Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 11/16/2016
-
Schumer Expands Leadership Team
Nov 16, 2016 | Roll Call
By Niels Lesniewski
The Senate Democrats have their leaders for next year, with familiar faces in new places. -
(ACC Mentioned) GOP Leaders, Industry Expect Trump to Implement New TSCA
Nov 16, 2016 | Inside EPA
Republican congressional leaders and top chemical industry officials say they expect President-elect Donald Trump to continue to implement the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law, despite comments from Trump during his campaign that he intends to make sweeping changes to EPA activities. -
Human Carcinogens, Antimicrobial Pesticides, Cross-State Air Pollution: Federal Law Updates for Chemical Law and Science
Nov 16, 2016 | National Law Review
By Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has reopened the comment period on a proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as requested by a commenter. -
(ACC Mentioned) NGO Pushes CPSC to Finalise Proposed Phthalates Ban
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By David Stegon
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to finalise its long-pending proposed rule to prohibit five additional phthalates in children’s toys. -
Wal-Mart Lauded for Chemical Safety; Amazon Dead Last — Report
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Gabriel Dunsmith
An environmental nonprofit released a report today praising Wal-Mart while condemning Amazon.com for their respective chemical safety efforts. -
Amazon Ranked Bottom in Retailer Chemical 'Report Card'
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
Amazon has come bottom of a "report card" ranking US retailers’ actions to eliminate toxic chemicals. Walmart and Target received the highest marks. -
Arsenic, Pesticides, Chemicals in Kids? Trump Advisors Ebell and Breitbart Dismiss Concerns, Target EWG
Nov 16, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By Alex Formuzis and Sonya Lunder
Myron Ebell, head of President-elect Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency transition team, is a notorious denier of global warming whose biography unashamedly notes that activists consider him a "climate criminal." -
Echa Makes Call for Evidence on Diarsenic Compounds
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Echa has issued a call for evidence from organisations with an interest in diarsenic trioxide and diarsenic pentaoxide, with information to validate or not the agency's conclusion on not proposing a restriction. -
‘Hard’ Brexit Could Signal End of REACH in UK
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Geraint Roberts
If, on the day the UK leaves the EU, it loses its access to the European single market, it is highly likely that REACH will cease to apply in the country, says consultancy REACHLaw. -
Echa Calls for Evidence on Rubber Crumb
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Echa has issued a call for evidence on the use of recycled rubber granules, used as infill material in synthetic turf, for sports grounds. -
Obama Oil and Gas Regs Could Be on the Chopping Block Under Trump
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Climatewire
By Brittany Patterson
The Obama administration took another step toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions yesterday, finalizing a regulation five years in the making that will reduce the amount of wasted natural gas from about 100,000 oil and gas wells on federal and tribal lands. -
Sleuths Tracking Abandoned Pennsylvania Oil, Gas Wells For Clues to Reduce Methane Emissions Nationwide
Nov 16, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Millions of abandoned wells may be a substantial source of methane in the atmosphere, but identifying them remains a challenge -- and a big reason to study Pennsylvania, which has the longest history of U.S. oil and gas development and where scientists hope to find clues on how to fix a nationwide problem. -
EDF Tracks Pipeline Leaks in Energy Capital of the East
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
Pittsburgh has joined an effort to track leaks from municipal natural gas pipelines. -
Enviros Chart Defense of BLM Methane Rule
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Environmental groups plan to head to court to defend the Obama administration's new methane rule for oil and gas production on public lands. -
Feds Cancel Drilling Leases Near Tribal Land in Montana
Nov 16, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Federal officials have canceled 15 oil and gas drilling leases near land sacred to the Blackfeet Nation tribe in Montana, the Interior Department announced on Wednesday. -
These Policy Solutions Can Help Unleash the Full Potential of Renewable Energy
Nov 16, 2016 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Lenae Shirley
New installed renewable energy capacity surpassed coal for the first time last year, the International Energy Agency reported recently. -
NTSB Unveils New Two-Year 'Most Wanted' Safety Recommendations
Nov 16, 2016 | Progressive Rail Roading
By Staff
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week unveiled a top 10 "Most Wanted" list of safety recommendations for years 2017 and 2018, including one that calls for the safe shipment of hazardous materials. -
Radical Reductions Needed to Meet Paris Goals — Report
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
The transformation required for a reasonable chance of limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius is "stark," the International Energy Agency said today. -
White House Issues Strategy to Slash Carbon Emissions by 2050
Nov 16, 2016 | Politico Pro - Whiteboard
By Eric Wolff
The White House released an ambitious plan this morning to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050, building on President Barack Obama's pledge to cut U.S. carbon emissions 26-28 percent by 2025.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation News
Environment News
-
Schumer Expands Leadership Team
Nov 16, 2016 | Roll Call
By Niels Lesniewski
The Senate Democrats have their leaders for next year, with familiar faces in new places.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer won the backing of his caucus Wednesday morning to take over as minority leader for the 115th Congress. That was no surprise, as the New York Democrat essentially clinched the job at the end of March 2015.
Whether there would a contest for the role of whip (which has officially been assistant Democratic leader) remained a bit of a mystery. And Schumer has figured out how to split the baby.
Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Ill., will see that informal title become official, while Sen . Patty Murray, D-Wash., will slide into a number three role of assistant leader. That avoids what could have been a fractious fight between Durbin and Murray.
Schumer is creating an expanded leadership team with 10 members, including senators from a variety of different states and representing ideological diversity within the caucus. A senior Democratic aide said they would all be invited to leadership meetings.
“Each of us believes we need a sharper, bolder economic message,” Schumer told reporters. “We’re ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans ... but we will go toe to toe against the president elect whenever the values of the progress we made are under assault.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., assumes the title of chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Center. She has been a Schumer confidante and takes the title that he has been holding.
There are a variety of new or elevated roles. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for instance, will be outreach chairman.
Several Democratic senators approached Tuesday evening said they were in the dark about how the leadership team would shake out, or whether there might be a ballot contest behind closed doors.
When Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announced his intent to retire, it set off a quick and quiet leadership scramble. Schumer secured the support of the caucus to succeed Reid as Democratic leader regardless of what else happened in 2016.
And several Democratic senators speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations have verified the accounts of aides to Durbin that the Illinois Democrat would have the votes to continue as whip if it were actually tested.
Schumer, though, was seen as wanting the ability to craft his own team without wanting a contested leadership battle to suck up oxygen.
With Reid’s exit, some changes are inevitable. With Reid’s exit, the question for Senate Democrats may be more about function than title.
The no. 3 post that Schumer holds in the Senate leadership includes the chairmanship of theDPCC, the internal messaging shop that has been integrated with Reid’s own operation (senior Reid and Schumer aides have literally shared an office on the third floor of the Capitol abutting the press galleries).
But pretty much everyone expects Schumer to be his own Schumer — and serve as messaging czar for the caucus in his own right.
So withMurray, the Washington state senator known more for her policy and deal making chops than a desire to dominate Sunday talk shows sliding up from the no. 4 leadership role of conference secretary to the no. 3 job, it naturally will come with a revised portfolio.
When former Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota was the leader of the Democrats, Reid’s responsibility as whip (a position that is officially assistant Democratic leader), the Nevadan would spend a lot of time watching over the floor and executing strategy for Daschle.
Reid basically kept floor operations for himself when he became leader, but the Daschle example is reminder that Schumer can structure his leadership team however he may see fit.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/charles-e-schumer-minority-leader?utm_name=newsletters&utm_source=rollcallnews&utm_medium=email#sthash.nqzfgqzf.yp51lOh0.dpuf
-
(ACC Mentioned) GOP Leaders, Industry Expect Trump to Implement New TSCA
Nov 16, 2016 | Inside EPA
Republican congressional leaders and top chemical industry officials say they expect President-elect Donald Trump to continue to implement the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law, despite comments from Trump during his campaign that he intends to make sweeping changes to EPA activities.
A spokesman for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, for example, "is confident in the Trump administration's continued implementation of the new law," says a Nov. 14 article by Chemical Watch.
Inhofe's spokesman says the TSCA reform law – known as the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (LCSA) – which was enacted earlier this year “is a principal example of regulatory reform, and one of the main purposes of the statute is to bring about consistent regulation across the country."
“I don't think that there's going to be, in my opinion, a desire to roll things back in the law," Dimitri Karakitsos, the committee's former senior counsel and now a partner with law firm Holland & Knight, told the publication.
Their comments about the law's implementation echo those of the chemical industry, whose officials also cautioned the incoming administration to craft rules needed to implement the new statute.
“The passage of the [LCSA] earlier this year with overwhelming support reflects that Congress understands that an effective and reliable chemical regulatory system is essential to the success of American manufacturers,” the American Chemistry Council said in a Nov. 9 statement. “We look forward to working with the new administration as it carries forward the implementation of the LCSA so EPA proceeds in a way that will promote safety and innovation.”
ACC and others' concerns respond to statements Trump made during his campaign to defund or disband EPA, which is implementing the TSCA reform law under a series of tight deadlines.
But despite the confidence expressed by Inhofe and other sector experts, some industry representatives are already pressing for Trump to disrupt certain TSCA regulatory proceedings.
For example, as our Maria Hegstad recently reported, some industry representative hope Trump will not allow EPA to finalize a trio of once-rare TSCA Section 6(a) rules to ban or further restrict use of industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and paint stripping chemicals methylene chloride and N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP).
http://insideepa.com/news-briefs/gop-leaders-industry-expect-trump-implement-new-tsca
-
Nov 16, 2016 | National Law Review
By Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.
FEDERAL ISSUES
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI
EPA Extends Comment Period On Proposed SNUR: On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has reopened the comment period on a proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as requested by a commenter. 81 Fed. Reg. 72759. The proposed rule would amend the TSCA significant new use 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’ (UN) 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 SNURs previously proposed and issued and make a “minor” change to reporting requirements for premanufacture notices (PMN) and other TSCA Section 5 notices.
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 a BFN submission. Comments are due November 21, 2016.
DHHS Issues 14th Report on Carcinogens: On November 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released the 14th Report on Carcinogens (RoC). 81 Fed. Reg. 76621. New listings included in the 14th RoC include six new listings and one revised listing in this edition. The revised listing is for trichloroethylene, which was previously listed as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen and is now listed as known to be a human carcinogen. Five of the new listings are in the category of known to be a human carcinogen: Epstein Bar virus, Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, human immunodeficiency virus-type 1, and Merkel cell polyomavirus. The new listing in the category of reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen is for cobalt and cobalt compounds that release cobalt ions in vivo.
EPA Proposes Two Test Methods And Guidance For Evaluating Antimicrobial Pesticides: EPA recently announced for comments the availability of two proposed test methods and associated testing guidance for evaluating antimicrobial pesticides against two biofilm bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. EPA states that registrants of antimicrobial products with public health claims are “required to submit efficacy data to EPA in support of the product’s registration” under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA is soliciting comments on the clarity of the standard operating procedures and the regulatory guidance. The two test methods are: "Single Tube Method with Splashguard for Evaluating Disinfectant Activity against Pseudomonas Biofilm -- 2015 Method Performance Study"; and "Proposed Procedure: EPA MLB SOP MB-20: Single Tube Method for Determining the Efficacy of Disinfectants against Bacterial Biofilm." The Draft Guidance to Assess the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Pesticide Products Intended to Control Public Health Biofilms on Hard, Non-Porous Surfaces describes biofilms and their public health significance; the two test procedures for developing efficacy data supporting biofilm claims; products that may be eligible for biofilm claims; test criteria; data submission procedures for efficacy data; and labeling guidance. The draft guidance states that the term biofilm “is reserved for claims against biofilm that contain specific bacteria that are directly or indirectly infectious or pathogenic to humans,” and “biofilm claims are considered to be public health claims for which the agency must review and approve appropriate efficacy data.” EPA states: “Examples of use sites that may be supported by the biofilm test methodologies herein, and found acceptable, include restrooms, shower stalls, sink basins or drains (excluding the drain pipe) and nearby hard, non-porous surfaces of walls, countertops, and instrument trays in patient care areas of hospitals. In contrast, claims against non-public health slimicides must also be supported by appropriate efficacy data, however, submission of the data is only required when requested by the EPA.” Comments will be accepted until January 21, 2017.
EPA Issues Final 2016 NPDES Pesticide General Permit: On November 1, 2016, EPA published its Final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit for Point Source Discharges from the Application of Pesticides in the Federal Register, which regulates discharges to waters of the United States from the application of biological pesticides and chemical pesticides that leave a residue. 81 Fed. Reg. 75816. The 2016 NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP) replaces the 2011 PGP, which expired on October 31, 2016. The PGP applies to the following geographic areas where EPA serves as the NPDES permitting authority: the States of: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Idaho; District of Columbia; all U.S. territories except the U.S. Virgin Islands; federal facilities in Delaware, Vermont, Colorado, and Washington; discharges in Texas that are not under the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, including activities associated with oil and gas exploration (see Appendix A of the Final 2016 PGP for further description); and all areas of Indian Country that are not covered by an EPA-approved permitting program (see Appendix A for Indian Country covered within each EPA Region). Similar to the 2011 PGP, the 2016 PGP contains additional permit conditions and modifications that some states and tribes added through the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 certification process and/or the Coastal Zone Management Act process. Part 9 of the 2016 PGP provides a detailed breakdown of any additional requirements. Forty-six states have delegated authority to administer state versions of the PGP. The majority of states recently revised and reissued their respective state PGPs for another five-year permit cycle. The 2016 PGP requirements are nearly identical to those in the 2011 PGP, with the exception of the following two updates included in the 2016 PGP:
Electronic reporting (Part 7.8) -- All reporting under the 2016 PGP (i.e., Notice of Intent (NOI), Annual Report, and Notice of Termination (NOT) submissions) must be submitted via EPA’s eNOI system to be consistent with EPA’s Electronic Reporting Rule. EPA will make these reports publicly available through a searchable index tool -- eNOI search. More information on electronic reporting, and access to the Central Data Exchange for NOI, Annual Report, and NOT submissions is available here.
Updated definition of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Listed Resources of Concern -- Following consultation between EPA and NMFS, as required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), EPA expanded the Listed Resources of Concern to include additional species not included in the 2011 PGP definition. Under Part 1.1.2.4, pesticide discharges that overlap with NMFS Listed Resources of Concern trigger additional NOI requirements to certify that the discharges and discharge-related activities are not likely to affect adversely federally listed “endangered” or “threatened” species, or federally-designated “critical habitat.” Permittees may consult EPA’s PGP NMFS Listed Resources of Concern -- Interactive Mapping Tool to determine whether a discharge activity will overlap with these Resources of Concern. Appendix I provides endangered species instructions for affected permittees. EPA states in the corresponding Fact Sheet for the 2016 PGP that it continues to estimate that less than two percent of the total number of Operators in the PGP coverage areas will need to meet additional permit requirements to meet ESA-related provisions.
The 2016 PGP permit conditions went into effect on October 31, 2016, and the PGP will expire in five years on October 31, 2021. 2016 PGP coverage is automatic through January 12, 2017, without the submission of an NOI, but pesticide Operators (i.e., pesticide applicators) must comply with all 2016 PGP conditions as of October 31, 2016. For any discharges commencing on or before January 12, 2017, that will continue after this date, a decision-maker must submit an NOI no later than January 2, 2017, to ensure PGP coverage, and for any discharges subsequent to January 12, 2017, an NOI submission is required no later than ten days before the first discharge. Table 1-1 at Part 1.2.3 outlines which decision-makers must submit NOIs based on the particular pesticide use pattern, location (i.e., if discharging to a designated Outstanding National Resource Water), and acreage thresholds. Table 1-2 at Part 1.2.3 provides applicable NOI submission deadlines, including grace periods for NOI filing for discharges in response to a Declared Pest Emergency. EPA’s webpage for pesticide NPDES permitting includes links to the final 2016 PGP, a related fact sheet, the permitting decision tool, and information on eNOI and ESA procedures. Although the 2016 PGP largely mirrors the 2011 version of the permit, it will be important for decision-makers to familiarize themselves with the new electronic reporting requirements (Part 7.8). EPA’s eNOI system is publicly searchable and could subject PGP permit holders to additional scrutiny by citizens and advocacy groups concerned about potential environmental and public health implications of pesticide applications in their areas. Decision-makers should consult EPA’s “PGP NMFS Listed Resources of Concern -- Interactive Mapping Tool and the Alternative PGP Sources of Information for NMFS Listed Resources of Concern” to determine where discharges may overlap with these areas and trigger additional permit conditions.
RCRA/CERCLA/CWA/CAA
Final Rule Amends Cross-State Air Pollution Rule: EPA on October 26, 2016, issued a final rule amending its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). 81 Fed. Reg. 74504. The rule amends regulations under 40 C.F.R. Parts 52, 78, and 97 to update the CSAPR to address interstate transportation of ozone with respect to the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. EPA promulgated the original CSAPR on August 8, 2011, to address interstate transport of ozone pollution under the 1997 ozone NAAQS and interstate transport of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution under the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA believes the October 26, 2106, final rule will reduce ozone season emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in 22 eastern states that can be transported downwind as NOX or, after transformation in the atmosphere, as ozone, and can negatively affect air quality and public health in downwind areas. For these 22 eastern states, EPA is issuing Federal Implementation Plans (FIP) that generally provide updated CSAPR NOXozone season emission budgets for the electric generating units (EGU) within these states, and that implement these budgets via modifications to the CSAPR NOX ozone season allowance trading program that was established under the original CSAPR. EPA is issuing these new or revised FIP requirements only for certain states that have failed to submit an approvable State Implementation Plan (SIP) addressing interstate emission transport for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The FIPs require affected EGUs in each covered state to reduce emissions to comply with program requirements beginning with the 2017 ozone season (May 1 through September 30). EPA also intends that these CSAPR revisions address the July 28, 2015, remand by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of certain states’ original CSAPR phase 2 ozone season NOx emission budgets. The final rule is effective on December 27, 2016.
EPA To Retain Current Lead NAAQS: In a decision published on October 18, 2016, EPA has decided to retain the current NAAQS for lead. 81 Fed. Reg. 71906. The primary and secondary lead standards of 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter lead in total suspended particles as a three-month average thus will remain in place. EPA did note, however, the “attendant . . . increasing uncertainty of risk estimates for lower air Pb concentrations,” thus possibly setting the stage for a lowering of the NAAQS when EPA revisits the issue in five years, as required under the CAA. The final rule is effective November 17, 2016.
EPA Releases Three Guidance Documents On Data Use For CERCLA/RCRA Lead Assessments: EPA has quietly released three documents providing guidance on how and whether lead risk assessments under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) should include short-term exposure scenarios, updated variables on blood lead data, and other information and data. The three guidance documents (all dated August 2, 2016) are: “Recommendations for Using Blood Lead Data at Superfund and RCRA Corrective Action Sites (OLEM Directive 9285.6-52)”; “Recommendations for Assessing Short-Term Exposure Scenarios Involving Lead at Superfund Sites (OLEM Directive 9295.6-54)”; and “Transmittal of Update to the Adult Lead Methodology’s Default Baseline Blood Lead Concentration and Geometric Standard Deviation Parameters (OLEM Directive 9285.6-55).”
The first document transmits recommendations from the Technical Review Workgroup for Metals and Asbestos (TRW) on how or whether to use blood lead data in Superfund lead risk assessments. The second directive transmits the TRW technical document entitled “Recommendations for Assessing Short-Term Exposure Scenarios Involving Lead at Superfund Sites.” It notes that short-term exposures to lead have typically not been considered in assessments involving lead and provides guidance on how to do so. This document cautions that short-term exposure to lead “may pose risk of neurocognitive effects to children.” The guidance also states that EPA is developing an “All-Ages Lead Model” that will allow site assessors to implement one of two alternative models of lead pharmacokinetics to “explore short-term exposure scenarios.” The third directive adjusts EPA’s default parameters that alter a preliminary remediation goal (PRG) for lead. EPA is specifically recommending an increase in the PRG for soil lead concentrations from 2,240 parts per million (ppm) to 2,737 ppm. Taken collectively, this trio of documents represents a significant shift in how EPA assesses risk of lead contamination at CERCLA and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites. The documents are available online.
EPA Issues Final Rule Revising RCRA Hazardous Waste Import/Export Requirements: On October 28, 2016, EPA issued a pre-publication of a final rule significantly amending the hazardous waste import and export requirements under RCRA. EPA states that the rule amends existing regulations to make them more consistent with the current import-export requirements for shipments between members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); enable electronic submittal to EPA of all export and import-related documents (e.g., export notices, export annual reports); and enable electronic validation of consent in the Automated Export System (AES) for export shipments subject to RCRA export consent requirements prior to exit. (The AES resides in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)). The rule removes and reserves 40 C.F.R. Part 262 Subparts E and F, and expands the applicability of a reorganized and clarified 40 C.F.R. Part 262 Subpart H to all hazardous waste transboundary shipments, including those import and export shipments of universal waste managed under 40 C.F.R. Part 273 and specific hazardous wastes (such as spent lead-acid batteries) managed under 40 C.F.R. Part 266. Exporters of hazardous waste shipments, and the transporters carrying such shipments, to Canada, Chile, Mexico, and any non-OECD country will be required to comply with OECD procedures under new or renewed consents issued after the effective date of this action. Importers and receiving facilities of hazardous waste shipments, and the transporters carrying such shipments, from Canada, Chile, Mexico, and any non-OECD country similarly will be required to comply with OECD procedures under new or renewed consents issued to either the foreign exporter or the U.S. importer after the effective date of this action. This final rule is effective on December 31, 2016 .
EPA Proposes Rule On Internet Posting Of And Confidentiality Determinations For Hazardous Waste Export And Import Documents: On October 28, 2016, EPA issued a pre-publication of a proposed rule that would amend the hazardous waste RCRA international shipment requirements. The proposed revisions would require exporters of hazardous waste and facilities that receive hazardous wastes from foreign sources to maintain a single, publicly-accessible website to which documents can be posted regarding the confirmation of receipt and confirmation of completed recovery or disposal of hazardous waste import and export shipments. EPA is concurrently proposing confidentiality determinations with respect to CBI claims for the individual documents and compiled data for certain types of documents. EPA believes these changes will improve information on the movement and disposition of hazardous wastes. EPA further believes it will enable interested stakeholders to benefit from the provision of publicly-accessible data to monitor proper compliance with the RCRA regulations and help ensure that hazardous waste import and export shipments are properly received and managed. Comments on this proposal will be accepted for 60 days following publication of this rule in the Federal Register.
FDA
FDA Issues Proposed Rule On Uses of Ozone-Depleting Substances: On October 26, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule to amend its regulation on uses of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), including chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), to remove the designation of certain products as “essential uses” under the CAA. 81 Fed. Reg. 74364. Essential-use products are exempt from the ban by FDA on the use of CFCs and other ODS propellants in FDA-regulated products. FDA states it is proposing this action because alternative products that do not use ODSs are now available and because these products are no longer being marketed in versions that contain ODSs. This action, if finalized, will remove the essential-use exemptions for sterile aerosol talc administered intrapleurally by thoracoscopy for human use and for metered-dose atropine sulfate aerosol human drugs administered by oral inhalation. This rule is not expected to be controversial as the alternatives have been in place for the impacted devices for some time. Comments are due December 27, 2016.
FDA Provides Industry Clarifications On Disclosure Statements In Draft Guidance On Four Rules Implementing FSMA : On October 31, 2016, FDA issued a notification of the availability of “Describing a Hazard That Needs Control in Documents Accompanying the Food, as Required by Four Rules Implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Guidance for Industry.” 81 Fed. Reg. 75349. The draft guidance is intended to provide industry clarification on the disclosure statements made by suppliers and manufacturers describing certain hazards that have not been controlled by them, as required by certain provisions in FDA’s four final rules implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The notice lists these rules in Table 1. FDA covers how to detail hazards under the four rules and offers examples on what documents it considers as “documents of the trade.” Comments on the draft guidance are due May 1, 2017.
FDA Provides Questions And Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration Under FSMA In Draft Guidance: On November 8, 2016, FDA issued a notification of availability of “Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition): Draft Guidance for Industry.” 81 Fed. Reg. 78526. This draft guidance contains 15 sections of a multisection guidance intended to provide updated information relating to the food facility registration requirements in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The seventh edition is intended to address questions and provide additional information on the Amendments to Registration of Food Facilities final rule from July 2016. Comments are due on February 6, 2017.
NANOTECHNOLOGY
NIOSH Presentation On Engineering Controls For Nanotechnology Now Available: On September 27, 2016, the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) met, and its discussion included engineering controls and nanomaterials. Kevin H. Dunn, Sc.D., CIH, a NIOSH Division of Applied Research and Technology (DART) mechanical engineer and member of NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research Center, provided an update to the BSC on NIOSH’s evaluations, findings, recommendations, and guidance for reducing occupational exposures to nanomaterials through engineering controls. NIOSH recently posted Dunn’s presentation online. According to the presentation, NIOSH has a good understanding of how exposures occur and how to control them. NIOSH needs to continue to conduct field studies to identify new processes and materials, however. The question of whether NIOSH should be doing any laboratory work on quantifying control effectiveness was raised. In addition, NIOSH needs to have a better understanding of how to communicate with its target audience. Future plans include developing three additional Workplace Design Solutions on common nanotech tasks/processes, including reactor operations (harvesting and cleaning); powder collection/dumping (large bag dumping and powder packing); and large scale material handling.
ECHA Board Of Appeal Annuls Four Decisions Requesting Substance Identity Information On A Nano Structured Substance: In cases A-008-2015, A-009-2015, A-010-2015, and A-011-2015, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Board of Appeal examined appeals against compliance check decisions made by ECHA requesting further substance identity information from four registrants of a “nano structured” substance. As reported in our July 29, 2015, blog item, ECHA adopted the contested decisions on December 17, 2014, following a compliance check under the dossier evaluation procedure of the submitted registration. In each contested decision, ECHA found that the registration did not comply with the requirements of Article 10(a)(ii), as well as Annex VI, Section 2 of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH). ECHA requested that each appellant submit the following information: name, molecular, and structural formula, or other identifier of the substance (Annex VI, 2.1 and 2.2); composition of the substance (Annex VI, 2.3); and description of the analytical methods used (Annex VI, 2.3.7).
ECHA announced in its October 12, 2016, ECHA Weekly that the Board of Appeal found that the contested decisions “breached the principle of legal certainty as some of the terms used, specifically ‘grades’, ‘forms’ and ‘nanoforms’, were not clearly defined and did not allow the Appellants to clearly ascertain what information they were required to provide in order to comply with the Agency decisions.” The Board of Appeal annulled the contested decisions. The appellants raised other pleas (e.g., whether ECHA could legally require them to submit further information to allow for a more detailed identification of the nanoforms of the registered substance). The Board of Appeal concluded that since it is not clear from the contested decisions what information the appellants are required to provide, it was not possible to decide on the legality of those requests.
ECHA Committee Adopts First Opinion Approving Nano Biocide: On October 13, 2016, ECHA announced that the Biocidal Products Committee adopted three opinions supporting the approval of active substances for use in biocidal products, including its first opinion on a nanomaterial. The Committee supports the use of pyrogenic, synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide, nano, surface treated for insecticides, acaricides, and products to control other arthropods (product-type 18). ECHA’s October 13, 2016, annex to a news alert states that pyrogenic, synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide, nano, surface treated, is an existing active substance. The intended use is in insecticide products used indoors by professional operators by spraying for the control of poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) to protect domestic animals (fowl) in places such as chicken-breeding farms or egg-producing farms. France is the evaluating competent authority of the active substance application. The adopted opinions will serve as a basis for final decision making by the European Commission and the European Union Member States. The approval of an active substance is granted for a defined number of years, not exceeding ten years. ECHA states that the opinions will be available on its website “in the near future.”
EPA Proposes SNUR For Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes (Generic): On October 27, 2016, EPA proposed SNURs for three chemical substances that were the subject of PMNs, including functionalized carbon nanotubes (generic). 81 Fed. Reg. 74755. According to the notice, the PMN states that the substance will be used as a thin film for electronic device applications. Based on structure-activity relationship analysis of test data on analogous carbon nanotubes and other respirable poorly soluble particulates, EPA identified potential lung effects and skin penetration and toxicity induction from inhalation and dermal exposure to the PMN substance. Further, EPA predicts toxicity to aquatic organisms via releases of the PMN substance to surface water. EPA states that it does not expect significant occupational exposures due to the use of impervious gloves, and because the PMN is used in a liquid and is not spray applied except in a closed system. EPA does not expect environmental releases during the use identified in the PMN. Therefore, EPA has not determined that the proposed manufacturing, processing, and/or use of the substance may present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. EPA states that it has determined, however, that any use of the substance without the use of impervious gloves, where there is potential for dermal exposure; manufacturing the PMN substance for use other than as a thin film for electronic device applications; manufacturing, processing, or using the PMN substance in a form other than a liquid; use of the PMN substance involving an application method that generates a mist, vapor, or aerosol except in a closed system; or any release of the PMN substance into surface waters or disposal other than by landfill or incineration may cause serious health effects or significant adverse environmental effects. Based on this information, according to EPA, the PMN substance meets the concern criteria at 40 C.F.R. Section 721.170(b)(3)(ii) and (b)(4)(ii). EPA promulgated final SNURs on May 16, 2016, for these three chemical substances. EPA received notices of intent to submit adverse comments, however, and withdrew the direct final SNURs on July 14, 2016. EPA notes that the applicable review periods for the PMNs submitted for the three chemical substances all ended prior to June 22, 2016, the date on which President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amends TSCA. Comments on the proposed PMNs are due November 28, 2016.
NIOSH Announces Sampling Strategy To Help Identify Potential Nanomaterial Exposure In An Occupational Setting: On November 1, 2016, NIOSH published a blog item entitled “Never fear! NEAT 2.0 is here! -- How to perform nanomaterial exposure assessment in the workplace.” NIOSH notes that in 2009, it developed and was the first to recommend using the nanoparticle emission assessment technique (NEAT). According to NIOSH, NEAT made use of a condensation particle counter to identify tasks that result or can result in the emission of nanoparticles into the surrounding air. Task-based filter samples were then used to confirm the presence of nanoparticles, using both laboratory elemental analysis and electron microscopy. NIOSH states that this initial approach did not effectively address the potential for background contamination from incidental nano-sized particles or exposure over a full workday. It was also heavily dependent on the use of direct reading instruments (DRI), which are nonspecific aerosol monitors and subject to interferences such as background incidental particles. Based on the need to surmount these limitations, and a desire to learn more about potential occupational exposures, NIOSH updated NEAT. The September 2016 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene includes an article on the update, “Refinement of the Nanoparticle Emission Assessment Technique into the Nanomaterial Exposure Assessment Technique (NEAT 2.0).” NIOSH states that NEAT 2.0 “is a more robust sampling strategy that places a stronger emphasis on full workday exposures, incorporates background monitoring, and emphasizes the importance of integrated filter sampling in the worker’s breathing zone over the use of DRIs.”
According to NIOSH, in performing the above steps, a comprehensive exposure assessment can be performed and assist with the identification of potential nanomaterial exposure in an occupational setting. NIOSH states that NEAT 2.0 “will guide facilities in determining exposure potential for workers who are handling or using engineered nanomaterials. By determining exposure potential, the facility can then work to control exposure making use of mitigation strategies and the hierarchy of controls.”
NNCO Announces 2016 NNI Strategic Plan: On November 1, 2016, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) announced the release of the 2016 National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan. The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 requires National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) agencies to develop an updated Strategic Plan every three years. The 2016 Strategic Plan represents a consensus among the NNI agencies on the high-level goals and priorities of the NNI and on specific objectives to be pursued over at least the next three years. The Strategic Plan provides the framework under which individual agencies conduct their own mission-specific nanotechnology programs, coordinate these activities with those of other NNI agencies, and collaborate. The Strategic Plan states that the focus of the NNI has broadened from investments in foundational research in nanomaterials and nanotechnology-enabled devices to include activities directed at how they can be incorporated into nanotechnology-enabled systems. The 2016 Strategic Plan reflects this change and addresses how the NNI agencies will collaborate with each other and the broader nanotechnology community “to expand the ecosystem that supports fundamental discovery, fosters innovation, and promotes the transfer of nanotechnology discoveries from lab to market.” For more information on the Plan, see our blog item, "NNCO Announces 2016 NNI Strategic Plan."
OECD Publishes A Number Of New Reports In Series On The Safety Of Manufactured Nanomaterials, Including Nanosilver Case Study And Gold Nanoparticle Occupational Exposure Assessment In Pilot Scale Facility: In November 2016, OECD published the following new reports in its Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials:
Toxicokinetics of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Report from the OECD Expert Meeting
Exposure Assessment of Nano-Silver (AgNP): Case Study
Future Challenges Related to the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Report from the Special Session
Grouping and Read-Across for the Hazard Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Report from the Expert Meeting
Grouping and Read-Across for the Hazard Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Participants List to the Expert Meeting
Gold Nanoparticle Occupational Exposure Assessment in a Pilot Scale Facility
Developments on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials Tour de Table from OECD Delegations (Nov. 2015-Oct. 2016)
Strategy for Using Metal Impurities as Carbon Nanotube Tracers
Although the OECD website lists an additional report, Titanium Dioxide: Summary of the Dossier, its link does not work.
Germany Publishes Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020: The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) recently published an English version of its Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020. Based on the success of the Action Plan Nanotechnology over the previous ten years, the federal government will continue the Action Plan Nanotechnology for the next five years. Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020 is geared towards the priorities of the federal government’s new “High-Tech Strategy” (HTS), which has as its objective the solution of societal challenges by promoting research. According to Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020, the results of a number of research projects “have shown that nanomaterials are not per se linked with a risk for people and the environment due to their nanoscale properties.” Instead, this is influenced more by structure, chemical composition, and other factors, and is thus dependent on the respective material and its application. Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020 states that the results from risk research “will be introduced into regulations in all relevant areas, such as occupational, consumer and environmental law.” Germany will continue the work already begun on analytical verifiability of existing legal regulations concerning nanomaterials since standardized instrumental and analytical methods for exposure assessment and routine control are still largely lacking. According to Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020, Germany is committed to continuing with the development and adaptation of OECD test guidelines to create the prerequisite for comparability of international research results.
ISO Publishes Measurement Technique Matrix For Characterization Of Nano-Objects: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published ISO/TR 18196:2016, “Nanotechnologies -- Measurement technique matrix for the characterization of nano-objects.” The document provides a matrix intended to guide users to commercially available techniques relevant to the measurements of common physiochemical parameters for nano-objects. Some techniques are also applicable to nanostructured materials. As scientific advances are made and additional commercial measurement techniques become available, ISO will periodically review and update the document to maintain its relevance. ISO notes that many of the listed techniques have not been validated through round-robin testing or any other means for the measurement of nano-objects. ISO states that the document “is intended as a starting point and resource to help identify potentially useful and relevant techniques; it is not an exhaustive or primary source.” ISO recommends that once a technique has been identified, the reader refer to relevant international standards and conduct a literature search for similar or comparable applications. Other sources of information include instrument manufacturer’s applications notes and technical literature.
BIOBASED/RENEWABLE PRODUCTS
MISCELLANEOUS
EPA Releases Environmental Justice Strategic Plan For 2016-2020: On October 27, 2016, EPA published the “EJ 2020 Action Agenda: The U.S. EPA’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan for 2016-2020.” The EJ 2020 Action Agenda is EPA’s strategic plan for advancing environmental justice for the years 2016-2020, and it will build on the foundation established by EPA’s previous plan, Plan EJ 2014, as well as decades of environmental justice practice by EPA, communities, and EPA’s partners. EJ 2020 has three overarching goals:
To deepen environmental justice practice in EPA’s programs that improve the health and environment of overburdened communities;
To work with federal, state, tribal, community, and industry partners to expand EPA’s impact across the country; and
To measure the progress EPA is making on its most significant environmental justice challenges.
The EJ 2020 Action Agenda consists of eight priority areas and four significant national environmental justice challenges, and EPA lays out its objectives, the plan for achieving them, and how it will measure success. The priority areas are rulemaking; permitting; compliance and enforcement; science; states and local governments; federal agencies; community-based work; and tribes and indigenous peoples. The national environmental justice challenges are lead disparities; drinking water; air quality; and hazardous waste sites. EPA states that it expects to review and, as appropriate revise, the actions it undertakes to meet its goals. The EJ 2020 Action Agenda notes that every national program and region has assumed the responsibility of co-leading at least one of the plan’s priority areas.
California DPR Proposes New Regulation Giving Further Protections To Children From Pesticide Exposure: The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently proposed a regulation that it states is intended to “(1) provide minimum statewide standards for all agricultural pesticide applications near public K-12 schools and child day care facilities; (2) provide an extra margin of safety in case of unintended drift or when other problems with applications occur (e.g., equipment failure causes an unintended release of pesticide, or an abrupt change in weather conditions); (3) increase communication between growers and schools/child day care facilities; and (4) provide information to assist schools and child day care facilities in preparing for and responding to pesticide emergencies.”
Specifically, the regulation is proposed to prohibit many pesticide applications for the production of an “agricultural commodity” within a quarter mile of schoolsites from Monday through Friday between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. “Schoolsites” are defined by Education Code Section 17609(f) as “any facility used as a child day care facility, as defined in Section 1596.750 of the Health and Safety Code, or for kindergarten, elementary, or secondary school purposes.” The regulation requires California growers and pest control contractors to notify public K-12 schools and child day-care facilities and county agricultural commissioners (CAC) when certain pesticide applications are made within a quarter mile of these schools and facilities.
Comments on the proposed regulation are due by November 17, 2016. DPR states that a final regulation is expected to become effective in September 2017. Many have concerns with the proposed regulation, which DPR has been discussing publicly for some time. These concerns include what many believe are significant economic impacts to growers and others that they believe may not have been adequately considered and are not necessary for appropriate use of registered pesticides. Registrants and others should review the proposal carefully.
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/human-carcinogens-antimicrobial-pesticides-cross-state-air-pollution-federal-law
-
(ACC Mentioned) NGO Pushes CPSC to Finalise Proposed Phthalates Ban
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By David Stegon
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to finalise its long-pending proposed rule to prohibit five additional phthalates in children’s toys.
In a letter to CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye, the NGO called on the agency to issue a final rule before the year’s end.
The commission issued a proposed rule in late 2014. The proposal was to ban, or make permanent interim bans on, the use in children’s toys and childcare articles, at levels greater than 0.1%, the following five phthalates:
diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP);
di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPP);
di-n-hexyl phthalate (DnHP);
dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP); and
diisononyl phthalate (DINP).
It was issued at the recommendation of the Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP), following its final 2014 report on the health effects of certain phthalates, and phthalate alternatives, in children’s toys and childcare articles.
But according to the NRDC’s letter, the CPSC was required by law to publish a final rule within 180 days of the CHAP's report; on 14 January 2015.
The NGO said that the delay is “causing ongoing harm, as children continue to be exposed to phthalates that the commission has now proposed to ban because of the health risks.”
The CPSC declined to comment to Chemical Watch on the current status of the proposed rule.
Disagreement continues
In light of the ongoing delay, stakeholder advocacy on the proposed rulemaking is continuing. In a 31 August letter, following a meeting, Elissa Sterry, ExxonMobil vice president, raised three issues with the CPSC.
These include:
a discrepancy between the raw data and a report the CHAP used, in determining one of the phthalates, DINP, to be detrimental to health;
new data showing that humans are less sensitive to phthalate-induced in-utero anti-androgenic effects than previously thought; and
the CHAP made a decision based on its own independent review of data. That data had not been released publicly in the US, causing concern for stakeholders.
In past comments on the rule, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has said it is based “largely on old data”. The organisation argued earlier that the CPSC should have considered the most recently available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) biomonitoring data from 2009-10 and 2011-12, prior to issuing it.
More recently, congressional leaders have weighed in. Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, wrote in a September letter that the CHAP should rely on widely established scientific standards rather than outlier exposure data, to drive conclusions.
Senator Jim Inhofe (R–Oklahoma) also issued a letter to the CPSC, earlier this autumn, flagging up “a number of outstanding concerns” with the proposal. He called on the commission to ensure “sound science and appropriate policy decision-making practices are followed” in making its regulatory determination.
Passage of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008 prompted the formation of the CHAP. It also led to permanent bans of DEHP, BBP and DBP from children's products, and interim bans on DINP, DIDP and DNOP.
The use of phthalates has been a top issue of regulators around the world. Health Canada has restrictions involving the same six phthalates in children's products and mouthable items.
Several phthalates, including DINP, are subject to children's product reporting rules in states such as Washington, Oregon and Vermont.
And DIBP is among the phthalates that Echa and the Danish competent author recently proposed to restrict above levels of 0.1% in consumer products, where skin contact is likely.
https://chemicalwatch.com/51027/ngo-pushes-cpsc-to-finalise-proposed-phthalates-ban
-
Wal-Mart Lauded for Chemical Safety; Amazon Dead Last — Report
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Gabriel Dunsmith
An environmental nonprofit released a report today praising Wal-Mart while condemning Amazon.com for their respective chemical safety efforts.
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF), which works to eradicate toxic compounds in the marketplace, examined safe-chemical programs at 11 large retailers across the country and found "significant need for improvement ... to meet rising consumer demand for safer products," according to the report.
"Big retailers are on the frontline of consumer discontent with product safety," report co-author Mike Belliveau said in a statement. "Parents are more aware than ever that our chemical safety system is badly broken. When out shopping, no one should have to worry that the shampoo, lotions, cleaners, clothing, shoes, or home electronics contain toxic ingredients that could harm their family's health."
The group gave the companies letter grades for their work. While no retailer scored an A, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. earned B's "for good progress."
Target in particular made "significant improvements," reforming its policies to promote transparency and evaluate cosmetics ingredients, SCHF said.
"Both Wal-Mart and Target have identified over 2,000 chemicals of concern that they've been calling on suppliers to reduce and eliminate," said Mike Schade, director of SCHF's Mind the Store campaign, launched in 2013 to encourage outlets to address chemicals.
"Walmart has made great progress in the chemical space," company spokesman Ragan Dickens said in an email. "To date, our suppliers have successfully removed 95 percent of [our high-priority chemicals] by volume weight from the products we sell in Walmart U.S. that are in the scope of our policy. Looking forward, Walmart will continue to work with suppliers and [nongovernmental organization] partners on an ongoing basis to advance sustainable chemistry."
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families also praised CVS Health — which netted a C — for becoming the first pharmaceutical giant to sign onto the Chemical Footprint Project, an initiative promoting corporate adoption of safe chemicals.
But the report slammed Amazon.com Inc. for failing to provide any safe chemicals policy even as it is poised to become "the biggest retailer of apparel and electronics in the U.S."
Costco Wholesale Corp. was also "surprisingly the only major retailer that did not publicly report any progress in eliminating chemicals of high concern over the past three years," SCHF said.
Schade indicated that the report should spur more retailers to act.
"Over the past 10 to 15 years, we've seen retailers play a growing role in working to phase out and eliminate chemicals of high concern," he said.
Schade listed compounds like phthalates, bisphenol A, flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride that may threaten the health of children and families.
But the industry has a long way to go, he said.
"No retailer has assessed their chemical footprint," Schade added. "No retailer is requiring full chemical ingredient disclosure."
The report encourages improvement through a three-pronged rubric for retailers: implementing a safer chemical policy, insisting on transparency throughout supply chains and enforcing vigorous standards.
SCHF's 11-company ranking is as follows, with corporations graded on a 130-point scale:
1. Wal-Mart Stores (Wal-Mart and Sam's Club): B (78.5 points)
2. Target: B (76.5)
3. CVS Health: C (53)
4. Best Buy: C- (41)
5. The Home Depot: D+ (35.5)
6. Lowe's: D (29.5)
7. Walgreens: D (29.5)
8. Kroger: D- (15.5)
9. Albertsons: F (12.5)
10. Costco: F (9.5)
11. Amazon: F (7.5)
"We continue to apply a rigorous process in identifying chemicals of concern. ... We're honored to have been recognized for our progress by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families in their inaugural report and remain committed to continue to strengthen our sustainable business practices," said Eileen Howard Boone, head of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy for CVS, in an emailed statement.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment, while Costco declined to comment. Albertsons and Target said they were preparing statements, but they were not finalized in time for publication.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/16/stories/1060045867
-
Amazon Ranked Bottom in Retailer Chemical 'Report Card'
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
Amazon has come bottom of a "report card" ranking US retailers’ actions to eliminate toxic chemicals. Walmart and Target received the highest marks.
Safer Chemicals Healthy Families (SCHF), a coalition of environmental and health advocacy organisations, scored retailers on their progress since the launch of its Mind the Store campaign three years ago.
They were marked out of 130 possible points and were assigned grades between B for good progress and F for failing to develop even basic chemical policies. The average grade was D+. No retailer achieved a top A grade.
Points were given for criteria such as chemical policy, transparency, chemical footprint and continuous improvement. They were based on publicly available and self-reported information concerning retailer practices. The scores are:
The report says that the top three, Walmart, Target and CVS Health, are making “meaningful progress towards adopting policies for safer chemicals” and setting the pace for the sector.
But it says that retailers such as Amazon and Costco “remain serious laggards” and lack basic public policies.
It also identifies a group of “middle-of-the-road” performers, including Best Buy, The Home Depot, Walgreens and Lowe’s. These companies are beginning to develop safer chemical policies or taking initial steps to phase out toxic chemicals. It praises Best Buy and Walgreens for pledging to adopt safer chemical policies, and The Home Depot and Lowe’s for eliminating phthalates from vinyl flooring.
The report concludes that although retailers are "driving toxic chemicals from the market", more effort is needed to avoid regrettable substitutes.
It also says that disclosure of chemical ingredients by retailers and suppliers is improving, but greater transparency is needed to satisfy consumers.
The report recommended that all US retailers should:
adopt a safer chemicals policy to drive reductions and substitution of toxic chemicals in products;
publicly disclose all product ingredients to honour consumers “right to know”; and
promote and defend third-party safer product standards that mark clear progress.
Mike Schade, Mind the Store Campaign Director of SCHF and report co-author, said that although the top retailers were taking steps to systematically drive toxic chemicals out of products, other retailers such as Amazon, Costco, Albertsons and Kroger had “failed to make public even basic safer chemical policies”.
He added: “The 11 retailers we evaluated have combined sales of over one trillion dollars, a market power that can transform the toxic chemical economy.”
Mike Belliveau, executive director of environmental health strategy and senior adviser to SCHF and report co-author, said: “Retailers must send a stronger signal up their supply chains - no more toxic ingredients.”
https://chemicalwatch.com/51040/amazon-ranked-bottom-in-retailer-chemical-report-card
-
Nov 16, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By Alex Formuzis and Sonya Lunder
Myron Ebell, head of President-elect Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency transition team, is a notorious denier of global warming whose biography unashamedly notes that activists consider him a "climate criminal." But he's also director of environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which touts "the life-enhancing value of chemicals" – chemicals like arsenic, DDT and PCBs.
One of the the Competitive Enterprise Institute's projects is SafeChemicalPolicy.org. The site is bursting with articles and reports that cast doubt on the dangers of toxic chemicals and pesticides in food, water and consumer products, and disparage the work of public health advocates. (EWG is one of the site's favorite targets.)
Here are just a few examples:
SafeChemicalsPolicy.org downplays the risks of arsenic in drinking water and toxic pesticides found on foods young children love to eat.
An article on the site says it’s wrong for schools to notify parents before pesticides are sprayed inside and around schools.
It disparages public health advocates’ concerns over fetuses being exposed to endocrine disruptors in the womb, including Monsanto’s notorious PCBs and the now-banned pesticide DDT.
It actually makes the claim that glyphosate – the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, which the World Health Organization considers probably carcinogenic to humans – has "liberated" children from having to work in corn fields, pulling weeds.
There's much more: "Anti-BPA Packaging Laws Jeopardize Public Health," "Silent Spring Was Wrong," and "Erin Brockovich's Toxic Fearmongering."
"The simple reality," says the site, "is that modern living means living with chemicals." We couldn't agree more. The problem is that too many of those chemicals are hazardous to our health. The EPA is supposed to protect us from dangerous chemicals, not defend them, as Ebell would almost certainly do if he ran the agency.
As it turns out, EWG is a popular target among Trump’s other top advisers. Steve Bannon, the former campaign CEO and incoming chief White House strategist attacked us when he was running the alt-right website Breitbart News.
We’re used to it. In fact, when science deniers like Myron Ebell and Steve Bannon regularly get worked up over something you’ve said or done, it usually means you’ve said or done something right.
http://www.ewg.org/planet-trump/2016/11/arsenic-tap-water-pesticides-food-hormone-disruptors-babies-top-trump-advisors
-
Echa Makes Call for Evidence on Diarsenic Compounds
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Echa has issued a call for evidence from organisations with an interest in diarsenic trioxide and diarsenic pentaoxide, with information to validate or not the agency's conclusion on not proposing a restriction.
The substances are considered carcinogenic and are subject to the authorisation process, with a sunset date of 21 May 2015.
After this date has elapsed, Echa is required by the REACH Regulation to consider if the use of the substance in articles is adequately controlled and if not, prepare a restriction proposal.
Following an assessment of the available evidence, the agency considered that there is no use of these substances that would lead to a non-adequately controlled risk that are not already regulated under other legislation.
https://chemicalwatch.com/51037/echa-makes-call-for-evidence-on-diarsenic-compounds
-
‘Hard’ Brexit Could Signal End of REACH in UK
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Geraint Roberts
If, on the day the UK leaves the EU, it loses its access to the European single market, it is highly likely that REACH will cease to apply in the country, says consultancy REACHLaw.
Speaking at Chemical Watch’s recent European Enforcement Summit in Brussels, the firm’s head of global compliance, Riku Rinta-Jouppi, said that UK manufacturers’ and importers’ industry bodies are “already lobbying for their members’ REACH rights to be protected in the coming negotiations”, but under such a scenario, “continuation of REACH outside the scope of EU law is hardly possible”.
A consequence is that any REACH registrations, provided by UK legal entities on the day Brexit takes effect, would become void.
“The problem is that the registrations refer directly to Echa and they don’t exist independently of it,” he told the conference. “There was a clear statement by UK prime minister, Theresa May, that EU law will no longer apply in the UK, so I don’t see how these registrations could exist independently of Echa or the EU.”
It might be possible for the UK, and the rest of the EU, to create “some sort of parallel or interim arrangement”, he said, “but it’s very difficult to see how [registrations] could have an independent existence separate from the institution that granted them”.
The issue is top priority for the Chemical Industries Association (CIA). In its recent response to the UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum consultation on the implications of Brexit for chemicals policy, it said the investment UK businesses have already made in REACH registrations “must be recognised by both UK government and the rest of the EU irrespective of any type of trading agreement that may be established”.
With almost 5,500 registrations, covering around 2,250 substances, coming from UK businesses, it says, “it is essential that the UK government considers this issue ... before the UK exit takes place: to ensure existing REACH registrations do not become invalid, and a process is established to continue recognising contributions made by UK businesses without creating additional financial burden.”
Only “as a last resort”, says the CIA, should the transfer of existing registrations to only representatives elsewhere in the EU, be considered.
Mr Rinta-Jouppi said, while it is clear that UK registrations “will be valid all the way up to the point of Brexit, and it will be possible to make legal entity changes to that point, afterwards the validity and possibility of transfer will be open to question.”
If a UK registrant is a lead registrant, he said, its co-registrants would have to agree on a new lead registrant based in the EU and transfer the role to it, before Brexit comes into force.
“As a single issue,” he told the conference, “it would be in the UK’s long-term interest to find a way to continue with REACH, and with full access to the single market. But this may well be in conflict with its aims to limit immigration and not be subject to EU law. So only a bilateral free trade agreement may be available in practice - and it is quite likely there will be a period [after Brexit] when the UK is trading with the EU under WTO rules.”
The UK government has promised to introduce a “Great Repeal bill” in the next parliamentary session, to repeal the UK European Communities Act and to convert all EU law into UK law. But the CIA says that, as it is unlikely the government will be able to review all individual EU legislation before Brexit takes effect, it could consider the scenario of continuing to apply existing EU “trade exposed” chemical regulations in the UK, until a trade agreement is reached.
Given the political climate in the UK, the CIA’s response sets out the potential pros and cons of two scenarios - without taking a position on either: the first, where the UK maintains EU rules and there is automatic implementation of the legislation in the UK; the second, where a UK-specific framework and policy measures governing chemicals are created.
https://chemicalwatch.com/51059/hard-brexit-could-signal-end-of-reach-in-uk
-
Echa Calls for Evidence on Rubber Crumb
Nov 16, 2016 | Chemical Watch
Echa has issued a call for evidence on the use of recycled rubber granules, used as infill material in synthetic turf, for sports grounds. The agency was asked by the European Commission earlier this year to make a preliminary evaluation, with a particular focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – which are already extensively restricted by EU legislation.
Information needed includes on use, such as tonnages of imports, and on the content of rubber granules.
A similar evaluation is being conducted by three US agencies, with a draft status report due soon.
Meanwhile, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has started field research into the granules. It will take samples from 100 synthetic turfs to assess composition, and try to determine the extent to which substances can be released in certain circumstances, for example, through skin contact or ingestion.
The institute is also planning a review of all relevant scientific publications.
https://chemicalwatch.com/51035/echa-calls-for-evidence-on-rubber-crumb
-
Obama Oil and Gas Regs Could Be on the Chopping Block Under Trump
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Climatewire
By Brittany Patterson
The Obama administration took another step toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions yesterday, finalizing a regulation five years in the making that will reduce the amount of wasted natural gas from about 100,000 oil and gas wells on federal and tribal lands.
If fully implemented, the rule is expected to prevent 175,000 to 180,000 tons of methane emissions per year, roughly equivalent to about 4.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. For a comparison, the amount of emissions avoided by the rule is equivalent to taking more than 900,000 cars off the road, according to a Bureau of Land Management fact sheet.
Praised by environmental groups and immediately litigated by industry representatives, the BLM rule is likely the last prong of the Obama administration's actions to reduce methane. The potent greenhouse gas has 25 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period (Greenwire, Nov. 15).
In early 2015, as part of its Climate Action Plan, the administration set a nationwide target to reduce methane emissions 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025. This included addressing emissions from landfills, livestock, agriculture and leaked methane from oil and gas operations. According to EPA, methane released from oil and gas operations is the single largest contributor of the greenhouse gas.
The oil and gas industry, as well as a cadre of conservative lawmakers, have come out strongly against new federal methane regulations. In addition to litigating the new BLM rule, U.S. EPA's New Source Performance Standards, which were finalized in May and regulate methane emissions from new and heavily modified oil and gas operations on private lands, are also being fought in court.
Many speculate that President-elect Donald Trump's administration, which has pledged to open up federal lands to drilling and reduce energy regulations, will want to move forward with slashing oil and gas methane regulations.
Experts say that, without them, it becomes uncertain if the United States could make good on its commitment under the Paris Agreement on climate change — to cut greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
"Based on our modeling and analysis, methane is critical to meeting the targets," said Rebecca Gasper, a research analyst in the World Resources Institute's climate and energy program.
Enviros hold out hope of meeting goal
In a white paper released last year, the World Resources Institute calculated that by setting standards for both new and existing natural gas systems, by 2025 those could account for 7 percent of the cuts needed to get to the United States' Paris goal.
Without policy intervention, the agency estimates, emissions from methane will climb almost 6 percent by 2025, mostly due to an increase in oil and gas activities. Gasper said the technology to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas systems is already tried and tested. In places like Colorado, which has had statewide venting and flaring methane regulations on the books for two years now, operators and states are seeing revenue benefits.
Combined, the finalized EPA and BLM rule achieves an estimated 15 percent of Obama's methane goals, said Maria Belenky, a senior associate at Climate Advisers.
"The 'big fish,' as it were, is really existing facilities," she said. "I think a lot of people in the environmental community were hoping that EPA would issue regulations for existing facilities under a Hillary [Clinton] administration. With Trump, it's obviously quite unlikely."
EPA is currently preparing rules to curb methane leaks from existing oil and gas sources, similar to the BLM rule finalized today, but not on private lands, but it will not be completed before Obama leaves office, which means a President Trump could simply drop the process.
In July, EPA announced a voluntary methane reduction program, the Methane Challenge Program. Participating companies agree to some mixture of adopting best management practices or limiting methane leakage by adopting a specific target (Greenwire, March 30).
Belenky said voluntary reductions alone are unlikely to result in a large reduction; however, she said, in conjunction with the savings that oil and gas companies receive when they reduce natural gas waste, "perhaps we can hope for level emissions through the coming years."
Environmental groups, for their part, are determined to fight.
Mark Brownstein, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund's climate and energy program, said the 10-year time frame for the methane goals set by this administration far exceed a four-year Trump administration, which means reducing methane may not be a lost cause. It's also not yet clear what Trump might do.
"It's not at all clear that the goal won't be met," he said. "Achieving these reductions within 10 years will be challenging. And make no mistake: We will fight to protect the hard-fought progress on methane that we achieved over the last years at the federal level."
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/11/16/stories/1060045828
-
Nov 16, 2016 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Millions of abandoned wells may be a substantial source of methane in the atmosphere, but identifying them remains a challenge -- and a big reason to study Pennsylvania, which has the longest history of U.S. oil and gas development and where scientists hope to find clues on how to fix a nationwide problem.
Initial findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the largest study of high methane-emitting abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, which has infrastructure dating to 1859.
"Our findings will help states prioritize where to spend their money and find the highest-emitting wells more easily," said co-author Rob Jackson of Stanford University's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "If you want to reduce climate change quickly, methane provides a great opportunity."
Research conducted previously at Princeton by Mary Kang, first author of the new study, determined that abandoned wells in Pennsylvania contributed a significant amount of methane to the atmosphere and should be factored into greenhouse gas emissions inventories. However, the number of abandoned wells, combined with poor record keeping, had made it difficult to determine how many wells actually existed to develop mitigation strategies.
Researchers from Stanford, Princeton, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and The Ohio State University coupled 163 well measurements of methane flow rates; ethane, propane, andn-butane concentrations; isotopes of methane; and noble gas concentrations from 88 wells in Pennsylvania. They synthesized data using old books, historical documents, field investigations and state databases. Research was supported by grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Vulcan Inc.
Based on their findings, researchers estimated there are 470,000-750,000 abandoned wells in Pennsylvania that contribute 5-8% of annual methane emissions in the state.
The research team improved not only the estimates about the number of abandoned wells in Pennsylvania, but also characterized key attributes that accompany "high emitters," including depth, type, plugging status and coal area designation. Researchers also estimated attribute-specific and overall methane emissions from abandoned wells.
"High emitters are best predicted as unplugged gas wells and plugged/vented gas wells in coal areas and appear to be unrelated to the presence of underground natural gas storage areas or unconventional oil/gas production," the researchers said. "Repeat measurements over two years show that flow rates of high emitters are sustained through time."
Methodology that combined new field measurements with data mining of previously unavailable well attributes and numbers of wells could be used to improve methane emission estimates and prioritize cost-effective mitigation strategies "for Pennsylvania and beyond," researchers said. "Knowing the attributes of high emitters will lead to cost-effective mitigation strategies that target high methane-emitting wells."
Most of the emissions could be reduced "just by addressing 5-10% of the wells," said Jackson, who is affiliated with the Stanford's campus-wide Natural Gas Initiative, devoted to addressing questions and funding projects related to the growth in natural gas production in the past decade.
The standard method to plug wells is to pour cement to create a combination of deep and shallow plugs, with one through every oil, gas, coal or water-bearing layer and another at the surface to isolate drinking water. It's not an inexpensive process, but if the super methane emitters can be identified, many of the problems nationwide could be addressed, Jackson said.
"The new findings highlight a need to develop more effective mitigation strategies at the wells themselves to address the most problematic sections of damaged wells," the authors said.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/108452-sleuths-tracking-abandoned-pennsylvania-oil-gas-wells-for-clues-to-reduce-methane-emissions-nationwide
-
EDF Tracks Pipeline Leaks in Energy Capital of the East
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
Pittsburgh has joined an effort to track leaks from municipal natural gas pipelines.
Using data collected by Google Earth Outreach, the Environmental Defense Fund found that the Steel City is releasing methane at a rate roughly equivalent to other older Northeast areas like Boston and Staten Island, said EDF's chief scientist, Steven Hamburg.
"That's not surprising," he said. "What's really heartening is there's a pipeline replacement program ongoing."
Pittsburgh utility Peoples Natural Gas Co. LLC asked EDF to add its territory to a nationwide methane mapping project, Hamburg said. EDF has also tracked the potent greenhouse gas in Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Dallas (EnergyWire, May 19).
EDF's newest target city is located in the heart of the Marcellus Shale, one of the nation's top natural-gas-producing regions. Natural gas consists mainly of methane, which has a global warming potential as high as 36 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time period, according to U.S. EPA.
Gas utilities have the technology to determine the presence of leaks and evaluate their safety profile, but EDF's technology helps cities quantify the amount of gas that's leaking from their infrastructure, Hamburg said. EDF helps utilities minimize their climate impact by helping them target their largest leaks. The size of a methane release is not directly correlated to its threat to safety.
The priorities should be "safety, safety and environment," Hamburg said. Utilities are already monitoring the safety component, he said. EDF helps them address their environmental aspect.
Google covers the cost of collecting, analyzing and uploading the methane data. EDF conducts quality control and posts the information. The utility fields no cost, except for the expense associated with fixing large leaks, which is already built into a company's budget.
"There is a cost, but it's an inevitable cost," Hamburg said. "None of these pipes were built to last forever."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/11/16/stories/1060045803
-
Enviros Chart Defense of BLM Methane Rule
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Environmental groups plan to head to court to defend the Obama administration's new methane rule for oil and gas production on public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management's final regulation, designed to rein in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, was unveiled yesterday and faced an immediate lawsuit from the Western Energy Alliance and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, which called it a costly regulatory overreach.
Environmental groups are vowing to intervene to defend the rule at the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, a move they consider especially important given President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration.
"Even if the rule is not everything we would like it to be, we believe BLM clearly has the authority to do it," Center for Biological Diversity attorney Brendan Cummings told E&E News. "That authority needs to be defended, and we don't have confidence the incoming administration will defend the rule."
Cummings said several groups were coordinating a legal response, but an exact timeline for intervention remains uncertain.
"I do anticipate that we'll move swiftly, given that the industry has moved quickly," said Western Environmental Law Center Executive Director Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, whose group is also planning to intervene. He added that quick action is critical because industry could ask the court to pause implementation of the rule, as it did in the recent legal battle over BLM's hydraulic fracturing rule.
Other groups that may intervene include the Clean Air Task Force, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Wilderness Society, the Montana Environmental Information Center, Earthjustice and many others. The groups have a strategy call today.
The legal showdown will nearly mirror a similar dispute over U.S. EPA's rule for methane emissions from new oil and gas operations, where the Western Energy Alliance sued the government and environmental groups intervened. Several states also intervened to defend the EPA rule but have not yet signaled whether they plan to get involved in defense of BLM's regulation.
Both methane rules are part of a broader Obama administration plan to cut emissions of the short-lived but potent greenhouse gas. EPA's rule focuses on new sources in the oil and gas sector, and the agency is collecting data for standards that would limit emissions from existing sources.
Reducing methane overall is a key element of the administration's climate plan and Obama's environmental legacy. EPA estimated earlier this year that natural gas wells and infrastructure were the country's largest sources of methane in 2014 (Greenwire, Nov. 15). Environmentalists argue that methane emissions can undercut climate gains from natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal.
"By cutting methane pollution from oil and gas operations on our public lands, this safeguard will help rein in a climate change pollutant that is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide," Abigail Dillen, vice president for litigation and climate at Earthjustice, said in a statement. "Common-sense protections to stop wasting gas come at low or no net costs to industry and deliver significant health and environmental benefits to the growing number of communities that have oil and gas drilling in their backyards."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/11/16/stories/1060045804
-
Feds Cancel Drilling Leases Near Tribal Land in Montana
Nov 16, 2016 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Devin Henry
Federal officials have canceled 15 oil and gas drilling leases near land sacred to the Blackfeet Nation tribe in Montana, the Interior Department announced on Wednesday.
Devon Energy Corp., which held drilling rights in the Badger-Two Medicine Area of the Lewis and Clark National Forest, will relinquish its leases there out of concern for cultural and ecological sites near the Native American land.
The Blackfeet Nation considers the 130,000-acre Badger-Two Medicine Area sacred. The leader of the tribe’s business council called it “like a church — a divine sanctuary — to our people" in a Wednesday statement.
Tribal leaders have, for years, urged federal officials and Congress to block energy development in the region, winning the backing of Montana Sen. Jon Tester (D) and Gov. Steve Bullock (D). Congress in 2006 withdrew the area from potential mineral development going forward.
The leases canceled on Wednesday were issued in the 1980s, though no company has ever developed oil in the area.
Devon Energy agreed to cede its leases after consulting with federal officials and the tribe. It will be refunded about $200,000 for giving up the leases, according to the Interior Department.
“We’re pleased and proud to celebrate the collaboration that has brought us to this agreement,” President and CEO Dave Hager said in a statement.
“We know how important this is to the Blackfeet people, and we appreciate the work the Interior Department has done to make it possible. For Devon, cancellation of these leases at this time is simply the right thing to do.”
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the decision “will ensure [the area] is protected for future generations.” The decision means only two leases remain in the area.
“Our pursuit to protect the Badger-Two Medicine has lasted more than three decades, and it will continue until all the illegal oil and gas leases are cancelled and the area is permanently protected,” Blackfeet Nation Chairman Harry Barnes said.
“This area is sacred to the Blackfeet people, and we appreciate that others are starting to recognize it as well.”http://www.thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/306369-feds-cancel-drilling-leases-near-tribal-land-in-montana
-
These Policy Solutions Can Help Unleash the Full Potential of Renewable Energy
Nov 16, 2016 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Lenae Shirley
New installed renewable energy capacity surpassed coal for the first time last year, the International Energy Agency reported recently.
It means that we added more wind and solar to our global energy system than oil, gas, coal or nuclear power combined – a trend that is expected to continue over the next five years.
But to truly transition to a global clean energy economy, we must accelerate this growth rate and modernize our electricity grid to maximize the potential of these new renewables. That way we can use as much clean energy as possible on any given day.
Many of these optimizing solutions already exist today.
They include technology such as powerful batteries that can store energy when renewables don’t produce electricity, for example, when the sun is shaded by a cloud.
There are also energy management tools such as demand response that pay customers for saving energy at critical times when the grid needs it. And innovative electricity pricing programs that encourage customers to shift some of their power use to times of day when clean energy sources are plentiful and electricity is cheaper.
All can, with the help of good policy, make the most of variable energy sources – as would a modernized and more dynamic electric grid.
A flexible energy system paves the way
Between now and the end of 2021, the United States will add around 100 gigawatts of new renewables, the equivalent of about 80 coal plants, the IEA reported. To integrate and value all this new, clean energy we need a smart and forward-looking grid strategy.
Because our energy system was initially designed for large, centralized power plants running mainly on fossil fuels, it depends on a steady supply of power and a network of transmission lines to deliver it to peoples’ homes and businesses.
As we expand smart grid solutions that empower businesses and households to make and move their own energy – for example, by selling solar power back to the grid – we begin to build a more flexible energy system that can accommodate intermittent sources of electricity and increased elasticity in demand. It also helps people reduce their power consumption and energy bills when they see that the cost of electricity fluctuates at different times.
A smart grid can detect when one house can’t use all the rooftop solar energy it produces and shift that electricity to the family next door that is charging an electric vehicle or running an air conditioning unit. It avoids using costly transmission systems to move power where it’s needed, reduces emissions and creates space for new and cleaner energy sources to move in.
A larger grid makes renewables go farther
But we must also expand the grid to allow for an influx of new renewable generation, or we may risk wasting even more precious resources.
If California’s electric grid were connected to neighboring states, for example, the state could export its excess renewable energy when the sun is shining there, and buy wind from Wyoming when it isn’t. This, again, would make wind and solar go farther.
The surge in renewable investments can change the equation – but it’s up to us to break down barriers and pave the way.
The rapid deployment of renewable energy technology worldwide is putting in place critical infrastructure and volume needed for a shift away from polluting fossil fuels.
But this growth needs to continue and accelerate. Renewable energy has a lot of catching up to do with coal and natural gas, which are enjoying a decades-long head start on infrastructure and investment.
Even though U.S. investment in clean energy soared from an impressive $10 billion to $56 billion between 2004 and 2015, renewables still represent a tiny fraction of the power produced by the American electricity sector. Nationwide, wind accounts for less than 5 percent and solar for less than 1 percent.
The surge in renewable investments can change the equation – but it’s up to us to break down barriers and pave the way for the clean energy economy. We have the solutions and know what to do.
https://www.edf.org/blog/2016/11/16/these-policy-solutions-can-help-unleash-full-potential-renewable-energy
-
NTSB Unveils New Two-Year 'Most Wanted' Safety Recommendations
Nov 16, 2016 | Progressive Rail Roading
By Staff
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week unveiled a top 10 "Most Wanted" list of safety recommendations for years 2017 and 2018, including one that calls for the safe shipment of hazardous materials.
The list features recommendations that the board has called for in prior years, but the hazmat issue was highlighted as its own recommendation for the next two years. In the past, the hazmat shipment recommendation has been included as part of broader safety concerns.
The board has issued the list for the past 26 years. It serves as its "roadmap for lessons learned to lives saved," said NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart during a media briefing held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
"The list represents actions which, if taken, will safe lives, prevent injuries and reduce property damage in all modes of transportation," he said.
The complete list of 10 recommendations for 2017-18 calls for:
• eliminating distractions;
• reducing fatigue-related accidents;
• preventing loss of control in flight in general aviation;
• improving transit-rail safety oversight;
• ending alcohol and other drug impairment in transportation;
• increasing implementation of collision avoidance technologies;
• expanding recorder use to enhance safety;
• requiring medical fitness of operators;
• strengthening occupant protection; and
• ensuring the safe shipment of hazardous materials.The hazardous materials issue boils down to two concerns: the bulk shipment of lithium batteries and the shipment of hazardous materials by rail in tank cars that are suitable for the task, said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt.
One rail-specific item on the new list is a repeat: improving transit-rail safety oversight. Hart noted that transit agencies lacked systematic oversight for many decades, until federal legislation passed in 2012 provided the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) safety oversight of transit agencies.
And while the FTA has been focused on addressing critical safety problems at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over the past year, the board is pushing for better oversight of transit-rail "everywhere we look," Hart said.
"We are looking at this issue around the country, as we are seeing too many fatalities" on transit rail, he said.
With a goal of bringing more attention to the issues on the list and the safety recommendations that drive them, the NTSB moved to the two-year cycle rather than an annual list.
The new list did not change much from the 2016 list because it reflects the transportation safety areas that the board believes present the most opportunity for change, board members said.
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/federal_legislation_regulation/news/NTSB-unveils-new-two-year-Most-Wanted-safety-recommendations--50075
-
Radical Reductions Needed to Meet Paris Goals — Report
Nov 16, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
The transformation required for a reasonable chance of limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius is "stark," the International Energy Agency said today.
It would require carbon emissions to be cut to near zero by some point between 2040 and 2060, which means radical near-term reductions in energy-sector emissions are needed. IEA said in its World Energy Outlook 2016 that countries will have to employ every known technological, societal and regulatory option.
About 60 percent of all new power generation capacity to 2040 comes from renewables in IEA's main scenario, with almost half from wind and solar.
IEA's first report on meeting the climate targets set last year in Paris comes as nearly 200 countries are meeting in Morocco to set up the details of the global deal (see related story).
For the moment, IEA said, governments are sending a collective signal that fossil fuels, in particular natural gas and oil, will be a bedrock of the global energy system for many decades to come.
The report warns oil markets could be in for a bumpy ride with long-term demand concentrated on sectors like freight and aviation where alternatives are scarce. Global oil demand continues to grow until 2040, but oil demand from passenger cars declines even as the number of vehicles increases. This is thanks to improvements in efficiency, biofuels and rising ownership of electric cars.
By contrast, natural gas is likely to have an expanded role in the global mix. Increased liquid natural gas shipments change how gas security is perceived, IEA suggests.
"We see clear winners for the next 25 years — natural gas but especially wind and solar — replacing the champion of the previous 25 years, coal," said Fatih Birol, IEA's executive director. "But there is no single story about the future of global energy; in practice, government policies will determine where we go from here."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/11/16/stories/1060045872
-
White House Issues Strategy to Slash Carbon Emissions by 2050
Nov 16, 2016 | Politico Pro - Whiteboard
By Eric Wolff
The White House released an ambitious plan this morning to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050, building on President Barack Obama's pledge to cut U.S. carbon emissions 26-28 percent by 2025.
But that effort is likely to be shelved under the incoming administration of Donald Trump, who has rejected the global effort to combat the pollution scientists blame for warming the planet and is expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
The newly released plan, called the Mid-Century Strategy, calls for deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy by cutting emissions from the energy sector, including transportation and electric power generation, by taking advantage of carbon capture from both CO2 removal technologies and developing land sinks, such as forests, to store carbon.
"The MCS demonstrates how the United States can meet the growing demands on its energy system and lands while achieving a low-emissions pathway, maintaining a thriving economy, and ensuring a just transition for Americans whose livelihoods are connected to fossil fuel production and use," the report says.
In 2009, the U.S. joined the Group of Eight nations in calling for a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 50 percent by mid-century, with the developed economies targeting a more ambitious 80 percent cut.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation News
Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested