Preview Newsletter
ACC AM July 13
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Oversight of Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 and Related Issues - See more at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/oversight-pipeline-safety-regulatory-certainty-and-job-creation-act-2011-and-related-issues#sthash.X
Jul 14, 2015 | Energy & Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building/ 9:15 AM -
Hearing to receive testimony on islanded energy systems: energy and infrastructure challenges and opportunities in Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. Territories.
Jul 14, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 10:00 AM -
Oversight Hearing on "The Fundamental Role of Safe Seismic Surveying in OCS Energy Exploration and Development"
Jul 14, 2015 | Committee on Natural Resources
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building/ 10:00 AM -
Challenges and Opportunities for Small Businesses Engaged in Energy Development and Energy Intensive Manufacturing
Jul 14, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Location: Small Business Committee Hearing Room, 428A Russell Senate Office Building/ 2:30 PM -
Nomination hearing for Kristen Kulinowski to CSB, Greg Nadeau to FHWA
Jul 15, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 9:30 AM -
Executive Session
Jul 15, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Location: Senate Russell Office Building, Room 253/ 10:00 AM -
Oversight Hearing on "The Future of Hydraulic Fracturing on Federally Managed Lands"
Jul 15, 2015 | Committee on Natural Resources
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building/ 10:00 AM -
Reviewing the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’s Role in the Regulatory Process
Jul 16, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Location: SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 2:00 PM -
Cybersecurity: The Department of the Interior
Jul 15, 2015 | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Location: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building/ 2:00 PM -
(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Energy Production Could Create Almost A Half-Million New Jobs, But Here's The Thing
Jul 11, 2015 | Plastics Today
By Clare Goldsberry
Energy resources in the United States offer a huge opportunity to send the U.S. economy on an upward trajectory that hasn't been seen since the mid to late 20th century. A new report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG; Boston) and Harvard Business School (HBS; Boston), titled America's Unconventional Energy Opportunity, addresses this... -
(ACC Mentioned) Polystyrene Maker's Boycott Claim Dismissed
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Eleanor Tyler
A company that developed a method for recycling polystyrene failed to provide evidence that large polystyrene manufacturers declined to purchase the resulting material as part of a conspiracy to exclude it from the market, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held July 10 ... -
(ACC Mentioned) Study: To Improve Recycling, Don't Crush Containers
Jul 10, 2015 | Plastics News
By Jim Johnson
Recycling would be well served if Americans reconsidered a long-held approach to how they handle their plastics and other recyclables. Crushing recyclables, including plastic bottles and containers, is an easy way to make more room in the recycling container. But that simple and time-tested practice actually can lead to a more difficult time for... -
(ACC Mentioned) US Trade Associations Co-Fund MRF Material Flow Study To Optimize Recycling Of Their Packaging After It Turns To Waste
Jul 10, 2015 | Food Production Daily
By Jenny Eagle
Five national trade associations in the US have joined forces on a project to find out how materials flow through different types of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to understand how to get more recyclables actually recycled. The Carton Council of North America, American Chemistry Council, Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers... -
(ACC Mentioned) 'MRF Material Flow Study' Pinpoints Sorting Inefficiencies
Jul 10, 2015 | Waste Dive
By Jonathan Barnes
Dive Brief: Five materials recovery facilities (MRF) of various sizes and streams were evaluated as part of a study commissioned to better understand the recycling of postconsumer packaging. The goal of the study — dubbed the "MRF Material Flow Study" — was to improve sorting inefficiencies and other factors that can lower recycling ... -
(ACC Mentioned) Is Microwaving In Plastic Safe? Tips To Reduce Your Risk
Jul 10, 2015 | WFLA News Channel 8
Before you pop that plastic container into the microwave, you might want to take a look at the fine print. A new study linking certain chemicals in plastics to a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure has experts offering several tips to reduce risk when putting plastics in the microwave or dish washer. -
(ACC Mentioned) National Academy of Sciences Confirms That Formaldehyde Can Cause Cancer in a Finding That Has Implications for Anatomic Pathology and Histology Laboratories Read more: National Academy of Sciences Confirms That Formaldehyde Can Cause Can
Jul 13, 2015 | Dark Daily
By Pamela Scherer McLeod
Pathologists, histotechnologists, and other medical laboratory professionals who regularly work with formalin and other chemicals used in histology laboratories, know they are dangerous to the health of those who work with them daily. These other chemicals include xylene and toluene. Last summer, the National Academy of Sciences (Academy)... -
TSCA-Reform Bills Get Congressional Analysis
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
Regulatory thresholds for restricting chemicals and regulatory options to manage them along with federal preemption of state regulations are among the issues the Congressional Research Service analyzed in a July 8 report. The CRS examined how three bills—S. 697, S. 725 and H.R. 2576—would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act. -
A New Frontier in Sun Protection
Jul 10, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Christine Lennon
A REFRESHING outdoor shower, an icy cocktail and a comfortable spot to watch the sunset: One could argue that the most relaxing parts of a sunny summer day don’t happen until it’s over. Keeping skin healthy in the bright light of day is hard work. The devotion to hats and rash guards, the careful selection ... -
PHMSA In The Spotlight As House Digs Into Safety Issues
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Hannah Northey
A top official from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will face tough questions before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee tomorrow about the agency's response to a series of high-profile oil spills in recent months. Stacy Cummings, PHMSA's interim executive director, will appear in front of the... -
PHMSA Official To Testify Before Congress Next Week
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Andrew Restuccia
Stacy Cummings, the interim head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee next week, according to an aide to the panel. Cummings will testify at a Tuesday hearing that will examine PHMSA's progress in implementing mandates... -
Plains Hit By New Oil Leak In Illinois
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Cleanup crews are working to keep crude oil that leaked from a Plains All American pumping station in southwestern Illinois from spreading into creeks and a local lake, according to local news reports. It was not immediately known how much oil had leaked from the station owned by Plains, the company behind the pipeline that spilled 101,00 ... -
Plains: 4,200-Gallon Illinois Oil Spill Reached Creek
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
The pipeline company behind the California oil spill said today that a new rupture at its pumping station in Illinois had leaked 4,200 gallons of oil, some of which reached a local creek. But it said the leak of crude had been stopped. “Plains has initiated its emergency response plan, and personnel are working with first responders and others... -
BLM Chief To Talk Fracking Rule Before House Lawmakers
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Geof Koss
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources this week will hear testimony on the future of fracking on public lands -- an issue complicated by a federal judge's order blocking a key federal rule.Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze is scheduled to testify at Wednesday's oversight hearing, which ... -
California Says More Data Needed on Frack Chemicals
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
Much more information is needed to adequately determine the potential public health and environmental impacts of hazardous chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in California, according to a report released by the state Natural Resources Agency. The peer-reviewed study, which was led by the California... -
Groups Back Oil Export Ban Repeal Legislation
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
House legislation that would end the 40-year-old ban on the export of crude oil picked up support from a coalition that includes labor groups, according to a letter sent to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and other leaders on the committee. The letter from the “Shale Energy Supply Chain” was signed ... -
Panel To Weigh Role Of Seismic Testing
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Geof Koss
A House subcommittee this week will delve into the use of seismic testing to explore for oil and gas deposits in the Outer Continental Shelf. Tomorrow's hearing of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources comes as the Obama administration is considering whether to open parts of the Atlantic Ocean... -
Horizontally Drilled Wells Use More Water, USGS Says
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tripp Baltz
A recent U.S. Geological Survey study about water usage in hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells is of concern, because it indicates the highest water use is taking place in drought-stricken areas, an environmentalist told Bloomberg BNA. “Some of the basins using the most water are in areas of the country... -
Without Gas in the Tank, Senate Stays Course on Highways
Jul 12, 2015 | Roll Call
By Matthew Fleming and Nicole Puglise
Senate Republicans are confident they’ll take up a highway extension this week — though the bill’s duration and pay-for are still up in the air. Senators from both parties are mulling suggestions that range from a kick-the-can plan to fund the highway account through the 2016 elections to a more ambitious proposal... -
Solar Can Supply Oil Industry's Need for Energy
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alex Longley
Solar energy developers may be able to earn $100 billion or more by selling equipment to the oil industry for extracting heavy grades of crude, the head of the company that is developing the world's biggest solar heat plant said.Rod MacGregor, chief executive officer of GlassPoint Solar Inc., said the oil industry's demand for energy... -
Groups Press for Changes to Clean Power Plan
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
Some of the nation's largest electric companies met the week of July 6 with senior White House officials on the Environmental Protection Agency's soon-to-be-finalized Clean Power Plan, meeting records show. Among the major groups and companies meeting with the White House Office of Management and Budget were... -
State Regulators Meet This Week To Talk Compliance
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Emily Holden and Rod Kuckro
State electricity regulators are gathering in New York this week for their summer meetings, and, as might be expected, aspects of how U.S. EPA's forthcoming Clean Power Plan might affect their jobs are a prominent focus of discussions. Michigan Public Service Commission member Greg White will lead a discussion on the role the nation's... -
Small Business Panel To Hear About Energy Development, Manufacturing
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Ben Panko
A Senate committee tomorrow will discuss how small businesses tackle energy development and high-use manufacturing. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will focus on the "Challenges and Opportunities for Small Businesses Engaged in Energy Development and Energy Intensive Manufacturing," the hearing title says. -
States Consider Defying Obama Climate Rule
Jul 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Governors of some conservative states are threatening to disregard President Obama’s signature climate rule for power plants, potentially creating a showdown with the federal government. Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation hope that the decisions by the six governors ... Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation hope that the decisions by the six governors -
DOE Stops Payments for Carbon Storage Project
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
The Energy Department has ceased stimulus funding payments for a California carbon capture and sequestration project, saying the project being developed by SCS Energy LLC has “failed to meet certain milestones” required as part of a $408 million grant. The $4 billion Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project in Kern County, Calif... -
Trade Group Hires Policy Chief To Put Its Interests 'On The Menu'
Jul 10, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Katherine Ling
The Energy Storage Association announced the hiring today of its first full-time policy and advocacy director. Jason Burwen will direct the trade group's efforts to "bring energy storage to the forefront as a key driver of innovation in our electric grid and help open fair and competitive markets for safe, reliable energy storage systems," Matt Roberts... -
EPA Sued Over Refinery, Chemical Site Emissions
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Air Alliance Houston and three other environmental groups asked a federal appeals court to review the Environmental Protection Agency's updated emissions factors for refineries and chemical manufacturing plants (Air Alliance Houston v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1210, 7/10/15). In a lawsuit filed July 10, the four organizations challenged an EPA... -
EPA Use Of 'Co-Benefits' To Justify Air Rules Uncertain After MACT Ruling
Jul 10, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA's long-running practice of citing “co-benefits” of reducing pollutants not targeted by a rule in order to justify the regulation faces an uncertain future following the Supreme Court ruling remanding the agency's utility air toxics rule to an appellate court, observers say, as the ruling suggests both support for and opposition to the practice. -
EPA to Start Two-Year Clock on Transport Plans
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An Environmental Protection Agency finding that 24 states have failed to submit adequate plans for addressing interstate pollution will go into effect on Aug. 12, triggering a two-year deadline for the EPA to either approve sufficient state plans or issue a federal plan. The EPA July 13 is scheduled to publish its finding that California... -
States Are Unplugging Their Renewable-Energy Mandates
Jul 10, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Donald Bryson and Jeff Glendening
When it comes to state energy policies, the wind is finally blowing in the right direction. Take our home states of Kansas and North Carolina, both of which have begun to look at their renewable-energy mandates with new skepticism. In May, Kansas effectively repealed its Renewable Portfolio Standard... -
California Is Overusing Its Natural Resources
Jul 11, 2015 | The Sacramento Bee
By Mathis Wackernagel
The drought in California has made the economic risks of living beyond the means of nature all too clear. Just last month, estimates pegged the state’s economic losses from the drought at $2.7 billion, an enormous number that still fails to capture the toll on individual farmers and farmworkers. -
Duke Energy Steps Up Bid To Block Environmentalists' CWA Coal Ash Suits
Jul 10, 2015 | InsideEPA
By David LaRoss
Duke Energy is seeking to bolster its bids to stay or dismiss two Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suits over coal ash leaks from its impoundments in North Carolina, arguing that the environmentalists' suits in federal court are redundant with the state's own enforcement actions, and that the facilities at issue are already in the process of closing. -
Boosting Enforcement Among Priorities for PHMSA Nominee
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Boosting the enforcement capabilities of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration would be among the top priorities for Marie Therese Dominguez, the nominee to head the agency, according to a questionnaire released by a Senate committee July 10. Dominguez would also seek to fill staffing holes in the agency...
Congressional Hearings
Industry and Association News
Chemical Management News
Chemical Security News
Energy and Environment News
Transportation News
Full Text of Stories Below
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Jul 14, 2015 | Energy & Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building/ 9:15 AM
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Jul 14, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 10:00 AM
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Jul 14, 2015 | Committee on Natural Resources
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building/ 10:00 AM
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Jul 14, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Location: Small Business Committee Hearing Room, 428A Russell Senate Office Building/ 2:30 PM
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Nomination hearing for Kristen Kulinowski to CSB, Greg Nadeau to FHWA
Jul 15, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 9:30 AM
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Jul 15, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Location: Senate Russell Office Building, Room 253/ 10:00 AM
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Oversight Hearing on "The Future of Hydraulic Fracturing on Federally Managed Lands"
Jul 15, 2015 | Committee on Natural Resources
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building/ 10:00 AM
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Reviewing the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’s Role in the Regulatory Process
Jul 16, 2015 | U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Location: SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building/ 2:00 PM
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Cybersecurity: The Department of the Interior
Jul 15, 2015 | Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Location: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building/ 2:00 PM
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Jul 11, 2015 | Plastics Today
By Clare Goldsberry
Energy resources in the United States offer a huge opportunity to send the U.S. economy on an upward trajectory that hasn't been seen since the mid to late 20th century. A new report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG; Boston) and Harvard Business School (HBS; Boston), titled America's Unconventional Energy Opportunity, addresses this opportunity and, more importantly, why we're not taking advantage of it.
One interesting observation made by BCG and HBS about the obstacles to taking full advantage of America's energy resources is a "divisive and often misinformed debate about unconventional gas-and-oil resources" that is "jeopardizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change America's economic and energy trajectory." BCG defines the term "unconventional gas-and-oil resources" as shale gas and oil resources as well as tight gas and oil resources accessed and extracted through the process of hydraulic fracturing.
At a time when the U.S. economy is stuck in neutral, job prospects have declined with the lowest labor participation rate since World War II and wages are stagnant, the report notes there is "an urgent need for the U.S. to get on a new path" by taking full advantage of the energy resources development that can put us back on top. BCG, based on the Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project, concludes that "America's poor economic performance is not cyclical but structural, and it reflects an erosion of the nation's fundamental competitiveness."
While large, multinational corporations are performing quite well, small businesses aren't so fortunate. They are "registering eroding performance, and business failures have outnumbered new startups from 2009 through 2012—the last year of available data—for the first time since at least the 1970s," says the BCG report. What can change this, it adds, is the "global energy advantage" of the United States, with wholesale natural-gas prices averaging about one-third of those in most other industrial countries and industrial electricity prices 30 to 50% lower than in other major export nations.
While the recent decline in oil prices slowed production of domestic natural gas and oil, the U.S. has had a 10- to 15-year head start in commercializing unconventional resources versus other countries. BCG believes that even with low crude prices, these are "unlikely to significantly impact the fundamental U.S. competitive advantage over the next several decades."
All of that is good news for the plastics industry. The American Chemistry Council (ACC), in a report issued in May, The Rising Competitive Advantage of U.S. Plastics, noted that "the surge of natural gas production from shale has reversed the fortunes of the U.S. plastics industry" and "has changed the competitive landscape for U.S. plastics." Companies are capitalizing on this boon, as the ACC is tracking $130 billion of new investment in chemical manufacturing capacity announced since 2010 to be put in place over the next decade.
This includes nearly $25 billion of investments in new plastic resin capacity; investments of $2.5 billion to increase capacity in plastics compounding, additives and colorants; and investments totaling $19.6 billion in new plastic products capacity to consume that resin. "The combined output from the new investments," said the ACC, "in compounding and ancillary chemistries (additives, colorants and so forth) and products will be $46.98 billion."
That translates into jobs, with the ACC estimating that the plastics industry will directly generate a total of 127,500 jobs, with the affected supply chain adding 172,900 indirect jobs to support the industries that supply materials, utilities, parts and services. Payroll is estimated to be $19.1 billion, with 161,000 "payroll-induced jobs" supported from the gain in shale-advantaged plastics industry output. A combined 461,800 direct, indirect and payroll-induced new jobs will be created because of shale-advantaged production.
However rosy that picture may look, there are roadblocks ahead. The BCG notes in its report that despite these major benefits, "public support for unconventional energy development and especially hydraulic fracturing, is decidedly mixed and seems to be declining. Further development is increasingly threatened. Opposition reflects both legitimate concerns over local environmental climate impacts, and widespread confusion over the facts."
In June a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found hydraulic fracturing has not caused widespread harm to U.S. drinking water, but still poses many threats to water. "We found that hydraulic fracturing processes are being carried out in a way that has not led to widespread systems impact on drinking water," said Thomas Burke of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While the development of unconventional energy does pose some environmental risks, the BCG and HBS said that their research reveals that real progress is being made in managing these risks "at a cost that does not threaten competitiveness. . . . There is no inherent trade-off between environmental protection and company profitability. With sound regulation and strong compliance, the cost of environmental performance is modest and gives companies a level playing field on which to compete."
The study also found that America's unconventional energy development and its transition to alternative forms of energy are actually complementary. "Natural gas is the only fuel that can cost-effectively deliver large-scale carbon emissions reductions over the next 20 years while also providing a bridge to achieving even lower carbon solutions over the long term," said the report.
That's good science, and good news for all of us in the plastics industry.
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(ACC Mentioned) Polystyrene Maker's Boycott Claim Dismissed
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Eleanor Tyler
A company that developed a method for recycling polystyrene failed to provide evidence that large polystyrene manufacturers declined to purchase the resulting material as part of a conspiracy to exclude it from the market, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held July 10 (Evergreen Partnering Grp., Inc. v. PacTiv Corp., D. Mass., No. 1:11-cv-10807-RGS, 7/10/15).
Judge Richard G. Stearns granted summary judgment against all of Evergreen Partnering Group Inc.'s claims and dismissed its lawsuit.
Evergreen developed a “closed-loop” business model for the recycling of polystyrene products, but it did not manufacture any such products itself. As such, it sought to partner with a company with enough production capacity to convert its recycled product—food-grade post-consumer polystyrene resin—into recycled products.
Evergreen alleged that all the available manufacturers refused to form a partnership with Evergreen as part of a conspiracy to boycott recycled products that violated Sherman Act §1, 15 U.S.C. §1, and the Massachusetts Fair Business Practices Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A.
Defendants Cite Market Forces
The defendants countered that the recycled product cost several multiples of virgin polystyrene and that market forces caused them to reject Evergreen's business proposition.
Stearns had previously granted the defendants' motion to dismiss Evergreen's claims. The First Circuit, reversing and remanding for further consideration, held that Evergreen stated a plausible antitrust claim.
On remand, Judge Stearns determined that Evergreen did not deduce evidence necessary to create a fact issue on the question whether the defendants agreed to boycott Evergreen. “Ultimately, discovery has demonstrated that Evergreen's business model failed because it could not thrive, or even survive, in a competitive capitalist economy,” the court concluded. “Antitrust law is simply not the appropriate vehicle for forcing environmental choices on a recalcitrant market, if indeed recycled polystyrene can be deemed an ‘environmental choice.' ”
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(ACC Mentioned) Study: To Improve Recycling, Don't Crush Containers
Jul 10, 2015 | Plastics News
By Jim Johnson
Recycling would be well served if Americans reconsidered a long-held approach to how they handle their plastics and other recyclables.
Crushing recyclables, including plastic bottles and containers, is an easy way to make more room in the recycling container. But that simple and time-tested practice actually can lead to a more difficult time for today’s material recycling facilities, says the new MRF Material Flow Study report commissioned by a handful of trade groups.
“If we keep the containers looking like containers, they are less likely to wind up in the paper stream. So the less flat they are the better, the more likely they are to get to their intended place,” said Resa Dimino, director of public policy at the National Association for PET Container Resources.
NAPCOR is one of five trade groups that commissioned the report by Resource Recycling Systems Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., in conjunction with Reclay StewardEdge Inc. and Moore Recycling Associates Inc.
Keeping containers looking like containers, and not crushing them, certainly is a change in the approach that recyclers historically have suggested. Curbside recycling started out with hand-held bins, where space has always been a premium.
But this is not 1985 anymore, or 1995, or even 2005.
While those bins certainly still are used in many communities around the country, they also are giving way to larger roll-out carts with much more room for citizen recyclers. That extra room, where available, means consumers do not have to be so worried about finding enough room for all of their recyclables in the container.
“I think that some of the most significant finds are that we can impact the success rate of our recycling efforts through some fairly simple and straightforward actions,” Dimino said.
Reeducating longtime recyclers to no longer crush their plastic bottles or steel cans, for that matter, might be challenging.
But Dimino said that times have changed for recycling over the years, and education about best practices for modern recycling equipment needs to be in place.
“A lot of our education and outreach is still focused on the MRFs of the early ‘90s, the dual stream MRFs. ... For efficiency sake, you wanted to crush everything and get that through. But in today’s facilities, it doesn’t work that way anymore,” she said.
Today’s MRFs are designed to best handle and separate materials when they are in their original shape, the report finds.
“The study found that three-dimensional objects [packages in their original form] vs. two-dimensional [flattened/crushed objects] have a higher likelihood of making it through the system to the appropriate container lines and bales,” said Jim Frey, CEO of Resource Recycling Systems, in a statement.
“This is not only a helpful finding but an actionable one which illustrates that even everyday actions in the home can help boost recovery,” he said.
That’s because the flattened containers have more of a chance of being mistaken for paper by sorting equipment.
The compaction issue is not limited to just the home.
Waste and recycling collection companies rely on compaction to create efficiencies on routes that can easily have more than a thousand customer stops during a single shift.
Dimino said that recycling routes, unlike garbage routes, do not typically run up against truck capacity issues, however.
“We’ve learned over the years that recycling trucks are rarely filled to capacity. They run out of time before they run out of space,” she said.
“I think for the carting community, the waste handling community, it’s worth a look at how much do we really need to compact in the collection truck and what’s the least compaction you can get away with and still run an efficient route,” she said.
And once the material does end up at the MRF, Domino said, there are compaction opportunities there as well. Recyclables are typically emptied onto what is called a tipping floor at the front of the recycling line. That’s where front-end loaders are used to feed the material onto the recycling lines.
But those multi-ton loaders also can end up running over the mixed recycling stream as well during the process.
“Once it gets to the MRF, there’s a lot of things that get run over by a front-end loader as the machine is pushing material around, so often just being more careful and thoughtful about not compacting the materials through various MRF operating techniques,” she said.
The report also suggests that form, material type and rigidity “have a significant effect on a product’s ‘sortability’ in the MRF.”
“Lightweighting of plastics can decrease recovery in a single-stream MRF due to loss to the paper streams,” the report states.
Lighter weight bottles these days are simply easier to crush compared to their counterparts from years ago, Dimino said.
Adding equipment, and properly maintaining disc screens that are designed to separate paper from heavier recyclables, also can help separate two-dimensional recyclables, think paper, from three-dimensional materials, think containers.
“MRFs who maintain those screens where that separation happens, maintains them more actively, have better outcomes as well,” Dimino said. “You can start to see how some of the financial investment in things like maintenance might pay off in terms of additional material value.”
Disc screens are designed to allow paper to ride along on top and separate from other recyclables that fall through. But when these disc screens become clogged, they also end up routing more than just paper along to the fiber sorting portion of the MRF.
The increased use of plastic bags and other films have been a particular nemesis to MRFs in recent years as they become entangled in these screens and block the containers and bottles and such from falling through to their own sorting line.
A total of five MRFs in the United States were selected to examine both single-stream recycling, where all recyclables are placed in the same bin by customers, and dual-stream recycling, where the paper fraction is kept separate. The different MRFs also represented different throughputs and recycling material options.
Aside from NAPCOR, other groups behind the report are the Carton Council, the American Chemistry Council, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers and the Foodservice Packaging Institute.
Having all of those groups come together to examine the issue, Dimino said, “is a very good sign for our industry moving forward.”
“I think it’s a great indicator of the kind of collaboration that’s happening across industry groups these days,” she said.
Municipalities can help by regularly communicating with their MRFs to understand the behavior of materials while they are being sorted, the report states. Municipalities also must continually educate their residents regarding contamination gas the list of acceptable materials continues to grow.
Municipalities also can plan a role in educating consumers to not crush their recyclables to improve the likelihood of their recovery once they hit the MRF, the report states.
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Jul 10, 2015 | Food Production Daily
By Jenny Eagle
Five national trade associations in the US have joined forces on a project to find out how materials flow through different types of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to understand how to get more recyclables actually recycled.
The Carton Council of North America, American Chemistry Council, Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, Foodservice Packaging Institute and the National Association for PET Container Resources co-funded a MRF Material Flow Study to find ways to optimize the recycling of their packaging after it goes into the trash. Changes to the sorting processes could improve recovery
They looked at where packages end up in a sorting facility, why packages flow in certain ways and what potential changes to the sorting processes could improve recovery.
The report states: “This study examined the behavior of numerous individual products in the MRF, yielding data on cups, clamshells, containers, domes/trays, bottles, tubs, lids, gable-top and aseptic cartons, and other materials.”
The three goals were: to learn how materials similar to the test samples and other study materials would flow through typical MRF environments; determine which of the study materials, not currently accepted by MRFs, could potentially be recycled using existing
MRF infrastructure; and start to develop an understanding of what sort processes could be modified to allow effective recovery of sample materials.
It found the form of a package had a strong influence on the loss of packaging to the paper streams. Plastic clamshells had a higher likelihood of flattening and moving with the paper streams. Bottles, cups and container had lower loss rates
The rounder materials (including bottles, cups and containers) had lower loss rates, and less than 5% was lost at the top performing MRFs. Small, lightweight water bottles were more likely than other bottles to move with the paper with a loss rate of 15%.
Cups, containers and clamshells still enter the MRFs in much lower quantities than bottles. They made up 11% of the plastics stream, even with the seeded materials.
The MRFs chosen to represent a wide diversity of facilities process recyclables nationwide included;
• 1 dual stream and 4 single stream facilities
• Throughput range (tons per hour): 10 tph – 35 tph
• Four different equipment manufacturers
• Number of optical sorters ranged from 0–5
• Varying combinations of disc screens and other mechanical separation equipment.
Jim Frey, CEO, Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) said everyone plays a role in ensuring recycling is effective and efficient, and there are actions that can be taken at all steps in the process to ensure items get their maximum value when they are recycled.
“One such action is asking residents, and other recycling customers, not to flatten items before placing them in recycling containers,” he said.
Best practices for accurate 2d/3d separation in single stream MRFs:
• Avoid loading screens past their
design throughput
• Clean screens of material that are
wrapped around the shafts
• Replace worn and damaged discs
• Minimize compaction of material by
residents and collection trucks
• Keep material dry
“The study found three-dimensional objects (packages in their original form) versus two-dimensional (flattened/crushed objects) have a higher likelihood of making it through the system to the appropriate container lines and bales. This is not only a helpful finding but an actionable one which shows even everyday actions in the home can boost recovery.”
The organizations are now looking to finding ways to apply this knowledge to increase recovery and work closely with stakeholders, such as communities and facilities. The study was developed and delivered by RRS, Reclay StewardEdge and Moore Recycling Associates.
The five national trade associations:
THE AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL
The Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents resin manufacturers and advocates for unlimited opportunities for plastics and promotes their economic, environmental and societal benefits.THE ASSOCIATION OF POSTCONSUMER PLASTIC RECYLERS
APR represents companies who acquire, reprocess and sell the byproduct of more than 90% of the postconsumer plastic processing capacity in the US, Canada and Mexico.THE CARTON COUNCIL
The Carton Council is composed of four carton manufacturers, Elopak, SIG Combibloc, Evergreen Packaging and Tetra Pak, and associate member, Weyerhaeuser.THE FOODSERVICE PACKAGING INSTITUTE
Established in 1933, the FPI is the trade association for the foodservice packaging industry in North America. FPI's members include raw material and machinery suppliers, packaging converters, foodservice distributors and operators/retailers.THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PET CONTAINER RESOURCES
Founded in 1987, NAPCOR is the trade association for the PET plastic packaging industry in the US and Canada. NAPCOR is dedicated to promoting the PET package; to overcoming hurdles to the successful recycling of PET; and to communicating the attributes of the PET container as a sustainable package. -
(ACC Mentioned) 'MRF Material Flow Study' Pinpoints Sorting Inefficiencies
Jul 10, 2015 | Waste Dive
By Jonathan Barnes
Dive Brief: Five materials recovery facilities (MRF) of various sizes and streams were evaluated as part of a study commissioned to better understand the recycling of postconsumer packaging. The goal of the study — dubbed the "MRF Material Flow Study" — was to improve sorting inefficiencies and other factors that can lower recycling volumes and create missed opportunities for revenue. The National Association for PET Container Resources, The Foodservice Packaging Institute, The Carton Council of North America, The American Chemistry Council, and The Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers all commissioned the study.The study found that an average of 3% to 12% of plastics, including bottles and containers, are lost to the paper stream in an MRF. Additionally, it found that three-dimensional objects, such as packages in their original form, have a higher likelihood of making it through the MRF into the appropriate containers as opposed to flattened or crushed objects. Dive Insight:It is estimated that $11.4 billion of postconsumer packaging is "wasted" each year, meaning that it does not get recycled properly — regardless of if it's sent to an MRF. By conducting this study, researchers have developed ways that recycling can be improved both by consumers and by industry employees within recycling facilities.
"The study reinforced that everyone plays a role in ensuring recycling is effective and efficient, and that there are actions that can be taken at all steps in the process to help ensure items get their maximum value when they are recycled,” said Resource Recycling Systems CEO Jim Frey, one of the architects of the study. “One such action is asking residents, and other recycling customers, not to flatten items before placing them in recycling containers."
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(ACC Mentioned) Is Microwaving In Plastic Safe? Tips To Reduce Your Risk
Jul 10, 2015 | WFLA News Channel 8
Before you pop that plastic container into the microwave, you might want to take a look at the fine print.
A new study linking certain chemicals in plastics to a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure has experts offering several tips to reduce risk when putting plastics in the microwave or dish washer.
In a study published in the medical journal “Hypertension” conducted by NYU Langone Medical Center, two chemical substitutes that are used in place of a chemical known as DEHP to strengthen plastic wrap, soap, cosmetics and processed food containers have correlated with a rise in the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes in children. The two substitute compounds are known as phthalates, a class of chemical, and the takeaway from the study is to be aware of what plastics make up that container you are putting in the microwave or dishwasher.
“The FDA does regulate the plastics that come in contact with food, and the most important take-home message is to read the label on the package or the container,” Dr. Natalie Azar, NBC News medical director, told Hoda Kotb on TODAY Thursday. “If it says, ‘microwave safe,’ it is microwave safe. If it contains the recycling numbers 3, 6 and 7 on the other hand, then you know that those products were actually made with those chemicals of concern.”
“Those are the things that you might not want to microwave, (and) you might not want to put them in the dishwasher because it gets so hot. You want to hand wash it.”
The researchers analyzed data from a national health and nutrition examination survey of 356 children ages 12 to 19 taken between 2008 and 2012 for urinary levels of the two chemical compounds. Azar stressed that there is no direct link between heating the plastics and medical issues in children.
“It was definitely not a study that was meant or designed to look specifically at these plastics and their health effects on children,” she said. “That’s very important to get out from the beginning. But they found a correlation or an association between some of these compounds and a higher risk of hypertension in these kids. Observational only. It was absolutely not a cause-and-effect finding.”
A Columbia University study from last year linked prenatal exposure to phthalates to lower IQ.
“Phthalates are among the most thoroughly studied family of chemicals and government regulatory bodies support the safety of phthalates for consumer uses,” the American Chemical Council said in a statement to TODAY. “Phthalates are highly unlikely to be used in microwaveable plastics, however any material that is intended for food contact is reviewed and approved as safe by the FDA.”
Glass containers are another option for those with concerns, and Azar said checking the surface of a plastic container is also important before microwaving it.
“Once they’re scratched they’re at a higher risk of leaching out those chemicals,” she said. “It doesn’t mean you should suddenly stop microwaving your Tupperware. Those things are regulated enough, we believe, to consider them safe enough for use.”
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Jul 13, 2015 | Dark Daily
By Pamela Scherer McLeod
Pathologists, histotechnologists, and other medical laboratory professionals who regularly work with formalin and other chemicals used in histology laboratories, know they are dangerous to the health of those who work with them daily. These other chemicals include xylene and toluene.
Last summer, the National Academy of Sciences (Academy) issued a statement declaring that the Academy concurs with the 2011 Report of Carcinogens (RoC) listing formaldehyde as a known cause of cancer in humans. It was in August when the Academy issued its statement on this issue.
Exposure to Formaldehyde Linked to Three Types of Cancer
The Report of Carcinogens concluded that there is positive correlation between exposure to formaldehyde and three types of cancer:
• Myeloid leukemia;
• Nasopharyngeal cancer; and,
• Sinonasal cancer.
Formalin is a form of formaldehyde, and for this reason the findings of the National Academy of Sciences will be of particular interest to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers who are responsible for health and safety in histology and cytology laboratories.
The decision by the Academy’s National Research Council (NRC) to confirm the 2011 National Toxicology Program (NTP) report that listed formaldehyde as a carcinogen was reported in a Chemical Regulation Reporter story.
Workers in Pathology Labs at Risk of Formaldehyde Exposure
Pathology laboratory technicians are among specific types of workers at greater risk of exposure to formaldehyde, according to the National Cancer Institute website. “Reducing exposure to cancer-causing agents is something we all want, and the Report on Carcinogens provides important information on substances that pose a cancer risk,” observed Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., Director of both the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the NTP, in a news release.
In its 2011 Report of Carcinogens, the NTP upgraded its classification of formaldehyde to “known to be a human carcinogen.” As early as its 1981 report, NTP scientists had classified formaldehyde as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
Chemical Industry Balks at Classifying Formaldehyde as a Known Carcinogen
The chemical industry balked at the upgrade, because of formaldehyde’s wide use. “For years, the chemical industry has been winning a political battle to keep formaldehyde from being declared a known carcinogen,” wrote journalist David Heath in a Center for Public Integrity (CPI) story.
Formaldehyde is considered a “building block” chemical, according to the CPI story. It is used in many consumer products. Among other things, these include, pressed wood, paper product coatings, permanent-press fabrics, glues and adhesives, and fiberglass, noted a fact sheet.
Formalin is a water-based solution of formaldehyde that is used extensively in mortuaries and pathology laboratories as a preservative and fixative.
Congress Orders a Review of These Findings by the Academy
In response to industry opposition, Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enlist the Academy to critique the 2011 RoC. Additionally, it directed the Academy to conduct an independent assessment regarding the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde.
Established in 1978, the National Toxicology Program is an inter-agency program run by HHS. The NTP is charged with coordinating, evaluating, and reporting on toxicology within public agencies, according to Wikipedia. It involves:
• The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, the administrative lead);
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and,
• The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) National Center for Toxicological Research.
The National Research Council Studied Key Issues
The NRC reviewed the NTP’s assessment to determine whether its conclusion was sufficiently supported by existing scientific data, according to its report titled, “Review of the Formaldehyde Assessment in the National Toxicology Program 12th Report on Carcinogens.” Specifically, the council’s mission was to determine:
1. Whether NTP had described and conducted its literature search appropriately;
2. Whether the relevant literature identified during the literature search was cited and sufficiently described in the background document;
3. Whether NTP had selected the most informative studies in making its listing determinations; and,
4. Whether NTP’s arguments supported its conclusion that formaldehyde is known to be a human carcinogen.
“The committee concludes that NTP comprehensively considered available evidence and applied the listing criteria appropriately in reaching its conclusion,” the NRC scientists wrote in their report. “The committee agrees with NTP’s conclusion, which is based on evidence published by June 10, 2011.”
Additionally, the NCR performed a Congressionally-mandated independent assessment of the draft United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) assessment of formaldehyde. NRC concurred with the EPA’s IRIS data and conclusions.
Pushback as Chemical Industry Tries to Put Findings into Context
“[I]t is important to note that formaldehyde can continue to be safely used,” stated Cal Dooley, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in a news release. The ACC represents major U.S. chemical manufacturers. The ACC’s Formaldehyde Panel includes producers and users of formaldehyde, according to the release.
Some scientists responded strongly to the continued opposition of the ACC. “This NAS formaldehyde report . . . [is] the strongest possible statement from the scientific community,” declared Jennifer Sass, Ph.D., a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on the NRDC staff blog. “[T]he chemical industry [opposition] added up to little more than a baseless defense of their toxic products,” wrote Sass.
Safety Officers at Medical Laboratories Want to Reduce Worker Exposure
Many pathologists, histotechnologists, and clinical laboratory managers are aware of ongoing efforts to better understand the risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals such as formalin, xylene, and toluene. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted and published about the risk of exposure to these chemicals by medical laboratory workers.
One such study was conducted in New Zealand and was reported by Dark Daily. The published study involved staff exposure to certain chemicals. Researchers determined that medical laboratory technicians who handle common solvents develop autoimmune connective tissue diseases in increased numbers.
The study was conducted at the University of Otago, in Wellington, New Zealand. Researchers asked all the histology laboratories and cytology laboratories in New Zealand to participate in the study. Notably, every laboratory department in the nation agreed and provided data and access to laboratory workers.
Study Found Histotechs at High Risk of Reynaud’s Phenomenon
The findings were published in the June 15, 2011, issue of Journal of Rheumatology. It offered credible evidence that clinical laboratory technicians, pathologists, and scientists who work with toluene and xylene double their chances of developing a vascular condition known as Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). And for those who work with toluene and xylene combined with acetone or chlorinated solvents, the chance of developing severe RP increases by a factor of nine!
Because anatomic pathology laboratories have workers who frequently work with chemicals such as formalin, xylene, and toluene, health and safety managers at these labs are constantly working to both reduce exposure to these chemicals as well as develop work processes that eliminate the need to use such chemicals in processing and preserving specimens.
In recognition of studies that identify the cancer risk of exposure to such chemicals as formalin, xylene and toluene, some anatomic pathology vendors are developing products designed to minimize or eliminate the need to use such chemicals in the processing and fixing tissue. One company that was one of the first to introduce automated tissue processing systems that don’t require formalin and similar chemicals is Milestone Medical. It offers an automated tissue processing system that allows the operator to choose “formalin or formalin-free fixation” and “xylene or xylene-free clearing.”
Milestone Medical is among the first of the histopathology companies to recognize the demand by some histology laboratories for automated processing solutions that reduce the staff’s direct exposure to chemicals. In recognition of the strong interest that pathology laboratories have in cutting costs while improving safety, Dark Daily published a white paper about the use of vacuum-sealing technology in histology laboratories and operating theaters. The white paper, Advances in Pathology Tissue Management Reduce Formalin Use, Improve Quality and Cut Costs, is available for immediate download.
How quickly the anatomic pathology profession moves away from regular use of such chemicals as formalin, xylene, and toluene as a way to reduce worker exposure and keep them safer and healthier remains an open question. The use of these chemicals dates back to the origins of pathology with Rudolf Virchow, M.D. and his peers in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Even today, the contribution of these agents to sustained quality in the processing and preservation of lab specimens is widely-accepted.
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TSCA-Reform Bills Get Congressional Analysis
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
Regulatory thresholds for restricting chemicals and regulatory options to manage them along with federal preemption of state regulations are among the issues the Congressional Research Service analyzed in a July 8 report. The CRS examined how three bills—S. 697, S. 725 and H.R. 2576—would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act. For example, the two senate bills would give the Environmental Protection Agency discretion to require chemical manufacturers and processors to conduct toxicity or other tests of chemicals for various reasons. Under H.R. 2576, the EPA would be required to make certain findings before it could require such data, and testing could only be required if the agency required that data to conduct a risk evaluation, the CRS said. Two of the three bills have received congressional action since being introduced. The House approved H.R. 2576, the TSCA Modernization Act, by a 398–1 vote June 23 (121 DEN A-1, 6/24/15). The Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee approved S. 697, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, April 28 on a 15–5 vote. The CRS report is available at http://op.bna.com/env.nsf/r?Open=prio-9yangm.
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A New Frontier in Sun Protection
Jul 10, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Christine Lennon
A REFRESHING outdoor shower, an icy cocktail and a comfortable spot to watch the sunset: One could argue that the most relaxing parts of a sunny summer day don’t happen until it’s over. Keeping skin healthy in the bright light of day is hard work. The devotion to hats and rash guards, the careful selection of sunscreen and thorough application and reapplication every 90 minutes is at best tedious, and when children are involved, the process can be truly demoralizing. But once the towels are hung on the line, in the soft light of dusk, your work is done. Right?
Not so fast.
Though women have been pummeled with information on sunscreen and other UV-protection products, few know what they can do to minimize sun damage after they go inside. Christine Lennon and Dr. Darrell Rigal join Tanya Rivero. Photo: Getty
A new school of thought in the beauty world is pushing the idea that what you put on your skin after a day at the beach could play a part in reducing sun damage. One proponent of the concept is Hillary Peterson, founder of Bay Area-based company True Nature Botanicals. Ms. Peterson, a former marketing executive, began to explore the use of all-natural products several years ago after surviving melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.
Her take on sun exposure is refreshingly pragmatic. “The message with…protection has been to stay out of [the sun],” said Ms. Peterson. “But I’m on the phone with you from Hawaii and can see at least 40 people on the beach, soaking in the rays. My kids are outside playing. I know that it’s not realistic to say ‘no sun.’ ”
She is, however, quite knowledgeable about how to be safe when you’re in the sun. (She’s also called on Terrence Collins, the Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University as a consultant to formulate her line.) Ms. Peterson has long been aware of the role that antioxidants play in protecting skin from UV damage. (A groundbreaking study in 1996 proved antioxidants like vitamins C and E can boost the efficacy of sunscreen and make skin more resistant to damage.) She even brews antioxidant-rich green tea, lets it cool and puts it in a spray bottle. “I spritz my kids with it before I apply sunscreen and again after they come out of the sun,” she said.
Now, a new study by Yale University cancer researchers, published this year, shows that the cell-damaging effects of ultra-violet rays may continue for some time after you seek cover. Ergo, it may be necessary to draw out the day’s protective ministrations into nighttime.
This information is in the early stages of transforming the category of after-sun care—a category traditionally limited to aloe vera-laden moisturizers and gels that lowered the temperature of sun-parched skin but not much else. Product formulators are now seeing after-sun care as another line of defense to stop cell mutations and aging in its tracks.
Ms. Peterson recommends her Pacific Mist spray which contains antioxidant-rich green tea and white tea extracts as well as sea fennel extract, which aids in hydration, and the line’s Pacific Face Oil which contains a mix of oils from chia seed, kiwi, passion fruit and papaya seed—all rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants.
When shopping for other after-sun treatments, be aware that some labels only add a trace, ineffective amount of a beneficial ingredient to a product in order to tout its effects on the label, while others have a bona fide antioxidant slant.
One Love Organics, a 6-year-old company founded by ex-lawyer Suzanne LeRoux, is a fine example of the latter. Based in St. Simons Island, Ga., the brand has an Eco-Cert-certified lab that creates mostly organic, botanical-based face and body treatments developed with sun exposure in mind. Ms. LeRoux typically recommends layering the brand’s Vitamin C Body Oil or the Gardenia + Tea Antioxidant Body Serum under sunscreen during the day. Rich with botanical oils and green tea extract, both are also ideal after-sun products. “Our lab is on an island in the South. We think about sun exposure a lot,” she added.
After-sun care converts should also look for products dispensed in a pump or spray which keeps contents from oxidizing when exposed to air, like Blissoma’s pomegranate extract-filled Amend Antioxidant Sprayable Lotion. Avoid products formulated with alcohol, which can dry skin out.
Not everyone is convinced of the effectiveness of after-sun care. Beverly Hills-based dermatologist Rhonda Rand believes most products can only lower skin temperature and add moisture. “That can make sun-exposed skin feel better,” she said, “But there’s nothing you can do to reverse sun exposure.” And while Henry Lim, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, believes that the Yale study was important, he cautions that you only have a three-hour window after sun exposure to take advantage of any potential product benefits—and that antioxidants “are notoriously not very stable and must be formulated carefully in order to be effective.”
But believers like True Nature Botanicals’ Ms. Peterson are undeterred. “In medicine, you need a definitive study,” she countered. “We can’t get doctors to say if you eat a healthier diet, your body will function better. But [by] bringing Omega-3 and -6 and antioxidants to the skin, we’re giving it more of the tools it needs to handle sun exposure.”
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PHMSA In The Spotlight As House Digs Into Safety Issues
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Hannah Northey
A top official from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will face tough questions before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee tomorrow about the agency's response to a series of high-profile oil spills in recent months.
Stacy Cummings, PHMSA's interim executive director, will appear in front of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, which released a lengthy list of concerns with the agency in a memo last week.
Majority staff with the Energy and Commerce Committee in the memo accused PHMSA of failing to implement 17 of 42 mandates under the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 within the statutory deadlines, which they believe could significantly enhance pipeline safety.
"According to information supplied to the Committee, PHMSA has failed to reach important decisions and issue regulations concerning pipeline damage prevention, automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves, maximum allowable operating pressure verification, pipeline integrity management programs, public education and awareness, and accident and incident notification," they wrote.
An oil spill in California accelerated congressional concern over pipeline safety and PHMSA oversight. An accident occurred on a pipeline operated by Plains All American Pipeline LP in May, resulting in the release of more than 100,000 barrels of crude along the Santa Barbara coastline and into the Pacific Ocean.
But Cummings will likely point out that PHMSA took action as recently as last week to implement the Pipeline Safety Act by tightening requirements for spill notifications and imposing new drug and alcohol testing requirements (Greenwire, July 10).
And industry groups will likely warn against changing the law anytime soon.
Ron Bradley, vice president of gas operations at PECO Energy who will testify on behalf of the American Gas Association, said in prepared comments that programs outlined under the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006 and the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 are still in their infancy and need time to be implemented.
"In the case of the unanimously passed 2011 Act, which dealt with a number of key issues, several of the required regulations have yet to be finalized," Bradley said. "Progress is being made however, and thus we believe it would be premature to make changes to the law at this time."
Bradley also said it will cost nearly $83 billion to replace almost 30,000 miles of cast-iron pipeline still in use, and that 39 states and the District of Columbia have adopted specific innovative rate mechanisms to replace pipelines no longer fit for use.
"Layering new laws and regulations onto companies before existing regulations have been finalized and given a reasonable amount of time to work is likely to create uncertainty that undermines our shared safety goals," he said.
Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, July 14, at 10:15 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Witnesses: Stacy Cummings, interim executive director of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; Stan Wise, a member of the Georgia Public Service Commission on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Donald Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America; Ron Bradley, vice president of gas operations at PECO Energy, on behalf of the American Gas Association; Andrew Black, president and CEO of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines; Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust; and Dianne Black, assistant director of planning and development for the county of Santa Barbara, Calif.
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PHMSA Official To Testify Before Congress Next Week
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Andrew Restuccia
Stacy Cummings, the interim head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee next week, according to an aide to the panel.
Cummings will testify at a Tuesday hearing that will examine PHMSA's progress in implementing mandates included in a 2011 pipeline safety law. The hearing was announced earlier this week, but the witness list had not yet been finalized.
The committee aide said other witnesses will include: Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust; Dianne Black, assistant director of planning and development for the County of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Andrew Black, president and CEO of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines.
More details on the hearing here.
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Plains Hit By New Oil Leak In Illinois
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Cleanup crews are working to keep crude oil that leaked from a Plains All American pumping station in southwestern Illinois from spreading into creeks and a local lake, according to local news reports.
It was not immediately known how much oil had leaked from the station owned by Plains, the company behind the pipeline that spilled 101,00 gallons of oil onto a beach near Santa Barbara, Calif., in May.
The crews in Madison County, Illinois, have placed equipment designed to catch the leaked oil as far as a mile north of the spill site, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. Oil could be seen floating on the water in ditches in the area, the paper reported.
Plains and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the leak had been reported on the federal level.
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Plains: 4,200-Gallon Illinois Oil Spill Reached Creek
Jul 10, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
The pipeline company behind the California oil spill said today that a new rupture at its pumping station in Illinois had leaked 4,200 gallons of oil, some of which reached a local creek. But it said the leak of crude had been stopped.
“Plains has initiated its emergency response plan, and personnel are working with first responders and others to contain the release,” the company said in a statement on the spill, which occurred about 40 miles from St. Louis. “The current priorities are to ensure the safety of all involved and limit the environmental impact from the release.”
The cause of the May 19 spill in Santa Barbara, Calif., which reached the Pacific Ocean, remains under investigation by federal authorities. -
BLM Chief To Talk Fracking Rule Before House Lawmakers
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Geof Koss
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources this week will hear testimony on the future of fracking on public lands -- an issue complicated by a federal judge's order blocking a key federal rule.
Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze is scheduled to testify at Wednesday's oversight hearing, which comes weeks after a federal judge in Wyoming hit pause on the bureau's controversial rule to govern fracking on public lands (Greenwire, June 24).
The delay, which came just one day before the regulation was scheduled to take effect, is intended to allow the court more time to weigh a request by Western states and industry for a preliminary injunction against the rule.
Kornze will face hostile questioning over the regulation, which addresses well construction, wastewater management and chemical disclosure for fracking on public and tribal land. Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) called the rule "duplicative and nonsensical" when it was finalized in March, saying it would keep producers away from public lands and deprive local residents of shared federal revenues that fund schools.
The hearing also comes as Republicans in both chambers are targeting the rule through the appropriations bill that funds the Interior Department, while also signaling plans to attach language to other energy bills to ensure that states maintain primacy in regulating fracking.
Also slated to appear Wednesday is Mike Olguin, a council member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, whose reservation spans oil- and gas-rich lands in Colorado's Four Corners region.
He will be joined by Lloyd Hetrick, the operations engineering adviser of Newfield Exploration Co., a Woodland, Texas-based firm that produces oil and gas domestically in the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere.
Professor Hannah Wiseman of Florida State University's College of Law, who has written extensively about fracking regulation and risks, will appear at the invitation of committee Democrats.
Kornze may also face questions about President Obama's Friday declaration of three new national monuments, including the 704,000-acre Basin and Range National Monument in east-central Nevada and two smaller sites in Texas and California. Kornze is a former staffer to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who reportedly pushed to make the monument designation in his state.
Bishop went on a tirade against the "shameful" designations, denouncing as "bull crap" the argument that Native American artifacts at the Nevada site merited the sweeping protections (Greenwire, July 10).
Schedule: The hearing is Wednesday, July 15, at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.
Witnesses: Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze; Mike Olguin, Southern Ute Indian Tribe council member; Lloyd Hetrick, operations engineering adviser, Newfield Exploration Co.; and Hannah Wiseman, professor, Florida State University College of Law.
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California Says More Data Needed on Frack Chemicals
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
Much more information is needed to adequately determine the potential public health and environmental impacts of hazardous chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in California, according to a report released by the state Natural Resources Agency.
The peer-reviewed study, which was led by the California Council on Science and Technology and released July 9, recommended that the state limit the use of poorly understood chemicals and improve oversight of hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas operations in general.
More information and research is needed “to close knowledge gaps,” the report said.
According to Jane Long, a co-author of the report and a scientist on the council, the environmental characteristics of nearly two-thirds of the chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing are unknown.
Based on the available evidence, the direct impacts of oil and gas well-stimulation activities in the state have been small, but they have been under-investigated, according to the report, which was mandated by legislation (S.B. 4) enacted in 2013.
The report, “An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California,” found that both indirect and direct impacts of well stimulation activities can be mitigated with adequate oversight.
New Rules Took Effect July 1
Release of the study comes just days after the July 1 effective date of California's permanent regulations to make hydraulic fracturing and other well-stimulation activities more protective of water quality and the environment and more transparent.
Environmental advocates have been critical of the state's decision to make the regulations final prior to completing both this scientific assessment and the recently released environmental analysis of the regulations.
“The science clearly identifies numerous threats from fracking and other oil production activities that California's laws, regulations, enforcement and available data do not adequately address,” Andrew Grinberg of Clean Water Action said in a July 9 statement. The statement called for Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to impose a moratorium on well-stimulation activities until all significant threats are addressed.
In a telephone briefing with reporters, state oil and gas regulators and water quality officials said the report would help guide enforcement of existing regulations and the development of new policies.
Officials from the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources said the state is working to improve oversight of oil and gas activities.
The report “validates my reasons for authoring California's first fracking regulation law,” State Sen. Fran Pavley (D) said in a July 9 statement.
Pavley said she would amend an existing bill (S.B. 248) that requires the state's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources to update its regulations, data management system and reporting requirements to include some of the recommendations in the report.
Key Recommendations
Some key recommendations of the study released in July include:
• improved recordkeeping of hydraulic fracturing and acid stimulation activities in federal waters;
• limits on use of hazardous and poorly understood chemicals;
• minimizing habitat loss and fragmentation in oil and gas producing areas;
• ensuring that produced water in percolation ponds is tested and treated appropriately;
• required reporting of produced water chemistry from stimulated wells;
• banning the use of produced water from stimulated wells for irrigation, unless tested and found safe;
• studying the relationship between wastewater injection and earthquakes in California;
• better protection of groundwater supplies from oil and gas operations;
• assessment and comparison of greenhouse gas signatures of different types of oil and gas production;
• control of toxic air emissions from oil and gas wells;
• assessing air quality impacts of well-stimulation activities on workers and nearby residents; and
• improving and modernizing public recordkeeping for all oil and gas production.
Finally, the scientific panel called for the state to develop an advisory committee on oil and gas to support regulatory decisions.
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Groups Back Oil Export Ban Repeal Legislation
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
House legislation that would end the 40-year-old ban on the export of crude oil picked up support from a coalition that includes labor groups, according to a letter sent to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and other leaders on the committee.
The letter from the “Shale Energy Supply Chain” was signed by groups that included the Laborers’ International Union of North America, American Pipeline Contractors Association, National Tank Truck Carriers, Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
“Jobs are being lost and investments are being reduced or redirected overseas because American producers are prevented from exporting American crude oil,” the groups wrote July 8.
The bill (H.R. 702) by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) would repeal the section of a 1975 energy law establishing the crude oil export restriction and would bar the federal government from imposing or enforcing any similar restrictions.
The measure, which has 89 cosponsors, also would require the Energy Department to submit a report on the appropriate size and makeup of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“Opening global markets to U.S. producers will support added domestic production that will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and contribute tens of billions of GDP dollars in the supply chain within the next few years,” the letter said.
The trade restriction was put in place in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, but opponents of the ban, which include major oil companies such as Hess Corp., Marathon Oil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, said it no longer makes sense in the face of booming domestic oil production.
Opponents include refiners such as Alon USA, Monroe Energy, PBF Energy and Philadelphia Energy Solutions, who argue it will increase costs.
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Panel To Weigh Role Of Seismic Testing
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Geof Koss
A House subcommittee this week will delve into the use of seismic testing to explore for oil and gas deposits in the Outer Continental Shelf.
Tomorrow's hearing of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources comes as the Obama administration is considering whether to open parts of the Atlantic Ocean to drilling starting in 2017 and continuing for five years.
The hearing's title says the panel will explore "the Fundamental Role of Safe Seismic Surveying in OCS Energy Exploration and Development."
The witnesses scheduled to appear include Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Abigail Ross Hopper and Robert Gisiner, director of marine environment for the International Association of Geophysical Contractors.
Jim White, the president of Houston's ARKeX Inc., which provides geospatial subsurface data, will also testify, along with Richie Miller, president of Spectrum Geo Inc., another seismic firm servicing the oil and gas industry from Houston.
Douglas Nowacek, a marine conservation professor from Duke University's schools of engineering and the environment, will round out the panel.
Drilling critics have zeroed in on the safety of seismic surveying, a precursor activity that involves air guns that emit loud blasts of compressed air for days to locate minerals, as they press the administration to keep the East Coast closed to drilling.
Environmentalists oppose the method, which they charge harms marine mammals and other aquatic life. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management disputes the point.
In May, longtime drilling foe Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced legislation to block the administration from allowing seismic testing off his state's coast, much of which is legally off-limits to drilling until 2022 under a 2006 law (E&E Daily, May 1).
Some South Carolina municipalities have also questioned the safety of seismic air guns as a pre-emptive move against drilling (Greenwire, March 30).
But there's strong support by some Southeastern state governments and their congressional delegations for drilling off their coasts. That interest comes as pro-drilling lawmakers including Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) continue to weigh their options for legislation to increase the state share of federal drilling revenues that occur off their coasts.
Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have said they would support drilling off their state's shores in exchange for greater revenue sharing (E&E Daily, May 13).
However, Senate Democrats from Maryland and points north are strongly opposed to Atlantic drilling.
Further details of the hearing were unavailable by publication time.
Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, July 14, at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.
Witnesses: Robert Gisiner, director of marine environment, International Association of Geophysical Contractors; Abigail Ross Hopper, director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Jim White, president, ARKeX Inc.; Richie Miller, president, Spectrum Geo Inc.; and Douglas Nowacek, Repass-Rodgers chair of marine conservation technology, Nicholas School of the Environment & Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University.
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Horizontally Drilled Wells Use More Water, USGS Says
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tripp Baltz
A recent U.S. Geological Survey study about water usage in hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells is of concern, because it indicates the highest water use is taking place in drought-stricken areas, an environmentalist told Bloomberg BNA.
“Some of the basins using the most water are in areas of the country in extreme drought or those predicted to experience increased water stress,” John Noel, national oil and gas campaigns coordinator with Clean Water Action in Washington, D.C., said.
The USGS study “confirms what we already know: fracking operations require an enormous amount of water per well, especially for horizontal wells,” he said.
In hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, producers inject sand, chemicals, and large volumes of water deep underground to release trapped natural gas and oil. Often the injection goes into shale formations to release gas and oil that otherwise would be uneconomical to produce.
Water Use Variability
The USGS study, accepted for publication June 18 in Water Resources Research, an American Geophysical Union publication, examined fracking water use variability in the U.S. and potential environmental implications.
It said the highest average fracking water usage correlates with shale gas areas—as opposed to coalbed methane, tight oil or tight gas—where the greatest proportion of fracked wells were horizontally drilled.
The highest average water use ranged from 2.6 million to 9.7 million gallons per frack, the USGS said. However, it said, such large-volume hydraulic fracturing water usage is not widespread, since many oil and gas resources within a given basin are developed using a mix of horizontal, vertical and some directional wells.
First Map of Water Use
The study examined water volumes used to frack more than 263,859 oil and gas wells drilled between 2000 and 2014, creating the first U.S. map of fracking water use. Up-to-date, comprehensive, spatial, national-scale data on hydraulic fracturing water volumes have been lacking, the study said.
In 2014, individual horizontal wells that were fracked used an average of 4 million to 5.1 million gallons of water per frack, the study said. However, about 42 percent of wells were vertical or directional, which required less 687,000 gallons per well.
Spatial variability in fracking water use relates to the “potential for environmental impacts such as water availability, water quality, wastewater disposal, and possible wastewater injection-induced earthquakes,” the study said.
Numbers Could Be Higher
Actual numbers for gallons of water used in fracking are likely larger than those reported in the USGS study “since not all states require the reporting of water use,” Noel said. Other studies have indicated that annual fracking water use can constitute up to 30 percent or 50 percent of water use in some counties, he said.
“Regulators need to be vigilant about tracking water usage,” he said. “It is necessary for states to track the amounts of fluids used in all fracking operations.”
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Without Gas in the Tank, Senate Stays Course on Highways
Jul 12, 2015 | Roll Call
By Matthew Fleming and Nicole Puglise
Senate Republicans are confident they’ll take up a highway extension this week — though the bill’s duration and pay-for are still up in the air.
Senators from both parties are mulling suggestions that range from a kick-the-can plan to fund the highway account through the 2016 elections to a more ambitious proposal that would include a short-term patch linked to a major tax overhaul designed to fund a full six-year extension.
Regardless of the unknowns, Republicans were confident the highway bill would hit the floor this week.
“I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in a long time,” Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said of the schedule after a private meeting with relevant committee chairs and leadership. “This is something everybody wants to do on a bipartisan basis, is pass as long-term a highway bill as we can.”
Neither Cornyn nor others would elaborate on the options Republican leaders were discussing. But Democrats have been pushing for a plan proposed by President Barack Obama to use tax revenue from repatriated funds to pay for the six-year bill.
“We have a position,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee. “Our position: We want a long-term bill and the pay-for is the president’s proposal.”
It’s unlikely Congress would be able to complete a tax overhaul by the time the current authorization expires at the end of the month and it’s unclear what is the shortest duration Democrats would be willing to accept.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, one of the top Senate Democrats, said his party needs to see the Republican plan before committing to support or opposition. He did say, however, that the vast majority of Senate Democrats do not support an increase in the gas tax as a funding mechanism.
“We don’t like a patch, we don’t like a short-term extension, but we’re not going to prejudge anything in a vacuum,” the New York Democrat told reporters last week. “Let’s see what they have. What does a patch mean? Is it 12 months, 16 months, three months, nine months? How do they pay for it? Does it have an increase in funding? These are all questions they should have.”
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx pushed for a long-term bill last week, but he echoed Schumer’s sentiments and stopped short of a veto threat.
“We need to end this extension-palooza that we have in transportation for so long,” Foxx said on July 9. “I think there are many ways that could happen. … So we’re gonna have to see, as [Schumer] said, what comes about.”
The idea of using changes to the international tax code to fund the highway extension, of which there are multiple proposals, creates a divide within the Republican Caucus.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, co-introduced — along with Schumer — principles for an international tax overhaul. But Portman, one of the most vulnerable incumbents in 2016, said he’s not opposed to “finding pay-fors outside of the tax process.” Still, he said he needs to see the pay-fors, to “make sure that they are good policy.”
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he supported an international tax overhaul, but using it to fund a highway bill would be a “hard pill to digest.”
“When you … use the funds from tax reform for highways, then you don’t use the money to lower the taxes, which will then create a permanent revenue stream as opposed to a six-year window,” Scott said.
Finance Chairman Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, expressed similar concerns and said he didn’t like moving to a territorial taxing system — taxing domestic and not foreign income, a component of at least one of the suggested proposals.
Hatch’s counterpart in the House, Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., supports a one-time repatriation if it’s within the context of broader international tax overhaul. But he does not support “deemed repatriation,” which Obama’s plan calls for. Any plan for Ryan, and likely most other Republicans, would have to be a net tax decrease.
“Chairman Ryan supports a short-term patch to get to the end of the year so we have time to develop a long-term solution,” Ryan spokesman Doug Andres said in a statement.
Another idea floated last week was using tax extenders as a pay-for.
With the opposition to a short-term patch and the complexities of funding the six-year plan, an in-between patch — anywhere from 12 months to a few years — is possible.
That would help legislators get through the election cycle. But it would hurt the highway program in the long-term, according to the two top senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Chairman James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., said larger projects of national concern would “fall by the wayside,” even with a multi-year bill.
“You really need a six-year bill,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the committee’s ranking member, said. “Because if you’re building major projects and you’re fixing major bridges that are falling down, you need the assurance that we’re there.”
Also hanging in the balance is the fate of the Export-Import Bank, which is expected to hitch a ride on the highway bill. The bank’s reauthorization, which expired last month, will likely lure Democrats, but drive away some Republicans who see the bank as little more than corporate welfare.
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Solar Can Supply Oil Industry's Need for Energy
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alex Longley
Solar energy developers may be able to earn $100 billion or more by selling equipment to the oil industry for extracting heavy grades of crude, the head of the company that is developing the world's biggest solar heat plant said.
Rod MacGregor, chief executive officer of GlassPoint Solar Inc., said the oil industry's demand for energy is growing rapidly, and solar can supply much of that power.
His company, based in Fremont, Calif., won a contract on July 8 to supply 1 gigawatt of power at the Amal oilfield in Oman, where the government and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are injecting steam to extract heavy oil. The plant will be the biggest delivering heat from the sun, a landmark for both the oil and solar industries.
“Its value is way over $100 billion, but that's just a snapshot, and it's growing very quickly,” MacGregor said by phone. “A lot of solar companies have viewed oil and gas as an evil empire. What's going to bring the two together is fundamental economics.”
The company will install rows of parabolic mirrors that focus the sun's energy to heat fluid that will make steam for injecting into underground rock formations. That will reduce the viscosity of the crude and help lift more supplies to the surface.
Traditionally, fossil fuels fed the boilers that make steam for such processes, consuming energy equivalent to a 20 percent of every barrel recovered. Using solar power cuts that energy need and frees up more supplies for export.
Greenhouse Solar
GlassPoint's innovation is in installing agricultural greenhouses over the fragile mirrors, protecting the units from the Middle East's violent sandstorms.
The company is targeting deals for further large-scale sites. MacGregor said areas where the technology could be used include western China, Madagascar, parts of Venezuela, California and the Persian Gulf region.
“These giant deals generally take some time to mature,” he said. “We have a very healthy pipeline of giant projects. We're in discussions with pretty much every producer of heavy oil in the world.”
The company may eventually move beyond using solar power in enhanced oil recovery.
“We've picked our own beachhead in oil and gas, but it's by no means our end destination,” he said. “It's our launchpad.”
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Groups Press for Changes to Clean Power Plan
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
Some of the nation's largest electric companies met the week of July 6 with senior White House officials on the Environmental Protection Agency's soon-to-be-finalized Clean Power Plan, meeting records show.
Among the major groups and companies meeting with the White House Office of Management and Budget were:
• Dominion Resources Inc., NextEra Energy Resources, Inc., Exelon Corp., the Public Service Enterprise Group, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Calpine Corp. and National Grid plc on July 8.
• the Edison Electric Institute, American Electric Power Co., Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Duke Energy Corp. met with OMB on July 6.
Records show Dan Utech, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change; Brian Deese, senior adviser on climate issues; Joe Goffman, EPA associate assistant administrator for climate; and Howard Shelanski, the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, attended both meetings. It is considered unusual for such senior officials to attend meetings at OMB.
“This meeting was part of our on-going outreach efforts on the Clean Power Plan,” Quin Shea, vice president of environment at the Edison Electric Institute, said of the group's meeting. “We will continue to work with our members and all stakeholders to provide the administration any relevant information and data regarding the impact of the Clean Power Plan on our industry's ability to provide reliable, affordable and increasingly clean electricity to all customers.”
The push from major companies and industry groups comes as the EPA prepares to finalize its carbon pollution limits for existing power plants sometime this summer. Interagency review at OMB is typically the last step before a regulation is signed by the administrator (130 DEN A-15, 7/8/15).
Once finalized, the Clean Power Plan (RIN 2060-AR33) is expected to set a unique carbon dioxide emissions rate for the power sector in each state. State regulators would determine how best to achieve that target through a combination of heat rate improvements at individual power plants, shifting generation from coal to cleaner natural gas, investing in new renewable energy or through energy efficiency programs.
Earlier Meetings Held at OMB
Prior to the meetings the week of July 6, multiple other groups went to OMB to press their priorities on the Clean Power Plan. Those included:
• Center for Climate and Energy Solutions on July 1,
• Canadian Electricity Association on June 29,
• American Public Power Association on June 25,
• National Climate Coalition on June 24. The group includes member companies such as Boeing Co., 3M Co., NRG Energy Inc. and the AES Corp.,
• Clean Air Task Force on June 23,
• National Mining Association on June 23, and
• Johnson Controls Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Siemens AG, Ameresco Inc., United Technologies Corp., AJW Inc. and Schneider Electric on June 22.
None of these earlier meetings were attended by senior White House officials.
‘Deeply Flawed Assumptions' Cited
Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, said his group presented OMB with many of the “deeply flawed assumptions” in the proposed Clean Power Plan.
“The data we presented showed that EPA is asking governors to leap off a cliff,” he told Bloomberg BNA. “They're being asked to effectively transform their electric grids based on implausible or wholly unrealistic assumptions about how much renewable energy could be added to replace the fossil energy they'd lose, about the energy efficiency improvements achievable, and we explained how EPA has understated the real costs of its plan.”
“Of course, governors don't have to accept EPA's offering,” Popovich added. “We showed OMB why they shouldn't.”
Other groups were far more supportive of the agency's likely approach to the Clean Power Plan. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions stressed states would have tremendous flexibility through market-based options like putting a price on carbon to reduce pollution.
States to Have ‘Tremendous Flexibility.'
“States will have tremendous flexibility to choose how to reduce carbon emissions under the Clean Power Plan,” Laura Rehrmann, director of communications for the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, told Bloomberg BNA in an e-mail. “We'd like to see market-based approaches allowed and encouraged in the Clean Power Plan.”
Robert A. Wyman Jr., global chair of the environment, land & resources department at Latham & Watkins LLP and attorney for the National Climate Coalition, told Bloomberg BNA his meeting with OMB stressed that states must have flexibility to submit their own interim emissions reduction goals.
In addition, the group said the final Clean Power Plan must provide compliance assurance and hedging mechanisms to sources, should contain appropriate safety valve provisions for must-run power plants, clarify new source review relief for any plant modifications arising due to the rule and pre-authorize—to the maximum extent possible—interstate collaboration, according to Wyman.
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State Regulators Meet This Week To Talk Compliance
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Emily Holden and Rod Kuckro
State electricity regulators are gathering in New York this week for their summer meetings, and, as might be expected, aspects of how U.S. EPA's forthcoming Clean Power Plan might affect their jobs are a prominent focus of discussions.
Michigan Public Service Commission member Greg White will lead a discussion on the role the nation's nuclear fleet will play in helping states comply with the EPA carbon rule.
Edward Finley, chairman of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, will anchor a panel discussion of manufacturers on the role of demand response and efficiency in compliance plans.
The most interesting session might be an afternoon panel today called "Bowling Alone or Square Dancing: 111(d) and Multi-state Compliance," led by Illinois regulator Ann McCabe. She'll be joined by regulators from Montana and Minnesota.
Go to E&E's Power Plan Hub to read more and to see the latest news, state summaries and developments.
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Small Business Panel To Hear About Energy Development, Manufacturing
Jul 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
By Ben Panko
A Senate committee tomorrow will discuss how small businesses tackle energy development and high-use manufacturing.
The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will focus on the "Challenges and Opportunities for Small Businesses Engaged in Energy Development and Energy Intensive Manufacturing," the hearing title says.
Based on the witnesses, the committee appears to be planning to discuss efforts to increase U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said witness Tyson Slocum, director of the Public Citizen Energy Program.
"Enhancing and facilitating LNG exports presents more harm to consumers than benefits," Slocum said.
He plans to call on the Department of Commerce to fully enforce the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act to restrict LNG exports even further. "We need to slow down the process," Slocum said.
Slocum testified last month against lifting the ban on crude oil exports, citing increasing domestic demand and minimal foreign policy benefits (E&E Daily, June 15).
But crude export backers in recent months have cited both national security and economic arguments as they look to line up the votes to repeal the decades-old ban. Continental Resources Inc. founder Harold Hamm warned recently that maintaining the ban would cause U.S. production to fall by 1 million barrels a day (Greenwire, June 16).
No other witnesses for tomorrow's hearing could be reached for comment.
Some of the largest donors for Chairman David Vitter's (R-La.) gubernatorial campaign in Louisiana are natural gas companies, according to campaign finance reports released last month (E&E Daily, May 6).
Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, July 14, at 2:30 p.m. in 428-A Russell.
Witnesses: Toby Mack, president and CEO of the Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance; Neil Aspinwall, chancellor of the SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles, La.; Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy; and Tyson Slocum, director of the Public Citizen Energy Program.
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States Consider Defying Obama Climate Rule
Jul 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Governors of some conservative states are threatening to disregard President Obama’s signature climate rule for power plants, potentially creating a showdown with the federal government.
Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation hope that the decisions by the six governors could lead to a significant or complete destruction of the rule, thwarting one of Obama’s top legacy policies.The rule, due to be made final next month, will rely on states to formulate plans to reduce their power plants’ emissions of carbon dioxide.
If states don’t comply, the EPA has asserted that it has authority under the Clean Air Act to come in and write its own compliance plans for states.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), one of the most vocal congressional opponents of the climate rule, told governors earlier this year to defy it, lest they help the Obama administration implement a costly set of regulations that he says will be struck down in court.
Some states are taking that gamble.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) declared in June that his state would ignore the rule unless it is “demonstrably and significantly improved.”
“This rule represents an effort by the administration to continue to advance a climate change agenda through the regulatory state and does not give due regard to the impact that that will have on electricity rates coming from coal-burning power plants,” Pence told reporters Thursday in a call organized by the conservative American Energy Alliance.
“I do believe this rule is on a very shaky legal foundation,” Pence said.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) went further, signing an executive order in April instructing state agencies not to comply with the rule.
“While the environmental benefits of these regulations will be minimal, the economic devastation of these overreaching and unrealistic regulations will be very real,” Fallin said, saying the order “makes it clear the state of Oklahoma has no intention of implementing new regulations that run directly contrary to the interests of our citizens and our state.”
Rep. Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, said Fallin did the right thing.
“We are a state that traditionally has had reasonably priced energy,” Lucas said. “To have these mandates that many of my neighbors, constituents and industry at home think are not reasonable, I think the governor’s just a reflection of the state, which is why she’s governor.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), like Pence, has pledged to defy the rule unless major changes are made. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) have identified resisting the rule as a distinct possibility, while West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) signed a bill requiring legislative approval of any compliance plan.
And both major candidates to be governor of Kentucky — a major coal-producing state — have pledged not to comply.
Defiance from the states is emerging as one of the most promising strategies for opponents of the climate rule. If enough states don’t comply, they hope that it would bolster court cases against the rule, make it more difficult for the EPA to impose compliance, or at least force the Obama administration to write expensive, onerous state plans.
The rule’s opponents say that last month’s Supreme Court ruling against the EPA’s limits on emissions of mercury and other air pollutants from power plants reinforces that states should not write compliance plans.
The Supreme Court did not overturn the mercury rule, but the justice’s finding that the EPA did not consider industry costs early enough in the regulatory process came too late for power plants that have already shut down.
“While much of the damage of this regulation has already been done, the ruling serves as a critical reminder to every governor contemplating the administration’s demands to impose more regressive — and likely illegal — regulations that promise even more middle-class pain,” McConnell said after the ruling.
“Clearly, there is no reason to subject their states to such unnecessary pain before the courts have even had a chance to weigh in, especially if the Supreme Court simply ends up tossing the regulation out as we saw today.”
Supporters of the power plant regulations say that the “just say no” approach is harmful, and argue the lack of a full endorsement from any state other than Oklahoma shows that it’s not catching on.
“It hasn’t gotten much pickup,” said David Doniger, the air and climate director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Governors are likely realizing that ignoring the rule will not actually help their state, Doniger said.
“What’s really on all of the governor’s minds is that they have an opportunity to tailor a plan to meet local conditions. But they don’t really have an opportunity to shield the power companies in their state, because if the states don’t do regulate the power plants, it’s a federal responsibility to do it,” he said.
Jamie Van Nostrand, a West Virginia University environmental law professor, said that even in the states with governors bashing the rule, other agencies might be working on complying.
“The governors and political leaders are going to out front with ‘just say no.’ But the question is, are they actually following through?”
“It’s hard to say if that work is not going on behind the scenes, versus the politically popular statements by the governors and elected officials.”
Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) should work with the EPA to make the rule palpable for the state, like Green has been doing with some colleagues.
“I wish we could sit down with EPA instead of just saying ‘we’re ignoring it.’ That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” he said. “Ultimately it will be good, but we need to sit down with them.”
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DOE Stops Payments for Carbon Storage Project
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
The Energy Department has ceased stimulus funding payments for a California carbon capture and sequestration project, saying the project being developed by SCS Energy LLC has “failed to meet certain milestones” required as part of a $408 million grant.
The $4 billion Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project in Kern County, Calif., has received about $153 million of the funding, the DOE said in a statement provided to Bloomberg BNA July 10.
“If and when HECA is able to meet those obligations—including firm agreements to utilize the Elk Hills field or one or more alternative storage sites for the project—the Department will work with the project developers to determine the best path forward,” the statement said.
However, as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funds must be spent by Sept. 30, making it unlikely the company would be able to utilize the funding.
The Concord, Mass.-based SCS didn't respond to a request for comment.
The company has said it will continue the project despite the loss of any American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding and still has access to other sources of DOE funding if it is able to make progress in meeting certain requirements, an Energy Department spokeswoman told Bloomberg BNA.
Would Convert Coal, Petroleum Into Hydrogen
As envisioned by the privately held company, the demonstration project would convert coal and petroleum coke into hydrogen, which would be used to fuel a 300-megawatt power plant and produce 1 million tons of fertilizer annually.
The carbon dioxide from the project would be transported via pipeline to the nearby Elk Hill Oil Field, where it would be used to increase oil production by an estimated 5 million barrels per year.
Analysts such as Jim Wood, who served as deputy assistant secretary of energy from 2009 to 2012, had previously told Bloomberg BNA that the HECA project was considered to be at risk of not meeting the Recovery Act deadline (51 DEN A-12, 3/17/15).
The California Energy Commission announced July 7 it suspended the project's application for certification for six months and noted the project's backers were seeking buyers for its sequestered carbon dioxide after a deal with Occidental Petroleum Corp. fell through.
HECA marks the second carbon capture and sequestration project in which the Energy Department has suspended stimulus funding after it announced in February it was halting $1 billion in funding for the FutureGen 2.0 project—the department's premiere CCS demonstration project backed by a coalition of coal companies that included Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Peabody Energy Corp.(24 DEN A-1, 2/5/15) .
One Project Remains
That leaves one remaining CCS project being backed by the DOE through stimulus funding: Summit Power Group LLCs Texas Clean Energy Project.
The $1.7 billion project, which was awarded $450 million in Recovery Act funds, is planned for Penwell County, Texas, and would generate 400 megawatts of electricity and capture about 2.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the Energy Department.
Analysts have said the project is behind schedule as well but was considered the furthest along of the three.
A company spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Trade Group Hires Policy Chief To Put Its Interests 'On The Menu'
Jul 10, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Katherine Ling
The Energy Storage Association announced the hiring today of its first full-time policy and advocacy director.
Jason Burwen will direct the trade group's efforts to "bring energy storage to the forefront as a key driver of innovation in our electric grid and help open fair and competitive markets for safe, reliable energy storage systems," Matt Roberts, ESA's executive director, said in a statement.
"We have no doubt," Roberts added, "that his strategic guidance will be critical to an industry that is experiencing unprecedented growth and exciting change."
The association more than doubled its membership over the past year to more than 200 companies and organizations worldwide as the industry has begun to emerge from laboratories, ESA said. Last year Tesla Motors Inc. announced it would build a battery "gigafactory" and then this spring unveiled commercial and residential battery units to much fanfare, followed quickly by Daimler AG -- the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars -- along with other companies.
The United States alone is expected to triple its growth of energy storage capacity in 2015, according to a report from ESA and GTM Research (E&ENews PM, March 5).
Policymakers have stepped in pushing for a "national energy storage standard" similar to the California mandate to have 1,325 megawatts of new storage by 2020, which has provided an important boost for the technology -- along with other energy storage policy incentives in comprehensive energy bills currently being negotiated in the House and Senate (Greenwire, May 28).
There are also efforts underway by state and federal regulators to redesign market incentives to provide further revenue opportunities for energy storage as a resource for the grid.
Burwen formerly served as associate director for the American Energy Innovation Council -- led by co-chairs Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., and Norm Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. -- at the Bipartisan Policy Council.
Burwen previously worked at Freeman, Sullivan & Co., lately acquired by Nexant Inc., as a utility consultant on demand response, rate design and other demand-side management. At the California Public Utilities Commission, he analyzed renewable energy contracts and solicitation processes for the Office of Ratepayer Advocates. He also had a brief stint at the Government Accountability Office, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He got a master's degree in energy and resources and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, under professor Daniel Kammen, the coordinating lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He also worked as a research assistant to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich during his time there, according to the profile. He got his bachelor's degree in psychology and international affairs from Columbia University.
"ESA is leading efforts to implement policies and regulatory frameworks that will enable utilities and customers to capture the full benefits of energy storage," Burwen said in a statement. "I'm excited to join the industry at this critical juncture and encourage regulators and legislators to take a simple, important step: put energy storage on the menu."
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EPA Sued Over Refinery, Chemical Site Emissions
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Air Alliance Houston and three other environmental groups asked a federal appeals court to review the Environmental Protection Agency's updated emissions factors for refineries and chemical manufacturing plants (Air Alliance Houston v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1210, 7/10/15).
In a lawsuit filed July 10, the four organizations challenged an EPA action that set a new value for estimating emissions of volatile organic compounds, a precursor to ground-level ozone formation, from flaring operations.
Air Alliance Houston was joined by the Community In-Power and Development Association, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Sparsh Khandeshi, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project who is representing the groups, told Bloomberg BNA that although the groups are “pretty happy” with the updated emissions factors, they do have “a couple of small issues” with the EPA action. Khandeshi declined to elaborate on what issues will be raised in litigation.
The EPA action, signed in April and published May 11, set new and updated emissions factors, which are used to estimate an industrial facility's air pollutant emissions by relating the quantity of pollutant emitted to a measure of activity associated with the release of that pollutant, such as heat generation (80 Fed. Reg. 26,925). The updated emissions factor for flaring is about four times greater than the previous factor used to estimate emissions of volatile organic compounds for flaring 77 DEN A-2, 4/22/15).
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to review emissions factors every three years. The agency completed its review of the refinery and chemical emissions factors under a consent agreement with Air Alliance Houston and other organizations that sued the EPA for missing that statutory deadline (Air Alliance Houston v. McCarthy, D.D.C., No. 13-621, consent decree entered, 5/9/14).
The deadline for challenging the updated emissions factors was July 10.
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EPA Use Of 'Co-Benefits' To Justify Air Rules Uncertain After MACT Ruling
Jul 10, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA's long-running practice of citing “co-benefits” of reducing pollutants not targeted by a rule in order to justify the regulation faces an uncertain future following the Supreme Court ruling remanding the agency's utility air toxics rule to an appellate court, observers say, as the ruling suggests both support for and opposition to the practice.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the June 29 opinion for the 5-4 majority in Michigan v. EPA that faulted the agency for not considering costs in its initial determination that regulating power plants with a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) air toxics standard was “appropriate and necessary” under the Clean Air Act. While the ruling did not turn on EPA's co-benefits study, analysts are trying to find hints on the court's position on that issue.
Scalia said “It is not rational, never mind 'appropriate,' to impose billions of dollars in economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits” -- which appears to echo industry claims that discounting co-benefits from a cost-benefit analysis of the MACT yields minimal benefits yet projects massive costs.
Industry lawyers and some GOP lawmakers are dubious of EPA's co-benefits claims, especially with respect to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), reduction of which accounts for the bulk of health benefits claimed for the utility MACT rule. Some conservatives question the accuracy of EPA's benefit estimates, while others say that the agency is “double counting” the same PM2.5 reductions already achieved by other agency regulations.
EPA will have to reconsider the issue now that the Supreme Court remanded the utility MACT litigation back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court could vacate the rule and order EPA to conduct a sweeping new cost-benefit analysis to justify a new appropriate and necessary finding. Some observers have suggested the agency might use its cost review done later in the rulemaking to satisfy such a mandate.
But it remains unclear whether Scalia's decision will change how EPA might approach co-benefits in such a review. Some legal observers speculate that the majority in Michigan lacked a fifth vote, likely that of Justice Anthony Kennedy, to make a sweeping statement about the use of co-benefits in rulemakings.
'Quantifiable' Benefits
One industry legal source says that Scalia's opinion “suggests that the justices read the briefs and focused on the quantifiable benefits” of air toxics reduction, rather than any co-benefits.
The source says that EPA thought “the decision would not stand up if they pointed to hazardous air pollutants,” (HAPs), and hence relied on PM2.5 benefits in the rule itself and skirted the cost issue entirely when deciding it was “appropriate” to regulate. The source suggests EPA may opt to more vigorously stress the value of “unquantifiable” health benefits that it was unable to monetize for the existing cost-benefit analysis.
The source dismisses arguments from environmentalists that revising the appropriate and necessary finding “is just a paperwork exercise” and can be satisfied by replicating the analysis EPA did when it set the emissions limits in the MACT. When EPA “made the decision not to consider costs, they didn't do that lightly.”
Industry legal sources are also reading the ruling to suggest that EPA should even consider costs in many more Clean Air Act contexts where the term “appropriate” arises in statutory text.
But EPA is already taking steps to minimize such fallout in other lawsuits. For example, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a July 7 letter to the D.C. Circuit in an unrelated suit over a chromium air toxics “residual risk” rule says the Michigan decision has no bearing on that case. Residual risk rules -- in which EPA reassess and potentially revises a MACT eight years after its implementation -- do not require a preliminary finding on whether it is “appropriate” to regulate, DOJ notes.
Co-Benefits Question
Environmentalists disagree that Scalia's ruling suggests that some Supreme Court justices might not look favorably on the use of co-benefits. One environmental lawyer says that EPA should take comfort from the court's failure to take up the co-benefits question, despite intense lobbying from industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to do so. “I don't think that point will go unnoticed by EPA,” the source says.
Further, Scalia explicitly does not require a full-blown quantified cost-benefit analysis in the “appropriate and necessary” finding, only a broad consideration of cost. EPA will likely take a broad, “tapestry” approach to a revised cost-benefit analysis, including consideration of both indirect benefits and costs, the source says.
Consideration of indirect health effects, such as prevented sick days for workers and students, is key to EPA's cost-benefit analysis for all its air rules. The source argues that consideration of secondary costs, such as indirect economic effects, must also be accompanied by consideration of secondary benefits.
Scalia in his opinion -- from which the court's four liberal justices dissented -- writes that cost “includes more than the expense of complying with regulations; any disadvantage could be termed a cost.”
Further, “EPA’s interpretation precludes the Agency from considering any type of cost -- including, for instance, harms that regulation might do to human health or the environment. The Government concedes that if the Agency were to find that emissions from power plants do damage to human health, but that the technologies needed to eliminate these emissions do even more damage to human health, it would still deem regulation appropriate.”
The environmentalist says that “latent” in Scalia's opinion is the idea that EPA should consider both indirect costs and indirect benefits, which could theoretically bolster the co-benefits approach.
A second environmental legal source says that EPA is not likely to significantly alter its fundamental conclusion that the benefits of the MACT rule massively outweigh the costs, regardless of the Michigan ruling.
The source says even if the ruling is read broadly by courts to have relevance for other Clean Air Act provisions, “it is not a big deal for EPA,” which can demonstrate monetized benefits to support its rules.
Litigation Remand
But the D.C. Circuit will likely have to say something about co-benefits when it addresses the remand of the utility MACT case. In a previous 2-1 ruling the court had upheld the entirety of the agency's rule in a case known as White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA, which was eventually appealed to the high court as the Michigan suit.
Legal sources say the court could take up to 10 months to reach a decision on whether to vacate the MACT or remand it without vacatur to EPA. The court could opt to stay the rule while seeking to resolve this question.
At a minimum, EPA must craft a new “appropriate and necessary” finding that will consider compliance costs in deciding a MACT is necessary. The agency can borrow from the existing cost-benefit analysis from the rule, but must update it to take into account sweeping changes in the utility sector since issuance of the MACT in 2011. One industry source says that “it is more incremental now than it was then” on both the costs and benefits side.
With respect to costs, many power plants have already incurred costs of compliance by adding pollution controls, switching fuels to natural gas or closing down, or planning to do so.
Also, the cost of pollution control technology has fallen as the MACT rule has driven up demand for controls, promoting fresh developments in the controls industry and greater economies of scale.
On the benefits side, human health benefits have already been achieved by the emissions reductions under the rule, which most plants had until this past April to comply with. A further large group of plants have received one-year compliance extensions from EPA, and will hence comply in April 2016.
Compliance Plans
Meanwhile, industry legal sources agree that for the time-being, utilities have little choice other than to continue with their compliance plans for the MACT rule.
Any D.C. Circuit decision on whether to vacate or only remand the rule will likely come after the April 16 compliance deadline next year for plants with a one-year extension, sources say, although the court could opt to stay the rule in the interim.
Industry groups are likely to fall into three camps, one industry source says. Some will urge the D.C. Circuit to vacate the MACT entirely and stay the rule pending a decision; others will urge a stay of the rule, but will settle for a remand; and still others, such as low-emitting “clean” utilities, will push for remand but no vacatur or stay, given that they are already in compliance. Such low-emitting utilities backed the government in the high court action. Another industry source says that asking the D.C. Circuit to scrap the rule will be an uphill battle, given the circumscribed nature of the Supreme Court opinion, which did not weigh in on the merits of the MACT standards and other provisions. “A limited decision gives you limited relief,” the source says.
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EPA to Start Two-Year Clock on Transport Plans
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An Environmental Protection Agency finding that 24 states have failed to submit adequate plans for addressing interstate pollution will go into effect on Aug. 12, triggering a two-year deadline for the EPA to either approve sufficient state plans or issue a federal plan. The EPA July 13 is scheduled to publish its finding that California, Massachusetts, Michigan and other states have failed to submit state implementation plans that address those states' “good neighbor” obligations under the Clean Air Act (127 DEN A-1, 7/2/15). The good neighbor provision requires upwind states to control emissions of ozone precursors to ensure that those emissions won't significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with attainment in downwind states. The affected states were required to submit good neighbor plans under the current ozone standards of 75 parts per billion by March 12, 2011, three years after the standards (RIN 2060-AN24) were set. The EPA will have until August 2017 to either approve individual state plans to address nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions from those states or issue a federal implementation plan covering those states. The EPA said in June that the agency will work with the affected states to expedite the submissions of adequate state plans. The findings are available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-16922.pdf.
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States Are Unplugging Their Renewable-Energy Mandates
Jul 10, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Donald Bryson and Jeff Glendening
When it comes to state energy policies, the wind is finally blowing in the right direction. Take our home states of Kansas and North Carolina, both of which have begun to look at their renewable-energy mandates with new skepticism.
In May, Kansas effectively repealed its Renewable Portfolio Standard—which required 20% renewable electricity by 2020—by making the target voluntary. “This allows some free-market forces to go to work,” the chairman of the House Energy and Environment Committee declared. North Carolina is on track to freeze its RPS law this year. The House has passed two bills that would hold the mandate at 6% renewables and prevent it from rising to 12.5% by 2021 as originally planned. There is powerful support in the state Senate for passing similar language before the end of the legislative session, likely in September.
Our states aren’t the only ones having second thoughts. In 2014 Ohio froze its RPS law at 2.5% for two years, pushing the final target of 12.5% back to 2026. West Virginia eliminated its mandate outright in February. The other 25 states with renewable portfolio standards would be wise to follow suit. These laws were in vogue from the late 1990s to the late 2000s as lawmakers sought to demonstrate their green credentials.
Most state RPS laws require that between 10% and 25% of electricity come from renewables. The figure is higher in some states: In New York the mandate is 30% by the end of this year, and in California it is 33% by the end of the decade.
These laws force states to increase renewable electricity generation, regardless of whether it makes sense for the local economy. New solar and wind farms cost substantial sums, which are then passed on to individuals and businesses through higher energy bills. Even once they are up and running, the electricity they generate costs a pretty penny.
A June study by the Institute for Energy Research shows that electricity generated from new wind farms is between two and four times more expensive than electricity from existing coal, natural gas and nuclear plants. Compared with new fossil-fuel plants, electricity from new wind farms is between 15% and 54% more expensive. As for solar, EIA data show it will continue to be significantly more expensive than competitors for at least the rest of the decade, and likely far beyond.
Electricity prices in most states with RPS laws are “starkly higher,” according to a 2012 Manhattan Institute report. The difference was especially striking in coal-dependent states: “Seven such states with RPS mandates saw their rates soar by an average of 54.2 percent between 2001 and 2010, more than twice the average increase experienced by seven other coal-dependent states without mandates.”
Nationally, federal data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that electricity is, on average, 22.9% more costly—24.2% for residential customers and 21.4% for industrial—where RPS mandates are in effect.
Our home states bear this out. EIA data show that over the past half-decade North Carolinians’ electricity rates rose twice as fast as they did in neighboring states, none of which have RPS laws. Today, our rates are nearly 2% higher than our neighbors’, and prices would increase further if targets for wind and solar, which now account for only about 3% of generation, are ratcheted up. In Kansas, where 19% of electricity came from wind in 2013, electric rates are on average 16% higher than in neighboring states.
No matter where you live, higher electric prices are harmful. When consumers pay higher electric bills, they have less to spend on everything else. When overhead costs for businesses and manufacturers increase, they have to divert money from increasing wages and creating jobs. Sometimes they even have to raise prices, which hits consumers every time they go to the store.
A report released in February by the Institute of Political Economy at Utah State University and Strata Policy quantifies these losses. North Carolinians lose a potential $14.4 billion in real personal income a year, while Kansans could be missing out on $4.85 billion a year, the report states. This money should be in families’ wallets. Instead, it is going to subsidize wind turbines and the like. The report further suggests that “RPS is correlated with an increase of 10 percent in a state’s unemployment rate.” That equates to 5,500 jobs for Kansas and 24,000 in North Carolina.
We’re fortunate that elected officials in our states are taking steps to undo this damage. But half of America’s states still suffer under the burden of Renewable Portfolio Standards. State lawmakers who want to help their constituents and boost their economies would be wise to let these green energy mandates flutter away into the wind.
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California Is Overusing Its Natural Resources
Jul 11, 2015 | The Sacramento Bee
By Mathis Wackernagel
The drought in California has made the economic risks of living beyond the means of nature all too clear. Just last month, estimates pegged the state’s economic losses from the drought at $2.7 billion, an enormous number that still fails to capture the toll on individual farmers and farmworkers.
Water, however, isn’t the only natural resource that our state is overusing and must manage more carefully to ensure a resilient future.
On Tuesday, the United States will go into ecological deficit. That means our nation will be using more of nature’s renewable resources and services than our ecosystems can regenerate in the entire year. Of all 50 states, California is running the largest ecological deficit, according to our analysis, which we will release Tuesday in a report called “State of the States.” We found we would need a land area equal to eight – eight! – Californias to support the “ecological footprint” of California residents.
The ecological footprint measures a population’s demand for the resources and services our ecosystems provide – fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, wood, cotton for clothing and carbon dioxide absorption by forests. We then can compare that demand to the supply, called “biocapacity.”
A state, city or nation goes into ecological deficit when its population demands more from its ecosystems than it can regenerate. Extra demand can be met by importing, liquidating its own ecological assets (overfishing, for instance), and/or by emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than forests can absorb.
California is running an ecological deficit, in part, because it’s the nation’s most populous state. On a per-capita basis, Californians actually have the 14th lowest ecological footprint of all Americans, thanks to a mild climate that requires less energy for heating and cooling, among other factors.
However, our supply of biocapacity still cannot meet demand. Surprisingly, California’s biocapacity is relatively low compared to other states because much of the state is arid. The drought threatens to further decrease the state’s biocapacity.
How can our local officials reduce the risks of this ecological deficit? California leaders have taken many ambitious steps to make our state more sustainable, including creating a cap-and-trade system to rein in emissions and setting a goal to get 33 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2020.
Still, additional bold moves are needed to make our state more resilient. We can start with how we make long-term capital investments with taxpayer money. In Maryland, we helped pioneer a new way to more accurately incorporate environmental and social factors into calculating the true costs and benefits of capital investments.
We tested this valuation method on three investments: fleet vehicles, a weatherization program and a land conservation project. In all cases, the “greener” option was a better – and in some cases by far better – use of taxpayer money. California officials could expand upon these examples and look at the long-term ecological value of major public investments in mass transit, housing, new renewable energy sources and other infrastructure.
City and county decision-makers also can play a major role in creating a more resilient future for California. By 2050, 80 percent of the world population is expected to live in urban areas. Consequently, how local governments plan and build our cities will be crucial for our state’s well-being.
As the world’s seventh-largest economy and a global center for innovation, California cannot ignore its growing risk exposure to ecological constraints, as the drought has made painfully obvious. But let’s learn a lesson from the drought – before we confront another crisis. Managing all of our natural capital carefully and making wise capital investments is imperative for ensuring a prosperous, resilient future for California.
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Duke Energy Steps Up Bid To Block Environmentalists' CWA Coal Ash Suits
Jul 10, 2015 | InsideEPA
By David LaRoss
Duke Energy is seeking to bolster its bids to stay or dismiss two Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suits over coal ash leaks from its impoundments in North Carolina, arguing that the environmentalists' suits in federal court are redundant with the state's own enforcement actions, and that the facilities at issue are already in the process of closing.
But the advocates are trying to preserve the suits, which are two of the most prominent that they have filed against coal ash facility operators, and have said they will continue to prosecute even though EPA has published a final coal ash disposal rule. Environmentalists say the rule is too weak because it does not strictly regulate ash as hazardous waste and exempts some closed impoundments, saying it underscores the need for citizen suits over leaks and spills.
But Duke is fighting the cases and is invoking the CWA bar on citizen suits over a violation that a state or federal agency is “diligently prosecuting” to ask the courts to dismiss both suits, despite the fact that the state cases are based on North Carolina groundwater protection statutes rather than the federal water law.
In briefs filed July 6 in the two separate cases, Duke says the plaintiffs are overstepping the water law's citizen suit provisions by seeking new penalties against facilities that are already preparing to close based on North Carolina's own enforcement proceedings. The company hopes to refute the advocates' objections that the cases are based on separate legal provisions, and that even if the proceedings are similar the state suits could soon be indefinitely stayed.
“[T]he state court has been very clear that it has no intention of delaying the state action . . . far from delaying the closing of the coal ash basins, Duke Energy has moved forward and has announced a closure strategy that even the Plaintiffs have endorsed,” Duke says in its reply brief supporting earlier motions to stay or dismiss Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation, Inc., et al. v. Duke, pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Pending Suits
Environmentalist plaintiffs in the suits are asking courts to mandate cleanups at ash storage facilities in North Carolina that the environmentalists say were found to be leaking into groundwater after the high-profile spill of 39,000 tons of coal ash from a fourth site into the state’s Dan River earlier this year. They hope to win stricter remediation than North Carolina is seeking in its ongoing state court case.
But Duke in its latest filings says the advocates' claims ignore the fact that the laws at issue in the state case cover exactly the same discharges that the advocates are raising in their CWA suits.
“Here, the State is prosecuting an enforcement action which encompasses ALL seeps, unpermitted discharges, and groundwater violations . . . Moreover, the State is seeking the same remedies Plaintiffs seek,” Duke says in its motion supporting a stay in the second case, Cape Fear River Watch, et al., v. Duke, which is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Duke is asking the courts to dismiss the cases, or at least to stay them until the state courts rule, in order to avoid duplicative or contradictory remedies.
It is also arguing that even if the suits are not redundant, courts have generally held that releases to groundwater are not regulated by the CWA -- even if the pollutants involved ultimately reach protected surface waters, as advocates have claimed in the current suits.
“Plaintiffs disregard the plain language of the CWA and the many cases . . . that hold that discharges to groundwater are not actionable under the CWA,” the brief for dismissal in Neuse Riverkeeper says.
Legal Challenges
Meanwhile, in Missouri the power company Ameren has agreed to settle lawsuits by the state's Franklin County and the Labadie Environmental Organization challenging the company's proposed coal ash disposal site in Franklin. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the settlements hinge on Ameren's pledge to leave at least five feet of buffer between the impoundment and groundwater -- a requirement that is also a key part of EPA's ash disposal rule.
And in Virginia, state regulators are weighing new petitions from environmental and public health groups to block Dominion Virginia Power's plan to close four ash disposal sites in the state.
The advocates are claiming that the plan -- which relies mainly on covering or “capping” existing disposal sites -- does too little to guard against leaks after closure. “Dominion’s proposal to cap in place will not stop heavy metals and other toxic pollutants from leaking out of the sides and bottom of coal ash ponds,” Emily Russell of Virginia Conservation Network told the Augusta Free Press in a July 8 article.
Dominion is already facing a CWA citizen suit over alleged groundwater contamination from leaks at one already-closed ash facility in the state, Sierra Club v. Dominion Virginia Power. But the company is urging the court to dismiss the advocates' claims by arguing the CWA's citizen litigation provisions do not extend to groundwater harm as alleged in the case. The power company says that even if the environmentalists are correct that chemicals from ash are being carried from groundwater to protected surface waters, they have no right to sue under the water law.
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Boosting Enforcement Among Priorities for PHMSA Nominee
Jul 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Boosting the enforcement capabilities of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration would be among the top priorities for Marie Therese Dominguez, the nominee to head the agency, according to a questionnaire released by a Senate committee July 10.
Dominguez would also seek to fill staffing holes in the agency, to improve the agency's collection and use of data and to complete congressional and other federal mandates and recommendations, she said in her answers submitted to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Additionally, Dominguez would seek to improve transparency and communication with interested parties such as states, she said.
The answers in the questionnaire offer a glimpse into Dominguez's vision for PHMSA and where there could be changes under her leadership. These statements by Dominguez, who has been serving as PHMSA's deputy administrator since June, provide insights for the pipeline and hazmat industries (124 DEN A-3, 6/29/15).
Qualifications to Lead
Dominguez's answers also provided insights regarding her qualifications for the position—essentially her familiarity with transportation issues, her managerial experience and her track record working with Congress.
Dominguez highlighted her experience working with interested parties to implement the first Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (Pub. L. No. 102-240), her accomplishments in restructuring the U.S. Postal Service and her overall dedication to public service as just a few of her qualifications to lead PHMSA.
“Clear and effective communication and transparency with employees and all partners is critical to success in achieving organizational change,” Dominguez said. “I am a proven leader, capable of effectively managing people and financial resources to develop and implement solutions.”
“If confirmed to serve as PHMSA Administrator, I would bring my experience leading change to PHMSA and develop and implement policy that will enhance safety in the transportation of hazardous materials,” Dominguez said.
Railroad Administration Nominee
The questionnaire filing for Sarah Feinberg, the acting administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration who is also the nominee for that position, was also made available July 10.
In Feinberg's filing, she touted her experience dealing with derailments of trains carrying crude oil as one of her qualifications to be confirmed as administrator.
Feingerg noted that it will be “critical” to implement the recently finalized PHMSA rule on operational and tank car requirements for trains carrying large shipments of crude oil or certain other flammable liquids, as part of the FRA's efforts to improve safety. That rule is currently mired in lawsuits and administrative appeals (127 DEN A-2, 7/2/15).
No confirmation hearing date has been announced for either Dominguez or Feinberg.
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