Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 10/12/16
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA Names TSCA Fast-Tracked PBTs
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US EPA has named the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances that will be subject to rapid risk management action, under the new TSCA. -
EPA Fast Tracks 5 Chemicals Under New TSCA Law
Oct 12, 2016 | Environmental Leader
By Lyons Hardcastle
The EPA plans to regulate five chemicals on an expedited basis under the updated Toxic Substances Control Act — a move the agency says will reduce risks to people and the environment. -
Consent Orders For New Chemicals On The Rise Under TSCA
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A backlog of pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) and increasing number of TSCA consent orders could delay new products reaching the market, says the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (Socma). -
Scientists In N.J., Germany Support 'No Safe Level' Of Teflon Chemical In Drinking Water
Oct 12, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By David Andrews
PFOA, a carcinogenic chemical formerly used to make DuPont's Teflon, contaminates drinking water for at least 7 million Americans and is in virtually everyone’s blood. -
Echa Heads, Ueapme Discuss Help For SMEs With 2018 Deadline
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The heads of Echa and European SMEs trade body, Ueapme, met last week to discuss how to help such businesses meet the 2018 REACH registration deadline. -
Emails Reveal Clinton's 'Go-To' Advisers On Energy, Science
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
Leaked emails from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign show scientists, a former U.S. EPA chief and governors were invited to serve as her primary advisers on energy, climate, environment and infrastructure. -
Shimkus Faces RFS 'Angst' In Bid For Energy Gavel
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
A top contender to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress is facing doubts over his commitment to reforming the federal renewable fuel standard if he becomes chairman of the powerful panel. -
Why It Matters: Energy
Oct 12, 2016 | AP (In The New York Times
Clinton pledges that under her leadership, the U.S. will be able to generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years, with 500 million solar panels installed by the end of her first term. -
Energy Transfer Moves Ahead With Dakota Access, Despite Protests, Obama Request
Oct 12, 2016 | Bloomberg (In Fuelfix)
Energy Transfer Partners LP is moving forward with construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, rejecting the Obama administration’s request that it voluntarily halt some work on the $3.8 billion project. -
Tough Charges Pending Against Protesters Who Broke Into Oil Sands Sites
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
A group of climate change activists could face felony charges and years in prison after protests aimed at blocking the flow of oil sands crude from Canada into the United States. -
Army Corps Denies Violating Cultural, Environmental Laws
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Army Corps of Engineers is pushing back on the original challenge to the Dakota Access pipeline. -
Mark Ruffalo Asks Obama To Crack Down On Fracking
Oct 12, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Actor Mark Ruffalo is asking President Obama to use his last 100 days in office to crack down on hydraulic fracturing. -
'Blockbuster' Cases The New Norm In Enviro Litigation
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The United States has entered the "era of mega-cases" in environmental litigation. So says the Obama administration's top environmental attorney. -
Paris Climate Deal Will Need Tweaks, US Negotiator Says
Oct 12, 2016 | Houston Chronicle
By Chris Tomlinson
China and India will likely meet the carbon emission goals set out in the Paris climate deal, but those cuts will not be enough to address global warming, the top U.S. climate negotiator said Tuesday. -
Significant Divisions Complicate International HFC Talks
Oct 12, 2016 | Politico
By Anthony Adragna
Developing nations are spending today in Kigali, Rwanda, trying to mend a split over the best way to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, a potent greenhouse gas.
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA Names TSCA Fast-Tracked PBTs
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US EPA has named the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances that will be subject to rapid risk management action, under the new TSCA.
The agency will be taking action on the following five substances:decaBDE. This brominated flame retardants is used in textiles, plastics, wiring insulation, and building and construction materials. In the EU, it is banned from electrical and electronic appliances and faces additional restrictions in a wide range of products;hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), used as a solvent in the manufacture of rubber compounds and as hydraulic, heat transfer or transformer fluid. Like decaBDE, it is banned in Europe and listed under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs);pentachlorothiophenol (PCTP), used as a sulfur cross-linking agent to make rubber more pliable in industrial uses;tris(4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate (IPTPP), used as a flame retardant in consumer products and as a lubricant, hydraulic fluid, and in other industrial uses; and2,4,6-tris(tert-butyl) phenol, an antioxidant that can be used as a fuel, oil, gasoline or lubricant additive.
The Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act amended TSCA to require the EPA to take quick or “expedited” action on PBTs, by skipping their risk evaluation and proceeding directly to imposing rules to reduce their exposure “to the extent practicable”.
As a first step, the EPA will conduct exposure assessments to determine the sources and levels of exposure. The American Chemistry Council said it expects the agency to clarify how it plans to “conduct the additional analyses that will support an eventual decision on the measures that might be necessary to control exposures”.
Proposed risk management rules are due by 22 June 2019, with final rules to follow within 18 months.
The Environmental Working Group’s legislative attorney, Melanie Benesh, said her group hopes the announcement “is an indication EPA will work quickly to meet the strict deadlines required by the new law and to finally address the significant risks posed by these five chemicals.”
Andy Igrejas, the director of NGO Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families said it “signals what will soon be the first concrete public health and environmental improvements under the new Lautenberg Act”.Industry-requested review
Two fragrance ingredients that the EPA had identified as PBTs were not among the five facing exposure assessments. This is because a manufacturer asked the agency, as permitted under the new law, to conduct a risk evaluation instead of taking expedited action. The substances are:ethanone, 1-(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,5,5-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl); andethanone, 1-(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl).
Ms Benesh said EWG was disappointed that industry was “exploiting a loophole in the new law to delay action” on two chemicals, which are “suspected to build up in bodies, and should be subject to the same expedited deadlines as other PBT chemicals.”
Added Mr Igrejas: “We think anyone in business should be getting the message at this point that PBTs are a losing proposition.”
He said that the fact that the requester will be responsible for paying for half of the risk evaluation shows it must be committed to its use.
As prescribed in the reformed TSCA, the manufacturer is required to pay a fee to cover half the cost of a risk evaluation of a work plan chemical that it requests review of.PBT selection
The criteria laid out in the Lautenberg Act for identifying PBTs to be expedited are those substances which:are on the TSCA work plan;scored high for both persistence and bioaccumulation (or high for one and either high or moderate for the other);are not metals or metal compounds;are likely to cause exposure to the general population or a susceptible subpopulation; andare not subject to: review under TSCA section 5, a consent agreement under section 4 or an ongoing work plan problem formulation.
Mr Igrejas said consumer advocates wanted the provisions to apply to a broader class of chemicals but, nevertheless, “expedited action even against these five chemicals will be a win for public health”.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50222/epa-names-tsca-fast-tracked-pbts
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EPA Fast Tracks 5 Chemicals Under New TSCA Law
Oct 12, 2016 | Environmental Leader
By Lyons Hardcastle
The EPA plans to regulate five chemicals on an expedited basis under the updated Toxic Substances Control Act — a move the agency says will reduce risks to people and the environment.
The five chemicals are:Decabromodiphenyl ethers (DecaBDE), used as a flame retardant in textiles, plastics and polyurethane foam;Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), used in the manufacture of rubber compounds and lubricants and as a solvent;Pentachlorothio-phenol (PCTP), used as an agent to make rubber more pliable in industrial uses;Tris (4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate, used as a flame retardant in consumer products and other industrial uses; and2,4,6-Tris(tert-butyl)phenol, used as a fuel, oil, gasoline or lubricant additive.
“The threats from persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals are well-documented,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator in EPA’s office of chemical safety and pollution prevention, in a statement. “The new law directs us to expedite action to reduce risks for these chemicals, rather than spending more time evaluating them.”
Under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the agency must propose action for these five chemicals by June 22, 2019. Signed into law on June 22, the chemical safety rule amends the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act and requires new testing and regulation of thousands of commonly used chemicals.
Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals are of particular concern because they remain in the environment for significant periods of time and concentrate in the organisms exposed to them. These pollutants can transfer among air, water and land, and span boundaries of geography and generations.
The new law gave manufacturers an opportunity to request by Sept. 19 that the EPA conduct risk evaluations for the PBT chemicals on the agency’s work plan, as an alternative to expedited action. Requests for risk evaluations were made for two chemicals that can be used in fragrance mixtures.
For the remaining PBT chemicals, the agency says it the law requires it to move ahead to take expedited action to reduce exposure to those chemicals to the extent practicable.
After the EPA finishes identifying where these chemicals are used and how people are exposed to them, the agency will propose limitations on their use.
Since the new law took effect, the EPA has also banned exports of five mercury compounds, effective Jan. 1, 2020.
The agency has also posted an Implementation Plan that outlines its first-year plans to implement the new chemical safety rules. It gives chemical companies and others a better idea of what, and when, they can expect in terms of EPA rulemaking and enforcement activities.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/10/12/epa-fast-tracks-5-chemicals-under-new-tsca-law/
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Consent Orders For New Chemicals On The Rise Under TSCA
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A backlog of pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) and increasing number of TSCA consent orders could delay new products reaching the market, says the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (Socma).
According to the EPA, the provisions on new chemicals are the area of TSCA most immediately impacted by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.
Under the new law, the EPA now must make an "affirmative finding” of safety before a new substance is allowed on the market. If the agency decides a substance poses an unreasonable risk, it must issue an order to prohibit or restrict it.
At the time of the law’s passage, there were several hundred chemicals at different stages of the review process, with around 1,000 new submissions arriving each year.
And in order to make an affirmative finding for “reasonably foreseen” uses, says the EPA, it “may require a section 5(e) order where it might not have been necessary in the past”.On-the-ground effects
Socma senior manager of government relations, Dan Newton, told Chemical Watch its members are already seeing an uptick in consent orders.
As an example, one member has a pending case that is in a mixture, and one of the major components of this is already on the TSCA inventory and is what contributes to the hazards. But the company, said Mr Newton, “is still going to end up with a consent order, whereas in the past it probably would have resulted in a [significant new use rule] Snur, if any regulation at all.”
If consent orders become the new normal, he said, “submitters could be looking at up to 90 days or more” for review of their new substances. “Timely access to market is very important, especially for batch manufacturers who make chemicals on demand.
“Some PMNs have been pending since April, and it appears the EPA is asking to suspend these cases even longer in order to get letters out to submitters, which is yet another new requirement that seems to be slowing things down. All of the extra time that is needed is time manufacturers could be selling their products,” he added.Consent order uptick
The EPA says there are several areas in Lautenberg that can mean more chemicals become subject to 5(e) orders. Such orders can contain toxicity testing; distribution, release and use restrictions; workplace safety measures like personal protective equipment or exposure limits; hazard communication requirements; and record keeping requirements.
First, the new law has added the finding of “insufficient information” to evaluate the health or environmental effects of a new chemical. This must lead to an order, requiring the provision of information sufficient to allow the EPA to assess the chemical's potential risk.
Additionally, it requires the EPA to reach a decision for both intended and “reasonably foreseen” uses of new chemicals.
Under prior law, says the agency, if it did not find potential for risk resulting from the intended use of a new chemical, due to low exposure, instead of an order it would issue a Snur, requiring notification and review of any other use of the chemical.
Under the new law, it will continue to do this – but in order to make an affirmative finding, it will also issue an order binding the submitter to the uses described in its new chemical submission. The EPA says that although this will lead to an increased number of orders, the actual requirements imposed on such chemicals will not change.
Socma says submitters should provide all the information they can when submitting a PMN, specifically environmental and exposure data.
“Any measured test data that is available for the product would be especially helpful,” said Mr Newton.Progress on PMNs
When Lautenberg was signed into law, the EPA decided to regard the 300-odd new chemical notices in mid-review as resubmitted, thus restarting the 90-day clock for their review.
For about 200 of these, it says, it had previously decided to develop orders or to seek additional information from submitters, based on a finding that each chemical “may present an unreasonable risk”. It quickly decided that these chemicals would remain the same under the new law.
Submitters of these notices, says EPA, have agreed to re-suspend the review period, while orders are being developed.
That left the agency with about 115 substances that needed to be re-reviewed. Of these:23 received a determination of “not likely to present an unreasonable risk”;72 “may present an unreasonable risk”, and so an order to require exposure controls or the development of information will be needed. (Of these, 29 were based on the intended use of the new chemicals, and 43 on the substance’s reasonably foreseen use alone);12 PMNs had insufficient information for evaluation. These are interim findings pending the completion of a final determination in an order; andeight were withdrawn by the submitter.
The agency says that as of 27 September, there are 220 new chemical notices under review for which the agency has not yet made an interim or final determination. This includes 88 submitted prior to Lautenberg's enactment.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50221/consent-orders-for-new-chemicals-on-the-rise-under-tsca
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Scientists In N.J., Germany Support 'No Safe Level' Of Teflon Chemical In Drinking Water
Oct 12, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By David Andrews
PFOA, a carcinogenic chemical formerly used to make DuPont's Teflon, contaminates drinking water for at least 7 million Americans and is in virtually everyone’s blood.
The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to set a legal drinking water limit for PFOA, but last spring significantly lowered the unenforceable health advisory level. Now, new health assessments from government scientists in New Jersey and Germany show that the EPA's research is flawed, its health advisory is still far too weak and there may effectively be no safe level of PFOA in drinking water.
In June, a month after the EPA lowered its advisory level, the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute proposed what it calls a health-based maximum contaminant level for PFOA in water of 14 parts per trillion, or ppt – five times lower than the EPA health advisory of 70 ppt. (The EPA advisory level is for the combined level of PFOA and the related chemical PFOS, formerly an ingredient in 3M's Scotchgard.) If New Jersey legislators adopt the recommendation as a drinking water standard, it will be the only legal limit on PFOA in the nation.
In proposing the health-based limit, the New Jersey scientists were very critical of the EPA health advisory finding, saying drinking water with PFOA at the advisory level would cause a significant increase in concentrations of the chemical in Americans' blood. They also said:The EPA failed to consider women who may become pregnant and their future children as more sensitive to PFOA.The EPA ignored studies showing that current levels of PFOA in Americans’ bodies are already causing health problems.The EPA ignored studies on PFOA's effects at lower concentrations on the development of mammary glands.
Last month, the German Human Biomonitoring Commission went even further. German scientists determined that the level of PFOA in blood not expected to cause adverse health effects is below what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already found in the average American, meaning that any additional exposure through drinking water should be avoided.
In developing this standard, the German agency used human data dismissed by the EPA that showed PFOA exposure caused problems with pregnancy, hormones and thyroid, and reduced the effectiveness of vaccines. The blood level standard set by the German scientists would correspond to a limit for PFOA in drinking water of 1.9 ppt – 36 times more stringent than the EPA health advisory.
It's been more than 15 years since the EPA was first alerted to PFOA's hazards, but the agency says it could be 2019 before it even decides whether to begin the process of setting an enforceable nationwide standard. As EWG wrote in April to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, the “glacial pace and uneven approach to protecting the public from this highly persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemical... borders on an abdication of the agency’s responsibility to protect public health.
http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2016/10/scientists-nj-germany-support-no-safe-level-teflon-chemical-drinking-water
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Echa Heads, Ueapme Discuss Help For SMEs With 2018 Deadline
Oct 12, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The heads of Echa and European SMEs trade body, Ueapme, met last week to discuss how to help such businesses meet the 2018 REACH registration deadline.
An Echa delegation, led by executive director Geert Dancet, met Ueapme secretary general, Peter Faross, and sustainable development director, Guido Lena, to discuss ways of ensuring as many SMEs as possible know about the deadline and how to access further information.
Ueapme officials described its initiatives at member state level and the challenges involved in reaching out to SMEs. The two parties discussed plans for future cloud services and how to best communicate REACH compliance, Echa said.
“In some member states, most SMEs are members of business organisations through which they should be receiving regulatory information,” Mr Lena told Chemical Watch.
“There are other European countries, such as Italy, where there is no such membership. For the many SMEs outside a network, it is difficult to coordinate action.”
Echa told Chemical Watch it is “particularly keen to reach the unreachables" in relation to 2018 REACH obligations. In order to do this, Ueapme suggested Echa and member states should use newspapers and television adverts to relay key messages outside of these networks, Mr Lena said.
Echa could also sponsor a conference about the registration deadline at member state level, he said, adding this needs to happen as soon as possible.
In Austria, Ueapme has organised a REACH stakeholder day in Vienna, in March, with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO).Finance
Echa and Ueapme also discussed finding additional sources of finance to help compliance with REACH.
“We said the best thing is to convince banks, which at local level are traditional lenders for SMEs, to improve access to finance,” Mr Lena said. “It is unrealistic that the EU can give money to SMEs in Europe to prepare for REACH.”
Yet money might be made available through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), he said. Ueapme will write to EFSI to see if it is possible to achieve this through its SME Window - the fund's scheme through which intermediary banks across the EU provide finance to SMEs.
Mr Lena also told Echa that fees associated with REACH are high. And while SMEs can benefit from reduced fees under REACH, CLP and the biocides Regulation (BPR), “most member states implement fees with no discount”. Ueapme, said Mr Lena, has already contacted DG Sante about the issue. “After the meeting we also sent the same documents to Echa.”Other business
The two parties also discussed the joint statement Echa signed, later that week, with Cefic and the Downstream Users of Chemicals Coordination (Ducc) group to back the greater use of chemicals use maps.
Echa said a similar initiative by Echa and Ueapme could “help to ensure that as many chemical companies and formulators are made aware of their obligations and get to know the tools available to help them in complying”.
They also discussed the challenges for businesses, created by the BPR, with Mr Dancet asking Ueapme what it saw as the main problem. “We said the data sharing,” Mr Lena said. “This is more or less like REACH – expensive and incredibly bureaucratic for SMEs to be involved – more than REACH, I would say.”
There will be further meetings between Ueapme and Echa, he said. The trade body has invited Mr Dancet to its general assembly on 15 December to speak to the heads of the national associations and address key messages on regulatory challenges.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50227/echa-heads-ueapme-discuss-help-for-smes-with-2018-deadline
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Emails Reveal Clinton's 'Go-To' Advisers On Energy, Science
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
Leaked emails from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign show scientists, a former U.S. EPA chief and governors were invited to serve as her primary advisers on energy, climate, environment and infrastructure.
In an Oct. 27, 2015, email, Milia Fisher, an aide to campaign chairman John Podesta, asks her boss to approve an invitation for eight people to serve as "senior partners" on the campaign's policy working group.
The email was among thousands of hacked messages released by WikiLeaks that discuss negotiations about the Keystone XL pipeline, Clinton's book, and her otherwise private, paid speeches that her staff had flagged as potentially problematic. Podesta yesterday blamed Russian intelligence for the illegal breach.
Asked to work on climate and energy issues, the emails show, was former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), now a senior partner on energy policy in the Clinton campaign, and former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D).
Also invited was former EPA Administrator and White House climate czar Carol Browner. "Carol Browner [she's already agreed to be a Senior Partner so John should just send her a quick thank you note]," Fisher wrote.
On "infrastructure and investment" matters, emails show the campaign invited former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D); and Jane Garvey, a former Federal Aviation Administration chief who is now North American chairwoman of Meridiam Infrastructure, a Paris-based investor in public-private partnerships.
For advice on science, the campaign turned to University of Michigan ecologist Rosina Bierbaum, who is, among other things, the review editor for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Lander is a geneticist, molecular biologist and mathematician.
"Senior partners will work with a coordinator (a mid career professional who has a high level of expertise in the policy area) to lead a large group of outside advisors in developing specific policy proposals for the campaign," according to the email. "These senior partners will also work with the coordinator to plan for and participate in the monthly working group call. In sum, senior partners will serve as a go-to person for the HFA policy team."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/10/12/stories/1060044163
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Shimkus Faces RFS 'Angst' In Bid For Energy Gavel
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
A top contender to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress is facing doubts over his commitment to reforming the federal renewable fuel standard if he becomes chairman of the powerful panel.
Some energy lobbyists fear that Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), the most senior Republican on the committee who has not already served as chairman, may be reluctant to aggressively take on RFS reform should he succeed in his quest to replace term-limited Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), given that his southeastern Illinois district is a major corn producer. The Department of Agriculture ranked Shimkus' district seventh among the 435 congressional districts in corn production in 2012.
While several other Republicans on Energy and Commerce have been mentioned as contenders for the gavel next year, including former committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and current Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) is considered Shimkus' main competitor for the slot.
Walden, the chairman the panel's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, has been far more active on that aspect of the committee's broad jurisdiction than environmental and energy policy. Shimkus, on the other hand, is chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy and a senior member of the Energy and Power Subcommittee.
During a Energy and Power Subcommittee hearing in June on the RFS, Shimkus urged a "move toward compromise" on reforming the program. "We will be better when we work together than when we work apart," he said.
But reform advocates say Walden has staked out more of a position than Shimkus, noting that the Oregonian was among the signatories of a November 2015 letter that called on U.S. EPA to exercise its statutory authority to waive the conventional biofuel volumes to keep blending requirements below the so-called blend wall.
Additionally, Walden is among the co-sponsors of bipartisan legislation (H.R. 5180) from Reps. Bill Flores (R-Texas) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) that would cap the volume of biofuels added to transportation fuels at just under the level that RFS opponents say won't harm engines.
Walden's stated support for changes to the RFS has reassured lobbyists who favor reform and are wary of Shimkus.
"When you look at his actions, what he'd done or shown the public to date, his resume is full of knowledge and support and understanding of the trials and tribulations that are the RFS and that as refiners we struggle with," said one energy lobbyist of Walden. The lobbyist added that RFS reform advocates have made their views on the issue known to the House GOP Steering Committee that will ultimately pick the next chairman.
"You can be assured that members of the Steering Committee, whether they're current ones or ones who are going to be on it, certainly know that there's a lot of distance between Walden and Shimkus on the issue of the RFS," the lobbyist said.
Hesitation over Shimkus persists despite a late June meeting the lawmaker convened with lobbyists to clear the air over the issue.
"We all had a pretty good meeting with Mr. Shimkus at the end of June, and he said all the rights things about being open to pursuing RFS reform, bringing all the parties together," said one refining industry executive who attended the meeting.
"I think there's a lot of skepticism still in many corners relative to how sincere he is on that issue," the executive said. "I think in general, refiners are going to be a little more at ease with Mr. Walden as chairman, and I suspect that preference is shared by the telecom and health care industries as well."
This lobbyist conceded the RFS grumblings aren't likely to derail Shimkus' bid for the chairman's seat, noting that even if he doesn't get the full committee chairmanship, he's likely to end up with the gavel for the Subcommittee on Energy and Power instead.
"Shimkus is a really smart guy, and look, Shimkus is in the room whenever an RFS deal is cut," the lobbyist said. "It's not a question of doing a work-around the guy. It's do you want him holding the big gavel or the subcommittee gavel? And I don't know that anyone is going to lay down in the tracks if it's going to be Shimkus, but there's just general angst if it is him."
Walden's office noted his support for the Flores-Welch legislation but declined to make the lawmaker available for an interview. Lobbyists say Walden is currently "laser-focused" on the November elections, given his role as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
A strong showing by GOP House candidates Nov. 8 would likely boost Walden's odds of ending up with the Energy and Commerce gavel, one lobbyist said last week, although that was before explosive audio of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump speaking of women in crude and offensive terms was released. Those recordings brought long-simmering discontent within the Republican Party with Trump out into the open just weeks before the election and prompted House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to tell his caucus this week he's focusing his attention solely on preserving GOP congressional majorities (Greenwire, Oct. 10).The 'perfect person' to broker a deal
Shimkus last week maintained that he's uniquely situated to "untangle" the "mess" that is the RFS, noting that in addition to cornfields, his district also has a refining presence and marginal oil production.
"The interesting thing is my district is the perfect district to address reform," he told E&E News in a phone interview. "I have one huge refinery in the central part of my district, and then there's a refinery that I in essence grew up next to that's been part of my community my entire adult life. Then in between them, there's a lot of corn and soybeans. So I'm the perfect person to really address them."
While members of both parties have focused plenty of attention on reforming the RFS in recent years with few signs of progress, Shimkus said the stars are starting to align for legislative reform.
"First of all, you've got to have an appreciation that there's a lot being done right now," he said. "There's a lot of talks going on, about what's the middle ground, what can we do, talking to all the stakeholders. And sometimes they like what I say, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes my strongest allies are mad at me."
Shimkus also noted divisions within the refining sector on RFS reform. "They don't have unanimity on some of the things they want to do," he said.
He points to a major victory he notched in the current Congress — the overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act that President Obama signed into law in June. Shimkus shepherded the bill through the House with more than 400 votes, an unusual show of bipartisan support for rewriting a major environmental law.
"TSCA is harder than reforming the RFS — I know so, without a doubt," Shimkus said. "The vested interest in TSCA was probably a multiple of 10. What do you have on the RFS? You've got crude oil, you've got refiners, you've got ethanol and you've got biodiesel, you've got convenience stores, you've got maybe middlemen, pipelines, stuff like that. ... But it's not really as extensive."
And unlike TSCA, which lingered for nearly four decades without changes, Shimkus noted that the RFS's statutory schedule for setting annual volumes peaks in 2022. "Remember there is a clock ticking on this, and that should be another thing that drives people to the table," he said. "2022 is the clock. And really, people need certainty."
Asked whether RFS reform will be a focus of his tenure as chairman should he prevail, Shimkus signaled the heavy lifting will be delegated to the next chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee.
"It will be a focus of the subcommittee chairman, and getting the right people to the right place is important also," he said.
That slot was held by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) before he stepped down from Congress last month and quickly landed a lobbying gig (Greenwire, Sept. 29).
Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas), who is currently leading the subcommittee and has signaled his interest in continuing to do so in the next Congress, is among the co-sponsors of the Flores-Welch RFS reform bill.
Shimkus said he spent September visiting with members expected to be on the Steering Committee that will ultimately select committee leaders.
"I sat down with them all and gave them my pitch, and I thought I was received well," he said. "I don't think in the Steering Committee that there's a litmus test on issues. I do think that they expect you to be a national leader, not just 'be careful about some of your parochial interests.' And that's what I say, too, I'm going to be a national leader. I have to be cognizant of the concerns of areas of the nation."
After dispatching a conservative primary challenger in March, Shimkus finds himself in the rare position of not having a Democratic challenger in November. He said he intends to spend the next few weeks "being helpful across the nation" to his colleagues who face competitive races. "You don't have to worry about a chairmanship if you're not in the majority," he said.
Shimkus, who made a bid for the Energy and Commerce gavel six years ago before stepping aside for Upton, also said he's not concerned that the race will upend his relationship with Walden, noting the pair have joked on several occasions about the gavel contest.
"Greg's a good friend, and we've worked together for a long time, both on the committee and I've been one of the top supporters of the NRCC," he said. "Those relationships are valuable, and I think we'll be fine."
Reporter George Cahlink contributed.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/10/12/stories/1060044167
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Oct 12, 2016 | AP (In The New York Times
WASHINGTON — THE ISSUE: Energy independence has been a goal of every president since Richard Nixon. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have very different ways to achieve it. How energy is produced and where it comes from affect jobs, the economy and the environment.
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WHERE THEY STAND
Clinton pledges that under her leadership, the U.S. will be able to generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years, with 500 million solar panels installed by the end of her first term. She also vows to reduce U.S. oil consumption by one-third through cleaner fuels such as biodiesel and natural gas and more fuel-efficient cars, boilers, ships and trucks. Clinton generally supports oil and gas drilling on federal lands, but would bar drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
After running as a champion of coal in 2008, Clinton now calls for protecting health benefits for coal miners and their families and helping retrain them for new jobs. She offers cautious support for nuclear power.
Trump vows to "unleash American energy," allowing unfettered production of oil, coal, natural gas and other sources to push the U.S. toward energy independence and create jobs. Trump would sharply increase oil and gas drilling on federal lands and vows to revive the struggling U.S coal industry. He also would open up offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and other areas where it is blocked.
Trump calls for rescinding the Clean Power Plan, a key element of President Barack Obama's strategy to fight climate change, as well as a rule to protect small streams and wetlands from development. He also would cancel the 2015 Paris climate agreement and stop U.S. money going to U.N. global warming programs.
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WHY IT MATTERS
Although energy independence remains elusive, increases in U.S. oil production have lowered reliance on imports. In 2015, the U.S. relied on net imports for about 24 percent of petroleum use, the lowest level since 1970.
Domestic production of all types of energy except coal has boomed in recent years, spurred by improved drilling techniques and discoveries of vast oil supplies in North Dakota and natural gas in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and West Virginia. Production also is up in traditional energy states such as Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Prices at the gasoline pump have declined sharply, to an average of $2.21 per gallon for regular unleaded in September, according to the AAA auto club. That's down from $3.60 per gallon in 2012.
Natural gas, cleaner than coal, has been embraced by politicians from both parties, including Clinton and Trump. Still, critics worry that popular gas drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — and horizontal drilling could be harming air, water and health.
Clinton has said fracking should not take place where states and local communities oppose it, and she pledges to reduce methane emissions from all oil and gas production and protect local water supplies. On climate change, she vows to meet Obama's goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 percent by 2025.
Trump says restrictions supported by Clinton would hurt energy-producing states such as Colorado, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia — battleground states in the election. While arguing that tax credits and other subsidies for wind and solar power "distort" the market, Trump says the U.S. should "encourage all facets of the energy industry."
Wind and solar power have grown in recent years, thanks in part to support from Obama, but renewable energy sources accounted for just 10 percent of total U.S. energy consumption in 2015. Renewable energy is generally more expensive to produce and use than fossil fuels. Clouds impair solar energy and calm skies slow wind farms.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/10/12/business/ap-us-campaign-2016-why-it-matters-energy-.html?_r=0
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Energy Transfer Moves Ahead With Dakota Access, Despite Protests, Obama Request
Oct 12, 2016 | Bloomberg (In Fuelfix)
Energy Transfer Partners LP is moving forward with construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, rejecting the Obama administration’s request that it voluntarily halt some work on the $3.8 billion project.
“Dakota Access looks forward to a prompt resumption of construction activities” the company said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday after an appeals court decision cleared the way for construction to continue on one segment of the project that had been blocked by a legal challenge. While work can continue on a stretch of private land near Lake Oahe in North and South Dakota, construction remains suspended by federal order on another segment, preventing completion of the project.
The company’s decision to resume work comes after several protesters were arrested trying to halt construction at the project earlier this week, and amid a broader effort Tuesday to shut down other pipelines bringing crude from Canada.
Securing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authorization is the last hurdle for the 1,172-mile (1,886-kilometer) pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois, which is almost 60 percent complete. Critics of the project are pressing ahead with protests despite the recent legal setback.
“This fight is far from over,” said Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, in a statement after the appeals court order.
Sioux Tribe
At the center of the controversy is the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has said construction along one section would damage sites it considers culturally significant and pose an environmental hazard where the pipeline crosses the river. Industry groups maintain that Energy Transfer has correctly followed the permitting process, and that the Obama administration’s last-minute interference is an unprecedented action that will affect other infrastructure projects.
Energy Transfer said it expects the federal government to eventually grant the permission it needs to proceed with construction crossing beneath the Missouri River. The pipeline was scheduled to be in service by the end of the year, and the company hasn’t said publicly that it expects that deadline to be delayed. Last month, Chief Executive Officer Kelcy Warren said Energy Transfer would take its battle to Washington where it would meet with officials “to understand their position.”
Federal Review
Last month, a Justice Department attorney said the federal review of Dakota Access will likely be completed in weeks, not months. The Obama administration also began a series of consultations on Tuesday to consider whether nationwide reform is needed for the tribal consultation process on such projects.
Meanwhile, high-profile opposition to the pipeline continues. Neil Young lined the stage with Standing Rock tribal flags at a concert in California on Saturday. The Morton County Sheriff’s Department in North Dakota said 27 people, including actress Shailene Woodley, were arrested on Monday during protests.
Pipeline Shutdowns
Enbridge Inc., Spectra Energy Corp., TransCanada Corp. and Kinder Morgan Inc. shut all or parts of pipelines able to bring more than 2 million barrels a day from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest.
Enbridge shut lines 4 and 67 as a precaution after activists attempted to stop the oil flow on a Minnesota pipeline, company spokesman Graham White said in an e-mail. TransCanada Corp. said it shut the Keystone pipeline as a precaution.
Spectra shut the Montana section of the Express pipeline because of a tampered valve from people trespassing a locked facility. The line has been restarted. Kinder Morgan shut, and then restarted, the Puget Sound section of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
TransCanada’s proposed Energy East oil pipeline and natural-gas lines in the Northeastern U.S. have also faced criticism. Protesters interfered with a Spectra natural gas pipeline that will cross the Hudson River near Entergy Corp.’s Indian Point nuclear plant in New York state, occupying it for about 16 hours on Monday, company spokeswoman Marylee Hanley said.
Energy Transfer Partners owns the Dakota Access project jointly with Phillips 66 and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP. A joint venture between Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Enbridge Energy Partners LP, announced in August, will also take a minority stake in the pipeline.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/10/12/energy-transfer-moves-ahead-with-dakota-access-despite-protests-obama-request/
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Tough Charges Pending Against Protesters Who Broke Into Oil Sands Sites
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
A group of climate change activists could face felony charges and years in prison after protests aimed at blocking the flow of oil sands crude from Canada into the United States.
The group Climate Direct Action broke into valve stations yesterday and tried to shut off the five major cross-border pipelines. Its members posted online videos of themselves turning pipeline valves, saying the action was in solidarity with the protesters trying to block the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota and calling on the Obama administration to stop the import of Canadian oil because of its impact on the global climate (Greenwire, Oct. 11)
"All of our climate victories are meaningless if we don't stop extracting oil, coal and gas now," one of the protesters, Michael Foster of Seattle, said on the group's website.
Four of the pipelines — the TransCanada Keystone in North Dakota, Spectra Express in Montana and Enbridge Line 4 and Line 67 in Minnesota — were closed temporarily, according to the companies. A fifth, Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain line in Anacortes, Wash., wasn't in service when the protesters tried to shut it off.
Three of the group's member are being held in jail in Anacortes and could face felony charges of second-degree burglary and criminal sabotage, said Sgt. Chris Baldwin, a spokesman for the Skagit County Sheriff's Office. They're scheduled for a court appearance this morning.
One protester was arrested in Chouteau County, Mont., and could be charged with criminal mischief and trespassing in connection with the Spectra pipeline, County Attorney Stephen Gannon said. The criminal mischief charge could be a felony — with a sentence up to 10 years in prison — if the damage to the pipeline exceeds $1,500.
Two protesters were being held in Clearwater County, Minn. County Attorney Rick Mollin said he will decide today what charges they'll face, if any. Three others were being held in Pembina County, N.D., where charges haven't been determined, State's Attorney Ryan Bialas said.
The names of those arrested won't be made public until they're formally charged, although Climate Direct Action identified them on its website.
The protesters understood the legal risks and also took steps such as reviewing online pipeline safety courses to minimize the potential for an accident, said Afrin Sopariwala, a spokeswoman for the group.
The protesters called the pipeline companies to inform them that the valves had been closed. Some of them waited at the sites to be arrested.
"All of them felt that they were, by doing this action, preventing a greater danger than the one they are facing," she said.
The coordinated attacks represent an escalation in the movement against pipeline construction. As many as 2,000 people have flocked to Cannon Ball, N.D., where they've used marches and protests to block the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.
There have been dozens of arrests but no widespread vandalism. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which is fighting the Dakota Access project in court, has called on its members to keep the peace.
The Association of Oil Pipe Lines, a trade group, said tampering with a shutoff valve on a high-pressure system could rupture the pipe and cause a spill.
"These are industrial facilities that operate under high pressure, and we don't want anyone to get hurt or cause a release into the environment," said Andrew Black, AOPL President and CEO.
The pipeline companies all said they closed down their lines as a precaution. Spectra reopened the Express pipe a few hours after the protest. TransCanada and Enbridge said they were working to restart their lines last night.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/10/12/stories/1060044148
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Army Corps Denies Violating Cultural, Environmental Laws
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Army Corps of Engineers is pushing back on the original challenge to the Dakota Access pipeline.
In a legal brief filed last night, the agency defended its review process that led to the approval of multiple water crossings for the oil project, which stretches from North Dakota to Illinois and crosses hundreds of water bodies along the way.
One crossing is at Lake Oahe, a dammed section of the Missouri River just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The Lake Oahe crossing sparked explosive opposition to the pipeline from tribes and environmentalists who say the Army Corps did not fully consider impacts to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others (EnergyWire, Sept. 6).
Lawyers for the agency formally responded to the allegations yesterday, denying that the corps violated the Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act or National Environmental Policy Act.
The filing is the latest in a legal and political saga that is working its way through several federal courtrooms and has spurred an unexpected intervention by the Obama administration. Yesterday's brief is a response to the original complaint at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The brief acknowledges that the pipeline travels across property once recognized as Sioux land but denies any wrongdoing. It notes that the Sioux identified some areas of cultural interest but none within the Lake Oahe permit area.
"Defendant admits that there are historic sites, such as an earthlodge village and a cemetery located approximately 1.2 miles from the [Lake Oahe] site in Morton County, North Dakota, that are outside the permit area but in the general vicinity of the Dakota Access Pipeline route," the brief says.
It also takes issue with the tribe's allegation that the Army Corps is relying on consultation procedures that were never approved by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
"Defendant denies that its procedures for complying with Section 106 have never been approved by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation," the filing says.
The brief goes on to deny numerous other allegations and dismisses some as "vague and ambiguous."
While the district court considers the merits of the case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is reviewing the lower court's refusal to grant a broad injunction along the length of the pipeline. The appeals court recently lifted a construction freeze near Lake Oahe (EnergyWire, Oct. 11).
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/10/12/stories/1060044145
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Mark Ruffalo Asks Obama To Crack Down On Fracking
Oct 12, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Actor Mark Ruffalo is asking President Obama to use his last 100 days in office to crack down on hydraulic fracturing.
In an open letter Tuesday, Ruffalo, an outspoken fracking opponent, criticizes Obama for overseeing a dramatic increase in oil and natural gas production without taking aggressive action to protect Americans from the pollution related to fracking.
“While we are grateful for your leadership in acknowledging climate change, the expansion of drilling and fracking for oil and gas during your presidency and its disastrous impact on the climate threaten to undermine the legacy of this significant work,” Ruffalo wrote.
“This extreme form of fossil fuel extraction that you have supported is contaminating people’s drinking water, polluting the air, and making more and more families sick.”
Ruffalo wants Obama to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reopen a trio of investigations into potential water pollution from fracking in Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Texas.
He is also asking Obama to order other investigations into potential fracking-related water pollution across the country, to meet with families who say that they were harmed by the pollution and to watch the documentary “Dear President Obama: The Clean Energy Revolution is Now” — which Ruffalo narrated.
“Fracking is an issue that is not going away and in fact, the more we learn about the process, the more we learn about the lasting harm it will inflict on people, drinking water, the environment and the climate,” Ruffalo wrote. “You still have time to take action before you leave office.”
Fracking has increased dramatically during the time Obama has been in office, leading to massive increases in domestic oil and natural gas production.
Ruffalo and other environmental activists have for years complained about the harms from fracking, including the effects on climate change from gas leaks, and have been frustrated by what they see as a lackluster response by Obama.
A draft report from the EPA last year concluded that fracking has not resulted in “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources,” though it identified specific instances of problems. Greens have strongly pushed back against the report's conclusion.
The gas industry also says its practices are safe and environmentally friendly.
“Hydraulic fracturing is being done safely under the strong environmental stewardship of state regulators and industry best practices,” Erik Milito, director of upstream operations at the American Petroleum Institute, told reporters recently.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wants to better regulate fracking and let towns and cities ban it, while Republican Donald Trump wants to cut back on regulations on the oil and gas industry, including those on fracking.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/300573-mark-ruffalo-asks-obama-to-crack-down-on-fracking
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'Blockbuster' Cases The New Norm In Enviro Litigation
Oct 12, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The United States has entered the "era of mega-cases" in environmental litigation.
So says the Obama administration's top environmental attorney.
Environmental litigation is more demanding and requires more of the Justice Department's resources, but the payoffs are higher, said John Cruden, chief of DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Addressing an environmental law gathering here last week, he cited the BP PLC settlement for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as an example, where the company agreed to pay more than $20 billion in a deal with the government and five Gulf Coast states.
"You used to be able to count on one hand the number of 1-million-document cases we had. Now I can't do that," Cruden said at the American Bar Association environmental law conference in Denver. "Now when we talk about million-document, we talk about terabytes of documents that are there. It's so standard for us."
Cruden, who has been the DOJ's top environmental lawyer since December 2014, said that the centers of complex litigation previously involved antitrust cases and, in the area of the environment, Superfund cleanup.
Superfund litigation involves complex questions of liability for contaminated sites and payment and reimbursement for cleanup.
While Superfund remains a key part of DOJ's activities, the "mega-case" trend has spilled into other areas of environmental litigation. Another recent example is the proposed $14.7 billion settlement to resolve the Volkswagen AG emissions cheating scandal.
"The antitrust assistant attorney general just sent over people to consult with us — environment — asking how do you do mega-cases there?" Cruden said.
On top of having more documents to deal with, DOJ's environmental lawyers are also dealing with new technology in and out of the courtroom in these big cases, Cruden said. Electronics have changed the display of information inside the courtroom, while new monitoring technologies are making it easier to track pollution in the environment.
"Technology has transformed the courtroom," Cruden said. "It's an opportunity for us, and it's also a challenge for us as litigators."
Increasingly, DOJ's environmental law practice has also "gone overseas," Cruden added, where U.S. attorneys have to wade through other countries' laws as part of litigation.
"That's also a whole other new world for us — having just not only these massive documents and very often class-action litigation that we do simultaneously, but then dealing with this internationally," Cruden said. "Trying to figure out other countries' laws has become part of our normal process."
Aside from big enforcement cases, DOJ is currently dealing with litigation over U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan and the administration's Clean Water Rule, otherwise known as Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS. Both of those "blockbuster" cases have the "potential to really define the scope of regulatory authority at EPA," said Ronald Tenpas, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and former DOJ assistant attorney general.
In both cases, challengers say EPA has overstepped the authority given to it by Congress.
"One of the things that I think will come out of the Clean Power Plan litigation and the Waters of the U.S. litigation is some testing and illustration of very, very big constitutional themes that are not especially connected to environmental law," Tenpas said. "Environmental law will be the vehicle, in the same way that environmental law produced Chevron, which matters across every nook and cranny of administrative law."
The 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Councilestablished the principle under which the courts defer to reasonable agency interpretations of statutes where Congress is ambiguous on an issue.
Environmental cases are more politically salient nowadays because they follow the narrative put forth by opponents of regulation that the executive branch is usurping Congress, said Richard Revesz, director of New York University's Institute for Policy Integrity.
"It's cast as some tectonic fight between the executive branch and Congress," Revesz said. "It gets more public attention."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/10/12/stories/1060044162
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Paris Climate Deal Will Need Tweaks, US Negotiator Says
Oct 12, 2016 | Houston Chronicle
By Chris Tomlinson
AUSTIN - China and India will likely meet the carbon emission goals set out in the Paris climate deal, but those cuts will not be enough to address global warming, the top U.S. climate negotiator said Tuesday.
Jonathan Pershing, the new U.S. climate envoy, said the majority of the world's population and governments are committed to reducing carbon emissions, and that the deal reached last year is just the beginning.
China, the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, will cut back on fossil fuels, he predicted on the sidelines of the SXSW Eco conference in Austin.
"I find that China is actually quite aggressive in meeting the targets it puts in its five-year plans. In my mind, they are likely to exceed the targets it sets for itself," Pershing said. "That doesn't speak to whether China will invest in new coal (power plants), and I think it will."
The real question for critics of the Paris deal is how many coal-fired power plants would China and India have built without an agreement, Pershing said. Enough cuts to have a real impact can only come after global emissions begin to decrease, he added.
'To me, what's been done here is not an absolute target number," he said. "The intent was never to say that in a five-year period, everything would be fixed."
The only way to roll back the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to stop burning fossil fuels. Transitioning to zero-carbon alternatives will take decades if not generations to accomplish.
Fossil fuel producers, though, are fighting to stay in business. OPEC has lowered prices, and international oil companies are moving toward producing more natural gas for electricity generation and shifting away from pumping crude oil for transportation.
Pershing says these intermediate years will see more hybridization, not only of cars, but for power plants.
"You can have a gas plant that can turn on and off literally in seconds, and that can provide a backstop," he said. "All of a sudden I have a very different idea for a hybrid system that involves a variable technology like wind and solar, and if I can combine the two, I can have efficiencies of 10, 30, 50 even 70 percent."
Pershing was pessimistic about a global carbon tax, which would be the most economically efficient method of reducing consumption of fossil fuels. He said under the Paris Agreement, each country can choose its own methods of discouraging fossil fuel use.
Some countries like India and Japan tax coal. Norway taxes oil. The European Union has a cap-and-trade system, while the U.S. relies on regulations like the Clean Power Plan. Fossil fuel companies will likely have to deal with hundreds of different systems for discouraging use of their product.
"Nations are taking a series of different policy routes," he said. "People are applying it differently because of different politics."
We'll see if China and India meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement, and we'll also soon find out if the Clean Power Plan will deliver the emission cuts the U.S. has promised the rest of the world.
One thing is certain, the fight against climate change overcame a huge hurdle last December, and there is more action on the way.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/outside-the-boardroom/article/Paris-climate-deal-will-need-tweaks-US-9963450.php
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Significant Divisions Complicate International HFC Talks
Oct 12, 2016 | Politico
By Anthony Adragna
DIVISION IN KIGALI: Developing nations are spending today in Kigali, Rwanda, trying to mend a split over the best way to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, a potent greenhouse gas. Negotiators are seeking to broaden the Montreal Protocol to regulate HFCs in an effort to hold back global warming by as much as 0.5 degree Celsius. Multiple sources tell ME that there's consensus among attendees that HFC emission growth must be halted, but there are divisions over the deadline for capping them.
In particular, China, Brazil, and other large developing countries are willing to set the date before 2025, but India and the Gulf States are looking for a date in the back half of that decade. Former Clinton White House climate official Paul Bledsoe, who is also in Kigali, said the Gulf States are trying to slow negotiations with procedural ploys.
http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-energy/2016/10/national-pipeline-fight-enters-a-new-phase-the-race-to-replace-upton-heats-up-past-gop-administration-brass-buck-trump-216812
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