Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 11/2/15
-
(ACC Mentioned) What Do Bathrooms, Bags, & Gadgets All Have in Common?
Nov 2, 2015 | Earth911
Confession - We're big fans of reducing waste and recycling. We like to say that every day is recycle day at Earth911. -
States Fret Over Plastic Microbead Contamination
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Greenwire
By Tom Henry
Scientists remain concerned that tiny bits of plastic known as microbeads are entering the Great Lakes. -
Week Ahead: Path Clears for Cyber Talks
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - Policy
By Cory Bennett
Things are starting to fall into place for Congress's conference negotiations on major cybersecurity legislation, which are likely to begin in earnest in the coming weeks. -
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Industry Drops Rail Safety Lawsuit
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
The American Chemistry Council and other trade groups are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit targeting the freight railroad industry, saying it is no longer needed now that an extension of the deadline for implementation of automated rail safety systems has become law. -
CRA Bids Kick Off with House Vote This Week
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Jean Chemnick
The House's effort to use the Congressional Review Act to thwart U.S. EPA's power plant carbon rules begins in earnest this week as a key Energy and Commerce subcommittee votes on whether to veto the rules. -
Environmentalists Question Legality Of EPA Ozone NAAQS Designations
Nov 2, 2015 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
Environmentalists are warning EPA that its proposed approach to designating areas in “moderate” nonattainment with its 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) is years behind schedule and therefore unlawful, suggesting the potential for a legal fight if the agency makes no changes to the final version of the plan. -
This Week: Highways, Water Rule Top Agenda
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - Floor Action
By Cristina Marcos and Jordain Carney
Congress will turn to debates on the nation's infrastructure this week as lawmakers consider long-term highway funding and a controversial water regulation. -
Week Ahead: Lawmakers Move to Block EPA Rules
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are taking direct aim at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), holding votes to overturn some of the most controversial regulations from the Obama administration. -
House Republicans Accuse EPA of Stalling Fix to Statute
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today demanded documents from U.S. EPA related to the Clean Power Plan. -
Residents of Suing States Back Emission Limits -- Analysis
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
A majority of adults in most states that are suing over the Clean Power Plan support the Obama administration's effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, according to a Yale University analysis. -
DOE Official Sees Role in Helping States Meet Rule
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Energywire
By Kristi Swartz
A Department of Energy official hopes the agency can leverage its low-income programs to help states meet targets under U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan.
Industry and Association News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Chemical Management News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation News
Energy and Environment News
-
(ACC Mentioned) What Do Bathrooms, Bags, & Gadgets All Have in Common?
Nov 2, 2015 | Earth911
Confession - We're big fans of reducing waste and recycling. We like to say that every day is recycle day at Earth911.
Every year, our friends at Keep America Beautiful (KAB) host America Recycles Day. If you're not familiar with America Recycles Day (no judgement here if you're not familiar), it is 'the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S.'
This year's America Recycles Day being held Sunday, November 15, 2015, will include plenty of interactive opportunities including;The "I Will Recycle" social media campaign and sweepstakes (more on the prizes below) andPlenty of support and tips for hosting your very own ARD event.
The theme for 2015 is “Bathrooms, Bags & Gadgets”. From KAB...
“Bathrooms, Bags & Gadgets” – shines a light on some of the everyday but not “top of mind” consumer products, which can and should be given another life through recycling. These include personal care items commonly found in the bathroom, like haircare and mouthwash bottles; plastic bags, such as those used at retail stores, and plastic wrap used in packaging paper towels, toilet paper or dry cleaning; and consumer electronics and gadgets, such as mobile phones, tablets, game consoles, televisions and more.
To make recycling these specific items as easy as possible, Earth911 has developed a customized recycling locator for America Recycles Day.
“I Will Recycle” Sweepstakes
During America Recycles Day 2015, individuals are encouraged to take the “I Will Recycle” Pledge. Between Oct. 15 and Nov. 20, the America Recycles Day “I Will Recycle” Sweepstakes will provide four people the chance to win an Apple Certified Refurbished iPad mini 3.
Individuals are encouraged to demonstrate their recycling spirit and automatically be entered in the sweepstakes by posting a photo on Twitter at@KABTweet or @RecyclesDay or@KeepAmericaBeautiful on Instagram holding a recyclable product that they pledge to recycle with the hashtags #IWillRecycle and #Sweepstakes.
Individuals must enable public viewing of Twitter and Instagram photos. Keep America Beautiful may share tagged social media posts with its fans and four individuals will be selected at random to win an Apple Certified Refurbished iPad mini 3.
For more details on how to enter, read the Official Rules. From KAB...
“America Recycles Day provides key moments in time to educate and encourage individuals to better understand how, why and where they can recycle to divert relevant products from the waste stream and give their garbage another life,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “For 2015, we want to encourage people to think beyond bottles and cans to other products that may not be as top of mind but are also recyclable. We look forward to having more people take the ‘I Will Recycle’ pledge this year and to seeing and sharing their photographs for America Recycles Day.”
More than 200,000 people have taken the “I Will Recycle” Pledge online and in paper form at America Recycles Day events, joining a growing movement of caring citizens committed to increase the recycling rate in America.
Host an Event
Recycling is a great first step in reducing waste in and around your community. In 2014, more than 2,000 America Recycles Day events were registered online, engaging more than 2 million estimated participants nationwide. Ready to take it to the next level?
Consider hosting an event in your area. Every year America Recycles Day event organizers just like you, educate neighbors, friends and colleagues through thousands of events. KAB has created guides, tools, templates and tips to make it easy to organize your local event. Included in these turnkey materials are;customizable templates including posters, media materials, proclamations andactivities you can use to promote recycling awareness, commitment and action in your community.
While this year's focus is on "Bathrooms, Bags & Gadgets”, don't forget the other areas of your house as well. Here are the Top 10 Things to Recycle In Your Home, courtesy of Keep America Beautiful.
America Recycles Day is made possible through the generous support of partners such as Amcor, American Chemistry Council, CyclePoint® from Source America®; Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Pilot Corporation of America (Pilot Pen).
-
States Fret Over Plastic Microbead Contamination
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Greenwire
By Tom Henry
Scientists remain concerned that tiny bits of plastic known as microbeads are entering the Great Lakes.
Microbeads, which are too small to be filtered out by sewage treatment plants, could cause long-term harm to the Great Lakes' $7 billion fish industry.
"The science is catching up to the policy here," said Marc Gaden, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Though policymakers have expressed concern about microbeads, Illinois is so far the only Great Lakes state to ban them. Federal action has also not been forthcoming
-
Week Ahead: Path Clears for Cyber Talks
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - Policy
By Cory Bennett
Things are starting to fall into place for Congress's conference negotiations on major cybersecurity legislation, which are likely to begin in earnest in the coming weeks.
Both chambers have approved bills that would encourage businesses to share more data on hackers with the government, with the Senate passing the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act on Tuesday.
But discussions on how to merge those bills were in limbo for days as the House worked out its leadership changes.
The election of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as Speaker, and Ryan's decision to keep Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) as chair of the House Intelligence Committee now clears the path for talks.
As head of the Intel panel, Nunes joined with the committee's ranking member, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), to back the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, one of two complementary cyber info-sharing bills the House passed on back-to-back days in April.
Staying at his post will give some certainty to the potentially difficult task of how to merge the three cyber info-sharing bills.
"As we move forward under the leadership of Speaker Ryan, it will be important to complete the good work we have done on an intelligence authorization bill and to get cybersecurity legislation passed to the president's desk," Nunes said.
The House Homeland Security Committee leaders, Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), are backing the other House bill, known as the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act.
Elsewhere, the House will dive into a recent European Court of Justice decision that invalidated a long-standing Safe Harbor data-sharing pact between the U.S. and European Union, leaving more than 4,000 companies scrambling to find new ways to legally transfer data across the Atlantic.
In two separate hearings on Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee will both tackle the subject.
In the wake of the court's ruling, Germany's privacy regulators announced they would investigate data transfers from the EU to the U.S. from companies such as Google and Facebook.
The incident has raised pressure on negotiators to resurrect the Safe Harbor program, which had previously let companies self-certify that they met the more-stringent European privacy protection laws in order to handle EU data.
Both U.S. and EU officials indicated this week that a Safe Harbor 2.0 pact may be on the horizon.
EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová told European lawmakers that a new, more-stringent Safe Harbor pact had been agreed to "in principle" but that a final deal may still be months away. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker was slightly more optimistic, indicating the deal could be completed by mid-November.
On the Senate side, the Judiciary Committee will explore data brokers' cybersecurity practices.
Security specialists have long worried that data brokers -- who hold a treasure trove of sensitive information -- are vulnerable to catastrophic hacks. Regulators and some lawmakers are concerned that these companies, which collect, handle and sell reams of digital data, are not subject to strict security requirements.
The topic has been in the news recently after 15 million T-Mobile customers had their personal information exposed when hackers hit Experian, one of the largest credit agency data brokers.
The intrusion compromised highly personal information such as Social Security numbers and even some data that Experian said was encrypted, resurrecting fears of lax security measures at these type of companies.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will also take a look at the future of warfare, with testimony from Keith Alexander, former head of the National Security Agency. Alexander made efforts to warn of the looming threat of cyber warfare while in office.
-
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Industry Drops Rail Safety Lawsuit
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
The American Chemistry Council and other trade groups are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit targeting the freight railroad industry, saying it is no longer needed now that an extension of the deadline for implementation of automated rail safety systems has become law.
"This extension of the statutory deadline eliminates the source of the current dispute," the council's lawyers wrote in a joint filing Friday with 15 freight carriers named in the suit, filed in late September in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Greenwire, Oct. 12).
The chemistry council, together with the Fertilizer Institute and the Chlorine Institute, had sought an injunction to force the freight railroads to keep carrying chlorine and other "toxic-by-inhalation" products if Congress failed to push back the original Dec. 31 deadline for implementation of positive train control.
Without an extension, some railroads had said they would no longer allow shipments of such chemicals on their tracks out of liability concerns. Last week, however, President Obama signed H.R. 3819, giving freight and commuter railroads at least until the end of 2018 to put positive train control in place (E&E Daily, Oct. 30).
Freight railroads named in the suit include Union Pacific Corp., BNSF Railway Co., and the Delaware and Hudson Railway Co. The chemistry council had filed a parallel petition seeking the intervention of the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates the freight rail industry. Both sides are now requesting the dismissal of that petition, as well.
-
CRA Bids Kick Off with House Vote This Week
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Jean Chemnick
The House's effort to use the Congressional Review Act to thwart U.S. EPA's power plant carbon rules begins in earnest this week as a key Energy and Commerce subcommittee votes on whether to veto the rules.
The Energy and Power Subcommittee tomorrow will mark up two CRA resolutions, H.J. Res 71 and H.J. Res 72, sponsored by its chairman, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.). The resolutions target EPA's rule for new and modified power plants and its Clean Power Plan -- which together form the core of the president's second-term climate change agenda.
At a recent hearing before his subcommittee, Whitfield blasted the rule for existing power plants as "unilateral EPA micromanagement of electricity generation" and "a recipe for higher bills, reduced reliability and job losses that are well out of proportion to any environmental benefits."
EPA foes in both chambers of Congress have tapped the rarely used administration oversight law because it allows for Senate passage on a simple majority of the vote -- a threshold the resolutions are expected to meet.
If the resolutions became law, they would not only scuttle the two rules but bar EPA from promulgating similar regulations in the future. But President Obama will veto both, and neither chamber has enough votes for an override.
Still, the resolutions are likely to receive votes ahead of the Paris climate talks, which begin Nov. 30. Republicans say they hope to send the world a message about how fragile the Obama administration's policies are and how easily they could be terminated if the balance of power changes in Washington, D.C.
-
Environmentalists Question Legality Of EPA Ozone NAAQS Designations
Nov 2, 2015 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
Environmentalists are warning EPA that its proposed approach to designating areas in “moderate” nonattainment with its 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) is years behind schedule and therefore unlawful, suggesting the potential for a legal fight if the agency makes no changes to the final version of the plan.
The criticisms are outlined in comments advocates recently filed on the agency’s Aug. 27 Federal Registernotice proposing to either extend the “marginal” nonattainment status of certain areas for one year for the 2008 ozone standard, or to “bump up” their status to “moderate,” a more serious nonattainment level. Moderate status requires states to craft nonattainment state implementation plans (SIPs) detailing the measures they will take to comply.
EPA is still trying to implement the 2008 standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) after years of litigation delayed the process, even though the agency Oct. 1 finalized a tougher ozone NAAQS set at 70 ppb. The agency recently took comments on the designations, prompting a range of responses from environmentalists, states and some industry groups.
Environmental law firm Earthjustice in its Sept. 28 comments says the one-year extensions that EPA is proposing through Clean Air Act section 181(a)(5)(A) -- which outlines the requirements that must be met for when the agency can grant the extensions -- are allowed only if “the State has complied with all requirements and commitments pertaining to the area in the applicable implementation plan.”
However, “Here, EPA has made no substantive inquiry into whether each of the relevant states has met this SIP compliance requirement: As to almost all the relevant states, it has merely relied on states’ self-certification of compliance, without any evidence that the State is in fact in compliance, or any inquiry by EPA into whether the State is actually in compliance,” the group says, arguing that the agency’s approach is unlawful.
Further, EPA’s proposal to extend the deadline for areas reclassified as “moderate” to submit certain SIP revisions required under the air law to at least Jan. 1, 2017, “is illegal and arbitrary. Indeed, EPA has failed to articulate a legally sufficient basis for extending the SIP submittal deadlines at all.”
States' Concerns
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in Sept. 28 comments agrees that EPA has not shown states have met the burden required to win an extension. It argues that upwind states exporting air pollution to Delaware have not taken the necessary steps to meet their “good neighbor” obligations under the air law to reduce interstate transport of air pollution hindering NAAQS attainment in neighboring states.
Connecticut and New Jersey in their separate Sept. 28 comment letters also express concerns about EPA’s failure to ensure that upwind states have met their good neighbor obligations. “I urge EPA to assure the upwind states fully meet their good neighbor obligations in time for Connecticut to meet its 2008 ozone NAAQS obligations by 2017,” writes Anne Gobin, chief of Connecticut’s Bureau of Air Management.
Wisconsin in its Sept. 28 comments protests EPA’s proposal to extend the ozone monitoring season for that state. It “strongly disagrees with EPA’s efforts to move the beginning of Wisconsin’s ozone monitoring season to a date earlier than April 15, the current start of the season in Wisconsin,” saying that this “is unsupported by data and fails to appreciate the logistical challenges to starting up monitoring sites in mid-winter in the upper Midwest.”
Law firm Hunton and Williams in Sept. 28 comments on behalf of industry group the NAAQS Implementation Coalition argues that EPA should delay SIP submission deadlines even beyond Jan. 1, 2017, as suggested as an option in EPA’s proposal. The firm says, “we support setting the SIP revision deadline at the beginning of the ozone season in 2017 for each state, as opposed to a standard January 1, 2017 deadline” -- a position backed by Wisconsin and Georgia in their individual comments on the proposal.
-
This Week: Highways, Water Rule Top Agenda
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - Floor Action
By Cristina Marcos and Jordain Carney
Congress will turn to debates on the nation's infrastructure this week as lawmakers consider long-term highway funding and a controversial water regulation.
Only one major item is expected on the House floor so far during the first full week of newly minted Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) tenure. The House is expected to vote on a bill to spend up to $325 billion on transportation projects over the next six years - a departure from repeated last-minute temporary funding extensions.
Once it passes the House, negotiators will move toward reconciling differences with their Senate counterparts ahead of a Nov. 20 deadline.
Congress has relatively little time to get a long-term highway bill done. The House is scheduled to be out on recess next week for the Veterans' Day holiday. And will face the Nov. 20 deadline the following week when they return.
Lawmakers sent a three-week funding patch to the president's desk last week, saying it will give the House and the Senate time to reach a deal on a long-term bill.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the two chambers should be able to quickly resolve their differences, saying: "I've talked to the likely conferees and they are in accord with the idea that we can do this in a matter of hours and not days."
The Senate passed a six-year bill earlier this year, but the measure only includes three years' worth of guaranteed funding. The House version, meanwhile, would require lawmakers to pass new legislation in order to access additional transportation funding after the first three years.
The House Rules Committee will meet Monday to set up general debate for the measure, and will meet the following day to decide which amendments get floor votes.
Water rule
The Senate will turn to a controversial water regulation from the Obama administration.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) teed up a procedural vote for Tuesday afternoon on ending debate and proceeding to legislation from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
His bill would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go back to the drawing board on a rule defining the federal governments oversight of minor waterways under the Clean Water Act. It would also give the agency specific instructions and a deadline for writing the new regulation.
The EPA's Waters of the United States rule has gained pushback from Republicans and some Democrats, who argue that it's an overreach that would allow the agency to have oversight of ditches and puddles.
While the legislation has gained 46 cosponsors—including three Democrats—it's still short of the 60 it will need to overcome Tuesday's procedural hurdle.
The Senate is also expected to turn to legislation from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would use the Congressional Review Act — a procedural tactic to streamline blocking regulations — to overturn the EPA regulation.
That legislation—which has 49 backers—would also need to pass the House and also require the president signature, something that is unlikely to happen.
-
Week Ahead: Lawmakers Move to Block EPA Rules
Nov 2, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are taking direct aim at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), holding votes to overturn some of the most controversial regulations from the Obama administration.
The Senate Tuesday is scheduled to begin floor debate on a bill to overturn the Waters of the United States rule, which would redefine the EPA's authority over minor waterways under the Clean Water Act.
The bill from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) would additionally give a series of specific instructions for how the EPA should rewrite the rule in a way that covers less water and land.
Congressional Republicans and business and agriculture groups have assailed the water rule, arguing it gives the federal government far too much power. A federal court has blocked the regulations from taking effect while it works through litigation.
The Senate could also take up a more straightforward resolution from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would overturn the rule under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
On the other side of Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will start the process of overturning the EPA's climate change regulation for power plants, also using CRA procedure.
On Tuesday, the panel's subcommittee on energy and power will consider legislation sponsored by chairman Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) that would block implementation of two separate EPA rules to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from existing and newly built power plants.
Success is unlikely, as President Obama is nearly certain to veto legislation overturning either one of the EPA regulations.
The House Oversight Committee will work on Wednesday on another controversial Obama administration rule, one that affects coal mining.
The panel's subcommittee for the Interior Department, chaired by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), will hold a hearing on the stream protection rule, which was proposed earlier this year to better protect streams from coal mining, including the controversial mountaintop removal process.
Also on Wednesday, a subpanel of the House Natural Resources Committee will begin reviewing a pair of bills put forward in response to the major mine wastewater spill in Colorado that was caused by the EPA.
One bill would limit the liability of "Good Samaritan" companies that decide to voluntarily clean up abandoned mines, while the other would create a public-private foundation responsible for finding the best ways to clean up mines.
On Thursday, members of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy will be in town and will meet with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and other members.
Off Capitol Hill, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will speak at a Christian Science Monitor event about the final weeks before negotiators meet in Paris for work on an international climate deal.
-
House Republicans Accuse EPA of Stalling Fix to Statute
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today demanded documents from U.S. EPA related to the Clean Power Plan.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, the GOP members said they were concerned that the agency was blocking the process to resolve a legislative glitch created by the House and Senate passing different versions of Section 111(d) in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments.
Both the House and Senate language was intended to ensure that the section -- which requires states to develop performance standards for existing pollution sources -- would not duplicate regulations already in place under other sections of the law. EPA's Clean Power Plan stems from the section.
The House language barred EPA from using Section 111(d) to regulate source categories that are subject to hazardous air pollution regulations. The Senate provision, on the other hand, prevents EPA from regulating a source category for pollutants that are already being regulated.
The House version was added to the U.S. Code, but both the House and Senate language remains in the statutes at large. Opponents will likely seek to use the glitch to support their legal arguments against the Clean Power Plan.
Under law, the congressional Office of the Law Revision Counsel had embarked on a multiyear process to revise and restate all federal laws, including the Clean Air Act provision, in a process known as "positive law codification."
In their letter, House Energy and Commerce leaders said the office was attempting to codify the language of the Clean Air Act -- which would eliminate the Senate amendment -- while EPA was working on the Clean Power Plan.
"It appears that the agency may have been inhibiting a statutorily prescribed process because it would undermine the agency's legal arguments supporting [the Clean Power Plan]," wrote House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.).
The GOP members are demanding all EPA answers to Law Revision Counsel questions, as well as all other documents, relating to the issue.
The letter comes a day before the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power plans to take up two resolutions under the Congressional Review Act that are aimed at halting both the Clean Power Plan and EPA's rule regulating carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants (E&E Daily, Nov. 2).
-
Residents of Suing States Back Emission Limits -- Analysis
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
A majority of adults in most states that are suing over the Clean Power Plan support the Obama administration's effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, according to a Yale University analysis.
Using data from Yale's climate opinion maps, the analysis found support for the Clean Power Plan in 23 of the 26 states that are suing U.S. EPA over the rule. In total, 61 percent of the public across those 26 states is in favor of the plan, Yale's analysis found.
"America's history of political conflict over climate change and the legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan might suggest that the nation is divided over regulating carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants," Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, said in a statement. "This study finds the opposite: a large majority of Americans in almost every state supports setting strict emission limits on coal-fired power plants."
EPA's Clean Power Plan, finalized in August, aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants and requires states to put in place plans to achieve emission goals.
Led by West Virginia and Texas, a coalition of 24 states has launched a lawsuit over the plan in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, as well as asked the court to immediately stop the plan from taking effect. North Dakota and Oklahoma individually filed petitions asking the court to review the rule.
Many industry associations and labor groups are also challenging the rule in the D.C. Circuit (E&ENews PM, Oct. 23).
According to the Yale analysis released today, a majority of people in North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia oppose the plan. But across all 26 states that are suing, 38 percent of the public is in opposition.
Among those states, support for the Clean Power Plan is highest in New Jersey, where 73 percent of adults are in support. About two-thirds of the public in Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado and South Dakota also supports the plan, Yale found.
The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication produced the climate maps using a statistical model. The maps are based on national survey data from 2008 to 2014.
State-level data has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
-
DOE Official Sees Role in Helping States Meet Rule
Nov 2, 2015 | E&E - Energywire
By Kristi Swartz
A Department of Energy official hopes the agency can leverage its low-income programs to help states meet targets under U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan.
But Kathleen Hogan said she doesn't want the momentum to stop just because states act early to add renewable energy development in low-income communities.
The Clean Power Plan asks states to reduce carbon emissions from their existing fossil fuel plants to a certain level by 2030. The plan includes an optional incentive program to encourage states to build wind and solar energy generation and install energy efficiency measures in low-income communities between 2020 and 2022 (EnergyWire, Oct. 23).
EPA will give states that opt to participate in the rule's Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP) allowances or "emission rate credits."
Hogan, DOE's deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency, said she sees opportunity and hopes the agency can use its Weatherization Assistance Program, among other things. She wants the states to use those efforts and continue them through the entire length of the Clean Power Plan.
"It's not 'Let's hurry up and run' for two years for bonuses in that two-year period," Hogan said here at a conference organized by the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Association of Energy Services Professionals. "It's 'How do we use that as a way to cement new partnerships that can keep providing assistance to low-income communities for the entire period?'"
EPA continues to refine the CEIP and has not specifically defined what "low-income communities" means. Hogan said DOE will be able to reach out with a more targeted approach once that happens.
"Not everyone calls [the Clean Power Plan] an opportunity, but I do," Hogan said.
The Southeast has lagged in energy efficiency programs, but states such as Arkansas and Mississippi have emerged as leaders in the region. Utilities, states and local governments all have a chance to improve their energy efficiency programs now because of the Clean Power Plan, she said.
"Energy efficiency is bipartisan, and it just meets everybody's policy objectives," she said. "The opportunity is there to really ramp it up and bring it home."
DOE continues to field the low-income weatherization program on $200 million annually from Congress, an amount that was slashed from the $5 billion it received as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The program provides federal funding to install energy efficiency upgrades like advanced appliances to cut energy bills and improve the well-being of thousands of low-income households across the country. It is usually the subject of much debate between the two political parties and the White House during DOE budget negotiations every year.
Two recent reports concluded that benefits from energy savings, jobs created and improvements in health surpassed the initial federal investment, according to DOE (Greenwire, Sept. 17).
Industry and Association News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Chemical Management News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation News
Energy and Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested