Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 1/23/2017
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Trump’s Political Teams Land at EPA, DOE
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
President Trump's first wave of political staffers are heading into federal agencies today. -
With Rubio on Board, Exxon Chief Tillerson’s Nomination as Secretary of State Assured
Jan 23, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By James Osborne
Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be Secretary of State was all but assured Monday when Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he would back off his opposition to the former Exxon Mobil CEO. -
Rubio Will Vote to Confirm Tillerson
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced today that he will support Rex Tillerson to serve as President Trump's secretary of State. -
(ACC Mentioned) US EPA to Require Upfront CBI Substantiation Under TSCA
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Upfront substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims will be the order of the day under the new TSCA. -
Industry Groups Prepare for Ingredient Disclosure Battle
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By David Stegon
The ongoing battle over ingredient disclosure in cleaning products is expected to be reignited – and probably decided – this year, two prominent industry groups have told Chemical Watch. -
Proposed REACH Provisions Could Help Harmonise Worker-Protection Legislation
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission has said provisions could be added to REACH and other legislation – such as the carcinogens and mutagens Directive – to ensure greater consistency when assessing the risks of workplace exposure to chemicals. -
Trump Should Diversify Our Energy Portfolio – Not Double-Down on Fossil Fuels
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Duane Muller
President Obama has made incredible strides during his administration to establish the United States as a leader in addressing climate change, both here at home and abroad. -
FirstEnergy Corp. Sells 4 Pa. Natural Gas Units
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
FirstEnergy Corp. has announced the $925 million sale of four Pennsylvania natural gas plants and one Virginia pumped-storage hydroelectric plant. -
U.S Army to Begin Environmental Study of Dakota Pipeline
Jan 18, 2017 | Christian Science Monitor (in Real Clear Energy)
By Timothy Mclaughlin
The U.S. Army on Wednesday began the process of launching an environmental study of the Dakota Access pipeline crossing in North Dakota, a move that has been challenged by the company constructing the controversial project. -
Dakota Tribe Officially Boots Anti-Pipeline Protesters from Campsites
Jan 23, 2017 | The Daily Caller (in Real Clear Energy)
By Chris White
One of American Indian tribes opposed to a contentious multi-state oil pipeline in North Dakota has formally asked activists to vacate makeshift campsites located near its reservation. -
Increase in Mexico’s Natural Gas Plans Expected to Drive Demand for U.S. Imports
Jan 23, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Ryan Handy
Natural gas-fired power plants account for the majority of power in Mexico, and additions to the country’s energy capacity will likely drive up Mexico’s demand for natural gas, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy. -
Crowdfunding Emerges as Potential Game Changer
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Mintz
When the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance wanted to see more wind power in New England around the turn of the 21st century, it turned to an age-old tactic for nonprofits: fundraising. -
Officials Identify Victim of Okla. Tank Explosion
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
Authorities have identified a man killed in a tank explosion last week in Garfield County, Okla. -
Trump Team Plans Big Cuts at EPA
Jan 23, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration’s transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning major budget cuts, as well as regulatory and scientific overhauls at the agency. -
Most of DOE's Home Page Erased After Inauguration
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By David Ferris and Mike Lee
Shortly after President Trump's swearing in Friday, most of the content on the Department of Energy's home page disappeared into the ether. -
White House Climate Change Webpage Disappears After Trump's Inauguration
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - Home News
By Max Greenwood
Less than an hour after President Trump took the oath of office on Friday, the White House’s webpage on climate change disappeared from the Executive Branch's main site, the latest sign that the new administration will divert resources – and attention – from the issue. -
Pruitt's Actions Undermine His Testimony as He Runs from His Own Record
Jan 20, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Felice Stadler
At his senate confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt confirmed he is not fit to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose mission is to protect the public and our natural resources from pollution. -
CDC Quietly Cancels Long-Planned Climate Summit
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly and abruptly canceled a major climate change summit scheduled for next month shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, according to emails sent to those scheduled to speak and obtained by E&E News. -
California Proposes Ambitious New Climate Goals
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
California on Friday formally proposed a 40 percent slash in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, minutes after President Trump was inaugurated. -
The Immediate Threat to California's Climate-Change Fight Isn't Trump, It's This
Jan 23, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Chris Megerian
With President Trump in the Oval Office, California officials are bracing for the possibility that the new administration will undermine the state’s landmark policies on climate change. -
Appeals Court to Hear Pivotal Suit Against Cap and Trade
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Debra Kahn
A lawsuit challenging the legality of California's economywide cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases is set for oral arguments this week, but uncertainty over the future of the program is likely to persist for some time. -
In Midwest, a Vow to Continue Clean Energy Push Under Trump
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jeffrey Tomich
Across the Midwest, clean energy advocates will go to work today like they would on any other Monday. -
Ozone Spike Forces Oil Company Slowdown in Wyo.
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality ordered energy companies to reduce emissions in the Upper Green River Basin on Friday and Saturday.
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Trump’s Political Teams Land at EPA, DOE
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
President Trump's first wave of political staffers are heading into federal agencies today.
The small groups — known as beachhead teams — will lay the groundwork for the new administration's policies and serve as White House representatives until Cabinet officials are confirmed and bigger teams dispatched. At energy and environmental agencies, the teams are largely composed of Trump campaign officials and aides who served on the so-called landing teams at various agencies between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
The beachhead teams are temporary government posts, although some of those officials may be asked to stay on after their initial 120-day appointments.
Heading the group of new appointees at EPA is former Washington state Sen. Don Benton, who was Trump's campaign chairman in the Evergreen State, according to a source close to EPA.
Benton, who served in Washington's Senate from 1997 until last year, is known for "self-confidence, at-times bombastic rhetoric and a willingness to get into political brawls," The Seattle Timesreported. Trump and Benton bonded when Trump visited Washington state last May, and they shared a McDonald's lunch. "I had a Filet-O-Fish and he had a Big Mac," Benton told the newspaper.
Benton founded a sales and marketing firm and has a bachelor's degree in management and communications. According to his state Senate website, he "has dedicated his legislative career to protecting property rights, reducing property taxes and putting criminals behind bars."
Other Trump campaign aides landing at EPA are Charles Munoz, Nevada state director who organized for Americans for Prosperity in Nevada; Layne Bangerter, state campaign director for Idaho and a former staffer to Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho); Patrick Davis, Colorado state director for the Trump campaign; and state Sen. Doug Ericksen, Washington state campaign deputy director.
Several former members of the Trump EPA transition team have stayed on.
Those include David Schnare, general counsel at E&E Legal who has been a thorn in the sides of environmentalists and the Obama administration; David Kreutzer, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who has recently written articles critical of climate change policies; and George Sugiyama, a former EPA employee who served as counsel to the EPA air chief during the George W. Bush administration (E&E Daily, Dec. 6, 2016).
Also on EPA's beachhead team are Holly Greaves, a senior manager at auditing firm KPMG, and Justin Schwab, an associate at BakerHostetler, according to the source close to EPA.
EPA targets
The Trump transition team fleshed out an action plan for EPA that lays out targets for slashing budgets and regulations, the media company Axios reported today.
Among the key initiatives to stop, according to those plans, are greenhouse gas rules for new and existing power plants, automobile standards, and the so-called Waters of the U.S. rule. The plan also calls for an executive order "barring EPA from overruling federal/state regulatory/permit decisions unless in clear violation of established law," Axios reported.
Myron Ebell, who headed EPA's Trump transition team, said today in an interview that he had seen press reports about that plan but wasn't sure whether the plan cited was the most up-to-date.
"There is nothing surprising in the plan because it simply implements the promises made by President Trump on the campaign," Ebell said.
John Konkus, who's working on Trump EPA nominee Scott Pruitt's confirmation team, said today, "Neither Mr. Pruitt or I have seen any such plan. The views of the nominee for EPA administrator were laid out in detail at his hearing last week."
DOE beachhead team
Several transition team members from DOE are staying on to serve on that agency's beachhead team, according to sources close to the transition.
The transition team members sticking around include Travis Fisher, an economist at the Institute for Energy Research and former economist at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Mark Maddox, a consultant at the Livingston Group LLC and former acting assistant secretary of fossil energy at DOE during the George W. Bush administration; and Martin Dannenfelser Jr., formerly of the Energy Innovation Reform Project.
William Greene, deputy director of government affairs at Safari Club International, who was outreach director for former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), and Daniel Simmons, vice president for policy at the Institute for Energy Research and former director of the natural resources task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, will also stay on at DOE.
Tristan Abbey, a former Republican staffer on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will also be on DOE's team, according to a source close to the transition.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048813
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With Rubio on Board, Exxon Chief Tillerson’s Nomination as Secretary of State Assured
Jan 23, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By James Osborne
Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be Secretary of State was all but assured Monday when Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he would back off his opposition to the former Exxon Mobil CEO.
In a Facebook post, Rubio said he still had concerns about Tillerson’s business relationships in Russia but would not hold up his confirmation.
“Given the uncertainty that exists both at home and abroad about the direction of our foreign policy, it would be against our national interests to have this confirmation unnecessarily delayed or embroiled in controversy,” he wrote.
The vote had already become a formality, after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., both said Sunday that despite some reservations about Tillerson’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin they planned to vote yes when his nomination goes before the full Senate – giving President Donald Trump the necessary votes for confirmation.
But to lose the committee vote could have been a potentially embarrassing loss for the new administration. With Rubio on board, Republicans, who hold 11 of the 21 seats on the committee, can vote to recommend Tillerson for confirmation without any Democratic votes.
Rubio clashed with the former Exxon Mobil chief executive during a hearing earlier this month over Russia’s bombing of civilians in Syria in support of the dictator Bashar al-Assad, the characterization of Putin as a war criminal, and Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women. As CEO of one of the world’s biggest oil companies, Tillerson did business in Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other nations criticized for human rights records.
Rubio said Tillerson’s unwillingness to make judgments on Putin and others, could lead those around the world to think, “America cares are about democracy and freedom as long as it’s not being violated by someone they can use for something else. We need a secretary of state that will fight for these principles.”
Democrats on the foreign relations committee are expected to vote strongly against Tillerson.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Ranking Democrat on the committee, released a statement Monday morning saying he would not vote for Tillerson.
“After long and careful consideration, I believe Mr. Tillerson’s demonstrated business orientation and his responses to questions during the confirmation hearing could compromise his ability as secretary of state to forcefully promote the values and ideals that have defined our country and our leading role in the world for more than 200 years,” he said in a statement.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2017/01/23/senate-committee-readies-to-vote-on-former-exxon-chiefs-nomination-as-secretary-of-state/
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Rubio Will Vote to Confirm Tillerson
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced today that he will support Rex Tillerson to serve as President Trump's secretary of State.
"Given the uncertainty that exists both at home and abroad about the direction of our foreign policy, it would be against our national interests to have this confirmation unnecessarily delayed or embroiled in controversy," Rubio wrote this morning in a lengthy Facebook post.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes this afternoon on Tillerson's nomination (E&E Daily, Jan. 23).
Republicans hold a one-seat advantage on the panel, which grilled the former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO over conflicts of interest during a lengthy confirmation hearing (E&E Daily, Jan. 12).
Democrats, including ranking member Ben Cardin of Maryland, have said they will oppose the nomination. For Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Tillerson's lack of clear support for U.S. leadership on climate action was a chief concern.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), another member of the panel, announced this afternoon that he would oppose the nomination. In part, Markey said, because Tillerson "refused to embrace the scientific view that climate change is now overwhelmingly driven by the burning of fossil fuels and failed to answer legitimate questions about Exxon's support for climate denial groups during his tenure."
Rubio said today he was troubled when Tillerson was unwilling to firmly commit to maintaining U.S. sanctions against Russia or condemn certain human rights abuses. Despite those reservations, the senator said he would support Tillerson's nomination in the committee and in the full Senate.
"However, upcoming appointments to critical posts in the Department of State are not entitled to and will not receive from me the same level of deference I have given this nomination," Rubio concluded.
Tillerson's nomination is likely to advance to the floor, given that Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), two top Russia hawks, said over the weekend that they would support Tillerson.
The group 350.org, which has organized resistance to Trump's Cabinet, blasted Rubio, Graham and McCain for supporting Tillerson.
"Even as Florida sinks, South Carolina is drenched by biblical-like floods, and Arizona hits record temperatures, these senators are caving under pressure from Trump," said Jason Kowalski, 350.org's U.S. policy director.
Kowalski accused the senators of "handing the keys of our international climate diplomacy over to a rogue oil mogul" and alleged Exxon lied to the public for decades about climate science.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048805
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(ACC Mentioned) US EPA to Require Upfront CBI Substantiation Under TSCA
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Upfront substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims will be the order of the day under the new TSCA.
US EPA interpretation guidance clarifies that substantiation of all non-exempt CBI claims must be submitted when making a confidentiality claim. And this goes for both chemical and non-chemical identity CBI claims, with few exceptions.
The intention is to facilitate the agency's mandatory review of all CBI claims for chemical identity under the new TSCA, and for its review of at least 25% of non-exempt confidentiality claims. The requirement is scheduled to take effect from 20 March.
Given the large volume of CBI claims, the EPA says, "it is administratively efficient to interpret the statute as requiring up-front substantiation, which necessarily saves the agency the time and resources that would otherwise be spent in attempting to contact the affected business."
The agency will send companies a notice of deficiency for any claims submitted after the effective date that lack substantiation. Those not making amends within 30 days will see their claims considered withdrawn and their information may be made public.
Companies that made CBI claims between 22 June 2016 – when Lautenburg was passed – and 20 March, have until 18 September to back them up. Companies failing to do so will be notified by the agency and have 30 days to act before their information may be made public.
Liz Hitchcock, legislative director at NGO Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, called the announcement "an important victory for the public's right to know about toxic chemicals."
Prior to reform, said Ms Hitchcock, TSCA included "overly broad and often-abused provisions, [under which] manufacturers were allowed to claim information about a chemical, even its name, as 'confidential business information.'
"The EPA has made clear that the law now requires justification for all such claims when the information is submitted to EPA with limited exceptions."
The American Chemistry Council's Christina Franz said it is currently reviewing the EPA's notice to ensure it comports with the statute. It will discuss any identified concerns with the agency, she added.
Guidance documents are not subject to the notice and public comment requirements of a rulemaking.
Law firm Keller and Heckman says that because the interpretation has only been included in guidance, then the new administration "could, in theory, easily rescind it".
But the Environmental Defense Fund's lead senior scientist Richard Denison says he is hopeful the interpretation won't be controversial, given that "a broad swath of stakeholders has voiced support for the upfront substantiation requirement and have noted that it is a key reform made by the new law."
https://chemicalwatch.com/52318/us-epa-to-require-upfront-cbi-substantiation-under-tsca
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Industry Groups Prepare for Ingredient Disclosure Battle
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By David Stegon
The ongoing battle over ingredient disclosure in cleaning products is expected to be reignited – and probably decided – this year, two prominent industry groups have told Chemical Watch.
The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) and the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) both expect increased discussion on the topic, which has been the subject of federal and state legislation in the past.
Last year, California lawmakers narrowly voted down bill AB 708 that would have required cleaning product manufacturers to provide a full list of product ingredients on its website.
Phil Klein, the CSPA's vice president for legislative and public affairs, said he expects California to introduce similar legislation to the bill that failed last year. He said New York is "seriously considering" a similar measure.
There is also increased advocacy on Capitol Hill for manufacturers to have to list the ingredients in their products, he said. The legislative push comes amid pressure from advocacy groups seeking to expand consumers' access to information on the substances products contain.
"We want to find the balance on transparency," Mr Klein said. "We need to protect [confidential business information] and cannot have companies simply hand over their formulas. We plan to roll up our sleeves with the NGO community and find a more common ground."
Melissa Hockstad, chief executive at ACI, said reintroduced legislation in California opens the threat of similar legislation being introduced in other states. She said the ACI would rather any legislation come from the federal government. That way manufacturers did not need to worry about different standards.
"You don't want to see each of the 50 states have their own initiative," she said.Other policy priorities
Ms Hockstad said the ACI is working with the US Food and Drug Administration on ingredient rules for antibacterial soaps. Last year, the FDA accepted the ACI's request to defer rulemaking for three active ingredients used in consumer and commercial antibacterial soaps to allow time for development of data requested. The ACI has since developed and submitted to the FDA a detailed work plan to meet their data requirements for both the safety and efficacy of these three active ingredients, said Ms Hockstad.
The ACI intends to focus on TSCA implementation as well, along with working with the Trump administration on efforts to protect their industry's interests
Mr Klein said the CSPA will also focus this year on the implementation of the new TSCA law. It will concentrate on ensuring enough resources are available for companies affected by the new rules and working with new leadership in the US EPA.
Another priority, Mr Klein said, will be promoting EPA Safer Choice, a voluntary programme that promotes safety and efficacy standards surrounding ingredients and product packaging.
https://chemicalwatch.com/52342/industry-groups-prepare-for-ingredient-disclosure-battle
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Proposed REACH Provisions Could Help Harmonise Worker-Protection Legislation
Jan 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission has said provisions could be added to REACH and other legislation – such as the carcinogens and mutagens Directive – to ensure greater consistency when assessing the risks of workplace exposure to chemicals.
The comments come from a DG Employment working document on the evaluation of EU occupational safety and health (Osh) Directives, as part of the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance (Refit) programme.
"The evaluation noted that provisions could, for example, be included in REACH and/or the chemical agents Directive to coordinate how [Osh legislation] OELs [occupational exposure limits] and [REACH] Dnels [derived no effect levels] are derived in order to define the most accurate way of using them in the risk assessment," the document says.
The evaluation found inconsistencies and 'points of friction' that need addressing. And when it comes to appropriate risk control, REACH registrants and employers said they were concerned about a "lack of clarity" in the relationship between the OELs and Dnels.
"The coexistence of national OELs and Dnels, which are communicated in the safety data sheets (SDSs), needs further clarification for employers with regard to the limit values they must take into account in the risk assessment, and for the definition of appropriate risk management measures," the document says.
The Commission listed the following options for better coherence:
enhance cooperation between the Commission's Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limit Values (Scoel) and Echa's Risk Assessment Committee (Rac) "to reduce the potential scientific divergences";
evaluate methodologies used to define OELs and derive relevant Dnels to align the approaches and promote convergence;
ensure REACH registrants take into account OELs recommended by Scoel when deriving Dnels without being challenged in other regulatory processes;
ensure that for a given substance Scoel considers Dnels derived under REACH when establishing new or reviewing existing or outdated OELs;
reconsider the nature and extent of member states' capacity to set different OELs in the case of the 'indicative' OEL values established under the chemical agents Directive; and
the need to simplify procedures to set occupational limit values at EU level – and in particular 'binding' limit values. This would also have a positive impact under Osh and also on other EU policy areas such as REACH.
"In conclusion, there is potential for further developing synergies between Osh, REACH, CLP and other EU chemicals legislation," the document says.
Addressing carcinogens
The DG Employment working document feeds into a new Commission initiative to better protect against work-related cancer. In May 2016, the Commission proposed Oels for 13 carcinogens as part of a scientific and economic assessment of more than 20 priority chemical agents. It is now proposing to address exposure to seven more carcinogenic substances.
The seven substances, including examples of applicable sectors, are:
epichlorohydrin (1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane) – production of resins, and paper production;
ethylene dibromide (EDB) (dibromoethane) – preparation of dyes and pharmaceuticals;
ethylene dichloride (EDC) – production of plastic and vinyl products, solvent;
4,4'-Methylenedianiline (MDA) – production of polyurethane foams;
trichloroethylene (TCE) – degreasing and cleaning of metal parts, adhesives, solvent;
complex PAH mixtures with benzo[a]pyrene as an indicator – includes: roofing and paving (involving coal-tar pitch), wood impregnation and preservation, aluminium production, and carbon-electrode manufacture; and
used engine oils – includes: automobile and motorcycle engines, diesel rail engines, marine engines, aeroengines, and portable machinery.
In December 2016, European trade lobby group, the Cross-Industry Initiative (CII), sent the Commission a series of policy recommendations on what regulatory measures should be applied to substances identified as a concern in the workplace.
https://chemicalwatch.com/52325/proposed-reach-provisions-could-help-harmonise-worker-protection-legislation
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Trump Should Diversify Our Energy Portfolio – Not Double-Down on Fossil Fuels
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Duane Muller
President Obama has made incredible strides during his administration to establish the United States as a leader in addressing climate change, both here at home and abroad. From directing all federal agencies to consider climate change a natural security threat, to regulating greenhouse gas emissions through the Clean Power Plan, and leading the effort to bring the Paris Agreement to fruition, he has led by example.
Recently, he took another major step in solidifying his legacy on climate change by announcing that the Beaufort and Chukchi leases in the Arctic will be removed from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022. The decision represents a dramatic course-correction by the administration which had indicated as recently as this spring that it would allow development at these sites to continue, even while halting future drilling at sites along the Atlantic.
Unfortunately, President-elect Trump’s selection of Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of State and oil and gas enthusiast and climate denier Ryan Zinke to head the Interior Department send a signal that his administration is interested in pursuing fossil fuel profits at any cost – possibly including an effort to undo the president’s drilling ban. While the legal feasibility of such an undertaking may be up for debate, overturning Obama’s drilling ban would be disastrous for many reasons.
There is perhaps no other place on Earth that shows the scars of climate change as acutely as the Arctic. In fact, global warming is changing the makeup of the landscape as we know it. Sea ice is rapidly diminishing, leading to rising sea-levels, leaving majestic wildlife like polar bears and arctic foxes stranded and starving, and threatening the survival of coastal Arctic communities.
Expansion of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean would not only accelerate the decline of this fragile ecosystem, it would leave it exposed to the threat of a catastrophic oil spill, which would be particularly devastating in an area with terrain as remote and unforgiving as the Arctic.
The depletion of the polar ice caps has also made the region more accessible and attractive to countries looking to expand shipping and other commercial activities, raising security concerns in the process. Increased drilling would place greater demands on the resources of our military -- all for the sake of protecting an energy source that is both difficult to develop and unsustainable in the long-term.
Even if one were to ignore the arguments about the climate and security risks posed by oil and gas development in the Arctic, the fact remains that it just doesn’t make sense from a practical perspective. Shell’s failure to successfully extract oil from sites in the Arctic last year raised questions about the sheer viability of the area as a major fuel source. The region also lacks infrastructure; once you consider the challenge of fortifying rigs to withstand the volatile and unstable conditions posed by extreme weather, the costs of doing business become astronomical. And to what end?
If we are serious about pursuing energy development that is sustainable and will help us meet both our domestic energy needs and international commitments forged in Paris, our path forward must strike a balance between our economy and our environment. The Obama administration’s decision to remove the Beaufort and Chukchi lease sales from the 5-year leasing plan means that there will be greater resources available to dedicate to developing energy the smart way, right here at home.
As the Trump administration grapples with how to chart a course for our nation’s energy development during its first 100 days, it would be wise to jettison any plans to overturn the Arctic drilling ban. It must recognize competing interests and make strategic choices. Just as an investment advisor would recommend diversifying your financial portfolio, we must take the same approach with our energy portfolio. As a major economy, we need a strategic, diversified approach to energy development. That means continuing to invest in clean energy and balancing our economic interests with our precious natural resources.
Over the last eight years, not only have we reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but we have also grown our economy. Making strides to develop cleaner energy domestically will allow us to lead by example in the global community and harness innovative efforts in the private sector, while we continue our efforts to make communities more resilient and less dependent on the fossil fuels that have created so much instability and conflict.
As a nation, we’ve never been better positioned than we are now to take control of our energy future and set ourselves on the path to long-term sustainability. We cannot afford to turn the clock back now.
Duane Muller is the Founder and President of The Playa Group, LLC, and the former Senior Climate Change Specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
http://www.thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/315177-trump-should-diversify-our-energy-portfolio-not-double
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FirstEnergy Corp. Sells 4 Pa. Natural Gas Units
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
FirstEnergy Corp. has announced the $925 million sale of four Pennsylvania natural gas plants and one Virginia pumped-storage hydroelectric plant.
The company is selling the power plants to LS Power Equity Partners III LP, a New York-based power developer. The sale is part of FirstEnergy's plan to get out of the unregulated competitive power generation business.
Twenty-three employees work across the power plants. They will all be offered jobs under the new ownership.
Of the four natural gas plants, the Springdale Generating Facility in Allegheny County has the largest generating capacity, at 683 megawatts. The other natural gas plants are the 88 MW Chambersburg Generating Facility in Franklin County, the 88 MW Gans Generating Facility in Greene County and the 45 MW Hunlock Creek gas power plant in Luzerne County.
The deal also includes the 713 MW Bath County Hydro pumped storage facility in Virginia.
This marks the second time that LS Power Equity Partners III LP has purchased assets from FirstEnergy. In 2014, the firm paid FirstEnergy $395 million for 11 hydroelectric power stations, including one in Pennsylvania.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048744
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U.S Army to Begin Environmental Study of Dakota Pipeline
Jan 18, 2017 | Christian Science Monitor (in Real Clear Energy)
By Timothy Mclaughlin
The U.S. Army on Wednesday began the process of launching an environmental study of the Dakota Access pipeline crossing in North Dakota, a move that has been challenged by the company constructing the controversial project.
The Army said on Wednesday it is gathering information to prepare an environmental impact statement regarding an easement to cross at Lake Oahe, a water source upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation that has been the focus of months of fierce protests because of fears the pipeline could damage drinking water and desecrate sacred grounds.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December denied Energy Transfer Partners an easement to drill under the lake.
The Army announcement coincides with demonstrators renewing opposition to the $3.8 billion project, with arrests this week bringing the total to more than 600, according to law enforcement.
Energy Transfer Partners requested on Monday that a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia stop the Corps from initiating the environmental impact statement process until there is a ruling on whether the company already has necessary approvals for the pipeline crossing.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied the motion at a hearing on Wednesday, according to online court documents.
In July 2015, the Corps granted Energy Transfer Partners permission for its proposed pipeline crossing at Lake Oahe.
For months, Native Americans and environmental activists have been protesting the pipeline, garnering support from celebrities and on social media.
Following the Army Corp's December announcement, the Standing Rock Sioux asked demonstrators to disperse and many did. However, some have remained.
Sixteen people were arrested on Monday and Tuesday for a number of offenses, including engaging in a riot and assault on a peace officer, bringing the total number of arrests to 603 since Aug. 10 which was around the time the protests began, according to Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department.
The department is hoping that President-elect Donald Trump will deploy federal help to law enforcement managing protesters.
"When Trump takes office we foresee a significant change in terms of federal assistance," Ms. Herr said.
The North Dakota National Guard had deployed a missile defense system to the area near the protest site, but it was unarmed and being used only for observation purposes, said Amber Balken, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota National Guard.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2017/0118/U.S-Army-to-begin-environmental-study-of-Dakota-pipeline?cmpid=TW
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Dakota Tribe Officially Boots Anti-Pipeline Protesters from Campsites
Jan 23, 2017 | The Daily Caller (in Real Clear Energy)
By Chris White
One of American Indian tribes opposed to a contentious multi-state oil pipeline in North Dakota has formally asked activists to vacate makeshift campsites located near its reservation.
Standing Rock Sioux’s tribal council announced Saturday that it passed a resolution calling for camps holding Dakota Access Pipeline opponents to be dismantled. The resolution did not mention any plans to relocate the 600 activists, most of whom are outsiders.
The tribe has been pushing protesters to vacate the area since U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected the $3.8 billion project in December, yet the anti-DAPL activists have refused Standing Rock’s pleas.
“The pipeline fight has moved beyond the camps and our strategy must evolve with the process,” tribe Chairman David Archambault II said in a statement. He was referring to the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision last week to move forward on an environmental impact review.
Standing Rock’s resolution comes after North Dakota Gov. n">Doug Burgum, a Republican, said Jan. 4 that if the sites are not cleared before March, rainfall and snow melt could “endanger” their lives. Archambault reiterated Burgum’s warning.
“Because we worked together, the federal government will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement,” the tribe said. “Moving forward, our ultimate objective is best served by our elected officials, navigating strategically through the administrative and legal processes.”
Anti-DAPL activists believe the line’s construction would trample on tribal lands and potentially poison waterways, including rivers such as the Missouri River and Lake Oahe.
Many of those still remaining at the camp have conceded that vacating the area may be for the best.
“Our network respects the decision of the Cannon Ball district and the tribal council of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,” Tom Goldtooth, the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, told reporters.
The tribe is also worried that recent violent clashes between police and the protesters could delay the reopening of a highway linking a newly built casino on the reservation to Bismark, the state’s capital.
“Our main venture that we have on Standing Rock is the Prairie Knights Casino, and Highway 1806 is the main access road,” said Phyllis Young, who currently serves as a consultant to the tribe on the Dakota Access Pipeline.The fate of the DAPL, which is expected to deliver nearly 500,000 barrels of Bakken oil per day to Illinois, will fall into the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who publicly supports the project.
“I will tell you, when I get to office, if it’s not solved, I’ll have it solved very quickly,” Trump, who once invested $1 million into the project, told Fox News’s Chris Wallace Sunday. The former reality TV star is generally in favor of updating the country’s infrastructure, including more oil pipelines.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/22/dakota-tribe-officially-boots-anti-pipeline-protesters-from-campsites/#ixzz4Wbprk9Bq
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Increase in Mexico’s Natural Gas Plans Expected to Drive Demand for U.S. Imports
Jan 23, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Ryan Handy
Natural gas-fired power plants account for the majority of power in Mexico, and additions to the country’s energy capacity will likely drive up Mexico’s demand for natural gas, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The increased demand would open and expand markets for natural gas from Texas shale and pipeline companies. Texas firms such as Kinder Morgan and Spectra Energy, both of Houston, and Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas are developing or expanding pipelines to carry more natural gas to Mexico.
Natural gas generated 54 percent of Mexico’s power in 2015, up from only 34 percent 10 years before. Natural gas is also expected to account for 60 percent of the additions to Mexico’s power grid over the next three years.
As a result, Mexico’s demand for natural gas is expected to greatly increase, and that demand will be largely met by imports from the United States, according to the Energy Department.
Mexico has reformed its electricity market to open it up to private investment and create a wholesale power market, with the aim of reducing electricity costs and switching to cleaner-burning fuels. Mexico relies heavily on fuel oil to generate electricity and is is also trying to make a transition to natural gas, which produces fewer pollutants. By the end of last year, Mexico had converted 4.3 gigawatts of fuel oil units to natural gas to help meet the government’s goal of a 90 percent reduction in fuel oil consumption by 2018.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2017/01/20/increase-in-mexicos-natural-gas-plans-expected-to-drive-demand-for-u-s-imports/
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Crowdfunding Emerges as Potential Game Changer
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Mintz
When the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance wanted to see more wind power in New England around the turn of the 21st century, it turned to an age-old tactic for nonprofits: fundraising.
Together with a coalition of environmental organizations, it formed the New England Wind Fund in 2002. Since its inception, the project has raised nearly $1 million and helped support the construction of 17 wind turbines by using the donated funds to buy renewable energy credits.
"We were very focused on developing local," said Erin Taylor, Mass Energy's marketing and membership director. "We wanted the benefits of renewable energy, the jobs and clean air, to be here. We wanted people to meaningfully contribute and have their contributions go towards renewable energy."
The charitable fund has never given any financial return or reward to its 5,000 donors.
"In the first few years, people were contributing because we were helping with specific projects in their communities," said Taylor, pointing to early turbines in Medford and Gloucester, Mass. "But now, I think people are starting to contribute because they're scared of the future.
"Climate change is now very real and very scary," she added.
Nonprofits have long turned to donors for help with funding, but the idea of crowdfunding — aimed at collecting many smaller donations for a specific project or venture — has exploded in the internet era.
Many online crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are generalized and will allow fundraising for a variety of projects. Both websites say they've raised billions of dollars for thousands of projects backed by millions of people.
Some renewable energy projects have had success on the larger platforms. Engineer Scott Brusaw, for example, has raised more than $2 million for his experimental "Solar Roadways" project on Indiegogo.
But entrepreneurs are beginning to move toward a new business model designed for renewable energy projects that would allow for both smaller individual donations and larger financial investments.
Some experts say such models, when scaled up, could revolutionize the way energy projects are funded and push energy policy changes.
The emergence of energy crowdfunding
A 2012 law aimed at jump-starting business startups was a game changer for renewable energy crowdfunding in the United States, according to Jack Jacobs, an environmental lawyer and CEO of the new crowdfunding platform GridShare.
The law's effects are only starting to be felt; it wasn't until May 2016 that the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized its regulations for equity crowdfunding.
Developers now can offer equity to anyone online rather than just to accredited investors. Now, investors — large and small — can have a financial stake in projects, rather than investing solely for goodwill, as was the case with the New England Wind Fund.
"We've basically allowed the market to be open to renewable energy projects," said Jacobs. "In the past, if you wanted to invest in a renewable energy project, you'd have to be a pretty savvy investor to find and vet those projects."
And on the other side of the coin, if you were hoping to raise funds to build a solar panel or wind turbine, said Jacobs, "you'd have to have a good relationship with a bank, or with major investors or funds that are interested in your project."
But now, Jacobs said, the financial world is opening up to what he calls a more democratic and accessible model.
"Crowdfunding for renewable energy is really filling that gap and pulling the financial industry up to the same speed as the [energy] tech advances," he said. "It's the final puzzle piece for a truly mature renewable energy market."
And renewable energy can be a smart investment, said Jacobs.
"Renewable energy projects is a solid, profitable business like real estate investment. We're talking about assets that are generating revenue that are backed by large utilities and are guaranteed revenues over 20, 25 years," he said.
In Europe, the practice has been around a bit longer. There's a complicated legal framework for online equity crowdfunding, but many European countries finalized relevant rules in 2014 or 2015. As a result, the market there is more developed and robust.
In 2013, a Dutch crowdfunding platform called Windcentrale sold thousands of shares in a wind turbine, raising almost $1.4 million in 13 hours. The Trillion Fund in the United Kingdom has raised more than $6 million for renewable energy projects in the last five years, through loans and investments.
There is so much demand for renewable energy crowdfunding in Europe that one group is operating a sort of second-degree service to connect energy cooperatives or projects with crowdfunding platforms.
Citizenergy was largely designed to help facilitate investment across borders, said Sarah Mekjian, communications director for the European Union-funded firm.
According to the company's website, it has helped raise more than $37 million for more than 30 projects in 13 countries.
"If you want to make a few bucks while doing a good thing, this is the way to do it," said Mekjian.
Filling a niche for nonprofits
Renewable energy crowdfunding platforms fill a clear niche for a specific kind and size of developer, said Tosh Szatow, whose platform, the People's Solar, has funded around 10 projects in Australia since going live in 2014.
Like the New England Wind Fund, the People's Solar is donation-based; project developers can't offer equity or an investment.
But Szatow's platform has been widely successful in harnessing the power of the internet to make solar projects happen when they might not have otherwise.
"I would say that most, if not all, of our projects were entirely dependent on crowdfunding," Szatow said. "If they were waiting around to save the spare money, or had to use commercial finance, the projects would never have happened."
The People's Solar's biggest project helped raise 120,000 Australian dollars ($90,700) to install a 99-kilowatt solar system at the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne, which Szatow said is an iconic creative arts precinct that attracts visitors from around the world.
"Lots of not-for-profits, schools, child care centers, community organizations just don't have the spare $10,000 to $30,000 lying around to go solar, and it would take them years and years of saving — which would compromise their service delivery — to pay for it with cash," he said. "They also struggle to get commercial finance because they typically don't have a great balance sheet or don't own any collateral."
The same problem holds true in the United States.
"Nonprofits don't have money, cash on hand. ... It can be difficult for them to demonstrate their creditworthiness," said Andreas Karelas, whose nonprofit RE-volv tries to give organizations an alternative funding option by using donations and a revolving fund to lease them solar equipment.
Karelas said local, community-centered energy development that can benefit from crowdfunding is especially important in the current political context.
"Let us empower people ... and build the solutions that we need in communities, on rooftops where we need them. We don't need political support, we don't need big investors, we don't need a U.N. agreement," he said.
'Transparency and interaction'
Another key to the success of crowdfunding is that it meshes well with values that millennials, in particular, care about.
George Koutitas of Gridmates, which connects people in need of energy to those willing to donate, said his company has looked at research about the way young people give.
"They don't want to give money if they don't know how the money's going to be used," he said.
Crowdfunding platforms can work to combat that hesitancy by being clear about where their money is going and how the end product is rendered.
"We give transparency and interaction," Koutitas said.
Those principles also reflect an important way the energy market is changing, said Chiara Candelise, an energy economist at the University of Bocconi in Italy who has studied the ways crowdfunding can affect energy markets.
Candelise said the growth of crowdfunding is part of a "participatory effect."
"You're involving a wider mix of people in the sector. You're working on the stronger relationships between consumption and production," she said.
Not only are the relationships becoming stronger, but the lines are starting to blur. "We now have not just consumers, but we have what we call prosumers, who are consumers and producers. Anyone could potentially have a solar power plant on top of their roof," Candelise said.
"It's clear that we're moving into an energy system in which the energy user, and the citizen him- or herself, is going to have a stronger and stronger role to play," she added.
That means crowdfunding could have lasting effects on energy policy on a wide scale, said Mekjian of Citizenergy.
"We see crowdfunding and energy cooperatives as not only a new financing model, but as a way to encourage energy democracy and decentralization," she said.
Still, there are pitfalls to be wary of when it comes to crowdfunding, according to Catherine Banet, an associate professor of energy law at the University of Oslo.
"Like any other growing technology, there will be a phase of consolidation," she said, referring to the "natural selection" that can occur when there are more companies than a not-yet-mature market has room for. "There will be mergers, some other ones will die."
And while some countries have sorted out the laws needed to allow people to invest online, others haven't.
"The legal framework is not necessarily in place," said Banet. "The countries which have succeeded the most with crowdfunding have revised their legal framework, but not every country has done so."
Even when countries do sort out their legal guidelines and allow online crowd investing, Banet said, "you're touching very regulated areas. And then it's usually a very high burden on different companies to meet those regulations. That's a barrier to entry."
Overall, though, Banet said she is optimistic about the model's success.
"It's a good match for the energy transition ... and it corresponds to the needs for companies and for consumers," she said.
"It's a tool for our time."
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048787
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Officials Identify Victim of Okla. Tank Explosion
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
Authorities have identified a man killed in a tank explosion last week in Garfield County, Okla.
Keith Milacek, 33, was killed in a tank battery explosion Wednesday near the town of Waukomis.
The explosion was so powerful that the tank battery was blown off and landed about 150 to 200 yards away, according to Garfield County Sheriff Jerry Niles. Firefighters quickly arrived to put out the large blaze.
Officials have not yet determined whether the explosion was an industrial accident. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission's oil and gas division has been contacted to investigate the incident.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048761
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Trump Team Plans Big Cuts at EPA
Jan 23, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration’s transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning major budget cuts, as well as regulatory and scientific overhauls at the agency.
The team’s “Action Plan” for the EPA identifies more than $800 million in planned budget cuts, including to state and tribal assistance grants, climate programs and environmental programs and management, according to Axios.
The White House did not return a request for comment on the report.
The document was written by Myron Ebell, head of the environment program at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute and the leader of the EPA transition team, Axios said.
The plan devotes significant attention to reforming how the EPA uses science.
“EPA does not use science to guide regulatory policy as much as it uses regulatory policy to steer the science,” the document says, according to Axios. “This is an old problem at EPA. In 1992, a blue-ribbon panel of EPA science advisers that [sic] 'science should not be adjusted to fit policy.' But rather than heed this advice, EPA has greatly increased its science manipulation.”
The document says that the EPA should not fund scientific research, should make all science used for regulatory decisions public and should overhaul its scientific advisory board.
It also lists numerous regulations to cut, including the carbon dioxide rules for new and existing power plants, the Waters of the United States rule, and the Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan.
The extent to which the plan aligns with official Trump administration policies is unclear, as is whether they’re merely wishes of the transition team. On the campaign trail, President Trump promised big changes at the EPA as well as a major regulatory rollback, though he did not mention much of the items in the transition plan.
Many of the major pieces in the document would require approval from Congress. Some parts, like the state and tribal assistance grants, enjoy strong bipartisan support.
Trump has tapped Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s current attorney general and an opponent of major pieces of EPA policy from former President Obama, to lead the agency. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing last week on his nomination but has not yet scheduled a confirmation vote.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/315607-trump-team-plans-big-cuts-at-epa
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Most of DOE's Home Page Erased After Inauguration
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By David Ferris and Mike Lee
Shortly after President Trump's swearing in Friday, most of the content on the Department of Energy's home page disappeared into the ether.
The changeover was much more abrupt than the transition between presidents George W. Bush and Obama in 2009. Back then, the incoming administration dropped in a photo of the new Energy secretary, Steven Chu, and added a small box giving an overview of Obama's energy plan. (See the before and after.)
The Trump administration's DOE immediately removed most of the elements of the home page, including blog entries, news updates, information boxes and a video.
Whether the deletion is a sign of new policies or simply a clearing of the decks is unclear. A query to Trump's transition team went unanswered. Trump's pick to run DOE, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
After this story's publication, DOE's press office made a statement by email. "Nothing was deleted, we just changed the format of the homepage. All the drop downs are still present with associated content, as are all the office pages," it said.
"Drop-downs" are the items in the page's top navigation bar that link to other parts of the DOE website. The content of those drop-downs, and the pages they link to, appear to be unchanged since Obama's departure.
The Obama-era site had links to elements that Trump's fossil-fuel-friendly team might want to delete, such as pages trumpeting the prospects of clean energy and a video tour of a wind turbine. But it also had a blog post honoring J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the project that invented the atomic bomb.
It makes sense for the Trump administration to change the website's content, since it's looking to distinguish itself from Obama's policies, said Barry Rabe, a professor at the University of Michigan who also does research on energy and climate policy for the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution.
"Like any incoming president, he's going to want some demonstrated action," Rabe said. "What's easier than changing words on a website?"
Some fear Trump's team will delete or alter public data related to energy and climate. Hackers have been racing against the clock to download information from federal databases, especially data related to climate research and U.S. EPA, in anticipation that it may be threatened under a new administration dismissive of action on climate change (Greenwire, Jan. 20).
On Trump's new DOE home page, the only holdover is a set of rotating images at the top of the page, known in web-speak as the carousel. Though the carousel remains, its content has changed.
As of Obama's last day in office, the carousel featured five items: an exit interview with Ernest Moniz, the outgoing Energy secretary; a report on the state of the national laboratories; a DOE exit memo; a summary of Mission Innovation, an international commitment to clean-energy funding that may be in peril under Trump (Climatewire, Jan. 9); and a primer on home heating. Over the last month, the carousel has also featured solar energy and wind energy.
The new Trump-era carousel trimmed the number of items to four and featured links to generic content, including the department's mission site, a landing page for the national labs, and primers on how the power grid works and on energy saving.
As of yesterday afternoon, all other content linked from the DOE home page appeared identical to how Obama's people left it.
On a larger scale, removing information from a government website raises questions about the Trump administration's commitment to openness. The DOE site and others across the government provide vital data for academic researchers, private industry and others, said Luke Bassett, a former staffer in DOE's policy office who now works at the Democrat-aligned Center for American Progress.
"For those public goods to be taken away from the people who've paid for them and who use them and rely on them ... I think that would be truly a shame," Bassett said.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048785
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White House Climate Change Webpage Disappears After Trump's Inauguration
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - Home News
By Max Greenwood
Less than an hour after President Trump took the oath of office on Friday, the White House’s webpage on climate change disappeared from the Executive Branch's main site, the latest sign that the new administration will divert resources – and attention – from the issue.
The removal of the page from the White House’s website came around the same time the site and other Executive Branch digital platforms were overhauled to reflect the new administration. The Obama Administration's climate change page still exists, but was migrated to a National Archiveswebsite.
Trump has long denied, or at least questioned, the nearly unanimous agreement among scientists that human activity is causing rapid shifts in the Earth’s climate. At one point, the president called the phenomenon a “hoax” propagated by China to make U.S. manufacturing less competitive.
He has also brought into question whether the U.S. will adhere to the United Nation’s landmark climate deal, which went into effect late last year. Trump has indicated that the U.S. could withdraw from the accord, though such a move would take years to accomplish.
Former President Barack Obama expressed enthusiasm to tackle global climate change throughout his time in office, offering a Climate Action Plan in 2013 that outlined how the U.S. would respond to the issue.
http://www.thehill.com/homenews/administration/315284-white-house-climate-change-webpage-disappears-after-trumps
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Pruitt's Actions Undermine His Testimony as He Runs from His Own Record
Jan 20, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Felice Stadler
At his senate confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt confirmed he is not fit to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose mission is to protect the public and our natural resources from pollution.
Despite what he said to the contrary, his record speaks for itself – a string of lawsuits against bedrock safeguards for clean air and clean water, routinely taking contributions from the major polluters with whom he sued the EPA, and closing down his office’s environmental enforcement unit.
His testimony demonstrated not only inconsistency with his own record, but a troubling lack of knowledge about the basic public health and environmental information that has been foundational to EPA’s work for decades.
How many Americans suffer from asthma? Pruitt’s answer: I don’t know.
What’s a safe level of exposure to lead? Pruitt’s answer: I don’t know.
Why is the climate changing? Pruitt’s answer: My opinion is immaterial.
It’s also no surprise that he spent his hearing running from his record of doing industry’s bidding when it comes to environmental protection – because he knows the public won’t support it.
Fundraising from polluting industries
Pruitt told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island that he never solicited contributions from well-connected energy interests for one of his major political causes, the Republican Attorneys General Association.
But documents [PDF] released by state open records requests show Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff asking Devon Energy for help in soliciting the American Petroleum Institute for a contribution to RAGA, where Pruitt is past chairman and a member of the executive committee.
Blocking mercury safeguards
Pruitt claimed his lawsuit against EPA’s mercury protections was merely based on concerns about EPA’s process. In fact, in a legal brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Pruitt went so far as to cast doubt on the underlying science, writing that “the record does not support EPA’s findings that mercury…pose[s] public health hazards.” (Brief [PDF], see page 23.)
And, after a first challenge to our nation’s mercury protections left them intact, Pruitt was so intent on blocking these safeguards that he sued a second time [PDF] – even after virtually all our nation’s power plants had already complied with the mercury protections at a fraction of the expected cost.
Opposing protections for downwind states
Pruitt declared that there was a “very important role” for the EPA in addressing air quality issues that cross state lines.
But his actions tell a different story: Pruitt sued to block EPA’s safeguard for downwind states, and claimed that the rule would “ignore the law and encroach on state sovereignty” – even after the Supreme Court upheld the rule by a vote of 6 to 2.
Axing environmental enforcement
California Sen. Kamala Harris asked Pruitt to name environmental enforcement actions he took as attorney general. Pruitt cited just one case, against Mahard Egg.
As Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware demonstrated, this case was actually brought by Pruitt’s predecessor and Pruitt played only a minor role. His true record on enforcement speaks for itself – he shut down his environmental enforcement unit and his office never once touted environmental enforcement.
Relentlessly opposing the EPA
Pruitt claimed he believed that the EPA has “a very valuable role.” But his own LinkedIn profile brags that he is “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.”
Pruitt is wholly unqualified to run the EPA, an agency he has spent a decade aggressively trying to undercut.
Let’s hope the U.S. Senate sees this as well.
https://www.edf.org/blog/2017/01/20/pruitts-actions-undermine-his-testimony-he-runs-his-own-record
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CDC Quietly Cancels Long-Planned Climate Summit
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly and abruptly canceled a major climate change summit scheduled for next month shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, according to emails sent to those scheduled to speak and obtained by E&E News.
The Climate and Health Summit was scheduled to be held in Atlanta, where the CDC is headquartered, in February. Agency leaders did not directly address why the summit was canceled and instead forwarded an email sent to participants indicating it may be rescheduled.
"We are currently exploring options so that the Summit may take place later in the year," CDC officials wrote.
Trump has made no secret of his opposition to climate change policy. He has called climate change a "hoax," and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the president believes warming is "a bunch of bunk." One of the Trump administration's first moves yesterday was to replace the Obama administration whitehouse.gov site with issue platforms — the first of which vows to dismantle "harmful and unnecessary" climate change policies.
Former CDC directors say they are not surprised by the climate summit cancellation, charging that the agency has a long history of political retreats. Two officials accused the agency of backing down over fears of reprisals from the Trump administration.
"Sometimes the agency is subject to external political pressure; sometimes the agency self-censors or pre-emptively stays away from certain issues," said Howard Frumkin, former director of the CDC Center for Environmental Health and a professor at environmental health at the University of Washington's School of Public Health. "Climate change has been that issue historically."
The summit involved months of preparation and had solicited research papers. The theme would have been on the "state of the science on climate and health, adaptation efforts through interagency collaboration, and communication and stakeholder engagement strategies," according to a flier. Partners included the American Public Health Association, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and National Association of County and City Health Officials. It would have positioned climate change as a central issue for CDC, with a political rival of Trump as a keynote speaker.
Under the Obama administration, the CDC took a renewed role treating climate change as a public health issue. The CDC launched an effort to use its resources to help cities and states prepare for public health problems associated with climate change. That includes health problems associated with extended heat waves, increased air pollution and sea-level rise. It is working with 16 states and two cities on public health initiatives related to climate change.
Richard Jackson, a director of the CDC's Center for Environmental Health from 1994 to 2004, said the agency has backed off from other public health issues that were politically toxic, like gun control, reproductive health and HIV research.
He said it is likely senior CDC officials see climate change as "not an immediately winnable battle" and are unwilling to wage the fight aggressively in the Trump era. He said it makes sense for the CDC to choose its political battles wisely. In the past, the CDC has backed off from issues and ceded research to universities and advocacy groups, he said.
"The folks in power say we make policy; we don't meddle in science. But it's hard to make policy if the science doesn't agree with them, so they meddle in the science," he said.
Frumkin had thought of attending the climate summit — but after he saw the election results, he suspected that it would be canceled and didn't buy a plane ticket. He, too, said that backing away from controversies has long been a practice at the CDC.
He recalled pressure during his time at the CDC during the presidency of George W. Bush. The night before he was to testify at a congressional hearing, he said, an administration official called and told him to omit a section about the public health dangers of climate change. Frumkin said he refused, offering as an alternative not to testify at all and leave his seat vacant.
The White House official eventually relented, Frumkin said, and he testified that humans faced significant public health risks as a result of climate change.
The CDC's climate change work has already reduced mortality rates in Philadelphia as the city helps residents cope with increasingly extreme heat waves, Frumkin said. He called reducing that work as "jarring as if the CDC announced it would stop talking about infectious disease or cancer."
The danger is that a preliminary decision to back off climate research could signal that CDC leadership is not ready to take aggressive action on climate issues at a time when they are more important than ever, said Ed Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.
He was scheduled to speak at the summit but was sent an email noting its cancellation.
"I'm concerned this is an act of self-sabotage on the part of the CDC," Maibach said. "The larger specter is that it will set the tone for self-silencing from the people at the top."
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048779
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California Proposes Ambitious New Climate Goals
Jan 20, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
California on Friday formally proposed a 40 percent slash in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, minutes after President Trump was inaugurated.
The state’s Air Resources Board said that 40 percent cut by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, would be the most ambitious climate goal in North America.
“Climate change is impacting California now, and we need to continue to take bold and effective action to address it head on to protect and improve the quality of life in California,” Mary Nichols, the board’s chairwoman, said in a statement.
“The plan will help us meet both our climate and our clean air goals in the coming decades and provide billions of dollars in investments to cut greenhouse gases, smog and toxic pollution in disadvantaged communities throughout the state,” she said.
“It is also designed to continue to drive creative innovation, generating good new jobs in the growing clean technology sector.”
The plan sets up a contrast with Trump, who was inaugurated about 30 minutes before California released its plan.
Trump is promising to dismantle all of former President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda, including limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and from oil and natural gas drilling.
Trump has said climate change is a hoax, and Scott Pruitt, his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, has sued the agency to stop Obama regulations repeatedly.
Pruitt said at a confirmation hearing this week that he would consider ending California’s decades-old authority to enforce its own limits on emissions from cars and trucks, alarming the state’s liberal leadership.
The California plan proposed Friday would extend its cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases through 2030, cut the carbon intensity of fuels used for transportation and put more than 4 million zero-emission vehicles on the roads.
http://www.thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/315384-california-proposes-ambitious-new-climate-goals
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The Immediate Threat to California's Climate-Change Fight Isn't Trump, It's This
Jan 23, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
By Chris Megerian
With President Trump in the Oval Office, California officials are bracing for the possibility that the new administration will undermine the state’s landmark policies on climate change. But the more immediate threat isn’t coming from Washington; it lies in a lawsuit that has been slowly winding its way through state courts.
The 4-year-old legal challenge pursued by the California Chamber of Commerce and a collection of business interests argues that the cap-and-trade program represents an unconstitutional tax. The system, intended to create a financial incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, requires companies to purchase permits to pollute.
For Gov. Jerry Brown and the environmental community, the lawsuit has been a ticking time bomb that could eliminate a key source of revenue and undermine a program touted as an international model for fighting global warming.
State lawyers have the chance to defuse the situation Tuesday in an appeals court hearing in Sacramento. A decision could be released within the next three months, but it likely won’t be the final word — the losing party can still appeal to the California Supreme Court.
Either way, the result will ripple outside the state’s borders as politicians around the world consider the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. California is trying to expand its program’s reach by partnering with other jurisdictions, teaming up with Quebec two years ago and Ontario a year from now. Chinese officials have studied the state’s system as they plan their own policies.
And with climate action unlikely in Washington under Trump’s administration, environmentalists are rallying around California’s cap-and-trade program because the state is among the few places in the country pursuing an ambitious agenda.
“California’s leadership, along with the northeastern states and the other West Coast states, is more important now than ever,” said David Doniger, director of the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The legal dispute surrounding the cap-and-trade program stems from its origin.
In 2006, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers approved legislation requiring the state to reduce its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, then tasked the California Air Resources Board to devise a plan to reach the goal.
The result was cap and trade, which auctioned off its first permits in 2012. Revenue from the auctions, which has ranged from hundreds of millions of dollars to nearly $2 billion a year, is then spent by lawmakers on initiatives intended to further reduce emissions. One of those projects is the $68-billion bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
All of this activity, state officials argue, falls within the government’s authority to regulate industry.
Opponents disagree, noting that the state is collecting revenue through a program that wasn’t created with a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature, the threshold needed to approve taxes.
“What they’re doing is simply outside the law,” said Loren Kaye, president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, a think tank affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to the chamber’s original lawsuit, the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative group, joined the fight on behalf of several businesses, including a tomato processing company and a trucking association.
Even if the state wins the case, the cap-and-trade program wouldn’t be completely out of the woods.
Because regulators created the program under legislation that set a target for reducing emissions by 2020, there are questions about whether cap and trade would expire once the date is reached.
“The big question is what comes after 2020,” said Michael Wara, a Stanford law professor who focuses on energy and the environment.
To erase that concern, Brown has asked for lawmakers to pass a new measure extending the program with a two-thirds vote, safeguarding cap and trade for the future. One piece of legislation has already been introduced, but negotiations are likely to be complex.
“It’s one of the largest programs impacting the California economy,” said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, which represents the state’s largest corporations. “The stakes are huge.”
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-climate-lawsuit-20170122-story.html
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Appeals Court to Hear Pivotal Suit Against Cap and Trade
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Debra Kahn
A lawsuit challenging the legality of California's economywide cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases is set for oral arguments this week, but uncertainty over the future of the program is likely to persist for some time.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento will hear an hour of arguments tomorrow for and against California's authority to conduct auctions of greenhouse gas permits, which have become a lucrative source of funding, generating more than $3 billion so far for the state's high-speed rail project, affordable housing near transit and other programs linked to emissions reductions.
Demand for the permits — and revenue — has been flagging since early last year, and Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has blamed uncertainty over the legality of the system for the slowdown. He has sought to insulate future years of the program from uncertainty by asking lawmakers to approve cap and trade through 2030, and a bill to do so was introduced earlier this month (Climatewire, Jan. 13).
The case, which began in 2012, is not challenging the entire cap-and-trade program. Rather, it is challenging the method by which California distributes its greenhouse gas permits. The California Chamber of Commerce and Morning Star Packing Co., a tomato processing company, have argued that the state-run quarterly auctions amount to an illegal tax under a state constitutional amendment known as Proposition 13, which requires new taxes to be approved by a two-thirds legislative majority.
The industry plaintiffs are arguing that the auctions are a tax, and are therefore illegal, because the landmark 2006 climate law A.B. 32 was only approved by a majority vote (Climatewire, May 25, 2016). They also contend that A.B. 32 itself does not give the state Air Resources Board the authority to conduct auctions, but merely implement a cap-and-trade system.
Industry's arguments will likely focus on the former allegation. They will try to show that the auctions meet the state's definition of a tax by establishing that the price paid at auctions does not have a reasonable relationship to the impact of the greenhouse gas emissions themselves, and that the costs of participating in the auction are not evenly spread among emitters. About half of the allowances are auctioned to industry, while the rest are issued free of charge.
"By holding the permits hostage in this way, the state is raising billions of dollars without legislative authority, in violation of constitutional protections against illegal taxes," Tony Francois, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation representing Morning Star, wrote Friday in a blog post.
Odds are favoring the state
Legal experts who support California's program are confident the state will prevail.
"This claim is more novel but also should fail," Cara Horowitz, co-director of UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said of the tax argument. "The purpose of the auctions is to regulate businesses and limit pollution, not raise revenues."
A ruling is expected by mid-April, within three months of the arguments. No matter how the three-judge appellate panel rules, though, observers expect the loser to ask the state Supreme Court for a review.
If the state loses, it would likely dampen demand further in the short term. But auctions would probably be permitted to continue until the state's highest court issues a decision or declines to hear the case.
"Most people think ARB still wins," said Dan McGraw, a senior market strategist with ICIS U.S. Carbon Markets. "A lot of traders are just extremely wary of that outside chance that Chamber wins, and you have this weird situation with the price."
How any ruling might interact with the current political landscape is unclear. If Brown receives two-thirds approval in the Legislature to use cap and trade to meet the 2030 target of 40 percent below 1990 emissions levels, it would ensure the program's legality even if the court rules it is a tax — or a fee, which under 2010's Proposition 26 also requires supermajority approval.
But unless lawmakers also approve the program through its current sunset date of 2020, auctions until then would still be vulnerable to an adverse decision in the suit.
Clinging to the Clean Power Plan
Despite the uncertainty, California regulators are moving ahead with plans to extend the use of cap and trade. The ARB issued a plan Friday that examines some alternatives to cap and trade, including a carbon tax, a "cap-and-tax" system and more direct regulations on emitters. Under the preferred alternative, though, cap and trade would still be responsible for roughly 15 to 30 percent of emissions reductions through 2030.
"Continuing the cap-and-trade program with additional reductions from the refinery sector is the clear choice to achieve the state's climate and clean air goals," the agency said. "It also protects public health, provides a solid foundation for continued economic growth, and supports California's quality of life."
The state's plan released last week also still envisions the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan for existing power plants coming into effect. It argues cap and trade is the most effective policy to meet the state's CPP obligations.
In overhauling the whitehouse.gov website moments after President Trump was inaugurated, the administration vowed to end what it described as "harmful" climate policies. It did not mention the Clean Power Plan by name but broadly took aim at the Obama administration's suite of measures under its Climate Action Plan.
"The Clean Power Plan is the most prominent federal climate regulation applicable to stationary sources, and California will continue to support aggressive federal action, as well as to defend existing programs like the Clean Power Plan," the California plan says.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048756
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In Midwest, a Vow to Continue Clean Energy Push Under Trump
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jeffrey Tomich
Across the Midwest, clean energy advocates will go to work today like they would on any other Monday.
They'll engage with legislators, regulators and utilities on policies to advance wind, solar and energy efficiency and curtail emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants that affect the environment and public health.
Moving forward, of course, there is one obvious change. While green groups generally had backing from the White House over the last eight years, they now face a brisk headwind with Friday's inauguration of President Trump.
Within minutes of taking the oath of office, the incoming administration scrubbed references to climate change from the White House web site and posted an energy policy summary that outlined plans to eliminate "harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan."
Clean energy advocates across the Midwest said the reversal in policy at the executive branch cannot overcome trends that are increasingly steering utilities away from coal and to cleaner sources of energy.
Solar panels are a fraction of their cost only a few years ago. Utilities and corporations are continuing to add thousands of megawatts of new wind generation across the Midwest. Energy demand is declining, or at least flat-lining even as local economies grow. And emissions are falling and aging coal plants are retiring.
"There's a market transformation that's going on that's being driven by smart policies combined with technological improvements," said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, a Midwest environmental advocacy group.
Just last week, a report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency showed electricity industry emissions, the state's largest source of emissions, were down 17 percent from 2005 to 2014 even as the state's economy continued to grow, said J. Drake Hamilton, science policy director at Fresh Energy, a Minnesota clean energy advocacy group.
Hamilton, who was at the White House a year and a half ago for the release of the final Clean Power Plan, said she is concerned that the United States risks ceding leadership on addressing climate change.
But she remains optimistic that states and local governments will fill any void at home in keeping the clean energy revolution moving forward. "There is no reason the momentum should stop, and states can double down on what works well," she said.
Hamilton said it would make sense for Trump to embrace wind and solar energy, if only because of the jobs and economic benefits.
"If you're looking for a growth engine, and any incoming leader should be, renewable energy is a good place," she said.
Working without renewable standards
Even in decidedly red states like Kansas, wind and solar energy has popular support, said Dorothy Barnett, executive director of the Climate and Energy Project.
"While the Clean Power Plan will not be a driver of utility investment in energy efficiency programs or new renewable energy build outs under a Trump administration, we see opportunities for Kansas lawmakers to create policies that will open up the electricity market to allow more customer choice," Barnett said.
The Kansas clean energy group created the Clean Energy Business Council last May, a year after Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed a bill converting the state's renewable portfolio standard to a goal in 2015.
The council is looking for ways to advance clean energy in Kansas in absence of an RPS, Barnett said. Recently, the group made a presentation to the state Senate Utilities Committee about ways to expand renewables and energy efficiency investments, with hopes it may lead to legislation.
While the Kansas Legislature won't be taking up comprehensive energy bills this spring, utilities and advocacy groups in another state — Ohio — are gearing up to continue a policy debate that's been brewing for a few years.
Gov. John Kasich (R) late last month vetoed a bill that would have made Ohio's renewable and efficiency standards voluntary for the next two years. Instead, the veto ends a two-year freeze on the standards (Greenwire, Dec. 27, 2016).
Picking up 'the torch' on cutting carbon
Trish Demeter, managing director of energy programs at the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund, sees the restoration of renewable and efficiency standards as an important victory, especially in view of the new administration in Washington.
"Ohio, like other states, [is] going to have to pick up the torch in terms of cutting carbon," Demeter said.
For her organization that means taking advantage of industry trends, such as the declining costs for wind and solar, as well as growing interest in renewable energy by like companies Amazon.com, which is building a wind farm in Ohio.
But the group will also "double down" on holding Ohio policymakers accountable, whether it's in the Legislature or at the local level. The OEC has already opened two field offices in Lorraine and Toledo and will open a third in Cincinnati.
Learner, of the Chicago-based ELPC, said his organization, too, will continue to push forward with policy in legislatures and state utility commissions to advance clean energy. Meanwhile, the group is ready to play "defense."
ELPC, which employs 20 attorneys in the Midwest, is hiring three more. The group also launched a High-Impact Environmental Litigation Program (HELP) to deploy attorneys who have volunteered to take cases pro bono where necessary to hold polluters accountable.
"If the U.S. EPA steps back, you're likely to see some of the states and environmental groups step up," Learner said. "We're not going to allow defaulting to zero."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048784
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Ozone Spike Forces Oil Company Slowdown in Wyo.
Jan 23, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality ordered energy companies to reduce emissions in the Upper Green River Basin on Friday and Saturday.
The basin once had air pollution comparable to some cities due to the oil and gas manufacturing in the area and its geographic makeup, but the weekend's ozone action was the first in six years due to efforts by state regulators and environmentalists to limit emissions from local industry.
Companies in the basin have contingency plans for ozone spikes that can kick in within 24 hours. These include limited truck idling, reduced speed limits and refueling only after sunset, when emissions are less likely to form ozone.
Ozone is the primary ingredient of smog, and Wyoming issues action days when snow, lack of wind and the right temperature combine to create ozone from contaminants in the air.
After the most recent ozone spike, local environmentalists called for permanent implementation of ozone-reduction rules.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/01/23/stories/1060048790
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