Resiliency collides with environmental justice in power plan

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two of New Jersey’s big stated priorities — protecting the environment, and keeping minority communities from being overburdened with pollution — are about to collide in a decision over a backup power plant that would kick in when a sewage treatment system gets knocked offline. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission is expected to award a contract Thursday for the largest part of a $180 million backup power project. It’s designed to avoid a repeat of what happened after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 when nearly a billion gallons of raw sewage spilled into area waterways while the plant was knocked offline. But the plant sits near a neighborhood in Newark that residents say is already overburdened with pollution sources.