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ACC AM 8/23/16
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(ACC Mentioned) U.S Specialty Chemicals Market Notches First Gain Since March ACC Says
Aug 22, 2016 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) entered the third quarter of 2016 on a positive note, rising 0.2 percent in July. -
EPA Links Oil And Gas Drilling To Texas Quakes
Aug 22, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Federal regulators have tied a string of earthquakes in north Texas to oil and gas drilling operations in the state. -
Alaska LNG Project Creeps Toward State Control
Aug 22, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Joe Fisher
Planning for the state of Alaska to take over the multi-billion-dollar project to commercialize North Slope natural gas reserves has begun. Such a transition would put the project in the hands of the state's Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) and remove Alaska's major producers from direct participation. -
Chemical Disasters: EPA Plan Would Keep Us In The Dark
Aug 22, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Juan Parras
Last month's chemical leak in Baytown, Texas is a stark reminder that many of us live perilously close to extremely hazardous chemical facilities. On Sunday, July 17, an unknown amount of explosive gas was released from a refinery pipeline prompting authorities to evacuate private homes and issue a 'shelter-in-place' alert for the entire neighborhood. -
Boiler Ruling Called Irrelevant to Malfunction Case
Aug 23, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
A recent court decision on federal emissions standards for industrial boilers has no effect on litigation over an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring states to revise their pollution plans for handling unavoidable malfunctions, according to an industry coalition (Walter Coke Inc. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1166, letter filed 8/19/16). -
More Needed to Remove Hudson River PCBs, New York Tells EPA
Aug 23, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Gerald B. Silverman
More work is needed to remove polychlorinated biphenyls from the upper Hudson River despite the completion of a six-year dredging project by General Electric Co., the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) told federal regulators Aug. 22. -
'An Exercise In Threading The Needle': Lawmakers Perform Balancing Act To Move Climate Legislation Forward
Aug 22, 2016 | Los Angeles Times
By Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason
In this year’s debate over California climate policy, much of the attention has centered on a proposal to extend and expand the state’s mandate for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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(ACC Mentioned) U.S Specialty Chemicals Market Notches First Gain Since March ACC Says
Aug 22, 2016 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) entered the third quarter of 2016 on a positive note, rising 0.2 percent in July. This follows a 0.3 percent decline in June and a 0.2 percent decline in May and marks the first gain since March. All data is measured on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. Of the 28 specialty chemical segments we monitor, seventeen expanded in July, two were stable and the remaining nine markets experienced decline. During July, large gains (1.0 percent and over) were noted in adhesives and sealants and mining chemicals.
The overall specialty chemicals volume index was off 0.9 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) on a 3MMA basis. The index stood at 102.6 percent of its average 2012 levels. This is equivalent to 7.07 billion pounds, off from 7.14 billion pounds last July. During 2014, Y/Y comparisons were generally in the 4.0 percent to 6.8 percent range but since February 2015, they have fallen well below that range as the downturn in the oil and gas sector has affected headline volumes. Weakness has spread to other segments as well and year-earlier comparisons have been negative since 2nd quarter 2015. Still, on a Y/Y basis, there were gains among market and functional specialty chemical segments.
http://www.chemengonline.com/u-s-specialty-chemicals-market-notches-first-gain-since-march-acc-says/?printmode=1
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EPA Links Oil And Gas Drilling To Texas Quakes
Aug 22, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Federal regulators have tied a string of earthquakes in north Texas to oil and gas drilling operations in the state.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report filed with the Texas Railroad Commission this month concluded that the frequency of earthquakes in the state correlates to the number and location of injection or disposal wells for hydraulic fracturing wastewater there.
“In light of findings from several researchers, its own analysis of some cases and the fact that earthquakes diminished in some areas following shut-in or reduced injection volume of targeted wells, EPA believes there is a significant possibility that North Texas earthquake activity is associated with disposal wells,” said the report, via The Texas Tribune.
The EPA said it’s concerned about the seismic activity around the Dallas/Fort Worth area because of the “potential impact on public health and the environment, including underground drinking water.”
It recommended more monitoring of injection wells and analysis of seismic activity in the state. It also “commended” state regulators on the Texas Railroad Commission for establishing earthquake-related regulations for drilling operations there, though the commission has not yet connected wastewater injection to seismic activity in the state, the Tribune reported.
The EPA report is the latest from scientists and regulators to find a link between wastewater injection and earthquakes.
Oklahoma was in the spotlight last year when state scientists concluded that injection wells were behind an explosion of small earthquakes there, though the state has seen the number of quakes decline since stiffening regulations on wastewater disposal.
Federal officials in March concluded that 7 million Americans live in areas threatened by earthquakes induced by human activity.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/292248-epa-drilling-operations-behind-texas-quakes
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Alaska LNG Project Creeps Toward State Control
Aug 22, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Joe Fisher
Planning for the state of Alaska to take over the multi-billion-dollar project to commercialize North Slope natural gas reserves has begun. Such a transition would put the project in the hands of the state's Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) and remove Alaska's major producers from direct participation.
"Once transitioned, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. will be responsible for managing the project going forward, including applying for regulatory approval; securing the commercial commitments from gas sellers, shippers and buyers necessary to acquire the equity and debt financing that will be required to complete the project; and preparing to start FEED [front-end engineering design]," AGDC President Keith Meyer told the agency's board last week, according to his slide presentation from the meeting.
Gov. Bill Walker in recent months has tangled with the state's three major producers involved in the project -- BP plc, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil Corp. -- asserting that they have been dragging their feet on moving the project forward. For their part, the global collapse in commodity prices has drawn the economics of the $45 billion project into question, the producers have indicated. Last February, Walker and the producers said they were still committed to moving the project forward, but they were looking for ways to cut costs (see Daily GPI, Feb. 17).
Since becoming governor, Walker has called for the state to have a larger stake in the pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project (see Daily GPI, July 10, 2015). Last November, the state of Alaska bought out the stake in the project of TransCanada Corp. (see Daily GPI, Nov. 5, 2015).
During his presentation to AGDC last week, Meyer said that the pre-FEED work on the project is more than 90% complete. "The parties are working together to consider commercial options to improve the project's ability to compete in the global LNG market," he said.
This includes transitioning the project to state leadership and "...pursuing alternative commercial structure options and concepts that have been successfully used in global LNG projects to reduce the cost of supply of the project. The goal is to have a seamless continuation of the project and maintain project momentum."
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/107489-alaska-lng-project-creeps-toward-state-control
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Chemical Disasters: EPA Plan Would Keep Us In The Dark
Aug 22, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Juan Parras
Last month's chemical leak in Baytown, Texas is a stark reminder that many of us live perilously close to extremely hazardous chemical facilities. On Sunday, July 17, an unknown amount of explosive gas was released from a refinery pipeline prompting authorities to evacuate private homes and issue a 'shelter-in-place' alert for the entire neighborhood.
Chemical releases such as Baytown's happen with startling frequency and have the potential to impact thousands. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 466 chemical facilities across the nation that each put 100,000 or more people at risk of a poison gas disaster. Since the West, Texas, disaster just a little over 3 years ago, there have been more than 430 chemical incidents resulting in 82 deaths.
While millions of Americans live or work in areas threatened by chemical disasters, not every community shares this risk equally. A recent demographic analysis by the Environmental Justice Health Alliance found that the percentage of Black people living closest to America’s most dangerous facilities is 75% greater than the U.S. as a whole, and the percentage of Latinos is 60% greater. The poverty rate closest to these dangerous facilities is 50% higher.
This terrifying incident in Baytown happened as EPA is crafting rules that are supposed to improve chemical facility safety. Unfortunately, EPA’s proposed Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule fails to include basic prevention measures and would block at-risk communities like Baytown from seeing the essential information they need to protect their families.
If you and your family lived in constant threat of this sort of disaster, don’t you think you should be allowed to know if the facility risking your lives could be using a safer chemical or process instead?
This is just common sense to the many community, business, health, and national security leaders who are supporting simple requirements for hazardous chemical facilities to look for safer alternatives (through a Safer Technology and Alternatives Analysis, or STAA) and then share these options with people living or working in their chemical disaster “vulnerability” zone.
Unfortunately, the EPA doesn’t seem to agree. It has proposed changes to its chemical disaster prevention rules (the Risk Management Plan, or RMP) that specifically exclude sharing any information from these studies with endangered communities.
EPA’s failure to ensure that at-risk communities get the information they need to participate in their own protection is surprising, especially as EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has repeatedly expressed her commitment to openness and transparency during her leadership of the agency.
Earlier this month, the Administrator’s blog claims that “EPA prioritizes transparency, openness, and participation in all that we do — not because we have to, because it works.” (https://medium.com/epa-forward/why-epa-is-the-gold-standard-for-environmental-protection-around-the-world-b17b544bad1d#.yyiptuwyk) And yet, the Agency’s proposed rule would leave communities in the dark.
Unless the proposed RMP rule is amended, nearby residents, businesses, hospitals, schools, and everyone else at risk of a chemical disaster will never know if these facilities could be using safer chemicals or processes.
Fortunately, there is still time for EPA to make a few modest changes to the proposed RMP rule that can transform it into something that can prevent disasters, protect communities, and make the Administrator’s stated commitment to transparency a reality.
If EPA expects its RMP proposal to pass the straight face test as a rule that promotes transparency by making information on hazards and solutions available to people at risk, it must amend its proposal to:Require that all RMP facilities (not just a small subset) determine if safer methods or chemicals are available;
Ensure that at least critical summary information from these assessments is directly available to at-risk communities;
Provide opportunities for community and worker involvement in all prevention and response planning and decision making processes.
I hope that the Administrator will live up to her commitment to transparency and participation by directing her staff to make these modest—but essential—changes to the proposed RMP rule.
Juan Parras is the Director of t.e.j.a.s., and has been organizing environmental justice communities since 1994. Juan was an original member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), and has served on the boards of the Gulf Restoration Network, National Childhood Lead Prevention Program, and the Center for Health and Environmental Justice (CHEJ). He is currently an environmental justice Ambassador for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. Juan received the CEC Synergy Award in 2008 and the Sealy Center for Environmental Health & Medicine HERO Award in 2009.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/292227-chemical-disasters-epa-plan-would-keep-us-in-the-dark
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Boiler Ruling Called Irrelevant to Malfunction Case
Aug 23, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
A recent court decision on federal emissions standards for industrial boilers has no effect on litigation over an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring states to revise their pollution plans for handling unavoidable malfunctions, according to an industry coalition (Walter Coke Inc. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1166, letter filed 8/19/16).
The industry petitioners, which include Southern Co., Luminant Generation Co. and Walter Coke Inc., are challenging a 2015 EPA rule known as a “SIP Call,” which required 36 states to revise their pollution plans to remove language that shielded power plants and other industrial facilities from civil penalties for regulatory violations caused by malfunctions. The EPA recently argued in a recent court filing that its defense of the SIP Call is supported by a July decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that upheld the agency's decision to rely on enforcement discretion to address malfunction-related violations (U.S. Sugar Corp. v. EPA, 2016 BL 245584, D.C. Cir., No. 13-1107, 7/29/16).
However, the industry coalition argued in an Aug. 19 letter that the D.C. Circuit's holding was specific to the criteria set forth in Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, which requires the EPA to base emissions standards issued under that section on the level of emissions achieved by the “best controlled similar source.” The state implementation plans covered by the SIP Call rule are not subject to the same requirement, according to the industry petitioners.
“Respondent [the EPA] mischaracterizes the opinion and its relevance to the instant case,” the industry groups said.
The industry petitioners, as well as several states that are challenging the rule, argued in their opening briefs that the EPA failed to meet its statutory burden to justify the rule requiring the revision of state plans that were previously approved. The federal government's position is that the SIP Call rightfully requires states to update plans that contain language that violates “bedrock principles” of the Clean Air Act.
Briefing in the SIP Call litigation is scheduled to continue through Oct. 31. Briefs from environmental organizations that have intervened in support of the rule are due to the court by Aug. 29.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=96077994&vname=dennotallissues&fn=96077994&jd=96077994
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More Needed to Remove Hudson River PCBs, New York Tells EPA
Aug 23, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Gerald B. Silverman
More work is needed to remove polychlorinated biphenyls from the upper Hudson River despite the completion of a six-year dredging project by General Electric Co., the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) told federal regulators Aug. 22.
The department, in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, said the dredging project left behind too much PCB contamination in the upper river.
“The job is not done and the remedy as implemented may not achieve the targeted reductions of PCB levels in water and fish tissue within the time frames originally anticipated by EPA,” Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement.
The move by the state is unusual because the Democratic administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) has been largely supportive of the EPA.
The state is now essentially siding with environmental groups, which have been urging the EPA to require General Electric to conduct additional dredging as a responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act or Superfund.
“EPA must ensure the remediation conducted by General Electric is effectively protecting public health and the environment from exposure to PCBs,” Seggos said.
General Electric
Mark Behan, a spokesman for General Electric, said the company “addressed 100 percent of the PCBs targeted by EPA, removing twice the volume of PCBs as had been anticipated.”
“Dredging was completed in October 2015, EPA declared the project a success and said no additional dredging is warranted,” he said in statement.
General Electric has spent more than $1 billion to remove 2.7 million cubic yards of sediment and 310,000 pounds of PCBs.
The EPA, in a statement, said it welcomes the state's continued involvement in the five-year review process that is currently underway for the Superfund project. It said a number of the state's concerns were addressed in March, when it responded to concerns from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“As is widely understood, it is not possible for the fish to recover immediately after the conclusion of dredging,” EPA said. “That recovery will take decades.”
Both NOAA and DEC are natural resource trustees under the Superfund cleanup and track the impacts on wildlife and other natural resources.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=96077988&vname=dennotallissues&fn=96077988&jd=96077988
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Aug 22, 2016 | Los Angeles Times
By Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason
In this year’s debate over California climate policy, much of the attention has centered on a proposal to extend and expand the state’s mandate for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
But it’s another piece of legislation that’s generating the most drama, becoming the focus of an intense political tug of war over who controls the next era of environmental regulation and which communities will benefit.
The measure, Assembly Bill 197, would boost legislative oversight of the state’s leading climate regulator, the California Air Resources Board, and would require the agency to focus more attention on cutting emissions from local refineries and manufacturers.
By combining the two proposals in one bill, Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) and his allies are attempting a delicate balancing act concerning issues that have divided lawmakers for years.
The goal is to assuage lawmakers who bristle at plans to continue empowering regulators and remain skeptical about whether policies to tackle a global problem are having a positive impact in their constituents’ backyards.
Backers of the legislation hope to avoid antagonizing Gov. Jerry Brown, who has carefully defended his administration’s authority to act independently, while deflecting opposition from oil companies and manufacturers that have found a sympathetic ear with some Democrats.
“It is an exercise in threading the needle,” said Alex Jackson, a San Francisco-based lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The measure was approved 23 to 13 by the state Senate on Monday; its next stop is the Assembly, where a tougher battle is expected. The legislative session ends Aug. 31, and Brown and top lawmakers have been locked in negotiations.
The issue provides a high-profile role for Garcia that comes after the freshman lawmaker joined some of his colleagues at the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris in December.
A Latino representative of a low-income, inland district running from Joshua Tree National Park to the border with Mexico, Garcia said he wants to ensure environmental policies are benefiting California communities.
His legislation is part of a package with Senate Bill 32, which would require the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The current target is reaching 1990 levels by 2020, a goal the state is on track to meet.
By comparison, Garciabelieves his bill addresses nuts-and-bolts questions about how the state would meet its goals, and how they would affect residents.
“It’s great to hear about saving polar bears and hugging trees, and making sure we address global warming from a world perspective,” he said. “But how about people?”
The bill would require the Air Resources Board to prioritize on emissions reductions from facilities such as refineries and other sources, a direct approach intended to create more local benefits in polluted areas.
The proposal reflects a distaste among some environmental advocates for the state’s cap-and-trade program. Though the program creates a financial incentive to slash emissions by forcing large companies to buy permits to pollute, environmental advocates are frustrated because the companies can continue to release greenhouse gases up to a certain amount as long as they pay the price.
They also dislike that companies can support carbon-reducing “offsets” in other states — projects such as forest preservation or capturing methane — instead of cutting local emissions, especially in places where children suffer from higher asthma rates.
“We want to see California climate policy have win-win benefits, good for public health, good for local air quality,” said Amy Vanderwarker, co-director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, a coalition of local groups.
The bill would require the Air Resources Board to prioritize on emissions reductions from facilities such as refineries and other sources, a direct approach intended to create more local benefits in polluted areas.
The proposal reflects a distaste among some environmental advocates for the state’s cap-and-trade program. Though the program creates a financial incentive to slash emissions by forcing large companies to buy permits to pollute, environmental advocates are frustrated because the companies can continue to release greenhouse gases up to a certain amount as long as they pay the price.
They also dislike that companies can support carbon-reducing “offsets” in other states — projects such as forest preservation or capturing methane — instead of cutting local emissions, especially in places where children suffer from higher asthma rates.
“We want to see California climate policy have win-win benefits, good for public health, good for local air quality,” said Amy Vanderwarker, co-director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, a coalition of local groups.
Some lawmakers still want more authority, such as the chance to approve any regulations devised by the administration before they take effect.
“Just because we could hold a hearing, that’s one thing,” said Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield). “But to actually be able to control the outcomes is something else.”
Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) called Garcia’s bill a “great start” but that he’s not sure it “goes far enough.”
Environmentalists have often grumbled that concerns about oversight are only an excuse for some lawmakers to oppose legislation disliked by powerful oil companies. For example, a recent request from Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) to audit the Air Resources Board was actually written by an oil lobbyist.
Jackson, the lawyer from the Natural Resources Defense Council, said AB 197 is the kind of compromise some Democrats say they’ve been waiting for.
“A lot of lawmakers have expressed reticence for voting on climate policies over concerns about oversight and concerns about benefits to their districts,” he said. “Let’s put those assertions to the test. Here’s a chance for members to take control over the future of California’s climate initiatives.”
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-california-climate-policy-debate-20160822-snap-story.html
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