Preview Newsletter
AM ACC 1/9/2017
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Hearing On Transportation Secretary Nominee
Jan 11, 2017 | Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Location : 253 Russell / 10:15 AM, -
Hearing On Commerce Secretary Nominee
Jan 12, 2017 | Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Location : 253 Russell / 10:00 AM -
Departing EPA Toxics Chief Highlights 'Transformative' TSCA Challenges
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
EPA's departing toxics chief Jim Jones says the overhauled Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is proving to be a "transformative" law that is creating several large challenges for the agency, in particular how it develops confidential business information (CBI) policies under the law and how it will review the safety of new chemicals. -
Don't Let Industry Put Your Health At Risk
Jan 6, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
It was perhaps the most shocking part of the ineffective chemical safety law that Congress finally fixed last year: America has had no requirement that the government review new chemicals and provide a reasonable assurance they will be safe before they're allowed onto the market—and into our homes, schools, and workplaces -
(ACC Mentioned) Federal Study Raises Concerns For People Who Manufacture BPA
Jan 9, 2017 | Consumer Affairs
By Amy Martyn
Research has shown that a chemical called Bisphenol A, used to make hard plastics and the resin linings of canned foods, is present in the bloodstream of more than 90 percent of Americans. -
Trump Wants ‘Energy Independence.’ We May Already Be Close To having It.
Jan 6, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
At least one aspect of Donald Trump’s vision for the nation’s energy future may already be close to coming true, according to new federal projections. A report, released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), suggests that the United States could become a net energy exporter by 2026 — perhaps even sooner under favorable economic conditions. -
EPA Proposes Adding NatGas Processing to Toxics Database
Jan 6, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
After years of considering the idea, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add natural gas processors to a list of industrial facilities that must report annually information on chemical discharges and other waste management activities. -
Nominees Scrutinized As EIA Highlights Uncertain Energy Future
Jan 9, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Emily Holden
The federal government's latest energy projections are out, and they underscore just how much could change in the power sector under President-elect Donald Trump. -
New Group Boosts Pruitt Nomination, Adding To Political Backers
Jan 6, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Alex Guillén and Esther Whieldon
Energy companies and their executives have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into political action committees run by or supporting President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. And now Pruitt is getting extra help from a new nonprofit that doesn't have to disclose its donors. -
Key House Departure No Loss for Pipeline Overhaul Effort: GOP
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Dabbs
The imminent loss of a pipeline overhaul champion in the House won't decrease congressional interest in expediting natural gas pipeline permitting, House Republicans told Bloomberg BNA. -
Court Rejects Oil & Gas Sector Push To Split Issues In NSPS Suit
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is rejecting an oil and gas industry push to bifurcate litigation over EPA’s new source performance standards (NSPS) for the sector, severing briefing for implementation-based issues from questions over the agency's statutory authority. -
California: U.S. Clean Energy Shift May Aid State's Climate Leadership
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The nationwide transition to cleaner power sources is likely to aid California's renewed commitment to lead the U.S. on climate change and greenhouse gas programs in the coming years, despite vows by the incoming Trump administration to block Obama's major GHG regulations. -
Tighter Beryllium Exposure Limits to Save Worker Lives: OSHA
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Sam Pearson
New limits for beryllium will save lives and curb illness among foundry workers and those employed in smelting, fabricating and other industries who may be exposed to the cancer-causing metal, OSHA said in a final rule issued Jan. 6. -
Cantwell Wants to Give Energy Department More Cyber Authority
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she plans to introduce legislation to give the Energy Department more authority to oversee the resiliency of the nation's electric grid in the case of physical and cyber attacks. -
U.S. Grid in ‘Imminent Danger’ From Cyber Attack, Study Says
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter and Mark Chediak
The U.S. Energy Department says the electricity system “faces imminent danger” from cyber attacks, which are growing more frequent and sophisticated, but grid operators say they are already on top of the problem. -
Outlook 2017: If The Trump EPA Wants To Ease NAAQS Standards. . .
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The Trump administration, over the next four years, will get the chance to review five of the six National Ambient Air Quality Standards (lead the lone NAAQS outside the window) -
Outlook 2017: More Litigation, Same Balance Forecast for High Court
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By John Henry Stam
Environmental litigation is expected to increase in 2017, and more cases are expected to eventually be brought to the U.S. Supreme Court. -
EPA Seeks Comment On Draft Decision To Add Solvent to Air Toxics List
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
EPA is seeking public comment on a draft decision to grant petitions from New York state and a chemical industry group to add the solvent n-propyl bromide (nPB) to the Clean Air Act list of air toxics, which would trigger a duty for the agency to craft hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulations that could reduce overall use of nPB. -
House Environment Subcommittee to Oversee Clean Air Act
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), a congressman who sought to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee this session, will instead continue as chairman of its environment subcommittee with an additional prize: jurisdiction over the Clean Air Act.
Congressional Hearings
Industry and Association News - There are no clips to report at this time.
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Environment News
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Hearing On Transportation Secretary Nominee
Jan 11, 2017 | Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
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Hearing On Commerce Secretary Nominee
Jan 12, 2017 | Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
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Departing EPA Toxics Chief Highlights 'Transformative' TSCA Challenges
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
EPA's departing toxics chief Jim Jones says the overhauled Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is proving to be a "transformative" law that is creating several large challenges for the agency, in particular how it develops confidential business information (CBI) policies under the law and how it will review the safety of new chemicals.
Still, Jones -- head of EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) -- told Inside EPA in an exclusive Dec. 22 exit interview that he believes the agency is handling these challenges well. He also said that he expects implementation of the law to continue smoothly under President-elect Donald Trump.
Jones was nominated by President Barack Obama to be assistant administrator of OCSPP and won Senate confirmation to the position on August 1, 2013. As a political appointee, Jones will leave the administration when Obama leaves office, and it is unknown who Trump might nominate as his replacement.
The revised TSCA signed by Obama on June 22 last year overhauls the 1976 toxics law to give EPA extensive new authority on addressing the risks of existing and new chemicals in commerce. Existing chemicals, those on the marketplace when the original TSCA took effect in 1976, received limited oversight in the following decades -- one of the drivers for the statute's reform. The new law includes a host of provisions requiring the agency to issue rules on reviewing substances, how to handle CBI, and more.
While Jones said that implementation of the new law has largely gone smoothly to date, he identified two of the most challenging aspects as the requirements for reviewing new chemicals' safety and changes to how the agency reviews companies' CBI claims. He also said that he sees a six-month time frame for the agency to sort out the issues and resolve any delays or problems it has struggled with on both of those aspects.
On both issues, the changes took effect immediately after the law's June 22 effective date, Jones pointed out, unlike other new mandates. "We spent a lot of time and energy making sure we have the appropriate staff and processes to be effective in both of those places," Jones told Inside EPA. For example, he noted that the agency held a meeting last month to discuss some of the challenges with the new chemical reviews.
He acknowledged the challenges have been "frustrating" for both the agency and chemical companies submitting substances for review. But he added "we're learning as we're going, the submitters are learning as we're going," and that he is "confident within six months we'll be settled into a pretty high functioning area."
Updated TSCA
The new law requires EPA under section 5 for the first time to begin making affirmative findings of a new substance's safety before it can be sold, and under section 14 to substantiate CBI claims upon assertion. It also sets a time frame of 10 years for when such claims would expire unless the agency specifically re-substantiates them.
These changes were different from the original TSCA in which EPA had the authority to review new chemicals' safety but was not required to issue an affirmative finding, and in which it was not statutorily mandated to review CBI claims, and those claims were not subject to time limits.
Industry has raised concerns about the current structure of the section 5 new chemical review program, citing a lack of clarity on what additional data EPA needs to make an affirmative determination under the new law, coupled with the fact the agency is already facing significant delays in reviewing new chemicals.
During a Dec. 14 meeting on the new section 5 requirements, Greg Schweer, chief of the new chemicals management branch within EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics, highlighted the need for industry to provide more robust submissions. Schweer noted that in the absence of adequate data, EPA likely will make a "worst case assumption" that often results in a finding that a chemical will or may present an unreasonable risk.
"It has also been clear to many stakeholders that we do not get much health and safety data for new chemicals. That can be a barrier to evaluation of the compound," Jones told Inside EPA.
Jones added that it is "premature" to assume the first several dozen or hundred assessments will be an accurate predictor of the future of the program because "we're learning as we're going."
Jones said that while it is clear EPA will be getting more data than before the new law was enacted, it is "not clear to me that we have the appropriate balance."
CBI Claims
On the CBI claims, Jones said, "just putting into place the procedures" to comply with the law's requirement that EPA evaluate the basis for all chemical identities has been among the issues the agency has "run across."
Jones said, "part of it is just standing up the process, for having to do something you didn't have to do," given that the requirement kicked in the day after the law was passed. He added there was little opportunity to "put things in place before there were submissions and we were knee deep in it."
Jones touted the benefits of the revised TSCA, which granted EPA expansive authority over new and existing chemicals, including a first-time mandate to review the safety of the thousands of chemicals already in commerce, as a "complete transformation of the toxics program and its approach to safety."
Among the most transformative aspects, Jones said, is "having a mandatory duty" to review existing chemicals, noting that restricting existing chemicals is something the agency has elected not to do largely since a federal court vacated its ban on asbestos in 1991.
On the implementation, Jones said it appears to be moving along "remarkably well, for a law as transformative as it is," saying the agency sought to put the groundwork in place some years before with the TSCA work plan risk assessment program that debuted in 2012. As a result, it "doesn't feel like we're trying to turn a really big ship," Jones said.
Jones reiterated previous statements he has made on TSCA reform implementation under the incoming Trump administration, saying the law is prescriptive and includes binding statutory deadlines that will ensure its ongoing implementation even in the change from a Democratic to Republican administration.
"There is so much legacy to it, it doesn't matter who's sitting in my seat -- those deadlines are still coming," he said. Jones added that whomever is appointed by Trump to lead OCSPP will have different interpretations of what an unreasonable risk is and how to manage it, but they "cannot duck the legal requirements" or deadlines, or "they do so at their peril."
Jones' Accomplishments
Also during the interview, Jones highlighted what he feels are the most substantial accomplishments during his tenure OCSPP's top official, including: Agriculture worker protection standards and training for pesticides, raising the profile of the agency's voluntary Safer Choice program recognizing cleaning products and the TSCA work plan program, which laid some of the groundwork for the key elements of the reform law.
Jones said you "always wish you could have gotten further along," adding that he would have liked to see the agency finalize TSCA section 6 rules for three chemicals -- one on certain uses of the solvent trichloroethylene that EPA proposed Dec. 7, while EPA is poised to propose the other two rules.
"Despite that fantasy, that would've been really awesome. I'm still incredibly proud of how we've been able to hit the ground running after the law passed," he said.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/departing-epa-toxics-chief-highlights-transformative-tsca-challenges
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Don't Let Industry Put Your Health At Risk
Jan 6, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
It was perhaps the most shocking part of the ineffective chemical safety law that Congress finally fixed last year: America has had no requirement that the government review new chemicals and provide a reasonable assurance they will be safe before they're allowed onto the market—and into our homes, schools, and workplaces. With the passage of the Lautenberg Act last year, this clearly crucial requirement was put into law for the first time in American history.
Now, we need your help to make sure EPA can do what it's supposed to do. The fact is, the major improvements made to this program passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Democrats and Republicans alike in Congress understood what they were voting for.
But thanks to industry complaints, EPA is facing pressure to back off on these much-needed changes to the New Chemicals Review Program. Tell the EPA: Americans expect chemicals to be reviewed and found safe before we're exposed to them.
https://secure2.edf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&id=2873&page=UserAction&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=edf_tsca_upd_mem&utm_medium=referral&utm_id=1483738705
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(ACC Mentioned) Federal Study Raises Concerns For People Who Manufacture BPA
Jan 9, 2017 | Consumer Affairs
By Amy Martyn
Research has shown that a chemical called Bisphenol A, used to make hard plastics and the resin linings of canned foods, is present in the bloodstream of more than 90 percent of Americans.
The plastics, food packaging and chemical industries, long having vouched for the safety of BPA, don’t dispute that Americans are frequently exposed to this chemical through their diet. But industry trade groups like the American Chemistry Council have heavily lobbied and argued that the presence of BPA in human samples shouldn’t be a concern, because they say that BPA leaves the body nearly as quickly as it enters.
“Extensive scientific studies have shown that BPA is quickly metabolized, excreted and does not accumulate in the body,” the American Chemistry Council said in 2010. At that time, the ACC was criticizing the Canadian Minister of the Environment’s decision to list BPA as a toxic substance.
Other government panels and agencies meanwhile have sided with the industry, including a 2011 panel organized by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, whose experts “found that BPA does not accumulate in the body.” The ACC reminded the public again that BPA “is rapidly eliminated in urine, and that it is difficult to interpret the relevance of studies claiming adverse health effects from BPA.”
But those conclusions are hardly the last word, as a new, worrying study conducted by a United States government agency reveals.Workers who make BPA have higher levels
Researchers working for the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health took urine samples from 77 workers over a one-year period. The workers were all employed at United States companies that produce BPA or food packaging products containing BPA.
The results, published January 1, say that the workers on average had levels of BPA in their bodies on average more than 70 times higher than the general public, a strong indication that BPA can be absorbed through skin contact and that it does in fact accumulate in the body.
“It resets the argument that ‘100 percent [of BPA] is gone in a day,” Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher, told the Environmental Health News site. Vom Saal, who was not involved with this study, has an extensive body of his own research suggesting that BPA is in fact harmful to humans, even at small doses.
In a statement to ConsumerAffairs, Steve Hentges of the American Chemistry Council responds: “It is important to note that this NIOSH study has little relevance for consumers, but may be informative for some workers in manufacturing facilities that use BPA."
He argues that “since this study was designed to look at exposure only, it is incapable of evaluating whether BPA could cause health effects in workers or could accumulate in the body...the FDA and many government agencies around the world have concluded that the low levels of BPA in consumer products are safe."Feds suggest limiting worker exposure
Because federal regulators in the FDA and the EPA still consider BPA to be safe, there are no occupational exposure limits for workers who make BPA. But similar, previous research into Chinese workers who manufacture BPA linked high exposure to the chemical to decreased reproductive hormones and sexual dysfunction.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health now advises companies to voluntarily search for ways to minimize worker exposure to BPA. Among the NIOSH’s suggestions are to minimize the time workers spend in BPA production areas or altogether eliminating BPA from products when possible.
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/federal-study-raises-concerns-for-people-who-manufacture-bpa-010917.html
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Trump Wants ‘Energy Independence.’ We May Already Be Close To having It.
Jan 6, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
At least one aspect of Donald Trump’s vision for the nation’s energy future may already be close to coming true, according to new federal projections. A report, released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), suggests that the United States could become a net energy exporter by 2026 — perhaps even sooner under favorable economic conditions.
“The U.S. could be completely, [to use] the phrase that was used at one time, energy independent,” said EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski during a Thursday news conference.
Becoming energy independent is a cornerstone of the president-elect’s energy plan. At a petroleum conference in North Dakota last May, Trump outlined his vision for the country’s energy future, noting that “America’s incredible energy potential remains untapped.”
“Under my presidency, we’ll accomplish a complete American energy independence,” he added.
But the strict definition of “independence” may depend on whom you ask. Sieminski’s comments suggest energy independence in the form of net exports — in other words, while importation still occurs, there’s overall more oil and gas going out than coming in.
The new report, which is the latest installment in a series of annually released U.S. energy outlooks, presents projections for the U.S. energy market through 2050, including a number of possible economic, technological and policy-related scenarios. Under the reference scenario, which assumes that current economic conditions and energy-related policies remain the same, the report projects an increase in oil and gas production, which combined with an increase in natural gas exports and a decrease in oil imports indicates that the country could become a net energy exporter in the next 10 years.
The reference case makes these projections without factoring in the possibility of any major policy changes enacted under the incoming Trump administration. This means a form of energy independence may already be around the corner without any major overhauling of Obama-era energy policies.
This is important, as Trump has vowed to dismantle many of the environmental and energy-related rules the outgoing administration put in place, often using his goal of energy independence as a rationale for reducing existing regulations over the oil, gas and coal industries. Among these, a promise to do away with the Clean Power Plan — the Obama administration’s flagship effort to address its self-determined climate goals by cutting down on carbon emissions from the power sector — is particularly notable.
The report’s reference case assumes that the Clean Power Plan does go into effect. But it also includes a scenario in which the rule is repealed — and these projections speak to the significant effects the plan’s absence could have on the U.S. energy mix and the carbon emissions it’s responsible for.
Under the business-as-usual reference case, which includes the Clean Power Plan, there’s a continuation of some familiar recent trends — namely, a decline in coal and an increase in the market shares of both natural gas and renewables.
“Seventy gigawatts of new wind and solar [capacity] is added over the period between now and 2021,” Sieminski noted at the news conference. “That’s going to be encouraged by declining capital costs and availability of tax credits.” After that, much of the new capacity added through midcentury will be split between solar and natural gas, he added.
But coal consumption, already on the decline, is expected to continue decreasing in this scenario, while natural gas and renewables take over its market share. Competition from cheap natural gas has been the greatest blow in the decline of coal so far, but the assumed implementation of the Clean Power Plan is a major factor in future projections, forcing the retirement of older and less-efficient power plants and making room for more efficient energy sources.
At least partly thanks to continued reductions in coal power, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to decline in most scenarios — in the reference case, these emissions fall by about 0.2 percent each year between 2016 and 2040. That said, the report notes that this is a slower rate than in the past. Between 2005 and 2016, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell by an average of 1.4 percent annually.
A scenario assuming the demise of the Clean Power Plan tells a slightly different story, however. In the absence of the Clean Power Plan, coal consumption remains much more flat over the next few decades, while energy-associated carbon dioxide emissions actually increase slightly between 2016 and midcentury.
“If coal is going to be flat … instead of going down, you don’t have a lot of room for anything else to come in there,” Sieminski pointed out. The reason there isn’t a lot of room for growth in all areas, as Sieminski noted, is because energy consumption is expected to remain fairly flat over the next few decades, growing by just 5 percent between 2016 and 2040 in the reference case. Much of this is likely thanks to assumed improvements in fuel and energy efficiency in the transportation sector, buildings and industrial activities.
“Without the Clean Power Plan, you end up getting less natural gas and less renewables [than in the reference scenario],” Sieminski added.
That said, even if coal consumption flattens out for a while, many experts agree that Trump’s plan to revive the industry is far-fetched overall, given that market forces, rather than federal regulations, are most responsible for its demise. Additionally, any scenarios included in the report that result in a quicker arrival at net energy exportation generally involve technological progression and changes in the price of oil, not the presence or absence of the Clean Power Plan.
And even if the Trump administration kills the rule, the report notes that natural gas and renewables will still continue to expand, albeit more slowly, and will remain the primary sources of new electricity generation capacity in the coming decades. This again speaks to the power of the private sector in the U.S. energy landscape — the report attributes the dominance of these energy sources to low natural gas prices and falling costs of renewables, as well as the incentives provided by federal tax credits for wind and solar.
In terms of energy independence, there are other priorities established by the incoming Trump administration not taken into account by the new report, which could nonetheless affect projections involving oil and gas production — vows to reduce regulations for drilling operations on public lands is one example. But it is notable that the United States is already on its way to becoming a net energy exporter (and has been for some time, according to previous EIA reports) without any major overhauling of federal rules so far.
And when it comes to the continued expansion of less carbon-intensive energy sources, such as natural gas, wind and solar, the report suggests that this is a march that likely can’t be stopped.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/06/trump-wants-energy-independence-we-may-already-be-on-the-verge-of-having-it/?utm_term=.ad3602cba002
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EPA Proposes Adding NatGas Processing to Toxics Database
Jan 6, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
After years of considering the idea, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add natural gas processors to a list of industrial facilities that must report annually information on chemical discharges and other waste management activities.
Under a proposed rule, EPA would add natural gas processing facilities to the list of industrial sectors currently required to send information annually for the agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) public database. The rule was published in Friday's edition of the Federal Register. Public comments will be accepted until March 7.
EPA said it estimates at least 282 natural gas processing facilities in the U.S. would be affected by the proposed rule because they have at least 10 full-time employees and manufacture, process or otherwise use at least one chemical listed by the TRI. The agency said processors use more than 21 different chemicals listed by the TRI, including n-hexane, hydrogen sulfide, toluene, benzene, xylene and methanol.
The proposed rule was first suggested in October 2012, when environmental groups filed a petition with EPA to add oil and gas extraction activities, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking), to its TRI reporting requirements. After the agency didn't respond to the request, a coalition of nine environmental groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), sued EPA in January 2015.
Nine months later, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy wrote a letter to EIP stating that EPA "has determined that natural gas processing facilities may be appropriate for addition to the scope of TRI."
EPA said a survey conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that there were 517 natural gas processing facilities in the Lower 48 in 2012. The agency estimates more than half of those facilities would meet the TRI reporting requirement threshold.
But in a statement Friday, the EIP said between 281 and 444 natural gas processing facilities would be affected by the proposed rule.
"Today's proposal by EPA marks significant progress for public health, the environment, and the right to know," said Adam Kron, a senior attorney for the EIP. "The oil and gas industry releases an enormous amount of toxic pollutants every year, and communities deserve to know what they're facing. We hope EPA will move swiftly to finalize and implement this simple yet vital public-reporting rule."
GPA Midstream Association spokeswoman Crystal Myers told NGI on Friday that the organization was still reviewing the rule and had no comment.
EPA said it declined to add fracking chemicals to TRI because producers were already required to disclose the chemicals to state regulators, and the information was subsequently available to the public. The agency also said it wanted to avoid being overwhelmed by TRI reporting from hundreds of thousands of oil and gas sites.
TRI tracks how certain toxic chemicals are managed. Facilities in different industry sectors in the United States are required to submit annual reports over how much of each chemical is released to the environment, recycled or used in energy recovery and treatment operations. TRI was established by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 and covers more than 650 toxic chemicals.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/108969-epa-proposes-adding-natgas-processing-to-toxics-database
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Nominees Scrutinized As EIA Highlights Uncertain Energy Future
Jan 9, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Emily Holden
The federal government's latest energy projections are out, and they underscore just how much could change in the power sector under President-elect Donald Trump.
The Energy Information Administration's annual outlook reference case assumes current laws and regulations will move forward, but its side cases explore what might happen without U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan or with higher or lower oil prices.
Administrator Adam Sieminski noted the agency, which is housed under the Department of Energy but conducts independent research, cannot start exploring the shift ahead without seeing clear signals about the plans of Congress and the White House (Climatewire, Jan. 6).
Assuming other policies stay the same and eliminating the Clean Power Plan, coal use in the United States will likely level off, and natural gas and renewable power will meet any new demand, according to EIA's report. Coal production could rebound modestly in the West but not in Appalachia.
Notably, electric-sector carbon emissions will likely stop declining. Those reductions are the linchpin of global agreements to curb climate change. Other countries seem poised to move ahead without the United States, but it's unclear how they will react if Trump follows through on promises to exit the Paris climate deal.
Secretary of State nominee and former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson will likely face his confirmation hearing Wednesday and Thursday and can expect questions on how he might address climate change in the international context.
Current Secretary of State John Kerry today gives his last major climate speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It will be live-streamed at 10:30 a.m. here.
In other big news from last week, E&E News reporters Ben Storrow and Mike Soraghan find that a super PAC for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) could keep collecting money on his behalf from industry supporters even as he runs U.S. EPA and regulates those same companies (Energywire, Jan. 6).
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has not yet settled on a date for Pruitt's hearing (E&E Daily, Jan. 6). Ranking member Tom Carper (D-Del.) said he has "grave concerns" about Pruitt.
Today, environmental and progressive groups hold events around the country to protest Trump's Cabinet picks (Climatewire, Jan. 6). They say they are motivated to mobilize against the nominees, although the Senate seems likely to confirm all or most of Trump's team, even if just with the Republican majority.
On Thursday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz speaks at the National Press Club.
In case you missed itn case you missed it
· The House is pursuing measures to enable lawmakers to more easily rescind Obama administration regulations and require congressional approval of future rules, but Republicans would need to sway Democrats in the Senate to enact the legislation (E&E News PM, Jan. 5; E&E Daily, Jan. 6).
· Agency chiefs took victory laps, touting their climate work (Greenwire, Jan. 5).
· Before he was Donald Trump's pick to lead EPA, Pruitt was a kid from Kentucky who grooved to country music, drove a '78 Chevy Blazer and hoped to make it as a big-league baseball player. His college teammates called him "The Possum." Read more from reporter Robin Bravender's visit to Oklahoma (Greenwire, Jan. 4). Here she is talking about Trump's nominees on E&E TV (E&E TV's "The Cutting Edge," Jan. 6).
· In an exclusive interview with reporter Amanda Reilly, EPA air chief Janet McCabe said she saw marathon oral arguments on the Clean Power Plan as a high point in her seven years in the Obama administration (Greenwire, Jan. 3).
· Climate change has a bull's-eye in the era of all-Republican rule (Climatewire, Jan. 3).
http://www.eenews.net/interactive/clean_power_plan/column_posts/1060048028
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New Group Boosts Pruitt Nomination, Adding To Political Backers
Jan 6, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Alex Guillén and Esther Whieldon
Energy companies and their executives have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into political action committees run by or supporting President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. And now Pruitt is getting extra help from a new nonprofit that doesn't have to disclose its donors.
Pruitt has become a favorite of conservatives as well as oil and coal companies since he has helped lead the legal fight against President Barack Obama's environmental and climate change agenda — policies the White House's opponents see as an overreach of federal power and a threat to fossil fuels.
The new group, Protecting America Now, warns that Pruitt’s confirmation “is not a certainty” and says that millions of dollars are needed for advertising and social media campaigns to counter anti-Pruitt campaigning from "anti-business, environmental extremists,” according to a flier obtained by POLITICO.
The flier assures donors that PAN’s 501(c)(4) status means individual and corporate donors can remain anonymous, and asks for contributions ranging from $25,000 to $500,000. Nonprofits registered as 501(c)(4)’s are not supposed to spend more than half their money on political activities.
It is unclear precisely who is behind the campaign, but PAN's activities come on the heels of separate efforts by oil, coal and other energy interests to funnel money into pro-Pruitt PACs in recent years. Legally, one of those PACs could continue to raise money even after Pruitt joins Trump's Cabinet.
PAN's fundraising is being coordinated through Kate Doner, an Austin-based fundraiser who has done PAC and consulting work for Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Doner was unavailable by phone and did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
PAN’s website — which is only partially finished — appears to have been registered by Sagac Public Affairs, an Oklahoma City shop whose clients include a number of Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), as well as several fossil fuel companies and trade groups. The site was taken down after POLITICO first ran its story, but a screenshot is available here.
Meanwhile, several environmental groups are already running anti-Pruitt campaigns. An Environmental Defense Fund Action project has put six figures into an online and television ad campaign, and the Sierra Club in December dropped five figures on an online campaign targeting moderate senators from both parties.
This isn't the first organized effort to boost Pruitt's political fortunes.
Two PACs — formed in 2015, following Pruitt’s unopposed 2014 reelection — have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past two years, and appear aimed at helping him seek a federal office, potentially as a successor to Inhofe, should the senator decide not run again in 2020 when he will turn 86.
As the oil state's attorney general, Pruitt has been one of the fossil fuel industry's staunchest allies, frequently leading or joining legal challenges to Obama administration rules that the energy industries complained are curbing their business.
Liberty 2.0, a super PAC launched in 2015 by Pruitt supporters, raised more than $168,000 from energy interests, more than a third of its $450,000 fundraising haul so far, according to a POLITICO review of Federal Election Commission records.
A separate federal leadership PAC run by Pruitt, Oklahoma Strong Leadership, raised $72,000 from energy interests out of the $391,000 it's raised since it was founded in 2015, just weeks before the super PAC was set up.
The super PAC, which is able to raise and spend unlimited funds, could continue to raise funds even if Pruitt becomes EPA administrator since Pruitt, by law, is forbidden from coordinating with the committee. In that event, Pruitt would be one of the first Cabinet members to be connected to a super PAC, and it raises the possibility that the energy interests that have provided a major portion of its funding so far could continue to do so even while he is in charge of regulating their industries.
E&E News reported on the pro-Pruitt super PAC earlier Friday. Charles Spies, Liberty 2.0's attorney, told the publication that the PAC is "assessing plans to continue to fully comply with the law and the highest ethical standards."
Pruitt's leadership PAC and the pro-Pruitt super PAC share key personnel.
FEC records show that several of the same people listed as paid consultants for both entities, many of whom worked on his 2014 reelection campaign, including Millan Hupp, who was described by the Tulsa World in September as “Team Pruitt Operations Director.” Also on the payrolls are Sydney Hupp, a former intern on Pruitt's 2014 reelection campaign; Crystal Coon, Pruitt's former chief of staff as attorney general; and Karl Wert, who is listed as an administrative assistant for both PACs.
The Liberty 2.0 super PAC got $50,000 from Murray Energy, a major coal company and foe of Obama administration regulations, in August, just weeks before the oral arguments over EPA's Clean Power Plan, which both Murray and Pruitt have challenged in court. Another $50,000 contribution a year prior came from Lucas Oil Products, which makes oil supplements and lubricants.
Other major contributions include $25,000 from JMA Energy President Jeffrey McDougall, $15,000 from Harold Hamm's Continental Resources, and $10,000 from American Energy Partners. Unlike candidate’s campaigns, super PACs can receive money directly from corporations.
Liberty 2.0’s contributions to other committees has so far been relatively small — $50,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, a group supporting GOP Senate candidates, and $10,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association. It has also spent more than $275,000 on various other expenses, including travel, financial consulting, legal services and rent.
The data covers through Nov. 28, the latest date for which the FEC has data. Pruitt was nominated by Trump on Dec. 7.
Like lawmakers who have one, Pruitt has used his leadership PAC, Oklahoma Strong Leadership, to funnel money to favored candidates, including Inhofe, the former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to whom Pruitt sent $1,000 last January. Inhofe is a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over EPA and will vote on Pruitt's nomination.
It sent $2,700 to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign in September 2015. It also gave money to Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who lost her reelection campaign, as well as Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia attorney general who may challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2018. More money went to state-level candidates and some state GOP groups.
The PAC also spent $10 on a registration fee paid to Americans For Prosperity, the Koch Brothers-connected conservative group. The filing does not provide any detail on what the fee covered.
The PACs’ fundraising is on top of direct contributions to Pruitt’s attorney general campaigns. His 2014 reelection raised more than $114,000 from energy interests, 14 percent of his total haul that year.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2017/01/energy-industry-gave-big-to-pruitt-linked-pacs-143122
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Key House Departure No Loss for Pipeline Overhaul Effort: GOP
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Dabbs
The imminent loss of a pipeline overhaul champion in the House won't decrease congressional interest in expediting natural gas pipeline permitting, House Republicans told Bloomberg BNA.
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas), the lead sponsor of the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act in the last Congress, is departing Congress in the coming weeks to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency, pending Senate confirmation.
However, the lawmaker brought dozens of Republicans on board the legislation, and the effort to expedite permits for U.S. gas projects will continue unabated, those lawmakers and lobbyists said.
That legislation would have forced the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve or deny a natural gas pipeline project within one year of receiving a complete application. The agency currently can take far longer than that to approve projects.
The bill passed with lock-step Republican support and 14 Democrats at the outset of the 114th Congress, but quickly prompted a White House veto threat.
Congressional Interest Continues
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voiced interest recently in taking another stab in the new Congress at comprehensive energy legislation, an effort which included FERC approval language but ultimately petered out in the waning days of the 114th Congress.
House members told Bloomberg BNA, however, pipeline initiatives specifically could surface in the coming days and weeks. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a co-sponsor of the Pompeo bill, said. “I think you'll see things materialize very quickly. This is just the first week.” Sessions said pipeline permits have expired of late due to sluggish permitting processes.
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), another co-sponsor, said such legislation fits squarely into President-elect Donald Trump's promises to deregulate and grow the energy sector.
“I certainly see the streamlining of the permitting process as germane to that, so I think you're going to see that on the table,” he told Bloomberg BNA. Johnson is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over pipelines.
Meanwhile, Christopher Guith, senior vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, told Bloomberg BNA legislation modeled after the Pompeo bill is “ripe,” meaning, according to him, lawmakers will likely rally around it.
The U.S. is now the world's largest producer of gas, a feat accomplished in part by more advanced technology used to reach shale gas. Cheniere Energy Inc., Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and other companies backed the House bill last Congress.
Stronger Legislation Possible
Environmental groups largely join Democrats in criticizing this kind of pipeline overhaul.
“The majority's bill may establish FERC as a kind of ‘super-regulator.’ That is, an agency capable of overriding other federal or state agency permitting decisions,” Aaron Mintzes, a policy specialist with the environmental group Earthworks, told Bloomberg BNA. “The 115th Congress could remove this discretion from the states.”
As an example of a state action that could be superseded by such legislation, Mintzes pointed to a New York Department of Environmental Conservation refusal to issue a Clean Water Act permit in 2016 for the Williams Partners LP's Constitution Pipeline. The proposed 124-mile project would have transferred gas from the Marcellus shale region in Northeast Pennsylvania to west of Albany, N.Y.
The Environmental Protection Agency often delegates water regulation to states. FERC approval can't preempt other federal statutory authority, and therefore the Clean Water Act permit rejection prevented construction, Mintzes said.
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Court Rejects Oil & Gas Sector Push To Split Issues In NSPS Suit
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is rejecting an oil and gas industry push to bifurcate litigation over EPA’s new source performance standards (NSPS) for the sector, severing briefing for implementation-based issues from questions over the agency's statutory authority.
The American Petroleum Institute, Independent Petroleum Association of America, and a small handful of state oil and gas associations, and the state of North Dakota were urging the court in State of North Dakota, et al., v. EPA, et al., to bifurcate the suit. The groups sought to sever the suit into one immediate case focused on “fundamental legal issues” and another on implementation issues, with separate briefing schedules for each set of issues.
But a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit in a Jan. 4 order directs the parties in the litigation to submit a proposed format and briefing schedule for the litigation targeting the NSPS, “without bifurcation of the issues.”
The panel did grant a motion to consolidate the challenge with a suit filed in 2013 over EPA's 2012 NSPS rules, which targeted volatile organic compounds (VOCs), along with the June 2016 NSPS that targeted the sector's methane emissions while extending VOC controls to other sources.
The order also severs a Natural Resources Defense Council challenge to the 2012 NSPS, which along other things argued the rules should have addressed methane from the outset.
The state and industry groups argued in earlier motions in the litigation that while they strongly believe EPA lacks legal authority under the Clean Air Act to promulgate the 2016 NSPS absent a formal endangerment finding on the sector's methane emissions, there are narrower implementation-based issues concerning the rules that they hoped could be addressed in informal discussions.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/climate-court-rejects-oil-gas-sector-push-split-issues-nsps-suit
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California: U.S. Clean Energy Shift May Aid State's Climate Leadership
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The nationwide transition to cleaner power sources is likely to aid California's renewed commitment to lead the U.S. on climate change and greenhouse gas programs in the coming years, despite vows by the incoming Trump administration to block Obama's major GHG regulations.
In addition, as Inside Cal/EPA's Curt Barry reports, the incoming Trump administration likely cannot prevent other states and Canadian provinces from joining the existing California-Quebec GHG cap-and-trade program, which would only further bolster renewable energy and GHG cuts from the power sector, according to sources.
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and a host of state lawmakers have lashed back against the Trump plans by vowing to continue implementing landmark programs and initiatives to slash GHG emissions and bolster renewable power, including by expanding partnerships with other states, countries and industry.
"We have the laws, we have the tools of enforcement, and we have the political will," Brown recently told the American Geophysical Union. "And we will set the stage, we'll set the example; and whatever Washington thinks they're doing, California is the future."
One of California's premier new initiatives is the creation of a multi-state Western electricity grid to dramatically increase the amount of renewable electricity flowing in and out of states that have historically relied heavily on coal. But some experts have said Trump's intention to shelve Obama's GHG rule on existing power plants could undermine the Golden State's proposal by removing a key driver for the project. That is because coal-heavy states such as Utah and Wyoming may now decide to reject the California plan because they would no longer be under pressure from the Clean Power Plan (CPP) to seek out more renewable energy from other states in the region.
Still, others are downplaying the chances for such a scenario. "One key thing to note about Western power markets under California leadership is that coal isn't coming back," says an expert with a national clean-energy policy organization. "Changes are happening in the market anyway . . . and they were happening out front of the CPP," including bountiful transactions of very inexpensive solar and wind power.
California's 50-percent-by-2030 renewable portfolio standard is catalyzing the monumental energy market shift in Western states, the source says. The potential withdrawal of the power plant rule likely will only be a "small distraction compared to the market forces primarily determining the outcome," which is less coal and more renewables.
More broadly, ongoing market-based shifts to clean power across the U.S. are likely to underscore any progress made by California's pioneering GHG trading program, some experts say. The program -- which is linked to Quebec and is expected to expand to Ontario in 2018 -- is another major climate change regulatory program that appears insulated from interference from the Trump administration and could play a major role in pushing the U.S. forward in the absence of federal actions, sources say.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/california-us-clean-energy-shift-may-aid-states-climate-leadership
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Tighter Beryllium Exposure Limits to Save Worker Lives: OSHA
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Sam Pearson
New limits for beryllium will save lives and curb illness among foundry workers and those employed in smelting, fabricating and other industries who may be exposed to the cancer-causing metal, OSHA said in a final rule issued Jan. 6.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final rule (RIN:1218-AB76) lowers the permissible exposure limit for beryllium to 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an eight-hour time-weighted average, or 2 micrograms per cubic meter of air over a sampling period of 15 minutes. Employers face new requirements for assessing exposure and will have to minimize worker exposure through respiratory protection, personal protective clothing and equipment, housekeeping, medical surveillance, hazard communication and recordkeeping.
“Outdated exposure limits do not adequately protect workers from beryllium exposure,” OSHA Director David Michaels said in a statement Jan. 6.
The rule, replacing a standard that is over four decades old, is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Jan. 9.
OSHA said the rule will cost $73.9 million each year and prevent 90 premature deaths and 46 new cases of chronic beryllium disease when fully implemented. The rule contains three standards for general industry, shipyards and construction and will primarily protect workers in foundry and smelting operations, fabricating, machining, grinding beryllium metal and alloys, beryllium oxide ceramics manufacturing and dental lab work.
Compliance “is economically feasible in every affected industry sector,” OSHA said.
Started With Union, Company Negotiations
The rule, coming in the final days of the Obama administration, has had a long path to publication.
The United Steelworkers union and Materion Corp., the largest manufacturer of beryllium in the U.S., negotiated a draft of the standard in 2012, then submitted it to OSHA.
“We are just overjoyed that the rule's finally been released,” Michael Wright, the USW's health and safety director, told Bloomberg BNA Jan. 6, recalling working on the issue when he joined the union in 1977. “We know we're going to have to defend it; there are people that are going to attack it. That's tomorrow—today is really a day for celebration.”
A Materion spokesman said in a statement to Bloomberg BNA Jan. 6 that the company does not yet have a position on the final rule.
“We are withholding comment on our view or specifics of the final standard until we have reviewed the more than 900-page document,” the spokesman said.
Michaels predicted Nov. 30 the rule would “be welcomed by both industry and labor.”
But the unintentional release of a draft final version of the rule to members of the National Nuclear Security Administration's Beryllium Health and Safety Committee, of which Materion Corp. is a member, prompted the company to complain it was unworkable and different from what it had agreed to.
In a statement Jan. 6, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, credited OSHA for expanding the plan to include standards for maritime and construction workers, a change from its 2015 proposal.
Scott said the old standard “was obsolete the day it was issued back in 1948.”
Future of Rule
While congressional Republicans and the incoming Trump administration have signaled they plan to aggressively target Obama administration-issued regulations, it's not clear if the beryllium standard meets the criteria.
The rule was developed more cooperatively than other agency rulemakings, but it also affects more companies than just Materion. At the same time, it's not clear how Materion and others will view OSHA's revisions.
Under federal law, Wright noted, OSHA cannot simply approve proposed standards by outside groups but must perform its own evaluation and propose what its research supports.
Once the rule takes effect, employers will have one year to implement most provisions, but will have two years to provide required changing rooms and showers and three years to implement required engineering controls.
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Cantwell Wants to Give Energy Department More Cyber Authority
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she plans to introduce legislation to give the Energy Department more authority to oversee the resiliency of the nation's electric grid in the case of physical and cyber attacks.
Expanding the Energy Department's grid authority is a top-line recommendation in the second installment of the agency's Quadrennial Energy Review issued Jan. 6, which provides 76 legislative and policy recommendations for Congress and the next administration. The report focuses on how to address security risks of the nation's electricity sector—from generation through transmission and distribution.
“Cybersecurity is an unfulfilled action item here and one that I think is growing in importance,” Cantwell, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's ranking member, said at a Jan. 6 event on Capitol Hill introducing the report.
“I certainly plan to introduce legislation on the implementation of these recommendations, making sure the authority of DOE is clear, and has more structure moving forward,” she said.
Another avenue for some of the report's recommendations on electricity infrastructure might be a broader infrastructure bill if one is introduced, she said. President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he is interested in infrastructure investment.
“I definitely think the recommendations have legs as an infrastructure issue,” Cantwell said.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a Jan. 6 statement that the recommendations were “a valuable tool for our Committee, not only as we continue our hearings on the Federal Power Act but also as we look into new and more severe vulnerabilities to cyberattacks by Russia and other rogue nations.”
Bipartisan Nature
Dan Utech, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change, expressed optimism that the next administration would take up some of the recommendations, saying, “I think the goals and objectives that this report is pointed towards are bipartisan in nature.”
“We urge the incoming team to take a close look at it, and for Congress to take a close look at it, when appropriate, and to move forward with them,” Utech said on a Jan. 6 Energy Department teleconference.
“Even at a time about considerable disagreement on the Hill about many issues, Congress took up a bunch of recommendations from the first QER,” he said.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said at the Capitol Hill event that he hopes for bipartisan support in Congress to implement the latest recommendations.
The first installment of the review, issued in April 2015, provided 63 recommendations focused on energy infrastructure, of which 21 were fully or partially enacted into law and 29 were fully implemented by the Obama administration. The concept of the quadrennial energy review originated as part of the Obama administration's June 2013 Climate Action Plan to provide a multiyear plan for U.S. energy policy.
Cyber Recommendations
A major recommendation from the report calls on Congress to amend the Federal Power Act to specifically give the Energy Department authority to prepare responses to a grid-security crisis such as a cyber or physical attack, solar storm, or a rare—but devastating—electromagnetic pulse event, which can be naturally occurring like a lightning storm or man-made, from a nuclear explosion.
The report also calls for collecting confidential information about cyber threats to the grid to notify the president. Furthermore, it advises increasing federal spending on research, development and demonstration for clean electricity.
Separately, the report called for extending tax credits to boost construction of new nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Energy Institute, which represents the nuclear industry, said this recommendation “recognizes the clear need for nuclear energy to remain an essential part of our nation's industrial and electrical infrastructure.”
Overall, the report said, total investment requirements necessary for grid modernization range from $350 billion to $500 billion.
Need More House Support
Cantwell said she is open to integrating recommendations from the quadrennial energy review in a broad energy bill this Congress, after it failed to pass the finish line last year.
She blamed House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and other House Republicans for not moving on the energy bill last Congress.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has said that she is interested in restarting work on a broad energy bill. However, her office didn't respond by deadline on the cybersecurity recommendations in the report.
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U.S. Grid in ‘Imminent Danger’ From Cyber Attack, Study Says
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter and Mark Chediak
The U.S. Energy Department says the electricity system “faces imminent danger” from cyber attacks, which are growing more frequent and sophisticated, but grid operators say they are already on top of the problem.
In the second installment of the department's landmark Quadrennial Energy Review, it warned that a widespread power outage caused by a cyber attack could undermine “critical defense infrastructure” as well as much of the economy and place at risk the health and safety of millions of citizens.
The report comes amid increased concern over cybersecurity risks as U.S. intelligence agencies say Russian hacking was aimed at influencing the 2016 presidential election.
“Cyber threats to the electricity system are increasing in sophistication, magnitude, and frequency,” it said in the 494-page report. “The current cybersecurity landscape is characterized by rapidly evolving threats and vulnerabilities, juxtaposed against the slower-moving deployment of defense measures.”
The department detailed 76 recommendations to boost energy, including increasing the collection of data about online breaches from utilities. Separately, it called for extending tax credits to boost construction of new nuclear reactors. Overall, the report said, total investment requirements necessary for grid modernization range from $350 billion to $500 billion.
Suspicious Activity Seen on Laptop Computer
The risks to the electric sector were highlighted within the past week as suspicious Internet traffic was found on a laptop computer at a Vermont electric utility. While the laptop wasn't connected to the grid, the Burlington Electric Department alerted federal authorities of the risk.
Modified or new grid reliability requirements and increased data collection on cyber-attacks will be needed to address the cyber risks, it said. While there haven't been major attacks in the U.S., the department review noted that a 2015 attack on the Ukrainian grid caused widespread power outages. That “should be seen as an indicator of what is possible,” it said.
The report also called for a new Energy Department assessment of cybersecurity for natural gas pipelines.
Regional wholesale grid operators including PJM Interconnection LLC said they have implemented security measures, such as having redundant facilities, to counter cyber threats.
“We are continually working to improve our security as cybersecurity threats evolve,” said Marcia Blomberg, spokeswoman for ISO New England Inc. in Holyoke, Mass. “We monitor system conditions continuously, and we share information as needed with regulatory and industry bodies.”
Utilities have had “cyber incidents” like ransomware attacks, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents smaller, rural electric cooperatives.
“These things typically happen via e-mail by clicking on an attachment or a link that brings the malware into the network,” Barry Lawson, the association's senior director of power delivery and reliability, said in an interview. Once that happens the network is locked. To get back in, the company must either pay ransom to a criminal enterprise or work around it over time. “But that can cost quite a bit of money,” he said.
He declined to specify the number or timing of the cyber attacks, but said all of the utilities were able to “get back where they need to be.“
The latest installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review is part of a broad administration-wide review of the nation's energy policies. The first report, released in 2015 focusing on energy infrastructure, recommended spending $15.2 billion over a decade to improve the grid, and called for $2 billion to upgrade the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
—With assistance from Naureen S. Malik
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Outlook 2017: If The Trump EPA Wants To Ease NAAQS Standards. . .
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
The Trump administration, over the next four years, will get the chance to review five of the six National Ambient Air Quality Standards (lead the lone NAAQS outside the window). And, considering the president-elect’s promise to roll back environmental regulations and his frequent criticism of agency science, some are betting that the core air standards will come under serious scrutiny.
But, as Inside EPA’s Stuart Parker reports in this exclusive Outlook 2017 piece, the standard for easing the ambient levels will be rigorous. ‘They can’t just go in there with a hatchet and machete,” says one source. “they have got to make sure it is defensible in court."
But industry sources note that EPA does not necessarily need new science to reinterpret a scientific record. The source notes that the Obama EPA tried to reconsider the 2008 ozone NAAQS adopted by the predecessor EPA, based on the same science. “We have seen the Obama administration try to change a standard without changing any of the record,” the source says.
Of the five standards subject to review, the one considered “most ripe” for change is the ozone standard, which has proved highly controversial. Reviews are ongoing for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, which serve as “indicators” for nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. The other two standards within the time frame are particulate matter and carbon monoxide.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/outlook-2017-if-trump-epa-wants-ease-naaqs-standards
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Outlook 2017: More Litigation, Same Balance Forecast for High Court
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By John Henry Stam
Environmental litigation is expected to increase in 2017, and more cases are expected to eventually be brought to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As President-elect Donald Trump appoints a successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the prior balance of conservative to liberal justices on the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to be maintained, often leaving Justice Anthony Kennedy as the key deciding vote in split decisions.
The only environmental case the Supreme Court agreed to review so far this year, a regulatory takings case, awaits an oral argument date, as Scalia's seat remains empty.
Timothy Bishop of Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago told Bloomberg BNA that an increased number of environmental cases are expected to be filed over the next few years.
With Republicans controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, “the courts are the route still open for environmental groups to get what they want,” Bishop said.
More Lawsuits Expected
Nongovernmental organizations will bring more lawsuits, and there will be many appeals regardless of which side prevails.
The regulated community also will continue efforts to challenge various administrative actions and the doctrines of deference to agency actions. With more environmental cases being brought, this will eventually lead to more petitions being brought to the Supreme Court.
Patrick Gallagher, director of the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program in Oakland, Calif., agreed, telling Bloomberg BNA that two main categories of environmental litigation will explode: litigation for judicial review of executive branch misbehavior in rescinding rules or in adopting new ones, and enforcement when the executive branch is lax in its oversight or enforcement duties.
He said he expects there to be lots of work at the state level as federal oversight is expected to become more lax.
Regulatory Rollbacks and Mistakes
The Trump transition is expected to be similar to that of the George W. Bush Administration, Gallagher said.
“There were regulatory rollbacks and new rules with some mistakes made,” Gallagher said, citing the 2005 Clean Air Mercury Rule that was vacated by a 2008 court decision finding that mercury from coal-powered plants needed to be stringently regulated as a hazardous air pollutant (New Jersey v. EPA, 517 F.3d 574, 65 ERC 1993, 2008 BL 24283 (D.C. Cir. 2008)).
Trump seems more extreme than Bush but also less predictable, Gallagher said, so he expects “more extreme rollbacks, but also some weird surprises.”
“Some missteps are anticipated,” Gallagher said, “and we will be ready to jump in when they happen.”
Ongoing Deference Interest
Gallagher said he expects the Supreme Court to continue to be interested in examining issues of judicial deference to agency actions.
The court's interest is an ongoing trend that has lasted decades independent of administrations as judicial deference implicates federalism and separation of powers issues, he said.
Gallagher said that appointment of Scalia's replacement could be a drawn out battle, and it may be midway into 2017 before there is a confirmation.
With Scalia's replacement on the bench, the court will look as it has for most of the last 30 years—slightly more conservative than liberal and fairly friendly to business concerns, Bishop said. Kennedy will remain central on split decisions.
Older Justices’ Seats
The big change would occur if any of the older justices’ seats were to become open, he said.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83 years old, Kennedy is 80 and Justice Stephen Breyer is 78. If any of them are replaced, the balance could shift to having a solid five-justice conservative majority without Kennedy as a swing vote that decides the majority opinion. Whether that happens anytime soon, though, is pure speculation, as the justices appear healthy and active, he said.
Since Scalia's death, the Supreme Court has taken actions that are seen as attempts to avoid split four-four decisions, which wouldn't establish precedents or resolve broad issues beyond the appeals process of the individual cases.
This includes delaying the assignment of a date for oral argument in Murr v. Wisconsin, the only directly environmental case before the court so far this year (U.S., No. 15-214, 8/14/15).
Murr v. Wisconsin
In Murr, the Supreme Court agreed to review determinations of the relevant land parcels when the government is alleged to have effected a regulatory taking of property requiring compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that two contiguous commonly owned parcels of land were properly considered as one parcel in determining that regulations didn't deprive the owners of all or substantially all the value of their land (Murr v. State, 859 N.W.2d 628, 2014 BL 360927 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014)).
An ordinance in St. Croix County, Wis., requires contiguous commonly owned land to be merged for purposes of development or sale and prohibits development or subdividing for sale below a certain minimum size.
The Murrs own two contiguous lots of land that became merged, and the second undeveloped lakeshore lot can't be developed or sold separately from the first developed lot. Under a grandfather clause in the ordinance, if the properties were owned by different parties, the undeveloped second lot could be developed. When the Murr's sought to sell the second lot as one that could be developed, their variance request was denied.
If all economic value of a parcel of land is removed by a regulation, then the government has effected a categorical regulatory taking, and compensation is required. To determine if a partial regulatory taking has occurred, a court uses a fact-intensive test to evaluate the economic impact of the regulation on the relevant parcel as a whole, the interference with reasonable investment-backed expectations and the character of the government action. Defining the relevant parcel of land can often be key in determining whether a taking has been effected.
Takings Considerations in Regulatory Action
Takings cases are considered important for the impact to individual property owners but also as a government consideration in passing laws or regulations that economically impact property owners.
In the Murr case, Bishop said it's difficult to tell what will happen. The petition was granted in January 2016 but hasn't been scheduled for oral argument while numerous cases granted after it have been. Assuming a quick Supreme Court appointment to fill Justice Scalia's seat, the court will set argument for some time after a confirmation.
Conceivably, if that doesn't occur soon, the court could dismiss the petition as improvidently granted, Bishop said, leaving the appeals court decision intact but not establishing any new Supreme Court precedent.
The Supreme Court has one other regulatory takings petition among the environmental petitions currently before it awaiting decisions on whether the court will grant or deny them review.
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EPA Seeks Comment On Draft Decision To Add Solvent to Air Toxics List
Jan 6, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
EPA is seeking public comment on a draft decision to grant petitions from New York state and a chemical industry group to add the solvent n-propyl bromide (nPB) to the Clean Air Act list of air toxics, which would trigger a duty for the agency to craft hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulations that could reduce overall use of nPB.
However, EPA is taking comment on the proposal for 60 days following its slated publication in the Jan. 9 Federal Register, meaning any final decision will rest with President-elect Donald Trump's EPA. On the campaign trail, Trump generally argued for less EPA regulation, which he said was hurting businesses.
EPA details its rationale for the proposed air toxics listing in the notice, saying the petitioners met the Clean Air Act's requirements to add nPB, also known as 1-bromopropane, to the list of HAPs in section 112(b)(1) of the air law. The agency says that “[b]ased on the EPA’s evaluation of the petitioners’ showing concerning potential hazards, emissions, and atmospheric dispersion modeling that provided estimates of ambient concentrations of nPB, the EPA has determined that there is adequate evidence to support a determination that emissions and ambient concentrations of nPB may reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse health effects.”
The pending determination responds to a 2010 petition by the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, Inc. (HSIA), which represents makers and users of solvents, which in some cases are competitors of nPB. HSIA's petition was later joined by a 2011 petition from the state of New York, also seeking an air toxics listing.
Both petitions argued that nPB causes adverse health effects, including neurological harm in workers, reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, effects they say meet the Clean Air Act's criteria for adding chemicals to the HAP list.
EPA last February announced that it deemed HSIA and New York's petitions complete, and sought public comment on them -- following a December 2015 notice of intent to sue from HSIA over the agency's failure to respond to its petition. Deeming the listing petitions complete “means they provide sufficient information to assess the human health impacts on people living in the vicinity of facilities emitting nPB,” EPA said.
Makers of nPB protested the decision, and urged EPA not to list the chemical as a HAP, while environmentalists and other states and localities supported the petitions.
Companies' Opposition
Albemarle Corp. and Enviro Tech International, Inc. (ETI) argued that the petitioners' information does not support the Clean Air Act requirements. The companies said that in addition to being based on outdated information, the petitions overstate the amounts of nPB used in various applications in the United States as well as the chemical's human health risks.
Both companies argued that only one of three existing uses, precision cleaning or vapor degreasing, is a "long term domestic use" and noted that drycleaning uses are decreasing over time as existing machines reach the end of their lives and EPA launched an ongoing rulemaking in 2007 to regulate the use of nPB in adhesives.
As a result, ETI argued in its comments filed last May that, "If nPB is regulated as a HAP, there would be absolutely no difference for a user of nPB solvents and of trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is an original HAP, [and] has been deemed to be a known human carcinogen by numerous governmental agencies and health organizations around the world . . . TCE for use in vapor degreasers costs about one half of the price of nPB based solvents.”
ETI's comments continued, “A simple economic analysis concludes that all things being regulatorily equal, a user will switch to the lowest price option, thereby going from a product that is 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen' to a product that is deemed to be a 'KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN.'”
The petitioner HSIA represents users and makers of TCE.
EPA's toxics office, interestingly, considers nPB as one of the alternative chemicals that could be switched to should the agency ban TCE use as a vapor degreasing agent through a Toxic Substances Control Act Section 6 rule under White House review. During the small business review process wherein EPA outlined the analysis underlying the pending rule, the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) protested EPA's consideration of nPB as a reasonable alternative to TCE in degreasing operations, along with other drop-in replacements.
PMPA in comments on the Section 6 rule asked "if anyone at EPA did any kind of risk analysis” before including nPB in the replacement analysis.
'Particular Concern'
The companies' arguments were countered by multiple state air and environmental agencies and environmentalists, who support HSIA's and the Empire State's petitions and argued that there is ample evidence to support listing nPB as a HAP.
For example, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection raised "particular concern" that nPB use in drycleaning will increase because of "EPA's upcoming ban on [perchloroethylene] dry cleaning in residential buildings, which will go into effect in 2020. It is expected that some of these co-located dry cleaners would switch to nPB, in part because of a lack of regulatory limitations on nPB."
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-seeks-comment-draft-decision-add-solvent-air-toxics-list
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House Environment Subcommittee to Oversee Clean Air Act
Jan 9, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), a congressman who sought to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee this session, will instead continue as chairman of its environment subcommittee with an additional prize: jurisdiction over the Clean Air Act.
A committee aide told Bloomberg BNA that oversight of Clean Air Act activities has been moved to the Subcommittee on the Environment from the Subcommittee on Energy, formerly known as the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy and the Subcommittee on Energy and Power, respectively. Other than that, jurisdiction in these committees remain largely unchanged, the aide said in an e-mail.
House Republicans have touted big plans for the Republican-led capitol to revamp Environmental Protection Agency regulation, including in the air arena where they have said the agency has broadly overreached with its blockbuster climate efforts. Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) will be vice chair for the environment subcommittee.
Meanwhile, the Subcommittee on Energy will also see a familiar face in its leadership. Former committee-wide chair Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who didn't run for another term as chairman this session due to term limits, will now lead the subcommittee with Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) serving as vice chair.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will continue to be chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.). Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) will be the vice chair for the subcommittee.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=103008949&vname=dennotallissues&fn=103008949&jd=103008949
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