Bill Text: NJ AR126 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges DEP to study and measure methane emissions, and address prevention, reduction, and beneficial use thereof, especially for energy.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-22 - Filed with Secretary of State [AR126 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-AR126-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman L. GRACE SPENCER
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Urges DEP to study and measure methane emissions, and address prevention, reduction, and beneficial use thereof, especially for energy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Department of Environmental Protection to study and measure the sources of methane emissions, make recommendations to reduce those emissions and prevent creation of new sources thereof, develop methods for methane emissions capture and its use as an energy source without incentives for creating new landfills, and encourage implementation of these methods and recommendations.
Whereas, Greenhouse gas emissions are one of the top environmental concerns worldwide and the Department of Environmental Protection is the agency in our State charged with the duty to address environmental concerns; and
Whereas, Methane is recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a potent greenhouse gas, 25 times more potent than the ubiquitous greenhouse gas carbon dioxide that has captured so much attention in recent years; and
Whereas, Methane also has a stronger short term potency - more than 70 times stronger than carbon dioxide over the next 20 years - which has led the United States Department of State and the United Nations Environment Programme to establish the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants to address methane emissions and other short-lived climate pollutants; and
Whereas, This year, the EPA, after reviewing years of emissions data, revised previous assessments and identified natural gas production as the leading source of methane emissions, attributing 32 percent of methane emissions to the production and distribution of natural gas; and
Whereas, The EPA attributes another 16 percent of methane emissions to landfills; and
Whereas, Although landfill operators are not currently required to measure methane emissions, the EPA has developed new methods to more accurately measure landfill emissions, including the "Test Method OTM 10"; and
Whereas, Instead of allowing methane emissions to enter the atmosphere from landfills, the State could greatly benefit from the increased capture and use of methane produced at existing landfills in the State and the development and implementation of methods and incentives to increase the capture of methane and its use as an energy source without creating incentives for the establishment of new landfills; and
Whereas, In addition to the dangerous effects of methane emissions, there is a larger concern regarding landfills and waste disposal, because landfill capacity in the State is very limited, with some sources estimating landfills currently approaching 98 percent of their capacity; and
Whereas, Each year more than two million tons of New Jersey's waste are exported to landfills in other states outside the regulatory control of the Department of Environmental Protection; and
Whereas, The concerns over in-State landfill capacity and energy sources in the form of solid waste being sent out of State can be addressed in other ways than creating new landfills in the State; and
Whereas, The State could greatly benefit from the development and implementation of methods and incentives for the increased beneficial use of solid waste in alternative ways, including waste-to-energy models, thereby reducing methane emissions from landfills, while creating valuable fuel and energy; and
Whereas, In-State alternatives to landfills will not only prevent the generation of methane, but will produce economic development and quality jobs for the citizens of New Jersey; and
Whereas, Encouraging solutions and developing more answers to this pressing problem would further improve the environment and benefit the State; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Department of Environmental Protection is urged to study and measure the sources of methane emissions, using technology like the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Test Method OTM 10," particularly identifying the levels of methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems and landfills, make recommendations to reduce these emissions, and encourage implementation of solutions to prevent additional methane emissions.
2. The department is also urged to develop solutions for the best and most complete capture and use of methane emissions for energy purposes without creating incentives for the establishment of new landfills, including the increased capture and beneficial use of methane currently escaping from landfills and natural gas wells and pipelines, and to encourage implementation of these solutions.
3. The department is further urged to recommend the increased use of alternatives to disposing of solid waste in landfills, including the production of energy from solid waste, reduction of solid waste through increased recycling, and other methods to reduce disposal of solid waste in landfills, and to encourage the use of these alternatives.
4. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested to by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Region II Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Department of Environmental Protection to:
1) study the sources of methane emissions, particularly natural gas distribution systems and landfills;
2) make recommendations to reduce these emissions, and encourage implementation of these solutions;
3) recommend the increased use of alternatives to landfill disposal of solid waste, including production of energy from solid waste, increased recycling, and other methods to reduce landfill overload;
4) develop solutions for the best and most complete use of methane emissions for energy purposes, including the increased capture and beneficial use of methane currently escaping from landfills and natural gas wells and pipelines without creating incentives for the establishment of new landfills; and
5) encourage implementation of these alternatives and solutions.
Recent reports in the press announced that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reviewed years of emissions data, revised its previous assessments, and identified natural gas production as the leading source of methane emissions in the nation. The EPA now attributes 32 percent of methane emissions to the production and distribution of natural gas and another 16 percent of methane emissions to landfills. In New Jersey, there are already municipal, private and public initiatives under way to reduce and beneficially use methane emissions. The Hackensack Meadowlands has been involved in methane capture from landfills for more than two decades. In at least five facilities in New Jersey, waste is used to generate energy instead of being sent to a landfill. A Metuchen company, Biolithe, has developed a paper treatment product which eliminates the production of methane from the treated paper when it is in a landfill, and Linden, New Jersey is implementing burn-off or resale of captured methane from natural gas wells.
