The following bills are up in the Senate Environment and Energy Meeting on Monday:

Reducing Food Waste S3027 (Smith) establishes State food waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030. The bill requires the DEP and DOA to jointly create and implement a plan to do so. This plan includes making recommendations for any administrative or legislative action deemed necessary to further progress toward achieving the State food waste reduction goal.

Food Waste in Schools S3030 (Greenstein) requires the DEP to establish voluntary guidelines for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education to reduce, recover, and recycle food waste. These guidelines would include education about the importance of reducing food waste, recommendations on how to incorporate this materials in curricula, how schools themselves can reduce waste, and how they can better dispose of food that is thrown away.

“We support efforts to reduce the amount of food wasted in New Jersey and across the world. About 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year worldwide. Our landfills are full to bursting and much of that food waste is unnecessary. Food waste wastes land, water, and costs taxpayers money. By working to reduce food waste, we can be more efficient in how we use the planet we live on,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Sewage Disposal S2914 (Greenstein) would prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from imposing certain certification requirements on installers of individual subsurface sewage disposal systems using products approved by the DEP in lieu of laterals or filter material and designed in accordance with certain State regulations and applicable Permits to Construct and Operate Treatment Works.

“I have some questions and concerns with this bill. We need to know if they still get inspected and signed off on by the town’s sanitarian? We need to know if they will get local permits. There is information missing from this bill,” said Jeff Tittel.

The following bills are up for a floor vote in the Senate on Monday:

Lead Testing Reimbursement A4284 (Quijano)/ S2675 (Diegnan) This bill provides that school districts may receive reimbursement for costs incurred on or after January 1, 2016 for testing school drinking water for lead. It has already passed the Assembly.

“This bill will encourage schools to do more and better lead testing. We need to test for lead in our schools because even a small amount can be dangerous, especially to children. Lead is especially a big problem in New Jersey currently and both substances can be toxic, especially to children. Even small amounts of it can lead to brain damage and learning disabilities. This bill is a step to reducing the amount of these toxins exposed to our communities and environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Vegetation Management S724 (Cruz-Perez) establishes “Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Program within the Department of Transportation. The Program would access roadside vegetation conditions and develop integrated vegetation management plans for them. They would consider issues such as climate control, erosion control, weed control, scenic quality, wildlife habitats, and utility easements. The bill also permits the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, and county and municipal governments to establish integrated roadside vegetation management programs. This bill has already passed the Assembly.

“We’ve allowed the sides of our roads to be clogged with invasive species of plants that can clog storm drains, create flooding, or hurt the environment. It’s important to start to properly manage the areas along New Jersey’s thousands of miles of road. This bill will help to deal with erosion, air pollution, water pollution, invasive species, and beautify our roads as well,” said Jeff Tittel.

Crude Oil by Rail Safety Task Force S2803 (Gordon) Creates New Jersey Crude Oil by Rail Safety Task Force. The task force is to study the risks and impact of the transport of crude oil by rail on public health and safety. The 13-member task for would recommend emergency response measures for emergency services personnel in the event of a derailment of a train carrying crude oil.

“It’s okay to have a Task Force but what we really need is action to help us deal with these oil bomb trains carrying explosive crude Bakken oil. These trains have led to derailments with train cars setting on fire, homes being destroyed, forced evacuations of entire towns, threatened water supplies, and human casualties. We need real action to ban these oil trains because they are carrying over 50 per week in our communities. Oil train accidents have occurred in Illinois, West Virginia, and most recently in the Columbia River Gorge. As the most densely populated state in the nation, a derailment in New Jersey wouldn’t be a disaster; it would be a tragedy threatening the lives of thousands,” said Jeff Tittel.

Blue and Green Acres S2997 (Smith) appropriates $59,532,000 from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues for State acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including Blue Acres projects, and capital and park development projects. This is a good bill because it will put some green into green acres. It will help preserve some open space and buy out flood-prone properties.

“Blue Acres is important in acquiring properties, removing structures, and restoring flood plains to their natural state. Having a state funding program for Blue Acres is important because federal money for buy-outs is only being used in a few communities impacted by Sandy like South River and Sayreville. Many of the communities along the coast or inland like Wayne, Rockaway, Manville, Oakland and others will not see any money. This keeps people stuck in homes that get flooded regularly. Also, many people along the coast will suffer. We’ve been devastated by storms and flooding, these homeowners need to be bought-out,” said Jeff Tittel.

Equal Pay for Women S992 (Weinberg) would stiffen penalties for employers who don’t pay women the same as men for similar jobs.

“The Sierra Club believes that for far too long women have been paid less than men for doing the same work. This inequality has to end and that’s why we support this bill,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.