throughout the state. The line traditionally gave candidates endorsed by the county party preferred ballot placement, and an edge in their efforts, but it was dismantled by a federal judge last year. This will be New Jersey's first primary without the line. Wednesday afternoon was no exception as the League of Conservation Voters held an event to announce their support for Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the Democratic primary on June 10. Ed Potosnak, executive director of the organization, said endorsements from nonpartisan groups like LCV are more important than ever. 'Call your congressman': NJ residents flood lawmakers' phone lines as Trump agenda unfolds 'Traditionally in New Jersey, politicians have spent more time courting folks that are like them than reaching outside their comfort zone,' he said before explaining that his organization has members from all political parties so their endorsement is focused on policy and not politics. 'We're thrilled to stand with Mikie Sherrill in this race and also look forward to her work as governor to build a greener state, a more prosperous state that's cleaner for future generations,' Potosnak said. Potosnak went on to say the League of Conservation Voters would 'investing heavily in this race' because the 'stakes could not be higher for New Jersey families.' This endorsement is important to Sherrill because she said it will help 'move people into a cleaner environment.' 'We need to do better if we are truly going to meet the needs of New Jersey and meet the needs of the people here,' she said. 'I deeply believe that the state that solves the power problems of the future will be the most innovative state in the nation." There are 10 candidates — six Democrats and four Republicans — currently vying to represent their respective parties in November's general election. There is only one that has not received any endorsements. Though the line doesn't exist anymore, that hasn't stop county committees from holding their annual conventions where in some cases endorsements are voted on while in others the endorsements are simply announced after behind the scenes discussions. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is not participating in the county conventions. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka spoke out against the latter version earlier this week though he will continue to participate. Former state Sen. Ed Durr has not publicized any endorsements but the other nine candidates have announced endorsements including the following: Ras Baraka Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Rep. LaMonica McIver Various county and local elected officials Dozens of religious leaders Piscataway Progressive Democratic Organization Steve Fulop Nine current and former state lawmakers Dozens of county and local elected officials Josh Gottheimer Eight state lawmakers One county chair Dozens of county and local elected officials Eight congressmembers from outside New Jersey Mikie Sherrill Former Gov. Jon Corzine Six state lawmakers One county chair Dozens of county and local elected officials State firefighters union EMILYs List Four congressmembers from outside New Jersey Sean Spiller One former state lawmaker New Jersey Education Association (where he serves as president) Steve Sweeney Rep. Donald Norcross Rep. Herb Conaway Five county chairs 20 current and former state lawmakers Dozens of county and local elected officials Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters International Longshoremen's Association International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 30 Jon Bramnick Two former congressmembers One county chair Three state lawmakers 13 county and local elected officials Jack Ciattarelli Seven current and former state lawmakers Two county chairs Dozens of county and local elected officials Bill Spadea One former congressmember One county chair Four current and former state lawmakers National Right to Life and New Jersey Right to Life Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on NJ governor race 2025: Will no county line affect endorsements?
Politico
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Politico
States can't save us now
With help from Jordan Wolman, Camille von Kaenel and Annie Snider DOUBLE TROUBLE: It isn't just California — state leaders across the country have been double-clutching on more ambitious climate policy in fears of voter backlash over high electricity and gas prices. And that was before President Donald Trump started dismantling the regulations and incentives that were meant to cut planet-warming pollution, further threatening the ability of Democratic officials to save their own climate goals. 'We should not surrender because of the change in Washington,' said New York Assemblymember John McDonald, a Democrat from the Albany area. 'But we have to be realistic that we're not going to have a federal partner.' It's a marked shift in tone from eight years ago, when Democratic governors and mayors asserted themselves as bulwarks of climate progress, set or strengthened ambitious emissions targets and launched coalitions to keep up climate action in the face of the wrecking ball Trump took to Obama-era rules. This time around, officials aren't so out in front, citing a wariness of public reaction to the high consumer costs associated with certain types of climate policies. Maryland is delaying action on its cap-and-trade system. Vermont looks poised to jettison an effort to fund home electrification by charging more for heating fuels after bruising losses for Democrats in the Legislature. And as readers of this newsletter know, California has repeatedly delayed plans to strengthen its emissions trading program that officials have cited as essential for meeting the climate goals that the state is already behind on. 'The election rattled everybody,' said Kim Coble, co-chair of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and executive director of the state's League of Conservation Voters chapter. 'I think everybody kind of stopped and said, 'Wait a minute. Wow. What's this really mean?'' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this month she would no longer finalize a landmark cap-and-trade style program this year as originally promised. She also temporarily delayed a toll on traffic coming into Manhattan and acknowledged the state isn't on track to meet its 2030 target of getting 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy. 'The goals are still worthy — but we have to think about the collateral damage,' she said over the summer about New York's efforts to transition to clean energy. It's not all doom and gloom. Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, co-chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance, claimed earlier this week that the group of 22 states and two territories would still reach its target of cutting emissions at least 26 percent from 2005 levels by this year to support the Paris Agreement that Trump is pulling out of. Hochul signed a sweeping 'Climate Superfund' measure last month to attempt to extract billions of dollars from fossil fuel companies to compensate for past extreme weather damages. And Washington state handily defeated a ballot measure seeking to repeal its landmark carbon pricing program in the face of conservative attacks that it has raised gas prices. Other Democrats are citing the costs of inaction and trying to highlight how their renewable energy policies and other climate programs can help control costs. In hearing on California's cap-and-trade program last year, lawmakers floated boosting consumer rebates with proceeds from pollution allowance auctions. But as the Legislature, set to reauthorize the program this year, demands more oversight of its cost and climate impacts, cap and trade is in a holding pattern. 'We're deciding how we want to proceed,' California Air Resource Board Chair Liane Randolph said last week when asked if the update would happen before lawmakers pass a reauthorization bill. — BB Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! THE REPUBLICAN CLIMATE PITCH: Assembly Republicans are taking aim at some of California's environmental mainstays, from the California Environmental Quality Act to the Coastal Commission — and they're calling it climate action. They unveiled a package of legislation today waiving environmental rules to fast-track the clearing of flammable vegetation around vulnerable communities and facilitate controlled burns. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher said climate change is exacerbating California's wildfires by making forests drier but that California's policies to reduce emissions aren't enough to fix the problem. 'If you went and did all the things that some of these folks think we should do, like banning all fossil fuels, it doesn't change the underlying conditions on the ground right now that are causing these fires,' Gallagher said. 'Often I'll say to some of my colleagues, 'How long till the climate changes back? In the meantime, what should we do?'' 'There's a better way to reduce emissions in a way that is much more affordable and cost effective, and that thing is vegetation management,' Gallagher added. Some of the Republican proposals, like one to redirect funding for high-speed rail to water infrastructure and wildfire prevention, are unlikely to be taken up by the Democratic supermajority. Others have stalled amid opposition from environmentally minded Democrats in the past but could find traction now because Democrats have also already introduced several measures to chip away at environmental rules to speed forest management and rebuilding. — CvK BILLS ON BILLS: We know affordability is going to be hot this session. Utility ratepayer advocacy group TURN wants to keep it front of mind with a legislative scorecard it released today. The group graded lawmakers on their votes on 10 bills, including ones to increase oversight of utilities' wildfire spending, prohibit utilities' spending ratepayer money on advertising and increase the wait period for former California Public Utilities Commission members to take jobs with utilities. Earning top marks were Sens. Dave Min (who scored 102 percent, getting extra credit for carrying a TURN-sponsored bill), Ben Allen and Scott Wiener, who each scored 100 percent. On the Assembly side, Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin and Chris Ward received perfect scores. — DK CLIMATE FOOTPRINT: Climate change made the wildfires in Los Angeles this month about 35 percent more likely, according to an analysis released today by the group World Weather Attribution. Thirty-two researchers from the United States, Brazil and Europe specialized in studying the role of climate change in extreme events determined that the hot, dry and windy conditions that fueled the Palisades and Eaton fires were about 35 percent more likely under today's climate than they would have been in a preindustrial climate that was 1.3 degrees Celsius cooler. The high fire-risk conditions will become another 35 percent more likely if warming reaches 2.6 degrees Celsius as expected by 2100 under current policy scenarios modeled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. — BB BIG APPLE PLAYS COPYCAT: A New York lawmaker reintroduced a bill in Albany on Monday that would require large companies operating in the state to disclose their full carbon footprint, mirroring California's first-in-the-nation law that's set to go into effect next year. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat representing parts of Manhattan, is renewing his effort after the measure failed to gain traction last year. But he'll be doing so with some noticeably different dynamics. The broader corporate climate disclosure push is all but dead at the federal level, with the incoming Trump-appointed chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission likely to pull back on a weaker rule the agency adopted last year. Even in California, regulators have balked at enforcing the measure, deciding not to penalize noncompliant companies next year. Hoylman-Sigal, an old law-school pal of state Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of California's SB 253, will also have what could be an influential advocacy group at his back that he didn't have last time. Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit that counts companies like Amazon and Bank of America as members and that pushed for California's laws and the SEC rule, previously told us it would support climate disclosure efforts in other states — a reversal from its previous position. Washington and Illinois, in addition to New York, introduced copycat legislation to require climate disclosure last year, though none of those bills passed. — JW FAREWELL NOTE FROM THE COLORADO: Anne Castle, one of Biden's top water officials at the Interior Department whom he appointed as his federal representative to the Upper Colorado River Commission in 2022, submitted her resignation this week, as requested. In a letter obtained and published by independent journalist John Fleck and confirmed by POLITICO, she recapped her tenure participating in the troubled negotiations over the dwindling Colorado River — and took a few swipes at Trump's executive orders on environmental justice, the federal workforce and California water so far. 'Edicts imposed from outside the Basin, such as recent proclamations concerning California water, based on an inadequate understanding of the plumbing and motivated by political retaliation, upend carefully crafted compromises, create winners and losers, and unnecessarily spawn the potential to adversely affect the lives of millions of people as well as the ecosystems on which they depend,' Castle wrote. — CvK — A judge halted Trump's freeze on federal aid programs, but not before it caused chaos across the country's health, climate and infrastructure sectors. — Sales of private fire hydrants are booming after public hydrants in the Pacific Palisades temporarily ran dry during the fire earlier this month. — The Los Angeles Times' Sammy Roth writes that the Ivanpah solar farm in the Mojave Desert was a bad bet for government after Pacific Gas & Electric announced it would no longer buy its power. — San Francisco State University is the first major public university to require every student to take a course on climate justice to graduate, starting this fall.
