February 18, 2008

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We’ll update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.

Great Lakes, Great Compact, Great Victory 

Two weeks ago Environmental Advocates of New York let you know that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact was on the move in the Statehouse. Now it's moving to the Governor's desk for the very first time following passage by the State Senate and Assembly over the past two weeks.

The Compact is the multi-state (and two Canadian province) measure that will protect Great Lakes water for future generations and give New York a seat at the table when the tough decisions about water use are being made.

Early this year, Governor Eliot Spitzer called on state lawmakers to make the Compact a priority in his State of the Upstate address in Buffalo.

Our lawmakers listened and the Great Lakes Compact passed each house unanimously in the last two weeks. Sen. George Maziarz and Assemblyman Bob Sweeney deserve a lot of credit for getting the bill through their respective houses so quickly this year. 

If the Governor signs the bill into law soon, New York will become the third state in the Great Lakes Basin to pass the historic measure. Minnesota and Illinois got the job done last year. And Indiana isn't far behind.

Over the past couple of years hundreds of you have taken the time to urge your legislators to ratify the Great Lakes Compact. Please consider thanking your state lawmakers in the Assembly and the Senate. 

The Grim Sweeper  

In Governor Spitzer’s proposed budget, he intends to transfer $100 million from the state’s primary funding source for all things environmental, the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to the General Fund for overall budget relief.

And this week it came to light that the transfer, or “sweep” as it’s called up in Albany, may increase to $125 million.

We are calling on the Legislature to reject the sweep. The EPF was created as a trust fund to ensure steadfast funding for environmental projects during both good times and bad. And transferring the EPF’s accumulated balance to the General Fund takes much-needed resources away from worthy projects. Stay tuned. We'll be reaching out to you soon to ask you to weigh-in with your lawmakers on this grim news.

NYS Gets "D" on clean Energy Report Card

New York’s net metering policy, the practice that credits consumers for the clean power they generate, received a grade of “D” on a report card released earlier this month by the Network for New Energy Choices.

New York has one of the most restrictive net metering policies in the Northeast. Pennsylvania and New Jersey received “A”s and Connecticut scored a “B.” The report  card is available at www.newenergychoices.org.

New York’s net metering policy, often referred to as “spinning the meter backward,” restricts the size of eligible energy systems. We are also one of only two states in the nation (out of the 40+ that are currently home to net metering policies) that doesn’t allow commercial and industrial customers to receive credit for the excess power they generate back to utility companies. Current New York State law limits system capacity to sizes too small to give businesses incentives to invest in their own clean energy systems.

The state can improve its net metering policy by increasing eligible system size, opening up net metering to all customers—residential, agricultural and business, expanding net excess generation for wind, and increasing the overall limit on net metering enrollment.

Fixing the state’s net metering policy would go a long way toward unleashing the economic development potential of the growing clean energy industry in New York.

Connecticut Wades in on Broadwater 

Last week, leaders from the Nutmeg State reached out to Governor Spitzer to let him know that they don't like the proposed Broadwater Energy Project. 

We don't like it, either. Green groups, including Environmental Advocates of New York, have opposed the project since it was proposed. Broadwater could endanger the health of the Sound and the safety of residents living on or near either shoreline. 

Broadwater Energy, a consortium of Shell Oil and TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., wants to build the $700 million liquefied natural gas terminal in the Long Island Sound. As the crow flies that's nine miles from Long Island and 10 miles from Connecticut. 

Dozens of New York leaders and lawmakers from every corner of the state have come out against the project, including Senator Hillary Clinton. Now Connecticut is gearing up for the fight. And while Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has publicly come out against the project, Governor Spitzer has stayed mum. We'll keep you posted.

Click here to see the newest Broadwater protest video on YouTube.

Where's RGGI?

Is RGGI touring South Carolina and Georgia to see what New York's climate could look like by the end of the century? Perhaps the climate plan is busy meeting with the primary contenders. Or maybe it's gotten buried beneath an avalanche of political pressure courtesy of the power companies. 

It's been almost two months since the Department of Environmental Conservation's
public comment period ended regarding New York's role in the regional climate plan, the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI.

So we're wondering, where's RGGI? We hope it's somewhere nice, but the delay would seem
to indicate that it might not be on a vacation, at least from the perspective of those wanting to fight climate change. Let us know if RGGI sends you a postcard.

Bills on the Move 

Last week, Environmental Advocates took a look at more than two dozen bills with environmental impact, both good and bad. We've listed just a few below. For details on every measure we've evaluated, click here. 

Three trees for Recyclables in Landfills. This bill would prohibit the disposal of recyclable materials in landfills and incinerators and specify that certain materials are always appropriate for mandatory recycling, such as newsprint, glass and metal containers, and certain plastics.

Three tress for the Climate Change Solutions Act & Fund. This measure, one of our priority Super Bills in 2007, would earmark for clean energy and energy efficiency programs any resources generated by emissions auctions under the regional climate plan.

One tree for Plastic Bag Recycling. This measure would require retailers to provide a location on premises to facilitate the recycling of plastic bags and offer consumers the option of purchasing reusable bags. Further, this bill would require manufacturers to provide for the collection, transport, and recycling of plastic bags upon the retailer's request. All fines collected from non-compliance would be deposited in the Environmental Protection Fund.

Click here to track these bills.