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(ACC Mentioned) Dow Technology to Enable Polyethylene Packages to Enter Recycling Streams
Jul 7, 2016 | Waste 360
By Arlene Karidis
Midland, Mich.-based Dow has developed new technology to produce polyethylene-based (PE) stand up pouches that will make MRF’s jobs easier while addressing a long-standing manufacturing dilemma: figuring out how to engineer packaging to keep food fresh without leaving a heavy carbon footprint. -
TSCA Reform Law Could Set New Precedents For Environmental Statutes
Jul 6, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform law could set significant new precedents for environmental laws, observers say, because it contains novel provisions unlike those in other landmark laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act -- including a new approach to state preemption and how to review some human health risks. -
Policy Expert: TSCA Reform Will Do Little to Protect Public Health
Jul 6, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Meagan Parrish
Much has been said about TSCA reform, and most of it has been positive. In fact, the process of creating and passing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which was recently signed into law by President Obama, brought together chemical industry representatives and environmentalists alike. -
Chemical Safety Law Named for Nutley Native
Jul 7, 2016 | North Jersey News
President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law on June 22. The legislation, to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, passed the U.S. Senate earlier that month. -
(ACC Blog) What Stanford Forgot to Tell You about BPA
Jul 6, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steven Hentges, Ph.D
Last week a flurry of news stories reported on a new study of bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods led by a researcher at Stanford University. -
(ACC Blog) New ACC-Funded Publication Implements National Academies Recommendation to Expand the Use of Bayesian Methods in IRIS Assessments
Jul 6, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) “is an electronic data base containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemicals in the environment.” -
Dupont, Chemours Lose Again in Teflon Chemical Suit
Jul 7, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tiffany Kary and Jack Kaskey
DuPont Co. was found liable for a man's testicular cancer in the second suit to go to trial in 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon chemical found in Ohio and West Virginia waters, for which spinoff Chemours Co. had agreed to bear the cost (In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. C-8 Pers. Injury Litig., S.D. Ohio, No. 13-md-02433, verdict 7/6/16). -
(ACC Mentioned) Conference Vote May Come this Week
Jul 6, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Hannah Hess and Manuel Quiñones
A Senate vote to launch negotiations with the House on energy reform legislation could happen as soon as this week. -
Senators Looking to Clear the Way for Energy Bill Vote
Jul 6, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Senators are scrambling to figure out how to get to a conference committee on an energy reform bill. -
Murkowski Agrees to ‘Process’ with Cantwell for Energy Bill Conference
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Nick Juliano
Senate Energy Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski said she and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell have reached an agreement on how to conduct an energy bill conference, likely clearing the way for a vote before the end of next week. -
Energy Conference Vote Possible as Talks Continue in Senate
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Nick Juliano
The Senate may vote to go to conference on an energy bill before the end of next week, senators said today, although no firm agreement is in place. -
EPA Rules Called ‘Un-American' During Heated House Hearing
Jul 7, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
A House subcommittee hearing descended into chaos after Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) called Environmental Protection Agency rules on air pollution “un-American.” -
Exxon Mobil Technology Could Cut $200M from Yearly Petrochemical Costs
Jul 6, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Technologies developed by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco could dramatically change the petrochemical sector by transforming crude oil directly into the primary building block of most plastics, according to a new report. -
Report: Chemical Safety Board Must Conduct More Investigations
Jul 6, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
The federal agency that investigates incidents at chemical plants fell far short of its statutory responsibilities in recent years, according to a newly released report. -
Obama Puts Climate at the Fore of General Election
Jul 7, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Morning Energy
By Eric Wolff
President Barack Obama went hard on climate change and energy in a campaign speech on behalf of Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, a sign the issue could be a major theme of the upcoming general election campaign. -
Barton’s ‘Non-Scientific’ Estimate of EPA’s Impact: Zero
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro
By Alex Guillen
Has President Barack Obama's EPA improved air quality at all? Rep. Joe Barton's back-of-the-envelope guess is no.
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(ACC Mentioned) Dow Technology to Enable Polyethylene Packages to Enter Recycling Streams
Jul 7, 2016 | Waste 360
By Arlene Karidis
Midland, Mich.-based Dow has developed new technology to produce polyethylene-based (PE) stand up pouches that will make MRF’s jobs easier while addressing a long-standing manufacturing dilemma: figuring out how to engineer packaging to keep food fresh without leaving a heavy carbon footprint. Historically, the better the barrier, the harder it’s been to break down later.
This newest family member of Dow’s RecycleReady technology will enable throwaway pouches containing dried foods like granola and nuts to enter PE recycle streams. Dow claims it is the first package of its kind with barrier film that can enter these streams.
The company’s brainchild, created through collaboration with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and sold to converters who help brands create their packaging, will benefit more than MRFs, claims Dow. Municipalities will have a way to deal with the rapidly stockpiling pouches while consumers can play their role as good stewards without giving up convenience.
The problem with earlier products has been that creating highly efficient protective barriers required adding multiple materials, including ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) to packaging, which cannot be easily separated or processed. Figuring out how to do it required a lot of guesswork of MRFs as no two products are engineered exactly the same.
Dow’s answer, introduced in this new pouch, is RETAIN polymer modifiers, an advanced barrier compatibilizer. Barrier packages with EVOH can be constructed with RETAIN in the layers, enabling them to be added to the flexible PE recycling stream.
The new pouch comes with other environmental benefits. It requires 88 percent less total material weight, consumes 54 percent less energy and generates 90 percent less postconsumer solid waste compared to a bag-in-box cake mix format with equivalent contents, says Stacy Fields North American director of packaging solutions for Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics.
Dow does not say when the newest product, currently in trials, will roll out but reports it has been vetted on its own equipment and validated through industry partners that participate in recycling programs. The collections infrastructure is there
About 18,000 grocery store drop-off programs are ready to receive the pouches. They will be tossed in with grocery bags, packing films used in transportation and other flexible film products they already collect. The infrastructure is not new; as early as 2012, 74 percent of the U.S. population had access to plastic collections programs, according to a Moore Recycling Associates report. The collection points keep expanding as the technology slowly catches up.
Others will benefit too, claims Dow.
“As part of Dow’s 2025 sustainability goal to advance a circular economy, we are helping brand owners meet their own sustainability goals. Converters will be able to develop packages produced with barrier film that can be added to collection for PE recycling streams,” says Fields. He adds that municipalities will be able to divert packaging from landfill or incineration, increase post-consumer recycling yields and cut food waste associated with growing, processing and shipping food that is thrown away.
The pouches will carry the How2Recycle Store Drop-Off label, created by the SPC informing consumers of where and how to recycle them.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), who is working to double PE film recycling by 2020, is ready to see the pouches roll out.
“Flexible packaging is generally extremely lightweight and efficient to begin with. The ability to recycle this efficient packaging takes these environmental benefits even further,” says Steve Russell, ACC’s vice president of Plastics.RecycleReady’s evolution
Dow has been working on RecycleReady technology for some time, and last year launched the first product leveraging it, a recyclable dishwasher pod for Vermont-based Seventh Generation. The manufacturer worked with Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics Group and converter Accredo Packaging to create the pouch.
Since then, says Fields, “Dow has continued to refine the technology, which has led to better barrier, better stiffness and higher temperature tolerances for PE packaging to accommodate more end-use applications.”
http://waste360.com/plastics/dow-technology-enable-polyethylene-packages-enter-recycling-streams
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TSCA Reform Law Could Set New Precedents For Environmental Statutes
Jul 6, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform law could set significant new precedents for environmental laws, observers say, because it contains novel provisions unlike those in other landmark laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act -- including a new approach to state preemption and how to review some human health risks.
The various provisions could potentially be a guide for future attempts to craft bipartisan environmental laws, as the TSCA deal signed into law by President Obama June 22 is widely touted as the first major environmental statute in more than 20 years since the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. Republicans, Democrats, many advocates and the chemical industry touted the TSCA reform law as a rare signal that Congress can work together on new laws.
“As with any major policy reform, this one includes compromises. But the new bipartisan bill is a win for the American people -- because it’s a victory for EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment,” wrote EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in a June 22 blog post following the bill's signing into law.
The law, known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, would give EPA substantial new powers to govern the safety of chemicals, including mandating that the agency affirm the safety of new chemicals before allowing them to enter the marketplace and of existing chemicals grandfathered in under the old TSCA.
EPA last week issued its first-year plan for immediately adopting provisions on how to review new chemicals and longer-term actions such as a rule on how the agency will substantiate claims of proprietary information.
But as focus shifts to implementation of the new law, proponents of the reform legislation say that the 66-page law includes several potentially groundbreaking provisions novel to environmental statutes.
For example, the law’s controversial preemption regime -- the result of lengthy compromise talks -- could be precedent-setting. It grandfathers existing state chemical regulations but would block recent and new state requirements while EPA assesses risks from a chemical.
The regime would create a “pause” blocking state actions that would begin when EPA defines and publishes a scope of the safety assessment and end when the agency finalizes a safety determination for a chemical under section 6 of TSCA -- which applies to regulation of existing chemicals -- or misses a three-and-a-half year deadline for issuing the determination.
But preemption does not apply to the first 10 chemicals EPA is directed to assess under the bill, derived from its 2014 TSCA work plan for addressing risks from chemicals. Preemption would also not apply to industry-requested chemicals designated for risk assessment.
'New' Preemption
“Preemption is certainly new and different” under the TSCA reform law, one former EPA source says, pointing out that typically in environmental laws, including in the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, states may adopt stricter requirements but not more lenient ones. “This is a new way of doing it,” that source says, adding that the structure of the preemption provisions offers “lots of off-ramps” for states to pursue their own requirements.
Similarly, a Democratic analysis of the law, submitted to the Congressional Record June 7 as part of Senate floor debate on the then-pending legislation, seeks to highlight restrictions in the law where the pause would not apply.
For example, the law "fully preserves states' ability to impose "information obligation" requirements on manufacturers for chemicals, such as reporting and monitoring requirements, and provides for discretionary and mandatory waivers from the pause, the analysis says.
The analysis is signed by Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee ranking member Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow Senate Democrats Edward Markey (MA), Tom Udall (NM), and Jeff Merkley (OR).
Boxer had stymied prior attempts at TSCA reform due to concerns about language she said would too broadly preempt state chemicals programs such as California's efforts to regulate substances. The senator has said that the final TSCA bill provides a compromise that will ensure states can act in some circumstances.
In a GOP analysis submitted to the Congressional Record also on June 7 by Republican Sens. James Inhofe (OK), chairman of EPW, and David Vitter (LA), they say that nothing in the compromise precludes states from offering opinions, advice or comment during the risk evaluation. There is also nothing to preclude states from taking action on chemicals that are not undergoing EPA risk evaluations or rulemakings, according to the senators.
Vitter in a May 25 interview with Inside EPA said the preemption language is a key component of the law because it "fundamentally achieves our objective" of giving industry "one federal rulebook moving forward," instead of a patchwork of state-by-state chemical safety regulations.
While there is some level of state preemption in other environmental laws, including the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), one industry lawyer says, “it’s not nearly as complicated as this.”
“I can’t think of one with this level of detail,” a second industry source says.
Exposure Risks
Another novel provision in the new TSCA law is language that would require EPA to consider risks to “potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations” that may be at greater risk from chemical exposures, including infants, children, pregnant women, workers or the elderly.
Other than the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, which amended FIFRA, and the Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act providing special protections for infants and children from pesticide residues, other environmental laws including the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act do not “spell out” specific populations to be protected, a third industry source says.
The third industry source says the “general rule” under TSCA has always been to consider the “average user” rather than an “eggshell plaintiff” who might be more susceptible to harm than the average user. “My impression is that this [TSCA law provision] is a big change” for EPA, the source says.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/tsca-reform-law-could-set-new-precedents-environmental-statutes
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Policy Expert: TSCA Reform Will Do Little to Protect Public Health
Jul 6, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Meagan Parrish
Much has been said about TSCA reform, and most of it has been positive. In fact, the process of creating and passing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which was recently signed into law by President Obama, brought together chemical industry representatives and environmentalists alike.
But not everyone is convinced chemical law reform will protect public health.
According to Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a nonprofit policy organization focused on free enterprise and limited government, TSCA reform has the potential to do more harm than good.
Instead of protecting consumers from harmful chemicals, Logomasini argues that under the new law, consumers “will suffer from decreased choice, inferior products and higher prices.”
At the heart of the issue for Logomasini and CEI is the additional chemical safety testing that will be required by the Environmental Protection Agency. Under the new law, the EPA can evaluate toxic chemicals and ban them more easily than before because the agency doesn’t have to consider the cost of regulations when creating them.
In theory, the law would help get toxic substances out of the hands from consumers who could be unwillingly harmed by them. But Logomasini says that this additional scrutiny is likely to set off unnecessary public hysteria over chemicals that may not be dangerous in the trace amounts found in consumer products.
“What this just means is that the EPA will more randomly ask for data, which will create more news and more hype,” she says.
The consequence of this additional testing is that chemicals that serve a vital function in the marketplace could be unnecessarily yanked off the shelves.
Logomasini pointed to BPA as a prime example of how hype can overrule science. After concerns were raised about the negative health impact of BPA exposure and BPA awareness spread among consumers, a wide range of manufacturers have taken the chemical out of their products — from food cans to plastics. The push to go “BPA Free” has continued even as major regulatory bodies have found that our current levels of BPA exposure are safe.
And in the midst of the changes, many manufacturers switched to using an alternative chemical, BPS, which studies have found could be just as dangerous as BPA.
“It’s unfortunate because consumers are the ones who suffer when chemicals like BPA are randomly taken off the market,” Logomasini says.
Rather than shielding chemical manufacturers from bad publicity like the ongoing BPA scare, Logomasini says the spotlight will only shine more hotly on the industry.
“The industry is trying to get around the bad PR of things like BPA. They think TSCA is going to protect them from that, but I don’t think it will,” she says.
Logomasini also says the new testing requirements could undermine innovation.
“Maybe if industry wasn’t spending so much money testing chemicals with a slight risk, they could spend more money making products that help with real risks,” she says.
Supporters of TSCA reform have praised the fact at the new law will provide consistency to regulations, a point Logomasini sympathizes with. She also says that some of the negative publicity could be avoided if the chemicals industry did a better job of promoting itself and convincing American consumers that its products are vital — and safe.
Only time will tell if Logomasini is right about her warnings of TSCA reform. Even with the EPA’s new mandate to test more chemicals, critics have argued that process is likely to be slow. One group predicted that testing the 90 chemicals identified as “high priority” could take up to 35 years.
https://www.chem.info/article/2016/07/policy-expert-tsca-reform-will-do-little-protect-public-health
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Chemical Safety Law Named for Nutley Native
Jul 7, 2016 | North Jersey News
President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law on June 22. The legislation, to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, passed the U.S. Senate earlier that month.
"President Obama’s signature on this bill marks both the end of a long process, and the beginning of a new chapter as the EPA puts its new authority to work," Andy Igrejas, the director of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, said in a statement. "The chemical backlog is enormous. It’s vital that EPA starts strong and extracts the maximum public health benefits possible from the new law."
"Because of the limitations in this bill, however, it will also be crucial that the growing demand for safer chemicals continue across society, from state and local governments, retailers, manufacturers and informed consumers," he added.
Lautenberg is a Nutley High School alumnus. He was inducted in the Nutley Hall of Fame in 2011 and the New Jersey Hall of Fame this past April.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/chemical-safety-law-named-for-nutley-native-1.1626791
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(ACC Blog) What Stanford Forgot to Tell You about BPA
Jul 6, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steven Hentges, Ph.D
Last week a flurry of news stories reported on a new study of bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods led by a researcher at Stanford University. Based on an analysis of BPA levels in urine and self-reported canned food consumption, the researchers came to the conclusion that “[c]anned food[s] … were associated with higher levels of urinary BPA concentrations.” But the study missed the point: yes, we know BPA is present in trace amounts, but is it safe?
It’s not a secret that epoxy resins made from BPA have been widely used for several decades as the protective coating inside food and beverage cans. If you’re not aware of this, perhaps it’s because the coatings protect food from contamination so well, in particular from microbes that can make you sick. You likely would have heard about these coatings if they failed on a regular basis, or even once. That might be worthy of a headline, but you’ve never seen that headline because the coatings are so effective.
While consumers are exposed to trace amounts of BPA from these coatings, as the researchers point out in their paper, when BPA is ingested, it is metabolized and quickly eliminated from the body through urine. In addition, the metabolite has no known biological activity and the metabolic process is so efficient that almost no BPA itself ever reaches the bloodstream.
Yet something is missing from the story, something that Stanford apparently forgot to tell you. It’s hardly breaking news that people are exposed to trace amounts of BPA from canned foods, but is it safe? The scientific paper, the Stanford University press release, a related Stanford Medicine report and, with one exception, all of the media reports do not address this important question. How could they all forget?
Kudos to CNN not only for asking the question, but asking the authority in the U.S. – the Food and Drug Administration. The complete answer they got, as reported in the CNN article is below:
The FDA has performed extensive research and reviewed hundreds of studies about BPA’s safety, and has determined that current authorized uses of BPA in food packaging are safe. The FDA continues to monitor literature and research on BPA. –Lauren Sucher, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration, in a statement to CNN
There you have it. FDA says safe. Too bad that Stanford forgot to mention it.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2016/07/what-stanford-forgot-to-tell-you-about-bpa/
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Jul 6, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) “is an electronic data base containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemicals in the environment.” IRIS values are hazard – not risk – values that are often cited or used in other chemical safety evaluations, by EPA, federal agencies, states, and a diverse array of stakeholders.
Simon et al. 2016 explores and refines the 2014 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommendation that EPA develop and expand its use of formal quantitative methods, including the Bayesian method, when developing values used in IRIS assessments.
Michael L. Dourson, Ph.D., DABT, ATS
The Simon et al. co-authors (including Dr. Yiliang Zhu, a biostatistician who was on the NAS panel) took this example further and applied it to 24 IRIS non-cancer derivations. Through example calculations, the research demonstrates that using a distribution of values instead of a single-point estimate for each uncertainty factor can have a large impact on the final reference value.
To further explain this research, we have posed some questions to study authors,Ted W. Simon, PhD, DABT and Michael L. Dourson, Ph.D., DABT, ATS. To read the full research paper, please visit here.
Why is this paper important to chemical risk assessments?
Chemical risk assessment is precautionary, that is, it is geared to overstating the likely risk from a chemical exposure so that we are sure sensitive individuals are protected. This paper gives us a sense of how protective we really are.
The most basic idea of Bayesian methods is that the state of knowledge should be responsive to new information. Even in the 1990s, statisticians familiar with the IRIS process for derivation of toxicity values for non-carcinogens suggested that Bayesian methods could provide a means of updating the toxicity values as new information became available. Anyone familiar with IRIS knows that many of the toxicity values have become outdated. Some of these were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s and have never been updated to include any new data. Hence, the advent of these methods is long overdue.
What does it change?
Risk managers would prefer to make judgments on data that are more certain. The approach described in this paper shows some of the uncertainty in risk assessment, thereby helping managers make better decisions. Instead of relying on a single point estimate of safety, using statistical methods, the Bayesian approach allows risk assessors to rely on a representative distribution.
In deriving hazard values for non-carcinogens, the point of departure dose, often obtained from animal testing, is divided by a composite factor capped at a value of 3000, to represent five distinct areas of uncertainty. The numerical uncertainty in each of the five areas can be represented numerically by a bell curve, not just a point estimate. Creating a bell curve allows the use of statistical techniques to obtain a toxicity value that is a more precise accurate estimate of safe exposure for humans than the process that is currently being used by IRIS.
Why did the National Academies suggest this research?
To increase the understanding of how risk assessment is done by showing how uncertain it sometimes is.
Both the National Academy and the paper recommend that the uncertainty be represented numerically by a probability distribution, e.g., a bell curve. The National Academy foresaw that in the future, toxicity values would likely be derived from different data sources, including animal testing, observational epidemiology and high throughput in vitro assays. Bayesian methods would be ideal for updating existing toxicity estimates based on these different types of data.
How hard will it be for agencies and programs, like IRIS, to make changes?
Forward leaning scientists are moving in this direction and EPA says they are interested in using Bayesian methods for dose-response analysis. While incorporating the methods described by the National Academy and in the paper should be quite easy, it will still take time for these methods to gain acceptance. For example, the benchmark dose method took EPA 12 years between initial development and first use. However, if the will exists to use more robust methods, implementation should be fairly easy.
Any other important comments?
It is important to remember that risk assessment is imprecise. Ranges in risk assessment values are being encouraged. This method allows the development of a range.
One of the real advantages of the method is the ability to use sampling techniques to combine probability distributions. Doing so will provide risk managers information that will help them to communicate how confident they are in their risk estimate of a chemical.
Next Steps
This paper shows that the simple point estimate method is overestimating hazards compared to more robust approaches that could be used in hazard assessments developed by federal agencies, like EPA.
ACC encourages all stakeholders to discuss this new research and to encourage the IRIS program, and others, to modernize their approach to hazard assessment.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2016/07/new-acc-funded-publication-implements-national-academies-recommendation-to-expand-the-use-of-bayesian-methods-in-iris-assessments/
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Dupont, Chemours Lose Again in Teflon Chemical Suit
Jul 7, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tiffany Kary and Jack Kaskey
DuPont Co. was found liable for a man's testicular cancer in the second suit to go to trial in 3,500 lawsuits over a toxic Teflon chemical found in Ohio and West Virginia waters, for which spinoff Chemours Co. had agreed to bear the cost (In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. C-8 Pers. Injury Litig., S.D. Ohio, No. 13-md-02433, verdict 7/6/16).
A jury in Columbus, Ohio, returned its verdict July 6 after less than a day of deliberation, finding DuPont responsible for negligence and $5.1 million in associated damages. It also found actual malice, meaning the company will face punitive damages.
In October, a jury awarded $1.6 million to a woman who sued over the contamination. DuPont is appealing that verdict. Chemours had agreed to cover any damages awarded in the trials. A second case settled on undisclosed terms.
“This type of litigation typically takes place over many years and interim results do not predict the final outcome of cases,” Cynthia Salitsky, a Chemours spokesperson said in a statement.
Salitsky also said Chemours might challenge its responsibility for damages. “DuPont is the named defendant in each of the cases and is directly liable for any judgment. In the event DuPont claims that it is entitled to indemnification from Chemours as to some or all of the judgment, Chemours retains its defenses to such claims,” Salitsky said.
DuPont spokesman Dan Turner declined to comment.
Drinking Water
In the most recent trial, which began May 31, David Freeman, who lived near the company's Washington Works plant since 1993, claimed DuPont knowingly dumped toxic C-8 into local waterways. The chemical, used to make Teflon at a plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, got into Freeman's drinking water.
“Their goal was to protect the Teflon brand at the expense of the community,” Freeman's lawyer Mike Papantonio said of DuPont in closing arguments July 5.
“They know it caused cancer. They aren't interested in keeping people healthy,” Papantonio said. “They're interested in how much it's going to cost them after 57 years of doing it.”
DuPont lawyer Damond Mace said the evidence showed the company wasn't expecting any injuries noting that high-level supervisors at the plant drank the same water as Freeman. C-8 “is not some skull and crossbones chemical,” Mace told the jury. “Salt, sugar, caffeine, these are all chemicals we're around every day. It's about dose,” he said.
C-8
DuPont knew since at least 1961 that C-8 is toxic and didn't disclose to regulators or the public the results of an in-house study that found birth defects among its own workers’ children, Freeman alleged. The company faces about 3,500 suits from people who claim they got sick or lost family members because of C-8 in public water or private wells in Ohio and West Virginia.
DuPont was fined $16.5 million in 2005 for failing to report the birth-defect findings and other data to the Environmental Protection Agency.
C-8, or perfluorooctanoic acid—also known as PFOA—is a soap-like substance that once gave Teflon its nonstick quality. 3M Co. originally made the chemical and sold it to DuPont. When 3M phased the chemical out in 2000, DuPont started making its own. Neither company uses it anymore. A reformulated version is used in products such as fabrics, small appliances and components used in food processing.
First Trial
In the first trial, the plaintiff's lawyers argued that DuPont knew the chemical was getting into drinking water as early as 1984, when the company tested tap water it told employees living near the plant to secretly collect.
At the earlier trial, lawyers for DuPont said C-8 isn't harmful, isn't regulated and isn't on the EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Regulations list of contaminants. 3M also said there were no adverse health effects, according to defense lawyers. DuPont took precautions because 3M had told them C-8 was persistent in blood.
The company set an acceptable concentration of 50 parts per billion in drinking water when other groups deemed 500 parts per billion acceptable, the defense said. Since then, in May, the EPA lowered the recommended exposure to the chemical in drinking water.
Under the new lifetime health advisory, drinking water exposure to PFOA and a chemical known as PFOS should not exceed 70 parts per trillion combined. DuPont said independent studies over the past 10 to 15 years show C-8 is present in low levels in just about everyone's blood.
Thousands of cases have been consolidated in Ohio federal court to streamline the litigation process. Any damages from the lawsuits should be borne by Chemours, which was spun off in July 2015. It has carried on the Teflon business and agreed to take on many of DuPont's legal obligations.
“We believe $5.1 million in damages awarded were in excess of investor expectations,” Citibank Inc. analysts led by James P. Finnerty wrote in a note July 6.
Brandon Barnes, a litigation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said it's an “open question” whether that agreement would extend to punitive damages, or whether DuPont might have to bear those costs. Around $800 million to $1.5 billion is at risk in the litigation, Barnes estimated.
A trial to determine punitive damages is scheduled to begin July 7.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=93219812&vname=dennotallissues&fn=93219812&jd=93219812
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(ACC Mentioned) Conference Vote May Come this Week
Jul 6, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Hannah Hess and Manuel Quiñones
A Senate vote to launch negotiations with the House on energy reform legislation could happen as soon as this week.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski said this afternoon she hasn't scheduled meetings with other lawmakers looking for a path forward.
"Hopefully we won't need any more meetings," the Alaska Republican said. "Hopefully we'll be able to just find time to go to a vote."
The House already appointed conferees, but the Senate has yet to do so, in part because of Democrats' objections to provisions in the reworked House bill.
Murkowski said the timing of a Senate vote to launch conference negotiations depends on the chamber's packed agenda.
This afternoon, senators were set to take procedural votes to move forward with legislation on genetically modified organisms and defense spending.
Because lawmakers agreed to debate the GMO bill, the chamber put off consideration of the defense measure.
Asked about a conference vote, Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said, "Well, that's why we keep talking." She did not discount the possibility of another meeting.
Today, the American Chemistry Council sent Senate leaders a letter urging them to agree to conference negotiations. Other groups have done the same. Environmentalists, however, want Democrats to balk at House bill provisions.Zika
Separately, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said there would be another Senate vote on legislation to provide funds for combating the Zika virus and weaken some pesticide-permitting requirements.
McConnell said a roll call would happen "certainly before we go to convention." Both the House and Senate are scheduled to leave for their summer break and the party conventions next week.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the Republican Zika deal "a waste of Senate time."
"It's unfortunate when we have issues out there that are so important," he said.
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2016/07/06/stories/1060039864
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Senators Looking to Clear the Way for Energy Bill Vote
Jul 6, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Senators are scrambling to figure out how to get to a conference committee on an energy reform bill.
Lawmakers have less than 10 legislative days before they break for a seven-week summer recess, raising the prospects that an energy reform package will wilt away this session without moving on to the president.
Senate Democrats have resisted going to a conference committee with the House because of provisions within the House bill they oppose. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) the ranking member on the Senate Energy Committee, said Wednesday she has no timeline for when the party might be able to support going to conference on the measure.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a member of Senate leadership who sits on the Energy Committee, said a motion to go to a conference committee won’t come to the floor until Democrats can put up the votes.
“They have to get the votes to get the approval,” he said. “[Senate Energy Committee Chair] Lisa Murkowski worked very hard to make sure we have the votes to be able to assign conferees. We want to make sure we can get beyond the blockade of the Democrats.”
Major energy bill lawmakers — Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Cantwell and Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, among others — have been meeting to try crafting a path forward on the bill.
But Murkowski acknowledged the group hasn’t gotten together recently, thanks an Independence Day recess in the House last week. She said Wednesday, “we would like to think that we are at the point where you’d be able to have a vote, so if we can have a vote, why do we need more meetings?”
Murkowski said she hopes to get a vote on going to conference this week, but acknowledged the Senate schedule is full of other matters, such as genetically modified food labeling and other issues on Wednesday, and defense legislation later this week.
"My hope is that we’ll be able to get to a vote as soon as we get through this queue of issues that we have in front of us this afternoon, and then be able to get to work with an actual conference," she said.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/286735-senators-looking-to-clear-the-way-for-energy-bill-vote
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Murkowski Agrees to ‘Process’ with Cantwell for Energy Bill Conference
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Nick Juliano
Senate Energy Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski said she and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell have reached an agreement on how to conduct an energy bill conference, likely clearing the way for a vote before the end of next week.
“We had a very constructive conversation last week about a process that we would basically follow and agree to that I think gave Sen. Cantwell good encouragement,” Murkowski told reporters today as she left the weekly Republican caucus lunch. “So my hope is we’ll be able to get to a vote as soon as we get through this queue of issues that we have in front of us this afternoon, and be able to get to work with the energy conference.”
The Senate is scheduled to take a number of procedural votes this afternoon to determine what bill to take up next. Murkowski said the outcome of those votes would help determine how quickly they could vote to appoint members of an energy conference committee.
Murkowski did not divulge any details about her agreement with Cantwell, and said the two were not planning to meet today, nor were any more meetings scheduled of the six principal House and Senate negotiators.
"We are talk, talk, talk, talk, talking," Cantwell told POLITICO this afternoon when asked if she and Murkowski have reached an agreement.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard/2016/07/murkowski-says-agreed-to-process-with-cantwell-for-energy-bill-conference-074268
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Energy Conference Vote Possible as Talks Continue in Senate
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Nick Juliano
The Senate may vote to go to conference on an energy bill before the end of next week, senators said today, although no firm agreement is in place.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, ranking member the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said today that negotiations would continue this afternoon and that a vote is possible before Congress adjourns for its summer recess July 15. But “I'm not sure about this week,” she told POLITICO on her way into a Democratic lunch.
Cantwell has resisted forming a conference because she has said the House bill contains too many objectionable provisions to make the exercise worthwhile. The Washington Democrat did not say whether she had secured any concessions from ENR Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski or House Republicans.
Murkowski said she was optimistic that she and Cantwell could reach an agreement to hold a vote before recess.
“We have to get through this afternoon,” Murkowski told reporters on her way into the GOP lunch.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard# -
EPA Rules Called ‘Un-American' During Heated House Hearing
Jul 7, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
A House subcommittee hearing descended into chaos after Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) called Environmental Protection Agency rules on air pollution “un-American.”
Johnson's comments provoked outrage among Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power who accused Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) of losing control of the hearing as it broke down into shouting matches amid accusations that Republicans were badgering Janet McCabe, the EPA's top air official. Throughout the July 6 hearing, which was called to discuss the impacts of air pollution regulations completed by the EPA during President Barack Obama's administration, Republicans pointedly accused the agency of ignoring the economic impact of its regulations and pursuing rules designed to destroy the coal industry.
The partisan acrimony was sparked by Johnson who dismissed the EPA's regulations as “irresponsible” and “un-American.”
“You obviously you don't have a concern—and your department doesn't have a concern—for the economic well-being of the very people that create jobs in this country,” he said.
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) also called out McCabe as someone who has “never worked in the industry. You have worked against the industry from day one.”
Democrats ‘Taken Aback.'
Democrats seized on Johnson's remark immediately with Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) saying he was “a little taken aback by the hostility that I hear in this room.”
Johnson took the unusual step of seizing the floor to fire back.
“I find it absurd that we would be challenged in an air of hostility when we are doing what the American people require us and request us to do, which is to hold the EPA accountable,” Johnson said. “If we're not going to do, then who is going to do it?”
In response, the top Democrat on the subcommittee Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) called the accusation from Johnson “absurd.”
“My side has sat here very patiently and calmly while this witness, who by every indication has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people—to be called un-American, that's absurd,” Rush said. “That's extreme; if you don't agree with the facts, then all of a sudden you're called un-American. There is no place in this hearing for a witness, being from [the EPA] or whatever agency it is, to be called un-American.”
Whitfield attempted to diffuse the tension. He noted “very strong feelings” on the subcommittee about climate change, but the tension in part stemmed from the belief among Republicans that the agency was overreaching well beyond its statutory authority to “impose” its climate change agenda.
‘Stop the Badgering of Witnesses.'
Eventually Whitfield and Rush got into a heated argument over how the hearing was being conducted.
“When are you going to stop the badgering of witnesses before this committee?” Rush asked of Whitfield. “This hearing is getting way out of hand and you have to have some responsibility for it.”
Whitfield shot back: “This hearing is not out of hand. People have a right to ask their questions.”
Rush replied: “This witness has been badgered and badgered and badgered and badgered.”
Whitfield said he “respectfully disagreed” and moved on to the next set of questions.
McCabe Defends Rules
When the hearing did touch on policy, it largely retread long-standing talking points about the agency's high-profile air regulations, including its Clean Power Plan (RIN:2060-AR33) to curb carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, limits on methane emissions from new oil and gas infrastructure (RIN:2060-AS30) and revisions to the national ozone standards (RIN:2060-AP38).
McCabe said the agency's decision to propose a voluntary program that would reward states that choose to make early investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy (RIN:2060-AS84) is entirely consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's stay of the Clean Power Plan.
“We believe that taking this action is not inconsistent with the stay,” she said. “We're being very, very careful about this.”
Though she declined to predict when the EPA might take final action on its Clean Energy Incentive Program, formally proposed in late June, McCabe said the agency would likely move to finalize it at some point.
She declined to speculate on why the Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan, but again expressed confidence it ultimately would survive legal challenges.
Republicans Dispute Benefits
Republicans on the subcommittee said all the air regulations issued by the Obama EPA have had little to no positive benefits to the environment, while crippling the economies and job sectors of communities across the country.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), former chairman of the full committee, said he believes the regulations have not “changed the basic air quality one percent” or “had an impact” on the environment, but instead forced the closure of coal-fired power plants across the country.
“I want clean air, I want clean water,” Barton said. “But I don't want an organized attack on the energy-producing sectors of America.”
In response, McCabe said the administration had seen significant reductions in a number of air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide and ozone.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=93219804&vname=dennotallissues&fn=93219804&jd=93219804
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Exxon Mobil Technology Could Cut $200M from Yearly Petrochemical Costs
Jul 6, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Technologies developed by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco could dramatically change the petrochemical sector by transforming crude oil directly into the primary building block of most plastics, according to a new report.
The new processes could save petrochemical plants $200 million a year through reduced production costs, according to the study released Wednesday from the IHS data and consulting firm.
Exxon’s process involves turning crude oil directly into the base chemical, ethylene, saving up to $200 per metric ton of ethylene. It bypasses the middle step of refining crude into naphtha, the primary feedstock for most petrochemical plants outside of the U.S. Naphtha is more expensive than crude oil. Most American petrochemical facilities rely on cheap and abundant natural gas as the feedstock to produce chemicals, resins and plastics.
“It is this feedstock spread that contributes most of the cost-savings advantage,” said Anthony Pavone, director of engineering at IHS Chemical and co-author of the report.
Exxon Mobil opened its only crude-to-ethylene plant in 2014 at its Singapore Chemical Plant, which is Exxon’s largest integrated petrochemical complex in the world. The plant produces 1 million tons of ethylene from crude per year. The Exxon process feeds crude oil directly to the cracking furnaces. Cracking is the process that breaks down complex hydrocarbons like oil into simpler molecules.
The Exxon process involves preheating the crude oil and extracting its lighter elements as vapor, which is then broken down to produce the ethylene, according to the report. The heavier elements of the crude are then sold or sent to Exxon refineries.
The technology developed by state-owned Saudi Aramco is still conceptual and involves a somewhat slightly different process that produces a similar result.
In June, Aramco announced a joint venture with publicly traded but mostly state-owned Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. to study building a crude-to-chemicals complex in Saudi Arabia.
IHS estimates the joint venture also would save about $200 per metric ton. However, the increased up-front costs of building the crude-to-chemicals versus a traditional naphtha process would offset some of those savings.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/07/06/exxon-mobil-technology-could-cut-200m-from-yearly-petrochemical-costs/
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Report: Chemical Safety Board Must Conduct More Investigations
Jul 6, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
The federal agency that investigates incidents at chemical plants fell far short of its statutory responsibilities in recent years, according to a newly released report.
The EPA Office of Inspector General report identified three "major management challenges" — or issues that could make agencies "vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement" — with the Chemical Safety Board in the 2016 fiscal year.
The analysis, in particular, found a "gap" between the incidents investigated by CSB and the number of serious chemical accidents that it is charged with investigating.
In the previous five fiscal years, CSB investigated just 11 of 241 chemical accidents that involved fatalities.
In addition to increasing the number of investigations, the report said that CSB needs to improve the controls over the investigations that it does conduct. Two of the three probes wrapped up in fiscal year 2016 lasted six years, while the third — involving a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas — took nearly three.
"We recommend that CSB seek to close the investigative gap by reprioritizing its resources to investigate all accidents that fall within its statutory mandate," the report said.
The second issue identified by the report found that the agency had yet to publish regulations for reporting chemical incidents as required by a 1990 change to the Clean Air Act.
Finally, the report said that CSB "must continue to address its employee morale." The agency was longplagued by declining performance and morale and came under fire for its treatment of whistleblowers. Its former chairman, Rafael Moure-Eraso, resigned in early 2015 after reports that officials used outside email systems to conduct government business.
The inspector general report also identified policies regarding purchase cards as an "internal control weakness," but removed two issues cited in its 2015 report "due to corrective actions taken by CSB."
Addressing the remaining issues, the inspector general said, could "result in stronger results and protection for the public, and increased confidence in management integrity and accountability."
https://www.chem.info/news/2016/07/report-chemical-safety-board-must-conduct-more-investigations
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Obama Puts Climate at the Fore of General Election
Jul 7, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Morning Energy
By Eric Wolff
OBAMA INJECTS CLIMATE INTO GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN:President Barack Obama went hard on climate change and energy in a campaign speech on behalf of Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, a sign the issue could be a major theme of the upcoming general election campaign. While Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders dueled over climate and energy policy in the primary, the subject was virtually absent from the Republican primary debate. Obama seems to believe that a strong climate message can win even in a state that has only voted for a Democrat for president twice in 40 years: Once for Jimmy Carter, and once for him.
Don't choose denial: Obama never named presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump directly, but he alluded to him, saying, "You can go the path that denies climate change is real, or you can choose a path where American jobs and businesses lead the world to combat it." Trump has repeatedly rejected the science behind man-made climate change, at one time calling it a Chinese hoax. Obama combined the critique with Clinton's work toward reaching a global climate pact, adding, "You can vote with the climate deniers who want to tear up the agreements we've crafted, and doom our kids to a more dangerous world, or you can vote to keep putting people back to work building a cleaner energy future for all of us."
... and cheap gas: He went on to highlight how Republicans had promised to reduce the price of gasoline, but the price of gasoline fell by half on his watch — a fact not loved by environmentalists, since cheap gas usually means more emissions.
WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY! I'm your host Eric Wolff, and the Wall Street Journal is telling me the olds are invading Snapchat. Hey, I'm old, I want to invade Snapchat. But I don't know who to follow, so I’m open to suggestions for energy folks trying out the Next Big Thing. Regardless of your social media acumen, we all know and love email, so send your tips, quips, and comments toewolff@politico.com, or follow us on Twitter @ericwolff, @Morning_Energy, and@POLITICOPro.
CLIMATE ENVOY: PARIS LIKELY IN FORCE THIS YEAR: U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing is increasingly confident that the Paris climate change agreement will enter into force this year, he tells Pro's Andrew Restuccia. Pershing expects the U.S. to join the agreement "very soon," which would certainly move the pact much closer to the requirement of getting 55 countries comprising at least 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions to ratify it so it can enter into force. "I understand that we're well on the road to getting there and my personal thinking is that we're well on the road to achieving this outcome before the end of the year," he said. Pershing also remains unconcerned that the Brexit vote will diminish the United Kingdom's commitment to the Paris deal. "The U.K. is one of the stalwart supporters [of the deal] and I anticipate they will continue to be. I'm not seeing any indication that they don't intend to be," he said.
Montreal deal on HFCs looking good, too: Pershing was also bullish about the prospects that nations will agree to an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down hydrofluorocarbons, the potent greenhouse gas that is found in refrigerators and air conditioners. Experts say slashing HFCs could prevent as much as half a degree (Celsius) in overall warming. "A half-degree is a pretty big number. And I'm pretty optimistic," Pershing said.
** A message from Chevron: Women and minority DOERS play a key role in driving America's economic growth. Last year alone, Chevron spent $500 million with women- and minority - owned businesses. Learn more about our efforts to help all small business DOERS thrive: http://tinyurl.com/h9msbgc **
E-BAY, BUT FOR OIL AND GAS LEASES: The Natural Resources Committee’s energy subpanel today digs into a bipartisan bill from Republican Rep. Garret Graves and Democrat Alan Lowenthal that would allow the Interior Secretary to hold online oil and gas lease sales — a major shift from the current system of real-time reading of bids. Walter Cruickshank, deputy director of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, may offer a clue at the hearing on the Obama administration’s stance on the proposal it has yet to weigh in on, while National Ocean Industries Association President Randall Luthi will speak out on behalf of his trade group’s offshore-driller membership. If you go: The hearing starts at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.
MCCABE BACK TO THE HILL: EPA Acting Administrator for the Office of Air Janet McCabe will be part of a panel of witnesses today testifying before a subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee on the effects of Obama-era regulations on energy and industry. McCabe's prepared remarks focus on the Clean Power Plan, the methane rule, and EPA's recent tightening of the ozone standard. Neither the subcommittee's topic nor McCabe's remarks represent much in the way of new ground. "For over four decades, we have cut air pollution by 70 percent and the economy has more than tripled," McCabe says in her remarks. If you go: 10 a.m. in Rayburn 2322.
CONGRESSIONAL STAFF GETS FREE BLOOD TESTS FOR LEAD: Members of Congress and staff who work in the Cannon House Office Building have been offered free blood tests for elevated lead levels from the Architect of the Capitol, the AP reports. Cannon water was found to contain lead at levels that exceeded EPA tolerances, and now Congress gets a little taste of living in Flint, Mich., these last few years. "I understand the concern that my colleagues and their staffers have expressed," Rep. Dan Kildee, who represents Flint, said in a statement. "Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin and high levels of lead in water anywhere is a public health emergency."
OPTIMAL CHINESE CLIMATE POLICY — IT'S JUST LIKE OURS:Instituting a carbon tax and improving building efficiency are two of the most effective tools to cut greenhouse gases, no matter if its in China or the West, according to a report out tonight from China's National Center for Climate Strategy and the Energy Research Institute (both government agencies) and the U.S. non-profit Energy Innovation. The three groups collaborated to develop a Chinese version of Energy Innovation's Energy Policy Simulator, a kind of video game for super energy nerds (Let's be honest: us). They tested 35 different policies in different combinations and looked at their impact on the environment and the economy and ended up with a package of policies that would be familiar to most Americans.
HOUSE PASSES MINE CLEAN UP BILL UNDER SUSPENSION: The House on Tuesday passed, on suspension, the Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act, H.R. 3844, which creates a foundation to solicit public donations to help clean up abandoned mines and orphaned well sites on public land. The bill was written as a response to last year's Gold King Mine spill, in which EPA employees trying to clean up an old mine released polluted water into the Animus River. “By incorporating private sector policies and procedures, H.R. 3844, the Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act, revamps and improves the clean-up of contaminated water in abandoned mine sites,” Republican Rep. Jody Hice, the lead sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
... and advances California drought legislation: The lower chamber also passed the "Save our Salmon Act," which resolves contradicting statutes that lead to the protection of the non-native striped bass, a predator that eats native species the government is trying to protect. “In California, contradictory statutes have caused millions of dollars and billions of gallons of water to go to waste. This is unacceptable, especially as Californians face historic drought conditions,” House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop said in a statement.
COURT LEAVES CAPE WIND IN THE DOLDRUMS: The beleaguered Cape Wind Project, a proposed off-shore wind project near Nantucket Sound, is, if anything, extra-beleaguered after the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday rejected BOEM's environmental review. As Pro's Esther Whieldon reports, the appeals court overturned a lower court decision from 2014, saying the environmental review written under the National Environmental Policy Act found the agency relied on bad data about the sea floor. An environmental impact statement must "look beyond the decision to offer a lease and consider the predictable consequences of that decision," the court said. "By relying solely on data so roundly criticized by its 'own experts,' the Bureau failed to fulfill this duty." The project has been languishing after it missed filing deadlines and lost two major buyers for its power.
COAL ASSOCIATIONS’ CHALLENGE “WILLFUL VIOLATION” DEFINITION IN BLANKENSHIP RULING: The Illinois Coal Association, the Ohio Coal Association and the West Virginia Coal Association filed an amicus brief Tuesday, challenging a West Virginia district court’s definition of a “willful” violation under the Mine Safety and Health Act, in its conviction of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship this past April. (Blankenship was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, which killed 29 miners. He is appealing the case.)
In the brief, the coal associations write that the “District Court’s jury instruction defining ‘willful,’ ... permitted the jury to convict on a lesser standard of culpability.” The coal associations write that “the mining industry is concerned that evidence of mere issuance of citations at a mine could potentially be misused to hold nearly any employee, manager or corporate actor liable for conspiracy to commit future violations of the Act.” They write that such citations are common and do not necessarily mean a health or safety violation has occurred. Even if violations did occur, those violations “do not necessarily evince bad conduct” or mean that the coal operator is at fault.
BREXIT RATTLES ENERGY INVESTORS: The political, economic and energy policy uncertainty unleashed by the U.K.’s decision to quit the EU is worrying energy investors. As POLITICO Europe's Anca Gurzu reports, no company has officially halted an ongoing project, but the fear is there. “We still want to grow in the U.K., particularly in wind power, but clearly a significant change like an exit from the EU introduces more risk to the sector for an unforeseen period of time,” Sweden’s Vattenfall, which has eight operational wind farms in Britain, said in a statement. Companies fear the regulatory uncertainty brought not just from leaving the EU, but the turmoil at the top of both major British political parties. In addition, the falling pound reduces income from U.K. energy assets, creating a “substantial risk” for foreign investors, said Georg Zachmann, research fellow at the Bruegel think tank.
READING GLASSES — Greens: Energy under lease will last decades: The oil,natural gas, and coal currently under lease on public land would provide fossil fuels for decades to come, according to a report from the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth. The report modeled the total fossil fuels remaining in current leases and projected that there is 39 years of crude oil, 25 years of coal and 28 years of natural gas. The fossil fuel extracted is not compatible with the climate goals in the Paris agreement, the report said. “This report makes clear that it is irresponsible for President Obama to auction off any more fossil fuels on public lands and oceans if we are to live up to our global climate commitments,” Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
https://www.politicopro.com/tipsheets/morning-energy/2016/07/obama-puts-climate-at-the-fore-of-general-election-018117
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Barton’s ‘Non-Scientific’ Estimate of EPA’s Impact: Zero
Jul 6, 2016 | PoliticoPro
By Alex Guillen
Has President Barack Obama's EPA improved air quality at all? Rep. Joe Barton's back-of-the-envelope guess is no.
“My seat-of-the-pants, non-scientific estimate is, it hasn’t had an impact,” the Texas Republican told a top EPA official at a Wednesday hearing.
EPA’s efforts have “not changed the basic air quality 1 percent,” Barton continued. “Now you can prove me wrong, and I’m happy to see — but I want it statistically, I want it engineering, scientifically proven.”
Barton is the former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and is considering an attempt to retake the gavel next year after term-limited Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) steps down.
Janet McCabe, EPA’s acting air chief, replied that sulfur dioxide and ozone levels — which both cause health problems —have decreased significantly, and that her agency could provide Barton with more specific details on air-quality improvements.
The agency’s tracking indicates things across the country generally have gotten better, including in Dallas, which lies in Barton’s district.
Annual air-quality reports on EPA’s website indicate that the Dallas region has seen significant improvements in air quality, both since the start of the Obama administration and since Barton took office in 1985.
The number of days each year classified as "unhealthy" for all individuals decreased from 34 in 1985 to eight in 2008, down to five in 2015. More days were rated “good” for air quality in Dallas in 2015 compared with those prior years, though the number of days classified as unhealthy for “sensitive groups,” such as children and people with asthma, has stayed about the same over the past three decades.
Nationally, between 2000 and 2014, EPA says ozone levels are down 18 percent and sulfur dioxide is down 62 percent, while metrics for pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, or soot, have decreased significantly as well. Those declines in pollution have taken place even as the economy and overall energy consumption grew, EPA notes.
Barton argued that, while he is skeptical of EPA’s claims that air quality has improved, he is absolutely certain that “EPA has impacted the economy by billions of dollars.”
“I want clean air, I want clean water. But I don’t want an organized attack on the energy-producing sector of America because of a … political decision to go after hydrocarbons,” he said.
Barton listed off EPA regulations issued by the Obama administration, including major rules like the Clean Power Plan and the mercury rule, as well as smaller ones, like limits on emissions from brick manufacturers.
Notably, many Obama-era EPA rules have not yet taken full effect. The Clean Power Plan, for example, was stayed by the Supreme Court while the legal challenges play out. Some regulations were issued recently enough that they have yet to take effect. Others, like ozone and sulfur dioxide standards, will take many years to implement; gains under those air-quality metrics to date largely come from limits set before the Obama administration.
This isn’t the congressman’s first time citing unusual sources.
Barton made waves in 2013 when he said the Biblical flood was an example of climate change that did not happen "because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy." (Illinois Rep. John Shimkus, one of Barton’s top rivals for the committee chairmanship, made similar remarks in 2009 when he read from Genesis during a hearing and said that “man will not destroy this Earth.”)
Barton also raised eyebrows in 2009 when he said “wind is God’s way of balancing heat” and questioned whether harnessing wind energy could cause an increase in temperatures. And in 2009, during debate over the cap-and-trade bill, Bartonnoted that carbon dioxide is what makes soft drinks bubbly, and that naturally occurring carbon dioxide emissions mean "you can't regulate God."
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2016/07/bartons-non-scientific-estimate-of-epas-impact-zero-123134
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