Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 7/28/16
-
(ACC Mentioned) Ethics Reporter: 13 Businesses That Employ Lobbyists Contributed At Least $50,000 To Legislative Conference
Jul 29, 2016 | KYForward
Earlier this month, nearly 1,500 state legislators, legislative staff, governmental officials, and family members from 15 states attended the four days of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) Annual Meeting in Lexington. -
(ACC Mentioned) PP Prices Drop Another Penny
Jul 28, 2016 | Plastics News
By Frank Esposito
Continued pressure from imported material has sent North American polypropylene resin prices down another penny per pound since July 1. -
EPA Advances TCE Rule Marking First TSCA Section 6 Bid Since Asbestos
Jul 28, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
PA has sent for White House review a proposed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 6 rule to ban or restrict the sales or manufacture of trichloroethylene (TCE), the first attempt by the agency to use the section to restrict a chemical since its last effort -- seeking to ban asbestos -- was vacated by a federal appeals court in 1991. -
EU Calls for Comments on Bisphenol A Limit in Toys
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
The European Commission is calling for comments through Aug. 24 on a draft European Union directive that would amend an EU law on toys by reducing the permitted limit for the suspected endocrine disrupter bisphenol A. -
New York Toxic Water Class Claims Consolidated
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Steven M. Sellers
Four proposed class actions over water contamination in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., will be consolidated, a federal court ruled (Baker v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 2016 BL 241312, N.D.N.Y., No. 16-cv-00220, 7/27/16). -
(ACC Mentioned) American Chemistry Council Releases Supplemental Study On Mixed Waste Processing
Jul 24, 2016 | Recycling Today
By REW Staff
The newly released supplemental report reviews ten specific types of commercially proven equipment that are traditionally used or adapted for the handling of solid waste, such as optical sorting systems, bag openers, and air separation systems and densifiers. -
Democrats Solidify Leftward Move in Climate, Energy Positions
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
As the Democratic convention comes to a close, it is clear that the Democratic Party has moved significantly to the left on climate and energy issues. -
(ACC Mentioned) Railroads Might Have To Let Rivals Serve Their Customers
Jul 28, 2016 | AP (In Salon)
Freight railroads could be forced to allow competing railroads to serve some customers along their tracks if federal regulators approve a new rule. -
Citing Election, EPA Delays Work On FY18 Budget While Awaiting FY17 Bill
Jul 29, 2016 | Inside EPA
By David LaRoss
A top EPA budget official says the agency is waiting until after the presidential election to craft a fiscal year 2018 funding request even while facing uncertainty over whether Congress will approve a stand-alone EPA FY17 funding bill, though the official expects lawmakers to approve some FY17 funding measure ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline. -
Hillary Clinton's Climate Army
Jul 28, 2016 | PoliticoPro
By Andrew Restuccia
Hillary Clinton is assembling a virtual army of formal and informal advisers to help her continue President Barack Obama's policies on energy, the environment and climate change — offering a rough picture of who might go on to claim high-level jobs in her administration. -
Democrats Tout Clinton as Only Choice to Tackle Climate
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven and Dean Scott
The Democratic National Convention headed to its final hours July 28 with environmental and climate activists setting a low bar for any significant mentions of those issues by Hillary Clinton in her acceptance speech but Democrats' four days in Philadelphia revealed fundamental differences in approaches and tone by the two parties now that they have formally selected their candidates for the White House in 2017.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time
Transportation News
Environment News
Full Text of Stories Below
-
Jul 29, 2016 | KYForward
Earlier this month, nearly 1,500 state legislators, legislative staff, governmental officials, and family members from 15 states attended the four days of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) Annual Meeting in Lexington.
SLC is the southern office of the Council of State Governments, which has its national headquarters in Lexington.
Legislative organizations such as SLC, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) fund many of their activities with membership dues and contributions from businesses and organizations.
Businesses and organizations that employ lobbyists in Kentucky can make contributions to organizations that are exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, and those contributions are not required to be reported as “lobbying expenditures”, unless they are specifically earmarked for receptions, meals, or events to which Kentucky legislators are invited.
The program for SLC’s annual meeting listed the sponsors who supported the conference with financial, material, or other types of contributions. SLC sponsorship information identified seven levels of sponsorship, including Underwriter ($100,000 and above); Partner ($75,000 – $99,999); Platinum ($50,000 – $74,999); Gold ($25,000 – $49,999); Silver ($10,000 – $24,999); Bronze ($5,000 – $9,999); and Supporter ($2,500 – $4,999).
If all sponsors gave the minimum in their level of sponsorship, at least $1.67 million in money, goods, and services was donated to the Lexington conference. The sponsors that employ lobbyists in Kentucky are listed below in bold type.
SLC’s Underwriters were: Keeneland, Kentucky Distillers Association, LG&E and KU Energy, University of Kentucky Athletics, and University of Kentucky Health Care.
Kentucky Power, a unit of American Electric Power, is listed as a Partner, while Platinum sponsors were: Altria Client Services, City of Lexington, Duke Energy Kentucky, Kentucky Coal Association, RAI Services (parent of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco), and United Parcel Service.
SLC’s Gold sponsors were: AARP, Anthem, AT&T, CVS Health, Genentech, Kentucky Association of Electric Co-operatives: East Kentucky Power Cooperative and Big Rivers Electric Corporation, Kentucky Highway Industries: Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors, Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky, and Kentucky Crushed Stone Association; MGM Resorts International; Norton Healthcare; Passport Health Plan; Republic Services, Inc.; and WellCare Health Plans.
The Silver sponsors for the Lexington meeting were: Baptist Health, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Churchill Downs, Inc., Columbia Gas of Kentucky, Comcast, CSX Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, Kentucky Beverage Association, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky County Clerks Association, Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance, Kentucky Farm Bureau, Kentucky Guild of Brewers, Kentucky Horse Park, Kentucky League of Cities, Kentucky Retail Federation, Koch Companies Public Sector, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, McCarthy Strategic Solutions, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, Phillips 66, RJ Corman, State Farm Insurance, Swedish Match, Toyota, and Walmart.
The Bronze sponsors were: American Chemistry Council, Advantage Capital Partners, AmeriHealth Caritas, Amgen, Anheuser-Busch, Atmos Energy Corporation, Big Ass Solutions, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees/Teamsters, CareSource–Kentucky, Charter Communications, Community Ventures Corporation, Dart Container Corporation, EQT Corporation, Express Scripts, Inc., HCA, Home Builders Association of Kentucky, ITG Brands, Insurance Institute of Kentucky, Kentucky American Water & Tennessee American Water, Kentucky Association of Counties, Kentucky Credit Union League, Kentucky Hospital Association, Kentucky Optometric Association, Legalize Kentucky Now, LexisNexis, Mountain Valley Pipeline, Perdue Farms, T-Mobile USA, Inc., VisitLEX, and Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Kentucky.
SLC’s Supporters in Lexington were: American Pharmacy Services Corporation, Babbage Cofounder, Chevron, Commerce Lexington, Cull & Hayden PSC, Eli Lilly and Company, Enova International, Goss Samford, Greater Louisville Inc., Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky, Kentuckians for Better Transportation, Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, Kentucky Association of Realtors, Kentucky Beer Wholesalers Association, Kentucky Blood Center, Kentucky Cable Telecommunications Association, Kentucky Council of Area Development Districts, Kentucky County Judge/Executive Association, Kentucky Justice Association, Kentucky Malt Beverage Council, Kentucky Medical Association, Kentucky Professional Fire Fighters, Kentucky School Boards Association, Kentucky Society of CPAs, KentuckyOne Health, Lexmark International, Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Merck, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Owensboro Health, Procter & Gamble, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Wells Fargo, and Windstream Communications.
Whitfield broke House rules, committee finds
The House Committee on Ethics publicly reprimanded U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield for violating House rules in connection with his wife’s former lobbying activities on behalf of the Humane Society of the United States.
The committee found that Whitfield failed to prohibit lobbying contacts between his wife, Connie Harriman-Whitfield, and his staff, and that he “dispensed special privileges” to her, warranting the committee’s formal “reproval” of the 11-term congressman from Hopkinsville in Western Kentucky.
While the committee accepted Whitfield’s assertion that he did not intentionally disobey House rules and did not do so to benefit himself or Harriman-Whitfield, it nevertheless concluded that he “failed to take the proper care to avoid” violations. Those violations were “significant and numerous enough” to warrant discipline, according to the committee’s report.
Harriman-Whitfield was senior policy adviser for the Humane Society Legislative Fund, which describes itself as “a separate lobbying affiliate” of the Humane Society of the United States. Politico reported last July that she was no longer lobbying for the HSLF.
But from January 2011 until “at least 2015,” Whitfield allowed his wife to contact his staff regarding federal legislation in which the HSLF had an interest, according to the committee’s report.
Those contacts included Harriman-Whitfield’s participation in arranging meetings involving other House members and advocates for legislation that Whitfield sponsored and the HSLF supported, seeking to ban the practice of “soring” show horses — applying “foreign substances” to alter a horse’s gait.
Harriman-Whitfield’s role also included “directly advocating” that her husband vote for certain legislation, and that his staff “alter the language” of certain bills, the committee found.
These contacts “illustrated Ms. Harriman’s unique level of access to, and influence on, Rep. Whitfield’s staff,” the report states.
The committee also questioned Whitfield’s assertion to investigators that he was unaware until October 2013 of the House rule against spousal lobbying. That was nearly three years after Harriman-Whitfield registered as a lobbyist.
Whitfield had a duty to know the applicable rules, the committee concluded. Moreover, its report cites an email sent by Harriman-Whitfield to her husband in December 2012, referring to a newspaper reporter’s inquiry about her lobbying work.
In addition, members of Whitfield’s staff knew that his wife was a lobbyist “well before October 2013,” the committee found, raising questions about how and why they were aware of her status, “yet Rep. Whitfield remained unaware.”
Whitfield also claimed to investigators that his wife’s efforts would have constituted lobbying only if she intended to influence him or his staff, according to the report, and that he had received no “public guidance” leading him to believe otherwise.
But the Humane Society Legislative Fund viewed her activities as being on its behalf, the committee found, and Whitfield never responded to a suggestion made to his wife by the committee’s chief counsel that he request a formal opinion about the propriety of her lobbying contacts.
Whitfield claimed that those contacts were merely “reminders” because he and his wife were “completely aligned” on all issues she discussed with his staff. The committee called that a “mischaracterization” of the facts, in part because he voted against two legislative amendments that Harriman-Whitfield and the HSLF supported.
Whitfield also contended that his wife’s access to and influence on his staff didn’t change once she became a lobbyist. That they remained the same “is precisely the point,” the committee concluded. Her access, and the staff’s treatment of her, “should have changed accordingly. But by all accounts, nothing changed.”
Whitfield, who is not seeking reelection, issued a statement saying he accepted the committee’s decision and stressing that any wrongdoing on his part was “completely unintentional.”
“I have done my best to lead my life — both as a citizen and as a Member of Congress — with absolute integrity and honesty,” Whitfield’s statement said. “Despite adhering to those principles, I made a mistake.”
http://www.kyforward.com/ethics-reporter-13-businesses-that-employ-lobbyists-contributed-at-least-50000-to-legislative-conference/
-
(ACC Mentioned) PP Prices Drop Another Penny
Jul 28, 2016 | Plastics News
By Frank Esposito
Continued pressure from imported material has sent North American polypropylene resin prices down another penny per pound since July 1.
The 1-cent drop in July marks the fifth straight monthly decrease. Regional PP prices had fallen 4 cents in June. The total 5-month decline has averaged 10 cents per pound, although buyers have seen these decreases come through in varying increments at different times.
Growing supplies of PP imported from outside of North America have caused regional suppliers to drop their prices to meet competitive situations.
“We are still feeling the effects of imports and the fact that domestic producers have not cut [production] rates,” market analyst Scott Newell said. “Inventories dropped in June, but overall levels are up 170 million pounds since the beginning of the year, not including import inventories.”
Newell — who’s with Resin Technology Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas — added that lower domestic PP prices, especially in the secondary markets, have recently decreased incentives for imports.
“Import volumes will come down,” he said. “Prices are at a point where the bulk of the margin erosion has come out of the market.”
The market “has been very difficult to pin down this year, because each supplier is charting their own course,” according to David Barry, a market analyst with the PetroChem Wire consulting firm in Houston. “We saw companies like ExxonMobil announcing price decreases or temporary voluntary allowances in the second quarter, presumably because they lost market share by raising prices too far, too quickly.
“I think most participants now believe that the PP market will reach an equilibrium in August, and that price erosion will be halted,” he added.
Imports found a home in North America as the region’s PP production struggled to keep up with demand in late 2015 and early 2016. This imbalance was partly the result of large amounts of PP production capacity being eliminated when demand fell during the recession.
North American PP demand was up less than 1 percent in the first half of 2016. A drop of almost 11 percent in export sales softened domestic sales growth of 1 percent, according to the American Chemistry Council in Washington.
Strong North American growth areas for first-half PP sales included injection molded caps and closures (up 4.9 percent) and sheet (up 5.6 percent).
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20160728/NEWS/160729784/pp-prices-drop-another-penny
-
EPA Advances TCE Rule Marking First TSCA Section 6 Bid Since Asbestos
Jul 28, 2016 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
EPA has sent for White House review a proposed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 6 rule to ban or restrict the sales or manufacture of trichloroethylene (TCE), the first attempt by the agency to use the section to restrict a chemical since its last effort -- seeking to ban asbestos -- was vacated by a federal appeals court in 1991.
The agency submitted the TSCA Section 6(a) rule, seeking to ban or restrict certain uses of the halogenated solvent TCE, for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review July 27, according to OMB's website.
The rule is one of two Section 6 rules that EPA managers indicated would be proposed in the first year following the June 22 implementation date of the new TSCA legislation. The other rule will cover methylene chloride, another halogenated solvent.
“EPA is initiating rulemaking under TSCA section 6 to address the risks of TCE when used as a spotting agent in dry cleaning and in commercial and consumer aerosol spray degreasers, if the EPA finds that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the risks to human health or the environment are unreasonable,” the description of the TCE rule states.
EPA evaluated both TCE and methylene chloride through its TSCA work plan program, begun in 2012 as a means to try to take greater regulatory action on existing chemicals -- those already on the market when the original TSCA was implemented in 1976.
Agency officials earlier this year listed TCE in degreasers, spray fixatives and when used as a stain remover; methylene chloride in paint removers and n-methyl pyrrolidone in paint removers as three chemicals for which agency staff were developing section 6 rules even ahead of TSCA reform.
Shortly after President Obama signed into law the TSCA reform act last month, EPA issued a year-oneimplementation plan for the new law. The plan, released June 29, states that EPA intends to issue the TCE and methylene chloride proposed rules by the end of this year and final rules in late 2017.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in 1991 struck down EPA's last attempt to issue a section 6 rule, finding in Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA that the original TSCA required the agency to propose the “least burdensome” restriction on chemicals' sales. Over time, the ruling and EPA's subsequent decision to no longer propose Section 6 rules led many to deem the 1976 TSCA toothless, and critics called for its overhaul.
When EPA completed its risk analysis of TCE in 2014, Richard Denison of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) hailed the action, in a June 25, 2014, blog posting, as “the first final risk assessment issued by EPA using its authority under the [TSCA] in -- wait for it -- 28 years.” He added that “[t]e fact that today’s announcement is such a milestone also amply demonstrates the critical need for reform of TSCA . . .”
The Corrosion Proof Fittings case was also at the center of debate over TSCA reform -- what the new risk standard should be in a reformed TSCA, and whether it should consider cost. With the new law, EPA evaluates whether a chemical "presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without consideration of costs or other non-risk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by the Administrator, under the conditions of use."
Industry Concerns
While the risk evaluations for TCE and methylene chloride were completed before the new TSCA law was implemented, the agency is still able to rely on those analyses as the basis for the rules. Section 26(p) in the new law grants EPA flexibility to proceed to section 6 risk management actions for chemicals for which it has completed a risk evaluation without having to revise the analysis to fit the parameters of the new law.
The reform law seeks to enhance continuity between between old and new regulation and policy by leaning on the TSCA Work Plan program. It also instructs EPA to select the first 10 chemicals it evaluates per the instructions in the new TSCA to be selected from the TSCA work plan program.
The TCE rule targets some but not all remaining uses of the chemical, which has been under scrutiny since EPA in 2011 completed a controversial and stringent risk analysis linking the chemical to cardiac birth defects.
Jack Pratt, with EDF, argues that TCE “has long been a concerning chemical: it’s linked to very serious health concerns (cancer, Parkinson’s as well as serious health impacts associated with exposure during child-bearing years). Massive quantities (255 million pounds a year) are produced and imported in the US. And EPA’s risk assessment identified significant risks to workers and consumers from ongoing uses of TCE.”
The TCE rule now under OMB review targets uses as a spot cleaning agent at drycleaners and consumer aerosol spray degreasers. EPA launched a separate rule on use of TCE in vapor degreasing in April, according to its April action initiation list.
An industry source calls the TCE Section 6 rule “low hanging fruit,” explaining the dry cleaners have not used TCE for this purpose “for years.” But, the source says, “we are concerned about vapor degreasing . . . because EPA has not done a good job of understanding the current status of the market, but instead relied on 20-year-old data.”
A second industry source questions why EPA has submitted the rule to OMB for review, since it has yet to complete the required Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel, per the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, which is intended to protect the interests of small business when new regulations are being developed that might impact these companies. The SBAR for the TCE rule was convened June 1, according to EPA's website, but has not concluded. The agency's lists the panel's conclusion date as “TBD."
An EPA spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
EPA convened an SBAR to review the methylene chloride Section 6 rule the same day, also with an unknown conclusion date.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-advances-tce-rule-marking-first-tsca-section-6-bid-asbestos
-
EU Calls for Comments on Bisphenol A Limit in Toys
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
The European Commission is calling for comments through Aug. 24 on a draft European Union directive that would amend an EU law on toys by reducing the permitted limit for the suspected endocrine disrupter bisphenol A.
The EU Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) limits the presence of bisphenol A in toys to a “migration limit” of 0.1 milligrams per liter (mg/l), indicating the amount of the substance that is permitted to leach out during a one-hour period if the toy is exposed to water. The 0.1 mg/l limit was agreed in 2014.
In a draft amending directive published July 27, the commission, the EU's executive arm, said this limit should be reduced to 0.04 mg/l in the light of “new data on bisphenol A and refined methodologies” for testing migration limits. Bisphenol A is a high-volume substance used in the production of some plastics. The substance is classified in the EU as reprotoxic, and is restricted in some products such as infant feeding bottles.
The draft European Union directive amending the limit value for bisphenol A in toys is available athttp://src.bna.com/hdi.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94728790&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94728790&jd=94728790
-
New York Toxic Water Class Claims Consolidated
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Steven M. Sellers
Four proposed class actions over water contamination in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., will be consolidated, a federal court ruled (Baker v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 2016 BL 241312, N.D.N.Y., No. 16-cv-00220, 7/27/16).
The cases involve the same defendants and raise common issues of fact and law, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York said July 27.
The complaints allege contamination of the town's water system and groundwater with perfluorooctanoic acid used at a factory now owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.
They also allege Honeywell International Inc., then known as AlliedSignal Inc., used PFOA at the plant in the 1990s for the manufacture of water- and stain-resistant fabrics.
Exposure to PFOA, which some studies have linked to increased cancer risks, has subjected residents to “numerous health issues” and devaluation of property, the plaintiffs said.
Proposed subclasses in the cases include residents who consumed or bathed in water from the town's municipal water supply and all persons who own or have owned real property in Hoosick Falls.
Court Appoints Law Firms as Co-Counsel
The court appointed Weitz & Luxenberg and Faraci Lang as co-lead interim class counsel in the consolidated cases.
The other would-be class actions consolidated by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York are Tifft v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., N.D.N.Y., No. 16-cv-00292, filed3/10/16; Hickey v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., N.D.N.Y., No. 16-cv-00394, filed4/6/16; and Schrom v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., N.D.N.Y., No. 16-cv-00476, filed4/26/16.
Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart wrote the opinion.
The law offices of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Hinckley Allen represent Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.
Arnold & Porter and Allen & Desnoyers represent Honeywell International Inc.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94728808&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94728808&jd=94728808
-
(ACC Mentioned) American Chemistry Council Releases Supplemental Study On Mixed Waste Processing
Jul 24, 2016 | Recycling Today
By REW Staff
TheAmerican Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) Plastics Division, Washington, published a report that supplements a previous report on mixed waste processing facilities. The new report demonstrates that the principal technology and equipment utilized in modern materials recovery facilities (MRFs) are being successfully integrated into new mixed waste processing facilities (MWPFs.)
The previous ACC report, published in 2015 provided an overview of the history, evolution, and role of MRFs in modern solid waste management. In this report, today’s MRFs and MWPFs were evaluated for how efficiently they divert materials from landfills by maximizing recovery of marketable commodities from single and dual stream recyclables and/or municipal solid waste (MSW.) Both reports, authored by fromGershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), Fairfax, Virginia, are available on the ACC website:"The Evolution of Mixed Waste Processing Facilities - Technology and Equipment Guide"(Supplemental Report - May 2016)"The Evolution of Mixed Waste Processing Facilities - 1970 to Today" (June 2015)The newly released supplemental report reviews ten specific types of commercially proven equipment that are traditionally used or adapted for the handling of solid waste, such as optical sorting systems, bag openers, and air separation systems and densifiers. It describes how each type of equipment is uniquely designed for the separation of certain constituents in MSW for both MRFs and MWPFs. The evaluation includes the quality of the finished product; the volume that is captured versus lost; and the speeds at which the processing equipment works.
"The report also features innovative machinery that either combines equipment functions or are different adaptations of similar designs," says Bradley Kelley, GBB senior project engineer. "These ongoing innovations continue to upgrade the quality, accuracy and speed of recovery processes and deliver performance improvements for MRFs and MWPFs."
"Recycling is a critical part of conserving earth’s limited resources," says Craig Cookson, ACC's senior director of recycling and energy recovery. "These two reports will help communities, recyclers, and other decision-makers better understand the evolution of technologies available for mixed waste processing."http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/american-chemistry-council-gbb-mixed-waste-processing-equipment-report/
-
Democrats Solidify Leftward Move in Climate, Energy Positions
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
As the Democratic convention comes to a close, it is clear that the Democratic Party has moved significantly to the left on climate and energy issues.
Most notably, the party is shifting away from its “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that it widely touted in 2012 and instead is proposing a phase down of fossil fuel extraction on public lands and limitations on hydraulic fracturing in 2016. Environmental justice and clean energy—as job creator and energy producer—also have garnered larger places in the newest party platform.
“We will take bold steps to slash carbon pollution and protect clean air at home, lead the fight against climate change around the world, ensure no Americans are left out or left behind as we accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, and be responsible stewards of our natural resources and our public lands and waters,” said the 2016 Democratic platform that the party ratified July 25.
“Democrats reject the notion that we have to choose between protecting our planet and creating good-paying jobs,” the 2016 platform said. “We can, and we will, do both.”
The platform solidifies a gap that formed during the primaries: one where Republicans called for more domestic energy production in an effort to become energy independent, while Democrats supported shifting to clean energy in the name of climate change. The now-ratified party platform offers voters a stark choice.
Rachel Leven
July 28 — As the Democratic convention comes to a close, it is clear that the Democratic Party has moved significantly to the left on climate and energy issues.
Most notably, the party is shifting away from its “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that it widely touted in 2012 and instead is proposing a phase down of fossil fuel extraction on public lands and limitations on hydraulic fracturing in 2016. Environmental justice and clean energy—as job creator and energy producer—also have garnered larger places in the newest party platform.
“We will take bold steps to slash carbon pollution and protect clean air at home, lead the fight against climate change around the world, ensure no Americans are left out or left behind as we accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, and be responsible stewards of our natural resources and our public lands and waters,” said the 2016 Democratic platform that the party ratified July 25.
“Democrats reject the notion that we have to choose between protecting our planet and creating good-paying jobs,” the 2016 platform said. “We can, and we will, do both.”
The platform solidifies a gap that formed during the primaries: one where Republicans called for more domestic energy production in an effort to become energy independent, while Democrats supported shifting to clean energy in the name of climate change. The now-ratified party platform offers voters a stark choice.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94728803&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94728803&jd=94728803
-
(ACC Mentioned) Railroads Might Have To Let Rivals Serve Their Customers
Jul 28, 2016 | AP (In Salon)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Freight railroads could be forced to allow competing railroads to serve some customers along their tracks if federal regulators approve a new rule.
The Surface Transportation Board’s proposed rule would only apply to certain companies that don’t have many shipping options. The companies that have been fighting for this change since 2011 praised Wednesday’s announcement while railroads decried the proposal.
President and CEO Cal Dooley of the American Chemistry Council said the new rule should help keep freight rail and manufacturing healthy.
“We welcome STB’s decision to move forward on competitive switching, which will help put the marketplace back in the driver’s seat and improve the flow of goods throughout our economy,” Dooley said.
The proposal to force railroads to allow some manufacturers to hire a competing railroad to haul their products has been championed by the National Industrial Transportation League.
“Our member companies across a host of industries need this type of competitive, market-based rail transportation alternative,” said Jennifer Hedrick, executive director of the National Industrial Transportation League.
Citi analyst Christian Wetherbee said in a research note that the proposed rule will likely have a minimal impact on railroad profits because of the restrictions on it.
To get the relief, regulators said every shipper that applies will have to show that the arrangement is in the public interest and necessary to ensure competitive rail service.
But railroads maintain this rule is a bad idea, and they pledged to continue opposing it. President and CEO Ed Hamburger of the Association of American Railroads said forcing railroads to give competitors access to customers on their lines would unnecessarily complicate matters.
“The freight rail industry’s position remains unchanged: forced access is an ill-conceived approach that compromises the efficiency of the entire network by gumming up the system through added interchange movements, more time and increased operational complexity,” Hamburger said.
An existing rule that would have allowed such freight switching between railroads has been on the books since 1985, but that rule imposed a tougher standard so this has never been approved.
Regulators will accept public comments on the proposal this fall before finalizing the rule.
https://www.salon.com/2016/07/28/railroads_might_have_to_let_rivals_serve_their_customers/
-
Citing Election, EPA Delays Work On FY18 Budget While Awaiting FY17 Bill
Jul 29, 2016 | Inside EPA
By David LaRoss
A top EPA budget official says the agency is waiting until after the presidential election to craft a fiscal year 2018 funding request even while facing uncertainty over whether Congress will approve a stand-alone EPA FY17 funding bill, though the official expects lawmakers to approve some FY17 funding measure ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
Speaking to a July 27 meeting of EPA's Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) in Washington, D.C., Kathy Sedlak O'Brien from the agency's Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) said there has been little work done to prepare an FY18 budget thanks to the uncertainty over who will control the White House next year.
"We're not really going through our [FY]18 budget process this year,” said O'Brien, who serves as the OCFO's director of the planning, analysis and accountability division.
Normally the agency begins work on the coming year's budget request almost a year in advance, but thanks to the coming election it is impossible to commit to priorities for 2017 and beyond, she said.
As a result, this means that when either Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wins the presidency in November, their incoming environmental team will need to quickly set those priorities for a budget request to Congress.
"All hell is going to break down next spring, because that means we're going to have to formulate two budgets at the same time," splitting work between crafting an FY18 request and laying the groundwork for FY19, O'Brien said. "Any early conversations we can have with you would be helpful” in that process, she told the local and state officials who serve on LGAC.
O'Brien added that thanks to the time needed to compile a budget request the agency will "probably not be making" the statutory deadline of Feb. 6 to submit the document to Congress.
EPA is currently funded at an $8.14 billion funding level, and if Clinton wins the White House later this year then she is expected to largely continue many of President Obama's policy goals.
Trump, however, has criticized EPA in various remarks, raising the prospect that he could seek to trim the agency's budget as many GOP lawmakers have long sought.
The League of Conservation Voters in a May 5 memo linked to several statements by Trump on EPA's budget, saying the candidate could block funding to implement and enforce the agency's greenhouse gas standards for existing power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly called for cutting the Environmental Protection Agency . . . If Trump eliminated funding the agency itself, the Clean Power Plan would effectively be nullified,” LCV said.
FY17 Funding
Meanwhile, O'Brien told LGAC that EPA also expects Congress to miss the Sept. 30 deadline to approve a final stand-alone FY17 spending bill for the agency.
After that deadline funding for the federal government will expire unless the FY16 levels are extended through a continuing resolution (CR) maintaining funding for a slew of agencies -- as has become the standard practice in recent years.
"Do we expect that Congress will finalize the bill before the end of the fiscal year? No. . . . Hopefully we will get a continuing resolution that will keep us funded at the current funding levels,” she said.
Both the House and Senate are pushing FY17 bills that would cut EPA's budget in the coming year. The House bill, H.R. 5538 -- which passed on a 231-196 vote July 14 -- would cut funding for the agency down to $7.98 billion, with reductions focused mainly on the accounts that fund EPA's regulatory and research activities. It also contains a host of policy riders that target major air, water, waste and climate policies.
Meanwhile, the Senate bill would cut EPA's budget down to approximately $8.1 billion, also targeting policy areas such as water, air and climate. However, Democrats in the chamber have vowed to block a floor vote on the legislation over policy riders similar to the House version's.
Speaking to LGAC, O'Brien said "This time of year is always pretty scary for us” thanks to the threat of GOP-backed funding cuts, but said she expects the agency to escape major reductions, as it has done in prior years.
"Usually, the lower numbers don't prevail when you go through the dialog and the process,” she said, adding that the White House "will push for those higher funding levels” in negotiations with Congress.
However, she said if EPA is forced to operate under a CR for a long period of time it could hurt officials' ability to start operating new programs that were planned for FY17 but not included in the extended FY16 funding bill.
"If there were new programs not yet underway in the [FY]17 budget, you couldn't do those yet, because you don't have a [FY]17 budget,” she said, adding that “it takes creativity” to begin working on the portions of such programs that are allowed by current law, in order to lay groundwork for when full funding is available.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/citing-election-epa-delays-work-fy18-budget-while-awaiting-fy17-bill
-
Hillary Clinton's Climate Army
Jul 28, 2016 | PoliticoPro
By Andrew Restuccia
Hillary Clinton is assembling a virtual army of formal and informal advisers to help her continue President Barack Obama's policies on energy, the environment and climate change — offering a rough picture of who might go on to claim high-level jobs in her administration.
The team of nearly 100 informal advisers, who have spent the past year compiling recommendations on everything from chemical safety and Everglades restoration to nuclear power and climate finance, includes holdovers from the Obama administration such as former White House advisers Carol Browner and Heather Zichal.
Story Continued Below
The massive collection of Clinton advisers contrasts sharply with Donald Trump's campaign, which is relying on just a few outside experts to help chart his energy agenda — and it shows that Clinton is laying the groundwork to expand on Obama's already ambitious efforts to take on climate change and push a green-energy agenda. Like Obama, Clinton is prepared to rely on her executive powers to make progress on that issue, rather than waiting on Congress to send her climate legislation.
She also intends to make climate change a bigger focus in the general election, a campaign official who requested anonymity to talk about Clinton's strategy told POLITICO, in an effort to draw a contrast with Trump, who has scoffed that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.
“I think the choice is pretty clear this year for voters on this issue more than on any other issue," Clinton energy adviser Trevor Houser said during a POLITICO policy discussion this week in Philadelphia.
The Clinton campaign is relying on three former Obama administration energy and climate aides — Houser, Pete Ogden and Ben Kobren — to lead a behind-the-scene effort to collect input and advice from dozens of seasoned policy veterans.
Over the last year, the trio have organized monthly conference calls and policy-focused working groups that have drilled down on specific issues, according to sources familiar with the process. The much larger team of informal advisers have been tasked with writing position papers that explore policy details in greater depth than Clinton has plumbed in her public statements.
Their goal is to counter Trump's bombastic rhetoric with detailed policy proposals that build on Obama's record of using the executive branch's authority to slash pollution and encourage a shift to renewable energy sources.
Along with climate change, the campaign is also expected to make a major general election theme out of environmental justice, which focuses on the way environmental problems such as dirty air and water disproportionately affect poor and minority communities. Campaign officials have been consulting with prominent figures in the environmental justice movement, including South Carolina state Rep. Harold Mitchell.
Through the working groups, the campaign has received policy recommendations from former White House climate advisers Zichal, Jody Freeman and Paul Bodnar; former Interior Department official David Hayes; and Jane Lubchenco, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among many others, sources said. The pool of advisers also includes academics, scientists, lawyers, former members of Congress and state-level energy officials.
Browner, Obama's first-term climate adviser and Bill Clinton's former EPA chief, and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm have also played a major role in shaping the campaign's energy and environmental agenda, the sources said.
The Clinton campaign's policy bench starts at the very top with Chairman John Podesta, who was a leading architect of Obama's second-term climate strategy and remains involved in shaping the campaign's climate and energy agenda.
"This is a substantive issue that he himself has spent some time on. He’s the first stop" for advice about climate and energy issues, one informal Clinton adviser said of Podesta.
Kristina Costa, a Clinton campaign policy adviser who previously worked at the White House and the Center for American Progress, has taken the lead in working with Houser, Kobren and Ogden in evaluating the recommendations and determining whether to translate them into official campaign positions.
Ogden, who worked for Clinton at the State Department and in Obama's White House before re-joining the Center for American Progress in 2013, tends to focus on environmental and conservation issues and operates as a liaison to green groups. Houser, a former State Department energy adviser who is a partner at the consulting firm the Rhodium Group, homes in on energy policy issues, including how to regulate fracking. And Kobren, a former Clinton campaign and Obama State Department communications aide, offers his expertise with media strategy and international issues.
The deluge of recommendation-swapping has sparked intense speculation in Democratic circles about the possibility that Clinton's formal and informal advisers are positioning themselves to serve in her administration. But participants in the working groups tell POLITICO that Clinton campaign officials are reluctant to talk about short lists for key cabinet positions even in private meetings, saying it's too early. A Clinton official said discussions about cabinet picks have not yet started.
Indeed, the cabinet spots probably will remain in flux until after it becomes clear whether Democrats will take back the Senate, the chamber tasked with approving presidential nominees.
“Depending on what happens with the Senate, that makes a big difference about who you’re going to put up," one informal Clinton energy adviser said, perhaps signaling that a Democrat-led Senate could yield more liberal nominees.
Still, in conversations with influential Democratic energy and environmental officials, a number of names have come up repeatedly as favorites to serve in a Clinton administration.
Browner, who represented the campaign on the Democratic Party's platform committee, could also opt to return to government as a lead White House climate adviser or even EPA administrator. Mary Nichols, the long-time chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, is another possibility for EPA administrator.
Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who has ties to the Clintons, said he thinks Hillary Clinton should break with tradition and choose a mayor or other local official who has direct experience dealing with climate change to lead the EPA. Lehane named two dark-horse possibilities: Philip Levine, the mayor of Miami Beach, Fla., who has grappled with the effects of rising seas on his oceanfront city, and Kevin De León, the president pro tempore of California's state Senate.
Granholm is seen as a possible energy secretary under Clinton, though she may have competition from former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, an early Clinton backer who now heads the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.
Among some green-minded Democrats, pressure is growing for Clinton to keep Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on for at least the first few months of her potential presidency. Both Moniz and McCarthy are well liked and are seen as a crucial bridge to Obama's climate agenda. And they wouldn't have to face a messy confirmation battle in the Senate. (Moniz was approved unanimously and McCarthy won the support of six Republicans.)
Zichal, who stepped down as one of Obama's top climate advisers in 2013 and has recently penned op-eds in favor of Clinton, is seen as a top contender to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality. While CEQ has taken a backseat to other agencies during much of the Obama administration, it could be given a more central role in a Clinton White House, as it has had in previous administrations.
Ogden is seen as a possible candidate for State's special envoy for climate change, the government's lead negotiator in international global warming talks.
Several candidates have also emerged for interior secretary, including Democrats such as former Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, former Alaska Sen. Mark Begich and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Hayes, who served as a top Interior official until 2013, is also thought to be seeking to rise to the role of secretary under Clinton.
But Hickenlooper indicated this week that he isn't interested in serving in Clinton's cabinet, despite rumors that in addition to Interior, he could be in line to lead the Commerce Department or Transportation Department
“I would say it’s pretty unlikely that I would take a cabinet position, to be pretty blunt," he said at the POLITICO event in Philadelphia.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2016/07/pro-energy-clintoncabinet-restuccia-125228#ixzz4FnOhphIs
-
Democrats Tout Clinton as Only Choice to Tackle Climate
Jul 29, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven and Dean Scott
The Democratic National Convention headed to its final hours July 28 with environmental and climate activists setting a low bar for any significant mentions of those issues by Hillary Clinton in her acceptance speech but Democrats' four days in Philadelphia revealed fundamental differences in approaches and tone by the two parties now that they have formally selected their candidates for the White House in 2017.
Clinton was not expected to spend any significant part of her speech ticking off specific policies for combating climate change that would go beyond her oft-stated pledge to defend, and in some cases expand, actions President Barack Obama has taken on carbon pollution. But Democrats at the convention this week drew sharp contrasts between Donald Trump, who has called global warming a hoax perpetrated by China, but avoided the issue completely in his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination last week.
Thus far the highest profile mention from Democrats this week came from Obama, who called on party activists to apply their energy on making meaningful change once the election is over, including confronting global warming.
“If you want to fight climate change, we've got to engage not only young people on college campuses, but reach out to the coal miner who's worried about taking care of his family, the single mom worried about gas prices,” the president told the convention July 27. The president also framed the Paris climate pact among several diplomatic success stories, saying he helped bring “nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our kids.”
The convention is scheduled to end late July 28 with former Secretary of State and New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton's acceptance of the Democratic Party's nomination for president. Scheduled to warm up the crowd for Clinton on the final night are several speakers with long resumes on climate and clean energy issues, including Katie McGinty, who chaired the Council on Environmental Quality under President Bill Clinton and is battling Sen. Pat Toomey (R) for a Pennsylvania Senate seat; Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, an advocate for solar and other renewable energy; and Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters.
Trump Added to Dirty Dozen List
Karpinski told reporters hours ahead of Hillary Clinton's keynote that he didn't expect her speech to focus much on environmental or climate issues beyond perhaps a short mention.
“I wouldn't waste a lot of time or space on how many times climate change gets mentioned tonight or not—I would look at the campaign that she has run in the last year, and with every speech that I have seen her make it's always been a part of the conversation,” he said, including Clinton comments that call for making clean energy jobs central to job creation efforts.
The LCV president said he would use his July 28 remarks on the DNC dais to announce his group has added Trump to its “Dirty Dozen” list of candidates in the 2016 election cycle that the environmental group sees as obstructing climate and environmental action.
“The stakes could not be higher—climate change is happening now, and yet Donald Trump calls it—and I quote—‘a hoax,' ” the LCV head is to say, according to remarks released by LCV.
“And more than just deny it, his policies would make climate change worse. His energy ‘plan’ would mean more pollution in our air, more poison in our water, and more public lands stripped for private profit,” according to Karpinski, who added that he “can't imagine anyone more deserving” than Trump of being added to the Dirty Dozen rollcall.
Trump supporters argue that such criticism is simply the same rhetoric used by Democratic presidential hopefuls and environmentalists since Trump became a serious contender for the Republican nomination. Trump argues that increasing domestic energy production and reducing regulatory burdens is imperative, not only for improving the economy and creating jobs, but also to strengthen national security.
A Useful Wedge Issue?
While the climate issue virtually went unmentioned in speeches at the Republican convention, Democrats at their July 25-28 convention cast Clinton as the only choice for voters who care about addressing the problem of climate change. The focus on climate change by Democrats as a wedge issue against Trump wasn't new but taken together, the comments may offer a roadmap for how her campaign and its supporters hope to use Trump's comments on climate and environmental concerns to peel off moderate Republicans and independent voters for Clinton.
Trump's view of climate change as a hoax is false and “dangerous,” speakers from actor Sigourney Weaver to California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said July 27. They and other speakers who focused on climate change warned that impacts are already being seen today; that the U.S. must be at the forefront of efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions; that Clinton as Secretary of State helped set the stage for the December climate pact reached by nearly 200 nations in Paris.
“Trump says global warming is a hoax. I say Trump is a fraud. Trump says there's no drought in California. I say Trump lies,” Brown told the convention, adding that the Republican party has created a false choice on the issue by arguing that cutting greenhouse gases and spurring more clean energy would only worsen the economy.
“Donald Trump and the climate deniers are dead wrong—dangerously wrong,” Brown said.
Chinese, Climate and Trump
Several speakers this week aimed to portray Trump's views as not only wrong but ridiculous. For example, former presidential hopeful and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) chided Trump for his comment suggesting China created the climate issue as a way to best the U.S. economically.
“I'll tell you what: If the Chinese were really capable of designing some kind of diabolical farce to hurt America, they wouldn't invent global warming,” O'Malley said. “They'd invent Donald Trump.”
Environmental Justice
The convention also put the spotlight, however briefly, on Flint, Mich., as well as broader environmental justice issues. Flint has been drinking bottled or filtered tap water after an inappropriately executed water source switch left the city's drinking water supply contaminated with lead.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (D) used the opportunity July 27 at the convention to target the Republican Congress that she said has been too slow to send needed funds to the city for infrastructure improvements and more.
But Weaver also spoke of Clinton's dedication to addressing the Flint water crisis, the candidate's multiple visits to the city, and her words of support. The Democratic presidential candidate is similarly dedicated to addressing environmental pollutions' impacts on communities across the nation, Weaver said.
“She “said, ‘I will fight for you. I will stand with you, every step of the way. I will not for one minute forget about you, or forget about your children. I will do everything I can to help you get back up, and to help you get your strength and resilience flowing through Flint again,' ” Weaver recalled.
“So join with Flint, and all the other Flints out there in America, to get behind Hillary Clinton,” the mayor said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94728809&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94728809&jd=94728809
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time
Transportation News
Environment News
Full Text of Stories Below
Add recipients
Suggested