Trump PJM Grid Emergency Declaration Would Allow PVSC Newark "Back Up" Fossil Power Plant To Operate 24/7
DEP Assurances On Limited Operation Betrayed
Murphy DEP Must Reopen And Modify PVSC Air Permit
The Trump Department of Energy last week declared that an “emergency” exists on the PJM grid due to lack of adequate power production in the PJM region. The “emergency” was declared to keep a fossil power plant operating. The “emergency” over-rides environmental laws, including permit requirements (see this post about that).
The PJM “Emergency” is part of the scheme Trump created in his Day One Executive Order that declared a national “Energy Emergency” ( see this post about that).
On Trump Day One, we warned that there would be widespread impacts from Trump’s abuse of power under sham Emergency declarations.
Here’s just one of those abuses, in Newark NJ that will really piss people off.
The DEP air pollution permit for the new “back up” fossil power plant at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) includes “special conditions” that allow the plant to operate 24/7 as a grid power plant under certain “emergency conditions”:
b. Emergency Operation where a power outage has occurred because of an emergency; or a voltage reduction issued by PJM and posted on the PJM internet website (www.pjm.com) under the "emergency procedures" menu with notice to the Department via 1-877-WARN DEP, the Ironbound Community Corporation and through a public notice on PVSC's website.
i. An emergency is defined as any situation that arises from sudden and reasonably unforeseeable events beyond the control of an owner or operator of a facility, such as an unforeseen system capacity shortage caused by an act of God, that requires immediate corrective action to prevent system collapse or to restore normal operations at the facility. [N.J.S.A. C.13:1D-160(d)]
The Trump declaration of an “emergency” triggers this permit condition (i.e. it fits within the overly broad permit condition term “any situation”. )
A PJM emergency surely is “any” and it is an emergency allegedly related to system reliability (“system collapse”) and “system capacity shortage”. So the PVSC lawyers would easily exploit this permit condition and DEP would have to allow the plant to operate as a grid base load plant.)
If the facility were build today, it would operate 24/7 as a base load grid power plant and the people of Newark would suffer from the pollution.
The people of Newark were given multiple concrete assurances by DEP that the plant would only serve as a backup power plant and NOT operate as a base load PJM grid power plant, except in true emergencies.
The Trump faux “Emergency” contradicts and wipes out those DEP commitments.
Therefore, it is incumbent on DEP to reopen and modify the PVSC air pollution permit to prevent the abuse just created by the Trump PJM Emergency declaration.
I petitioned DEP to reopen and modify the PVSC air permit under current DEP regulations - DEP clearly has the authority to do this and must do so in order to honor their commitments to the people of Newark.
I urge people join this petition and hold DEP accountable to their commitments:
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Bill WOLFE <>
To: "shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov" <shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov>
Cc: senbsmith <SenBSmith@njleg.org>, sengreenstein <sengreenstein@njleg.org>, "senmckeon@njleg.org" <senmckeon@njleg.org>, "sencruz@njleg.org" <sencruz@njleg.org>, "Hansen, Eric" <EHansen@njleg.org>, "Ruvo.Richard@epa.gov" <Ruvo.Richard@epa.gov>, Ken Dolsky <kdolsky@optonline.net>, Matthew Smith <msmith@fwwatch.org>, "dpringle1988@gmail.com" <dpringle1988@gmail.com>, domalley <domalley@environmentnewjersey.org>, "agoldsmith@cleanwater.org" <agoldsmith@cleanwater.org>
Date: 06/02/2025 4:43 PM EDT
Subject: Petition to reopen and modify PVSC Title V permit
Dear Commissioner LaTourette:
This petition is submitted pursuant to NJAC 7:27-22.25 - Department initiated operating permit modifications.
This petition seeks reopening and modifications of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission's Title V permit, given the US Secretary of Energy's May 30 Order than declared an "emergency" in the PJM grid. This declaration triggers a permit condition the Department established to protect the Newark community.
The technical and legal bases ("causes") for this petition to reopen and modify are the existence of substantial changes in conditions that conflict with the Department's legal and factual basis for issuing the permit and the fact the allowing operation under the permit "may adversely affect human health or welfare, or the environment". (@ 7::27-25(c))
The authority and regulatory basis for the petition are the following triggers in the subject permit regulations: (@ 7:27-22.5(e))
"1. ..... An additional applicable requirement which has become applicable to the facility and the remaining term of the existing permit is three years or more; or
ii. A change to an applicable requirement which was previously applicable to the facility and the remaining term of the existing permit is three years or more;
[2.]
"3. The Department or EPA determines that the permit contains a material mistake or that inaccurate statements were made in establishing the emissions standards, limitations or other provisions or conditions of the permit;
[4.]
5. The Department or EPA determines that the operating permit must be revised to assure compliance with applicable requirements."
In addition, the Department has a regulatory basis to reopen and modify pursuant to 7:27-25(h):
"(i) The Department may revoke an operating permit, or a portion of the operating permit, if the Department determines that continued use of the facility, or a portion of the facility, pursuant to the current operating permit, poses a potential threat to public health, welfare, or the environment, or that emissions from the facility would unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property."
The summary below documents the changes in conditions that have occurred since the subject permit was issued. These changed conditions conflict with the data and assumptions and permit conditions the Department relied on in issuing the subject permit.
During the course of the permit process and environmental justice review conducted under your Administrative Order, the people of Newark were given multiple assurances and commitments by the Department and yourself personally that the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission's proposed fossil fueled power plant was a back up power plant, and could not be operated as a grid source.
In fact, to enforce these commitments the Department inserted conditions in the Title V permit that limited hours of operation, but included a loophole under certain "emergency" conditions in the PJM grid.
As you know, on May 30, 2025 the US Secretary of Energy issued an Order that declared an "Emergency" in the PJM grid, see: Order No. 202-25-4
That Order relies on provisions of the Federal Power Act, specifically:
"FPA section 202(c)(2) requires the Secretary of Energy to ensure that any 202(c) order that may result in a conflict with a requirement of any environmental law be limited to the “hours necessary to meet the emergency and serve the public interest, and, to the maximum extent practicable,” be consistent with any applicable environmental law and minimize any adverse environmental impacts. To minimize adverse environmental impacts, this Order limits operation of dispatched units to the times and within the parameters determined by PJM for reliability purposes."
That Order constitutes an "additional applicable requirement" for the permit (7:27-25(e)1.)
Accordingly, the DEP PVSC permit conditions would be overridden by the Secretary of Energy, and would depend upon technical judgements of PJM (not EPA or NJ DEP).
Additionally, the Order's declared PJM emergency would trigger the emergency conditions in the PVSC permit, and allow the back up power plant to operate as a grid base load plant.
Accordingly, the assurances the Department made to the community have been violated by the subject Order and Emergency declaration.
The Emergency declaration would allow the PVSC plant to operate as a base load plant on a continuous basis. That would not only conflict with multiple assurances given the community by the Department, but it would also conflict with the technical assumptions for the emissions statements, technology review, risk assessment, and air quality impact assessment.
Given the unforeseen conditions created by the Secretary of Energy's Order and Emergency declaration, I petition the Department to reopen and modify the subject permit to provide protective permit conditions that would prevent being triggered by the Secretary's Order and honor the Department's commitments to the Newark community.
The applicable regulations provide clear authority to do so. Please do your job.
Bill Wolfe