Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 7/13/16
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(ACC Blog) Safety Expert Joins ACC to Lead Emergency Response Program
Jul 13, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
By American Chemistry
Earlier this month the American Chemistry Council was fortunate to have John D. Modine sign on as the new Chief Executive for its CHEMTREC® Division, which serves as a critical source of information for emergency responders regarding incidents involving hazardous materials. -
IRIS Program Review Aims To Improve Efficiency, Productivity, Staff Morale
Jul 13, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
EPA has tasked one of its contractors with undertaking a process management evaluation of its influential but long-critiqued risk analysis program, with an aim to improving efficiency, predictability and staff morale, as the program has long endured criticism of both its science and its efficiency. -
Bill Passed in House Would Defund Conflict Minerals Rule
Jul 13, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill, containing an amendment that would defund enforcement of the nation’s conflict minerals reporting rule. -
The Growing Threat Of Asbestos
Jul 13, 2016 | Auto Service World
By Steve Pawlett
The Canadian aftermarket is slowly waking up to the realization that asbestos is still coming into Canada in the form of imported brake friction products – and the volume at which it is entering the country continues to grow. -
2017 Will Bring Fundamental Gas Market Shift, EIA Says
Jul 13, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The United States will become a net natural gas exporter for the first time next year, as liquefied natural gas shipments and pipeline flows to Mexico are set to outpace import volumes, according to federal energy trackers. -
Koch Brothers' Congressman Seeks to Block Efforts to Prevent Chemical Catastrophe
Jul 13, 2016 | Truth Out
By David Halperin
Republican congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas, who represents Wichita, seems to be doing the bidding of the Koch Brothers once again: He has introduced legislation to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing or enforcing a rule to improve the safety of America's most dangerous chemical plants. -
Oil-Train Car Upgrades Being Left to Industry is Problematic, NTSB Chief Says
Jul 13, 2016 | Oregon Live
By Associated Press
Accident-prone tank cars used to haul crude oil and ethanol by rail could remain in service for another 15 years under federal rules that allow companies to phase in upgrades to the aging fleet, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. -
Republicans Aren't Pro-Business, They are Anti-Environment
Jul 13, 2016 | The Hill - Pundits Blog
By Rick Fedrizzi
Glaciers in Antarctica are heading toward a point of no return. California is in the fifth year of its record-breaking drought. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have reached historic levels. And the Republican Party? They’re plugging their ears and covering their eyes, ignoring the reality of climate change. -
State Releases Plan to Extend Cap and Trade Through 2050
Jul 13, 2016 | E&E Climatewire
By Debra Kahn
California Gov. Jerry Brown's administration yesterday released a plan to extend the state's landmark cap-and-trade program in a bid to slash greenhouse gas emissions through midcentury. -
EPA Cites Resource Limits To Reject API Call To Upgrade Ozone Monitors
Jul 13, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA officials are citing resource limits as the reason for rejecting a call by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for the agency to require a major upgrade to the national network of ozone emissions monitors, which the oil sector group has long argued is necessary to ensure greater accuracy in readings of the criteria pollutant.
Industry and Association News
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(ACC Blog) Safety Expert Joins ACC to Lead Emergency Response Program
Jul 13, 2016 | American Chemistry Matters
By American Chemistry
Earlier this month the American Chemistry Council was fortunate to have John D. Modine sign on as the new Chief Executive for its CHEMTREC® Division, which serves as a critical source of information for emergency responders regarding incidents involving hazardous materials.
Modine comes to CHEMTREC® with over 20 years experience with the American Petroleum Institute (API), where he acted most recently as Advisor to the President and CEO and previously as Vice President of Global Industry Services, in which capacity he was responsible for API’s certification, safety, training, events and publications programs.
“We are excited to have John join the CHEMTREC® team,” said Raymond J. O’Bryan, CFO and Chief Administrative Officer, American Chemistry Council. “John’s extensive background in managing safety, training and certification programs, along with his seasoned management and leadership skills will help to ensure that CHEMTREC® remains the gold-standard in providing emergency service information to the response community and other valuable stakeholders, as we expand our services and continue to add value for our customers.”
CHEMTREC® is the definitive information resource and solutions provider for hazardous materials and dangerous goods response and is a round-the-clock resource for obtaining immediate critical response information for incidents involving hazardous materials and dangerous goods. CHEMTREC® is linked to the largest network of chemical and hazardous material experts in the world, including chemical and response specialists, public emergency services, and private contractors.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2016/07/safety-expert-joins-acc-to-lead-emergency-response-program/
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IRIS Program Review Aims To Improve Efficiency, Productivity, Staff Morale
Jul 13, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
EPA has tasked one of its contractors with undertaking a process management evaluation of its influential but long-critiqued risk analysis program, with an aim to improving efficiency, predictability and staff morale, as the program has long endured criticism of both its science and its efficiency.
EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program has contracted with ICF International "to evaluate both current program management as well as individual project management activities related to assessment development and production practices, in order to address cross-cutting assessment and organizational issues that impact the development of IRIS assessments," according to a contracting document that EPA released to Inside EPA.
IRIS program leaders and its managers in EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) have struggled to overhaul the program since the National Academy of Sciences issued in 2011 a critical review of a draft IRIS assessment of formaldehyde. Efforts have been aimed at both the program's scientific rigor and its efficiency, but IRIS leaders argue that efforts to improve the program overall have diverted staff from producing assessments. EPA last finalized an assessment in December 2014.
EPA's outgoing NCEA director, Ken Olden, in recent remarks at the latest IRIS stakeholders meeting called the efforts to improve the program generally and advancement of individual assessments a tradeoff, while also expressing frustration at the amount of time some of his efforts to improve IRIS program issues has taken. Olden will be retiring from the agency July 31.
"Unfortunately, it takes people, staff time to do the things . . . we've done over the past four years . . . It's a tradeoff. I accept full responsibility for the tradeoff," Olden said. "My only disappointment is that the culture and organizational structure critical for success was not in place in 2012. We had two choices: We could continue to operate as we were, with the same outcome, the 2011 [NAS] formaldehyde report, or we could reinvent ourselves and we have chosen the latter.
IRIS' productivity problems are not new. Complex assessments, particularly those of chemicals with extensive legacy cleanup issues or commercial importance, often become fraught as regulated entities and other stakeholders seek to sway the staff to make the assessments more favorable to their ends. Some, such as the assessments of dioxin, formaldehyde or hexavalent chromium, remain works in progress years after they were initiated.
The Government Accountability Office in its 2008 review of the IRIS program deemed many of its assessments so outdated as to make the IRIS database obsolete. In May, Republican leaders of the House oversight and science committees wrote to EPA requesting information on the program and questioning its limited productivity.
Work Assignment
An agency source, however, says that the new work assignment is not related to the congressional letters raising process questions. "It's not really connected to the IRIS letters [from Congress]. The thinking around some of these things [began] a lot earlier than that," the source says.
An EPA spokesman said EPA has contracted with ICF "to evaluate current program and project management activities within the center related to the development and production of IRIS assessments. During the period of performance, ICF will conduct an evaluation of current practices within NCEA for the management and development of assessments and coordination of assessment activities."
EPA's research office regularly contracts with ICF, but generally for endeavors such as managing stakeholder or advisory panel meetings, or assisting with drafting scientific documents.
The spokesman adds, "Our expectation through this activity is that organizational issues that may impact the development of IRIS assessments will be identified, and recommendations for improved process methods and/or tools will be developed and implemented to facilitate the pace of development of ongoing assessments."
Further, according to a second agency source, outcomes of the project are expected to include, as well as increased efficiency, "decreased stress and angst caused by uncertainty and delays in projects; improved job satisfaction and engagement of NCEA staff and managers" as well as a "reinvigorated organization; increased impact and value of IRIS work."
The end goal of the contract includes "a written analysis and summary of the current status of program and project management capabilities within the program, recommendations and also implementation of improved process methods and/or tools designed to track and facilitate an increase in the pace of development of multiple ongoing assessments within NCEA," the work assignment document states.
The document details the contractor's plan for reviewing the IRIS process before crafting recommendations, as attending IRIS program meetings such as "IRIS management council meetings, IRIS Division Managers meetings, all-hands science meetings, branch meetings," and scheduled assessment project meetings for two selected chemicals.
Additionally, the document says ICF will conduct on-site interviews with current NCEA management and staff in order to better understand the specific needs of both groups. "Interviews should identify impediments to development within ongoing assessments (specific chemicals) as well as impediments to coordination across assessments," the document says.
After conducting the interviews and attending meetings, ICF will "[d]evelop recommendations for changes to current practices and tools that will increase the pace of assessment management, development, and review including standard project management tools (e.g., integrated master schedule, project risk analysis, stakeholder registry)."
Upcoming Recommendations
The recommendations will outline an implementation process for incorporating the recommended changes and "should define the resources and tools needed to facilitate NCEA's ability (at the management level and the assessment team (technical) level) to both manage multiple, on-going assessments and increase the pace of development and review."
Next, the document explains that to implement its recommendations, the contractor will "[d]evelop or provide tools that will assist in implementation of program or project management activities, and provide training to support implementation of these tools. Recommend reporting or tracking processes, and provide training to support implementation of new processes. Based on recommendations selected by NCEA, identify, track, and analyze metrics to measure progress towards goals, as changes are implemented in the IRIS Program."
Agency sources indicate that the work assignment was identified by EPA's "Lean Action Board," initiated last January at the agency to reduce waste in environmental programs and make them more efficient, ranging from simplifying emissions scoping to revising inspector credentials for pesticides and compliance efforts. Many of the approaches are borrowed from state program actions, then scaled up for use on a national scope.
"It's the LEAN government thing to see if all our steps add value, make our document process" more efficient, the first agency source explains.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/iris-program-review-aims-improve-efficiency-productivity-staff-morale
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Bill Passed in House Would Defund Conflict Minerals Rule
Jul 13, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill, containing an amendment that would defund enforcement of the nation’s conflict minerals reporting rule.
Amendment 34 to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2017 (HR 5485) was introduced by Representative Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan), chairman of the House Financial Services Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee. It states that no funds appropriated by the bill could be used to “implement, administer, or enforce” provisions in section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Section 1502 requires publicly traded companies to conduct due diligence and report to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on whether their sourcing of conflict minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) – is supporting armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or its neighbouring countries.
Having cleared the House on a 239-185 vote, the measure will now be considered in the Senate.
Impact on the ground
NGO, the Enough Project, said that Mr Huizenga’s “11th-hour amendment … would undermine years of progress that have been made by companies, private sector initiatives and regional governments to support conflict-free minerals sourcing from Congo.”
The organisation says that many Congolese communities and leaders support the reporting rule, and “have seen direct positive impacts” from its implementation.
Holly Dranginis, the NGO's senior policy analyst, urged senators to “send a clear message that corporate executives cannot turn a blind eye to where their minerals come from, by voting no on this amendment.”
Mr Huizenga did not respond to Chemical Watch’s request for comment.
But at a November hearing of the House Financial Services Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee in November 2015, Mr Huizenga had said: “Five years later [after the passage of Dodd-Frank Act], I’m very concerned that this well-intended conflict minerals rule is actually harming the very people it was intended to help.”
“As we all know, the SEC has little or no experience in crafting trade sanctions or articulating and enforcing human rights policy, two areas which have not traditionally been within the purview of securities regulation,” Mr Huizenga had added.
Political priorities
Since enactment of Dodd-Frank, major industry groups like the National Association of Manufacturers (Nam) have lauded the stated goals of section 1502, but raised concerns with the cost of implementing the reporting rule. They have also questioned whether the SEC is the appropriate body to address such social objectives.
The US Chamber of Commerce and Nam filed suit against the commission in October 2012, seeking a revision or discarding of the reporting rule.
The ensuing legal battle has gone on for years. Most recently, the SEC did not seek a petition for the court to reconsider its decision that the law cannot require a company to describe whether its products have been found to be “conflict-free” or not.
But the due diligence and reporting requirements under the law continue to remain in place.
And although companies have been required to report their due diligence efforts since 2014, “conflict minerals” have been declared as a lobbying issue for some 20 organisations and companies so far this year, according to publicly available lobbying disclosure forms reviewed by Chemical Watch this week.
These included big spenders and plaintiffs Chamber of Commerce ($15.75m declared lobbying expenses in Q1) and Nam ($1.92m in Q1), which both named “conflict minerals” among the issues they are lobbying on this year.
Nam did not respond to a request for comment on amendment 34.
In a separate proposal, Republicans in the House Financial Services Committee are seeking to repeal and replace Dodd-Frank. Although unlikely to gain momentum, the measure – if passed into law as currently proposed – would fully repeal the conflict minerals reporting rule.
https://chemicalwatch.com/48536/bill-passed-in-house-would-defund-conflict-minerals-rule
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The Growing Threat Of Asbestos
Jul 13, 2016 | Auto Service World
By Steve Pawlett
The Canadian aftermarket is slowly waking up to the realization that asbestos is still coming into Canada in the form of imported brake friction products – and the volume at which it is entering the country continues to grow.
According to recent Canadian media reports, Statistics Canada reported that imports of asbestos-related items increased to $6 million in 2015 from $4.9 million in 2013. The reports suggest that the majority of these goods are from asbestos brake linings and pads, valued at some $3.6 million in 2014.
Asbestos was once a commonly used material in a wide range of products in Canada, including floor tiles and thermal/electrical insulation; products used in the construction of homes, hospitals, schools, office towers and apartment buildings; and automotive brake friction. Asbestos in brakes provided a means for better heat distribution and noise reduction. However, asbestos has a long history of causing health issues to those who are exposed to it. Long-term exposure can potentially lead to two kinds of cancers: cancer of the lung tissue, and mesothelioma, a cancer of the membrane that surrounds the lungs and other internal organs.
Since the 1980s, there has been an ongoing effort to remove asbestos from use in construction and manufacturing of products, including in the manufacture of brake friction.
While domestic makers of brake friction in Canada and the United States have moved away from using asbestos, this has not stopped foreign makers of brake friction from doing so. This has meant that asbestos is still finding its way into brake friction products coming into North America.
“We can tell you that the Ministry of Labour has been aware of brake pads with asbestos being imported into Canada since 2012,” says Janet Deline, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Labour. “According to Statistics Canada reports, more than $2.6 million worth of brake pads containing asbestos entered Canada in 2011, with more than half imported into Ontario. While the ministry does not track the use of aftermarket brakes in this industry, we are aware that these products pose an increased risk of asbestos-related diseases for auto brake mechanics.”
What may come as a surprise to Canadian automotive technicians is the Canadian government does not currently prevent the importation of brake friction products containing asbestos.
Rick Jamieson, president and CEO of ABS Friction Inc., says he is not surprised that Canadian technicians are unaware; Canadians as a whole are not aware that products that use asbestos are still allowed to come into Canada. “The public thinks it is banned, and mechanics think it is banned, and the reality is it is not,” Jamieson says. “If it was banned in Canada, it would not be imported here.”
Jamieson says that the reason why such products come into the Canadian market is simple – price. Brake fiction using asbestos in its formulation is sold as an inexpensive aftermarket brake product.
Steve Fletcher, managing director
with the Automotive Recyclers of Canada, says it has been some 25 years since asbestos was used by OEMs in domestically produced brake friction. However, Fletcher adds, an importer of brake friction products may not be aware that asbestos is in the products, because there is nothing on the product to indicate that asbestos has been used.
For members involved in vehicle recycling, the issue of asbestos only came up recently when the government of Ontario began consultations last year looking at amending the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) and proposals regarding standards for end-of-life vehicle processors.
“We always had a voluntary code of how our members can depollute a vehicle,” says Fletcher. “We have taken [that code] to the government as to how vehicles can be handled, how to safely handle the removal of ozone-depleting substances, the collection of fluids and such. [The government] put asbestos on the table about a year ago, and our assumption was that [asbestos] had already been phased out.”
The amendments proposed for end-of-life vehicle waste disposal included a range of contaminates that now have to be removed prior to the crushing or shredding of a vehicle. These contaminates include such obvious things as fuels, brake and steering fluids, coolant fluids, refrigerants, batteries, and tires. Amongst the things to be removed were brake pads containing asbestos (go to www.ebr.gov.on.ca and click the links to see the list of proposed products).
“Right now, when we dismantle a vehicle, we are not going down to the brake pad level, and we are not cracking open the brake drum,” Fletcher continues. “Ten years ago, we might have done so, as some of the parts could be reused. But the economics now make doing so not worth the effort. But under the new regulations, with the requirement to remove the brakes, you are now exposing us to a hazard that we were not exposed to before.”
For technicians, the hazard comes from exposure to dust that can contain asbestos and can be released during a brake job on a vehicle. That can occur from a technician cleaning brake assemblies and clutch housings, grinding brake linings, and even sweeping floors. Health and Safety Ontario has listed a series of safe work guidelines to protect technicians from asbestos dust. nJNWhile You Are Working
Make certain your work area is well ventilated with a mechanical local exhaust, or wear a supplied-air positive-pressure respirator; if necessary, consult a hygienist or a ventilation engineer to make sure that you have the proper exhaust system.
Keep your hair covered and wear protective clothing such as coveralls
that you can take off to avoid carrying the dust with you.
Remove dust using a vacuum equipped with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter; do not bang the drum to remove dust, or blow dust out of brake drums or clutch housings with an air line.
If a vacuum is not available, wet the assembly with a wet-washing unit, low-pressure water, or gentle spray; then wipe with a clean, damp rag and dispose of the used rags in a plastic bag while they are still wet. Carefully close the bag without disturbing the asbestos.
Collect washings and dust on floors and around equipment and dispose of them using a vacuum with a HEPA filter or by wet-sweeping.
Use a slow-turning lathe to reduce dust instead of grinding brake linings.
“Currently there are no specific safety blitzes focused on asbestos exposure during vehicle brake replacement and repair inspections; however, ministry inspectors may look for this hazard when they visit repair garages for any reason,” says the Ministry of Labour’s Deline. “During these visits they take enforcement action if they determine that employers are not complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations regarding worker exposure to asbestos. Under OHSA, there are three regulations addressing occupational exposures to asbestos: O. Reg. 490/09 – Designated Substances; O. Reg. 278/05 Designated Substance – Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations; and Regulation 833 – Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents.”
Jean-Francois Champagne, president of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada), says the AIA is working to have the government of Canada move toward banning the importation of products that contain asbestos.
“There is no specific federal ban on asbestos, and we announced in a press release that we and others are asking for a complete ban on asbestos products,” Champagne explains. “We want to make sure our members understand the issue and the risk posed by asbestos, and taking all steps that are reasonably possible to make sure that they are not importing, selling, and installing and servicing products with asbestos. It means talking with your supplier and distributors, and talking to importers.”
Champagne adds that any legislation proposed by the federal government needs to be structured in a way that not only stops products coming into Canada, but allows time to remove existing products from the marketplace and from vehicles.
“The AIA would not endorse a plan that would suggest we pull all cars off the road and check what brake friction the vehicle has, and if asbestos is found, to remove and replace that friction right away. That is just not feasible. How you phase in such legislation is an important question.”
The United States has been moving aggressively to tackle the problem, both at the state and federal levels of government. Recently, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Council of the States, and the Brake Manufacturers Council that addressed the issue of copper in brake friction. California and Washington State had earlier passed laws to regulate copper in brake friction. Those laws effectively became an industry-side de-facto standard. As well as reducing copper in brake friction, asbestos and other materials are covered as well. The addition of asbestos will impact importation of brake friction that uses asbestos in its formulations.
“A Department of Commerce report identified US$2.2 million in asbestos-containing brake friction materials were imported into the U.S. in 2013; China accounts for more than half of those imports,” says Leigh Merino, senior director, regulatory affairs, with the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). “U.S. manufacturers do not use asbestos in their products, due to toxicity and state laws. For example, in addition to reducing
copper in brake friction materials, the California and Washington laws also required the removal of other constituents in brake pads, including asbestiform and other materials, by the years 2014 and 2015, respectively.
“Furthermore, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Reform legislation currently being considered in Congress would provide stronger EPA authority to regulate toxic chemicals already in commerce. MEMA and AASA have indicated industry support for stronger authority in this area as well as a renewed EPA effort to regulate asbestos, particularly in imported brakes.”
Merino adds the government-industry collaboration on the voluntary “Copper-free Brakes Initiative” memorandum of understanding, which is based on the timelines and requirements of California and Washington, was necessary to establish a national-level program to ensure consistency in reporting requirements and recognition of the industry’s compliance with those laws.
“Brake manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, and other key stakeholders have fully supported the efforts,” Merino continues. “California and Washington State have enforcement authority clearly articulated in their respective laws where they can assess civil penalties for parties that knowingly violate the law. Civil penalties can be levied against not only brake friction materials manufacturers, but also to distributors, retailers, and vehicle manufacturers.”http://www.autoserviceworld.com/jobbernews/growing-threat-asbestos/
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2017 Will Bring Fundamental Gas Market Shift, EIA Says
Jul 13, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The United States will become a net natural gas exporter for the first time next year, as liquefied natural gas shipments and pipeline flows to Mexico are set to outpace import volumes, according to federal energy trackers.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its latest short-term energy outlook, said the full startup of Cheniere Energy Inc.'s Sabine Pass LNG terminal next year will tip the country toward net natural gas exports in the second half of 2017.
"For the first time since 1957, the United States is on track to export more natural gas than it imports; this will occur during the second half of next year as more liquefied natural gas export capacity comes online," EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said in a statement on the latest data.
The Sabine Pass LNG plant sent out its first export cargo in February and is slowly bringing equipment online to reach its full design capacity, with the last of five LNG processing "trains" expected to be commissioned next year (EnergyWire, Feb. 25).
The plant is the first of five U.S. projects under construction to begin shipments. The start of operations marks the beginning of a new era for U.S. LNG exports, which until now have been limited to shipments from a small facility in Kenai, Alaska, that has shipped fuel to Japan since 1959.
Adding to the long-anticipated LNG export flows is a less-heralded export expansion occurring along the country's southern border.
A new pipeline, the Los Ramones line, has been sending gas from Texas' Eagle Ford Shale play into Mexico through a phased deployment that has been rolling out since 2014. Last month, EIA reported pipeline exports to Mexico have averaged 3.5 billion cubic feet per day so far this year, 37 percent above the levels seen one year ago and 89 percent higher than the previous five-year average.
EIA reports that natural gas imports to the United States have fallen significantly this year, hitting a 30-year low of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day in March, as imports from Canada have been displaced by booming domestic shale gas production. U.S. natural gas storage levels in March, at the official end of the winter heating season, were at a record high due to strong production and a mild winter that limited drawdowns.
"Although U.S. natural gas exports are increasing, there are still abundant supplies to meet domestic demand as natural gas inventories are expected to be at a record high for the start of the upcoming winter heating season," Sieminski said yesterday.
The agency's forecast suggests that natural gas production could rise somewhat this year and next as a result of stronger pricing and demand from exports, increasing by 1 percent in 2016 and 2.4 percent in 2017.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/07/13/stories/1060040193
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Koch Brothers' Congressman Seeks to Block Efforts to Prevent Chemical Catastrophe
Jul 13, 2016 | Truth Out
By David Halperin
Republican congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas, who represents Wichita, seems to be doing the bidding of the Koch Brothers once again: He has introduced legislation to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing or enforcing a rule to improve the safety of America's most dangerous chemical plants. Wichita is the home of Koch Industries, which has been the most aggressive opponent of efforts to make these plants safer.
The Obama EPA's proposed rule, issued in March, is -- in the opinion of former George W. Bush EPA head Christine Todd Whitman, experienced retired generals, the US Chemical Safety Board, community and labor leaders and many others -- far too weak to adequately protect the public from the serious dangers represented by hazardous chemical facilities, which Senator Barack Obama once called "stationary weapons of mass destruction spread all across the country." But at least the rule takes some steps toward requiring chemical plant operators to address the problem. And that's apparently too much for Pompeo to tolerate.
Perhaps that's because Pompeo's extensive financial and political ties to brothers David and Charles Koch have gained him the nickname "the congressman from Koch."
Koch Industries was an investor in Thayer Aerospace, the business that Pompeo founded before running for Congress in 2010.
In 2014, Koch Industries supported Congressman Pompeo in a hotly-contested GOP primary contest against former Rep. Todd Tiahrt, whom the Kochs had supported for the seat for 16 years before he made a failed run for the Senate. For the 2014 election cycle, Koch Industries was Pompeo's top donor by far, with $104,400 in individual donations, plus the maximum $10,000 contribution from the Koch political action committee.
While backing Pompeo, Koch Industries also has been the most fervent, big-spending lobbyist against improved chemical safety, at least since the September 11 attacks focused greater public attention on the risks.
A chemical catastrophe could result from accident, natural disaster, or deliberate attack. A 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas, which killed 15 people and injured 160 more, triggered an executive order by President Obama that has produced the new proposed rule; federal investigators concluded in May that the explosion was set off intentionally.
There surely would be scrutiny of a weak EPA rule, or of the government's failure to enact any rule at all, if one day we did have a major chemical catastrophe. The pesticide plant in Bhopal India, which killed 20,000 people following a 1984 accident, was owned by a US company, Union Carbide. If that plant had been located in the US and 20,000 people had died here, we would have fixed this problem long ago.
In order to protect the American people, the EPA should be moving to strengthen the rule by requiring plant operators to move to safer technologies where feasible. Pompeo's effort to, instead, eliminate any regulation at all is the height of irresponsibility -- sacrificing public safety at the behest of special interests.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/36811-koch-brothers-congressman-seeks-to-block-efforts-to-prevent-chemical-catastrophe
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Oil-Train Car Upgrades Being Left to Industry is Problematic, NTSB Chief Says
Jul 13, 2016 | Oregon Live
By Associated Press
Accident-prone tank cars used to haul crude oil and ethanol by rail could remain in service for another 15 years under federal rules that allow companies to phase in upgrades to the aging fleet, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
Transportation officials and railroad representatives have touted the rules as a key piece of their efforts to stave off future disasters, after a string of fiery derailments and big spills that raised concerns about the crude-by-rail industry.
Yet without mandatory, periodic benchmarks for meeting the requirements, the decision to upgrade to safer tank car designs "is left entirely to tank car fleet owners, and may be driven by market factor influences, not safety improvements," NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said in a letter Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Tom Simpson with the Railway Supply Institute, which represents tank car manufacturers and owners, said the industry is committed to putting stronger cars in place. Members of the group will meet deadlines for replacing or upgrading the cars, he said, noting that demand for rail cars has eased after crude-by-rail shipments decreased over the past two years in response to lower oil prices.
"The need to modify or install new cars isn't as urgent as when the rule was issued," Simpson said.
In recent years, accidents involving the older cars have occurred in Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, Illinois, West Virginia and Canada.
The most notable was in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, where 47 people were killed when a runaway oil train derailed in 2013. During the most recent accident last month in Oregon, 42,000 gallons of crude oil spilled, sparking a massive fire that burned for 14 hours near the small town of Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge.
Cars built before the rule was enacted do not have to be fully replaced until 2029, although most would be required to come off the tracks sooner.
Just over 10,300 stronger tank cars mandated by the new rules are available for service, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press from the Association of American Railroads.
That's equivalent to about 20 percent of the 51,500 tank cars used to haul crude and ethanol during the first quarter of 2016.
Transportation Department Press Secretary Clark Pettig said in response to the NTSB's criticism that the schedule to retrofit older cars was locked in by Congress in a transportation bill approved last year. The congressional deadline represents "the absolute last moment" to meet the new standards, Pettig said.
"We agree with NTSB that industry should work to beat those deadlines," he said.
A Wednesday meeting was planned in Washington, D.C., where government and industry officials were set to update the safety board on progress addressing the issue.
Safety board member Robert Sumwalt told The Associated Press that federal regulators need to set milestones to hold the industry accountable.
"There's been 28 accidents over the past 10 years. That's almost three accidents a year," Sumwalt said. "Unfortunately, history shows we probably will have more accidents involving flammable liquids."
A bill from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and other Democratic lawmakers would offer tax credits for companies that upgrade their cars during the next several years.
"Communities near train tracks, like Mosier, Oregon, must be confident that companies are using the safest tank cars possible," Wyden said.
The railroad association said only 700 of the least resilient model of the older-style tank cars remain in service. Most of the cars in current use have at least some improvements, such as shields at either end of the car to help prevent punctures during derailments.
Transportation officials cautioned, however, that thousands of idled "legacy cars" could quickly come back online if oil prices rise and shipment volumes rebound.
Most tank cars are owned or leased by companies that ship fuel by rail, not the railroads themselves.
"Every tank car carrying crude or ethanol needs to be upgraded or replaced," said railroad association spokesman Ed Greenberg.
http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/07/oil-train_car_upgrades_being_l.html
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Republicans Aren't Pro-Business, They are Anti-Environment
Jul 13, 2016 | The Hill - Pundits Blog
By Rick Fedrizzi
Glaciers in Antarctica are heading toward a point of no return. California is in the fifth year of its record-breaking drought. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have reached historic levels. And the Republican Party? They’re plugging their ears and covering their eyes, ignoring the reality of climate change.
That’s bad news for the planet, but it’s also bad news for the GOP. Unfortunately for them, their obliviousness to the realities of global warming might cost them the November presidential election.
As the GOP gears up for its 2016 national convention in Cleveland, the country is poring over candidates’ positioning on the economy, immigration, women’s rights, and more. But one of the most worrying things about the GOP is its stance on climate change.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump opines that global warming is “created by and for the Chinese” to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says doesn't know if climate change is a real problem because he's “not a scientist.” And Texas Senator Ted Cruz calls it a “so-called scientific theory.”
These statements ignore the reality of climate refugees in Louisiana, diesel-induced asthma in Newark, New Jersey, and urban heat islands around the country that are increasing energy consumption, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emission. And they ignore the vast economic potential of addressing climate change head-on.
Republicans may bill themselves as the pro-business party, but their stance on climate change reveals the opposite. This will divert valuable votes in November, because eco-consciousness isn’t a fad. It’s an intrinsic part of the economy and the workforce. And it’s only growing stronger.
In 2011, the United States’ “clean economy” employed over 2.7 million workers, according to a study by the nonpartisan Brookings Institute – more than either the fossil fuel or bioscience industries. During the Great Recession, the clean economy outperformed the nation as a whole. And — crucial to the GOP bid to be what Donald Trump called a “worker’s party” — the clean economy actually offers more opportunities and better pay for low- and middle-skilled workers than the national economy as a whole, the Brookings study found.
Greening buildings specifically has been a significant business driver as well. In the green building sector alone, green construction added $167.4 billion to the U.S. GDP from 2011 to 2014, according to a 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study, and it has catalyzed significant innovation in materials, products and services to deliver the energy, water and waste efficiencies truly green buildings require. This year, it will employ more than 2.3 million Americans, and by 2018, it is expected to nearly double in size.
Despite Republican hand-wringing, companies aren’t floundering because they’re going green. They’re actually flourishing.
Take IBM and its climate protection policies. Between 1990 and 2014, the technological giant conserved 6.8 million megawatt hours of electricity consumption, avoided 4.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and correspondingly saved $550 million. Consuming less energy meant that IBC spent less money on fuel and electricity—and put those funds to better use elsewhere.
Or take the global consumer brand behemoth Unilever, which launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 to integrate the practice of sustainability into a number of their brands and products, with a goal of halving the environmental footprint of the making and use of Unilever’s products by 2020. In 2015, Unilever’s sustainable brands grew 30 percent faster than its other products and contributed to half of the company’s total yearly growth.
Yet another example of sustainable practices being good for companies’ bottom lines: in 2015, General Motors made over $1 billion through its recycling and reuse program, which recycled and composted more than two million metric tons of waste materials globally, converted about 144,000 metric tons of waste to energy, and avoided 8.9 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Going green is good for everyone: companies’ profit margins, employees’ health, the economy generally, and the future of our planet as a whole.According to polls surveying Republican voters, two of their priority issues are employment and the economy – and sustainable business practices have huge positive effects on both.
Come November, it may be hard for the GOP to paint itself as the pro-business party given its childish insistence on denying global warming in the face of the steady growth of the green economy. According to a recent poll by three prominent Republican polling firms, most GOP voters think humans are contributing to climate change--including 54 percent of self-identified conservative Republicans. Those same voters are the ones who are worried about the economy and their jobs.
Saving our planet isn’t a trite sentiment; it’s an imperative that benefits businesses, employees, the economy, and the future. Voters already know this, and they’ll look for candidates who are ready to do business in the 21st century when it comes to the green economy, not candidates stuck in the 1950s. And if the GOP cares at all about the party’s own sustainability, they would do well to pay attention.
Fedrizzi is CEO and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/287414-republicans-arent-pro-business-they-are-anti
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State Releases Plan to Extend Cap and Trade Through 2050
Jul 13, 2016 | E&E Climatewire
By Debra Kahn
California Gov. Jerry Brown's administration yesterday released a plan to extend the state's landmark cap-and-trade program in a bid to slash greenhouse gas emissions through midcentury.
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) proposed amendments to the program yesterday evening that envision a carbon market through 2050 with increasing allowance prices, sending a signal to businesses that have been waiting to see if they should keep participating in the state's quarterly auctions.
The plan to extend the carbon market comes as state lawmakers and Brown (D) are engaged in negotiations to set a new overarching emissions target for 2030. It's unclear whether ARB has the authority to go beyond 2020 currently, thanks to a combination of potentially limiting language in the original climate law, A.B. 32, and a lawsuit challenging the legality of cap-and-trade auctions under a law requiring a two-thirds legislative majority to approve taxes.
The amendments released yesterday would establish decreasing emissions caps for covered entities through 2031, to reach 40 percent below 1990 levels, and would include preliminary caps through 2050 "to signal the long-term trajectory of the program to inform investment decisions."
Other proposed amendments would provide for compliance with U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, allocate allowances to businesses in order to prevent emissions from escaping state borders, and streamline how emitters register and participate in auctions.
ARB plans to consider the amendments at a board meeting in September before formally adopting them sometime in the spring of 2017.
The state experienced a sharp decline in demand for allowances in its last auction, selling 10 percent of available allowances. Observers have attributed the market slowdown both to an oversupply of credits -- emissions are projected to be comfortably below the cap in 2020 -- and to uncertainty about the program's legal status (ClimateWire, May 26).
ARB has said it would like to work with lawmakers but doesn't think legislative authority is necessary, as Brown set a target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 in an executive order last year.
But lawmakers failed to pass the bill extending carbon targets through 2030, S.B. 32, on their first attempt last year, and Republican state senators commissioned a legal opinion finding that they may need legislative authority beyond Brown's order (ClimateWire, April 25).
To fix oversupply issues, the amendments clarify that businesses can use current allowances to cover their emissions after 2020, which should increase demand in the near term, presuming that buyers have confidence that the market will persist after 2020. They also say that unsold allowances will eventually be placed in a higher-priced reserve that will be made available if prices reach a certain threshold. At that point, the excess allowances will cost $60 more per ton than the minimum auction price, which itself is pegged to the rate of inflation.
That provision should entice buyers to snap up allowances as soon as the next auction, which is Aug. 16, one market observer said.
"If you believe this system is credible, you should buy allowances at today's low prices and hold them for the post-2020 period," said Danny Cullenward, a research associate at the Carnegie Institution for Science who questions ARB's post-2020 legal footing. "Otherwise, you'll have to buy them back at a much higher price later."
Another observer said the proposals would ease market jitters.
"Looking at the amendments and the adjustments made, it looks like they responded to the uncertainties that are out there," said Steve Frisch, president of the Sierra Business Council, a group of 4,000 businesses based in the Sierra Nevada that advocates for climate- and environment-friendly policies. "They created more of an opportunity for allowance reserves; they really created mechanisms for bringing allowances back into the market to stabilize prices if they fluctuate dramatically."
A 'model' state faces legal uncertainty
ARB also said it envisions continuing to hold joint auctions with Quebec, Canada, and linking markets with Ontario in 2018. But it said it doesn't expect an imminent link with the state of Washington, which recently came out with a carbon-capping plan, or an arrangement to accept carbon offsets from tropical forests in Brazil, which has been under discussion for years.
Environmental justice advocates, who have long criticized cap and trade for its propensity to allow businesses to avoid reducing emissions at the source, praised the lack of an immediate link to international deforestation programs.
"That's one good thing," said Amy Vanderwarker, co-director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance.
The amendments also envision submitting the cap-and-trade regulations to U.S. EPA to serve as California's compliance plan under the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, if the Supreme Court stay of the federal regulations is lifted.
An advocate for sustainable business practices said California's leadership on the Clean Power Plan could spur other states to pursue carbon pricing.
"From COP 21 to many other venues, California is seen as a model," said Kirsten James, senior manager of California policy and partnerships at Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit. "From that perspective, as well, for cap and trade and setting a carbon price in other states and at the national level, we're really looking to California."
Cullenward pointed out that legal questions about the program's post-2020 status should also apply to ARB's submission to U.S. EPA. If cap and trade is not legal, then EPA should not accept it as a compliance plan, he said, even if California's emissions are projected to be well below the federal cap for 2030.
"With this legal uncertainty in the state, it'll be an interesting question to say to the federal government, 'Don't worry about that; we've got that taken care of,'" he said.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/13/stories/1060040202
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EPA Cites Resource Limits To Reject API Call To Upgrade Ozone Monitors
Jul 13, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA officials are citing resource limits as the reason for rejecting a call by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for the agency to require a major upgrade to the national network of ozone emissions monitors, which the oil sector group has long argued is necessary to ensure greater accuracy in readings of the criteria pollutant.
At a June 29 meeting of EPA's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) in Arlington, VA, Howard Feldman -- API's senior director of scientific and regulatory affairs -- asked acting EPA air policy chief Janet McCabe whether the agency intends to replace the existing Federal Reference Method monitors with new "interference-free" monitors.
API says that the existing generation of monitors have a tendency to over-read ozone, making it harder for areas to stay in attainment with national ambient air quality standards, which EPA last year tightened down to 70 parts per billion (ppb) from the prior limit of 75 ppb established in 2008.
The monitoring issue becomes more important as ozone standards become more stringent and small differences in ozone readings can make the difference between attainment and nonattainment. Areas in nonattainment must impose strict pollution controls on industry, or face the ultimate sanction of losing federal highway funds.
At the CAAAC meeting, McCabe deferred on the issue to EPA senior staffer Chet Wayland, who said that EPA's plan is for states to replace monitors with the latest models as the old monitors reach the end of their useful lives. "There is not adequate resources to buy 1,300 new monitors," Wayland said.
Feldman asked whether some of the proceeds from EPA's recent settlement agreement with Volkswagen over the company's use of "defeat devices" to cheat on federal emissions tests could be used to buy new monitors.
McCabe said that could not happen because the settlement funds are available to states only to cut emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen oxides, and not for monitoring purposes.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-cites-resource-limits-reject-api-call-upgrade-ozone-monitors
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