December 1, 2008

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

NEW YORK STATE SPENDING AT ODDS WITH GREEN GOALS 

New York’s finances are a mess. And for months, Governor Paterson has been calling on anyone who would listen—lawmakers, agencies, the private sector, the public——to bring him fresh ideas for filling the budget gap.

Environmental Advocates of New York did a little digging in the state’s books and we have a few green suggestions for cutting costs. 

$aving Green: Addressing New York’s Fiscal Crisis & Protecting the Environment is the follow-up to our first report on the intersection of state spending and our natural resources, Wa$ted Green. All told, we found almost $1 billion in spending and lost revenue.

As far as we’re concerned, the Governor and state lawmakers need to start saving green, both in terms of taxpayer dollars and our natural resources. Instead of taking an axe to agency budgets and cutting staff to the bone, our leaders need to use a green scalpel to protect taxpayers and make responsible cuts that don’t jeopardize our drinking water and air quality.  

The report highlights questionable spending and tax credits that promote pollution, waste energy and destroy wetlands. If cut, the ineffective programs and projects in $aving Green could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed revenue to plug the state’s budget hole while protecting New York’s families and the environment.

For example, tax breaks for dirty Bunker Fuel cost New York almost $40 million last year; the Power for Jobs program, a form of corporate welfare that trades jobs for low-cost power and is coming up short on jobs; an unnecessary “clean coal” experiment that has cost the state $8.4 million, and counting; and a poorly planned nanotech site that will destroy more than 10 acres of wetlands and has already cost the state $51.5 million. Click here for a copy of the report.

These green savings would allow the Governor to protect the state’s environmental agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Conservation, and save critical programs that safeguard the health of our air, water and lands.

Under current state law, sales of Bunker Fuel, a leftover sludge fuel that powers cargo ships and is responsible for 43 percent of port-area air pollution, are tax exempt. Burning this fuel releases harmful gases including sulfate particles, primary particulate matter, sulfur dioxide—one of the main contributors to acid rain—and nitrogen oxides—one of the key contributors to smog. These pollutants are linked to health problems such as asthma, and according to Environmental Advocates’ research, New York’s bunker fuel sales are on the rise while other states have made efforts to reduce its use and pollution. Over the last five years, the state has lost, on average, $34.5 million per year. We want the state to repeal the bunker fuel tax exemption.

Power for Jobs provides cheap energy to New York companies as an incentive to keep jobs in state. But based on our analysis, these incentives are encouraging energy consumption in the name of economic development that isn’t happening. This means that while the state is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce overall power demand, it’s encouraging wasteful energy use at the very same time. And these power recipients aren’t creating jobs—the reason for subsidies.

Although no new coal-fired power plant has been built in New York for 25 years, taxpayers are on the hook for more than $8 million to build an experimental clean coal power plant in Jamestown while a cleaner burning natural gas turbine sits idle in the same town. The “clean” technology the project boasts—carbon capture and sequestration—may be an interesting science project, but it doesn’t deserve taxpayer money when a proven and relatively clean power source sits unused. The state should deny permits for the experimental Jamestown clean coal project and repeal appropriations.

For more than five years, an economic development group has led efforts to build a micro chip fabrication facility in Marcy, even though it would destroy more than 10 acres of wetlands. The project, which has been denied permits by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Fish & Wildlife Service, has received more than $51.5 million in state money before breaking ground. And in the end it could cost as much as $600 million—all without a tenant to occupy the site. We want the state to sort out the details of this project before committing more money and changing the location of the site to a city center with infrastructure already in place rather than directly on wetlands.

Click here for the complete report.

Click here to read more from the Albany Times Union.  

Listen to National Public Radio.  

CLEANER DIESEL IS GOOD FOR NEW YORK   

A coalition of environmental, public health and business groups, including the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association of New York, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, NYPIRG, NRDC, Environmental Advocates of New York, Environmental Defense Fund, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Corning, and others, testified this week to support new state regulations to reduce the pollution caused by diesel fuel.

The regulations mean that on- and off-road heavy duty diesel vehicles owned or under contract with New York State must use ultra-low sulfur diesel and be fitted with best available retrofit technologies by December 31, 2010.

Air pollution is a serious health concern for millions of New Yorkers. According to the EPA, 89 percent of the state’s population lives in a county where air quality does not meet federal health standards. Diesel pollution in particular can trigger asthma attacks and is linked to heart attacks, cancer and even premature death.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2008” report found that from Buffalo to Bayport and from Staten Island to Saratoga, millions of New Yorkers are breathing unhealthy air. An interactive map of New York’s air quality is available at www.alany.org.

TRUCK STOP SIGN AHEAD  

Last week, Governor Paterson and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis visited the Bronx to announce a new plan to step-up regulations to reduce pollution from idling diesel trucks and buses.

Under the plan, the state will carry out surprise pollution checks in cities with heavy truck traffic and focus on communities that have been disproportionately affected by pollution, such as New York City. 

This is just one step among many to tackle growing health concerns related to idling trucks and buses. Click here to read more.

YOU'RE INVITED TO "CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE POLICY FOR A NEW ADMINISTRATION"

On December 10^th, Rafe Pomerance, president of Clean Air – Cool Planet, and former deputy assistant secretary of state for environment and development, is the featured speaker at a breakfast at The Century House, 997 New Loudon Rd. (Rt. 9), Latham, NY, from 7:30-9:00 AM. Pomerance will discuss Challenges of Climate Policy for the New Administration and the Advanced Research Project Agency.

Under his leadership, Clean Air – Cool Planet released Building a Foundation for Success: Recommendations for Early Action on Climate Change for the 44^th President, a bipartisan, comprehensive plan that offers 25 recommendations for action in the first 150 days of the next presidential Administration. Written by economists, climate scientists, senior White House staff from Republican and Democratic administrations, and 40 professionals with expertise in presidential transitions, the report is critical to establishing U.S. leadership on climate change.