EARTH DAY 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE + SPOTLIGHT ON ENERGY
April 22, 2016
HALF EMPTY? HALF FULL? NEW YORK’S ENVIRONMENTAL DILEMMAS
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NEW YORK CITY’S AIR
IS THE CLEANEST IN 50 YEARS New York City’s air quality has reached its cleanest
That’s good news for consumers, and for the
level in 50 years. The primary driver: the phase-out of heating oil in more than 2,700 buildings across the city from 2011 to 2013, a trend accelerated by the availability of cleaner, affordable natural gas.
environment. Incorporating more renewables like wind and solar energy into the power mix is dependent on natural gas combined-cycle turbines that will quickly and cost-effectively pick up the slack when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.
New York runs on natural gas. Even as the state moves toward embracing more alternative fuel sources, the state’s energy plan says natural gas will remain the dominant fuel for the foreseeable future.
The Constitution Pipeline promises to link New York consumers with unprecedented access to cleaner, affordable energy. That should help all New Yorkers breathe a little easier.
Learn more at www.constitutionpipeline.com
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CONSTITUTION PIPELINE
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EDITOR’S NOTE / Contents
Jon Lentz Senior Editor
On Earth Day this week, President Barack Obama will sign an international pact aimed at combating climate change. The so-called Paris Agreement has been hailed as a groundbreaking achievement, but it faces obstacles. Although nearly every country across the globe has signed on, some may struggle to hit greenhouse gas reduction benchmarks. Obama, a champion of the deal, has already been stymied by the U.S. Supreme Court, which blocked regulatory changes limiting power plant emissions. Even if every country does comply, scientists say the effort will not be quite enough to avoid some effects of climate change. With national and international efforts in question, New York officials are moving forward with ambitious carbon emission reduction and renewable energy benchmarks of their own. In this special Earth Day issue, City & State assesses whether New Yorkers are doing their part.
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SPOTLIGHT: ENERGY Utility hikes! Pipelines! Explosions! We explore where we get our energy, how we pay for it, and how safe and sustainable it is.
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BROOKLYN RECAP On the heels of our special Brooklyn issue: the latest on the East New York rezoning plan, a Q&A with Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura, and a peek at our special issue launch party.
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EARTH DAY How safe is your water? Is Big Oil the next Big Tobacco? And Bob Hennelly asks whether New York can grow its economy and prepare for climate change at the same time.
NEW YORK SLANT Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman says it’s time to take another hard look at nuclear energy.
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BACK & FORTH A Q&A with Dan Hendrick on a new documentary he wrote and produced, “Saving Jamaica Bay.”
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On the Cover EARTH DAY 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE + SPOTLIGHT ON ENERGY
April 22, 2016
HALF EMPTY ? HALF FULL? NEW YORK’S ENVIRONMENTAL DILEMMAS
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Last summer, City & State asked every elected official in New York City to tell us what their home borough needs right now to make it a better place. This year, with our “Future of the Boroughs” series, we’re taking a more forward-looking approach, envisioning the city where it will be years or even decades from now. City & State kicked off the series last week with a reception celebrating the release of its first issue, focused exclusively on Brooklyn. The party, at BRIC Arts Media House, featured a live interview with Borough President Eric Adams; remarks from Rachel Pratt of the New York Road Runners, Sam Robinson of WeWork, and Peter Meyer of TD Bank; and lots and lots of neon.
ERIC ADAMS, BOROUGH PRESIDENT
RACHEL PRATT, NY ROAD RUNNERS
PETER MEYER, WITH TD BANK COLLEAGUES
SAM ROBINSON, WEWORK
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Nuclear Power Indispensable to Our Efforts to Save Planet BY NORRIS MCDONALD
As we observe Earth Day, notable progress is being made at the international, national, and state levels. In Paris last December, the historic COP21 summit established a clear and binding framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and significantly slow the rise in global temperatures to two degrees Celsius by the end of this century. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) provides a robust framework for power producers to innovate and reduce emissions. Here in New York, the Clean Energy Standard (CES) aims to make our state a national leader in clean, affordable, reliable energy by reducing carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030.
JULIA LECATO
All these initiatives seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions and all underscore the need for nuclear energy. COP21 allows nuclear, which emits virtually zero carbon, to be included in signatories’ carbon mitigation plans. The EPA “expects nuclear power to be a key partner in achieving the goals of the CPP.” In New York State, the Clean Energy Standard acknowledges the essential role that nuclear power provides as the state seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. New York should consider itself fortunate to have a nuclear fleet. These virtually zero-carbon plants provide nearly 30% of the state’s electricity, according to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). In 2013, our six nuclear plants prevented the release of 22 million metric tons of carbon into our air, equal to keeping nearly 5 million cars off the road. One facility in particular, the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County, prevents the release of 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to keeping 1.6 million cars off the road. As New York State acknowledges the virtues of nuclear power in the fight to save our planet, it is extremely puzzling that policymakers excluded Indian Point from the Clean Energy Standard and even worse, continue to push for its closure. Indian Point provides 10% of the state’s electricity and is the largest provider of emissions free electricity. If shuttered, Indian Point’s electricity—which powers 25% of New York City and Westchester County—would be replaced predominantly by fossil fuel plants. Large-scale use of wind and solar is still many years away. More fossil fuel would add carbon and pollutants to our air, making respiratory diseases worse. This would exacerbate asthma among New York City’s children, which already has a large number of asthma sufferers. As an asthmatic myself, I know how difficult this condition is. Earth Day reminds us to acknowledge and appreciate that New York needs all of its nuclear plants to continue producing abundant, reliable, and impeccably clean power. The nation and the world recognize that fact. For the sake of the environment and our state, it’s time for New York’s policy makers to do the same. About the Author: Norris McDonald is the president of the African American Environmentalist Association.
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EAST NEW YORK ZONING PLAN ADVANCES By SARINA TRANGLE
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East New York’s Pitkin Avenue today, left, and how it is envisioned by the rezoning plan, right. The plan would allow mixed-use development with affordable housing and retail.
IN EARLY MARCH the New York City Council sat in its crowded chamber and listened to eight hours of testimony on a proposal to rezone East New York, punctuated at times with chants from attendees. A month later, a markedly sparser crowd – composed almost entirely of reporters and government employees – gathered in the same room to watch the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Land Use Committee approve the measure. Now bound for a full City Council vote, the proposal would allow larger residential developments in several parts of East New York, but require that a portion of the new homes created be permanently affordable. City Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr., who represents most of the area in question, said he was proud of changes he negotiated into the administration’s plan along with several neighborhood facility projects. But while the councilman’s colleagues in city government
praised the plan, outside City Hall the reaction was more restrained. “I’m confident this plan is the best that we have ever seen in this city, and I proudly ask my colleagues to vote ‘yes,’” Espinal said. “First and foremost, I fought hard for additional affordability, and as a result, the plan now includes more units for families making below $38,000 a year on public sites and over 100 more units of affordable housing. … The plan now includes over a quarter of a billion dollars in capital improvements to the neighborhood, up from the original $150 million.” In meeting the city’s mandate, developers would have two templates to choose from. They could reserve 20 percent of a building’s units for families with incomes averaging out to 40 percent of the metro area median income, which is $31,080 for a family of three. Or they could set aside a quarter of the apartments for those with incomes averaging out to 60 percent of the metro area
“I’M CONFIDENT THIS PLAN IS THE BEST THAT WE HAVE EVER SEEN IN THIS CIT Y.” –New York Cit y Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr. median income, which is $46,620 for a family of three, with at least 10 percent of homes earmarked for households earning 40 percent of the metro area median income. Before winning Espinal’s approval, city housing officials identified 1,200 units of affordable housing, discussed plans for a 1,000-seat school and pledged to use subsidies and other tools to ensure half of the new housing created was affordable to current East New York residents. In the course of negotiations, the administration outlined 100 more units of affordable housing planned for a site on Christopher and Glenmore Avenues and agreed to push down the income levels targeted on public sites, where
currently some 380 apartments are planned. City officials also committed to using vouchers to move 500 families out of shelters and into affordable housing while working to close three shelters in the area. Espinal said he pushed the administration to provide free legal representation to tenants in housing court for five years, as opposed to the two it proposed; to spend $16.7 million improving the area’s Industrial Business Zone; and to convene a study group that will explore the feasibility of legalizing basement apartments in the neighborhood. The study group will receive $12 million for fixing up basements – or other repairs, if the conversions prove imprudent.
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National Grid and Con Edison
Committed to Creating a Sustainable Future By Ken Daly, President, National Grid New York and Craig Ivey, President, Con Edison of New York
Ken Daly
In Brooklyn, a group of local organizations and residents – called the Coalition for Community Advancement: Progress for East New York/Cypress Hills – described the agreement as more of a mixed bag. Roy Frias, who is part of the coalition, said he was pleasantly surprised to learn the city agreed not to include Arlington Village in the zoning proposal. The property includes homes in a rentregulated program, and residents fear allowing larger buildings on the site could increase the owner’s incentive to push tenants to leave and construct a new residence. Frias, however, said he was “really upset” to see very little change in the income levels targeted by the city. “There was a lot of expression from the city – the city commissioners and the mayor’s office – that the deeper levels just didn’t work. A lot of times things that don’t seem to work end up being the things that actually can work if you give them a try,” said Frias, who works as program director of an urban farming initiative called East New York Farms. “The income levels that they passed show that they’re trying to invest in the community, but to invest in the new community, and not necessarily the neglected East New York.”
Craig Ivey
And the administration agreed to spend $10 million transforming a city-owned building into an NYPD community center and up to $17.45 million upgrading local schools; to identify $2.8 million for a new childcare center; and to finance several park and playground projects. Mayor Bill de Blasio and several council members said Espinal helped shape the proposal into a more positive plan for his constituents. One of them was City Councilwoman Inez Barron, who represents a small part of the area up for rezoning, even though she was the only lawmaker to vote against the city’s broader rezoning measures that she said may result in gentrification and displacement. De Blasio praised the final plan. “(Espinal) has been tenacious from day one, making sure his community’s voice was heard, and that we seized this opportunity to protect affordable housing and expand fundamental services that will improve the lives of longtime residents,” de Blasio said in a statement. “From bringing good new manufacturing jobs, to expanding job training, to delivering a new school, to ensuring new housing for the very poorest households, this is the kind of neighborhood planning that will keep our city affordable and our communities strong.”
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It’s Earth Day – an opportunity to reflect on efforts to protect the planet and secure a sustainable future and to look at how we can transition to a decarbonized energy future. National Grid and Con Edison operate two of the most complex energy systems in the world, delivering electricity and natural gas to more than eight million customers across New York State. We are both solidly committed to creating a sustainable future for our customers and communities. A few ways we’re bringing that commitment to life are:
• Working with customers every day to cut energy usage -- we both have proactive energy efficiency programs where tens-of-thousands of customers sign up to upgrade their homes and businesses, receive millions of dollars in incentives, while helping to reduce the emission of tons of carbon into the air annually. • Together, we are embarking on plans to replace hundreds of miles of aging gas mains each year for the next 20 years, and in doing so, help improve safety and reduce the release of methane emissions into the atmosphere. • We are working collaboratively with the Environmental Defense Fund, state regulators, local governments and other utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by advancing technology that will be capable of quantifying the rate of emissions from non-hazardous gas leaks. This will help utilities prioritize the repair of non-hazardous leaks, and reduce the impact of methane emissions. • Oil to gas conversions are reducing emissions too. Hundreds of large buildings in our service areas have converted from oil to natural gas in the past four years as part of New York City’s Clean Heat Initiative, cutting hundreds of tons of fine particulate matter. In fact, each conversion of just a single residential home is the equivalent of taking 15 cars off the road for a year. And, we are working on demonstration projects that will enable us to inject renewable gas from waste treatment plants right into the gas distribution system and we are helping customers connect solar installations to the grid, generating clean megawatts of energy.
WILLIAM ALATRISTE FOR THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL
We’re also committed to transforming and modernizing our energy delivery systems. Initiatives like Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) are helping us modernize the grid and integrate renewable energy into our system. REV also highlights the innovation, efficiency and strategic partnerships that it will take to meet customer needs and preserve our planet in the long term. What we hear, and learn, through these projects – from our customers, regulators, policymakers, market participants and communities – will inform the way ahead across our service territories, making our energy networks safer, smarter and more resilient. We’ll need a skilled, technology savvy workforce to meet the energy and infrastructure challenges. That’s why National Grid and Con Edison are partnering with LaGuardia Community College on the first of its kind Energy Tech High School, established in 2013, a six-year program that trains students for careers in energy. National Grid and Con Edison are excited to help deliver the future of energy. We know it’s achievable, because we’re seeing the real-time proof across New York. There’s much to do, and we look forward to working with our customers, regulators and strategic partners as our companies play a leadership role on this journey together.
The mayor said Espinal helped make the proposal a more positive plan for constituents.
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SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BROOKLYN
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City & State recently released the first issue of its annual Borough Series, with a magazine dedicated to looking at the future of Brooklyn. One person who knows the borough as well as anyone is Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo Scissura, who sat down with Editorial Director Michael Johnson a few weeks ago to discuss some of the current projects that could shape the city’s direction. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:
ON MAYOR DE BLASIO’S RECENTLY PASSED REZONING PLAN “We were one of the earliest advocates of the plan. When government tries to spur economic development in places like East New York … we should all embrace it. Because there has already been some good things happening in East New York in recent years, but this is a game changer.”
“When you talk about economic development, building up neighborhoods, creating jobs, obviously creating affordable housing. People say to me, ‘Why is a business advocacy group getting so involved in something that’s creating affordable housing?’ Well, people who live in that housing are people who own businesses in Brooklyn or work at businesses in Brooklyn. We want to keep them
here. One of the complaints we always get all the time from our businesses is, our employees can’t live in the neighborhoods where we have our business. And you don’t want to see a continuing exodus of lower- and middle-income New Yorkers, you want to see them thriving in the borough.” “If you live in these neighborhoods, you are going to see new schools, you are going to see new open space, you are going to see boulevards rebuilt with trees and better lighting and infrastructure repairs, and if you live in these communities you will have an option to get one of these new units. I think that is a wonderful thing. And then, there are a lot of people who want to stay in Brooklyn who can’t afford it, they will be able to move to places like this.”
ON THE PROPOSED BROOKLYN-QUEENS CONNECTOR “Truly transformative visionary project for Brooklyn and Queens. Will connect an entire innovative corridor … and bring together Red Hook, Sunset Park and Dumbo and all these places. These are the things we should be looking at for the future.” “Building a BQX not just will help commuters, but imagine the number of jobs, the number of jobs in construction, good paying jobs. The number of community jobs, the number of local jobs, the number of MWBE jobs; it’s mind boggling what this will do. It will just create the greatest innovative corridor in America.”
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EARTH DAY 2016
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New York conducts an annual water quality report, which aims to provide residents with useful information. The tests are conducted on any public water supply serving more than 100,000 people. However, such tests are systemwide and do not provide details about water coming out of a faucet in your home.
Every year the New York State Fair holds a contest to determine who has the best-tasting drinking water in the state. A sample is brought to the fair by each region. In 2015, more than 200 fair attendees crowned Hamilton County’s Blue Mountain Lake Water District best in the Empire State in the 29th annual contest.
The water quality reports measure contaminants, from lead and copper to haloacetic acids to radionuclides. None of the latest tests across the state resulted in any violations, but some were several years old.
The 2015 runner-ups were the Village of Lyndonville in Western New York, Ithaca in Central New York, Schenectady in the Capital Region and Mt. Vernon in the Hudson Valley. Many New York state towns and cities have won the award. In 2014, Rotterdam in Schenectady County won best tasting drinking water. Rochester took home the title in 2013.
In the case of lead, several water supplies came close to acceptable levels or had a range that exceeded the regulatory limit of 15 micrograms per liter (µg/L). Albany had a range of 0-61 µg/L, which it attributed to corrosion of pipes, while Rochester’s range was 0-33.5 µg/L. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new statewide Water Quality Rapid Response Team plans to develop a water quality action plan, which aims to improve the time it takes to respond to water quality issues and better evaluate currently regulated contaminants, such as lead, and emerging contaminants, such as perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, the contaminant found in Hoosick Falls. Last year’s annual water quality report for the first time tested for PFOA.
Albany won the New York State Fair title of best-tasting drinking water in 2007 and 2010. The city was also named one of top five best-tasting in the nation by a panel organized by United States Conference of Mayors in 2011. New York City won the New York State Fair title of best tasting drinking water in 2008. An Environmental Working Group report found the quality of Buffalo’s drinking water ranked 15th out of 100 cities with a population over 250,000. Buffalo had the highest rank among cities in New York.
DYLAN FORSBERG
Drinking water contamination has become a major concern and a matter of national debate after the crises in Flint, Michigan, and here in New York in the village of Hoosick Falls. Many people who once didn’t give a lot of thought to the water coming out of their taps are now concerned about their health and safety.
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ECONOMY V ENVIRONME CAN WE GROW THE ECONOMY AND BE READY FOR THE NEXT SANDY? By BOB HENNELLY
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A WEEK BEFORE Election Day in 2012, Hurricane Sandy claimed t h e l i ve s o f m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 Americans, many of them in New York state. Dozens were drowned in their homes by the massive storm surge from the Atlantic and inland waterways. Sandy caused unprecedented devastation, leaving hundreds of homes destroyed and neighborhoods like Breezy Point in Queens looking like war zones. Thousands were left stranded in high rises without power. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless. Gasoline had to be rationed for 15 days. The region’s transportation network, power grid, water, sewer and communications systems were all dealt major body blows. To this day, maintenance work on subway and rail tunnels, which we r e f l o o d e d w i t h s e awa t e r , continues to cause headaches for commuters. In New York state alone, the storm did close to $20 billion in damage and cost the entire region $25 billion in lost business. For years scientists had been predicting a sea level rise and Sandy-like events that they said were a consequence of global warming. In 2010, almost two years before Sandy, the New York State Sea level Rise Task Force warned
that flooding would “increasingly affect New York’s entire ocean and estuarine coastline from Montauk Point to the Battery and up the Hudson River to the federal dam at Troy.” The panel, led by Peter Grannis, then the commissioner of the New Yo r k S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o f Environmental Conservation, predicted the likelihood that “powerful storms” would hit N e w Yo r k ’ s c o a s t l i n e wo u l d be “very high,” posing a major risk “to human life and coastal infrastructure” – a vulnerability that will “increase in area and magnitude over time.” The panel that generated the report also warned that there would have to be a major shift in the landuse policies for waterfront and low-lying lands already vulnerable to flooding. “Current investment and land‐use planning practices by both New York State and local governments are encouraging development in areas at high risk of coastal flooding and erosion,” the task force concluded. At the time, those warnings went unheeded and waterfront development accelerated. In 2010 Gov. David Paterson fired Grannis after an unsigned memo surfaced complaining that cuts by Paterson to the DEC put the agency at risk and left it in “the weakest position
that it has been in since it was created 40 years ago.” In the aftermath of Sandy, the questions of whether and where to rebuild were front and center. Even popular programs like the federal flood insurance program were getting more scrutiny. Could it be that bad land-use choices were being subsidized by insuring homes in places especially vulnerable to Sandy-like events? Should human beings just throw in the towel on trying to live in high-risk zones where the ocean clearly wanted the land back? UNLIKE HIS NEW JERSEY counterpart, Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Andrew Cuomo cited Sandy’s devastation as a consequence of climate change and the planet’s burning of fossil fuels. “In the case of climate change, denial is not a survival strategy,” Cuomo told a Columbia University audience in 2015 when he was joined by former Vice President Al Gore to announce several initiatives to reduce the state’s carbon footprint. The real-world consequences of such an admission meant that Cuomo had to integrate his emphasis on economic development while facing up to the consequences of climate change, such as rising sea levels and the increasing
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frequency of extreme weather events like Sandy. Since then, Cuomo has made ambitious commitments to reduce the state’s carbon footprint by 40 percent and to increase the amount of electricity from renewable sources by 50 percent all by 2030. In 2014, Cuomo also supported state experts who called for a ban o n h yd r a u l i c f r a c t u r i n g , o r fracking, replacing the state’s temporary moratorium. “I think it’s our responsibility to develop an alternative … for clean, safe economic development,” said Cuomo at the time. Cuomo has been a successful
Quick Takes
NILDA MESA DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY
champion of economic development rooted in industries like agriculture and tourism in which the state’s natural resource base is a key asset. The significant expansion of the state’s Greek yogurt industry, along with the growth of wine and beer making, are just a few examples of the broader strategy that includes globally branding agricultural products produced in New York. In his most recent State of the State address, Cuomo committed nearly $50 billion to bringing the region’s mass transit into the 21st century. Such a massive investment would both promote economic
ON NEW YORK CITY’S PROGRESS ON ITS ONENYC SUSTAINABILITY GOALS “In OneNYC, we pledged to be the most sustainable big city in the world. We’ve made great progress over the past year through targeted initiatives that aggressively move us toward such OneNYC goals as an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 and the cleanest air of any large U.S. city by 2030. “In September 2015 we signed the Under 2 MOU – an agreement amongst cities and states to limit the global average temperature (increase) to below 2 degrees Celsius – the warming threshold at which scientists say there will likely be catastrophic climate disruptions. “Since about 70 percent of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from our 1 million buildings, we convened a blue-ribbon buildings Technical Working Group, in collaboration with architects, engineers, labor, finance, real estate and environmental advocates – ensuring a comprehensive strategy on reducing emissions, based on experience and data. … As a result, this year marked the virtual elimination of the most polluting heating oil from use in buildings, preventing 210 premature deaths and 540 hospitalizations annually. We also launched the NYC Retrofit Accelerator, a free one-stop resource to help private buildings increase the value and sustainability of their properties through energy and water upgrades – in addition to a Benchmarking Help Center and the Energy and Water Performance Map. “We also recognize the importance of leading by example. We’re retrofitting all public buildings by 2025. We moved to divest from fossil fuel stocks in our pension portfolio. We put out a call to power city government through renewables. We also (announced) NYC Clean Fleet – creating the largest electric vehicle fleet of any U.S. city, while cutting municipal vehicle emissions in half by 2025 – and 80 percent by 2035. And we’ve dramatically increased solar.”
growth and reduce the state’s carbon emissions. But despite Cuomo’s high-profile and consistent commitment to confronting climate change and preparing for the next Sandy, experts warn that the sense of urgency has been dissipating over time. Further complicating Cuomo’s major push is the reality that control of the waterfront and coastline is balkanized by dozens of local boundaries and independent authorities like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Hudson River Park Trust. “Who’s looking at the big picture?’”asked Debbie Mans, the executive director of the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper. “You have authorities like the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission building a wall around its facility so it can withstand another Sandylike event, but who’s looking at the broader impact?” “We are dealing with one port, one harbor, so in the end you can’t segment your response by political subdivisions in how you respond to a resiliency plan that aims to protect the entire coast,” Mans added. Like Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has followed up with specific post-Sandy projects and worked to tie his economic development strategy into his plans for protecting the environment and fighting climate change. Last year, the mayor announced plans to spend $100 million on levees, floodwalls and additional parkland to act as a buffer to protect lower Manhattan. De Blasio spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick told City & State that the mayor had delivered on his commitment to integrate his goals for the environment and the economy, including tackling poverty, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and landfill waste and achieving the cleanest air of any large U.S. city. Meeting those goals ensures “those on the front lines of climate change – who are often the most vulnerable New Yorkers – are protected against its risks,” she said.
“OneNYC is premised on the idea that environmental and economic sustainability must go hand in hand, and it sets forth a comprehensive blueprint to achieve just that,” Spitalnick said in a statement. “A stronger, more equitable city is also a more sustainable and more resilient city – and vice versa.” Following Sandy, with the sense of crisis felt in its aftermath, elected officials vowed to spend billions to harden the region’s critical infrastructure and make the coastline less vulnerable to another Sandy-like event. In some places, this could mean actually retreating from the waterfront and even offering buyouts to homeowners in harm’s way. But experts warn that despite s o m e i n s t a n c e s o f vo l u n t a r y buyouts, the resolve to make tough decisions about waterfront land use may be waning – even as the era of more intense, frequent and unpredictable storms is just beginning. “On the entire resiliency effort in general, perhaps the biggest challenge of all is retaining governmental momentum for resiliency planning, implementation and funding,” said Eric Goldstein, a senior attorney w i t h t h e N a t u r a l Re s o u r c e s Defense Council. “In the political wo r l d , m e m o r i e s o f t e n f a d e quickly. And it is essential that the resiliency issue not slip off the priority list of our elected officials, just because memories of Hurricane Sandy recede. “ Roland Lewis, president and C E O o f t h e a d vo c a c y g r o u p Waterfront Alliance, said that while retreating from vulnerable barrier islands like the Rockaways would make the most sense, so much time has elapsed since Sandy that it would be hard to now mandate. “They are called barrier islands for a reason. These are the only b a r r i e r s b e t we e n u s a n d t h e Atlantic Ocean,” Lewis said. “But retreat is politically hard, perhaps impossible.” Lewis noted that Michael Bloomberg, who was mayor when
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JUDY SANDERS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Sandy struck, had long prioritized climate change and would have been in a strong position to “make the case for a retreat from these high-risk low-lying waterfront zones,” but he chose not to. “This is also a federal issue because it transcends state lines,” Lewis said. “All these years after Sandy, even with sea level rise already underway, we still don’t have a final estimate of what it will cost to protect our shoreline.” TO SOME OBSERVERS, plans by the Hudson River Park Trust for commercial development along the waterfront, and in the Hudson River itself, are a clear sign that both the city and state have failed to learn the essential lessons of Sandy. Marcy Benstock, director of the Clean Air Campaign’s Open Rivers Project, said one of the most egregious examples of bad planning by HRPT is a $170 million plan to build a live performance park venue in the Hudson. The performance space will be built in a park-like setting on a nearly 3-acre platform jutting in the river, with a 186-foot bridge connecting the venue to the shoreline. The project, dubbed Pier 55, is at 14th Street and will replace the existing Pier 54. Benstock says Pier 55, which will accommodate up to 3,500 people, will put both the public and first responders at risk of injury or death in the event of a major storm surge. “This is a non-water dependent use in a No. 1 hurricane evacuation zone,” Benstock told City & State. “And this part of the lower Hudson is the highest risk hurricane evacuation zone.” The project’s patron is Barry Diller, the former head of Fox and Paramount Pictures and chairman of IAC, a media and internet company. Diller, along with his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, have pledged $130 million through a family foundation that will also fund the venue’s operating expenses for 20 years. Nearly $40 million for the project will come from the the city, state and the HRPT, according to The
Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. New York Times. The Hudson River Park Trust is a partnership between the city and the state, with board members selected by both the governor and the mayor. “I have always loved public spaces,” Diller told the Times in 2014 when the project was announced. “It’s entirely my fault that this has become so ambitious. We will fail in our ambition, outsized or whatever it may be, if this doesn’t feel completely like a park and completely like a performance space.” But Mans, of New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, said the Diller project has to be considered in a wider context. “You have to ask if this makes sense to spend all this money to build a park out in
the river when you have so many existing places in the city that need uplifting,” she said. Ac c o r d i n g t o a f a c t s h e e t provided to City & State by Pier 55 Inc., the nonprofit handling the project, the design of the project accounts for any potential weather event. “Based on the devastating lessons learned through Hurricane Sandy the pier will be at least 15 feet above the water to protect the park from weather events and rising water in the Hudson,” the fact sheet says. “New York State law created Hudson River Park and defined its location as being within and adjacent to the Hudson River,” said Hudson River Park Trust spokesperson James Yolles. “It a l s o ex p r e s s l y c o n t e m p l a t e d
construction of public piers within the river. Pier55 was designed in a post-Sandy world. Its elevation and design, including its two ADAaccessible ramps, were created with resiliency and future flooding in mind.” The project’s supporters won a recent court battle when a state judge rejected critics’ argument that additional environmental review and a vote by the state Legislature should be required. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has issued state permits, and the Army Corps of Engineers is still reviewing the project. The plaintiffs are considering an appeal. Boosters of the Diller plan say it provides the public with a major amenity that the government could
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Quick Takes
BASIL SEGGOS COMMISSIONER, STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
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Mayor Bill de Blasio surveys a sand berm in Coney Island built to protect against flooding during a 2016 snowstorm. not afford to construct or operate on its own. Critics counter these kinds of deals lack transparency and give too much leverage to corporations and wealthy individuals in shaping the fate of what started out as a publicly held asset. In this case the public asset is the Hudson River and its waterfront, which is at the heart of a major environmental debate about how best to prepare for the next Sandy. As the controversy over the Diller project illustrates, even after Sandy, finding consensus about how to balance commercial interests and doing what’s right in the long run for the planet and our own survival is fraught with difficulties. Pete Grannis, the former DEC commissioner, who now serves as first deputy for state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, told City & State that New York needs to embrace
the fact that “growing the economy and addressing the looming crisis of climate change are not incompatible.” Grannis said that while officials have focused on revitalizing the upstate economy, protecting businesses and communities on Long Island and the Hudson that are at risk of flooding has been overlooked. Without sufficient support from the federal and state government, local officials have a very heavy lift. “At the local level, officials have few if any viable political or financial options,” Grannis said. “What local mayor is going to embark on a program to move residential and commercial development away from shorefront and low-lying coastal properties or raise the huge sums needed to fortify or relocate vital infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and public utilities?”
JOEL BEAUVAIS DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR U.S. EPA’S OFFICE OF WATER
ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND RECEIVING A $123 MILLION FUNDING INCREASE IN THE STATE BUDGET... “This major investment will support projects across the state that preserve farmland and open space, improve water quality, promote recycling, and combat invasive species, all while supporting thousands of jobs. And the EPF will now provide major new funding to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change, provide new incentives for clean vehicle purchases and infrastructure, and advance a comprehensive environmental justice agenda. “This year’s budget also boosts critical funding to help the state confront an emerging water infrastructure crisis. The state has made available an additional $200 million for grants to municipalities for drinking water and wastewater system improvements through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. These grants will leverage over $2 billion in local investments while creating an estimated 33,000 construction jobs. “With this year’s historic EPF and water funding commitments, Gov. Cuomo has led New York back to the vanguard of the environmental movement. His strong actions are showing the nation firsthand that protecting the environment is essential to securing a healthy economy.”
ON STEPS THE EPA HAS TAKEN TO PROTECT U.S. WATERWAYS FROM POLLUTION... “EPA has issued national technology-based regulations that have prevented the discharge of more than 1.2 billion pounds of toxic pollutants each year into U.S. waters – or more than 50 billion pounds of pollutants in total over the last 40 years. “All 50 states, all U.S. territories, and 38 Indian tribes have established water quality standards for their waters. EPA has published national recommended water quality criteria for over 150 pollutants. Efforts by state 319 programs and their partners have led to the remediation and removal of more than 600 waterbodies from lists of impaired waters. “During the current administration, we’ve taken substantial steps forward. “We finalized a steam electric rule that will reduce the discharge of toxic pollutants into America’s waterways from power plants by 1.4 billion pounds annually, as well as reduce water withdrawal by 57 billion gallons per year, resulting in an estimated benefit of $463 million per year to Americans across the country. “We finalized the historic Clean Water Rule to clarify protection for 60 percent of the nation’s streams and millions of acres of wetlands, which are vital to public health, the environment, and the economy. Although the rule is currently under a stay, we remain confident that it will be upheld in court and the Clean Water Act will better protect the foundation of our nation’s water resources.”
MICHAEL APPLETON/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE
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BIG OIL GETS BIG TOBACCO TREATMENT Gore, Schneiderman tout effort by attorneys general to hold fossil fuel companies accountable By SARINA TRANGLE
SARINA TRANGLE
SCHNEIDERMAN SAID THE GROUP WAS SEEKING TO COME UP WITH “CREATIVE” WAYS TO ENFORCE RULES BEING “FLOUTED” BY THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and his peers from Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut and the U.S. Virgin Islands joined former Vice President Al Gore to announce a commitment to combat climate change last month. AS FORMER VICE PRESIDENT Al Gore sees it, major energy companies are following in the footsteps of Big Tobacco. “From the time tobacco companies were first found out, as evidenced by the Surgeon General’s report of 1964, it took 40 years for them to be held to account under the law,” Gore said at a press conference in downtown Manhattan last month. “We do not have 40 years to continue suffering the consequences of the fraud allegedly being committed by the fossil fuel companies.” Drawing comparisons to state officials’ work to ensure tobacco companies disclosed health risks, Gore joined attorneys general from New York and several other states as they announced they
were exploring whether their individual investigations into fossil fuel companies could benefit from a collaborative approach. Gore, a longtime environmental activist, said impasses in Congress have given greater importance to the work of the attorneys general. He stressed that a similar partnership succeeded in penalizing tobacco companies for publicizing information they knew to be inaccurate about the health risks of smoking or using other tobacco products. The March 29 announcement came amid what New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman described as a day-long attorneys general conference on climate change. Schneiderman said the group was seeking to come up with
“creative” ways to enforce rules being “flouted” by the fossil fuel industry and their allies. Schneiderman noted that his office reached an agreement with the coal giant Peabody Energy Corporation after it inaccurately described financial risks associated with climate change in its statements. Under the arrangement, Peabody agreed to file revised shareholder disclosures with federal regulators. Schneiderman’s office has also reportedly subpoenaed ExxonMobil to assess whether it accurately accounted for how climate change and government regulations would impact its finances and whether it publicized information that disregarded its own scientists’ climate change projections. He noted that attorney general offices were making inquiries under the purview of various state consumer protection, securities fraud and pension fund laws, but they were examining whether their efforts may overlap. “Every fossil fuel company has a responsibility to be honest with its investors and with the public about the financial and market risks posed by climate change – these are the cornerstones of our securities industry protection laws,” Schneiderman said. “In Washington, there are good people who want to do the right thing on
climate change, but everyone from President Obama on down is under a relentless assault from well-funded, highly aggressive and morally vacant forces that are trying to block every step by the federal government to take meaningful action. So today we’re sending a message that at least some of us – actually, a lot of us – in state government are prepared to step into this battle with an unprecedented level of commitment and coordination.” Suzanne McCarron, vice president of public and government affairs at ExxonMobil, said the allegations made by Schneiderman, Gore and others were politically motivated and based on “discredited reporting funded by activist organizations.” McCarron said in a statement that the company was “assessing all legal options.” “Contrary to activists’ claims, our company’s deliberations decades ago yielded no definitive conclusions,” McCarron said. “As our scientists determined at the time, many important questions about climate science remained unanswered, and more research was required. Accordingly, Exxon, and later ExxonMobil, continued research at leading universities, and also engaged in the public debate surrounding policy responses to the emerging science.”
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SPOTLIGHT:
ENERGY
CONTENTS 22 … THE SPECTER OF SUPERSTORM SANDY LOOMS OVER CON EDISON AS IT SEEKS TO RAISE ITS RATES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS, JEFF COLTIN REPORTS. 24 … REPORTER ASHLEY HUPFL WAS ON THE SCENE EARLIER THIS MONTH AS ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES RALLIED IN ALBANY TO BAN THE CONSTITUTION PIPELINE. 26 … PANELISTS WEIGH IN ON HOW THE CITY HAS RESPONDED IN THE YEAR SINCE THE TRAGIC EAST VILLAGE GAS EXPLOSION CAUSED BY AN ILLEGAL HOOKUP.
This week, more than a billion people around the globe will celebrate Earth Day. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the holiday has been linked to a long list of environmental campaigns while conjuring images of lush forests, pure waterways and clear skies. But central to the mission of Earth Day is another critical factor: our power supply. In this special section, City & State explores where we get our energy, how we pay for it, and how safe and sustainable it is. We report on utilities calling for rate hikes several years after Superstorm Sandy, the state of our state’s energy infrastructure, and anti-fracking activists taking up the debate over a new pipeline. And we hear from key officials on everything from low-emission cars to the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals.
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Con Edison crews fix power lines in Brooklyn in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The utility is seeking approval for its first rate hike in years, but its performance during the 2012 storm has made such an increase less likely.
POWER OUTRAGE
Sandy looms over Con Edison’s push for first rate hike in years FOILED BEFORE BY its performance during Superstorm Sandy, Con Edison is once again seeking to raise electricity and gas rates across New York City and Westchester County. And while the storm hit New York nearly three years ago, it still hangs over the proceedings as the utility makes its case to the state Public Service Commission over the next seven months. The company can earn profits to lure shareholders, but as a regulated
utility, the PSC gets the final word on things like customer rates. And if past years are any indication, the company has reason to fear its proposal may not be approved. Con Edison’s electric rates haven’t budged since April 2012. Officials last year extended a two-year rate freeze negotiated in 2013, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo took the unusual step of publicly calling on the PSC to reject a hike, citing a need to hold the utility accountable. Con Edison’s 2013 proposal for a
By JEFF COLTIN
rate increase came just months after Superstorm Sandy hit the coast. The governor and others criticized the utility for its performance during that storm, which plunged everything in Manhattan below 39th Street into darkness, stranding many who could not take the stairs. When the rate freeze was negotiated, Cuomo called it “a clear victory for consumers and business, particularly those who suffered through power outages from Superstorm Sandy last year.”
Sandy’s impact is still being felt in the rate hike proceedings today, with Con Edison’s proposal citing the high cost of ensuring a resilient power grid able to weather storms. The proposal also touts improvements, claiming that 100,000 customer outages have been avoided due to changes made in the last three years, and that a quarter of a million customers in Manhattan who lost power during Sandy would not be affected if a similar storm were to hit again today. “I represent neighborhoods in Southern Brooklyn that are not just vulnerable to coastal storms, but are also vulnerable to financial storms,” New York City Councilman Mark Treyger said. “Climate change – and how we deal with it – shouldn’t price people out of these communities. There needs to be federal investment in how to make our infrastructure more resilient, and this is a cost that shouldn’t be passed down to the most vulnerable New Yorkers.” Other elected officials have been critical, even without mentioning Sandy. Assembly Consumer Affairs Chairman Jeffrey Dinowitz decried the “unnecessary” rate hike in a February press release and slammed Con Edison for its “high costs, low quality service, and no accountability.” If Con Edison’s proposals are approved, the electricity bill of a typical residential customer in New York City would rise by a little more than 5 percent. According to the company, an average monthly bill for 300 kilowatt-hours would be $82.63, up from $78.52 at the current rate. Commercial customer rates would rise 3.7 percent, making a typical monthly bill $2,118, up from $2,042 per month. Con Edison is proposing an even larger hike – 8.2 percent, on average – for its gas delivery customers. That means a typical customer paying for natural gas heating would see a monthly bill of $153.30, up more than $10 from $142.31. Those using gas just for cooking would see their average bill jump from $26 to $29.75. While Con Edison provides
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electricity for all of New York City except the Rockaways and for most of Westchester County, its gas coverage area is smaller, including just Manhattan, the Bronx and much of Northern Queens. National Grid, the gas provider for Brooklyn, Staten Island, and much of Queens, is proposing a rate hike of 14 percent. That proposal is expected to follow a similar review timeline as the Con Edison proposal, with both wrapping up around November of this year in time to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017. MAKING THE PITCH A half-dozen dark-suited Con Edison representatives testified for more than three hours before the PSC in a technical conference last month, highlighting the systemwide improvements and new initiatives that could be offset by the $500 million revenue increase the rate hikes would garner. The March 2 hearing was often highly technical, but it provided a view into the operations of the $40
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billion dollar company and changes that may come for its customers. The main driver behind Con Edison’s proposed rate hike is the company’s desire to introduce new hardware called Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI. According to Mike Murphy, general manager of customer operations at Con Edison, these “smart meters” can be monitored remotely. For the utility, that means getting realtime data systemwide, replacing the models it currently uses. And budget-conscious consumers could get notified if their usage is trending higher in the middle of a pay cycle in order to cut back before the bill comes in. The technology is not new to the industry. Almost half of the country has it. Although New York City would be the last large city in the United States to adopt it, Murphy said that gives Con Edison “the luxury of learning from everybody.” AMI does not come without controversy. The program is expensive and the benefit to Con Edison seems to far outweigh the
direct benefit to customers. One attendee at the hearing wondered aloud if most customers even looked at their meter enough to notice they got a new one. Beyond AMI, the company described other initiatives in its case for the rate hike, including improvements to its website and the “digital customer experience,” continued updates to transmission infrastructure and storm resiliency efforts. LOOKING AHEAD Con Edison made a similar pitch last year, but the PSC decided against a rate hike, freezing rates through the end of 2016 and citing a desire to wait until the state-level Reforming the Energy Vision, or REV, plan was farther along. “This one-year extension is good because it’s an acknowledgement that things will change,” PSC Commissioner Diane Burman said at the time, as Politico New York reported. And things have changed with REV, a strategy in part aimed Quick Takes
RICHARD KAUFFMAN
JEFF COLTIN
CHAIRMAN OF ENERGY AND FINANCE FOR NEW YORK
The PSC listens to testimony from Con Edison representatives this month.
at boosting renewable energy. Since the beginning of 2016, the PSC has released a framework for how utilities should weigh the costs and benefits of investments in the grid and an order from the PSC to emphasize renewables in the retail energy market. The sides are not scheduled to meet again until May 27, when the PSC receives testimony from interested parties, including agencies like the MTA and interest groups like AARP. There has not yet been a coordinated effort from elected officials to publicly weigh in on the proposal, but Treyger suggested one is “in the works” in the City Council and expects a multi-tiered approach from the city and state governments as the process continues. Con Edison declined to guess whether the rate hikes would be approved. “I don’t think you’ll find anyone here willing to speculate on that,” said Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for the company. “We’re going through the process, and we’ll see where it winds up.”
ON NEW YORK’S COMMITMENT TO RENEWABLE ENERGY … “In New York, we believe clean energy provides an opportunity to grow our economy and protect the environment, and the growth of solar is a critical component to achieving Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 50 percent by 2030 renewables commitment. In New York, we believe government and the private sector must work together to build the partnerships needed to meet our challenges and goals. And in fact, under the governor’s leadership, New York is working with developers, communities and utilities to build a stable solar industry to benefit consumers and broaden access to clean, affordable power. Thanks to the $1 billion NY-Sun initiative we are bringing solar to all sectors: residents, schools, local governments and communities. Since 2012, installed solar has grown nearly 600 percent and our statewide solar workforce now ranks fourth largest in the country. By 2020 an additional 150,000 homes and businesses across the state will have solar. “Our state energy policies under Reforming the Energy Vision provide the certainty and transparency innovative businesses need to invest here in New York and create new jobs for engineers, installers and manufacturers across the state. Through (Reforming the Energy Vision), New York state is committed to building a clean, resilient and affordable energy system and reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.”
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CityAndStateNY.com
FOOT ON THE GAS
Powered by fracking victory, activists aim to tackle pipeline next
ASHLEY HUPFL
By ASHLEY HUPFL
The activists also railed against FERC, which approved the project last year.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads a rally in Albany calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to ban the Constitution Pipeline. AFTER ALMOST A decade-long battle, environmentalists and antigas activists won a huge victory in late 2014 when Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state. Now, advocates are gearing up for another battle to ban the Constitution Pipeline. Several hundred advocates rallied earlier this month at East Capitol Park in Albany to call on the governor to ban the planned 124mile pipeline, which would extend from Pennsylvania to the Iroquois Gas Transmission and Tennessee
Gas Pipeline systems in Schoharie County. The pipeline would run through Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties. Anne Marie Garti, one of the founding members of Stop the Pipeline, kicked off the rally with a speech urging people to reject the proposed pipeline. “Just like we asked the landowners to ‘just say no’ to the pipeline companies as a way to preserve their property rights and started a revolution across the country ... now we’re asking the governor to ‘just say no,’” Garti said.
“STOP THIS ABOMINATION FROM DESTROYING NEW YORK STATE , A PLACE WE LOVE , A PLACE WE’RE PROUD OF.” -Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Standing in the way of the pipeline’s construction is the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The agency has been negotiating the terms of a 401 Water Quality Certification with representatives of the Constitution Pipeline since it was first proposed in 2013. This month, the Business Council of New York State called on the DEC to stop dragging its feet, writing in a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, “The State of New York has reached a critical juncture; it is time to fulfill the state’s responsibility
and not obstruct the buildout of necessary energy infrastructure.” The DEC, meanwhile, said it is “undertaking a careful and thorough review of the necessary state permit applications as required by our protective regulatory programs,” agency spokesman Sean Mahar wrote in an email. “As with all complex proposals that impact a large portion of the state, DEC works with state and federal agencies and other stakeholders to fully understand the potential impacts and make our decisions
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based on sound science.” The state is required to rule on the proposal by the end of April. A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission representative said in an email that the final environmental impact statement for the Constitution Pipeline, issued in December 2014, addressed the environmental concerns raised by advocates. In response to the rally, the Constitution Pipeline Company LLC issued a press release regarding opponents’ concerns. “The truth is that more than any other fuel, New York runs on natural gas. And that dependence isn’t changing anytime soon,” the company said. “The Constitution Pipeline will provide consumers in New York with direct access to one of the most abundant, economically priced natural gas supply sources in the nation – right in its own backyard.” The company also argued the pipeline is needed by New York, would not be used to transport gas
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to Canada for shipment overseas and would actually provide environmental benefits. But many environmentalists and activists do not agree. “We won this battle on fracking in New York State and Governor Cuomo has shown his national leadership on that issue and now we’re going to say to him, ‘Please Governor Cuomo, turn down this 401 (water quality certificate),’” environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the rally. “Stop this abomination from destroying New York state, a place we love, a place we’re proud of. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, tell it to go away.” He also discussed the potential shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, which Cuomo has heavily criticized in recent months for both environmental and safety reasons, given its proximity to New York City. The power plant’s future in New York is uncertain, but Kennedy believes the nuclear facility will be closed.
Greener, smarter energy on Earth Day. And every day.
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“We have plenty of alternatives. There’s been lots of studies that show we have the energy now to replace that 2,000 megawatts of power Quick Takes
AMY PAULIN CHAIRWOMAN, ASSEMBLY ENERGY COMMITTEE
(provided by Indian Point). We don’t need Indian Point, we need to close it,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to close. Gov. Cuomo is going to close it.”
ON HOW THIS YEAR’S STATE BUDGET HELPS NEW YORK MOVE TOWARD A MORE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE ... “As chair of the Assembly’s Energy Committee, I spearheaded an important provision to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As cars are chief contributors of these emissions, we created an incentive and rebate program for Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) and related infrastructure. The Environmental Protection Fund will fund an initiative to provide municipalities with a rebate of up to $250,000 for clean vehicle infrastructure and a rebate of $750 to $5,000 for each eligible ZEV purchased by the municipality, based on the vehicle’s range. NYSERDA will administer a program that will provide rebates of up to $2,000 to consumers who purchase ZEVs. “The budget includes $14 million to establish a Climate Change Account within the EPF. This account is designed to address greenhouse gas reduction, flood mitigation and to aid communities with climate change planning.”
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CityAndStateNY.com
WAKE of the BLAST
JAKE NAUGHTON
One year ago, two New Yorkers died and three buildings were destroyed in a gas explosion caused by an illegal hookup in Manhattan’s East Village. On March 29, City & State and the Plumbing Foundation City of New York co-hosted a panel discussion at Baruch College on how the city has responded. The panelists made calls for additional investment in upgrading the aging gas infrastructure and enforcement of illegal taps and unlicensed work. They also discussed a package of bills being considered by the City Council that’s meant to increase the safety of the city’s gas infrastructure. Here’s some of what they said:
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In the
DAVID GMACH, Public Affairs Director, Con Edison
STEWART D. O’BRIEN, Executive Director, The Plumbing Foundation
“We always work closely with our colleagues in the buildings department and the Department of Environmental Protection. Clearly, the events of last year was sort a way for us to take a closer look at what we need to do. We’ve been providing information. We’ve been meeting with them regularly. We’ve been coming up with new ways. When we find unauthorized piping, we are now immediately letting DOB know about that. So they now have a way of being able to track this better, we’re getting that information to them, and I think just the overall education and awareness on everyone’s part about this and the sharing of that information, it’s helping us, it’s helping the city, and it’s making the buildings much safer.”
On whether proposed laws can deter illegal gas hookups: “The answer is yes. There’s no 100 percent solution, but it’s going from a complaint driven system – where, if there’s a complaint, someone goes out and checks it – to a proactive system, which is what you’re doing for all the other life-safety systems in the building: for your boilers, your elevators, your facades, your sprinklers. Those systems are periodically checked to get to the problem before it creates a tragedy. This bill is patterned exactly after those provisions. You’re trying to catch a problem before it comes up. Don’t rely on complaint-driven issues, because you can’t be at every building all the time – neither DOB nor the utilities. So there has to be a maintenance program as there are for these other life-safety systems.”
CityAndStateNY.com
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MARK TREYGER, City Councilman, Recovery and Resiliency Committee Chairman
MIKE RUIZ, Director of Community and Customer Management, National Grid
“Look no further than Flint, Michigan. That’s a wakeup call for the entire country. And I think that many times, government is in the business of reacting and not working to prevent crisis. And so everything that we’re doing here is post-explosion. These are conversations that should have led to action before explosions. So I think that we have to be very proactive. The American Society of Civil Engineers has report cards for each state about the state of their infrastructure. I’m very curious to know, is there a close look at New York City’s infrastructure? … The government does not have all the answers right now. Sometimes they’re afraid of the answers. But we need the answers! The public deserves those answers. So I think the first thing is an independent look at the state of our infrastructure. Gas pipes included.”
“We educate the consumer as well. They can be our eyes, they can be our ears, they can be our noses, especially in our industry. Our public awareness program will have boots on the ground. So we’ll be meeting with the Plumbing Foundation, we’ll be meeting with the Department of Buildings, going through gas safety. We kickstarted that actually in New York City public schools, where we’ve taken our own employees. It’s called the Leading with Safety program, where we go out into the schools and we talk to kids about gas safety. What’s a gas pipe, if you smell it – we have scratch-and-sniff cards. And the idea is they go home, they talk to their parents as well, and their parents hopefully call the landlord if they smell something or see something.”
JUMAANE WILLIAMS, City Councilman, Housing and Buildings Committee Chairman “Education is very important. I didn’t even know until a couple years ago that plumbers were the ones responsible for gas. I think a lot of people don’t know, didn’t know. They just call a handyman or call someone to fix it, not really knowing what you need is a plumber. So education is very important, and on the broader scale of our aging infrastructure, it’s doubly important. The work is not sexy. If you’re going to tell people that we have to pay a lot of money to repave a road, they’ll probably say no unless they hit a pothole. And then they would understand what the reasoning is. A lot of the time, folks don’t understand what the reasoning is until there’s an explosion. That’s very important because we’ve got to adjust the budget somehow to pay for things that need to get done. And if people don’t understand something that’s not sexy, or something they can’t see until something happens, then you have a problem.”
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NYSlant.com
A fresh perspective on opinions Edited by NICK POWELL
Nuclear energy an important tool in climate change fight By CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN
energy that it takes to power 6 million homes – about 85 percent of all the homes in the state. A 2011 study for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection found that the loss of Indian Point would lead to
A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN AIR EMISSIONS FOR BOTH NEW YORK CITY AND NEW YORK STATE. The
NEW YORK IS undergoing its most important energy transition since the first Earth Day 46 years ago, and I am happy to note policymakers’ growing awareness of the importance of clean-air energy sources. Significantly, there is greater appreciation of the need to transition to a carbon-free economy. That means it is time to take another hard look at a source that supplies a majority of the state’s carbon-free electricity: nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy is already facing hard challenges in the marketplace, but now state officials are pushing to prematurely close nuclear energy facilities. Like most states, New York has a heavy lift ahead of it to meet not only clean energy goals set
by the federal government, but to meet the even higher standard it has set for itself. For those reasons, it makes little sense to reduce the amount of clean energy produced in New York right now. A recent analysis of the state’s energy sources by the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition – which I co-chair – shows that nuclear energy provides 30 percent of New York state’s overall electricity and an impressive 61 percent of the state’s carbon-free electricity. While citizens have every right to ask questions about the safety of American power plants, when they explore the issue completely, they will see that U.S. nuclear power plants are viewed by experts as some of the most secure non-military facilities in the world. U.S. nuclear plants, including the Indian Point Energy Center outside
New York City that state officials have targeted for shutdown, undergo routine inspections to identify enhancements to make them even safer. The independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission spends thousands of hours on-site each year to ensure every aspect of the facility is operating in a way that is safe for both employees and citizens. The fact that we so often hear about the results of these inspections and the actions taken to improve standards is proof that they are working. It’s possible some policymakers just simply don’t understand the consequences of shutting down these facilities. The CASEnergy Coalition’s analysis shows that if New York lost all its nuclear energy production, the state would have a shortfall of the same amount of clean
chair of New York’s Public Service Commission has gone so far as to say losing upstate New York’s nuclear facilities would be “a truly unacceptable outcome” because of the damage it would cause to clean air and the impact it would have on climate change. All forms of energy have strengths and weaknesses, but giving up clean nuclear energy at this critical point in our fight against climate change would be a major step backward and cause an increase in dangerous air pollutants. As decisions are made about how New York grows its clean energy portfolio, it’s important to understand all the facts and to take advantage of all the clean energy tools we have in our toolbox.
Christine Todd Whitman is co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. She is the former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator and former governor of New Jersey.
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CityAndStateNY.com
BAY WATCH
A Q&A WITH DAN HENDRICK
Jamaica Bay, a massive body of water dotted with islands and marshes abutting the busy John F. Kennedy International Airport, is by far the largest open space anywhere in the five boroughs. Most New Yorkers aren’t even aware of its existence – but Dan Hendrick is out to change that. City & State spoke with Hendrick about a new documentary he wrote and produced called “Saving Jamaica Bay,” which documents the bay’s rich history, from an oystering outpost to its designation as a national park to its ongoing struggles with pollution and disappearing marshes. The following is an edited transcript.
C&S: How did you first get interested in Jamaica Bay? DH: It was about 15 years ago or so. I was working as a local newspaper reporter in Queens at the Queens Chronicle, and like most folks I’d never heard of Jamaica Bay. I went down on some assignments and the big issue at the time was the salt marshes. They were disappearing from the bay, and there was a big mystery about it and trying to get to the bottom of it, along the way I really got to see what an incredible place it was, the amazing history, but especially getting to know all the people down there, and the struggles they’ve been through, often against really long odds. Somehow they’ve managed to prevail, to really turn the bay around. C&S: There’s this juxtaposition of a massive open space that’s within New York City, the largest city in the country. How did that happen? DH: Jamaica Bay at one point used to be the center of the oystering industry in New York. It was this place that was very distant from Manhattan and the population centers of Brooklyn. As you see it today, this is actually part of a national park. The timing is really interesting for the release of our film. It’s the centennial this year of the
National Park Service, and Jamaica Bay is part of a national park called Gateway National Recreation Area. It’s the heart of the park, if you will. And so few people know about Jamaica Bay, let alone know that it’s a national park. In some ways we’re hoping the film can really do a little bit of soul searching among us New Yorkers. It’s the city’s largest open space by far – larger than three Prospect Parks, three Van Cortlandt Parks and three Central Parks combined. It’s a huge piece of open space, but it’s not celebrated in the same way that the Statue of Liberty or any of the other sites that we have here is, so we’re hoping to change that with the film. C&S: What is the status of the marshes? DH: It’s a huge challenge. The marsh loss right now is estimated at around 40 acres a year. They’ve
done a tremendous job of restoring some of the larger marshes. It costs a lot of money to do it, but you talk to people there, whether they’re environmentalists or local residents, they say it’s money well spent, because you’re protecting the environment and also you’re protecting a lot of these homes. That’s the interesting thing about Jamaica Bay. It’s a national park, it’s pretty, but in this era of climate change, it really protects us, too. It’s not just this pretty thing. It’s actually really vital to our own well-being, of the whole city. During Hurricane Sandy, which came through midway while we were filming, and really threw us for a bit of a loop, we weren’t sure where things were going to go. But we really got to see just how important the bay is to protecting the mainland, and that’s really what happened during the storm.
C&S: Was that a turning point, in terms of government resources needed for the bay? Is there enough funding to restore or protect this area? DH: After the storm, there’s been a lot of interest in the bay. In some ways, Jamaica Bay could be a test case for what cities around the world do in terms of grappling with climate change and sea level rise. But it’s a challenge. If you go out and look at some of the public facilities out there, especially the National Park Service facilities, you’ll find that there’s a lot of spraypainted buildings, unfortunately there’s a lot of litter all over the bay. It raises some real questions about the level of funding that we’re putting in to care for Jamaica Bay. This is our national park, our national heritage in a way, and definitely it’s challenging to be in the middle of a city, but we can definitely be doing a better job of protecting it.
“A TRULY UNACCEPTABLE OUTCOME.”
That’s how the New York State Public Service Commission describes the potential increase of 12 million tons of carbon dioxide that would result if nuclear power plants in upstate New York closed and were replaced by power plants that burn fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil). Yet, the State of New York is doing everything in its power to try to achieve the closure of the Indian Point Energy Center in downstate New York, which would result in an annual increase of more than 8 million tons of carbon dioxide to our environment. Indian Point employs 1,000 New Yorkers, generates $1.6 billion in economic activity statewide, and produces about 25% of New York City and Westchester’s power — all while emitting no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. Albany has it wrong — Indian Point is not part of the problem; it’s a big part of the energy and climate solution here in New York State. Discover for yourself at RightForNewYork.com