Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 11/2/2016
-
(ACC Mentioned) 2015 US Plastic Bottle Recycling Rate Shows No Growth
Nov 2, 2016 | Recycling Today
By Staff
The 2015 U.S. plastic bottle recycling rate posted a slight decrease of 0.5 percent compared with 2014, according to figures released by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in the 26th annual “National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report,” available at... -
(ACC Mentioned) US EPA Proposes Snurs for Carbon Nanotubes, Isocyanate Substances
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA is proposing significant new use rules (Snurs) for three substances that were the subject of pre-manufacture notices (PMNs), submitted before the 22 June passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act. -
EPA Reopens Comment Period for TSCA SNU Regulations
Nov 1, 2016 | National Law Review
By Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, and Margaret R. Graham
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reopened the comment period on a proposed rule revising regulations governing significant new uses (SNU) of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), per a request from a commenter. -
Enviros Incensed, Dow Pleased as EPA Re-Approves Enlist Duo
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Gabriel Dunsmith
U.S. EPA re-approved the controversial pesticide Enlist Duo yesterday, overriding a prior agency decision that found the product acutely toxic. -
California Considers Biomonitoring Chemicals Used in UV Applications
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Biomonitoring California's Science Guidance Panel (SGP) is reviewing the chemical class, benzophenones and phenolic benzotriazoles, for future consideration as potential designated chemicals. -
US EPA Announces Agenda for Safer Choice Summit
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has released the agenda and goals for its Safer Choice stakeholder summit. -
(ACC Mentioned) Dakota Access May Have to Move, Obama Says
Nov 2, 2016 | Politico Pro - Morning Energy
By Anthony Adragna
President Barack Obama waded into the tense battle over the Dakota Access pipeline late Tuesday to deliver a big win to the tribal and environmental groups fighting the project. -
Army Corps Considering Pipeline Reroute — Obama
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Federal officials are considering whether to reroute the contentious Dakota Access pipeline, President Obama said yesterday. -
Obama Weighs In, Shaking Up Pipeline Debate
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
President Obama signaled yesterday that the Army Corps of Engineers is weighing options for rerouting the contentious Dakota Access oil pipeline to protect lands that Native Americans consider sacred, but experts say the administration is facing a very heavy lift. -
Four Oil/NatGas Companies Volunteer for EPA Methane Reduction Program
Nov 2, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jeremiah Shelor
Four companies -- Kinder Morgan Inc., National Grid, Southern Company Gas and Southwestern Energy Co. -- have joined a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, the agency said last week. -
Company Aims to Pump More Gas into Aliso Canyon Storage Site
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
Southern California Gas Co. wants to resume pumping natural gas into the Aliso Canyon storage field a year after the biggest methane leak in U.S. history occurred at the site northeast of Los Angeles. -
For Nation's Most Oil-Dependent State, the Bottom is Deep
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
A thin line of clouds lingered on the mountains that ring Kachemak Bay in August as tourists hauled their fresh-caught halibut off fishing boats and foodies streamed into local seafood restaurants in this coastal Alaska town. -
House Dems Want 'Thorough' Investigation of Fatal Accident
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
Key House Democrats are pressing the Department of Transportation for a "full and thorough" investigation of the gasoline pipeline explosion that left one dead and five injured in central Alabama earlier this week. -
Deadly Blast in Ala. Related to Sept. Leak
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
For the second time in two months, a pipeline in Alabama has shut down, and fuel prices have jumped as a result. -
US Osha Seeks Input on Positions for UN GHS Conference
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to hold a public meeting on 15 November, to discuss potential government positions for the 32nd session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (UNSCEGHS). -
Association of American Railroads Honor 33 Companies for Safely Handling Hazardous Materials
Nov 2, 2016 | GSN Magazine
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today announced the 2015 recipients of the Holden-Proefrock Award and Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award. -
Senator Questions Exemptions to Automatic-Braking Technology Requirement
Nov 2, 2016 | Washington Post
By Ashley Halsey III
Sen. Richard Blumenthal has asked federal regulators to reexamine a policy of granting exemptions to requirements for automatic braking technology, following a deadly crash at the New Jersey Transit railway station that had received such an exemption. -
Rapid Expansion of Renewable Energy is Not Always Sustainable
Nov 2, 2016 | Clean Tech (in Real Clear Energy)
By Joshua S. Hill
A new study has concluded that the rapid expansion of renewable energy technology is not inherently sustainable, if the materials and industries involved are not themselves sustainable.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation News
Environment News
-
(ACC Mentioned) 2015 US Plastic Bottle Recycling Rate Shows No Growth
Nov 2, 2016 | Recycling Today
By Staff
The 2015 U.S. plastic bottle recycling rate posted a slight decrease of 0.5 percent compared with 2014, according to figures released by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in the 26th annual “National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report,” available at https://plastics.americanchemistry.com/2015-United-States-National-Postconsumer-Plastic-Bottle-Recycling-Report.pdf. The overall U.S. recycling rate for plastic bottles in 2015 was 31.1 percent, down slightly from 31.7 percent the previous year, according to the report.
Since 2010 plastic bottle recycling has grown by nearly 400 million pounds, increasing on average by nearly 80 million pounds per year, or 2.9 percent annually, the ACC and APR say.
Following 25 consecutive years of growth, several factors contributed to the recent plateau, the associations say, including a decline in material collected for recycling, reduced exports and increased contamination of recyclables. In addition, use of plastic bottles in packaging applications continued to expand but was offset by lightweighting and increased use of concentrates with smaller, lighter bottles.
In 2015, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling decreased by 15 million pounds, while collection of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles, which includes bottles for milk, household cleaners and detergents, dipped slightly by 0.4 percent, or 4.8 million pounds, at just over 1.1 billion pounds for the year. The recycling rate for HDPE bottles declined 0.4 percent to 34.4 percent.
Domestic processing of recycled HDPE continued to grow for the fifth consecutive year, according to the report. Domestic reclaimers processed more than 1 billion pounds in 2015, an increase of 4.4 percent. Total domestic capacity to process postconsumer HDPE grew to 1.46 billion pounds, with reclaimers continuing to use assets to process nonbottle HDPE and polypropylene (PP).
Exports of HDPE fell 16 percent to 184 million pounds, while imports rose by 25 percent to nearly 66 million pounds. Given steady domestic collection, these trends resulted in U.S. reclamation plants purchasing nearly 44 million pounds in additional material, the report notes. Domestic reclaimers purchased more than 1 billion pounds of postconsumer HDPE for the year.
“The plastics recycling industry has a history of growth that spans a quarter century and has weathered many factors,” says Steve Alexander, executive director of APR. “As a result of expanded infrastructure and demand, this industry remains well-positioned for long-term growth.”
Steve Russell, ACC vice president of plastics, says, “All of us should remain diligent in recycling our plastics. Putting the right materials into the bin helps make processing more efficient, which supports the long-term growth and stability of plastics recycling.”
This year’s survey also found the collection of PP bottles rose nearly 20 percent to reach 32 million pounds, with the PP collection rate increasing to nearly 18 percent. PP caps, closures and nonbottle containers are widely collected for recycling in the United States, and these data are presented in a separate report on recycling nonbottle rigid plastics, which will be released in the coming months.
PET and HDPE bottles combined make up 97 percent of the U.S. market for plastic bottles, with PP comprising 1.8 percent, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) representing 0.8 percent and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) representing 0.3 percent, the report states.
The 2015 report reflects minor corrections in methodology for PP and HDPE in 2104 and 2015, the ACC and APR note. Details on the corrections are provided in the introduction.
Data on PET recycling referenced in the report were separately funded and published by APR and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). A separate report, “Report on PET Container Recycling Activity in 2015,” is available on APR’s website atwww.plasticsrecycling.org/images/pdf/resources/reports/APR_NAPCOR_2015RateReportFINAL.pdf.
The 2015 United States National Postconsumer Plastic Bottle Recycling Report is based on a survey of reclaimers conducted by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. of Sonoma, California.
Resources for municipal recyclers are available at www.recycleyourplastics.org and at www.plasticsrecycling.org. An informational webinar about the report will be held Monday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. EST. Those interested in attending can register athttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8457610939930067457.
http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/2015-plastic-bottle-recycling-rate/
-
(ACC Mentioned) US EPA Proposes Snurs for Carbon Nanotubes, Isocyanate Substances
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA is proposing significant new use rules (Snurs) for three substances that were the subject of pre-manufacture notices (PMNs), submitted before the 22 June passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.
The three substances’ chemical identities have been claimed as confidential; their generic identifiers are:
functionalised carbon nanotubes, intended for to be used as a thin film for electronic device applications;
diisocyanato hexane, homopolymer, alkanoic acid-polyalkylene glycol ether with substituted alkane (3:1) reaction products-blocked, intended for use as a dual cure/UV cure adhesion/barrier coating for wood substrates; and
modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate prepolymer with polyol, to be used as a raw material for flexible foam.
If adopted, the Snurs would require persons who intend to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances, for an activity designated as a significant new use, to notify the EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity.
The agency had issued direct final Snurs on each of the three chemical substances in May, but it received notices of intent to submit adverse comments on them. These included a response from the American Chemistry Council’s diisocyanates panel and aliphatic diisocyanates panel in reference to the two isocyanate substances.
The agency therefore was required to withdraw the direct final rules and issue them as proposed rules.
Comments on the proposed Snurs will be accepted until 29 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50731/us-epa-proposes-snurs-for-carbon-nanotubes-isocyanate-substances
-
EPA Reopens Comment Period for TSCA SNU Regulations
Nov 1, 2016 | National Law Review
By Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, and Margaret R. Graham
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reopened the comment period on a proposed rule revising regulations governing significant new uses (SNU) of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), per a request from a commenter. EPA states in its Federal Register notice that this request was “reasonable and is therefore reopening the comment period … [for] all interested persons.” The proposed rule would amend the TSCA SNU regulations to align them with revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communications Standard (HCS), as occasioned by OSHA's March 2012 final rule modifying the HCS to conform to the United Nations' (U.N.) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), changes to OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator certification requirements pertaining to respiratory protection of workers from exposure to chemicals. The proposed rule would also amend regulations for SNU rules (SNUR) previously proposed and issued and make a “minor” change to reporting requirements for premanufacture notices (PMN) and other TSCA Section 5 notices.
Commentary
The brief notice reopening the comment period does little to reinforce the magnitude and consequences of these proposed changes. Our memorandum TSCA: Proposed Revisions to Significant New Use Rules Reflect Current Occupational Safety and Health Standards provides a detailed account of the significant and complex issues that these changes raise, briefly reiterated here:
The challenges in aligning labeling, as well as legal and regulatory ambiguities. EPA has devoted considerable effort to clarifying the application of HCS/GHS requirements to Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) but unresolved issues still remain. The implementation of these revisions will most likely present similar challenges.
EPA’s use of the hierarchy of controls (HOC) approach in the significant new use provisions, even though Congress did not include this approach in new TSCA. The wisdom of the inclusion of the HOC approach, even though we recognize and appreciate the importance of HOC as an element in a system to manage or eliminate occupational risks, is questionable and inconsistent.
Whether or not EPA's review considered the possibility that new TSCA may materially impact the content of the proposal. There are signs, such as EPA’s inclusion of old TSCA citations, that point to them not having done this review, and there are no reassurances from EPA that new TSCA’s potential impacts were considered.
Our memorandum TSCA Reform: Proposed Changes to SNUR Procedures Would, Perhaps Inadvertently, Result in Disclosure of CBI to Third Parties/Possible Competitors also brings to light another important legal issue, concerning interesting anomalies that appear in the proposal's discussion of bona fide requests and the disclosure of information potentially considered confidential. EPA proposes to modify the procedures for determining if a specific substance or chemical use is subject to a SNUR when the substance, production volume, or use is claimed as confidential business information (CBI). The source of EPA’s authority to disclose CBI in the ways described in the proposed rule is unclear, as neither old nor new TSCA specifies them, such as the statutory basis and rationale for informing a bona fide intent notice (BFN) submitter of confidential use or production volume conditions. Also, EPA does not justify why disclosure to the BFN submitter is necessary. The current proposed SNUR provides for neither equal disclosure nor equal confidentiality as a result of BFN submission.
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-reopens-comment-period-tsca-snu-regulations
-
Enviros Incensed, Dow Pleased as EPA Re-Approves Enlist Duo
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Gabriel Dunsmith
U.S. EPA re-approved the controversial pesticide Enlist Duo yesterday, overriding a prior agency decision that found the product acutely toxic.
EPA had approved the chemical cocktail — which combines 2,4-D with glyphosate — in 2014 but asked a court to veto the product's registration the next year after new information surfaced (Greenwire, Nov. 25, 2015). The agency cited "synergistic" effects of the active ingredients, claiming 2,4-D and glyphosate would interact in a way that would pose an increased threat to plant health.
But the agency changed course yesterday, asserting that "EPA's initial findings of no synergy" were correct.
"[T]he combination of 2,4-D ... and glyphosate in Enlist Due does not show any increased toxicity to plants and is therefore not of concern," the agency said.
Some environmental groups are pondering legal action to overturn EPA's decision.
Enlist Duo is manufactured by Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of chemical giant Dow Chemical Co., and is used primarily for genetically engineered crops such as corn and soy. The compound was designed to kill "superweeds," which environmental groups claim prosper from the overuse of GMO crops that are created to tolerate pesticides (Greenwire, March 29).
Dow's own patent applications for the product detailed synergistic effects (Greenwire, July 21).
EPA's announcement also proposes approving the pesticide for use on GMO cotton. The agency further suggested greenlighting Enlist Duo for use in 16 more states, bringing the total number of approved states to 35.
Environmental groups, which have fought Enlist Duo for years, broadly panned the move.
"EPA's decision is a capitulation to the agrichemical industry," said George Kimbrell, senior attorney with the Center for Food Safety, in a statement. "We will continue to protect farmers, consumers, and the environment from this toxic crop system, and are exploring all legal options."
A scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity called the "sudden about-face" from EPA "just astounding."
"Just last year the EPA asked a court to cancel registration of this product due to the unknown risks it posed, and now it suddenly wants to more than double the number of states where the pesticide can be used?" said Nathan Donley in a statement.
Dow officials said they were "pleased" with the move.
"As a key component of a comprehensive weed management plan, Enlist Duo herbicide offers a much needed solution for growers, who are struggling with resistant weeds," said spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra in an email.
"This milestone is important to having Enlist Duo registered in time for the 2017 season for use in Enlist cotton, corn and soybeans," she continued.
Environmental groups have repeatedly drawn attention to 2,4-D, as the chemical was used in the infamous Agent Orange pesticide. The compound, sprayed as a warfare chemical during the Vietnam War, has been linked to cancer and other health effects.
"We're disappointed that EPA has doubled down on Enlist Duo rather than pulled its registration of this hazardous pesticide," Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff said in a statement. "Unless EPA makes substantial changes to its previous registration of Enlist Duo, we remain confident it violates the law."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045176
-
California Considers Biomonitoring Chemicals Used in UV Applications
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Biomonitoring California's Science Guidance Panel (SGP) is reviewing the chemical class, benzophenones and phenolic benzotriazoles, for future consideration as potential designated chemicals.
Both classes of chemicals are used as UV absorbers or stabilisers, in such applications as:
sunscreens and other personal care products;
plastics, including food contact plastics;
paints and coatings;
inks and lacquers for paperboard, including food packaging;
textiles;
fragrances; and
pesticide formulations.
Biomonitoring California chooses from among designated chemicals those for biomonitoring.
The substances are being addressed in response to the SGP’s request in 2010 to review sunscreen chemicals as a broad category.
It will advise on the next steps, at its 3 November meeting. These could include:
requesting that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha) prepare a potential designated chemical document on one or both of these classes;
proposing further screening or continued tracking of them;
advising no further action on either class; and/or
suggesting other classes for possible consideration.
Biomonitoring California is a joint initiative of Oehha, the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
https://chemicalwatch.com/50732/california-considers-biomonitoring-chemicals-used-in-uv-applications
-
US EPA Announces Agenda for Safer Choice Summit
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has released the agenda and goals for its Safer Choice stakeholder summit.
Goals to be addressed, at the meeting, include:
reviewing progress of the Safer Choice programme, and exploring ideas for overcoming issues;
expanding the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (Scil) to afford a larger pool of ingredients for current sectors and for enabling additional sectors;
updating participants on Scil chemical reviews, available data and discussion of possible impacts on review criteria;
discussing potential new product sectors, while addressing challenges in currently open product sectors, such as antimicrobials;
cultivating safer chemistry in the supply chain, including an exploration of incentives for driving sales of safer ingredients; and
strengthening outreach and communication to key audiences.
The two-day summit is set to take place on 15-16 November in Washington, DC. Panelists include industry representatives throughout the supply chain, as well as NGOs and consumer advocates.
EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, is scheduled to join EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention assistant administrator, Jim Jones, in a welcome address.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50714/us-epa-announces-agenda-for-safer-choice-summit
-
(ACC Mentioned) Dakota Access May Have to Move, Obama Says
Nov 2, 2016 | Politico Pro - Morning Energy
By Anthony Adragna
OBAMA FLOATS DAKOTA ACCESS ‘REROUTE’: President Barack Obama waded into the tense battle over the Dakota Access pipeline late Tuesday to deliver a big win to the tribal and environmental groups fighting the project. “As a general rule, my view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of Native Americans,” Obama told NowThis News. “And I think, right now, that the Army Corps is examining whether there are ways to reroute this pipeline. So we’re going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that is properly attentive to the traditions of the first Americans.”
Reading between the lines: Dakota Access’ backers say the pipeline is more than 60 percent complete, making it difficult to execute a reroute that would significantly steer clear of the Missouri River crossing that the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their allies have publicly protested for months. But proposing a different route may also expose divisions among the groups protesting the $3.7 billion four-state pipeline — between those who just want to see Dakota Access moved away from the Sioux’s land and many others who want to see the project killed outright.
‘Several more weeks’: Those might be the most frustrating three words for pipeline supporters, who have been eyeing a quick post-election resolution of the increasingly heated standoff on the ground in North Dakota. Look for Obama’s words to heighten the tension on both sides today. Environmental activist Bill McKibben will be on the site of the protests today through Friday, according to 350.org.
TAKE THE (ENERGY) MONEY AND RUN: As the race for the House Energy and Commerce gavel takes shape, energy groups have put nearly twice as much into the reelection coffers of John Shimkus as his main chairmanship rival, Greg Walden. As Pro’s Alex Guillén reports, Shimkus has received $570,000 in contributions from PACs and executives linked to oil, gas and coal producers as well as utilities, nuclear companies and biofuel producers since the beginning of 2015. Those contributions to the Illinois Republican, who chairs the environment and the economy subcommittee and represents one of the biggest corn-producing districts in the U.S., also include $77,000 from energy executives.
By comparison, Oregon’s Walden, who chairs the NRCC as well as E&C’s communications and technology subcommittee, has lodged $320,000 in donations from energy PACs and less than $1,000 from energy executives. Both men are vying for the powerful committee perch, which has oversight of a broad swath of energy, technology and health care issues, because current chairman Fred Upton is term limited by GOP rules.
Tallying the contributions: More than 60 PACs have given to both Shimkus and Walden this cycle, including the American Petroleum Institute, the Edison Electric Institute, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the National Mining Association and the American Chemistry Council. And companies such as BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Koch Industries, Tesoro, Valero, Phillips 66, NextEra, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal have sent checks to both lawmakers. Still, nearly 40 PACs gave to Shimkus but not Walden — most notably biofuel backers like the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Soybean Association, Growth Energy, the National Biodiesel Board, the National and Illinois Corn Growers Associations, as well as ethanol producer POET and biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group.
Shimkus slight favorite: Shimkus has seniority over Walden, and he notched a big victory earlier this year by helping to shepherd a bipartisan Toxic Substances Control Act reform bill into law. He’s seen as the front-runner and told Bloomberg BNA in an interview published Tuesday he feels “pretty good” about his chances. Joe Barton, who was top Republican on the panel from 2005 to 2011, is also running for the job again but is generally seen a dark horse.
http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-energy/2016/11/dakota-access-may-have-to-move-obama-says-217195#ixzz4Os0mudM6
-
Army Corps Considering Pipeline Reroute — Obama
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Federal officials are considering whether to reroute the contentious Dakota Access pipeline, President Obama said yesterday.
In an interview with the video news organization NowThis News, Obama said he is closely monitoring tribes' and environmentalists' widespread opposition to the oil pipeline and wants to find a way to "accommodate sacred lands."
"We're monitoring this closely and, you know, I think as a general rule, my view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of Native Americans," Obama said in the interview, shared last night on "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" on MSNBC.
He added that the Army Corps of Engineers is looking at rerouting options that would be "attentive" to tribal tradition.
"And, you know, I think that right now the Army Corps is examining whether there are ways to reroute this pipeline in a way," he said. "So we're going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that I think is properly attentive to the traditions of the first Americans."
The administration announced in September that it would withhold the final federal approval needed for Dakota Access to finish construction while it double-checks its review process for the approval — a real estate easement needed for the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, a dammed section of the Missouri River.
The Army Corps, which has jurisdiction over several water crossings along the pipeline's route, said in September that a decision on the easement would come in "weeks, not months," but the issue remains pending more than a month later.
The pipeline has been rerouted many times throughout the planning process, most significantly moving a Missouri River crossing from the Bismarck, N.D., area to its current planned location just a half-mile north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The Bismarck crossing passed through more heavily populated areas.
Dakota Access has been barreling ahead on construction outside the Lake Oahe/Missouri River crossing in the meantime. A lawyer for the company told a federal judge last month that it was moving forward with "faith" that the Obama administration would ultimately grant the easement.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045155
-
Obama Weighs In, Shaking Up Pipeline Debate
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
President Obama signaled yesterday that the Army Corps of Engineers is weighing options for rerouting the contentious Dakota Access oil pipeline to protect lands that Native Americans consider sacred, but experts say the administration is facing a very heavy lift.
"Making a significant reroute at this point — either by the order of the government or agreement of the parties — would be difficult," said Van Ness Feldman LLP attorney Edward Gehres, who leads the firm's tribal practice.
Obama waded into the national fight over the Bakken Shale pipeline during an interview with the video news organization NowThis News, revealing the Army Corps is looking at rerouting options that would be "attentive" to tribal tradition.
The administration, he said, is going to "let it play out for several more weeks." Meanwhile, Obama said, he's closely monitoring tribes' and environmentalists' opposition to the oil pipeline and looking for a way to "accommodate sacred lands."
Gehres said the president's comments weren't surprising given the Obama administration's careful approach to energy projects and tribal consultation, but he noted that much of the 1,172-mile-long, $3.8 billion pipeline has been constructed and undergone a federal routing process that accounts for geographic, geologic and environmental concerns.
Central to the debate is the administration's decision in September to withhold final approval needed by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners to finish building the oil pipeline across Lake Oahe, a dammed reservoir on the Missouri River. Although the Army Corps said then it would decide in "weeks, not months," no decision has been made.
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, said the company was unaware of any consideration being given to a reroute. "We remain confident we will receive our easement in a timely fashion," she said.
Yet Obama's remarks and overall decision to wade into the fight in North Dakota have emboldened climate activists and tribes concerned about the safety of their drinking water reserves and sent shock waves through an oil and gas industry intent on expanding the nation's pipeline network to tap a glut of domestic oil and gas.
It's also left legal experts scrambling to understand what once appeared to be a routine permitting process.
In what's slowly shaping up to be an exercise in reading political tea leaves, Maranda Compton, an of-counsel attorney at Van Ness Feldman, laid out the possible paths forward but said the unprecedented nature of the case makes predictions tough.
The Army Corps, she said, could take the highly unusual step of refusing to grant the easement, throwing the pipeline project in jeopardy.
Or the agency could reopen its environmental assessment and reroute the project, she said.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's claims still pending in federal court are fueling the Army Corps' reassessment of its procedural obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act (EnergyWire, Oct. 12).
Any undiscovered or previously unidentified cultural resources — such as human remains or historic artifacts — could trigger a supplemental environmental assessment or, less likely, a full environmental impact statement (EIS), Compton said. An assessment would take a few months, whereas an EIS would require another six months or so, she added.
Industry sources threw out yet another option, saying the Army Corps could grant the easement with conditions and use its leverage to extract an agreement out of Energy Transfer Partners. Any major reroute, industry sources added, would cost developers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The uncertainty shines a bright light on the current route of the Dakota Access pipeline and past routes the company considered.
The project has been rerouted many times throughout the planning process, most significantly moving a Missouri River crossing from the Bismarck, N.D., area to its current planned location, a half-mile north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The Bismarck crossing passed through more heavily populated areas.
Given the political fallout that would accompany building the pipeline along its current route, many are looking for a compromise between the tribes and Energy Transfer.
"The Obama administration has done the right thing in halting this thing, so at least we have a cooling off period to reconsider the corps' and government consultation process with Native Americans," said Tyler Priest, a professor at the University of Iowa who served as a senior policy analyst for the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
As Obama burnishes his legacy and outreach with tribes in the remaining months of his presidency, what's more certain is the administration taking firm steps to improve tribal relations and respond to an unprecedented show of support at Standing Rock.
"The administration will try and resolve Dakota Access as best it can," Compton said, "but they have their eye on how to change the underlying process."
Gehres said Obama is keen on dealing with the permitting process for major infrastructure projects to ensure tribes feel they have a voice, adding that possible mechanisms include proposed legislation, regulations or other documents within the executive authority.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045189
-
Four Oil/NatGas Companies Volunteer for EPA Methane Reduction Program
Nov 2, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jeremiah Shelor
Four companies -- Kinder Morgan Inc., National Grid, Southern Company Gas and Southwestern Energy Co. -- have joined a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, the agency said last week.
The companies have signed onto EPA’s Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program as part of their commitment to the industry-led Our Nation’s Energy (ONE) Future Coalition to reduce methane emissions across the natural gas value chain. The Methane Challenge Program includes two options for companies to participate -- the ONE Future Commitment and the Best Management Practices Commitment.
The EPA launched the Methane Challenge Program this past spring, with 41 founding partner companies from the industry signing on to participate.
“Our voluntary Methane Challenge Program is an important part of the Obama administration’s strategy to reduce methane emissions and we are pleased to expand the program to include the ONE Future Commitment,” acting assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe said. “These partner companies are leading a path to cleaner energy production in the natural gas sector by agreeing to reduce methane emissions and track their progress.”
Participating companies will submit emissions data annually to the EPA.
As part of efforts to address climate change, the Obama administration has targeted a 40-45% reduction in methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas industry by 2025 based on 2012 levels. It has rolled out a combination of voluntary and regulatory measures since announcing its intentions in 2014 (see Daily GPI, March 28, 2014).
Though the industry has been in his administration’s regulatory crosshairs, President Obama recently defended the role of natural gas in helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector (seeDaily GPI, Oct. 4).
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/108305
-
Company Aims to Pump More Gas into Aliso Canyon Storage Site
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
Southern California Gas Co. wants to resume pumping natural gas into the Aliso Canyon storage field a year after the biggest methane leak in U.S. history occurred at the site northeast of Los Angeles.
The company yesterday asked for permission from California regulators to pump pressurized natural gas into the ground at the storage field.
The company has been negotiating with regulators for weeks, according to records.
In these talks, the company said "extensive physical upgrades" have improved safety.
Local lawmakers were quick to condemn the company's request.
"Since the multiple investigations into the cause of the leak have not been completed, we must proceed with extreme caution. Aliso Canyon is not ready to resume normal operations," Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said in a statement.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich introduced a motion to be considered next week that would direct regulators to extend the gas injection ban for Aliso Canyon pending a facility review that must be completed before mid-2017.
The gas company, a branch of Sempra Energy, faces over 180 lawsuits stemming from the leak.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045171
-
For Nation's Most Oil-Dependent State, the Bottom is Deep
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
A thin line of clouds lingered on the mountains that ring Kachemak Bay in August as tourists hauled their fresh-caught halibut off fishing boats and foodies streamed into local seafood restaurants in this coastal Alaska town.
The Homer tourism industry had a record-breaking season this summer. In July alone, more than 5,000 visitors stopped at the two visitor centers run by the Homer Chamber of Commerce. That's almost 1,000 more than a year earlier, noted chamber Executive Director Karen Zak.E&E SERIES
Has the United States seen its last oil boom?EnergyWire explores the issue in this five-part series.
Statewide, almost 2 million visitors traveled to the nation's northernmost state this summer, according to the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
But the tourists flocking to Alaska and the seasonal workers hired to serve them don't help fund the state's schools, troopers or highway construction projects because the state charges no sales or income taxes.
While many oil-patch states are suffering from the price crash, Alaska is the only state in the union that depends almost entirely on oil revenue to pay for government services. Historically, the Last Frontier has relied on crude revenues for up to 90 percent of its unrestricted annual budget. By comparison, other oil states require their residents to pay state sales taxes, income taxes or both (EnergyWire, Oct. 31).
Alaska is far different from other U.S. states that saw rapid growth during the shale oil boom. In those regions, low oil prices are triggering an abrupt collapse of local economies and housing markets, observed Gunnar Knapp, former head of the University of Alaska, Anchorage's Institute of Social and Economic Research. "We're not like North Dakota, where entire towns are drying up," Knapp said.
But the oil price crash does appear to be fundamentally changing the makeup of the Alaska economy, shifting jobs from the oil and gas industry to health care and tourism. And the new jobs aren't bringing new revenues to the state coffers.
"It's highly unlikely that the combination of tourism, health care and all the other things that are positive aspects of the economy can replace the income we've lost — or even a fraction of income we've lost — from oil," Knapp noted.
Oil became the lifeblood of Alaska's economy after vast petroleum reserves were discovered on the state's frigid North Slope in the 1960s. Over the years, the oil industry has poured billions of dollars into the Alaskan economy while the companies have extracted 17 billion barrels of oil from the remote northern lands. State residents suffered through past oil market collapses. But each time, crude prices quickly recovered and the state economy bounced back.
The state's heavy reliance on oil money worked well as long as crude prices remained high. The Alaska oil industry flourished from 2007 through 2014, pumping an average of $7 billion each year into the state budget in the form of oil royalties and other revenues. Legislators took advantage of that bounty by greatly expanding state programs. In 2013, Alaska's budget swelled to nearly $8 billion.
But the last two years of stubbornly low oil prices have taken a heavy toll on the state economy. This year, Alaska expects to receive a mere $1.2 billion in oil revenues — 10 percent of the amount of oil money that poured into the state when oil prices peaked.
As a result, the state is running a budget deficit of more than $3 billion.
Falling oil prices are also forcing the state's oil and gas companies to scale back their expensive Alaska operations. Since prices fell in early 2015, Alaska has lost 3,000 oil and gas industry-related jobs, with more layoffs expected in the coming months, according to Rebecca Logan, general manager for the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. At least five firms have abandoned the state altogether.
As Alaska's oil revenues have declined, the state has cut state programs and eliminated jobs. During the last two years, the state government workforce, including university employees, has fallen by 2,300 positions, according to Pat Pitney, director of the Alaska Office of Management and Budget. Overall, since 2013, lawmakers have reduced the state budget by 44 percent.
Alaska has the highest unemployment rate in the United States: 6.9 percent of state residents were without jobs in August, compared to 5 percent in the rest of the nation.
Over the last year, state employment has declined by 1.3 percent, primarily due to job cuts in the oil and gas, construction, and professional and business services industries, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The failing oil industry is having ripple effects across the state. As oil and gas money stopped flowing into state coffers, Alaska officials slashed the capital budget for roads and infrastructure from $2 billion to only $100 million for fiscal 2017.
Local construction companies "are at the tail end of their projects, and nothing new is starting," Pitney observed. "If you go talk to the design engineers, environmental engineers or construction firms, they're feeling it big-time."
Lawmakers struggle to stanch bleeding
Late last year, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) laid out a bold plan to reduce the state's budget deficit by cutting government spending; imposing unpopular new state taxes, including an income tax; and overhauling Alaska's cherished annual oil dividend system (EnergyWire, Dec. 10, 2015).
Describing his approach as "a major paradigm shift," the governor warned that Alaska can no longer rely on oil revenues to underwrite its annual budget.
But during this year's legislative session, the Republican-led state House and Senate sidestepped most of Walker's ambitious fiscal solutions.
The state lawmakers couldn't agree on any major new taxes. They cut spending and phased out the state's tax credits for Cook Inlet oil and gas operators. At the end of the session, the state Senate adopted a proposal to change the way oil money is used under the state's Permanent Fund Dividend program. But that measure was ultimately blocked by the House.
In late June, the governor used his line-item veto power to make additional spending reductions. That put the final budget at $4.3 billion — a whopping $3.1 billion over the state's expected revenues.
To offset that deficit, lawmakers withdrew money from the state's Constitutional Budget Reserve, one of several state savings accounts created with oil money when prices were high. For the last three years, the state has been tapping those accounts to offset its deficit spending.
Today, Alaska's piggy banks are nearly empty. State budget officials warn that those accounts will be totally depleted in the next two years if deficit spending continues. That would leave Alaska with little or no safety net. "It would be pretty extreme to not have any budget reserves at all," Pitney cautioned.
Despite the state's fiscal crisis, many Alaskans are only beginning to feel the economic pain, noted state Sen. Anna MacKinnon (R), co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. "We've been doing reductions for a while in trying to right-size Alaska's government," she said. "And those reductions haven't been felt by the general population because the Legislature tried to be very strategic in how we were reducing the budget."
But this year's budget cuts could have more-direct impacts on Alaska's 737,625 residents. For one thing, the state is reducing the amount of money it contributes to help local municipalities pay off their school district bond debt. As the state contribution shrinks, local government officials may be forced to raise city property taxes.
The budget cuts also took aim at Alaska's annual Permanent Fund Dividend program. That fund is a $52.8 billion trust created in 1976 to set aside oil money for future generations of Alaskans. Investment earnings from the fund are used to pay an annual oil dividend to each Alaska resident.
Last year, every man, woman and child in the state enjoyed a dividend of more than $2,000 per person. This year, however, Walker used his line-item veto to slash the program appropriation by $665 million, a move that reduced the payments to $1,022 per resident.
The governor's dividend cut is now being challenged in Anchorage Superior Court by a group of current and former state lawmakers (EnergyWire, Sept. 19).
The governor also angered state oil and gas companies by postponing payment of $430 million in state energy development tax credits. Those credits eventually will have to be paid by the state, which could make it more difficult to balance future state budgets.
Meanwhile, the Legislature's budget cutbacks are hitting home across Alaska. Budget reductions for the state marine ferry system are triggering schedule cuts and fare hikes for residents of southeast Alaska who rely on the ships to travel beyond their isolated communities.
The government is decreasing funds for the state's fish management program, a step that Kenai Peninsula officials worry will make it harder for regulators to predict when and how many salmon will be running in the peninsula's world-renowned fisheries.
"We're not getting the data that tells us when we could be harvesting the resource," said Alaska state Rep. Paul Seaton (R), who represents much of the Kenai region and works in the fishing industry. "There are a number of fisheries that have underperformed this year, and we'll see whether they underperformed because we didn't have enough data coming in."
The state has shut down one prison and is considering closing another. It's reducing the number of state troopers patrolling roads, as well as the public safety officer programs that serve remote Native villages. State regulators are also scaling back food inspection programs and vocational education centers.
Alaska state funding for health and social services programs has dropped by $175 million over the last two years, forcing cutbacks in the state's public health nurse programs, senior benefits and Medicaid program.
The Alaska university system is also grappling with major funding cuts. Money for the University of Alaska's Anchorage and Fairbanks campuses has been reduced by $50 million over the last two years. To cope with less resources, the schools have raised tuition and fees, merged educational programs, eliminated some majors and dramatically reduced staffing.
In one headline-grabbing announcement made this summer, university officials proposed combining or totally eliminating the two schools' popular intercollegiate hockey programs. Last week, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen recommended scrapping the ski and track programs at the two universities, a move that would save $1.2 million and affect 95 athletes.
The ultimate future of the schools' sports programs will be decided later this year.
In the meantime, university officials are bracing for another round of multimillion-dollar budget cuts that are likely to be proposed as state lawmakers struggle with shortfalls in the upcoming fiscal 2018 budget.
Oil pain's ripple effect
In late August, an Anchorage business group released a report showing that unemployment among city residents rose slightly during the first half of 2016. The largest cuts came in the oil and gas, construction and mining industries, which together lost 1,300 jobs this year compared to 2015. During the same time frame, the state cut 400 government workers in Anchorage.
On the positive side, employment in the health care sector increased by 1,000 workers, the tourism industry strengthened, and air cargo shipments through the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport continued at a steady pace.
Anchorage Economic Development Corp. President Bill Popp, whose group sponsored the report, was upbeat about the jobs numbers. "Some of our historically dependable sectors have suffered from recent losses in stability, and that's no secret," he said, referring to the oil industry. But thanks to expansion in other sectors, "we certainly have more to look forward to than we do to fear," he asserted.
But many Anchorage residents aren't as sanguine about Alaska's future. According to a separate AEDC report, less than half of the city residents polled were optimistic about the health of the local economy, their personal financial situation and their expectations for the future.
The study said unrelentingly low oil prices and the Legislature's inability to ease the state budget standoff "have cast significant doubt on the state's economy and the effects that [it] will have on both individuals and municipalities."
The state's economic problems are already spreading beyond the oil industry, Alaska Department of Labor economist Neal Fried noted. "When you look at indicators like growth in gross domestic product, personal income — they've all begun to slow down," he said. "Everyone is going to feel it."
Alaska's declining oil industry is also taking its toll on the state's charitable organizations. United Way of Anchorage saw a 10 percent drop in contributions between 2014 and 2015, and may have to lower its expectations for this year's fall fundraising drive.
Elizabeth Miller, vice president for resource development at United Way of Anchorage, explained that job loss in the oil and gas industry is particularly painful for charities, because those high-paid workers have been among the most generous contributors.
"It's difficult to make up the fundraising from the other sectors," Miller said. "It's not usually a 1-to-1 comparison. We have to find more donors to make up one lost donor from the oil industry."
How low can the budget go?
Some optimistic Alaskans cling to the hope that oil prices will recover quickly enough to save the state from having to impose unpopular new taxes. That prospect arose in June, when oil prices jumped above $50 per barrel — twice as much as oil sold for only a few months earlier. Crude prices slid into the mid-$40s-per-barrel range this summer, but are now once again flirting with $50 per barrel.
"Alaska's been to this rodeo before," state Sen. MacKinnon noted. "Prices go up, prices go down. So some elected officials may think that the price can save Alaska once again. And the price can be a part of the solution. But it's not the billion-dollar answer."
But during this year's budget debates, state lawmakers never could get beyond their political differences to solve the state's fiscal problems. Those disputes reflected Alaska's diverse population. In the rural Kenai Peninsula, Seaton said, his constituents would accept new state taxes rather than endure steep program cuts. However, they would oppose a state sales tax because several peninsula communities already have local sales taxes.
MacKinnon, who represents the high-income Eagle River neighborhood of Anchorage, said local residents favor more aggressive state budget reductions and oppose Walker's proposal for a new state income tax. "As anyone would expect, people are trying to protect their own personal assets," she observed.
Alaska state officials are already drafting their budget for fiscal 2018, which begins next July. The governor is required to submit his fiscal proposals to the Legislature by Dec. 15.
And Walker has already issued a warning about the draconian budget cuts he would need to adopt if lawmakers don't take new steps to solve the state's fiscal crisis.
According to a memo released this summer by the governor's office, without new revenues, the state budget would be one-third the size of the current fiscal 2017 budget. State programs would be reduced by 80 percent. School funding would be slashed by two-thirds. Medicaid and other health formula funding would be trimmed by 25 percent. Other state health and social programs would be significantly reduced, privatized or shut down.
Public safety programs would be reduced to a quarter of their current level, and the funding for state capital improvements would be dramatically decreased.
"We're having those conversations on how to move forward," Alaska OMB's Pitney noted. "We all know that we're going to have to continue to reduce the budget. But can we reduce enough to meet the $1.2 billion in revenue that would be available?"
Former Alaska Department of Revenue Deputy Commissioner Larry Persily said deep budget cuts may be popular with some Alaska voters. But he argued that "mathematically, that just doesn't all add up."
Persily, now special assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor's Office, said Alaska needs to adopt a full slate of solutions, including a broad-based state sales or income tax. "We need to admit that we can't live tax-free anymore," he said.
Knapp said state lawmakers face the difficult task of balancing the public's desire for tax cuts and the demand for essential state programs. "What will gradually happen as things get cut back is more people will say, 'Wow, we shouldn't be cutting all of these public services,'" he said. "We need to get some revenues so we don't have to make these drastic cuts.
"At some point, there won't be any more options," he predicted. "We'll use up all the savings, and we'll have to say, 'What do you want to do, cut spending or raise taxes?' And then we're going to go kicking and screaming into some combination of increasing taxes and reducing public services."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045136
-
House Dems Want 'Thorough' Investigation of Fatal Accident
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
Key House Democrats are pressing the Department of Transportation for a "full and thorough" investigation of the gasoline pipeline explosion that left one dead and five injured in central Alabama earlier this week.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, top Democrats on the Energy and Commerce and Transportation and Infrastructure committees noted that Monday's accident is Colonial Pipeline Co.'s third major incident in just over a year, and "at least" the seventh in the past five years.
"This is an unacceptable situation, and we are concerned that the number, frequency and severity of significant incidents on Colonial's system over the past five years could by symptomatic of severe underlying problems with the systems and the company's management of that system," wrote Energy ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Transportation ranking member Peter DeFazio of Oregon.
Also signing the letter were Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Diana DeGette of Colorado, the respective ranking members on the Energy and Power and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees on Energy and Commerce, as well as Michael Capuano of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on T&I's Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.
The Democrats want DOT to investigate the safety of Colonial's system, including management, maintenance and integrity of the company's pipelines over the past five years. The lawmakers also want an initial briefing by DOT on the results by Dec. 1.
Colonial is aiming to restart the pipeline by Saturday (see related story). The pipeline is a major conduit for gasoline in the Southeast region, and its closure is prompting fears of price spikes along the East Coast.
It's the second major accident for the company in two months, after a mid-September leaked 250,000 gallons of gasoline, prompting Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) to declare a state of emergency (Greenwire, Sept. 16).
In a statement, a Colonial Pipeline spokesman said the company is focused on the safety of the general public, responders and contractors affected by the accident. But he defended the safety record of the company's 5,500-mile pipeline system, which moves about 100 million gallons of refined product a day.
"Colonial Pipeline takes these matters very seriously and we will continue to cooperate with [DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration] and other agencies on their ongoing investigations," he said in an email. "We have robust system integrity, inspection and maintenance programs that meet or exceed all federal regulatory requirements. When incidents do occur, we investigate and determine the cause alongside government regulators, and take corrective actions based on lessons learned to minimize the likelihood of similar events happening again in the future."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045175
-
Deadly Blast in Ala. Related to Sept. Leak
Nov 2, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
For the second time in two months, a pipeline in Alabama has shut down, and fuel prices have jumped as a result.
A Colonial Pipeline Co. representative said the pipeline explosion in Alabama this week was "related" to repair efforts ongoing at the site of another line break in September (Greenwire, Sept. 19).
Spokesman David York said work on the site Monday was "related in an indirect way" to the September leak. The company was "excavating the pipe to do some work to help facilitate the installation of new pipe to where the leak actually took place," York explained.
As of yesterday, Colonial had not been able to access the explosion site.
"We still can't get to the site. We're getting closer to the site because the fire is burning itself out," York said. "We won't know [what exactly happened] until the fire's completely exhausted itself and we can get to the site" (Connor Sheets, Birmingham News, Nov. 1).
Key Democrats in the House are pushing the Department of Transportation for a "thorough" investigation of the incident (see related story).
Colonial's largest shareholder, Koch Industries Inc., has no liability in the explosion and fire, which killed one person and injured at least five.
Koch Industries owns over 28 percent of the company, along with four other co-owners.
"The companies that own the Colonial Pipeline Co. are a lot like the shareholders of a publicly traded organization, so they aren't going to be held responsible for workplace incidents that happen," said Peter Molica of Fitch Ratings, one of the country's largest credit rating companies (Christopher Harress, Birmingham News, Nov. 1).
After the second shutdown in as many months, some are questioning why the eastern half of the United States is so dependent on one pipeline.
"The economic case isn't giving you a reason to build, and the environmental opposition is the reason you don't," said Kevin Book, managing director at Washington, D.C.-based consultants ClearView Energy Partners LLC. "At this particular point in history, no products pipeline is going to be an easy build."
Colonial has indicated the line in Shelby County, Ala., will likely be closed until Saturday.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/02/stories/1060045165
-
US Osha Seeks Input on Positions for UN GHS Conference
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to hold a public meeting on 15 November, to discuss potential government positions for the 32nd session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (UNSCEGHS).
Osha, alongside the US Interagency GHS Coordinating Group, will use comments and input to help develop the approach.
It will then present information to UNSCEGHS, which will help guide future revisions to the GHS. The latter has been updated every two years since first published in 2003. The seventh edition is expected in 2017.
UNSCEGHS serves as a custodian of GHS, managing and giving direction to the harmonisation process.
Its session will be held between 7 and 9 December in Geneva.
Hazcom 2012
Osha plans to hold a separate meeting on 16 November to discuss informally potential updates to the Hazard Communication Standard (Hazcom 2012). This will allow stakeholders to identify topics or issues they would want considered, during rulemaking.
The discussion comes as Osha continues implementation changes to Hazcom 2012, to bring it in line with the GHS. It is partnering with the Department of Transportation, Hazardous Materials Identification System (HMISS) and the Canadian government.
A three-year transition period that allowed companies to continue to use older versions ended on 1 June. A recent survey, however, suggested some companies continue to face challenges moving to the latest standard.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50686/us-osha-seeks-input-on-positions-for-un-ghs-conference
-
Association of American Railroads Honor 33 Companies for Safely Handling Hazardous Materials
Nov 2, 2016 | GSN Magazine
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today announced the 2015 recipients of the Holden-Proefrock Award and Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award. In addition, TRANSCAER® announced the winners of their National Achievement Awards. The awards are given annually to individuals and railroads operating in the hazardous materials fields.
Allen Richter, a member of Conrail's risk management team, is this year's Holden-Proefrock Award recipient. Since joining Conrail in 1995, Richter has built a strong rapport and trust with the emergency first responders in the communities where Conrail operates. His accomplishments include: working as a powerful and charismatic instructor to first responders, contributing to the AAR Tank Car Committee and the AAR Hazmat Committee through his vast knowledge of tank cars and hazardous materials regulation and demonstrating environmental excellence through successful coordination of asbestos surveys and abatements. Richter was also a Senior Inspector with the Bureau of Explosives (BOE) for nearly 15 years.
The Holden-Proefrock Award is named in honor of Roy Holden, a former AAR employee and an innovator in tank car design and safety, and Art Proefrock, a former Hulcher Emergency Services employee who pioneered hazardous materials transportation emergency response.
The 2015 Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award was awarded to 33 companies. They are: Atlantic Trading and Marketing Inc., Axiall Corporation, BASF Corporation, Canexus Corporation, Cenovus Energy LLC, Chemtrade Logistics Inc., CHS Inc, Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd., Elbow River Marketing Ltd., ERCO Worldwide, Flint Hills Resources, Gibson Energy Inc., Green Plains Inc., Husky Energy Inc., INEOS, Kemira, Keyera Energy, Koppers Inc., Marathon Petroleum Company, Mercuria Energy Trading Inc., Methanex Methanol, NorFalco Sales, Glencore Canada Corporation, NOVA Chemicals, Olin Chlor Alkali, PBF Energy, Pembina Resource Services, Phillips 66 Company, POET Ethanol Products, PVS Chemicals, Inc., Shell Chemicals, Styrolution America LLC, Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P.
The AAR and the Bureau of Explosives present the Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award annually to companies that are exemplary shippers of hazardous materials. An award winner must have been recognized by at least four Class I railroads and have had zero non-accident releases (NARs) involving their shipments the previous calendar year. A hazardous materials non-accident release is an unintentional release of a hazardous material while in transportation, but not involving an accident.
Additionally, six Class I railroads - BNSF Railway Company, Canadian National Dangerous Goods Team/ Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad - received the 2015 TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award in recognition of their extraordinary efforts in support of the TRANSCAER® initiative. Kansas City Southern Railway received the 2015 TRANSCAER® Regional Achievement Award.
TRANSCAER® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities to prepare for and to respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident. TRANSCAER® members consist of volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distributor and emergency response industries, as well as the government.
http://gsnmagazine.com/article/47365/association_american_railroads_honor_33_companies
-
Senator Questions Exemptions to Automatic-Braking Technology Requirement
Nov 2, 2016 | Washington Post
By Ashley Halsey III
Sen. Richard Blumenthal has asked federal regulators to reexamine a policy of granting exemptions to requirements for automatic braking technology, following a deadly crash at the New Jersey Transit railway station that had received such an exemption.
Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to Sarah Feinberg, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration this week, asking why New Jersey Transit was not required to install the system — known as positive train control (PTC) — in the Hoboken terminal where a train crashed Sept. 29, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 passengers.
Blumenthal asked “whether FRA should continue to allow an exemption from the PTC mandate for passenger terminals.”
The financially troubled transit agency has yet to comply with a 2008 congressional mandate to install PTC throughout its system. According to the latest FRA accounting, New Jersey Transit has not installed the system in any of its 440 engines or put in place 124 trackside towers that would communicate with trains.
But New Jersey Transit did apply for and receive an exemption from the PTC requirement for the tenth of a mile inside the Hoboken terminal.
That exemption was in keeping with the law Congress passed eight year ago, which specified that PTC be installed on the “main line[s]” on commuter railroads, using the definition of main line stipulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The FRA determined that railroad yards and stations were not part of a main line. They also said the complexity of the automatic braking system made its installation in station areas difficult. But the agency required that even where terminal exceptions were granted, railroads still must limit train speeds and enforce them.
“The Hoboken crash has indicated that this reasoning warrants re-examination,” Blumenthal said in the letter to Feinberg.
New Jersey Transit established a maximum authorized speed of 15 mph for operations within the Hoboken terminal. In interviews with investigators, the engineer of the train in the crash, Thomas Gallagher, 48, recalled pulling into the station about 10 mph.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators examined the data recorder on the wrecked train and determined that it had been traveling at 21 mph.
“In 2008, Congress required railroads to implement positive train control on certain mainlines,” said FRA spokesman Matthew Lehner, responding to Blumenthal’s letter. “If Congress wishes, it can expand that requirement to more areas. Many commuter railroads continue to struggle to meet Congress’ original PTC requirement due to a lack of funding. As Congress completes legislation that funds the government in the coming weeks, we hope that it funds the President’s $1.25 billion request to help commuter railroads implement PTC.”
PTC became an issue after a 2008 collision between a commuter train and a freight train in Chatsworth, Calif., that killed 25 people and injured more than 100. Although the lack of PTC was not the primary cause, the NTSB cited its absence as a contributor.
Congress reacted by passing a law mandating that railroads install PTC by the end of 2015. The FRA followed through last year, threatening to fine passenger and freight railroads as that Dec. 31 deadline approached. But the railroads said they had had too little time to install the complicated system, and Congress extended the deadline until 2018.
Congress, whose members have received more than $24 million in campaign contributions from the railroad industry since 2008, also said railroads could ask for up to two additional years after the 2018 deadline to complete the job.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/senator-questions-exemptions-to-automatic-braking-technology-requirement/2016/11/01/75f7b12e-a048-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html
-
Rapid Expansion of Renewable Energy is Not Always Sustainable
Nov 2, 2016 | Clean Tech (in Real Clear Energy)
By Joshua S. Hill
A new study has concluded that the rapid expansion of renewable energy technology is not inherently sustainable, if the materials and industries involved are not themselves sustainable.
A recent thesis published by the Swedish Uppsala University Department of Earth Sciences department has raised the question of whether the rapid expansion of renewable energy technologies is inherently sustainable. According to PhD student Simon Davidsson, who wrote the thesis — Natural resources and sustainable energy — the key factor to ensuring renewable energy expansion remains sustainable is to take into account the materials used and the sustainability of industries involved. Specifically, even though solar and wind technologies produce renewable energy, the materials used in the construction of every solar panel and wind turbine are not necessarily sustainable in and of themselves, nor are the industries involved in their construction.
The thesis is the first of five papers stemming from the Department’s new Natural Resources and Sustainable Development program, intended to study the industries and natural resource flows necessary for the continued rapid expansion of renewable energy.
“Renewable energy technology can lead to reduced emission of greenhouse gases, but for a complete analysis we need to make sure the whole production chain is sustainable,”explained Simon Davidsson. “For instance, it is not obvious that the production of wind turbines and solar cells is sustainable, that the materials have been sourced in a sustainable way, or that the industries are capable of recycling the technology in the future.”
The real problem stems from the need for rapid expansion of renewable energy technology if we are to quickly mitigate the negative climate change currently in effect. To do so, technologies such as wind and solar will need to be quickly scaled up, requiring more and more resources which in turn will become more and more rare, creating further problems down the track when it comes time to replacing these technologies. Further, the extraction of these resources in a manner which is both timely and environmentally friendly needs to be considered, as well as their future availability.
“To assess the feasibility and consequences of a global energy transition, we need to consider material flows and how sustainable emerging industries are with regard to aspects other than climate,” Davidsson added. “Truly sustainable energy systems require the creation of sustainable industries, which not only can produce large amounts of renewable energy technology, but also maintain a working system on a longer time scale, and do so in a resource efficient way.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/11/01/rapid-expansion-renewable-energy-not-always-sustainable/
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation News
Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested