New York Assembly chairs lay out budget priorities

Presented by Attentive Energy One

ASSEMBLY CHAIRS LAY OUT BUDGET PRIORITIES: The Assembly Democrats backed some significant environmental policies in their one-house budget including a measure to ban fossil fuel combustion appliances in most new buildings and mandating the New York Power Authority to build new renewables if the private sector is falling short of meeting the state’s ambitious climate goals. But they also declined to include any proposals to aggressively fund implementation of the state’s flagship climate law that the Assembly had passed a predecessor to for years before Democrats took the Senate. A measure to reduce packaging waste through “extended producer responsibility” also didn’t make it in.

“The house position is that policy matters don’t belong in the budget. They belong in post budget discussions,” Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Environmental Conservation Committee, said last week. “We fully anticipate a waste reduction and reuse plan before the end of session, a cap-and-invest plan. … those are impactful programs,” she said.

The Senate included a modified version of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “cap-and-invest” proposal, with a prohibition on trading of any pollution allowances and prohibiting linkage with other markets without legislative approval. Glick said lawmakers were not satisfied with answers to questions about the details of Hochul’s plan. “We believe we have to get these things done this session but we need to have a little more time than in the middle of the budget to get things right,” she said. Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Columbia County), who chairs the Energy Committee, also said there’s not enough information available about the governor’s plan. “It’s hard to accept things and necessarily put them in the budget when we don’t even know how it’s going to work,” she said. “It’s clearly a tool that the governor and her team see as useful for helping us. I have no problem with that. I just need to understand a little more.” The Department of Environmental Conservation has been conducting some stakeholder outreach on the program but has not released draft regulations or any estimates of the total amount “cap and invest” could raise or the potential cost impacts.

The Assembly also proposed booting the Environmental Protection Fund from the $400 million Hochul proposed in line with last year’s record figure. The Assembly backed $435 million for the flagship fund for conservation of open space and other environmental priorities. The Senate has proposed $500 million. “We were mindful of the economic winds that are still unsettled, and so I think we wanted to accommodate the requests from a broad range of groups. … but I think the EPF provides a broad base of capital support for vital programs throughout the state,” Glick said. She noted that the bond act money is also going to be available for some of the programs that are also included in the EPF.

Glick also highlighted the inclusion of an additional $100 million on top of Hochul’s proposed $500 million for water infrastructure. “There are water systems that are dealing with additional pollution and pollutants that they didn’t have 20 years ago and weren’t set up for,” she said. The Assembly is also pushing to specifically line out that funding to ensure transparency about where it will go. “It’s been hard in the past to know exactly where the money has gone,” she said.

The new fiscal year starts April 1 for New York, leaving less than two weeks until the official deadline. — Marie J. French

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Here’s what we’re watching in the week ahead:

MONDAY
— Two nominees for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will have their nominations considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, 10 a.m.

— Rewiring America, the New York Association for Affordable Housing and the American Institute for Architects discuss the future of the All-Electric Building Act, 11 a.m.

WEDNESDAY
— The New York Power Authority’s board meets after an audit committee meeting at 10 a.m. in multiple locations.

— The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities meets, 10 a.m.

— Climate advocates from around New York will come to Albany to push for measures to decarbonize new buildings and end requirements for gas utilities to provide service to new customers, 11 a.m.

THURSDAY
— New Jersey Department of Environment Protection will unveil its plans for Liberty State Park, 6:30 p.m. at the Liberty State Park terminal building.

— The New Jersey Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee meets, 2 p.m.

AROUND NEW YORK

— Op-ed from NRDC: Heat pumps work in New York.

— Brookhaven to get bulk of $169 million deal for hosting wind farm cable.

Around New Jersey

— Republican offshore wind hearing underlines battle over whale strandings.

— Columnist Tom Moran: “The perverse use of dead whales to kneecap the climate fight.”

— A warning for the potential of ‘explosive fire growth’ was issued for all of New Jersey on Sunday

What you may have missed

NATIONAL GRID VAPORIZERS REJECTED — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: New York’s utility regulator denied — for now — a petition from National Grid to recover costs of new gas infrastructure in Brooklyn that state staff and an independent consultant determined is not immediately needed to meet gas demand on the coldest winter days. The Public Service Commission on Thursday said it will allow National Grid to recover design costs of $10 million for two new proposed LNG vaporizers in Brooklyn, but did not sign off on the full cost of the project — which means Grid will likely not move forward. — Marie J. French

PLAN FOR LIBERTY STATE PARK — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is preparing to unveil a three-part plan for Liberty State Park in Jersey City and break ground on some improvements this fall. The state plans to show off detailed renderings of its vision for the park next week. The head of DEP, Shawn LaTourette, pushed back against concerns that the park would be commercialized, as many conservationists have long feared. In a call with reporters Thursday morning, he said the plans don’t include any large-scale commerce developments, like a large community center, entertainment venue or track and field stadium.

LGA AIRTRAIN DEFINITELY DEAD — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: The head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said there is “no way” to build a train to LaGuardia Airport, comments that put another nail in the coffin of a project championed by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Days after an expert panel convened by Gov. Kathy Hochul said other options made more sense, Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said the report’s findings about the technical challenges and costs of building either a train or subway line extension were a near-term deal-killer.

VAN DREW ON WIND — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: When a co-chair of the congressional offshore wind caucus becomes one of Congress’ leading critics of offshore wind, it’s going to raise some eyebrows. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican who represents a vast swath of New Jersey’s coastline, knows this. “You have a good question and it’s an easy answer,” Van Drew said when he picked up the phone to talk about where he stands on offshore wind. This week Van Drew is holding a hearing back in his district with two other wind-wary Republicans, Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.). The Thursday hearing has wind industry supporters on high alert as it’s expected to provide more air for intense criticism of the industry and unfounded links to dead whales washing ashore.

GAS BILL RISKS AS ELECTRIFICATION TAKES HOLD — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: New York residents who don’t get off gas would face ballooning bills if state regulators fail to change the path utilities are currently on, a report released Thursday found. The report, commissioned by the Building Decarbonization Coalition which supports building electrification and is backed by makers of electric heat pumps among others, concludes that without policy changes customers who remain on the gas system could see monthly bills rise to $8,000 in 2050 if 90 percent of customers leave the system.

DEP ISSUES STATEMENT ON WHALE DEATHS: In a statement amid ongoing panic, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday: “As of March 2023, no offshore wind-related construction activities have taken place in waters off the New Jersey coast, and DEP is aware of no credible evidence that offshore wind-related survey activities could cause whale mortality. While DEP has no reason to conclude that whale mortality is attributable to offshore wind-related activities, DEP will continue to monitor.”

NY RENEWS TARGETS ASSEMBLY: The coalition of environmental, community, labor and environmental justice groups that provided the impetus to what became the state’s landmark climate law applauded the Senate’s one-house budget for including their priorities. That includes a modified “cap and invest” with a spending plan they’re pushing, a transition plan for gas utilities and authority for NYPA to build renewables. “By contrast, the Assembly’s one-house budget does not include significant measures to decrease climate pollution or protect our communities from the worst effects of the climate crisis, extreme heat, or rising energy costs,” NY Renews said in a statement on the budget proposals. — Marie J. French

THE ANTI-CONGESTION PRICING CAUCUS — POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio Dunn: The state’s congestion pricing plan is facing increased opposition in Washington, with New York and New Jersey lawmakers creating a new bipartisan congressional caucus to kill the proposal. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), longtime opponents of the state’s plan to increase tolls on drivers entering central Manhattan at peak times, have co-founded the new caucus to strategize ways to defeat congestion pricing. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) are the only other two members who have joined the caucus so far. The opposition is heating up as the Biden administration decides whether or not to greenlight the new tolling system, which is crucial to help fund the MTA’s $55 billion capital plan.

N.Y. BUDGET POSITION BREAKDOWN — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Democratic lawmakers incorporated some significant climate-related proposals in their one-house budget documents Tuesday, including provisions to prohibit fossil fuel appliances in most new buildings. The Assembly for the first time included provisions to require new construction to be electrified, a significant step after Assembly Democrats did not endorse the measure last session. The Senate and Gov. Kathy Hochul are advancing similar proposals for the second year, pleasing environmental advocates who still want a faster timeline for implementation.

N.J. DEP’S APPROACH TO NRD CASES — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: In a new policy, the state Department of Environmental Protection said it is more interested in cooperatively reaching settlements with many polluters than going after them in court for damages to the state’s natural resources. An administrative order issued Tuesday by Commissioner Shawn LaTourette comes on the heels of a controversial settlement proposal with the owner of the state’s most notorious Superfund sites, in Toms River. The DEP policy said the state wants a “collaborative process” with polluters. Though the department reserves the right to sue companies, the goal is to reach compromises that quicken cleanup of pollution — some of which dates back decades — rather than rely on the uncertainty and delay that can come with litigation.

NEW PFAS PROPOSAL FROM EPA — POLITICO’s Annie Snider: The Biden administration is proposing the first-ever federal drinking water limits for toxic chemicals used to make nonstick materials like Teflon, stain-resistant carpeting and military firefighting foam, which are estimated to be contaminating the drinking water of 200 million Americans. It’s an aggressive move that represents what health experts and community activists say is a long-overdue effort to begin reining in the widespread contamination from PFAS “forever” chemicals, which are linked with cancer, reproductive problems and a wide array of other health ailments. If finalized, the regulation would spark the first major upgrade to the safety of the nation’s drinking water in three decades. The class of some 12,000 different PFAS substances are characterized by a strong chemical bond that makes them invaluable as nonstick agents, but also causes them to persist and accumulate in the environment — and people’s bodies. Studies have found the substances in virtually every American’s blood, and EPA estimates that its proposal to limit six of them in drinking water would save tens of thousands of lives and significantly reduce serious illnesses.

PSEG LOOKS INTO FUTURE, UNFAZED — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: Top executives at New Jersey’s largest gas company appear unfazed by state regulators’ plans to examine the future of the natural gas business. At the request of Gov. Phil Murphy, who is ratcheting up the state’s clean energy goals, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities last week started an 18-month investigation into the role gas utilities should play in a clean energy future. At the same time, Murphy is pushing a plan to electrify 400,000 residential buildings, which would mean getting them to voluntarily switch from gas to electric heat. While that sort of change might imperil smaller utilities that just sell gas, Public Service Enterprise Group — which owns PSE&G, the largest gas and power utility in the state — welcomes it. “We’ll take them all,” PSEG CEO Ralph LaRossa said in an interview. If the company lost 400,000 gas customers, PSE&G would still have nearly 1.5 million residential gas customers. “That’s still a lot of pipe and a lot of needs,” he said.

In an interview, LaRossa also criticized PJM — the sprawling, regional energy market and grid operator. LaRossa said PSEG was going to start “pounding the table” to encourage the availability of clean energy at PJM. Right now, New Jersey power customers share PJM’s energy market and regional grid with customers in other states, including states with very different ideas about where energy should come from. While New Jersey has no more power plants left and is looking to become less reliant on burning gas, PJM includes coal-friendly states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia. LaRossa said that if PSEG is using its system to deliver coal-fired power from PJM, that’s not aligned with the company’s own clean energy vision. “I want to make sure the electricity I’m delivering is clean — it’s not coal plants from Pennsylvania,” he said.