The Brownfields Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) is pleased to partner  with NJSWEP to host the popular keystone event:  The NJDEP Regulatory Update.

Early registration is now open for NJSWEP and BCONE members, and is available until January 4th! This event will sell out - don't wait to sign up! Registration opens to the public Jan. 5th.  BCONE members only, use code: NJRegBCONE

Location:

NJDEP Public Hearing Room

Department of Environmental Protection Headquarters

401 E. State Street

Trenton, New Jersey 

Date: February 4, 2015 (Snow date - February 18, 2015)

Time: 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Cost and Registration: $25 for NJSWEP members and BCONE members; Free for NJDEP employees; $85 for non-members

For early registration, click here.

BCONE’s Woodbridge Brownfield Event was held on September 19, 2014 at Hatch Mott MacDonald’s Iselin, New Jersey Headquarters. More details can be found here.

PSE&G released a Request for Proposal (RFP) announcement related to PSE&G’s Solar 4 All Extension program to interested Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors and site owners to provide proposals for construction on fully-engineered solar projects located on landfill or brownfield sites within PSE&G’s electric service territory.

Specifics and the requirements for qualified EPC contractors are detailed in the RFP (download announcement here).  Registration for interested parties opened on Tuesday October 8, 2013 and closes on Friday October 19, 2013.  EPC contractors MUST register and provide required documentation in order to access the complete RFP.

The Environmental Protection Agency released guidance Sept. 25 to inform urban planners, engineers and developers how they can use bioswales, rain gardens and porous pavements to capture stormwater runoff at brownfield sites without mobilizing pollutants in the soil and contaminating groundwater. The guidance, “Implementing Stormwater Infiltration Practices at Vacant Parcels and Brownfield Sites,” addresses six key questions to determine whether infiltration-which allows accumulated stormwater runoff to percolate into the subsoil-or other management approaches are appropriate for a specific brownfield property. The guidance, prepared by the EPA Office of Water and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said stormwater management planning should be done alongside site investigation, state approvals, selection of cleanup approaches and design and engineering of site improvements. The guidance is available here.

The New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013 (summary) was signed into law on September 18, 2013.  The Act streamlines New Jersey’s five existing economic development incentive programs into two; the Grow New Jersey Assistance (Grow NJ) Program will be the State’s main job creation and retention incentive program and the Economic Redevelopment and Growth (ERG) program will be New Jersey’s key developer incentive program. The EDA is no longer accepting applications for assistance under the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP), Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant (BRRAG) Program and Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit (UTHTC) Programs; applications that have been submitted prior to the enactment of the new law will be processed by December 31, 2013.  To view the Act, click here.

Each year EPA receives numerous inquiries regarding preparation of proposals for the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grant competitions. Many potential applicants find that it is difficult to prepare their proposals in only 60 days, the typical amount of time the Request for Proposals (RFP) allows from publication until the proposals are due. While the RFP for the ARC Guidelines is on schedule to be available in early Fall, there are still many activities that applicants can perform in advance of the RFP. Many of the activities are listed in a new 3-page EPA guidance document.

There is a lot of buzz about New Jersey being a national leader in solar installation.  Here are the latest statistics on the amount of solar installed and the amount of solar to be installed (according to registration numbers supplied by the NJ Board of Public Utilities.)

Listed below is the preliminary update of the NJ Clean Energy Program Installed Solar Capacity as of September 18, 2013.

Listed below is the preliminary update of the NJ Clean Energy Program Solar Capacity for projects in the Pipeline as of September 18, 2013.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 Brownfields team would like to invite you to participate in its upcoming Brownfields Proposal Guidelines Workshops (Helping Applicants Understand Grant Requirements). The workshops are designed to assist local government and nonprofit organizations to better understand the proposal criteria and selection process for EPA’s Brownfields assessment, cleanup, and RLF grants. Download the PDF for more information.