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acc am 10/9
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(ACC Mentioend) Industries’ Views Mixed On Pacific Rim Trade Pact
Oct 8, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Andrea Widener
A historic trade agreement that could govern more than 40% of the world’s economic output is drawing mixed reaction from chemical-related industries. -
(ACC Mentioned) Opinion: Recycling: Reeducate or Rebuild?
Oct 9, 2015 | Burlington Free Press
By Elly Ventura
“I just think we need to be focusing more on the education.” — Amy Perlmutter, Perlmutter Associates, a recycling consulting firm. -
(ACC Mentioned) PVC Prices Drop a Penny
Oct 8, 2015 | Plastics News
The downward pricing trend continued in September for North American PVC resin. -
(ACC Mentioned) TSCA-Reform Vote Now Eyed After Columbus Day Break
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna and Pat Rizzuto
Senators prepared to leave Washington for a weeklong break Oct. 8 without voting on legislation (S. 697) to revamp the nation's primary chemicals law, but the bill's lead sponsor told reporters negotiations continue in hopes of taking up the bill when they return. -
(ACC Mentioned) School Lunches May Contain Harmful Levels of BPA, Study Finds
Oct 9, 2015 | Stanford Daily
By Andrea Villa
School lunches may contain harmful levels of bisphenol A (BPA) due to the use of canned or plastic packaged ingredients, according to researchers at Stanford and Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. -
Senate Punts TSCA Vote Until After Recess
Oct 9, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Sam Pearson
Lawmakers will leave town for the Columbus Day recess without taking action on a bill to overhaul how the federal government manages toxic chemicals. -
TSCA REFORM: MOVING FORWARD…MAYBE?
Oct 8, 2015 | Bloomberg BNA
By Pat Rizzuto
It’s been more than 10 years since the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J) introduced his first of several bills to update the Toxic Substances Control Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency greater authority to ensure the safety of chemicals in commerce. -
Attention Problem in Kids Linked to Flame Retardant Exposure
Oct 8, 2015 | Business Standard
Prenatal exposure to some common flame retardants -- compounds added to materials such as plastics and textiles to prevent the spread of fire -- may contribute to attention problem in young children, new research has found. -
DuPont Found Liable For Cancer From Teflon Chemical – $1.6 Million In Damages
Oct 8, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Bill Walker
A federal jury on Wednesday (Oct. 7) found DuPont liable for causing a West Virginia woman’s kidney cancer by poisoning her drinking water with a chemical used to make Teflon. The jurors ordered the company to pay $1.6 million in damages. -
(ACC Mentioned) New EPA Limit On Ground-Level Ozone Draws Mixed Response
Oct 8, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Jeff Johnson
Congress is taking a critical look at a new federal air quality standard that the chemical industry says will put expansion investments at risk but that health advocates say doesn’t offer enough protection. -
House to Cast Final Vote on Export Bill Locked in Partisan Fight
Oct 9, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Hannah Northey
A number of House Democrats are vowing to oppose legislation to lift the federal ban on crude exports when it comes up for a vote on the House floor today. But the bill is still expected to sail through. -
House Oil Export Vote on Track Despite Leadership Chaos
Oct 8, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Tomorrow's House vote on crude exports legislation will continue despite the turmoil sparked by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker, a GOP leadership aide told POLITICO today. -
Murkowski Ties Syria, Libya to U.S. Oil Export Debate
Oct 8, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski today opened a new front in her fight to end the U.S. crude oil export ban, raising questions about the Obama administration's decisions to extend licenses to crude shipments that could benefit Syrian and Libyan rebels. -
Crude Oil Exports Will Strengthen the Us Economy and Benefit all Americans
Oct 8, 2015 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)
The ban on crude oil exports is a relic of a bygone era of energy policy. In 1975, our country was reeling from an economic recession, a recession that was largely propelled by the Arab oil embargo of 1973. Fears of the Cold War, global unrest in the Middle East, and fears that the world’s oil reserves were running dry were on everyone’s minds. As a result, Congress enacted the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975, signed into law by President Ford on Dec. 22. As we approach its 40th birthday, it’s time to kick this outdated law over the hill. -
Boehner Stays Put as Speaker after McCarthy 'Stuns' Caucus
Oct 8, 2015 | E&E News pm
By Geof Koss, Daniel Bush and Manuel Quiñones
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) this afternoon said he would remain as House speaker until a replacement is chosen as Republicans struggle to chart a path out of intraparty fighting that has left their caucus in disarray. -
After McCarthy's Exit, Who's in the Running to Replace Boehner?
Oct 9, 2015 | Politico
By Lauren French
Kevin McCarthy's stunning withdrawal from the speaker's race left a power vacuum at the top of the House GOP, and so far, no clear favorite has emerged to fill the void. -
Energy Spending Bill Blocked in Senate
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
Senate Democrats voted Oct. 8 to block the chamber from taking up a $35.4 billion energy and water spending bill as part of a broader fight over domestic spending levels. -
Dems Block Energy and Water Spending Bill
Oct 8, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Manuel Quiñones
Democrats this afternoon blocked the Republican majority's latest attempt to move forward with consideration of spending bills under disputed budget caps. -
Senate Dems Block Energy Spending Bill
Oct 8, 2015 | The Hill - Floor Action
By Jordain Carney
Senate Democrats blocked an energy spending bill on Thursday as they try to push Republicans to negotiate a larger budget deal. -
House, Senate Prep New Clean Power Plan Challenge
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna and Ari Natter
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are preparing to launch Congressional Review Act challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan shortly after the rule is formally published, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 8. -
New York Governor Urges Linked Cap-and-Trade Programs
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Gerald B. Silverman
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) will work with other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to consider linking up with cap-and-trade plans in California, Quebec and Ontario, the governor said Oct. 8. -
New York Unveils Climate Change Plans
Oct 8, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Erica Orden
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t always earned the praise of his fellow Democrats on issues central to the party, but on Thursday he added his voice to one of its core concerns—climate change.
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(ACC Mentioend) Industries’ Views Mixed On Pacific Rim Trade Pact
Oct 8, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Andrea Widener
A historic trade agreement that could govern more than 40% of the world’s economic output is drawing mixed reaction from chemical-related industries.
The American Chemistry Council, the U.S. chemical industry’s major trade association, strongly supports theTrans-Pacific Partnership deal that would open up trade with 11 other nations. Calvin M. Dooley, president of the group, says the pact means a more predictable trading environment for the chemical industry, which accounts for 14% of U.S. exports.
However, the pharmaceutical industry is unhappy over a last-minute compromise that loosened intellectual property protections it sought for biologic medicines. The agreement would provide up to eight years of protections for some biologic drugs. That is less than the 12 years the pharmaceutical industry had wanted, but it’s more than the five years that many Democrats and health care advocacy groups had lobbied for.
“[Trade] ministers missed the opportunity to encourage innovation that would lead to more important, lifesaving medicines that would improve patients’ lives,” says John Castellani, president of the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership has been under negotiation for a decade, but contentious issues ranging from agriculture subsidies to high-tech industry protections slowed down the talks. It includes provisions on labor, environmental protection, and e-commerce laws and would eliminate thousands of international tariffs if it is approved by member nations. Participating countries are the U.S., Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Opponents say that the deal will encourage U.S. companies to send more business to low-wage workers abroad. Environmental groups are particularly concerned about a provision that would allow companies to challenge a country’s regulations or court rulings in an international trade tribunal.
But President Barack Obama says the deal “includes the strongest commitments on labor and the environment of any trade agreement in history, and those commitments are enforceable, unlike in past agreements.”
Now Obama has to push the deal through Congress. A vote is not expected until 2016.
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(ACC Mentioned) Opinion: Recycling: Reeducate or Rebuild?
Oct 9, 2015 | Burlington Free Press
By Elly Ventura
“I just think we need to be focusing more on the education.” — Amy Perlmutter, Perlmutter Associates, a recycling consulting firm.
“It always goes back to education.” — Steve Sargent, director of Rumpke Recycling.
“Maybe a better way to look is if we can better educate everybody that what they can put in their bin is recyclables that would be better.” — Jason Pelz, vice president of recycling projects with the Carton Council of North America.
After reading these quotes in Nick Stockton’s very astute, yet distressing article, “Listen Up America: You Need to Learn How to Recycle. Again,” I asked myself, “Do we?” As the outreach and education coordinator for the Lamoille Regional Solid Waste Management District (LRSWMD), I have been hosting “How to Recycle Workshops” throughout the LRSWMD over the last several months. In doing so I wonder, is it working? Are we hitting the mark? Is this the best use of our limited resources?
I came across Stockton’s article shortly after reading a review on the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council’s report, “The Evolution of Mixed Waste Processing Facilities” in the August issue of Renewable Energy from Waste. I come across fascinating information like this quite often in my daily work but the timing of these two seemed transcendental.
The winds of change are blowing across the state of trash in Vermont these days. The state Legislature unanimously passed Act 148, now being referred to as “Vermont’s recycling and composting initiative,” in 2012. The law was intended to make us think about and manage our materials (formerly known as trash) more responsibly. It is pretty common knowledge that Vermont has one working landfill remaining within its borders. We are 15 short months into the law and the future continues to look bleak. Is it because this landmark legislation never went through the democratic rules-making process once it was unanimously passed? Is it because our current governor recently announced that he will not be seeking re-election? Is it because our corporations are not willing to adapt to what is best for Vermont? Or could it be, as quoted repeatedly above, we need focus more on education?
Various components of Vermont’s recycling and composting initiative are right on target with what materials management professionals are calling for. The crux of success to the recycling and composting Initiative is indeed “outreach and education.” Solid waste management entities, like the LRSWMD, are required to: administer surveys to measure current knowledge about materials management practices, “provide guidance and assistance to” schools, institutions, businesses, haulers, and residents to “ensure compliance (to the new Act 148) and requires and that materials (trash, recycling, food scraps, hazardous waste, etc.) meet quality control standards set by processing facilities,” implement an on-going multi-media outreach campaign to inform (the constituency) on preferred practice to recycle materials, etc., etc., etc. And therein lays my frustration — is more education really the solution?
The recycling rate in Vermont, and in the U.S., has stagnated at about 34 percent for the past two and a half decades. Education programs have been utilized over the course of that time. As solid waste planning entities, as citizens even, we are limited by the materials management infrastructure and processes that service our areas. As stated in the Renewable Energy review, “The potential exists to divert 180 percent more high value metals and plastics from landfills than are diverted today.” And, from the same article, “even after many residents have separated their recyclables, the average MSW (municipal solid waste) stream may contain up to half of the total volume of recyclables and, in some cases, more.”
So, if research is saying that people are still missing the bin, is the solution really in the education, or is it in the processing?
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(ACC Mentioned) PVC Prices Drop a Penny
Oct 8, 2015 | Plastics News
The downward pricing trend continued in September for North American PVC resin.
Selling prices for suspension PVC resins in the region dropped an average of 1 cent per pound in September, according to sources contacted by Plastics News. It’s the second consecutive 1-cent monthly drop seen by the material.
Prior to the back-to-back declines, regional PVC prices had been flat for four consecutive months. Prices now are down a net of 1 cent per pound so far in 2015.
Through August, U.S./Canadian PVC sales were down almost 1 percent vs. the same period in 2014, according to the American Chemistry Council in Washington. Domestic sales were down more than 2 percent, even as sales into export markets grew almost 3 percent.
Regional sales of PVC into most construction-related uses were flat or slightly down for the eight-month period, even as U.S. construction activity continued to improve. PVC sales into rigid pipe and tubing — which accounted for almost 45 percent of domestic sales — fell more than 1 percent.
PVC sales into extruded windows and doors also fell 1 percent, while sales into fencing and decking essentially were flat. The only construction-related segment that showed PVC sales growth for the eight months was siding and related uses, where sales grew almost 5 percent.
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(ACC Mentioned) TSCA-Reform Vote Now Eyed After Columbus Day Break
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna and Pat Rizzuto
Senators prepared to leave Washington for a weeklong break Oct. 8 without voting on legislation (S. 697) to revamp the nation's primary chemicals law, but the bill's lead sponsor told reporters negotiations continue in hopes of taking up the bill when they return.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) said talks will continue during the Oct. 12 weeklong break about how to resolve the issue of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has held up the chamber's consideration of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.
“This is going to happen sooner rather than later,” Udall said. “We're going to be working hard over the break and continuing the discussion. And we look forward to doing something after we get back from the break.”
Udall indicated the next opportunity for the Senate to vote on the bill would be “right after” the chamber returns from recess.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who has worked with Udall for more than two years to craft what became S. 697, is “very optimistic” the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act will be taken up shortly after the October recess, an aide to the senator told Bloomberg BNA.
Republican Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) have blocked the Senate from moving on to the chemical reform bill unless they get a vote to reauthorize the conservation fund, which uses oil and gas royalties for recreation and conservation projects. They have pushed for an amendment to S. 697, which many fear would complicate the bill's path, or a standalone vote on legislation permanently reauthorizing the fund.
LWCF Senate Push Fails
Ayotte sought a quick solution Oct. 8 by asking for unanimous consent on the Senate floor for permanent reauthorization (S. 338) of the fund, but Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) objected to her request.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) then made a similar request to immediately reauthorize the fund, but Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) objected.
Despite the continued hold-up, S. 697 has the support of 60 senators from 38 states and bill proponents continue to believe they will secure quick passage and overwhelming support for the legislation once it reaches the Senate floor (194 DEN A-2, 10/7/15).
“Given the overwhelming support for the Udall bill they'll be able to move on TSCA very quickly when the LWCF obstacle is cleared,” Jack Pratt, chemicals campaign director at EDF, told Bloomberg BNA.
Even groups who oppose the underlying Senate bill, favoring instead the narrower House-passed version of TSCA reform (H.R. 2576), believe the Senate chamber will ultimately be able to move past the log jam.
Andy Igrejas, founder of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups, told Bloomberg BNA that he assumes S. 697 will eventually reach the Senate floor and be approved.
Hoeven Not Blocking Bill
One obstacle no longer blocking the bill's path is an amendment lifting the ban on crude oil exports.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 8 he had previously put a hold on S. 697 but lifted it after Senate leadership promised him a vote in some form on lifting the crude oil export ban before the end of the year.
The American Chemistry Council told Bloomberg BNA it hoped Senate leadership would be able to work through the hold-up expeditiously to allow the bill “to pass overwhelmingly.”
“We're disappointed the bill is currently being held up,” the group said in a statement. “We are urging leadership to work through this as soon as possible and get the bill to the floor for a vote.”
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(ACC Mentioned) School Lunches May Contain Harmful Levels of BPA, Study Finds
Oct 9, 2015 | Stanford Daily
By Andrea Villa
School lunches may contain harmful levels of bisphenol A (BPA) due to the use of canned or plastic packaged ingredients, according to researchers at Stanford and Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Exposure to BPA has been linked to cancers, reproductive issues, neurological problems and developmental harm to children’s bodies and brains.
Numerous studies have found that lower doses than the standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1988 still produce adverse health effects in animals. This year, the European food safety authority tightened restrictions on BPA levels in food to four micrograms per kilo, far more stringent than the EPA’s 50 safe-intake limit of 50 micrograms per kilo.
Stanford postdoctoral research fellow Jennifer Hartle, a lead author of the study, suggested that parents pressure school systems to serve more fresh rather than prepackaged and canned fruits and vegetables.
“Everybody knows about pesticides as a potential problem with food,” Hartle told The Baltimore Sun. “Well, the packaging is something else to consider.”
The study comes in the midst of renewed concern about the effects of BPA intake. The Endocrine Society, a group of hormone scientists, recently found that 1,300 studies over the last few years strengthen the link between low doses of BPA and serious health issues.
The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade association, rejected the Endocrine Society’s findings that low doses of BPA lead to harm and stated that the Endocrine Society’s report had “broad, unsupported claims.” Steven Hentges Ph.D. ’80, a council spokesman, said that parents ought to be reassured that the study’s estimates of BPA are below the European standard.
Pharmacology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and lead author of the Endocrine Society’s report Andrea Gore said that while the levels of BPA in school lunches may seem low, it is important to consider them in conjunction to other possible sources of BPA intake – at home, for instance.
Patricia Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association, said that schools were already making an effort to provide students with fresh produce.
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Senate Punts TSCA Vote Until After Recess
Oct 9, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Sam Pearson
Lawmakers will leave town for the Columbus Day recess without taking action on a bill to overhaul how the federal government manages toxic chemicals.
Though the bill, S. 697 or the "Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act," gained its 60th co-sponsor last week, lawmakers have so far been unable to untangle the issue of how to fix the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 from an unrelated push to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The bill's original co-sponsors, Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and David Vitter (R-La.), earlier this week speculated the bill could come to the Senate floor as soon as today and pass within a few hours, but they've so far failed to secure the approvals of two lawmakers -- Republican Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire -- who have refused to consent to an agreement to consider the bill unless an amendment to reauthorize LWCF also receives a vote.
No votes are planned in the Senate today, leaving passage of the TSCA bill to Oct. 19, at the earliest.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) staff is working to find a way forward on the plan, Udall said earlier this week (Greenwire, Oct. 7).
"Senators are having productive conversations about the path forward," Udall spokeswoman Jennifer Talhelm said in a statement yesterday. "Senator Udall shares the desire for urgent progress on LWCF, but unrelated issues shouldn't block long-overdue TSCA reform. We are hopeful that the senators involved can find a resolution soon."
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TSCA REFORM: MOVING FORWARD…MAYBE?
Oct 8, 2015 | Bloomberg BNA
By Pat Rizzuto
It’s been more than 10 years since the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J) introduced his first of several bills to update the Toxic Substances Control Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency greater authority to ensure the safety of chemicals in commerce.
His goal remains unmet, and the bill before this Congress that bears his name, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, S. 697, is stalled as senators work to get time on the Senate floor to pass a bill focused solely on modernizing U.S. chemicals management without non-germane amendments.
If S. 697 secures floor time as a “clean” bill, its approval seems guaranteed in light of its filibuster-proof support from 60 Republican and Democratic senators.
The bill’s supporters say it addresses concerns former EPA officials listed as key problems they had implementing TSCA. Bloomberg BNA summarized these in aSept. 28 blog post.
Here are two of the problems they identified, and provisions designed to address those problems in S. 697 and the House’s TSCA Modernization Act (H.R. 2576):
Problem: TSCA’s stipulations made it extremely hard for the EPA to obtain from chemical manufacturers toxicity and other data about chemicals in commerce.
S. 697 and H.R. 2576 would allow the EPA to get chemical data by order authority rather than the rulemaking procedures required under TSCA.
Problem: TSCA lacks an agenda or deadlines for activities addressing chemicals in commerce.
S. 697 has a detailed list of activities it would require the EPA to undertake regarding chemicals in commerce with deadlines attached to each of these activities. Some of these deadlines have been tightened during recent negotiations on the bill.
H.R. 2576, which is designed to revise fewer sections of TSCA than the Senate bill does, would require the EPA to complete chemical risk evaluations requested and paid for by chemical manufacturers within two years. “Subject to the availability of appropriations,” the House bill would require the agency to evaluate the risks of 10 or more chemicals annually when it determines those chemicals had the potential to provide an unreasonable risk. The EPA would have three years to evaluate the risks of chemicals it selects for assessment.
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Attention Problem in Kids Linked to Flame Retardant Exposure
Oct 8, 2015 | Business Standard
Prenatal exposure to some common flame retardants -- compounds added to materials such as plastics and textiles to prevent the spread of fire -- may contribute to attention problem in young children, new research has found.
The findings highlight the effects of prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on children's development during both preschool and school age periods.
PBDEs are found in textiles, plastics, wiring and furniture containing polyurethane foam to reduce flammability.
Since PBDEs are not chemically bound to these materials, they migrate into the environment over time.
"These findings support the need to develop programmes for safely disposing of products containing PBDEs that are still in use," said study senior author Julie Herbstman, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
Humans are commonly exposed to the chemicals through accidental ingestion of house dust and by eating meat, dairy, and fatty fish with accumulated PBDEs.
Researchers followed 210 mother-child pairs from birth through early childhood.
This cohort was established following the September 11, 2001 attack and designed to examine the effects of exposure to dust, smoke and fumes on child development.
Beginning at age three, researchers assessed child behaviour using a standardised rating scale, repeating the test ever year through age seven.
Cord blood samples were analysed for PBDEs to assess prenatal exposure to the chemicals.
At ages three, four and seven years, children with the highest exposure to certain PBDEs had approximately twice the number of maternally-reported attention problems compared to other children in the study.
The results appeared in the journal of Neurotoxicology and Teratology.
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DuPont Found Liable For Cancer From Teflon Chemical – $1.6 Million In Damages
Oct 8, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Bill Walker
A federal jury on Wednesday (Oct. 7) found DuPont liable for causing a West Virginia woman’s kidney cancer by poisoning her drinking water with a chemical used to make Teflon. The jurors ordered the company to pay $1.6 million in damages.
The jury in Columbus, Ohio, held that DuPont was guilty of negligence and infliction of emotional distress for deliberately discharging the chemical – a perfluorinated compound, or PFC, called PFOA – into the Ohio River, landfills and the air, and that the contamination caused the cancer that afflicted Carla Marie Bartlett, 59. Bartlett’s case was the first to go to trial of 3,500 lawsuits against the company for illnesses caused by the pollution of public water systems and private wells near DuPont’s Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, W. Va.
DuPont “made the Ohio River their personal toxic dumping ground so they could make more money on Teflon,” Bartlett’s lawyer, Mike Papantonio, said in closing arguments, as reported by Bloomberg Business. Despite DuPont’s callous disregard for the health of the community and its repeated efforts to hide the truth, however, the jury did not find that the company acted with malice.
Bartlett’s lawyers introduced as evidence internal DuPont documents that showed the company knew for decades that PFOA was hazardous, including a 1981 memo that reported a high level of birth defects in children of women who worked at the plant. DuPont never reported that or other damning information to the Environmental Protection Agency, a violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act for which it was fined a record $16.5 million in 2005.
Lacking authority to ban PFOA, the EPA allowed DuPont to phase it out over 10 years. The chemical is no longer made or used in the U.S., but DuPont continues to make Teflon using an alternative nonstick chemical that was rushed to market without adequate safety testing.
In 2006 DuPont settled for more than $300 million a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of 70,000 residents of the region. Under its terms DuPont is paying to filter the water systems of six area towns. The settlement also funded an independent panel of scientists to study the health effects of PFOA.
The scientists concluded there was a probable link between PFOA and kidney and testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and high cholesterol, setting the stage for residents with any of those diseases to sue DuPont for personal damages – the cases now on trial. Since the science panel’s work, other researchers have found links between PFOA and low birth weight, early puberty, endocrine disruption, immune problems and other conditions.
In 2005, EWG and the public health non-profit Commonweal commissioned tests of newborns’ umbilical cord blood that showed PFCs can be passed from mother to child in the womb, and recent research has found that they can also be passed on through breastfeeding.
Through its use in Teflon and hundreds of other consumer products, PFOA has spread worldwide and contaminated the blood of virtually all Americans. As EWG reported earlier this year, EPA water testing has found PFOA in the drinking water of 6.5 million people in 27 states, and new science has shown that it is harmful in the tiniest doses – hundreds of times lower than EPA’s non-enforceable heath advisory level. EPA has spent more than a decade studying the health hazards of PFOA but says it won’t even decide whether to set a legal limit for four to six years.
Although DuPont was found liable Wednesday for Bartlett’s cancer, the $1.6 million penalty will be paid by Chemours, a new spinoff company that inherited DuPont’s specialty chemicals business along with its liability for PFOA pollution. DuPont is expected to appeal the verdict.
The next trial is set for Dec. 1. Following a verdict in that case, the remaining lawsuits will be consolidated into one trial, or DuPont and Chemours could offer to settle for a lump sum to be divided among the victims.
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(ACC Mentioned) New EPA Limit On Ground-Level Ozone Draws Mixed Response
Oct 8, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Jeff Johnson
Congress is taking a critical look at a new federal air quality standard that the chemical industry says will put expansion investments at risk but that health advocates say doesn’t offer enough protection.
At issue is the Environmental Protection Agency’s new air pollution limit for ground-level ozone, which is created when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react in the presence of sunlight. The new standard of 70 ppb, issued on Oct. 1, is slightly lower than the previous cap of 75 ppb. The agency had considered 65 ppb in a draft proposal but later backed off that number.
Ozone, a powerful oxidant, irritates lungs and bronchial airways, damaging tissue and leading to wheezing and shortness of breath. It aggravates lung diseases. If the level of ozone in an area exceeds the standard, air regulators have authority to require NOx and hydrocarbons emissions reductions from vehicles, industrial facilities, and electric utilities.
The American Chemistry Council, a trade association, says the standard “puts $10 billion in chemical industry investment at risk.” New facilities, plant expansions, and factory restarts will remain in limbo while EPA determines how these plants, which may emit hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, can obtain air pollution permits necessary for construction and operation, ACC explains.
Other industry groups turned to Congress in an effort to block implementation of the standard. Some lawmakers are responding. The House Science, Space & Technology Committee, whose leaders are critical of the new rule, are planning a hearing to scrutinize it and call witnesses who oppose it.
The rule has supporters too. Although health advocacy organizations sought an ozone limit of 60 ppb, the new limit “offers significantly greater protection than the previous, outdated standard,” the American Lung Association says.
EPA considered lower levels to meet a recommendation from its science advisers of 60 to 70 ppb. In the end, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy picked the weakest level within the science advisers’ range. She says thousands of new studies led her to believe 72 ppb was a safe level for healthy adults, and she chose 70 ppb to provide a protective margin for children and those with compromised lungs.
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House to Cast Final Vote on Export Bill Locked in Partisan Fight
Oct 9, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Hannah Northey
A number of House Democrats are vowing to oppose legislation to lift the federal ban on crude exports when it comes up for a vote on the House floor today. But the bill is still expected to sail through.
The partisan split could be seen yesterday when Rep. Joe Barton's (R-Texas) bill, H.R. 702, overcame a procedural hurdle in the House with no help from Democrats. The House voted 244-185 along party lines to adopt a rule for the bill.
"I'm a no, and I'm going to speak against the bill," Democratic Rep. Gene Green of Texas said during an interview after the vote. Green had once been seen as sympathetic to the concept of easing the crude export ban. But he was upset that he had failed to add an amendment to the language during a Rules Committee meeting Wednesday that would have allowed the Commerce Department to restrict oil exports in the case of an emergency or supply shortages.
"That was part of the understanding we got out of committee, is that we would flesh out those things," he said. Green said he wanted the agency to be able to restrict exports if necessary after hearings. "There's some concern about just opening up the spigot all the way."
Despite talk of a deal in the Senate to lift the ban, Green said it would be difficult to shore up enough Democratic support. "It came out of committee with only one Democrat, and it might be tough to get 60 votes in the Senate," he said.
Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) also criticized what he characterized as the bill's lack of safeguards.
"I think, generally speaking, most Democrats feel like the lack of restrictions on crude oil exports is a reason to vote against the bill," Pallone said. "The president has been allowing more and more exports, and to say there shouldn't be any restrictions on exports, whether it be environment, impact on manufacturing, I think it's just a mistake. We can't accept a bill that doesn't allow the president to have a significant say for those reasons."
But Green acknowledged that the bill is likely to sail through the House today regardless of Democratic skepticism. And Republican authors and co-sponsors who gathered on the lawn of the Capitol yesterday said as much, vowing to run a victory lap after the bill passes the House.
At yesterday's GOP news conference, C. James Patti, president of the Maritime Institute, defended controversial language included in the export bill that would add more funding for a federal program that compensates privately owned vessels that assist the military. The provision has drawn sharp backlash from the conservative Heritage Foundation (Greenwire, Oct. 8).
Barton, flanked by Republican co-sponsors and Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford of Nebraska at the news conference, said the bill now includes a number of Democratic and Republican amendments. "Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be back out here to have a victory press conference," Barton said.Veto fight
Senate Republicans are also vowing to move forward with lifting the nation's ban on exporting domestic crude over objections from the White House, which issued a veto threat this week.
The Office of Management and Budget spelled out its opposition in a statement of administration policy against H.R. 702, saying the bill is "not needed at this time," and instead called for Congress to focus "on supporting our transition to a low-carbon economy" (E&ENews PM, Oct. 7).
"If [the White House wants] to veto, it's up to them," said Robert Dillon, a spokesman for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "Congress can't be scared off every time the president says he's going to veto something."
Murkowski, who introduced language earlier this year to allow international sales of crude oil, released a statement yesterday accusing the White House of "failing to understand" the national security and geopolitical benefits of lifting the ban.
"The veto threat reveals a fundamental misalignment within the administration. These policy contradictions merit further attention," Murkowski said. "Regardless of what the president's advisers may tell him, congressional legislation has become necessary: Even though he has the authority to act, he has not -- even though the time is right, the need is clear, and the global dividends promise to be significant."
The senator also outlined what she cast as contradictions within the administration in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. Murkowski noted that the Department of the Treasury has issued exports to aid Libyan and Syrian rebels while rejecting the need for Congress to allow international sales.
"The administration's recent statements criticizing legislative efforts regarding U.S. oil exports stand in stark contrast to prior administration policy designed to support Libyan and Syrian rebels in their effort to export oil from their countries," she wrote.
Murkowski then peppered Lew with questions about whether the rebels benefited from those exports and whether lifting the ban would also benefit the American economy and the Treasury.
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House Oil Export Vote on Track Despite Leadership Chaos
Oct 8, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Tomorrow's House vote on crude exports legislation will continue despite the turmoil sparked by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker, a GOP leadership aide told POLITICO today.
The vote on the overseas oil sales bill is on track to take place less than 24 hours after McCarthy's stunning cancellation of his campaign leaves the House GOP conference in a leadership vacuum.
The legislation is still expected to pass, although its Democratic support could prove weaker than supporters had hoped following Wednesday's veto threat from the White House.
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Murkowski Ties Syria, Libya to U.S. Oil Export Debate
Oct 8, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Elana Schor
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski today opened a new front in her fight to end the U.S. crude oil export ban, raising questions about the Obama administration's decisions to extend licenses to crude shipments that could benefit Syrian and Libyan rebels.
The White House's criticisms of legislation that would end the U.S. crude export ban "stand in stark contrast to prior administration policy designed to support Libyan and Syrian rebels in their efforts to export oil from their countries," Murkowski wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
The Alaska Republican asked Treasury for details on whether any U.S. companies "engaged in activity" under oil export licensing authority extended to Libya in 2011 and to shipments from Syria in 2014. Murkowski did not connect her line of inquiry to any actions by the Islamic State or other terrorist groups.
The letter signals that despite a White House veto threat that could to slow momentum in the Senate for the bill, Murkowski has no plans of yielding in her push to end restrictions on domestic crude exports. The House is expected to vote on its version of the bill tomorrow.
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Crude Oil Exports Will Strengthen the Us Economy and Benefit all Americans
Oct 8, 2015 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)
The ban on crude oil exports is a relic of a bygone era of energy policy. In 1975, our country was reeling from an economic recession, a recession that was largely propelled by the Arab oil embargo of 1973. Fears of the Cold War, global unrest in the Middle East, and fears that the world’s oil reserves were running dry were on everyone’s minds. As a result, Congress enacted the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975, signed into law by President Ford on Dec. 22. As we approach its 40th birthday, it’s time to kick this outdated law over the hill.
The energy policies resulting from the Arab oil embargo were based on the premise that America was running out of energy, and thus the energy we had needed to be used only in the U.S. Price controls and allocations enforced this policy of scarcity. At the time the United States had little ability to export oil, and those who opposed the ban or those who even knew it existed had limited political will to overturn it.
Today’s energy landscape is vastly different. The United States is a leading energy producer, bordering on superpower status. We have an abundance of energy, and the best technology to boot. We can compete and win in the world marketplace. All of the 70s policies have been repealed, except for the ban on crude oil exports. It’s time to repeal that outdated ban too!
Lifting the ban will create American jobs. These aren’t just energy jobs, but jobs across the supply chain. According to numerous studies, allowing oil exports would create up to 964,000 jobs over time; these are good paying jobs in every state of the union.
Lifting the ban will boost domestic oil production, perhaps by millions of barrels of oil a day. The increased oil production will compete head to head with Russian and OPEC oil in the world market place, bringing billions of dollars back into the U.S.
Lifting the ban should also lower gasoline prices for all Americans. Studies estimate that gas prices could go down as much as 13 cents per gallon, as noted in a recent GAO report. That’s real savings for households. But no study shows gasoline prices going up if we lift the ban on crude oil exports.
Lifting the ban will increase energy security. This legislation would provide energy security to our allies, who would now have the option of buying American crude. Crude exports will challenge the OPEC and Russian market share on energy abroad, adding to the diplomatic tools at our disposal. President Obama has fought to allow Iran to export their crude oil, but does not support free trade for our producers. Why would we put America at a competitive disadvantage to the Iranians or any other nation?
Lifting the ban will lower our national debt. Revenue receipts from increased production and exports will put money back in the Treasury and help set America on a course to balance the budget.
As far as legislation goes, this is a grand slam. Today the House will vote on this measure, and we urge our colleagues to support it. This is a rare legislative opportunity in today’s environment, a bill supported by labor and industry, Republicans and Democrats, and benefits producers and consumers alike. Our mission is simple: improve the lives of Americans at home and enhance our standing in the world. Lifting the ban on crude exports does both.
Barton has represented Texas’ 6th Congressional District since 1985. He sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Cuellar has represented Texas’ 28th Congressional District since 2005. He sits on the Appropriations Committee.
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Boehner Stays Put as Speaker after McCarthy 'Stuns' Caucus
Oct 8, 2015 | E&E News pm
By Geof Koss, Daniel Bush and Manuel Quiñones
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) this afternoon said he would remain as House speaker until a replacement is chosen as Republicans struggle to chart a path out of intraparty fighting that has left their caucus in disarray.
After Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier today shocked the party with his decision to step aside as a candidate for speaker, Boehner said Republicans will regroup before holding leadership elections.
"As I have said previously, I will serve as speaker until the House votes to elect a new speaker," said Boehner, who earlier announced plans to leave the post and Congress at the end of the month. "We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I'm confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks. Our conference will work together to ensure we have the strongest team possible as we continue to focus on the American people's priorities."
As they left the closed-door caucus meeting, Republicans said the room was shocked by McCarthy's announcement.
"Kevin McCarthy said for the good of the conference and the unity of the conference, he was going to withdraw his candidacy for speaker of the House," Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) told reporters. "It was just stunned silence, and he was asked to repeat it."
Boehner then stood and said, "'Given what just happened, we're going to postpone the election,' and we adjourned," Barton added.
The next steps for the caucus remain unclear, although Barton said, "I would assume by the close of business today you'll have some new candidates for speaker announced."
House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who is popular within the GOP caucus, was quick to again take himself out of the running for speaker.
"While I am grateful for the encouragement I've received, I will not be a candidate," Ryan said in a statement. "I continue to believe I can best serve the country and this conference as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee."
Rank-and-file members said they expect other candidates to quickly emerge.
"This will open up the entire conference to potential candidates," Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) said this afternoon. "I think you're going to see a lot of members come forward."
With McCarthy's exit, Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said he sees an opening for his long-shot bid to become speaker.
"Yeah, I think so," Chaffetz told a mob of reporters after leaving the caucus meeting. "I don't know if I'm the right person. I put my name in the hat because I do want to unite this party internally. I want to take that fight to the president. And I want to make sure that we are winning and fighting and doing exactly what we told the American people we would do."
But Chaffetz acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead for House Republicans.
"We've got a lot of discussion that has to happen internally," he said.
Some Republicans have proposed selecting an interim speaker who would serve through the end of the current Congress and who would agree not to seek re-election to the House's top spot.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), one of the roughly 30-40 conservatives who make up the Freedom Caucus that helped push Boehner out, said Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) could fit the bill.
Huelskamp noted that Webster -- the only other remaining declared speaker candidate besides Chaffetz and who was endorsed this week by the Freedom Caucus -- may face a challenging re-election next year as his district is redrawn.
"A transformational speaker that's temporary?" Huelskamp told reporters. "I might be willing to entertain that possibility."
But in a sign of the deep divisions within the caucus, Huelskamp dismissed a reporter's suggestion that Boehner ally Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) could fit the bill. "Tom Cole has attacked conservatives every day I've been here," he said. "And he has been the attack dog for John Boehner."
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon said it's too early to say whether there will be an interim speaker.
"I think that people are not trying to absorb what just happened in conference," he told reporters this afternoon. "I think the conference is ready to make some changes, wants to, and wants to get this behind us. The question is, how do we do that in a very positive way."
Rep. Bill Flores of Texas, who leads the conservative Republican Study Committee, was dubious that an interim speaker would pass muster with the restless Republican caucus.
"An interim will not give us the opportunity to cast that big, bold vision that we need," he told reporters this afternoon. "Interims are caretakers. Caretakers tend to do safe things. We need to find the leader that will help us take those big steps.
"We should take the time that we need to get it right," Flores said.
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After McCarthy's Exit, Who's in the Running to Replace Boehner?
Oct 9, 2015 | Politico
By Lauren French
Kevin McCarthy's stunning withdrawal from the speaker's race left a power vacuum at the top of the House GOP, and so far, no clear favorite has emerged to fill the void.
Republicans floated several possibilities as replacements, with some even offering the idea of an “interim” or “caretaker” speaker. But lawmakers were still digesting the news, and huddling to plot a way forward, and it wasn’t clear that any of the suggested names could win the 218 votes needed to hold the speaker’s gavel.
With McCarthy out, Reps. Daniel Webster of Florida and Jason Chaffetz of Utah are still in the running. Webster was endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday and several lawmakers in that group confirmed that they will still back the former Florida state legislator.
"We're staying Webster. Webster could be caretaker. That's the thing about Webster, it wasn't about him it was about the process," said Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho, a board member of the Freedom Caucus.
But if McCarthy was unable to gather 218 votes, because of strong opposition on the right, it’s hard to see how Webster or Chaffetz could muster enough votes from the party’s center to win the election.
Some Republicans have discussed the idea of an interim speaker — elected only to serve until the end of 2016. Such an interim would likely be a retiring member with at least some cross-party appeal, who could serve as a kind of caretaker while the party sorted out its internal differences.
"I don't know of any candidate, from either, who can get 218 votes....It's probably the most difficult job in Washington, D.C. It's hard to pull together 218 votes in the House," said Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a supporter of Speaker John Boehner.
Reps. Candice Miller of Michigan and John Kline of Minnesota, who are both retiring, have been floated as possible interim candidates. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who has served in Congress since 2003, was also mentioned by fellow lawmakers as a possible caretaker.
And National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Greg Walden of Oregon told reporters he would "consider" running as an interim speaker.
A spokesperson for Kline did not rule out the possibility that his boss could be a contender if approached by Republicans.
“Congressman Kline is confident House Republicans will select someone who can do what’s best for our country and this institution," Troy Young said in a statement.
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia is also being floated as a potential interim speaker.
Of course, there are several popular Republicans who’ve been urged to run by their colleagues, but have steadfastly refused to throw their hats in the ring. GOP lawmakers have long looked to draft Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the Ways and Means Chairman and former vice presidential candidate, into serving. But Ryan reiterated on Thursday that he won’t run to replace Speaker John Boehner, who first announced his retirement last month.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio has also been mentioned as a possible candidate but he said during a closed-door caucus meeting on Thursday that he has no interest in being speaker.
There is also Rep. Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican. He is incredibly popular with Republicans and his close friends already tried to draft him into the race earlier. So far, though, he's refused their entreaties and opted to stay focused on his chairmanship of the Select Committee on Benghazi.
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Energy Spending Bill Blocked in Senate
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
Senate Democrats voted Oct. 8 to block the chamber from taking up a $35.4 billion energy and water spending bill as part of a broader fight over domestic spending levels.As expected, the procedural vote to move to the legislation (H.R. 2028) failed by a vote of 49-47.
Democrats had vowed to oppose the legislation because it reflects spending allocation levels implemented under the Budget Control Act they and President Barack Obama oppose .
“Democrats have been clear. We will not agree to moving bills with inadequate resources that hollow out America,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in remarks on the Senate floor prior to the vote. “We need a bipartisan budget deal.”
The White House also issued a veto threat for the legislation Oct. 8, arguing it “blocks the investments needed for our economy to compete in the future.”
Veto Threat Issued
“Although the bill supports key national security items, the bill drastically underfunds critical investments that develop American energy sources to build a clean and secure energy future,” theStatement of Administration Policy said. “Enacting H.R. 2028 and adhering to the congressional Republican budget's overall spending limits for fiscal year (FY) 2016 would hurt our economy and shortchange investments in middle-class priorities.”
The legislation, which would appropriate $29.4 billion for the Energy Department, was easily approved by the Appropriations Committee on a 26-4 vote in May, and Senate Republicans said they were disappointed Democrats blocked the bill.
“I would say to my friends on the other side, if you want to have a say about nuclear waste, about national defense, about national laboratories, about flood control, about waterways, about locks, about dams, then vote ‘yes’ because that will give each of you a say, and you will be doing your job,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said in a floor speech.
“To vote ‘no’ sets a dangerous precedent for the Senate that says we are not interested in doing what taxpayers elected us to do,” said Alexander, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.
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Dems Block Energy and Water Spending Bill
Oct 8, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Manuel Quiñones
Democrats this afternoon blocked the Republican majority's latest attempt to move forward with consideration of spending bills under disputed budget caps.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote "yes" on a motion to proceed on the Senate Appropriations Committee's energy and water spending bill. He recently expressed interest in debating fossil fuel technology spending (E&E Daily, Oct. 7).
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, accused Democrats of violating regular order and silencing lawmakers on the legislation.
"This will give you a say, and you will be doing your job," Alexander said minutes before the vote. "Why would you stop us from having a discussion?"
But Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, top Democrat on the Senate spending panel, repeated her party's call for negotiations for higher spending top lines.
"We need a bipartisan budget agreement. We've been trying to get budget negotiations going since May," Mikulski said. "We need a new top line so we can have a better bottom line."
The White House released a statement of administration policy as the Senate was considering whether to move forward with the energy and water spending bill.
The president expressed concerns about funding for renewable energy and policy provisions, including a prohibition on changing the definition of fill material, a step that could restrict mining.
But the administration's main concern -- and top reason for threatening to veto the bill -- was an effort to pressure lawmakers into bipartisan spending negotiations (E&E Daily, Oct. 8).
"The administration looks forward to working with the Congress to reverse sequestration for defense and non-defense priorities and offset the cost with commonsense spending and tax expenditure cuts, as members of Congress from both parties have urged," said the White House.
Republicans have been moving forward bills that many Democrats may find hard to oppose, including a spending bill to fund military and veterans issues, and now water development issues.
But the only time recently that many Democrats bucked party leaders and President Obama's veto threat was in moving forward with the National Defense Authorization Act.
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Senate Dems Block Energy Spending Bill
Oct 8, 2015 | The Hill - Floor Action
By Jordain Carney
Senate Democrats blocked an energy spending bill on Thursday as they try to push Republicans to negotiate a larger budget deal.
Senators voted 49-47 on procedural hurdle over taking up the fiscal year 2016 spending bill on the Department of Energy and water development programs. Sixty votes were needed to move forward.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to pressure Democrats ahead of the vote, noting that most senators on the Appropriations Committee supported the bill.
"Democrats issued press releases with nice things to say about the bill's contents," he said ahead of the vote. "Today we'll see if Democrats are seriously prepared to filibuster this bill as well."
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) also tried to persuade Democrats, saying that moving forward with the bill would allow them to try to make additional changes. "A 'yes' vote means, ‘Yes, I would like to be involved in the energy and water appropriations process.' ... It's our job to debate," he said.
But the bill was widely expected to fail as Democrats are blocking every spending bill in an effort to get a long-term budget deal that would increase funding for defense and nondefense spending above the congressionally mandated budget caps.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested that current standstill over spending bills is squarely the Republicans' fault.
"It's unfortunate that we are facing this, but I don't believe it's fair to blame our side of the aisle for the delay. ... As early as June we started saying we're facing an October 1 deadline, we need to have a budget compromise, a budget negotiation," he said ahead of the vote. "Three months ago we on the Democratic side said to the Republicans you're in charge. You're in the majority."
The House passed the spending legislation largely along party lines earlier this year, but the administration has pledged the veto measure if it is able to reach the president's desk.
The measure provides $1.2 billion more than the current spending level but is $633 million less than what the Obama administration requested.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the bill "drastically underfunds critical investments."
"Furthermore, the legislation includes highly problematic ideological riders, including provision that threaten to undermine our ability to protect a resource that is essential to America's health: clean water," the OMB said in a statement earlier this year.
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House, Senate Prep New Clean Power Plan Challenge
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna and Ari Natter
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are preparing to launch Congressional Review Act challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan shortly after the rule is formally published, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 8.
Republicans in both chambers have long threatened to try and overturn the EPA's carbon dioxide emissions limits for existing power plants, but lawmakers said discussions have grown more detailed lately ahead of the regulation's anticipated late October publication in the Federal Register.
“We will do that for sure,” Whitfield, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, said of a Congressional Review Act challenge. “I think it will go through committee. We've had a lot of discussion about the CRA.”
Congressional Review Act challenges can only be launched once a rule has been formally sent to Congress. There has been just one successful challenge of a regulation—a final rule from President Bill Clinton's Labor Department setting ergonomic standards—in the statute's existence.
Congress faces long odds in overturning the regulation because it would need the support of two-thirds of each chamber to overcome President Barack Obama's veto of the efforts to kill off the centerpiece of his strategy to address climate change. The EPA's final Clean Power Plan (RIN 2060-AR33), issued under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide from the power sector by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 at a cost of $8.4 billion per year in 2030 (150 DEN A-15, 8/5/15).
Senate Push Coming Too
Capito told Bloomberg BNA the Senate would be prepared to launch its challenge to the Clean Power Plan very shortly after the rule's formal publication.
Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is “receptive” to Capito's Affordable Reliable Electricity Now (ARENA) Act (S. 1324), which would immediately kill off Obama's carbon rules for power plants, “what you may see before that is the Congressional Review Act,” the West Virginia Republican said.
“We're waiting now for the rule to be finally published,” Capito said, adding senators were still discussing who would lead the push in their chamber.
One likely candidate for pushing a Congressional Review Act challenge, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 8 he thought the Senate would “end up doing [challenges] on all these rules” but said “several people are kind of dividing up which people are going to do which ones.”
In addition to the Clean Power Plan, Inhofe said the Senate could go after a Clean Water Act jurisdictional rulemaking and newly finalized national ozone standards under the expedited procedures of the Congressional Review Act.
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New York Governor Urges Linked Cap-and-Trade Programs
Oct 9, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Gerald B. Silverman
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) will work with other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to consider linking up with cap-and-trade plans in California, Quebec and Ontario, the governor said Oct. 8.
Cuomo, in remarks at Columbia University with former Vice President Al Gore (D), said “small regional coalitions are not enough” to address the issues of climate change.
“We understand that carbon markets are a powerful tool for reducing the pollution that is contributing to climate change,” Cuomo said. “Therefore, today, I have directed my administration to reach out to our partners in other states, such as California as well as the Canadian provinces, about building a broader North American market to collectively reduce harmful emissions. Hopefully, this will drive a national discussion to every state in the nation.”
The nine states participating in the RGGI program are New York, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Cuomo also signed the Under 2 MOU, the Subnational Global Climate Leadership Memorandum of Understanding designed to keep the Earth's average temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial level benchmark. He said New York was the 43rd jurisdiction to sign the MOU.
Quebec announced in July it would be the third Canadian province to sign the memorandum amidst calls to link up regional emissions trading programs (131 DEN A-16, 7/9/15).
Cuomo also announced that the State University of New York (SUNY) will install renewable energy systems on each of its 64 campuses by 2020. SUNY has already set a goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020. In addition, Cuomo pledged state support for the installation of solar energy systems in 150,000 homes and businesses by 2020.
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New York Unveils Climate Change Plans
Oct 8, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Erica Orden
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t always earned the praise of his fellow Democrats on issues central to the party, but on Thursday he added his voice to one of its core concerns—climate change.
Appearing alongside former Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, at an event at Columbia University, the governor said the state would take several major steps to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He called the measures a matter of survival, not political importance.
“Climate change is not about making society better. Climate change is an issue of society’s sustainability,” Mr. Cuomo said. “To deny that climate change is real is to defy reason.”
At the news conference, the second climate-change event in which Mr. Cuomo has participated in less than a week, the governor said the state would sign the “Under 2 MOU,” a memorandum of understanding among states, provinces and cities to keep the earth’s average temperature from increasing two degrees Celsius by 2100.
The agreement is intended to demonstrate the commitment of those who sign it to the participants in the United Nations climate negotiations in Paris in December.
Mr. Cuomo also said the state would attempt to help build a broader North American carbon market with other states, including California and parts of Canada.
The governor’s efforts in this area mark the third time recently in which Mr. Cuomo has turned his attention to national issues.
Last month Mr. Cuomo, alongside another Democratic, Vice President Joe Biden, said he would seek to give New York the highest minimum wage in the country. And in the past week, the governor has repeatedly advocated for national gun-control legislation, saying congressional Democrats should threaten to shut down the federal government over the issue.
Though climate change itself hasn’t been a central focus of his administration, Mr. Cuomo’s first term was marked by the governor’s deliberations over high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a practice Mr. Cuomo’s administration ultimately decided it wouldn’t permit in New York.
Still, environmentalists found cause for concern with some elements of the governor’s plans. While praising Mr. Cuomo’s commitment to the climate change, the executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York, Peter Iwanowicz, said the plans lacked specifics.
“What is still not clear, however, is whether the governor’s goals are fully appreciated within his administration or what his plans are to achieve them,” Mr. Iwanowicz said.
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