Preview Newsletter
ACC AM 5/4/16
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(ACC Mentioned) Coral Gables Plans to Keep Styrofoam Ban Despite State Bill
May 3, 2016 | Miami Herald
By Lance Dixon
Coral Gables has taken several steps to become a sustainable city in the past year by encouraging and mandating green building standards, easing the process to obtain solar panels, and taking steps to ban the use of polystyrene products in the city. -
(ACC Mentioned) SI Group Receives Silver Award from EcoVadis
May 3, 2016 | Rubber & Plastics News
By Rubber & Plastics News Report
SI Group ranked in the top 13 percent for global supply chain sustainability among more than 25,000 companies assessed worldwide by EcoVadis, earning a Silver Award for its efforts. -
EPA Final Chemical Rules Confront OMB Deadline
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Pat Rizzuto
The Environmental Protection Agency should submit final chemical rules to the White House soon if the agency intends to issue them by the end of the year. -
Canada Releases Final Screening Assessments
May 4, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Sylvia Palmer
Both Environment and Health Canada have released final screening assessments for hexachloroethane and ethylbenzene, following consultations on draft reports released in 2014. -
The Age of Cheap Oil and Natural Gas Is Just Beginning
May 3, 2016 | Scientific American (in Real Clear Energy)
By Marian Radetzki
Oil price rises over the past 40 years have been truly spectacular. In constant money, the price of oil rose by almost 900% between 1970 and 2013. -
Energy: Technology and Free Markets Beat Mandates
May 4, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By J. Winston Porter, PhD
Bill Gates is the latest prominent thinker to suggest that it is wrong to achieve our clean energy goals with a carbon tax, or even greater government intervention in the energy marketplace. Gates believes we would be better served by focusing on the energy supply side. -
Industry Study Fights NIMBY Foes with Pictures, Data
May 4, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Jenny Mandel
Natural-gas-fueled businesses are as all-American and wholesome as colorful marbles and bricks for school construction -- and those businesses need pipelines. -
Fracking Rulings Reflect Trend, May Spur Challenges
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Peter Hayes
A pair of new rulings by the Colorado Supreme Court finding state law preempts local fracking bans is part of a national trend that is likely to continue, sources told Bloomberg BNA. -
4 Signs We're Getting Serious About a Potent, Long-Overlooked Climate Pollutant
May 3, 2016 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Fred Krupp
Environmental Defense Fund has long argued that methane, that “other important greenhouse gas,” should be part of any serious discussion about national and global climate action. This year, we’re finally having that discussion. -
Bill Ensures SoCalGas Storage Field Safe to Reopen
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
California lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to continue an existing moratorium on new natural gas injections at Southern California Gas Co.'s underground storage field in Aliso Canyon until all 114 wells at the facility are deemed safe. -
PHMSA to Regulate Underground Natural Gas Storage
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Ari Natter
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will develop new regulations for underground natural gas storage facilities following the leak at a Southern California facility that became the largest methane leak in history, Marie Therese Dominguez, the agency's administrator, said May 3. -
How Better Cybersecurity Helps Utilities Keep the Lights On
May 3, 2016 | Green Tech Media (in Real Clear Energy)
By Amy Gahran
The utility sector is generally ahead of other industries when it comes to cybersecurity readiness. But what will it take to keep them ahead of cyber attackers? -
CSX: Tracks Affected by Train Derailment to Reopen Before Noon Wednesday
May 3, 2016 | Washington Post
By Luz Lazo
A portion of a busy rail corridor that has been shut down since a freight train derailed Sunday morning in Northeast Washington could reopen by Wednesday morning, CSX Transportation said Tuesday. Officials said the investigation continues, but have offered no information into what caused the 175-car train to derail. -
California Plan Seeks Cleaner Freight Movement
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
California would deploy more than 100,000 zero-emission freight vehicles and related equipment by 2030 under a draft plan state agencies released May 3. -
Herzog Technologies Inc.: PTC Hosting
May 3, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
While the extension of the positive train control (PTC) deadline gives railroads more time to plan and implement the technology, the technical difficulties of PTC remain unchanged. -
Watchdog Dings EPA on Facility Inspection Data
May 3, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not kept accurate, consist records of air pollution inspection data for facilities, its internal watchdog said.
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(ACC Mentioned) Coral Gables Plans to Keep Styrofoam Ban Despite State Bill
May 3, 2016 | Miami Herald
By Lance Dixon
Coral Gables has taken several steps to become a sustainable city in the past year by encouraging and mandating green building standards, easing the process to obtain solar panels, and taking steps to ban the use of polystyrene products in the city.
That last effort has become a complicated move for the city in the past few months as the Florida Legislature passed a bill in February preventing local municipalities from banning the use of Styrofoam containers or other products. Cities that approved their bans before Jan. 1 were allowed to keep their laws in place, but others — like Coral Gables — were forced to reverse their decisions.
The Gables commission has since taken steps to keep the city ban including approving an ordinance that makes their ban effective as of December 2015, when the commission gave initial approval to the ban, and backing up their decision to keep the ban by citing the Miami-Dade home rule charter.
City Attorney Craig Leen said Coral Gables may face a legal challenge if it goes forward with enforcement and he argued that the home-rule charter should protect the city.
“The Legislature can’t come here and legislate in a way that harms the city in the eyes of the city commission,” Leen said.
Commissioner Vince Lago wrote a letter to Gov. Rick Scott asking him to veto the bill or take action. Lago said he has received no response. He views the ban as a necessary step for the city and said the main reason for the delayed approval of the ban was to educate the city’s business community.
“The idea that we shouldn’t be more sustainable is an antiquated one. In my opinion, this is a no-brainer,” Lago said.
The city’s ordinance has received some push-back. At a recent meeting, attorney Perry Adair, on behalf of American Chemistry Council, said his client thinks there are alternatives to just preventing polystyrene use.
“My client disagrees with the policy of the commission that an outright ban is the solution to the problem,” Adair said at a recent meeting.
The ordinance bans the use of expanded polystyrene by city vendors, at special events and by food service providers in Coral Gables. Violators will be subject to fines that begin at $50 and can increase to $500 after a third violation in a one-year period. The city plans to do an educational campaign for local businesses for the next six to nine months.
The issue has affected other municipalities across the state such as Orlando and North Miami. Meanwhile other South Florida municipalities, including Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands and Key Biscayne, will continue to keep their full or partial bans in effect without any issue.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/coral-gables/article75392057.html
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(ACC Mentioned) SI Group Receives Silver Award from EcoVadis
May 3, 2016 | Rubber & Plastics News
By Rubber & Plastics News Report
SI Group ranked in the top 13 percent for global supply chain sustainability among more than 25,000 companies assessed worldwide by EcoVadis, earning a Silver Award for its efforts.
SI Group said EcoVadis’ Corporate Social Responsibility scorecards rate suppliers’ environmental, ethical and social practices across 150 purchasing categories and 110 countries. The categories are grouped into four themes—environment, fair labor practices, ethics and fair business practices, and supply chain.
“Operating a sustainable and socially responsible organization is a long-term commitment,” Frank Bozich, SI Group president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our collaboration with EcoVadis represents a vital component to our broader global sustainability efforts. We’re honored to have received this rating, as this achievement both recognizes the investments we have made in systems that support our sustainability efforts and also establishes a new baseline from which we will continue.”
The firm has been a member of the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care program for more than 25 years. The program is designed to improve the health and safety of employees, communities and the environment as a whole.
SI Group is a global manufacturer of chemical intermediates and specialty resins with more than 2,700 employees and 20 manufacturing facilities on five continents and $1.6 billion in annual sales.
http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20160503/NEWS/160429943/si-group-receives-silver-award-from-ecovadis
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EPA Final Chemical Rules Confront OMB Deadline
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Pat Rizzuto
The Environmental Protection Agency should submit final chemical rules to the White House soon if the agency intends to issue them by the end of the year.
According to comments senior EPA officials have made at public forums and deadlines in the fall 2015 regulatory agenda, the most recent agenda published, the agency intends to issue at least five more final chemical regulations this year.
The EPA confirmed in an e-mail sent to Bloomberg BNA May 3 that it is actively working on all five regulations.
The White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the Office of Management and Budget,encouraged all federal agencies last December to submit their “their highest priority rulemakings by the summer of 2016 to avoid an end-of-year scramble that has the potential to lower the quality of regulations that OIRA receives for review and to tax the resources available for interagency review.”
June is the target, Susan Dudley, former OIRA administrator, told Bloomberg BNA May 2.
Of Five Final Rules, Four Significant
The EPA already has submitted one of the five rules (RIN 2070-AJ44) to OMB. It would set national formaldehyde emission standards for composite wood products.
The final rule would implement a title of the Toxic Substances Control Act that became law in 2010 when Congress mandated national standards (15 U.S.C. 2697). Under that law, Congress told the agency to issue final standards by Jan. 1, 2013.
The remaining four rules have not been submitted to OMB. As proposed they would cover the following chemicals and, primarily, be significant new use rules (SNURs):
• intentionally engineered nanoscale chemicals (data-collection rule; RIN 2070-AJ54);
• certain long-chain perfluoronated chemicals (SNUR; RIN 2070-AJ99);
• toluene diisocyanates (SNUR; RIN 2070-AJ91); and
• certain nonylphenols and nonylphenol ethoxylates in consumer products (SNUR; RIN 2070-AJ96 ).
EPA has classified four of the five rulemakings as significant. The nonylphenols and nonylphenol ethoxylates rule is the exception and classified as “substantiative,” but “nonsignificant.”
Unofficial Negotiations May Be Under Way
Dudley, director of the George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, said the EPA, OIRA and other agencies may already be in informal negotiations regarding the content of the rulemakings.
The EPA would not share a draft copy of its regulation at such negotiations, but it could review major controversies and how it has resolved them, she said.
White House staff may join those discussions of regulations in which it has particular interest, for example EPA's nanoscale chemicals rulemaking, Dudley said.
OMB took more than four years to clear EPA's proposed rule to collect information about engineered nanoscale chemicals (55 DEN A-7, 3/23/15).
Controversial Rules Face Additional Challenge
Separate from OIRA's review, final rules that agencies issue after May 16 could face a seldom-used challenge the Congressional Research Service and Dudley wrote about in February.
The Congressional Research Service issued a short analysis called “Agency Final Rules Submitted After May 16, 2016, May be Subject to Disapproval in 2017 Under the Congressional Review Act.”
The CRS report and a related analysis by Dudley describe the circumstances—such as the change of an administration—that provide a window of time for Congress to reject controversial rules.
Since enacted in 1996, however, the Congressional Review Act has only been used to overturn one regulation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's rule on ergonomic workplace injuries.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=88924205&vname=dennotallissues&fn=88924205&jd=88924205
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Canada Releases Final Screening Assessments
May 4, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Sylvia Palmer
Both Environment and Health Canada have released final screening assessments for hexachloroethane and ethylbenzene, following consultations on draft reports released in 2014.
The substances were assessed on whether they were considered harmful, and anticipated to meet criteria of section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Cepa) 1999.
Hexachloroethane
In the final assessment for the chemical, the government upheld the finding of its 2014 draft report that it did not meet any criteria in section 64 of Cepa. Therefore, significant new activity (Snac) requirements or other tracking tools have not been proposed at this time.
In response to stakeholder comments, however, the government did note that the substance is persistent and highly toxic to aquatic organisms, with some potential for bioaccumulation.
Hexachloroethane was reportedly used in Canada as a chemical intermediate, a cleaning agent for grain refining and as a flame retardant in industrial laminating resins. It is being phased out domestically and internationally, and, therefore, not entering the environment in a manner that may pose a health risk, according to the screening assessment.
Ethylbenzene
The final assessment says that the substance does not meet any of the criteria in section 64 of Cepa 1999. However, studies have shown that it could pose health concerns with increased presence in consumer products. The government has, thus, recommended it be subject to Snac provisions prior to any new activity.
The 2014 draft assessment had found it met one or more of the criteria of section 64 of Cepa. But after the draft's release, analysis of new information on current levels in consumer products determined that exposure was not of concern. A new Canadian Drinking Water Guideline for ethylbenzene was also published after the comment period, and the screening assessment updated.
The general population of Canada is exposed from environmental media, food, and the use of consumer products. At current levels of exposure, however, they are not at risk, according to the final screening report.
In the US, the EPA has also completed toxicological assessments for hexachloroethane and ethylbenzeneunder the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment programme.
Separately, the Canadian government has released a final assessment report for seven heavy fuel oils – a group of complex combinations of petroleum hydrocarbons, used as blending stocks in final products.
It concluded they do not meet any of the criteria in Cepa 1999. Therefore, no further action will be taken on these substances at this time.
https://chemicalwatch.com/47080/canada-releases-final-screening-assessments
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The Age of Cheap Oil and Natural Gas Is Just Beginning
May 3, 2016 | Scientific American (in Real Clear Energy)
By Marian Radetzki
Oil price rises over the past 40 years have been truly spectacular. In constant money, the price of oil rose by almost 900% between 1970 and 2013. This can be compared with a 68% increase for a metals and minerals price index, comprising a commodity group that, like oil, is exhaustible. In our view, it is political rather than economic forces that have shaped the inadequate growth of upstream oil production capacity, the dominant factor behind the sustained upward price push.
But we believe the period of excessively high oil prices has come to an end. The international spread of two revolutions will assure much ampler oil supplies, and will deliver prices far below the highs that reigned between the end of 2010 and mid-2014.
Beginning less than a decade ago, the shale revolution – a result of technological breakthroughs in horizontal drilling and fracking – has turned the long run declining oil production trends in the US into rises of 88% from 2008 to 2015. Despite current low prices and the damage done to profits, an exceedingly high rate of productivity improvements in this relatively new industry promises to strengthen the competitiveness of shale output even further.
A series of environmental problems related to shale exploitation have been identified, most of which are likely to be successfully handled as the infant, “wild west” industry matures and as environmental regulation is introduced and sharpened.
Geologically, the US does not stand out in terms of shale resources. A very incomplete global mapping suggests a US shale oil share of no more than 17% of a huge geological wealth, widely geographically spread. Given the mainly non-proprietary shale technology and the many advantages accruing to the producing nations, it is inevitable that the revolution will spread beyond the US.
We have assessed the prospects of non-US shale oil output in 2035, positing that the rest of the world will by then exploit its shale resources as successfully as the US has done in the revolution’s first ten years. This would yield rest of world output of 20 million barrels per day in 2035, which is similar to the global rise of all oil production in the preceding 20 years – a stunning increase with far-reaching implications in many fields.
Another related revolution is beginning to see the light of the day, but news about it has barely reached the media. It is being gradually realized that advancements in horizontal drilling and fracking, technologies normally associated with shale, can also be applied to fuller extraction from conventional, but old and tired, oil fields. If the rest of the world applies these techniques to conventional oil, as the US has done in recent years, this would yield a further addition of conventional oil amounting to 20 million barrels per day by 2035.
The oil output increases are bound to put downward pressure on prices, either by preventing rises from recent levels, averaging some US$53 per barrel (Brent) in 2015, or by pushing them back to these levels if an early upward reaction takes place. Our optimistic scenario, which appears increasingly likely, sees a price of US$40 by 2035 – only a fraction of the levels envisaged in authoritative forecasts by public bodies and leading oil corporations.
The global spread of the revolutions and the ensuing price weakness that we envisage for the coming two decades will, on balance, provide a great advantage to the world economy at large. Not surprisingly, public income from oil in producing nations will fall if they fail to compensate for falling prices by expanding output. Juxtaposed against this conclusion is our supposition that the destructive conflicts over the oil rent, which we see as a manifestation of the “resource curse”, will be ameliorated with normalization of profit levels.
The two revolutions will apparently cement and prolong the global oil dependence, with implications for climate policy. Efforts to develop renewables for the purpose of climate stabilization will become more costly – requiring greater subsidies, especially in the transport sector – in consequence of lower oil prices.
The abundance caused by the revolutions will lead to hard to fathom changes in international political relations. We surmise that much of the oil importers’ urge for political intervention and control will dissipate as access to oil becomes less urgent. For instance, the heavy diplomatic and military presence of the US in the Middle East is likely to be questioned when the country’s dependence on oil from the region is further reduced.
A world of growing and geographically diversified oil supply will not only suppress prices, but also promote competition among suppliers and make it more difficult for producers to use energy sales in pursuit of political ends.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-age-of-cheap-oil-and-natural-gas-is-just-beginning/
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Energy: Technology and Free Markets Beat Mandates
May 4, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By J. Winston Porter, PhD
Bill Gates is the latest prominent thinker to suggest that it is wrong to achieve our clean energy goals with a carbon tax, or even greater government intervention in the energy marketplace. Gates believes we would be better served by focusing on the energy supply side. In other words, we need to encourage innovation to make clean energy cheaper and better so that it can win on its own without government support. He’s absolutely right.
Government meddling in the marketplace, be it punishing emissions regulations or state renewable portfolios, have cost consumers dearly but achieved little. Even with tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies, wind and solar power still meet just 5 percent of our electricity demand. Conversely, innovation in the energy sector has already produced significant results. Consider the shale gas revolution.
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While Gates didn’t specifically point to the shale revolution as a model for his thinking, it fits perfectly. Natural gas has always been seen as a better and cleaner alternative to coal for electricity generation. But for decades, gas was simply too expensive to wrestle away much of the power market. That has changed in a big way.
The innovative combination of hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling has turned the U.S. into the world’s largest natural gas producer, slashed domestic natural gas prices and, in just a few years, reshaped the nation’s electricity generating mix.
In 2005, coal generated more than 50 percent of the nation’s power. Today, with utilities shuttering older coal plants or converting existing units to burn natural gas, coal generates about 30 percent of our power. This year, for the first time in U.S. history, natural gas is set to generate a larger share of our electricity than coal.
Tougher and ever-mounting regulation has certainly pushed utilities towards greater use of natural gas, but market fundamentals have played an equally important role. Natural gas is simply cheaper than coal and expected to stay that way for the foreseeable future. The shift towards greater reliance on gas in place of coal may only be in the early innings.
Why is this shift from one fossil fuel to another an environmental or clean energy success story? It’s simple - natural gas, when used in place of coal for electricity generation, produces just half the carbon emissions and a tiny fraction of the fine particulate emissions that cause smog.
Greater reliance on gas is the key reason the U.S. has been able to separate the growth of our economy from a growth in emissions, a major environmental milestone. In fact, U.S. carbon emissions from the nation’s power sector are at a nearly 30-year low and falling. This is remarkable in and of itself, but this reduction in emissions has come also with falling power rates in many states. The shale revolution – a story about making cleaner energy abundant and cheaper – is also a model for emissions reductions
Bill Gates, much to his credit, has invested a considerable amount of his time and fortune in energy innovation. He’s expressed a quiet confidence about our ability to take on energy challenges with innovative technical breakthroughs. As the shale gas revolution has already demonstrated, that confidence is well founded.
http://www.thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/278511-energy-technology-and-free-markets-beat-mandates
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Industry Study Fights NIMBY Foes with Pictures, Data
May 4, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Jenny Mandel
Natural-gas-fueled businesses are as all-American and wholesome as colorful marbles and bricks for school construction -- and those businesses need pipelines.
That's the pitch in a study published by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and consultantcy IHS Economics that focuses on mini-case studies of how the availability of natural gas can be a game-changer for small and large businesses around the country.
"The United States has more than enough supply to meet ... growing demand. However, we will need major investments in new infrastructure, particularly natural gas pipelines, to ensure manufacturers have a steady, reliable stream," the report says.
Implicitly, it takes aim at efforts at the local, state and federal levels to fight new pipelines and other gas infrastructure, and the hydraulic fracturing and drilling that trigger them.
Beyond the pictures, the NAM study presents a trove of data on natural gas and manufacturing costs, usage, and economic impacts.
Some of that data is broken down into lobbying-friendly insights, noting, for example, that the five states with the highest levels of output in natural-gas-intensive sectors are Texas, California, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The analysis says world gas demand will grow 40 percent over the next 10 years, with U.S. supply growing 48 percent to meet domestic needs as well as export demand.
"This study unequivocally shows that if our growing demand is not taken seriously by policy makers we will have a serious lack of infrastructure that will jeopardize our growth," NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement. "We can't afford to let misguided policies rob us of this valuable domestic resource."
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2016/05/03/stories/1060036659
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Fracking Rulings Reflect Trend, May Spur Challenges
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Peter Hayes
A pair of new rulings by the Colorado Supreme Court finding state law preempts local fracking bans is part of a national trend that is likely to continue, sources told Bloomberg BNA.
The state high court struck down ordinances enacted by the cities of Longmont and Fort Collins, Colo. (City of Longmont v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass'n, Colo., No. 15-SC-667, 5/2/16) (City of Fort Collins v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass'n, Colo., No. 15-SC-668, 5/2/16).
The rulings are likely to embolden industry in challenging fracking ordinances in other states, but the preemption argument may not fly everywhere, lawyers and professors tracking the litigation said.
“Industry is likely to make the same arguments elsewhere, but due to the fact that states have varied laws that give different local governments varying degrees of power, these arguments are not guaranteed to succeed everywhere,” Hannah Wiseman of Florida State University College of Law told Bloomberg BNA.
“The growing number of courts that have issued similar opinions, however—in West Virginia and Ohio and federal courts in New Mexico and Louisiana—are likely to encourage industry to continue using the same arguments,” Wiseman said.
In addition, she said, “although state courts are not bound by other state courts, they often read and are influenced by other state court opinions.”
How Wide of an Impact?
Defense attorney Carl Pernicone with Wilson Elser in White Plains, N.Y., said the oil and gas companies' argument in Longmont and Fort Collins that local bans could cumulate in a “de facto” state wide ban is likely to be made in other state challenges.
Pernicone is co-chair of the firm's insurance-reinsurance coverage practice and has experience with matters involving toxic tort and environmental liability claims.
“The concern about the ‘ripple effect’ of local anti-fracking regulations, leading to a ‘de-facto statewide ban,' is a good one—the applicability of which isn't limited to Colorado,” Pernicone told Bloomberg BNA.
“Given the national notoriety and attention surrounding the rulings, the energy industry may try to make the same argument in other jurisdictions as a way of halting the enactment of anti-fracking zoning regulations,” he said.
Difficult to Draw Broad Conclusions
But defense attorney Brent Allen, with Greenberg Traurig LLP in Washington, D.C., said it's hard to draw any broad conclusions from the rulings.
Allen focuses his practice on the litigation of complex business disputes and has experience involving refinery operations, gasoline distribution and natural gas gathering and processing.
“Whether preemption applies will be heavily situation-specific, depending on whether a state has taken action on fracking, and on how the specific local/municipal regulation relates to the state's action,” he said.
Environmental groups will now pursue a ballot initiative in hopes of amending the Colorado Constitution to allow municipalities to regulate fracking.
“I think the decision will be fuel for the fire,” according to Lauren Petrie, the Rocky Mountain Region director of Food and Water Watch. The group, which said it advocates for healthy food and clean water, filed an amicus brief in favor of the cities in the Longmont case.
“Our only course of action is a ballot initiative to change the constitution,” she told Blooomberg BNA.
The supporters of Initiative 75 must collect 100,000 signatures by Aug. 1 to put the matter on the ballot, Petrie said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=88924212&vname=dennotallissues&fn=88924212&jd=88924212
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4 Signs We're Getting Serious About a Potent, Long-Overlooked Climate Pollutant
May 3, 2016 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Fred Krupp
Environmental Defense Fund has long argued that methane, that “other important greenhouse gas,” should be part of any serious discussion about national and global climate action. This year, we’re finally having that discussion.
Thanks to a confluence of recent events in the United States and beyond, methane – which today accounts for one-quarter of the warming Earth is experiencing – has become a topic of global conversation. All we need now is the will to act.
We know affordable and effective solutions exist to prevent,detect and repair leaks in the oil and gas sector. Here are four reasons I believe 2016 may finally be the year we begin to take truly comprehensive measures to address methane pollution, one of our most serious climate challenges today.
1) Aliso Canyon energizes efforts
The Aliso Canyon disaster is the poster child for what happens when dilapidated oil and gas infrastructure meets poor maintenance, weak regulations and lax oversight.
The methane that leaked from Aliso Canyon between October 2015 and February 2016 has the same 20-year climate impact as burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline. Our infraredvideos of the plume made the crisis visible to millions. And helicopter flyovers of more than 8,000 well pads show that leaks can and do happen anywhere.
During the leak, and even now as the clean-up of the Aliso Canyon disaster continues, no one can deny that this single event helped focus the nation’s attention on the methane problem and lack of industry oversight. As a result, natural gas storage facilities are now getting a closer look
A new, federal multi-agency task force will be formed to lead the first-ever review of the nation’s 400-plus, aging underground storage tanks. Such efforts are in tandem with new rules now underway to make operators monitor and maintain their equipment.
As Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz noted recently, “Regrettably, there’s a broader theme than Aliso Canyon.”
2) States show the way
Colorado was the first state to regulate oil and gas pollution, and its efforts are yielding a significant decrease in methane emissions at low cost.
California, the nation’s second-largest user of natural gas is not far behind. By the end of the year, the state should have a comprehensive new program in place to stop leaks from the well to the household, making it the first state anywhere to do so.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced nationally leading controls and more frequent monitoring and repair for wells, pipelines, compressors and other infrastructure to capture methane leaks. Importantly, these proposed protections would cover more than 5,000 wells and facilities already operating.
Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing better controls and more frequent monitoring and repair for wells, pipelines, compressors and other infrastructure to capture methane leaks. Importantly, these new rules will include the more than 5,000 wells and facilities operating today.
And in Ohio, a new state permitting policy requires natural gas companies to check facilities for leaks on a quarterly basis, using infrared cameras or handheld analyzers – and to quickly fix the leaks they find.
Many of the cost-effective technologies already at work – which can cut methane pollution in half over the next few years – were, in fact, developed in Ohio.
3) Setting federal priorities straight
New federal regulations are being finalized to step up monitoring of new oil and gas infrastructure nationwide.
But addressing future facilities doesn’t help us with the emissions that already exist. Recently revised estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency show that the oil and gas industry pumps more than 9.8 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere every year. That’s 34 percent higher than the agency’s previous estimates.
So in March, President Obama also committed to rapidly curbing methane emissions from existing operations. The EPA is in the early stages of researching and crafting this new rule.
Meanwhile, a separate rule addressing methane pollution and waste from already-existing facilities on public and tribal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management is moving forward.
Collectively, these actions will have a real impact on emissions and help us slow the pace of global warming.
4) U.S. and Canada methane pact sets global example
Fittingly, Obama’s commitment to address methane pollutionfrom existing sources was announced when the leaders of the United States and Canada agreed to cooperate to cut emissions from their respective oil and gas industries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to make Canada cut emissions by up to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025, matching an earlier U.S pledge.
The central place of methane in this new pact with Canada – and as a top priority for both governments – underscores the growing international momentum on the issue.
There is also an opportunity for Mexico to join its northern neighbors and show a North American commitment to action. Addressing the oil and gas sector was among commitments Mexico made under the Paris climate accord.
Oil and gas production carries a responsibility to deal with the impacts that follow – to protect our environment, but also so we can ensure that natural gas accelerates, rather than impedes, our transition to a lower-carbon, clean energy future.
Let’s make 2016 the year we, as a global community, realize and act upon this responsibility.
https://www.edf.org/blog/2016/05/03/4-signs-were-getting-serious-about-potent-long-overlooked-climate-pollutant
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Bill Ensures SoCalGas Storage Field Safe to Reopen
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
California lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to continue an existing moratorium on new natural gas injections at Southern California Gas Co.'s underground storage field in Aliso Canyon until all 114 wells at the facility are deemed safe.
S.B. 380 provides “statutory certainty” that the thorough well inspections Brown ordered in response to the massive leak SoCalGas discovered at the facility Oct. 23 are carried out “as promised,” the bill's author, Sen. Fran Pavley (D), said May 2, prior to the Senate's 36-0 vote.
The Assembly approved the measure April 28.
Pavley worked with the Brown administration in drafting the bill. As a result, the well safety testing requirements in S.B. 380 align with those in Brown's emergency order, she said.
S.B. 380 is an “urgency” measure, so it will take effect once signed by the governor, Pavley said.
State air quality officials estimated the leaking Aliso Canyon well released 100,000 tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, before it was capped Feb. 11 (29 DEN A-13, 2/12/16).
The leak resulted in the relocation of 8,000 families from Porter Ranch and other nearby neighborhoods, Pavley said. These families “want to know that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure their safety and to allow life in their community to finally return to normal,” she said.
Brown Issued Proclamation on Leak
Brown declared the natural gas leak an emergency in January and used a proclamation to list a number of additional measures to address the leak, mitigate its impacts and reduce the risk of more leaks (04 DEN A-14, 1/7/16).
Located near Los Angeles, the Aliso Canyon facility is the largest gas storage facility in the West. It serves millions of homes and businesses and provides natural gas to power plants.
Last month, state energy officials warned that with the facility offline, power outages are possible in Southern California this summer (66 DEN A-11, 4/6/16).
Nothing in S.B. 380 interferes with the governor's authority to invoke an emergency to address potential energy shortages, Pavley said.
SoCalGas Supports Bill
Shortly before the Senate vote, SoCalGas issued a written statement supporting the bill.
“S.B. 380 is in alignment with our priorities,” the Sempra Energy subsidiary said.
The bill “recognizes the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) safety review process” and the process needed to resume safe operation of the storage facility, the utility said.
“We are actively working through the comprehensive safety review process,” SoCalGas said.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories developed a testing protocol that the state's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources ordered in March to be used to test the wells for corrosion and leaks. Wells must pass a series of six tests. Those that fail must be temporarily sealed before injections can resume.
Other Provisions Outlined
S.B. 380 also requires SoCalGas to withdraw gas using only the inner tubing of wells, rather than both the tubing and space around the tubing, a practice the utility has said it is adopting at other storage facilities.
Other provisions require the California Public Utilities Commission to determine how much gas is currently available at the facility and by Jan. 1, 2017, to open a proceeding to evaluate the feasibility of minimizing the use or a phased shutdown of the facility.
The utility hopes to reopen the facility by late summer but will need confirmation by the supervisor of the geothermal resources division and the CPUC executive director to confirm the wells are safe.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=88924186&vname=dennotallissues&fn=88924186&jd=88924186
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PHMSA to Regulate Underground Natural Gas Storage
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Ari Natter
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will develop new regulations for underground natural gas storage facilities following the leak at a Southern California facility that became the largest methane leak in history, Marie Therese Dominguez, the agency's administrator, said May 3.
The rulemaking, which will address minimum safety and operating standards, is meant to prevent leaks such as the one that occurred in Los Angeles' Aliso Canyon, in which a facility owned by Sempra Energy subsidiary Southern California Gas Co. leaked more than 5.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas from October to February.
“This failure at this facility, one of the most critical for energy supply in the area for Southern California, not only had a disruptive effect and a direct impact on the people living in and around that area, it also brought heightened attention to inconsistencies for the state standards that currently regulate underground natural gas storage,” Dominguez said in remarks at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington think tank.
The regulations, which are being conducted in conjunction with the Energy Department as part of a recently announced task force on natural gas storage safety, will be brought forward on a “fairly aggressive” time frame, said Dominguez, who toured the Aliso Canyon facility earlier this year with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
“We are not waiting for legislation to move forward,” she said.
House and Senate bills (H.R. 5050, H.R. 4937, S. 2276) reauthorizing PHMSA would require federal standards for underground natural gas storage facilities. PHMSA is the Transportation Department agency charged with regulating gas and liquid pipelines and the transportation of oil and other hazardous materials (82 DEN A-7, 4/28/16).
Number of Incidents Rising
Since 2001, the agency has noted an increase in incidents involving underground natural gas storage facilities, including a 2004 accident at Spectra Energy Corp.'s Moss Bluff storage facility in Liberty County, Texas, in which about 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the cavern were released and burned.
The increased accidents also come amidst a shale revolution that has seen tremendous increases in the production and use of natural gas. Natural gas production increased by 33 percent between 2005 and 2013, from 19.5 trillion cubic feet per year to 25.7 trillion cubic feet per year, according to PHMSA.
“As the LNG [liquefied natural gas] industry grows, we have to take a hard look at how the U.S. produces, uses, and stores LNG in this country,” Dominguez said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=88924213&vname=dennotallissues&fn=88924213&jd=88924213
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How Better Cybersecurity Helps Utilities Keep the Lights On
May 3, 2016 | Green Tech Media (in Real Clear Energy)
By Amy Gahran
The utility sector is generally ahead of other industries when it comes to cybersecurity readiness. But what will it take to keep them ahead of cyber attackers?
Starting in July, U.S. utilities must comply with a new federal standard aimed at bolstering security -- especially cybersecurity. Version 5/6 of the North American Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection standard (NERC CIP) takes a new approach to mandating security for bulk power systems. Rather than telling utilities how they should address known risks, it requires utilities to assess and rate security risks for their assets and systems, and come up with their own programs.
Among other things, this risk-based approach means utilities must now implement cybersecurity for all substations. Previously, some substations and other assets were left out.
But well before the latest NERC CIP, U.S. utilities were working to strengthen cybersecurity.
“Actually, in the U.S., utilities are ahead of most other industries in terms of cybersecurity,” said Robert Albach, product line manager for Cisco cybersecurity products. “They’re usually pretty good about implementing hierarchical network design and other fundamental security practices. But there are some common gaps, like continuing to run vulnerable applications, and often they lack proper monitoring to capture threats before they cause harm.”
Above all else, utilities have a mission to keep our lights on. How utilities maintain system availability is a key area that directly affects customers and highlights the impact of strengthening utility cybersecurity.
Ensuring safe and reliable operation is the fundamental mission of a utility. If controls or communications for grid assets fail, the equipment must continue to operate in a safe, reliable manner, even in non-ideal situations such as when under attack. This is especially important for substations, which are increasingly monitored and managed via remote access, often by contractors in remote locations.
There are a lot of questions that utilities need to consider, said Albach.
What’s the state of the external systems being used to contact utility equipment?
Is the employee's or contractor’s home laptop infected with malware? Is their home network secure?
What are the conditions under which the utility is granting access to critical equipment?
Are the people who are authorized for access doing what we expect them to do?
It’s practically impossible to ensure security for every person, application and device that interacts with utility assets. However, utilities can enhance system-wide monitoring capabilities -- to learn what normal operation and interaction looks like, and to recognize when problems that may indicate attacks or other security risks may be occurring. This means deploying new system intelligence that allows utilities to use their network and devices as sensors.
Devices that serve as checkpoints on network communications, such as firewalls and gateways, can play a key role here.
For instance, substations typically contain assets that operate on less secure, older communication protocols. A utility may place one or more firewalls at a substation to speak to the network on behalf of the assets. In addition to making network traffic at the substation level easier to monitor (which makes it easier to spot problems), such appliances also support fail-safe operation.
“You can build fail safe modes into a firewall, and make resilience easier to achieve,” said Sven Schrecker, Intel’s chief architect for IOT security solutions. “This might allow connected assets to only talk to local nodes, so the substation just keeps running, even when the management back-end is down. This has the effect of building out intelligence and autonomy at the edge of the grid, where it used to be a rather dumb edge.”
Intelligent security appliances offer other security benefits. For instance, an appliance can provide a unique cryptographic identifier for each connected device. This enables authentication and shields assets from unauthorized external view by non-authorized device connections. Older asset controls typically offer no cryptographic protection, which can make them less capable to resist intrusion.
Of course, cybersecurity attacks can be successful -- as evidenced on Dec. 23, 2015, when a cyberattack against a Ukrainian utility caused a six-hour outage across a wide region, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
Outages happen -- which is why the real goal of cybersecurity is resilience. Utilities already have clear policies for power restoration and prioritizing repairs, and cybersecurity is increasingly considered in outage response and recovery. For instance, how might a utility minimize the risk of reactivating or spreading a cyberattack by bringing potentially compromised equipment back on-line?
Fortunately, utilities can usually expect their neighbors to help in a crisis. For many decades, utilities have come to each other’s aid to recover from major outages, or to help prevent the spread of outages or system damage. The Edison Electric Institute is developing a program for cybersecurity mutual assistance.
Also, there are efforts to share cybersecurity information across the sector in order to promote common situational awareness. For instance, the nascent Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program program by NERC and DOE is an architectural approach to common situational awareness for the electric sector.
Cybersecurity isn’t just an operational imperative for utilities; it has become a business imperative, too.
“Utilities are now technology companies that happen to be generating and distributing power,” said Nadya Bartol, vice president of industry affairs and cybersecurity strategist for the Utilities Telecom Council.
The implications of this shift become crucial when considering that most of any utility’s assets, and business, relate to local power distribution.
NERC only regulates bulk power networks. However, solutions that are deployed to grid assets can be deployed to local assets as well. This can offer advantages, such as achieving holistic NERC CIP compliance system-wide without having to file all the paperwork for local distribution assets.
Utilities now have more resources than ever before to ensure their security -- but they also have more potential vulnerabilities. Will the utility industry continue to demonstrate its cybersecurity leadership over other sectors?
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-better-cybersecurity-helps-utilities-keep-the-lights-on
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CSX: Tracks Affected by Train Derailment to Reopen Before Noon Wednesday
May 3, 2016 | Washington Post
By Luz Lazo
A portion of a busy rail corridor that has been shut down since a freight train derailed Sunday morning in Northeast Washington could reopen by Wednesday morning, CSX Transportation said Tuesday. Officials said the investigation continues, but have offered no information into what caused the 175-car train to derail.
“CSX expects to restore freight train operations through the area within the next 24 hours,” the transportation company said in a statement. “CSX continues to coordinate closely with Amtrak and MARC passenger rail services about the restoration of their services.”
The early Sunday wreck at Rhode Island Avenue and Ninth Street NE closed the tracks shared by Amtrak, MARC and CSX trains. It leaked hazardous substances, forced the closure of the Rhode Island Metro station and snarled traffic for much of Sunday.
The biggest impact since has been on Maryland commuters who take the MARC Brunswick Line to Washington’s Union Station. On Monday and Tuesday, the Maryland Transit Administration adjusted service to have fewer trains running on the line from Frederick, Md., to Union Station. The few trains in service terminated in Silver Spring. It is unclear whether MARC service will resume Wednesday.
Amtrak’s route to Chicago was also suspended.
The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the derailment, but the agency has not offered any clues into the cause. An agency spokesman said earlier this week that it could take up to a year before the agency releases its findings and probable cause.
Officials said 16 cars derailed. Three of the tank cars were found to be leaking, including 750 gallons of the liquid contents of a tanker containing sodium hydroxide, a chemical which CSX said is used to produce various household products, including paper, soap and detergents. Another car leaked ethanol and another calcium chloride. All the leaks were contained Sunday, officials said.
Officials said air testings have shown “no adverse effects to air quality,” officials said.
CSX Transportation said workers have removed five damaged cars from the site; 11 cars remain at the site and will be taken away when the tracks are restored. Crews also completed excavation of the soil impacted by the sodium hydroxide leak and are refilling the area with new soil. After this process, CSX will rebuild the damaged tracks and restore service.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/05/03/csx-tracks-affected-by-train-derailment-to-reopen-before-noon-wednesday/
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California Plan Seeks Cleaner Freight Movement
May 4, 2016 | BNA Daily Environmental Report
By Carolyn Whetzel
California would deploy more than 100,000 zero-emission freight vehicles and related equipment by 2030 under a draft plan state agencies released May 3.
The draft California Sustainable Freight Action Plan outlines a strategy to modernize and reduce the air pollution impacts of the state's multi-billion dollar freight transportation system, an interconnected network of seaports and cargo airports connected by 11,000 miles of railroad track and highways.
Developed in response to a 2015 executive order from Gov. Jerry Brown (D), the draft plan also calls for improving the efficiency of the freight system 25 percent by 2030 by increasing the value of services produced from the freight sector relative to the amount of carbon it produces.
The California Air Resources Board, the California State Transportation Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Agency, the California Department of Transportation, the California Energy Commission and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development drafted the plan.
“Our challenge is to deliver both public health and economic benefits at our ports, on our highways and in our communities throughout the state,” CARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols said in a written statement.
The draft plan “represents an unprecedented collaboration among government agencies,” Nichols said. All interested parties will be included in discussions “at every step of the process, from refining goals and selecting pilot projects through implementation into the coming decade,” she said.
Brown Called for Integrated Plan
Brown's executive order directed the agencies to develop a single, integrated plan that bolsters the state's competitiveness and maintains its role in the national and international distribution of goods but that also adheres to the state's goal of protecting public health, air quality and reducing carbon emissions.
Along with advance zero- and near-zero freight transportation technologies, the plan identifies pilot projects, like a dairy biogas program to fuel vehicles, and other actions that can be implemented over the next five years to help transform the goods movement system.
The document also outlines funding opportunities, including federal and state transportation funding and even possible revenue from the state's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program that can be used to help finance projects that curb carbon dioxide emissions.
“The freight sector has already invested heavily in modernization,” Brown's senior jobs advisor Mike Rossi said. “This plan advances those efforts while reducing emissions through commercially viable and affordable technologies.”
Written comments on the draft plan are due July 6.
The final plan will be forwarded to the governor.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=88924219&vname=dennotallissues&fn=88924219&jd=88924219
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Herzog Technologies Inc.: PTC Hosting
May 3, 2016 | Progressive Railroading
While the extension of the positive train control (PTC) deadline gives railroads more time to plan and implement the technology, the technical difficulties of PTC remain unchanged.
To assist with the technical difficulties of implementing and maintaining an interoperable PTC system, Herzog Technologies Inc. offers PTC Hosting, which provides a diverse suite of solutions that includes full Interoperable Train Control Messaging (ITCM) functionality, PTC Back Office Server (BOS) functionality, diverse federated MPLS connections and 24/7 support.
The solutions establish long-term partnerships, which allow railroads to offload complicated PTC responsibilities and focus their on day-to-day rail operations, Herzog officials said in a press release.
Herzog PTC Hosting solutions also allow for real-time system monitoring, configuration management and version control on all systems, and an independent test lab for staging and validation.
There are many advantages to hosting solutions over railroads producing standalone PTC back offices, Herzog officials said.
Herzog PTC Hosting back office infrastructure and applications are centrally located and made available to multiple railroad customers. Centralizing both hardware and personnel allows Herzog to work more efficiently and reduce customer costs. Geographically diverse data centers, located in Carrollton, Texas, and Phoenix, Ariz., allow for true geographic redundancy.
Herzog has been working for years to perfect the PTC Hosting service, company officials said. As the first non-railroad to achieve ITCM federation, Herzog is connected to the federated network as a Tier 1 peer under the HTIX SCAC. PTC initialization of a live locomotive has been successfully demonstrated using Herzog PTC Hosting.
A railroad that chooses Herzog PTC Hosting gains PTC interoperability without adding the personnel and infrastructure necessary for ITCM, connecting to the federated network, configuring a BOS or monitoring its system. Customers also enjoy 99.999 percent system availability, disaster recovery, and 24/7 call center support, Herzog officials said.http://www.progressiverailroading.com/rail_product_news/details/Herzog-Technologies-Inc-PTC-Hosting--48140
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Watchdog Dings EPA on Facility Inspection Data
May 3, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not kept accurate, consist records of air pollution inspection data for facilities, its internal watchdog said.
Auditors with the EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) initially thought that some facilities with federal Clean Air Act permits, like power plants or manufacturing facilities, had gone five years without a government inspection, which should happen every two years.
But further research found that improper data management was in fact the problem and the reason why it appeared that hundreds of facilities were missing inspections.
“Inaccurate data hinder the EPA’s ability to use databases as a tool to oversee delegated agencies, and hinder the agency’s ability to provide reasonable assurance that compliance monitoring activities are being conducted,” the OIG wrote in a Tuesday report on the facility inspection information.
“Moreover, inaccurate data ... could misinform the public about the status of [Clean Air Act facilities.”
The OIG also found that the EPA wasn’t properly overseeing the activities of state air agencies that were given the authority to conduct inspections and expected to properly report the data.
Auditors gave the EPA a number of recommendations to improve its data, all of which officials accepted and agreed to work toward.
Cynthia Giles, the EPA’s top enforcement official, wrote in a letter to the OIG that the main problem was the old database the EPA was using, and the issues are being resolved.
“As the OIG report points out, the data inaccuracies that were identified for some of facilities reviewed by the OIG were a result of data reporting errors entered into the former national CAA database, AFS,” she wrote. “EPA acknowledges these errors and agrees with the OIG that the information ...for the subset of facilities with errors was either not reported or incorrectly reported.”
http://www.thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/278585-watchdog-dings-epa-on-facility-inspection-data
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