Preview Newsletter
acc 2/29
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Budget Hearing - Department of Energy
Mar 1, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: 2359 Rayburn / 9:30 AM -
Oversight Hearing on the President’s 2017 Budget Proposal with Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
Mar 1, 2016 | House Natural Resources Committee
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building / 10:00 AM -
Legislative Hearing to Examine Pipeline Safety Reauthorization
Mar 1, 2016 | House Energy and Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn / 10:00 AM -
Hearing on the FY17 Budget Request for the Transportation Security Administration
Mar 1, 2016 | Senate Appropriations Committee
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building 138 / 2:30 PM -
The Transportation Security Administration’s FY2017 Budget Request
Mar 2, 2016 | House Homeland Security Committee (Transportation Security Subcommittee)
Location: 311 Cannon House Office Building / 10:00 AM -
The Fiscal Year 2017 DOE Budget
Mar 2, 2016 | House Energy and Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn / 10:00 AM -
Hearing to Examine the Department of Energy’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2017
Mar 3, 2016 | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building 304 / 10:00 AM -
Budget Hearing - Department of Energy, Applied Energy
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: 2362-B Rayburn / 10:30 AM -
Budget Hearing - Department of the Interior
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: B-308 Rayburn / 1:00 PM -
Budget Hearing - Department of Energy, Science
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: H2362-B Rayburn / 1:30 PM -
The Impact of the President’s FY 2017 Budget on the Energy and Mineral Leasing and Production Missions of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Mar 2, 2016 | House Natural Resources Committee
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building / 10:00 AM -
Budget Hearing - Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Aviation Administration
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: 2359 Rayburn / 2:00 PM -
Budget Hearing - Transportation Security Administration
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: H-309 The Capitol / 2:00 PM -
(ACC Mentioned) American Chemistry Council Launches Website Highlighting Chemistry in Building and Construction Materials
Feb 26, 2016 | SprayFoam
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has launched www.BuildingWithChemistry.org, to provide architects, material specifiers, interior designers and other building and construction professionals with tools and information about green building codes and standards, materials selection, and the role of chemistry in developing innovative, sustainable building materials. -
(ACC Mentioned) U.S. CPRI Rose in January, ACC Report Say
Feb 26, 2016 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose in January, by 0.5%, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The gain in January follows 0.4% and 0.7% gains in December and November of last year, respectively. All geographic regions in the U.S. reported production growth in January, the ACC report notes. -
(ACC Mentioned) US PS Producers Yet to Make March Pricing Decisions
Feb 26, 2016 | ICIS News
By David Love
One US polystyrene (PS) producer said on Friday that it has yet to decide what it will do with contract prices in March. -
(ACC Mentioned) Reduce Waste and Feed the Poor ... by Selling Expired Food?
Feb 29, 2016 | CBS News
By David Schepp
When it comes to feeding the world's population, it literally is feast or famine. According to the United Nations, a third of all food produced around the world for human consumption (about 1.3 billion tons) is lost or wasted, even as nearly a billion people worldwide lack enough food to lead a healthy active life. -
(ACC Mentioned) Of Ingredients, Greed and Expediency: Big Chem and the Big Stink
Feb 29, 2016 | Earth Island
Jon Whelan’s documentary Stink! proves, among other things, that the feminist insight “the personal is political” remains true. According to his film, the untimely death of Whelan’s wife Heather from breast cancer, combined with the pungent odor of brand new pajamas he bought for his daughters, propelled the New York-based writer/director to investigate the chemical industry. -
House Passes SHARE Act
Feb 26, 2016 | Journal SentineL
By Paul A. Smith
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act (H.R. 2406). The multifaceted piece of legislation would expand access to public lands for hunting and recreational shooting, exempt ammunition and lead sinkers from regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act and allow states to use a higher proportion of Pittman-Robertson funds to acquire land for public target ranges. -
US Agency Consults on PFOA, PFOS Immunotoxicity Monograph
Feb 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
A draft monograph on immunotoxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), has been put out for consultation in the US. -
EPA Weighs Adding Natural Gas Processing Facilities, Nonylphenol To TRI
Feb 26, 2016 | Inside EPA
EPA is preparing a pair of rulemakings to add natural gas processing facilities and the chemicals nonylphenol ethoxylates to its Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under which various industries must report annually their chemical releases to the environment or the amount of chemicals they manage through recovery and treatment. -
Scalia's Death Prompts Dow to Settle Suits Over Urethanes
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Jef Feeley and Greg Stohr
Dow Chemical Co. said it agreed to pay $835 million to settle an antitrust case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalia's death reduced its chances of overturning a jury award (In re Urethane Antitrust Litig., D. Kan., No. 04-md-01616, 2/26/16). -
FRA Must Boost Hazmat Risk Analysis, Penalty Use: OIG
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
The Federal Railroad Administration's hazmat transport oversight has resulted in penalties with “little deterrent effect” and no pursuit of criminal charges, a recent Transportation Department's Office of the Inspector General report found. -
Simplifying Cybersecurity
Feb 26, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Peter Roady and Michael Sulmeyer
The president has announced a new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and appointed his former national security advisor and the former CEO of IBM to lead it. Together, they have an opportunity to put the country on a path towards real cybersecurity. -
House E&C Panel to Unveil Draft Reauthorization
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Ban Panko
As the Senate gets closer to passing pipeline safety legislation, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will unveil a draft version of its reauthorization tomorrow. -
Risk Proposal Contested as Stanislaus Stresses Merits
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Dabbs
The Environment Protection Agency put forth for public review on Feb. 25 a heavily anticipated proposal to revise risk management guidelines, a step the agency touted as key to averting loss of life and widespread property damage due to chemical facility disasters. -
Feds Approve New SEPTA Train-Control Safety System
Feb 26, 2016 | The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jason Laughlin
SEPTA got some good news this morning in its project to install a new braking system on Regional Rail trains. -
Draft House Pipeline Safety Bill Released
Feb 26, 2016 | PoliticoPro Whiteboard
By Andrew Restuccia
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and other lawmakers are circulating a discussion draft of legislation that would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. -
The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars
Feb 28, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Nicole Friedman and Bob Tita
The U.S. is so awash in crude oil that traders are experimenting with new places to store it: empty railcars. -
Towering Issue on Hingham Rail Right-of-Way
Feb 26, 2016 | Wicked Local Hingham
By Carol Britton Meyer
The MBTA, in partnership with inMotion Wireless, has plans to construct wayside poles and associated infrastructure to be used for the deployment of a Positive Train Control system within the MBTA commuter railroad right-of-way between Boston and Greenbush. -
Commuter Rail to Get a Safety Upgrade
Feb 26, 2016 | Wicked Local Natick
By Brian Benson
The commuter rail line running through town will get required safety upgrades over the coming years. -
BNSF Announces Capex Plans for Missouri, Colorado
Feb 26, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
BNSF Railway Co. continued to roll out its 2016 state-by-state capital expenditure plans this week, with the latest programs announced for Missouri and Colorado. -
KCS to Kick off PTC Field Integration Tests Next Week
Feb 26, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
Kansas City Southern next week plans to begin positive train control (PTC) field integration testing, a series of tests that aim to validate the safety of PTC technology and hardware prior to full implementation. -
(ACC Mentioned) Natural Gas Expected to Rebound -- Eventually
Feb 28, 2016 | The Register-Herald
By Daniel Tyson
On a recent weekday evening, the Burger King had eight cars on its parking lot, twice the number as the new Holiday Inn across the street. -
EPA Seeks States' Help On 'Background' Ozone Concerns Cited By Critics
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Suit Seeks to Force EPA Action on Emissions Standards
Feb 26, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is years behind schedule in reviewing emissions limits for hazardous air pollutants from iron and steel foundries, rubber tire manufacturing plants and 11 other sources, environmental groups charged in a new lawsuit. -
EPA Asks Court to Block Power Plan Brief on E-Mails
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to keep the use of a former agency official's private e-mail address to communicate with advocacy groups from roiling litigation over its Clean Power Plan (West Virginia v. EPA, D.C. Circuit, No. 15-1363, opposition filed 2/25/16). -
Week Ahead: Energy Secretary Takes Budget Hot Seat
Feb 29, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Administration officials face a busy week with multiple trips to Capitol Hill for hearings on President Obama's last budget request. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be on the hot seat before both the House and the Senate to defend the fiscal 2017 request for the Energy Department. -
Slew of Committees to Scrutinize Moniz's Spending, Research Plans
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Christa Marshall
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz heads to Capitol Hill this week to defend the administration's fiscal 2017 budget request, setting up potential tussles with Republicans over technology funding, renewables, coal and climate change. -
Air Pollution, Efficiency, Workforce Bills Set for House Vote
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Sean Reilly
Hard on the heels of committee passage, the House is poised to move ahead with a trio of bills this week that would update the Department of Energy's founding statute, exempt LED lighting from a DOE efficiency rule and effectively freeze new air pollution regulations on brick-making companies. -
Murkowski Optimistic on Senate Energy Bill
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Nushin Huq
The Senate could pass a broad energy bill (S. 2012) as early as the week of Feb. 29, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in Houston on Feb. 26. -
Washington Yanks Cap-and-Trade Proposal
Feb 26, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Amanda Reilly
The state of Washington withdrew a plan today that would have set the first-ever limits on carbon dioxide emissions from large facilities.
Congressional Hearings
Industry and Association News
Chemical Management News
Chemical Security News
Transportation News
Energy and Environment News
Full Text of Stories Below
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Budget Hearing - Department of Energy
Mar 1, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Witness
The Honorable Dr. Ernest Moniz
Secretary
Department of Energy -
Mar 1, 2016 | House Natural Resources Committee
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building / 10:00 AM
WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:The Honorable Sally Jewell
Secretary
Department of the Interior -
Legislative Hearing to Examine Pipeline Safety Reauthorization
Mar 1, 2016 | House Energy and Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn / 10:00 AM
Subcommittees: Energy and Power (114th Congress)
Witnesses
Mr. Andrew Black
President and CEO, Association of Oil Pipe LinesMr. Ron Bradley
Vice President of Gas Operations, PECO Energy, on behalf of American Gas Association
The Honorable Marie Therese Dominguez
Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of TransportationMr. Norman J. Saari
Commissioner, Michigan Public Service Commission, on behalf of National Association of Regulatory Utility CommissionersMr. Donald Santa
President and CEO, Interstate Natural Gas Association of AmericaMr. Carl Weimer
Executive Director, Pipeline Safety Trust -
Hearing on the FY17 Budget Request for the Transportation Security Administration
Mar 1, 2016 | Senate Appropriations Committee
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building 138 / 2:30 PM
Agenda
Hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2017 budget request and funding justification for the Transportation Security Administration
Member Statements
Senator John Hoeven (Republican - North Dakota)
Witnesses
The Honorable Peter V. Neffenger
AdministratorTransportation Security Administration
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The Transportation Security Administration’s FY2017 Budget Request
Mar 2, 2016 | House Homeland Security Committee (Transportation Security Subcommittee)
Location: 311 Cannon House Office Building / 10:00 AM
This hearing will explore how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to allocate their resources in order to maintain their current missions and what strategic priorities they will focus on in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Members will learn how proposed cuts and/or increases will affect the nation’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate threats to transportation security.
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The Fiscal Year 2017 DOE Budget
Mar 2, 2016 | House Energy and Commerce Committee
Location: 2123 Rayburn / 10:00 AM
Subcommittees: Energy and Power
(114th Congress)
Witnesses
The Honorable Ernest J. Moniz
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy -
Hearing to Examine the Department of Energy’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2017
Mar 3, 2016 | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building 304 / 10:00 AM
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2017.
Opening Remarks
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Chairman
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Sen. Maria Cantwell
Ranking Member
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
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Budget Hearing - Department of Energy, Applied Energy
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: 2362-B Rayburn / 10:30 AM
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Witnesses
Dr. Franklin Orr
Under Secretary for Science and Energy
Department of Energy
Dr. David Danielson
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Department of Energy
John Kotek
Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy
Department of Energy
Christopher Smith
Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy
Department of Energy
Patricia Hoffman
Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
Department of Energy -
Budget Hearing - Department of the Interior
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: B-308 Rayburn / 1:00 PM
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Witness
The Honorable Sally Jewell
Secretary
Department of the Interior
Biography -
Budget Hearing - Department of Energy, Science
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: H2362-B Rayburn / 1:30 PM
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Witnesses
Dr. Franklin Orr
Under Secretary for Science and Energy
Department of Energy
Dr. Cherry Murray
Director of the Office of Science
Department of Energy -
Mar 2, 2016 | House Natural Resources Committee
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building / 10:00 AM
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Budget Hearing - Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Aviation Administration
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: 2359 Rayburn / 2:00 PM
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Witnesses
Panel 1:
Sarah Feinberg
Administrator
Federal Railroad Administration
Panel 2:
Michael Huerta
Administrator
Federal Aviation Administration -
Budget Hearing - Transportation Security Administration
Mar 2, 2016 | House Appropriations Committee
Location: H-309 The Capitol / 2:00 PM
Homeland Security
Witness
Peter Neffenger
Administrator
Transportation Security Administration -
Feb 26, 2016 | SprayFoam
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has launched www.BuildingWithChemistry.org, to provide architects, material specifiers, interior designers and other building and construction professionals with tools and information about green building codes and standards, materials selection, and the role of chemistry in developing innovative, sustainable building materials.
“Many of the materials and products used to build the homes, schools and office buildings where we live and work every day rely on the safety, energy savings, durability and other sustainability and performance benefits that the products of chemistry provide,” said Richard Skorpenske, director of advocacy and sustainability at Covestro, and chair of ACC’s Building and Construction Subcommittee. “We created this new website to contribute to thoughtful, informed decisions about the materials in today’s innovative, modern and sustainable building applications.”
The website includes an interactive graphic of a mixed use residential building which highlights how chemical ingredients are used in materials, from polycarbonate panels in skylights, to plastics in piping, to nylon and polyester fibers in carpeting. Individual pages feature specific chemicals used in a range of B&C applications, with information on where the chemicals are used and the functionality they provide.
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The increased popularity of green building design has given rise to a variety of approaches to guide architects, designers, materials specifiers and builders in how to build “green.” A “Green Building” section provides an overview of commonly used standards, codes, certification systems and assessment tools, as well as examples of green building approaches by building type.
In addition, a subpage on “Materials Selection” highlights different approaches that specifiers, architects and designers can consider when choosing specific materials and products to use in building design and construction, taking into account factors such as a product’s sustainability, durability and carbon footprint, among others. The section includes information on specific tools to help inform materials selection decisions, such as life cycle approaches, Environmental Product Declarations, risk assessment and multi-attribute considerations.
The website also features a News page, which compiles the latest news in topics including energy efficiency, innovations and product safety.
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(ACC Mentioned) U.S. CPRI Rose in January, ACC Report Say
Feb 26, 2016 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose in January, by 0.5%, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.;www.americanchemistry.com). The gain in January follows 0.4% and 0.7% gains in December and November of last year, respectively. All geographic regions in the U.S. reported production growth in January, the ACC report notes.
“Chemical production was mixed,” the ACC report states, “with gains in the production three-month moving average (3MMA) output trend of plastic resins, organic chemicals, consumer products, chlor-alkalis, other inorganics, and other specialties.”
“These gains were offset by declines in manufactured fibers, fertilizers, pesticides, coatings, adhesives, and industrial gases,” the ACC report added.
The most recent ACC weekly report also says that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes (on a 3MMA basis) retreated again in January, falling 0.5%. This decrease follows a 0.1% decline in December.
“Weakness in oilfield chemicals and other segments have weighed on overall volumes,” the report says. Of the 28 specialty chemical segments monitored by ACC, only 10 expanded in January, their report says, while one was flat, and 17 declined.
“In December, 15 sectors had expanded,” the report says, adding, “In January, there were no segments experiencing large gains (1.0% and over) in market volumes.”
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(ACC Mentioned) US PS Producers Yet to Make March Pricing Decisions
Feb 26, 2016 | ICIS News
By David Love
One US polystyrene (PS) producer said on Friday that it has yet to decide what it will do with contract prices in March.
The producer will continue to watch spot feedstock benzene prices as long as it can, and also other key cost drivers such as supply and demand. March US benzene contracts will settle on 29 February.
Spot benzene prices during the final two weeks of the month have a great deal of impact on where benzene contracts settle on the month's final day. And similarly, the benzene contract price exerts a lot of influence on monthly PS contract prices.
For February PS contracts, US producers separately lowered prices by an average of 2 cents/lb for general purpose (GPPS) grades, and by an average of 3 cents/lb for high impact (HIPS) grades, market participants said. It was the first time in five months that prices dropped. March pricing decisions could drag over into the middle of next week, one market participant said.
February is finishing as expected with regard to demand, a producer said. It was a decent month, which included an extra shipping day as a result of the leap year, the producer added.
North American reported PS inventories at the end of 2015 stood at 135,393 tonnes, which was up by 9% year on year, but down by 6% from the previous quarter, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). North America includes the US, Canada and Mexico.
North American PS producers include Americas Styrenics, Grupo Idesa, INEOS Styrolution, Resirene and Total Petrochemicals.
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(ACC Mentioned) Reduce Waste and Feed the Poor ... by Selling Expired Food?
Feb 29, 2016 | CBS News
By David Schepp
When it comes to feeding the world's population, it literally is feast or famine. According to the United Nations, a third of all food produced around the world for human consumption (about 1.3 billion tons) is lost or wasted, even as nearly a billion people worldwide lack enough food to lead a healthy active life.
In Copenhagen, one supermarket is looking to reduce waste while helping to feed the poor by selling food with past due sell-by dates and damaged packaging for as much as half the price posted at regular stores. Known as WeFood, the store is Denmark's first surplus food supermarket.
The nonprofit behind the concept, Folkekirkens Nodhjaelp, wants to appeal to both low-income consumers with tight budgets and environmentally conscious shoppers.
To round out its offerings, WeFood has made agreements with suppliers of citrus fruits, meat, and organic fruit and nut bars. It also struck a deal with one of the biggest supermarket chains in Denmark for bread and other products.
Annually, Denmark wastes about 770,000 tons of food, though the country today throws away about 25 percent less food than it did five years, an effort aided in part by reduced prices for nearly expired food at many supermarkets.
In France, a law passed this month requires supermarkets to donate unsold food to charities and food banks and prohibits retailers from pouring bleach on items tossed in the garbage, a tactic used to thwart foragers. The senator who introduced the legislation is now looking to establish a similar ban across the entire European Union.
For many U.S. consumers, the thought of buying food that is expired (or nearly so) is incomprehensible, though efforts are being made to help shoppers better understand what the dates printed on packages mean.
The confusion is one reason Americans throw away about $640 worth of food every year, according to a recent survey from the American Chemistry Council. (The U.S. also is tops among nations in the amount of food wasted each year, with as much as 40 percent of all food produced in the country getting thrown out.)
To make better use of food that would otherwise go wasted, former Trader Joe's executive Doug Rauch opened an "expired" food market in Boston last summer.
Known as Daily Table, the membership-only supermarket offers steep discounts (much like WeFood) on fresh food and pantry staples. Daily Table is aided in its effort to sell food at such cheap prices through donations and by purchasing food that other supermarkets aren't willing to buy.
And despite what the labels may suggest, the food is safe. The date printed on packaging clues consumers into when the product is at its best, peak flavor, said Rauch.
The flavor or quality may start to degrade over time, but food safety isn't an issue, said Rauch.
For now, Daily Table has just one location -- in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood -- but the nonprofit business hopes to grow the concept across Massachusetts and the nation.
After opening last summer, the store was greeted by crowds eager to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables that aren't easy to find in the low-income area. But the concept also met with some resistance from local activists, who said Rauch was peddling "hand-me-down" food.
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(ACC Mentioned) Of Ingredients, Greed and Expediency: Big Chem and the Big Stink
Feb 29, 2016 | Earth Island
Jon Whelan’s documentary Stink! proves, among other things, that the feminist insight “the personal is political” remains true. According to his film, the untimely death of Whelan’s wife Heather from breast cancer, combined with the pungent odor of brand new pajamas he bought for his daughters, propelled the New York-based writer/director to investigate the chemical industry. Like Ulysses with a camera, Whelan embarks on an odyssey that takes him from corporate boardrooms to the halls of Congress, pitting him against the Cyclops of Big Chem.
Bought as a Christmas present, the pajamas’ noticeable scent prompted Whelan to phone HQ Justice, the company selling the bedclothes. Unable to get answers as to the cause of the PJs’ smell from customer service reps, and after corporate executives declined to take or return his calls, Whelan sent the pajamas to a laboratory for testing, which turned up some dubious results.
Tired of being stonewalled, like Michael Moore hot on the heels of General Motors’ CEO in 1989’sRoger & Me, Whelan tracked down Justice’s then-CEO Michael Rayden at a Manhattan shareholders meeting. The documentarian is admitted to the meeting because he owns a single share of the publically-owned corporation. Confronted and questioned by Whelan, Rayden confesses he doesn’t know all of the chemicals that Justice uses.
But the 90-minute nonfiction film goes beyond just the ironically named Justice to take on the whole ethos and corporate culture of “Better Living Through Chemistry,” which chemical giant DuPont promoted beginning in the 1930s.
Starting with his initial phone calls to Justice, which are recorded and presented onscreen along with corporate employees’ voices, Whelan stumbles upon an astounding fact: The “Cancer Loophole” — Corporations do not have to disclose all of the ingredients on their products’ labels.
Under the innocent-sounding rubric of “fragrance,” many chemicals in perfumes, shaving creams, colognes, etc., do not have to be revealed because under existing law they are regarded as “recipes” similar to fast food’s secret sauce or Coke’s formula. Thus, they are regarded as “trade secrets” and legally protected like proprietary private information. This includes not having to disclose carcinogens and phthalates — endocrine disrupting chemicals impacting hormones — in products. People outraged by how financial deregulation enabled Wall Street to wreck the economy in 2008 should likewise scrutinize governmental oversight — or lack there of — of Big Chem.
While Mike Nichols depicted Karen Silkwood in a 1983 feature starring Meryl Streep about a metallurgy worker who tried to blow the whistle on a plutonium-processing plant, Whelan has Brandon Silk. This high school student is repeatedly hospitalized because, according to Stink!, although he doesn’t use Axe grooming products, some male classmates do. According to the film, the ingredients of these fragrances, deodorants, and antiperspirants, cause Silk’s throat to close, making it hard for him to swallow — just a whiff sickens him.
Although these household and other products may contain harmful chemicals, Axe’s TV commercials, targeting vulnerable teenage boys, depict hordes of scantily clad young women ravishing an Axe-wearing young man. Axe does not divulge the ingredients in its products. Skeptical about Axe’s lack of disclosure Brandon’s mother, Rosa Silk, asks the question that sums up Stink!’s main point: “What are you hiding?”
Axe isn’t the only offender. The documentary goes on to expose how some stores, such as Abercrombie & Fitch (notorious for sexualized advertising), deploy fragrances to affect moods of shoppers in their stores.
This problem has metastasized to the point where, according to Stink!, even some charities are suspect. The doc alleges that at least one 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization investing in anti-breast cancer research opportunistically ballyhoos “Promise Me” perfume. Additional research conducted for this review yielded similar concerns cited by separate sources not mentioned in the wide-ranging documentary. In 2012, for example, AlterNet reported on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s involvement with the perfume: “It was discovered that the organization’s pink ribbon-branded Promise Me perfume contained hormone-disrupting chemicals like galaxolide.”
Stink! also rather disturbingly exposes that federal agencies designated to be the public’s governmental watchdogs — including the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency — have little actual regulatory and oversight powers vis-à-vis the corporate chemical behemoths when it comes to disclosure of chemical use. Much of Big Chem’s disclosure is, the nonfiction film charges, “voluntary” — as to be expected, few companies comply. Chillingly, Stink!contends that this lack of mandatory disclosure even extends to one of environmentalists’ biggestenfants terribles, fracking, which the doc contends includes a process that unleashes a “toxic stew of chemicals.” At the possible expense of public health, the ingredients in the frackers’ stew are protected from disclosure because they’re — you know! — “trade secrets.”
Talk about “fracked up:” Whelan and director of photography Daniel Carter take their camera to the topsy-turvy Alice in Wonderland that is Washington, DeCeit. There, then-Senator John Kerry chews out FDA bureaucrats onscreen, proclaiming “you don’t protect America,” because their toothless bureaucracy can’t demand chemical disclosures or product recalls.
Stink! also highlights that the European Union bans 11,000 ingredients and chemicals permitted in the United States, adding that even developing nations, such as Egypt, have been far more proactive on this front than the US. Andy Igrejas, national campaign director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, one of several eco-activists interviewed onscreen, poignantly points out: “Made in America should be a positive thing, not a warning label.” The doc cleverly adds that permissive American policies can actually undercut US competitiveness and trade — the EU and other nations may not want to import products when companies don’t disclose if they use ingredients violating foreign laws.
Whelan also waylays New Jersey GOP Congressman Leonard Lance, a Big Chem mouthpiece who received $79,000 in contributions from the Health Products/Pharmaceuticals industry in 2015-2016 according to the Center for Responsive Politics’s www.opensecrets.org. According to the website, which is dedicated to “informing citizens about how money in politics affects their lives,” Lance’s largest donor for this period is NJ-headquartered Celgene Corp., a global biopharmaceutical company that contributed $12,400, while California-based Amgen Inc., a biotechnology company with a worldwide reach, came in second, donating $5,100, mostly from its PAC. Lance sponsored the Orwellian-named Cosmetic Safety Amendment Act of 2012, which Stink! argues would actually have made makeup more unsafe had it passed.
Inside the US Capitol Building our man Whelan catches up with Cal Dooley, a former Democratic Congressman who “traded up,” and has, instant presto, become the president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), earning $1 million-plus per year. Whelan wails into Dooley, asking: “Does a consumer have a right to know if there’s a carcinogen in a product for a baby?” (Indeed, inquiring minds want to know.) Whelan plaintively adds, “Industry wants to have it both ways. They don’t want to prove chemicals are safe and they don’t want to disclose their ingredients.” Conscious that the camera is running, Dooley appears to remain affable during the encounter as the Big Chem mouthpiece double-talks Whelan, spewing the company line until he can make his getaway.
Whelan also exposes the corrupting role of lobbying in capitalist America’s pay-for-play political system and tangles with ACC lobbyist Stephen Rosario, who predictably argues “bans are very drastic.” However, Stink! claims only five out of 80,000 ingredients have actually been prohibited in the US.
Stink! also touches on the ACC’s lobbying with respect to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. While Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) strive to strengthen the EPA-administered TSCA, which regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals, ACC predictably advocates “modernizing” the TSCA with legislation that Stink! argues would defang and further de-regulate the Act.
Why does Big Chem resist revealing all of its ingredients, including chemicals that aren’t even banned (at least in America)? “Businesses are writing the rules… that increase profitability,” entrepreneur Jeffrey Hollander, who has argued for sustainable business practices and is formerly of Seventh Generation, says in the film. Identifying components that are carcinogenic and/or otherwise considered to be health hazards could deter consumers from using those products and perhaps lead to their prohibition. Thus labeling — and truth in advertising — can cut into corporations’ bottom lines, just as labeling foods using GMOs could reduce Monsanto’s profits.
Detractors may argue Whelan’s politics are too personal and that, considering his wife’s early death and anxiety concerning his young daughters, he’s far too emotionally involved to objectively report what he himself calls a “love, crime and mystery story.” But others are likely to find that Whelan rightfully “objects” to unfair possible hazards, and in making such a big stink over Big Chem’s refusal to provide disclosure, he’s a muckraker in the tradition of Upton Sinclair, whose 1906 novelThe Jungle laid bare the meatpacking industry’s unsanitary conditions. And by shining a light on Big Chem’s big cover-up in his engaging, well-made film, Jon Whelan reminds us, as the Beatles sang in their 1968 “White Album:” “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.”
Stink! was released February 16 on VOD on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and Vimeo.
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Feb 26, 2016 | Journal SentineL
By Paul A. Smith
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act (H.R. 2406).
The multifaceted piece of legislation would expand access to public lands for hunting and recreational shooting, exempt ammunition and lead sinkers from regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act and allow states to use a higher proportion of Pittman-Robertson funds to acquire land for public target ranges.
It also would remove protections of the Endangered Species Act for wolves in Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The wolf measure was added as an amendment and approved Friday.
Original sponsors of the SHARE Act were Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Robert Wittman (R-Va.).
The bill has been supported by Safari Club International, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It has been opposed by Earth Justice and the Humane Society of the United States.
The legislation now awaits action from the Senate.
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US Agency Consults on PFOA, PFOS Immunotoxicity Monograph
Feb 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
A draft monograph on immunotoxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), has been put out for consultation in the US.
The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) prepared the draft, and the consultation is being carried out by Office of Health Assessment and Translation (Ohat). This is a division of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). It serves “as an environmental health resource to the public and regulatory health agencies”.
There have been dramatic reductions in PFOS and PFOA emissions as a result of voluntary usage phase-outs. However, their persistence and bioaccumulation has resulted in detectable levels in the US population. They are therefore “of potential human health relevance”, says a Federal Register notice.
Both substances have been “used extensively” over the past half century in such applications as:water-resistant coatings;lubricants;food packaging; andfire-retarding foams.
PFOA and PFOS are also the subject of evaluation by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha). It is preparing hazard identification materials that will be used to determine whether the substances should be listed under Proposition 65.
Public comments will be accepted on the draft until 5 July. A hearing will take place on 19 July.
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EPA Weighs Adding Natural Gas Processing Facilities, Nonylphenol To TRI
Feb 26, 2016 | Inside EPA
EPA is preparing a pair of rulemakings to add natural gas processing facilities and the chemicals nonylphenol ethoxylates to its Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under which various industries must report annually their chemical releases to the environment or the amount of chemicals they manage through recovery and treatment.
In its “Action Initiation List” (AIL) of rulemakings launched in December -- but only posted to EPA's website this month -- the agency says it intends to issue both proposed rules within 12 months or less.
The proposal to add natural gas processing facilities to the list of those subject to TRI reporting requirements was expected, as EPA last year said it would grant environmentalists' petition seeking that listing. EPA says the rulemaking will formally respond to the petition by the Environmental Integrity Project and 18 other organizations, adding that it will “meaningfully increase” the data available to the public and “further the purposes” of TRI.
“EPA estimates that more than half of the 517 natural gas processing plants in the U.S. would meet the TRI employee threshold (10 full-time employees or equivalent) and manufacture, process, or otherwise use (threshold activities) at least one TRI-listed chemical in excess of applicable threshold quantities,” EPA says.
Natural gas processing plants make, process, or use more than 25 chemicals listed on TRI, including hydrogen sulfide, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, according to the AIL. EPA says that based on data from Canada and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the agency “expects that TRI reporting by U.S. natural gas processing facilities would provide significant release and waste management data.”
EPA's decision to grant environmentalists' petition for the listing ended litigation that the advocacy groups had filed in federal district court seeking to force a petition response.
Meanwhile, the agency in the AIL also says it is evaluating whether to add nonylphenol ethoxylates to the list of chemicals subject to TRI reporting, an effort that it had previously signaled.
“Nonylphenol ethoxylates degrade in the environment to produce short chain nonylphenol ethoxylates and nonylphenol both of which are highly toxic to aquatic organisms. Nonylphenol has been found in environmental samples taken from freshwater, saltwater, groundwater, sediment, soil and aquatic biota,” EPA says.
The agency has crafted a Toxic Substances Control Act “action plan” to address concerns about releases of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates to the environment that included the intiaition of the TRI rulemaking, according to the AIL, and will propose the listing within 12 months or less.
Given that the AIL lists rulemakings launched in December, it is likely that work on the proposals began before EPA's recent decision to move the TRI program from the Office of Environmental Information to the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The move to OCSPP was an organizational change that will not affect reporting requirements and appears consistent with the agency's long-standing claims that reporting of TRI data gives companies an incentive to reduce their toxic releases.
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Scalia's Death Prompts Dow to Settle Suits Over Urethanes
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Jef Feeley and Greg Stohr
Dow Chemical Co. said it agreed to pay $835 million to settle an antitrust case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalia's death reduced its chances of overturning a jury award (In re Urethane Antitrust Litig., D. Kan., No. 04-md-01616, 2/26/16).
Dow, the largest U.S. chemical maker by sales, said Feb. 26 that the accord will resolve its challenges to a $1.06 billion award to purchasers of compounds for urethanes, chemicals used to make foam upholstery for furniture and plastic walls in refrigerators.
The Midland, Mich.-based company disputed a jury's finding that it had conspired with four other chemical makers to fix urethane prices and asked the Supreme Court to take the class action case on appeal.
“Growing political uncertainties due to recent events with the Supreme Court and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class-action suits have changed Dow's risk assessment of the situation,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.
Scalia Challenged Class Actions
Scalia had been a key voice for companies in challenging group lawsuits at the Supreme Court.
In one case, Scalia wrote the 5-4 ruling in 2011 that said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. couldn't be sued by potentially a million female workers. Two years later, Scalia was the author of a 5-4 ruling that freed Comcast Corp. from having to defend against an $875 million antitrust lawsuit on behalf of Philadelphia-area customers.
“Class-actions is one of the areas where Justice Scalia's absence is likely to have an impact,” said Gregory Garre, an appellate lawyer at Latham & Watkins in Washington and previously President George W. Bush's top Supreme Court lawyer. “Companies will have to be careful what they ask for in seeking review, or at least face an added burden in prevailing at the court on class-action issues.”
“Companies whose positions are based more on political philosophy than on interpretation of the law worry when the majority philosophy in sway at the court changes,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's business and law schools.
“It is unlikely that any nominee will be as favorable to business as Justice Scalia was,” Gordon said in an e-mail. “The anti-business wing will carry more decisions.”
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican, bowed out of consideration Feb. 25 as Scalia's replacement on the court. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has vowed that any nominee pushed forward by President Barack Obama won't get a confirmation vote this year. McConnell says the next president should make the appointment.
‘Marginal Difference’ Seen
Some lawyers say the Supreme Court won't change much on class actions, regardless who makes the selection of the next justice.
“I think it's only a marginal difference,” said Jonathan Hacker, who runs the Supreme Court practice at O'Melveny & Myers in Washington. “Overall, I think most justices want to ensure that class-action procedures permit defendants to litigate their defenses fairly and don't subject absent class members to unfair outcomes they can't control or even influence.”
The settlement in the Dow case resolves the largest U.S. court award for 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That year, a federal court jury in Kansas City, Kan., awarded urethane purchasers $400 million in damages over claims that Dow engaged in price fixing. The judge in the case tripled the award to $1.2 billion, as required by antitrust law.
The case started in 2005 with allegations that Dow plotted with BASF SE, Huntsman International LLC and Lyondell Chemical Co. in violation of federal law. Dow was the only company that refused to settle. The final judgment in the case was reduced to reflect $139 million in settlements with the other defendants before trial.
Dow appealed the liability finding and award to a federal appeals court in Denver, which rejected its challenges to the class-action claims in September 2014. The company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the lower court's ruling.
Dow Denies Price Fixing
Dow disputes that it was part of a price-fixing conspiracy, even though it agreed to resolve the case. The jury award “was fundamentally flawed as a matter of class-action law,” the company said in its statement.
The Supreme Court has been holding Dow's appeal while it considers similar issues in a Tyson Foods Inc. case. Tyson is seeking to overturn a $5.8 million wage award to workers at an Iowa pork-processing plant. The company argues that it was subjected to an improper “trial by formula” and that the class of workers included some who were fully compensated.
Tyson got a skeptical audience from the justices during arguments in November 2015. The justices suggested they might issue a narrow ruling, potentially upholding the award while limiting its reasoning to the wage-and-hour hour context. The Dow appeal raised broader questions about group lawsuits, arguing the award violated both the U.S. Constitution and the federal courtroom rules that govern class actions.
In December, Dow and DuPont Co. agreed to a merger of equals, the largest combination ever in the chemical industry. The companies have a combined market value exceeding $106 billion, based on current trading.
The deal is scheduled to close by the end of this year, after which three separate companies focused on plastics, agricultural products and specialty materials will be spun off to shareholders.
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FRA Must Boost Hazmat Risk Analysis, Penalty Use: OIG
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
The Federal Railroad Administration's hazmat transport oversight has resulted in penalties with “little deterrent effect” and no pursuit of criminal charges, a recent Transportation Department's Office of the Inspector General report found.
The rail agency also lacks an adequate national evaluation to show risk for hazmat transport, which means related hazmat inspection resources may not be allocated appropriately, the Feb. 24 report said. Finally, inspectors lack ready access to other regions' inspection data and special permits from other agencies, which limits the FRA's ability to prepare for inspections and track compliance issues, it said.
“Effective oversight of this risk-prone area requires thorough, timely inspections as well as the application of deterrent penalties when violations occur,” the report said. “FRA has the authority and tools it needs to address violations, but its planning and resource allocation processes and penalty process are not part of a comprehensive, risk based approach to identifying and correcting problems and preventing future ones.”
The inspector general's office conducted the audit in light of the increase in use of rail to move crude oil over the last several years, and the risks posed by other hazardous goods. The increase in crude oil transport by train—from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to 407,761 carloads in 2013—has been accompanied by an increase in derailments that have caused environmental damage and killed people.
The inspector general's office issued seven recommendations, which include changing agency policy to require staff to report “suspected criminal violations and instances of fraud, waste and abuse” to the office, requiring periodic comprehensive hazmat transport risk assessments and examining the national and regional implications.
The rail agency said it agreed with all the Office of Inspector General's recommendations.
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Feb 26, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Peter Roady and Michael Sulmeyer
The president has announced a new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and appointed his former national security advisor and the former CEO of IBM to lead it. Together, they have an opportunity to put the country on a path towards real cybersecurity. As they begin receiving briefings, they will soon find themselves overwhelmed with complexity and mired in technological minutiae. While there are undoubtedly aspects of the cybersecurity problem that demand complex technological solutions, we submit that the two most beneficial recommendations they can make are more straightforward. The first is to do everything possible to eliminate the vulnerabilities on which attackers depend. The second is to treat cybersecurity principally as a management problem rather than as a technology problem.
The reason you cannot read the news without learning of another hack is that attackers have an almost unlimited and constantly growing set of potential targets. Why? Think of “hacking” in the cyber context as a short-hand for exploiting vulnerabilities. The persistence of these vulnerabilities reflects the absence of incentives for developers to create secure software. In an era before software ran critical applications, this was tolerable; it is acceptable no longer. The problem is only getting worse with the growth of the Internet of Things, which connects more of our devices and our lives to the Internet but without much thought to security. In the ongoing debate about cybersecurity, there have been many sound proposals for investment in offensive and defensive cyber capabilities along with a skilled workforce able to employ these capabilities. Those are necessary moves, but they are themselves insufficient because they do not address the underlying vulnerability problem.
Improving cybersecurity for the long run requires doing everything possible to eliminate exploitable vulnerabilities. This will require a mix of carrots and sticks. The market has not yet sufficiently incentivized security. As a result, we may need to encourage industry to produce secure software by holding them liable when they don’t. Government regulates safety and security in other industries, and similar standards may at some point be necessary for software. But when companies do acknowledge vulnerabilities in their products and make timely efforts to fix them, they should be rewarded and shielded from liability.
Some will be quick to counter that imposing liability and regulation risks stifling innovation in one of the most powerful and transformative sectors of the U.S. economy. With its mix of public and private sector commissioners and an inclusive work process, we believe President Obama’s cyber commission will be well positioned to address the liability issue in a way that breaks the cycle of cyber insecurity without unduly harming the competitiveness of our software sector.
In addition to leading the way towards the elimination of vulnerabilities, Obama’s commission should examine how organizations in both the private and public sectors treat cyber issues. Too many senior managers see cybersecurity as a technology problem and delegate responsibility for it to technical experts who are neither qualified nor empowered to make decisions on behalf of their organizations. Shifting the lens through which managers see cyber issues is imperative: today’s leaders must own cybersecurity. They need to educate themselves on the risks their organizations face, require their subordinates to monitor and reduce those risks, and then be held accountable for cybersecurity failures.
Obama’s commission has the opportunity to shape the agenda for cybersecurity for the next administration and beyond. The challenges posed by our state of near-permanent cyber insecurity are only beginning to become apparent. The commission should not be expected to solve every problem, but with a focus on reducing vulnerabilities and framing the task as a management challenge, they can chart a wise course for how to improve America’s cybersecurity.
Roady is a doctoral student in the Department of History at Columbia University. Sulmeyer is the director of the Belfer Center’s Project on Cyber Conflict at the Harvard Kennedy School. They worked on cyber issues together for several years at the U.S. Department of Defense. The views expressed are theirs alone.
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House E&C Panel to Unveil Draft Reauthorization
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Ban Panko
As the Senate gets closer to passing pipeline safety legislation, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will unveil a draft version of its reauthorization tomorrow.
"This committee has a proud, longstanding tradition of working together when it comes to pipeline safety, including passage of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011," Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) said in a statement. "It's now time to update the law. With today's changing energy landscape and the need to modernize infrastructure greater than ever, we're looking forward to an important conversation on the discussion draft. Our work toward a safer energy future continues."
The oversight authority of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration expired last September, and the agency has drawn scrutiny for its slow pace in completing 42 safety mandates included in its prior reauthorization.
Lawmakers and industry and watchdog witnesses stressed the need for PHMSA to complete those mandates soon at a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing last week, but the recent massive methane leak from a Los Angeles storage facility took center stage. PHMSA currently has no authority to regulate intrastate natural gas storage facilities like the Aliso Canyon one that leaked for four months (E&E Daily, Feb. 26).
Meanwhile, the Senate is set to soon vote on S. 2276, a bipartisan reauthorization bill for PHMSA.
The draft bill to be discussed tomorrow would also reauthorize PHMSA through 2019, but the bill would also include multiple new mandates to "increase transparency and accountability, complete overdue regulations, and improve safety," according to a statement from the committee. Several industry witnesses, experts and lawmakers at last week's T&I Committee hearing expressed reservations about adding additional mandates when the previous ones have yet to be completed.
Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, March 1, at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Witnesses: TBA.
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Risk Proposal Contested as Stanislaus Stresses Merits
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Dabbs
The Environment Protection Agency put forth for public review on Feb. 25 a heavily anticipated proposal to revise risk management guidelines, a step the agency touted as key to averting loss of life and widespread property damage due to chemical facility disasters.
Many stakeholders told Bloomberg BNA on Feb. 26 they are continuing to review the details of the 250-page proposal. The document, however, hit tentative opposition from industry, as well as public health and environment advocates, in the immediate wake of its release.
Still, the proposal strikes a compromise that reflects roughly 2 1/2 years of EPA outreach to stakeholders, Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management, told Bloomberg BNA in a Feb. 26 phone interview.
Broad Engagement
“From my perspective, it's pretty unique that we've done all this engagement even prior to a proposed rule,” said Stanislaus, who identified the proposal as a high priority. “This is deliberative and sequential and a fairly comprehensive process.”
The proposal, titled Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act, was developed following a comment period, a report to the president, a request for information and meeting by a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act panel. The revision aims to prevent disasters during chemical plant operations, ensure effective preparedness and response, and strengthen information sharing, Stanislaus said. EPA moved ahead with the proposal in order to implement President Barack Obama's Executive Order (E.O.) 13650, which addressed chemical storage insecurity in the wake of the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, Texas.
The agency says RMP facilities reported 1,500 accidents over the past 10 years, including nearly 60 deaths and $2 billion in property damage.
Industry Contests Safer Technology Language
EPA officials conducted thorough consultations with the chemical industry over the past nearly three years, a number of associations told Bloomberg BNA. Those groups pledged to work with the agency as the rulemaking process continues to unfold.
The safer technology language in the proposal, however, sparked measured criticism from industry.
“While we have not had a chance to fully review EPA's proposal, we are concerned that the Agency is looking to pursue new requirements that will create unnecessary and potentially detrimental complexity to RMP, particularly the requirements related to compliance audits and safer alternatives analysis,” said the American Chemical Council in a Feb. 26 statement sent to Bloomberg BNA. “We plan to provide the Agency with more detailed comments and recommendations on these issues and others when the proposal is published in Federal Register in the coming weeks.” The National Association of Chemical Distributors echoed that concern.
EPA spokesman George Hull told Bloomberg BNA the proposal won't formally enter the Federal Register for at least three business days.
Loose Language on Alternatives
The proposal calls on industry to conduct Safer Technology and Alternatives Analysis (STAA) through “any available methodology or guidance,” while also allowing comparable alternatives.
Industry members, led by the Chamber of Commerce, lashed into the safer technology requirements in comments following the EPA's 2014 request for information (221 DEN B-1, 11/17/14). The RFI fetched roughly 99,000 comments.
Stanislaus, however, defended that language in the proposal, saying that provision builds on best practices.
“It would require those facilities with the highest frequency of accidents to conduct that analysis to identify whether there are any opportunities to bring to bear safer technologies or other alternatives,” Stanislaus said. “And we are obviously going to be having conversations with all the stakeholders, including industry.”
Cumulative Burden on Industry?
EPA implementation of Obama's executive order runs alongside efforts to revise the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's process safety management standard and the Department of Homeland Security's chemical facility antiterrorism standards.
In an interview with Bloomberg BNA on Feb. 26, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates Director of Government Relations Dan Moss cautioned that the collective requirements could pose serious challenges to industry.
“Something that I think is not taken into account enough, but something we've repeatedly urged to be addressed, is the cumulative impacts of multiple rules, especially from a small and medium sized business perspective,” Moss said. “I can assure you that on a collective basis, it becomes fairly overwhelming very quickly.”
Moss also said the agency should focus more on ensuring compliance with existing legal requirements, rather than introducing new mandates. Industry isn't complying in full with existing requirements on third-party auditing, local coordination and information sharing, he said.
Disaster Coalition's Harsh Complaint
The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters championed the safer technology language in a Feb. 26 statement released to Bloomberg BNA by Greenpeace spokesman Rick Hind. The proposal is an “important step” but falls short in several key areas, the group said.
“It will be a tragic missed opportunity if in the final rule EPA allows [chemical facilities] to conceal the results of their assessments from the residents, schools and hospitals near these facilities (as proposed by the agency), and fails to prevent future disasters by requiring the use of safer alternatives for all hazardous facilities where they are feasible,” said the coalition.
Right to Know v. Security
The proposals would not require facilities to send their STAA to EPA or reveal that analysis to the public, nor would it establish a “publicly-accessible clearinghouse” for safer technology alternatives, the statement said.
In an interview with Bloomberg BNA on Feb. 26, science director for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, Stephen Lester, said health advocates may need to reach out directly to industry to convey the importance of public disclosure.
“It's personally disappointing that the public is further cut out from this information,” said Lester, whose organization is a Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters member. “EPA needs to keep an open mind. Maybe we need to have an open discussion with these companies. Maybe we can cut the EPA out of the picture.”
Lester said such a route has worked in similar situations involving consumer products, and it could potentially work in the chemical facility context.
Stanislaus Touts Coordination, Local Prep
The proposal does, in fact, include critical mechanisms to strengthen coordination and information sharing among first responders, said Stanislaus in the interview with Bloomberg BNA. The proposal promotes comprehensive alignment with local response preparedness officials, he said.
“A major component of that is supporting local responders, ensuring that they have been consulted and coordinated … that there is a real understanding of who is going to respond,” said Stanislaus. “There have been instances where that coordination did not happen and the local response organizations we're not fully aware that they were expected to respond.”
The third-party auditing language in the proposal also brings “rigor” and “independence” to the safety assessment process, he said.
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Feds Approve New SEPTA Train-Control Safety System
Feb 26, 2016 | The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jason Laughlin
SEPTA got some good news this morning in its project to install a new braking system on Regional Rail trains.
The Federal Railroad Administration has been testing the Positive Train Control System overnight this week, and after reviewing tests Thursday night, the federal agency indicated the system is up to snuff.
PTC equipment installed on tracks and trains will automatically slow or stop vehicles if an operator fails to follow track speed restrictions. Experts have said this system would have prevented the fatal Philadelphia Amtrak crash in May.
The first passengers to ride trains with PTC activated are those who use the Warminster Line, a line which sees trains going in both directions using the one stretch of track.
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Draft House Pipeline Safety Bill Released
Feb 26, 2016 | PoliticoPro Whiteboard
By Andrew Restuccia
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and other lawmakers are circulating a discussion draft of legislation that would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The draft would reauthorize PHMSA, but it doesn't specify for how long.
Like Senate legislation on the issue, it pressures the agency to finish a series of rulemakings mandated by Congress. It also includes language instructing the agency to complete pending rules mandated by Congress before it moves on to new regulations, unless the Secretary of Transportation determines there is "significant need" to move on to new rules.
The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power will hold a hearing next week on the PHMSA reauthorization.
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The New Oil-Storage Space: Railcars
Feb 28, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Nicole Friedman and Bob Tita
The U.S. is so awash in crude oil that traders are experimenting with new places to store it: empty railcars.
Thousands of railcars ordered up to transport oil are now sitting idle because currentultralow crude prices have made shipping by train unprofitable. Meanwhile, traditional storage tanks are running out of room as U.S. oil inventories swell to their highest level since the 1930s.
Some industry participants are calling the new practice “rolling storage”—a landlocked spin on the “floating storage” producers use to hold crude on giant oil tankers when inventories run high.
The combination of cheap oil and surplus railcars has created a budding new side business for traders. J.P. Fjeld-Hansen, a managing director for trading company Musket Corp., tested using railcars for storage last year and found he could profit by putting the oil aside while locking in a higher price to deliver it in a later month.
The company built a rail terminal in Windsor, Colo., in 2012 to load oil shipments during a boom in U.S. oil production. Now, Mr. Fjeld-Hansen says, “The focus has shifted from a loading terminal to an oil-storage and railcar-storage business.”
Energy Midstream, a trading company based in The Woodlands, Texas, stored an ultralight oil known as condensate on Ohio railcars last month for about 15 days before shipping it to a buyer in Canada.
Dennis Hoskins, a managing partner at Energy Midstream, says there are so many unused tank cars that he is constantly hearing from railcar owners hoping to put them to use. “We get offers everyday for railcars,” he said.
The use of railcars for storage could be limited by the cost of track space and safety and liability concerns that have followed a string of high-profile transport accidents. Issues range from leaky cars to the risk of collisions and fires.
Federal regulations require railroads that store cars loaded with hazardous materials like oil to comply with strict storage and security measures to keep the cars away from daily rail traffic. Railroads and users face responsibility for leaks, collisions or other mishaps.
“I don’t want the liability,” said Judy Petry, president of Oklahoma rail operator Farmrail System Inc. “We prefer not to hold a loaded car.”
Still, the oil has to go somewhere. The surge in shale-oil production has created a massive glut that the industry is struggling to absorb. BP PLC Chief Executive Bob Dudley joked in a speech this month that by midyear, “every storage tank and swimming pool in the world will be filled with oil.”
Khory Ramage, president of Ironhorse Permian Basin LLC, which operates a rail terminal in Artesia, N.M., said he hears regularly from traders looking to store crude in his railcars.
Crude-storage costs “have been accelerating, just due to the demand for it and less room,” he said. “You’ll probably start seeing this kick up more and more.”
U.S. crude inventories rose above 500 million barrels in late January for the first time since 1930, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The cheapest form of storage—underground salt caverns—can cost 25 cents a barrel each month, while storing crude on railcars costs about 50 cents a barrel and floating storage can cost 75 cents or more. The cost estimates don’t include loading and transportation.
Railcars hold between 500 and 700 barrels of oil, less than a cavern, tank or ship can store.
The use of U.S. railcars to transport large volumes of oil picked up steam a few years ago as a byproduct of the fracking boom. Fields sprung up faster than pipelines could be laid, so producers improvised and shipped their output to market by rail. Companies soon realized railroads offered greater flexibility to transfer oil to whomever offered the best price. Some pipeline companies even joined the rail business, building terminals to load and unload oil. U.S. oil settled Friday at $32.78 a barrel, down nearly 70% from mid-2014.
The plunge in oil prices brought that activity to a halt. Analysts estimate there are now as many as 20,000 tank cars—about one-third of the North American fleet for hauling oil—parked out of the way in storage yards or along unused stretches of tracks in rural areas.
Producers and shippers who signed long-term leases for the cars during the boom are stuck paying monthly rates that typically run $1,500 to $1,700 per car. Traders can pay those prices and still profit. Oil bought at the April price and sold through the futures market for delivery a year later could net a trader $8.07 a barrel, not including storage or transportation costs.
As central storage hubs fill up, oil companies are more willing to pay for expensive and remote types of storage, said Ernie Barsamian, principal of the Tank Tiger, which keeps a database of companies looking to buy and sell oil storage space.
The Tank Tiger posted an inquiry Wednesday on behalf of a client seeking 75,000 barrels of crude-oil storage or space to park 100 to 120 railcars loaded with crude.
Mr. Barsamian likened the disappearance of available storage to a coloring book where nearly all the white space has been filled in.
“You’re getting closer to the edges,” he said.
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Towering Issue on Hingham Rail Right-of-Way
Feb 26, 2016 | Wicked Local Hingham
By Carol Britton Meyer
· The MBTA, in partnership with inMotion Wireless, has plans to construct wayside poles and associated infrastructure to be used for the deployment of a Positive Train Control system within the MBTA commuter railroad right-of-way between Boston and Greenbush.
PTC is a system of functional requirements for monitoring and controlling train movements to enhance safety.
According to the company's website, inMotion is a high-speed broadband "private network" wireless provider designing and serving exclusive networks for the commuter rail industry, offering coverage from the boarding station to destination point.
The proposed installations include a "collocation" (placing units side by side or in position) at 17 feet, two inches above the platform within the existing tunnel at 114 North St. and an approximately 74-foot-tall new facility -- including a 65-foot concrete monopole with antennas mounted at various heights and at the top -- to be constructed at each of the following locations:
· 326-498 East St.
· 30 Kilby St.
· 32 Eldridge Court
· 237 South St.
· 44-50 Fort Hill St.
The Hingham Historical Commission recently received a letter from EBI Consulting on behalf of the MBTA and inMotion dated Jan. 28 inviting any interested party to comment on the proposed installation relative to potential impacts on historic properties. The letter was sent pursuant to Sect. 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
There will be opportunity for town officials and citizens to make comments related to other concerns during the local review process.
"We are trying to get more information and to extend the comment period, and we are looking to schedule a public meeting with a project representative present to answer questions," said Director of Community Planning Mary Savage-Dunham.
Looking back, in 2008, Congress required railroads to install Positive Train Control on mainlines that transport any poisonous-inhalation-hazardous materials and where regularly scheduled intercity passenger or commuter rail services are provided.
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Commuter Rail to Get a Safety Upgrade
Feb 26, 2016 | Wicked Local Natick
By Brian Benson
The commuter rail line running through town will get required safety upgrades over the coming years.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to install a positive train control system on the Framingham/Worcester line, which passes through Natick on its way from Boston to Worcester.
The transit agency expects the system to be in place by December 2018 on south side commuter rail lines such as the line through Natick and by 2020 throughout the system, according to MBTA documents.
Work on the Framingham/Worcester line could begin next year or in early 2018, MBTA spokesman Jason Johnson said in an email.
The MBTA is among many railroads around the country required by the federal government install the system.
Positive train control, or PTC, systems are “capable of automatically controlling train speeds and movements should a train operator fail to take appropriate action for the conditions at hand,” officials wrote on the Federal Railroad Administration website.
They can, for example, stop a train before it passes a signal indicating it should stop. They can prevent problems such as train-to-train collisions and overspeed derailments, according to the website.
“Positive train control connects trains to signals, keeping them on the right path and within the right speed, while allowing the engineer the ability to operate within those parameters,” a State House News Service article said, citing consultant David Diaz.
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board has approved a $338 million contract with Italian company Ansaldo STS to “design, build and integrate” positive train control on the commuter rail network.
Officials estimate the project will cost overall $451.3 million, which includes $58.8 million in contingency and $25 million in support from Keolis Commuter Services, which operates the commuter rail system, State House News Service reported.
The work may result in weekend commuter rail shutdowns to allow crews to complete the project in a timely, safe and cost-effective manner, according to MBTA documents.
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BNSF Announces Capex Plans for Missouri, Colorado
Feb 26, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
BNSF Railway Co. continued to roll out its 2016 state-by-state capital expenditure plans this week, with the latest programs announced for Missouri and Colorado.
In Missouri, BNSF will spend $140 million to replace and upgrade rail, ties and ballast. Work will include 1,190 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting, the replacement of 65 miles of rail and more than 215,000 ties, and signal upgrades related to the implementation of positive train control (PTC) technology.
This year's capex plan follows more than $600 million that BNSF has spent on its Missouri network over the past three years, railroad officials said in a press release.
In Colorado, the Class I has slated nearly $100 million worth of projects, including 860 miles of track surfacing or undercutting work, the replacement of 15 miles of rail and more than 115,000 ties, and signal upgrades for PTC implementation. Over the past three years, BNSF has spent more than $250 million to upgrade its Colorado network.
Last month, BNSF announced it has budgeted $4.3 billion for its network-wide capital expenditure program. -
KCS to Kick off PTC Field Integration Tests Next Week
Feb 26, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
Kansas City Southern next week plans to begin positive train control (PTC) field integration testing, a series of tests that aim to validate the safety of PTC technology and hardware prior to full implementation.
The railroad's PTC team will begin the testing Feb. 29 at the New Orleans Subdivision, KCS officials said in a news release.
The team is wrapping up one phase of the verification and validation (V&V) testing of the route, speed, critical feature locations and configuration of PTC wayside devices within the subdivision file by the geographic information systems and signal teams. To date, V&V testing has been conducted with hi-rail vehicles, KCS said.
PTC is designed to automatically stop a train if it exceeds certain operating parameters. Congress has required that major railroads must implement the technology by the end of 2018 or, under some certain circumstances, by 2020.
Railroads were required to submit their PTC implementation plans to the Federal Railroad Administration by Jan. 27. In its plan, KCS indicated that it intends to request the additional two-year extension to 2020. -
(ACC Mentioned) Natural Gas Expected to Rebound -- Eventually
Feb 28, 2016 | The Register-Herald
By Daniel Tyson
On a recent weekday evening, the Burger King had eight cars on its parking lot, twice the number as the new Holiday Inn across the street.
"Honey, we have all kinds of room," said the clerk when asked if rooms were available.
Down W.Va 2, The Budget Inn's parking lot was also nearly empty. The same went for the New Martinsville Inn and Traveler's Inn.
The sad thing about the empty parking lots and high number of vacant rooms, is that not long ago, it would have been impossible to find a hotel room in this city. Parking lots were filled with company trucks and rooms with out-of-state riggers.
At Choo-Choo's Restaurant, riggers ate meatloaf, mashed potatoes and garlic bread while downing a cold beer. At Quinet's Restaurant on Main Street, finding a parking spot and booth were next to impossible as natural gas workers hovered over a all-you-can-eat buffet of baked steak, baked ham, beef liver, fish, shrimp, a garden of veggies and enough desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth.
But that is all gone. What a difference 15 months make. Now, New Martinsville and surrounding towns and counties are wondering when will the out-of-staters with their need for a bed and bear-of-an appetite return?
Rumors, and there are a lot of those floating around, is perhaps come early summer, the Marcellus shale riggers and their money will return.
"I hope they come back soon," said a clerk, who only gave his name as Brian, at the town's 7-Eleven. "Our sales are down."
Across the road at another convenience store, the clerk said everything from gas to soda to snack cakes sales have dropped since the riggers left.
And there is the beauty of microeconomics; it's visible in everyday life.
But while the people of New Martinsville sees signs of microeconomics, the loss of Little Debbie and regular unleaded sales, West Virginia, as a state, sees the macroeconomic side of the declining natural gas industry.
And what the state sees isn't positive, at the moment.
"The natural resources sector ... is expected to produce the fastest rate of job growth in the coming years, with most of that growth coming in the later years of the outlook period," reads an economic outlook report for the Wheeling area, which encompasses parts of the state's oil and natural gas areas.
That wordy explanation can be summed up in the new buzz phrase used to described the future of West Virginia Shale play: "Lower for longer."
Lower prices for a longer period. Those in the central part of the state, heard word that the riggers would be back last spring, then the summer, followed by the fall. Well, restaurants and hotel rooms are empty thanks to the decline.
To understand the decline in the shale market, look no further than north central West Virginia. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production in that fast-growing field will decline primarily because of depressed gas prices.
Recent data supports signs of a slowdown. The number of rigs in the state's oilfields has dwindled in recent months to its lowest since 2011, and drillers — including Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. — have temporarily shut down some production due to weak regional prices.
"Relatively low gas prices, combined with low oil prices, have slowed drilling in the Marcellus (shale), so production from new wells is only offsetting the decline in old wells," said EIA lead upstream analyst Dana Van Wagener.
The EIA forecasted prices in parts of the Marcellus would remain below $2 through 2016 and not exceed $4 until 2020.
"Many of the noncore areas of the Marcellus need prices to be sustained near $5 or above to be economic to develop," Van Wagener said, noting that price level would probably not be realized until around 2025.
This means more tough news for companies that only a couple years ago were living like nobility. With holdings in oil and natural gas reserves at record highs, 2015 was a year of pauper profits, if not flat out losses.
With the distressed markets, a number of oil and gas companies slashed their workforces, stopped drilling and even filed for bankruptcy protection.
It's obvious why the industry is in a funk — weak prices. That in turn has a domino effect on satellite industries, such as exploration and production. Similarly, drilling and oilfield services sectors have taken a hit, too.
Tighter access to financing has made near-term debt — any debt due within a year — a risky bet for any company in the field.
As a result, the news is currently filled with oil and gas companies slashing capital budgets, which will continue into 2016, Wall Street oracles predict.
Hardest hit, according to Moody's Investors Service, will be small operations, those that don't have large sums of cash in reserve. The investor service states that 22 percent of exploration and production companies and oilfield services outfits are small operations.
Their default, Moody's predicted at the end of November, "will likely double by mid-2016."
Since the oil and gas industry is capital-intensive, companies — especially small ones — will continue to struggle to find more financing.
Something that could help the industry in West Virginia is the recently lifted ban on exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Exporting, said Charlie Burd, executive director of the West Virginia Independent Oil and Natural Gas Association, can be a "great thing for West Virginia."
He said lifting the ban will add jobs — from drilling to engineering — in an industry hurting due to high reserves.
Burd added that exporting LNG will also bring investment and revenue to the state. That is a good thing, since the state experienced millions of dollars in natural gas severance tax losses last year.
The American Chemical Council expects more than $130 billion in industrial projects resulting from exporting LNG. A standalone dollar amount figure wasn't immediately available for West Virginia last week.
The four LNG export terminals under construction create good opportunities for West Virginia. Burd said the miles of proposed transportation pipelines expected to criss-cross the state could be linked to one or more of those export terminals via Dominion's LNG facility in Cove Point, Md. Currently, the facility already receives a portion of its natural gas from West Virginia, he said.
In early 2015, Dominion announced a $3.4 billion to $3.8 billion expansion of its liquefaction facility, a joint venture with a Japanese utility company.
Natural gas is selling for $7 per million British thermal units (mBtu) in Europe and more than $10 per mBtu in Northeast Asia, according to The Economist, a British business magazine. American energy companies said with those prices, there is now enough profit margin to cover the expense of freezing gas for liquefaction to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and shipping it across the Pacific or Atlantic oceans in molybdenum-hulled vessels.
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EPA Seeks States' Help On 'Background' Ozone Concerns Cited By Critics
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Suit Seeks to Force EPA Action on Emissions Standards
Feb 26, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is years behind schedule in reviewing emissions limits for hazardous air pollutants from iron and steel foundries, rubber tire manufacturing plants and 11 other sources, environmental groups charged in a new lawsuit.
Under the Clean Air Act, the agency is supposed to either issue revised "residual risk standards" for hazardous pollutants within eight years after setting initial benchmarks or else acknowledge that no changes are needed, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the North Carolina-based Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and three other organizations.
The agency is roughly six years overdue, for example, in revisiting emissions standards for leather finishing operations and tire plants, and almost four years late on foundries, the suit alleges.
Other sources for which reviews are overdue include taconite iron ore processing, lime manufacturing, and fabric coating and dying, said the filing.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to review existing emissions limits for each source and either revise them or make a determination that no change is needed "under an expeditious deadline."
EPA will review the suit, spokesman Nick Conger said in an email this afternoon.
Other plaintiffs are Clean Wisconsin Inc., the Midwest Environmental Defense Center and the Sierra Club. Representing them is Earthjustice.
With members living and working near plants that emit hazardous pollutants, "they don't want to wait any longer for the agency to do what it's required to do under the law," attorney Nicholas Morales said in a phone interview today.
Morales is also representing California Communities Against Toxics in a similar suit filed last April alleging that EPA was as much as six years overdue in reviewing emissions standards for 21 other sources. That litigation is pending.
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EPA Asks Court to Block Power Plan Brief on E-Mails
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to keep the use of a former agency official's private e-mail address to communicate with advocacy groups from roiling litigation over its Clean Power Plan (West Virginia v. EPA, D.C. Circuit, No. 15-1363, opposition filed 2/25/16).
The agency is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block a free market think tank's bid to file a separate brief in litigation over the Clean Power Plan that argues the rule should be overturned because of alleged collusion between Michael Goo, who was the EPA's associate administrator for the Office of Policy during the rule's development, and officials at the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Clean Air Task Force conducted via Goo's private e-mail address.
The Energy & Environment Legal Institute (EELI) has sought the court's permission to file a supplemental brief separate from other petitioners challenging the rule that focuses on Goo's use of a private e-mail to communicate with environmental groups while drafting the EPA's options for regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
“EELI has not justified why it, alone among all the petitioners and intervenor-petitioners in this action, should be allowed to file an additional brief to advance a unique argument (apparently one that is not joined in by any other party),” the EPA said in an opposition to EELI's motion filed Feb. 25. “Furthermore, EELI has not provided any evidence to support its claim of standing, further undermining any justification for allowing it to raise a unique issue.”
The EPA's Clean Power Plan (RIN 2060-AR33) limits carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector in each state, with the standards implemented by state regulators. The rule is being challenged by 27 states as well as several utilities and other industry groups.
The institute's request for separate briefing should be denied because the group had signed on to other petitioners' proposed briefing format before the court, the EPA said. The fact that its particular issue was ultimately left out of the briefs filed jointly by petitioners Feb. 19 does not justify granting the EELI leave to file separately, the agency said.
“Every time the court requires joint briefing its purpose is, in part, to encourage similarly-aligned parties to work together to prioritize among their issues and present the most efficient briefing to the court,” the EPA said.
Should the court ultimately allow the Energy & Environment Legal Institute's supplemental brief, the EPA is asking for an additional 1,300 words for its brief, due March 28, to respond.
Goo's E-Mails Called Improper
In the supplemental brief filed Feb. 19, the EELI argued the Clean Power Plan should be overturned because Goo improperly circulated drafts of the EPA's initial approach to regulating carbon dioxide from existing power plants via a nonofficial e-mail account. Those interactions were never placed in the docket for the Clean Power Plan, despite being obtained by the EPA before Goo left the agency in 2013.
“The result of this deficiency is that commenters could not have known that the rule was drafted through such extensive ex parte contacts with environmental groups with whom Mr. Goo once worked when employed by NRDC,” the institute said. “Such secrecy is inconsistent with fundamental principles of due process, fair notice, and accountable government.”
The EELI had previously argued to the D.C. Circuit that Goo's use of private e-mail warranted staying implementation of the Clean Power Plan (216 DEN A-4, 11/9/15).
Although the D.C. Circuit denied requests to stay the Clean Power Plan, the U.S. Supreme Court took the unprecedented step of blocking the rule's implementation before the case could be argued before the lower court (West Virginia v. EPA, U.S., No. 15A773, 2/9/16).
The EPA is represented by the Justice Department, while the EELI is represented by Chaim Mandelbaum, its litigation manager.
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Week Ahead: Energy Secretary Takes Budget Hot Seat
Feb 29, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Administration officials face a busy week with multiple trips to Capitol Hill for hearings on President Obama's last budget request.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be on the hot seat before both the House and the Senate to defend the fiscal 2017 request for the Energy Department.
The administration is trying to focus attention on its plans to double clean energy research and development funding over five years. But Republican lawmakers are likely to devote much attention to Obama's plan to put a $10.25 tax on each barrel of oil.
Moniz's first budget hearing will be Tuesday, when he appears before the House Appropriations Committee's subpanel on energy and water, as the sole witness.
He'll be back on Capitol Hill Wednesday to pitch the budget to the energy and power subpanel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Moniz then returns again Thursday, heading to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to talk again about the budget.
Congress is planning to dive into other parts of Obama's request as well.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will present her department's budget to the House Appropriations Committee's panel on the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency at a Wednesday hearing.
The same panel will meet Thursday with Joseph Pizarchik for a hearing on the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, which is part of Interior.
Some of the Energy Department's specific programs will get a closer look Wednesday in the House Appropriations Committee, with hearings on the applied energy and science programs.
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the House will press forward on its efforts to reauthorize the pipeline safety programs of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, with a Tuesday hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's energy and power panel.
The House Science Committee will meet Thursday to discuss the Energy Department's loan programs.
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled Tuesday to hold a hearing on multiemployer pension plans, including a massive one for coal miners managed by the United Mine Workers of America. Many coal-state senators say it needs to be shored up and possibly reformed following major coal bankruptcies. Cecil Roberts, the union's president, will testify.
Off Capitol Hill, the Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy will hold its annual research summit. The event, from Monday to Wednesday, will feature speeches from Moniz, former Vice President Al Gore, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Sen. Lisa Murkowski(R-Alaska) and others.
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Slew of Committees to Scrutinize Moniz's Spending, Research Plans
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Christa Marshall
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz heads to Capitol Hill this week to defend the administration's fiscal 2017 budget request, setting up potential tussles with Republicans over technology funding, renewables, coal and climate change.
Moniz will testify before the House Appropriations Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Other senior officials will testify on the Department of Energy's applied energy and science budgets before a House Appropriations subcommittee.
The president's budget proposal is strongly tied to the administration's broader climate change vision via Mission Innovation, a pledge announced at last year's climate talks in Paris to double clean energy research funding over five years. Most of the proposed increase would occur at DOE.
DOE's $32.5 billion request includes a 21 percent rise in clean energy research and development, including a large increase for programs like the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which supports cutting-edge technologies outside the reach of the private sector.
Other big winners under the proposal include sustainable transportation, renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, which would all receive at least a 27 percent increase over last year's level.
The administration is hoping that key appropriators like Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) -- a historical supporter of R&D -- will help make some of the funding requests a reality.
Administration leaders have noted that many Republicans have supported funding increases for programs like ARPA-E in the past, including through recently passed amendments to the Senate's energy reform bill.
Alexander, chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, has said he supports big increases in energy research but wants to do so by cutting wind subsidies, an idea not popular with many Democrats.
"The final appropriations bill Congress passed last year is drastically different than the president's budget, and the same will be true for this year," Alexander said earlier this month.
Even so, last year's omnibus incorporated many administration priorities, including record funding for DOE's Office of Science, which oversees 10 of the 17 national laboratories and is the nation's largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences (Greenwire, Dec. 16, 2015). The administration is proposing an additional 6 percent increase for the Office of Science for fiscal 2017.
At a February briefing, Moniz emphasized that the administration's request satisfied discretionary caps and was "not above the line," despite proposed increases for many R&D programs for efficiency, renewables and other clean energy programs.
Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House energy and climate aide, added in a recent interview that the administration "could get a really big chunk of the doubling" in clean energy funding if it works with Republicans to find offsets and satisfy their priorities.
Key to that effort will be House Republicans, who often have been critical of cuts to DOE's fossil energy budget, as well as proposed funding surges for DOE's renewables and efficiency programs. Last year's spending bill dropped funding from Obama's request for renewable energy and efficiency by about $700 million.
After the release of the president's budget, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) called the overall proposal a "spending wish list that doesn't reflect our real budgetary constraints."
Another challenge for the administration's long-term R&D plan is its push for $2.3 billion in new mandatory spending proposals at DOE that require authorizing legislation.
With ARPA-E, for example, the administration envisions a $59 million increase in discretionary funds above last year's level along with $150 million in new mandatory funds for fiscal 2017.
Minus the proposed mandatory funding, the administration's request would increase DOE's budget by a modest 2 percent.
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Air Pollution, Efficiency, Workforce Bills Set for House Vote
Feb 29, 2016 | E&E Daily
By Sean Reilly
Hard on the heels of committee passage, the House is poised to move ahead with a trio of bills this week that would update the Department of Energy's founding statute, exempt LED lighting from a DOE efficiency rule and effectively freeze new air pollution regulations on brick-making companies.
All three measures are likely to win approval once they hit the floor.
The first two, H.R. 4238 and H.R. 4444, passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on voice votes Thursday and are in line for House consideration under the fast-track "suspension of the rules" calendar reserved for noncontroversial legislation.
The third, H.R. 4557, has sparked more contention, winning committee approval on a 28-22 party-line vote.
With Democrats likely to revive their objections on the floor, the House Rules Committee has scheduled a Wednesday meeting to set the terms of debate. The bill could then be brought up on the House floor as early as Thursday; the lead sponsor, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), is expecting a vote this week, a spokesman said via email.
The bill, which has two Democratic co-sponsors, would push back compliance with the new emissions limits on brick and clay ceramics manufacturers until all lawsuits surrounding the rules have played out. U.S. EPA published the regulations last October.
In arguing for a delay, Johnson points to the fate of an earlier set of regulations that were struck down by a federal appellate court, but only after the industry had invested in compliance. Johnson has also predicted that some firms would have trouble getting financing needed to meet the latest requirements or could be forced out of business.
The regulations are already under fire from both industry organizations and environmentalists in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. At last week's Energy and Commerce Committee markup, Democrats echoed acting EPA air chief Janet McCabe's concerns that the bill would be a recipe for prolonging the litigation. They also noted that EPA is giving companies up to four years to comply and that the circuit court can already put a stay on the regulations.
No such controversy surrounds H.R. 4238, intended by its sponsor, Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), to update references to minorities within the Department of Energy Organization Act and another statute. Under Meng's bill, for example, "Negro" would become "African American"; "Oriental" would be changed to "Asian American"; and "Spanish speaking individual of Spanish descent" would be shortened to "Hispanic."
Also likely to win easy approval is H.R. 4444 by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.). The measure would exempt LED lighting from DOE's efficiency rule for external power supplies. Supporters say the rule was originally designed to cover power supplies like the boxes attached to laptop cords and that the solid-state drivers for LED lights cannot meet the rule's testing requirement with existing technology (E&E Daily, Feb. 26).
The House is also set to use the suspension calendar to vote on H.R. 4583, by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), intended "to promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce," andH.R. 4084, the "Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act," by Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas).
Rush's bill, also approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee last week, would make it a national priority to use education and training programs to help more minorities and women find jobs in the oil and gas sector, the renewable energy business and other parts of the energy industry.
The overall purpose of Weber's measure, introduced in November and approved by the House Science, Space and Technology Committee last month, is to foster development of nuclear power technologies in concert with the private sector.
It would amend the 2005 Energy Policy Act, for example, by ordering the Energy Department to come up with a program to develop reactor technologies "through high-performance computational modeling and simulation techniques," according to an official summary.
DOE would also have to develop a program to test and develop reactor concepts coming from the business world and tap its technical expertise to help build and run privately funded experimental reactors at the department's national laboratories and other sites.
Schedule:: The House Rules Committee meeting will be Wednesday, March 2, at 3 p.m. in Capitol H-313.
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Murkowski Optimistic on Senate Energy Bill
Feb 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Nushin Huq
The Senate could pass a broad energy bill (S. 2012) as early as the week of Feb. 29, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in Houston on Feb. 26.
Murkowski said she and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have been working to ensure that the final Energy Policy Modernization Act is one President Barack Obama will be willing to sign.
“That's the goal here—to change policy, not just send a message,” Murkowski told reporters during a press briefing at the IHS CERAWeek conference.
The Senate energy bill includes language to expedite the federal approval process for liquefied natural gas exports, increase cybersecurity protections for the electricity grid, and expedite the licensing process for hydropower projects.
In Washington, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) placed a hold on the bill in addition to an accompanying bill that would provide aid for Flint, Mich., a senior Republican Senate aide told Bloomberg BNA. In addition, the Senate Budget Committee took issue with a proposed offset used to pay for the Flint water aid and said it needed to be fixed before the bill could proceed.
Optimistic
Murkowski said the hold on the energy bill allows senators time to review the legislation and that she's optimistic that it will pass. A dispute over funding for Flint's crisis of lead-tainted drinking water stalled action on the energy bill after Democrats made good on a promise to filibuster the bill if the funding weren't included (38 DEN A-15, 2/26/16).
Murkowski said the energy bill included efficiencies and investment in modern infrastructure that would decrease methane emissions.
“The good news is that there has been no veto threat from the White House on the Senate bill,” Murkowski said. “We hope to keep it that way. It is necessary and should be supported.”
In her speech in Houston, Murkowski also said that more federal lands should be opened to drilling and regulations should be reduced.
Above All
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who also spoke at the conference, and Murkowski criticized Obama's categorization of “clean energy” and “dirty energy” instead of an “all of the above” approach.
The federal government plays a role when it comes to environmental regulation as it relates to public safety and quality of life, Cornyn said. But the issue of climate change is controversial, he added.
“It's not doubting or denying that human beings have an impact on the climate. I firmly believe we do,” Cornyn said during a press briefing, “But the question is what if anything is the appropriate response to deal with it. Given what I've read and understand, some of the proposals emanating from the administration are things that may make you feel better about it but actually in terms of moving the dial in a global way, they have negligible impact while causing expense and cost.”
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Washington Yanks Cap-and-Trade Proposal
Feb 26, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Amanda Reilly
The state of Washington withdrew a plan today that would have set the first-ever limits on carbon dioxide emissions from large facilities.
In a news release, the Washington Department of Ecology said it would update the plan based on feedback. The agency said it would issue a new proposed rule in the spring.
"We appreciate all the helpful and constructive feedback we have received from stakeholders," Sarah Rees, Ecology's special assistant on climate change policy, said in a statement. "We're listening and being responsive to the ideas on how to best move the rule forward."
The program, which the state likes calling "cap-and-reduce," had called for restricting carbon dioxide emissions from big facilities that release 100,000 or more metric tons of the greenhouse gas a year and a 5 percent reduction every three years. The 100,000-ton threshold for compliance would decline over time, folding more facilities into the program (Greenwire, Jan. 7).
Under the state's proposal, entities would have been able to meet the carbon caps by reducing emissions, obtaining emissions credits from other polluters and funding carbon reduction projects.
The program would have covered several industries within the state, including natural gas distribution, petroleum fuel production, power plants and waste facilities.
Business associations had expressed concerns about the plan to progressively lower the compliance limit.
The state did not give any specifics today about why it pulled the proposal but said it would update several key areas, including compliance options and credit system transparency.
The new plan will also likely give consideration to Washington manufacturers whose products are sensitive to global pricing, the Ecology Department said.
The state had already proposed to delay compliance for imported fuels and energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries because of stakeholder concerns.
"We'll continue the engagement process with the public and stakeholders while we make the updates," Rees said. "We're committed to keeping the conversation going; it's a priority for us."
Environmentalists are separately pushing a ballot measure to establish a carbon tax in the state.
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