New Jersey has decided to allow building a new backup power plant at one of the country’s largest sewage treatment facilities. The plant will be in Newark, and residents there have put up a hard fight against it. The existing plant dumped some 840 million gallons of raw sewage into waterways when Superstorm Sandy knocked out electricity there in 2012. Thursday's decision is the first major action under an environmental justice law designed to prevent additional pollution in overburdened communities. Officials say they new plant's design will mean a net decrease in pollution from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission facility. Residents say they already bear more than their fair share of pollution.
