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PM ACC 1/26/2017

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) PE, Trade and Tariffs
Jan 25, 2017 | Plastics News
By Frank Esposito

It’s hard to find a bigger fan of tariffs than economist Alan Tonelson. One recent post on his independent RealityChek blog was titled “More on Why Tariffs Can Bring Back Much U.S. Manufacturing.”
(ACC Mentioned) Carriers: US Gulf Resin Exports Require Higher Rates
Jan 25, 2017 | Journal of Commerce
By Joseph Bonney

Ocean carriers say they’re eager to add vessel capacity and to provide empty containers to handle surging exports of synthetic resins from Houston, but that they’ll need higher rates and predictable volumes.
Zinke, Perry to Get Committee Votes Jan. 31
Jan 25, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Anthony Adragna

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote on the nominations of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Energy Department and Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department on Jan. 31 at 9:30 a.m., according to a notice.

LCSA News

Oil Sector Seeks Clarity on EPA Criteria for TSCA Advisory Panel Members
Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Bridget DiCosmo

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is urging EPA to better clarify the criteria it is using to select members for a new advisory committee that will give the agency input on the science supporting risk evaluations, methodology and other activities...
White House Issues Regulatory Freeze on EPA Formaldehyde Regulation
Jan 26, 2017 | Woodworking Network
By Karl D. Forth

President Trump issued an Executive Order over the weekend that freezes all recently published EPA regulations for a 60-day review period.

Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Chemical Industry Body Calls for Reform of WHO Cancer Agency
Jan 26, 2017 | Reuters
By Kate Kelland

The American Chemistry Council industry body called on Wednesday for World Health Organization's cancer agency to reform, accusing it of "dubious and misleading" work in classifying potential carcinogens.
(ACC Mentioned) Chemistry Council Launches IARC Campaign for Accuracy
Jan 25, 2017 | Fence Post

The American Chemistry Council today launched a campaign to seek changes in decision-making at the United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) Monographs Program...
(ACC Mentions) ACC Launches Campaign to Reform WHO’s Cancer Hazard Evaluation Group
Jan 25, 2017 | AgraNet
By Ingrid Mezo

In light of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)’s controversial 2015 classification of meat as carcinogenic, the meat industry is throwing support behind a new campaign launched by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Wednesday (Jan. 25) to reform IARC.
(ACC Mentioned) Anti IARC Campaign Gives Glyphosate Hope
Jan 26, 2017 | Horticulture Week
By Matthew Appleby

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has launched the Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR), an initiative "to promote credible, unbiased and transparent science as the basis of public policy decisions".
US Industry Groups Support Cosmetic Modernisation Legislation
Jan 26, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By David Stegon

Three major US industry groups have reiterated their support for legislation aimed at improving cosmetic products' safety following the reintroduction of the House of Representatives' Safe Cosmetics Modernization Act.
Target Tightens Grip Over Chemicals in Bid to Make Goods Safer
Jan 26, 2017 | Bloomberg
By Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Andrew Martin

Target Corp. introduced a sweeping new policy governing chemicals in products, a move that will push hundreds of suppliers to list ingredients in everything from fragrances to floor cleaner.
EU Chemicals Agency Identifies 162 Potentially Hazardous Substances
Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner

The European Chemicals Agency Jan. 25 said it had identified 162 potentially hazardous substances for regulatory controls under the European Union's REACH regulation, but that it couldn't disclose the list of substances until further checks have been done.

Energy News

While Trump Backs Oil Pipelines, Gas Lines Hang in Limbo
Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Jonathan N. Crawford

While President Donald Trump works to advance two controversial oil pipelines—Dakota Access and Keystone XL, a war's being fought in Washington over a whole other set of lines: natural gas ones.
House Passes DOE 'Research and Innovation' Bill
Jan 26, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Christa Marshall

The House passed legislation by voice vote yesterday that would overhaul Department of Energy policies and research.
On Pipelines, Donald Trump Looks Backward
Jan 26, 2017 | New York Times
By Bill McKibben

If you’re searching for a lens to understand just how President Trump sees the world, his executive orders on Tuesday reviving the Keystone XL and expediting the Dakota Access pipelines provide a sharply focused glimpse. In a word, he looks backward at all times.
Little-Noticed Memo Shows High Hurdle for Dakota Access Foes
Jan 26, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Elana Schor

Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline have vowed to keep fighting President Donald Trump’s bid to push it through — but a little-noticed recommendation from an Army Corps of Engineers commander to approve the project in December could indicate they face long odds.
Market Currents: North American Drilling Activity Picking Up
Jan 25, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Matt Smith

Today’s EIA report has left oil prices flat-footed, as crude inventories were in line with consensus, while a(nother) gargantuan build to gasoline stocks has not been enough to drag the complex lower (…has only served to keep it in check)...
Fueled by Shale, U.S. to Remain Largest NatGas Producer to 2035, Says BP
Jan 25, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis

North America's fuel mix will undergo significant upheaval to 2035, with natural gas, fueled almost entirely by unconventional production, overtaking oil as the dominant fuel, BP plc reported Wednesday.
Methane Leak Rules Ineligible for Congressional Challenge
Jan 25, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By David Schultz

Congress has missed its opportunity to quickly kill the EPA's new regulations on methane leaks from oil and gas wells, according to a Republican lawmaker.
Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Will Be Built Off Long Island
Jan 25, 2017 | New York Times
By Diane Cardwell

Seeking to meet growing electric demand in the Hamptons with renewable energy, the Long Island Power Authority approved the nation’s largest offshore wind farm on Wednesday, set for the waters between the eastern tip of Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

Chemical Security News

(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Board: Contact Limited With Trump Officials So Far
Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Sam Pearson

Officials at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board have had only limited contact so far with Donald Trump administration officials, the agency said at a meeting Jan. 25, in contrast with reports that other federal agencies are seeing increased oversight.

Transportation News

GOP Eyes Options on Infrastructure Funding
Jan 25, 2017 | E&E News PM
By George Cahlink

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) stopped short today of committing to moving one of the Trump administration's top priorities, a massive infrastructure package, in the first 100 days of the new Congress.

Environment News

Trump Team Restrictions on EPA Expected to 'Maim' Agency’s Operations
Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Suzanne Yohannan, Maria Hegstad, and Dawn Reeves

New restrictions imposed on EPA by the Trump administration -- including a freeze on new contract and grant awards, a halt on new hiring, and a block on outside communications -- are expected to “maim” the agency, while causing a rift between new political appointees and career staff...
Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to Scrub Climate Pages from EPA Website
Jan 25, 2017 | Washington Post
By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin

The Trump administration on Wednesday backed away from plans to take down some climate-change information from the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, which employees said had been planned for this week. But political appointees are exerting more oversight over the agency’s scientific communications.
Litigation: 6th Circuit Stays CWA Rule Suit
Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has granted an industry motion to hold in abeyance litigation over EPA's Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule pending the outcome of an interlocutory Supreme Court review of whether the 6th Circuit correctly found...

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) PE, Trade and Tariffs

Jan 25, 2017 | Plastics News

By Frank Esposito

It’s hard to find a bigger fan of tariffs than economist Alan Tonelson.
One recent post on his independent RealityChek blog was titled “More on Why Tariffs Can Bring Back Much U.S. Manufacturing.” Another was titled “No Reasonable Doubt Left that Trump is Right as Rain on NAFTA and Offshoring.”
But could tariffs on imports proposed by the Trump administration be damaging to U.S. polyethylene resin makers, who need to export much of the new capacity they’re adding this year and beyond? Could other countries retaliate by placing tariffs on that new PE?
In a recent chat with Plastics News, Tonelson said he doesn’t see that happening, mainly because exported PE often is converted into finished products that then need to be brought back into the U.S.
“There could be retaliation, but I don’t think it would amount to anything serious,” Tonelson said. “But this is where trade trends get complicated, because these exports aren’t final goods.”
However, PVC — another heavily exported resin — might be at risk from tariff retaliation, he added, since it’s often used in the countries where it’s purchased and not sent back to the U.S. in finished form.
It’s not efficient to ship PVC pipe around the world. No one wants to pay to ship air.
But one PVC executive who spoke to PN said he wasn’t worried about such retaliation, and that interest in exported PVC has been high in early 2017.
Through the first 11 months of 2016, exports of PE and PVC from the U.S. and Canada were down slightly from their levels of full-year 2015, according to the American Chemistry Council. The amount of high density PE exported made up 22 percent of the 11-month 2016 total, down from 22.3 percent the prior full year.
In the same comparison, U.S./Canadian exports of low density PE dropped from 26 percent to 22.6 percent, and exports of linear LDPE slipped from 23.5 percent to 23.1 percent. Exports of PVC from the region also declined from 31.7 percent to 31.3 percent.
But in the long run, tariffs might be “an unlikely policy choice,” according to Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative. Moser's firm helps U.S. companies with reshoring by assisting with their supply chains and other areas.
Moser — who has more than 35 years of manufacturing experience — instead advocates for a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) approach. In a recent email to PN, Moser said that strategy looks at elements other than price and would result in greater demand for U.S.-made products, which then would lead to U.S. job growth.
https://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20170125/BLOG07/170129935/pe-trade-and-tariffs

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(ACC Mentioned) Carriers: US Gulf Resin Exports Require Higher Rates

Jan 25, 2017 | Journal of Commerce

By Joseph Bonney

Ocean carriers say they’re eager to add vessel capacity and to provide empty containers to handle surging exports of synthetic resins from Houston, but that they’ll need higher rates and predictable volumes.
“We’ll provide what you need, but you need to provide what we need, which is compensatory rates,” Howard Finkel, executive vice president of Cosco Shipping Americas, told shippers at a Port Houston symposium on resin exports.
Finkel and executives of Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., and Hapag-Lloyd said carriers deploy vessels and position container based on round-trip voyage revenue, which is driven by higher rates for import cargoes.
Resin shipments tend to be backhaul cargoes, with rates from the US Gulf to Asia reportedly ranging from $700 to $900 per 40-foot container. Without higher-paying import cargoes, carriers say they struggle to deploy larger ships or absorb the cost of repositioning containers.
In addition to rates that “make sense,” carriers also need reliable forecasts about when, where, and how much cargo will be available, said Michael J. White, president and CEO of Maersk Line North America.
These questions are becoming more focused as US petrochemical producers start churning out what’s expected to be up to 500,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units a year of increased exports by 2021.
Cheap natural gas feedstocks have transformed North America from the high-cost to the low-cost global producer of polyethylene resins. Chemicals accounted for 51 percent of US manufacturing investment last year, according to the American Chemical Council. At the end of 2016, the council listed 282 US chemical plant projects projects representing $172 billion in investment.
The boom in resin exports offers a rare opportunity for carriers, packagers, and other logistics service providers. “It’s great for the country, it’s good for our business, and it’s good for Maersk Lines, and we want to be part of it, but we have to work together to get there,” White said.
Most of the increased volume is destined for Asia, primarily China. “There’s simply no way that the domestic market can absorb all of this new capacity that’s being added in North America. As a result, we expect to see exports ramp up significantly,” said Nick Vafiadis, vice president, plastics, at IHS Markit, which owns JOC.com.
Port Houston officials hope to garner most of the increase, which will come primarily from plants in Houston and elsewhere along the western US Gulf Coast. “We’re the closest port to the source,: said John Moseley, the port’s senior director of trade development.
During the first 10 months of 2016, Houston’s resin exports totaled 153,199 TEUs, or 45.7 percent of the overall US volume of 335,329 TEUs, according to PIERS, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Markit. Houston’s resin volume was more than three times that of any other port.
Substantial volumes also will move via intermodal rail to other US coasts and through Mexico. “Houston stands to benefit far more than most, but I don’t see any way at this point in time that Houston’s going to be able to cater for all of this growth,” White said.
Producers are planning multiple options. “All of the supply chains are going to be needed to support the growth. Just one way out from Houston is probably not going to be enough to supply the needs,” said Perry Padden, American logistics and distribution manager at ExxonMobil Chemical.
Shippers, even those not directly involved in resins, have been anxious to find out when the increased export volume will start moving and how it will affect vessel capacity and empty-container availability.
The buildup of North American production has begun and will gain momentum during 2017 and 2018, Vafiadis said. IHS Markit forecasts that North American polyethylene exports will rise at a 13.5 percent annual rate through 2021.
Several new plants that opened in 2016 or are expected to open in 2017 will add about 5 million tons of annual capacity to what currently “is essentially a 20-million-ton market,” with nearly Vafiadis said. By 2020, North American exports are likely to rise by 9 million tons.
The export surge has been slowed by construction delays at plants, and by project postponements or cancellations because of low oil prices that have eroded the cost advantage or natural gas. Vafiadis also said polyethylene resin production could be constrained for a few months this year by delays in completion of new plants that produce ethylene, which is used to make polyethylene.
The slippage in production schedules provides a bit of extra time for ports and service providers to prepare for increased volume. Resin packagers such as Katoen Natie and Frontier Logistics are adding or planning capacity in Houston and other locations, including Dallas-Fort Worth.
Houston’s main competition is expected to be bulk rail shipments to Dallas-Fort Worth, where packaging centers will transload resins for intermodal backhauls to Asia via West Coast ports. Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway have been promoting this intermodal route.
Port Houston has been investing for several years to expand and improve terminals, rail switching, and ship channels. The final phase of a project to deepen port channels for ships of 45-foot draft and to widen a curve to allow larger ships to call the Bayport container terminal is scheduled for completion in September.
Port officials have sought to dampen concerns about availability of empty containers. Executives of Maersk, Cosco, Mediterranean Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM -- the carriers with direct Asia services from Houston -- said at the symposium that they have empties available in the port.
Vessel capacity also is an issue. Space on the four all-water services to the Gulf from Asia is tight, and importers and exporters of lower-value cargoes say they frequently have difficulty obtaining space.
For resins, the vessel space problem is complicated by weight. The cargo in a 40-foot container of resins weighs up to about 27 tons, or about twice the weight of a typical container of import retail merchandise. This limits the number of boxes that a ship can carry.
CMA CGM is deploying larger 6,000-TEU ships to the Gulf on the carrier’s PEX 3 eastbound round-the-world service and is adding a call at New Orleans, primarily to load resins for Asia. But carriers generally have been reluctant to add capacity based solely on the rates provided by resin exports.
“Carriers can’t make decisions strictly on exports,” Finkel said. “We have to make decisions based on import cargo, because that’s what pays the bills.”
http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/carriers-us-gulf-resin-exports-require-higher-rates_20170125.html

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Zinke, Perry to Get Committee Votes Jan. 31

Jan 25, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard

By Anthony Adragna

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote on the nominations of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Energy Department and Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department on Jan. 31 at 9:30 a.m., according to a notice.
Those votes had originally been slated for this week, but panel Democrats wanted more information on how Perry will handle efficiency standards as secretary. ENR Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski told reporters there had been a "miscommunication" between her and ranking member Maria Cantwell.
Both Perry and Zinke are ultimately favored to be confirmed.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard

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LCSA News

Oil Sector Seeks Clarity on EPA Criteria for TSCA Advisory Panel Members

Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA

By Bridget DiCosmo

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is urging EPA to better clarify the criteria it is using to select members for a new advisory committee that will give the agency input on the science supporting risk evaluations, methodology and other activities mandated under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The call for more details on how the agency is crafting the panel is detailed in written comments submitted ahead of a Jan. 9 deadline for groups to weigh in on a list of potential candidates for the panel. Other stakeholders that weighed in on the list include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that urges a “fairly balanced” panel to avoid potential bias, as well as comments from former EPA officials and others backing individual candidates’ qualifications.
EPA under the reformed TSCA signed into law last June must, before June this year, establish a Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to provide independent advice and consultation with respect to the scientific and technical aspects of issues related to implementation of the reform law.
The agency on Dec. 9 floated its list of candidates selected from approximately 100 nominees EPA received for the committee, and said that it narrowed the list to 29 candidates based on interest and availability; absence of financial conflicts of interest; absence of appearance of a loss of impartiality; scientific expertise; and background that would contribute to diversity of scientific viewpoints on the committee, including professional experiences in government, labor, public health, public interest, animal protection, industry or other groups.
But in comments filed Jan. 5, AFPM urged EPA to extend the comment period by 30 days, saying that additional time is needed for stakeholders to fully comment on the qualifications and expertise of those nominated to serve on the SACC, along with weighing in on the “overall balance” of the panel.
The comments also call for additional clarity on the proposed pool of candidates. “To make fully informed comments, stakeholders will need an explanation of why only 29 of nearly one hundred nominees have been put forth,” the comments say. The group is also seeking further explanation of EPA’s decision to limit the SACC to 14 members and its selection of nine members who currently serve on the Chemical Safety Advisory Committee.
“As stated by many stakeholders in multiple public meetings hosted by EPA, transparency will be key to the successful implementation” of the TSCA law, known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the comments say, adding that a “transparent explanation of the selection process used for this critical element is essential.”
Balanced Panel
In Jan. 9 comments, the Chamber is also stressing the importance of a “fairly balanced” panel that meets the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and its implementing regulations that composition of a committee be based on the need for divergent points of view and other factors.
“A fair balance will not be achieved, however, if EPA appoints a panel comprised largely of academics and representatives of state and federal agencies that regulate chemicals or support the regulation of chemicals, with only one or two scientists who can bring an industry perspective to bear,” the Chamber says in its comments.
The comments reiterate longstanding concerns that academic experts, particularly those who may receive research grants from EPA or other federal agencies, and scientists from other agencies, often share EPA’s perspective and may discount evidence that conflicts with the agency’s viewpoint.
“The list of 29 scientists being considered for membership on the SACC is heavily weighted towards academics and government employees (18 scientists), which will make it difficult to achieve a fair balance of scientific perspectives on the SACC,” the Chamber warns. The comments urge EPA to select additional scientists affiliated with industry from the original pool of nominees for further consideration.
The list included nine members that currently sit on EPA’s existing Chemical Safety Advisory Committee, and is comprised of toxicology, public health, and other experts, including Holly Davies, senior toxicologist with the Washington Department of Ecology, Panos G. Georgopoulos, Ph.D., environmental and occupational health professor at Rutgers School of Public Health, Gary Ginsberg, a senior toxicologist with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Alan Kaufman, a senior vice president of technical affairs with the Toy Industry Association, Kenneth Portier, vice president of American Cancer Society’s statistics and evaluation center, and others.
Endorsing Nominees
Other stakeholders submitted comments supporting specific nominees’ ability to serve on the panel. For example, John Fowle, former EPA toxics official, in Jan. 6 comments on behalf of the North Carolina-based consultant Science to Inform endorses Kristie Sullivan, director of regulatory testing for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Catherine Willett, director of regulatory toxicology for the Humane Society of the United States.
Both candidates have been active in the development and application of alternative toxicology approaches and in helping EPA work toward adopting such approaches, Fowle writes.
“Perhaps more importantly both have a good perspective on the practical aspects of implementation through partnerships with industry, not for profit organizations and others as well as with EPA,” his comments say.
In comments filed on Jan. 10, Thomas Connelly, Jr., executive director of the American Chemical Society (ACS), endorses Concepcion Jimenez-Gonzalez, of GlaxoSmithKline; John Kissel, of University of Washington; and Christopher Waller of Merck Research Laboratories, saying they are “highly qualified experts who would provide excellent service” to the panel.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/oil-sector-seeks-clarity-epa-criteria-tsca-advisory-panel-members

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White House Issues Regulatory Freeze on EPA Formaldehyde Regulation

Jan 26, 2017 | Woodworking Network

By Karl D. Forth

President Trump issued an Executive Order over the weekend that freezes all recently published EPA regulations for a 60-day review period. This review period delays the initial effective date for the EPA formaldehyde rule, pushing it from February 10 to March 21, 2017, according to the Composite Panel Association. This change in effective date will only impact the deadline for accrediting bodies and third-party certifiers to register with the EPA. The December 12, 2017 implementation date for all panel producers and fabricators to comply with the regulation’s emissions and other requirements remains unchanged.
Since the formaldehyde rule was published in the Federal Register, it cannot be changed without further action by the Congress through the Congressional Review Act, which is highly unlikely, or through rulemaking by the EPA. At this point, there is no clear indication that EPA will open the docket for further comment or initiate a rulemaking to make changes to the existing regulation.
CPA will continue its advocacy efforts with EPA during this implementation delay to seek changes to the final regulation that address a handful of editorial and/or substantive issues, such as the restriction on labeling TSCA Title VI compliance until December 12, 2017.
See http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/what-woodworkers-need-know-about-epa-formaldehyde-regulation for additional information from CPA.
The federal regulation that definitively addresses formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products sold in the United States was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 12, 2016, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If properly enforced, the regulation can ensure that all products – both domestic and imported composite wood panels and the finished products containing them – meet the world’s most stringent standards for formaldehyde emissions. It also marks the culmination of over 30 years of product stewardship by the composite wood industry, which through voluntary efforts and consistent and progressive work with regulators, has successfully developed products that consistently meet or exceed these tough standards.
The North American industry, through its trade association the Composite Panel Association (CPA), developed voluntary standards for formaldehyde emissions limits over 30 years ago. Since that time, the industry has partnered with resin manufacturers to develop formaldehyde-based resin technologies that now emit formaldehyde levels at or near the levels that occur naturally from wood itself. The CPA worked closely with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in developing and implementing its 2008 formaldehyde emissions regulation, and has since taken the lead in voluntarily complying with these regulations for all production, whether destined for sale in California or elsewhere. The stewardship of the domestic industry has been repeatedly recognized, most recently in the 60 Minutes exposé on Lumber Liquidators Chinese-made laminate flooring — where all of the U.S.-made flooring tested by CBS did not exceed CARB emission levels.
Recognizing the need for a level regulatory playing field for all states, not just in California, the CPA took the lead in forming a coalition of NGO, labor union and industry stakeholders to work with Congress to enact legislation that would implement the California emissions standards nationally. In July 2010, the bipartisan “Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act,” which became Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was enacted. The law established on a national basis the formaldehyde emission limits from the CARB regulation, and directed EPA to promulgate implementing regulations as close as possible to the California provisions.
Finally, despite significant delay, EPA issued a pre-publication version of these regulations on July 27, with the final regulation published in the Federal Register on Dec. 12, 2016.
Regulation scope and timing
As required in the legislation, EPA’s regulation is largely consistent with CARB. The scope of covered products includes hardwood plywood, particleboard and MDF. Hardboard remains exempt, although EPA has limited the exemption to boards with emissions that do not exceed 0.06 ppm. What is also new, and what was most controversial during the comment phase of the regulation, is the inclusion of a narrow goup of veneered products, or what the EPA refers to as “laminated products.” These are defined as composite wood panels with an attached wood or woody grass veneer (i.e.. bamboo) that are then used in the production of a component part or finished good. The scope of "laminated products" DOES NOT include other veneer types, papers or other surface finishes commonly used with composite wood. Products made with these finishes are, however, considered to be “finished goods” and must use “compliant” composite wood substrates.
Requirements for panel producers
The federal regulation applies the same CARB emission limits for hardwood plywood (0.05 ppm), MDF (0.11 ppm), thin MDF (0.13 ppm) and particleboard (0.09 ppm). The regulation also puts in place a rigorous third-party certification system. Current CARB certifying bodies will automatically be recognized as certifiers for the national program for two years. Panel manufacturers that use ultra-low emitting formaldehyde (ULEF) and no-added formaldehyde (NAF) resins are still eligible for reduced testing and exemption from third-party certification. The regulation implements the same CARB testing methodologies, and includes methods for recognition of equivalency and correlation of test methods. Panel producers will also find that the EPA regulation calls for similar labeling, reporting and record-keeping requirements.
There are also several notable provisions that are new or that differ somewhat from the CARB approach that will be important for panel producers. The regulation establishes a new process for managing non-complying lots, including a requirement that panel manufacturers provide notice to customers within 72 hours of learning of non-compliance. The regulation calls for labeling of panels as “TSCA Title VI Compliant,” and also calls for development of a system to track panels once they are separated from their bundle. Compliance records must also be kept for three years, as opposed to two under CARB.
http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/trump-administration-issues-regulatory-freeze-epa-formaldehyde

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Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Chemical Industry Body Calls for Reform of WHO Cancer Agency

Jan 26, 2017 | Reuters

By Kate Kelland

The American Chemistry Council industry body called on Wednesday for World Health Organization's cancer agency to reform, accusing it of "dubious and misleading" work in classifying potential carcinogens.
Launching what it called a campaign for accuracy in public health research, the ACC, which represents U.S. chemical companies, said the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) evaluations "have a significant impact on U.S. public policy" and should be based on "transparent, thorough assessment of the best available science".
No one at IARC - a France-based semi-autonomous agency of the WHO - responded to Reuters' phone calls and emails asking for comment on the ACC's criticisms.
As part of its work on cancer research, IARC publishes evaluations - known as monographs - on whether certain chemicals, lifestyles and activities may cause cancer.
Its assessments of whether such things as coffee, mobile phones, processed meat and the weedkiller glyphosate cause cancer have caused particular controversy in recent years.
But IARC has repeatedly defended its work as scientifically sound and says its monographs are "widely respected for their scientific rigor, standardized and transparent process and ... freedom from conflicts of interest".
Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, said in a statement: "IARC monographs program has been responsible for countless misleading headlines about the safety of the food we eat, the jobs we do and the products we use in our daily lives."
She said IARC's work "suffers from persistent scientific and process deficiencies that result in public confusion and misinformed policy-making", and said the ACC would offer specific proposals for reform of the agency's processes.
As well as Wednesday's criticisms from ACC, IARC has also come under fire in recent months from U.S. lawmakers who are questioning why U.S. taxpayer dollars are used to fund it.
The WHO agency is also embroiled in a row with Congress, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the European Food Safety Authority over its review of the weedkiller glyphosate.
IARC classifies glyphosate, a key ingredient of Monsanto Co's herbicide Roundup, as "probably carcinogenic", but that assessment is at odds with many government regulators, including those in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan and New Zealand, who say it is unlikely to pose a cancer risk to humans.
The ACC said it had been prompted to launch its campaign after leading scientists criticized IARC's monographs program "for its lack of transparency, minimal consideration of the weight of scientific evidence, misapplied conflict of interest policies and confusing communication of its...decisions".
"Public policy must be based on a transparent, thorough assessment of the best available science," Dooley said. "Currently, IARC's monographs do not meet this standard, though U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for over two-thirds of the international program's budget."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cancer-iarc-idUSKBN1592Q6

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(ACC Mentioned) Chemistry Council Launches IARC Campaign for Accuracy

Jan 25, 2017 | Fence Post

The American Chemistry Council today launched a campaign to seek changes in decision-making at the United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) Monographs Program, which evaluates the carcinogenic hazard of substances and behaviors and has declared glyphosate and red meat probable carcinogens.
The council, which represents companies that use chemistry in their work, said its Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR) is “an initiative to promote credible, unbiased and transparent science as the basis of public policy decisions.”
The council said, “IARC’s Monographs Program suffers from persistent scientific and process deficiencies that result in public confusion and misinformed policy-making. Leading scientists have criticized IARC’s Monographs Program for its lack of transparency, minimal consideration of the weight of scientific evidence, misapplied conflict of interest policies and confusing communication of its monograph decisions. Rather than informing consumers of carcinogenic risks in realistic exposure scenarios, IARC considers only a substance’s hazard — whether the substance could cause cancer in humans under any circumstances, in most cases at exposure levels far beyond what is typical.”
“The IARC Monographs Program has been responsible for countless misleading headlines about the safety of the food we eat, the jobs we do and the products we use in our daily lives,” said ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley, who is a former Democratic House member from California. “By offering specific proposals for reform, the CAPHR hopes to play a constructive role in improving the IARC Monographs Program to ensure consumers, public health officials and regulators benefit from more credible and relevant information. The consequences of IARC’s monographs go beyond dubious and misleading news coverage; IARC’s decisions have a significant impact on U.S. public policy and marketplace deselection.
“For example, California’s chemical labeling law, Proposition 65, uses IARC classifications to require warning labels on consumer products despite an often infinitesimal risk of developing cancer as a result of products’ proper use. IARC classifications have also been used by retailers as justification to phase out certain substances. Public policy must be based on a transparent, thorough assessment of the best available science,” Dooley continued.
In a hint that the council might encourage the Trump administration to hold up U.S. contributions to the U.N., Dooley concluded, “Currently, IARC’s monographs do not meet this standard, though U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for over two-thirds of the international program’s budget.”
http://www.thefencepost.com/news/chemistry-council-launches-iarc-campaign-for-accuracy/

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(ACC Mentions) ACC Launches Campaign to Reform WHO’s Cancer Hazard Evaluation Group

Jan 25, 2017 | AgraNet

By Ingrid Mezo

In light of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)’s controversial 2015 classification of meat as carcinogenic, the meat industry is throwing support behind a new campaign launched by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Wednesday (Jan. 25)...
Headquartered in France, IARC operates under the WorldHealth Organization and convenes scientists in working groups to evaluate theevidence of how chemical can influence cancer risks. But questions have beenraised about IARC’s conclusions.
ACC’s new...
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Story can be found here: https://www.agra-net.com/agra/food-chemical-news/food-safety/acc-launches-campaign-to-reform-whos-cancer-hazard-evaluation-group-539818.htm

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(ACC Mentioned) Anti IARC Campaign Gives Glyphosate Hope

Jan 26, 2017 | Horticulture Week

By Matthew Appleby

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has launched the Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR), an initiative "to promote credible, unbiased and transparent science as the basis of public policy decisions".
In particular, CAPHR will seek reform of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) Monographs Program, which evaluates the carcinogenic hazard of substances and behaviours.
ACC has criticised IARC’s Monographs Program for its hazard-based approach. IARC has published findings on glyphosate, linking the weedkiller with cancer, with the product coming under legislative pressure worldwide.
ACC president Cal Dooley said: "By offering specific proposals for reform, the CAPHR hopes to play a constructive role in improving the IARC Monographs Program to ensure consumers, public health officials and regulators benefit from more credible and relevant information."
ACC give an example of California’s chemical labeling law, Proposition 65, using IARC classifications to require warning labels on consumer products despite "an often infinitesimal risk" of developing cancer as a result of products’ proper use, adding: "IARC classifications have also been used by retailers as justification to phase out certain substances."
Dooley added: "Public policy must be based on a transparent, thorough assessment of the best available science."

www.campaignforaccuracyinpublichealthresearch.com
http://www.hortweek.com/anti-iarc-campaign-gives-glyphosate-hope/plant-health/article/1422214

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US Industry Groups Support Cosmetic Modernisation Legislation

Jan 26, 2017 | Chemical Watch

By David Stegon

Three major US industry groups have reiterated their support for legislation aimed at improving cosmetic products' safety following the reintroduction of the House of Representatives' Safe Cosmetics Modernization Act.
Both the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (Icmad) and the International Fragrance Association, North America (Ifra) voiced their support for bill HR 575.
The measure – introduced 13 January by Representative Pete Sessions (R-Texas) – amends the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It will establish new procedures and requirements for the:
·         registration of cosmetic manufacturing establishments:
·         submission of cosmetic and ingredient statements; and
·         reporting of serious cosmetic adverse events.
And the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) said that while it believes cosmetic products are safe and well regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it sees the benefit in modernising reforms to maintain a high standard in the future.
"We believe that well-crafted, science-based reforms will enhance our industry's ability to innovate and further strengthen consumer confidence in the products they use and trust every day," the PCPC said. It pledged its support for working with legislators on cosmetics-related bills during the 115th Congress.
Modernisation act reintroduced
Mr Sessions originally introduced the Cosmetic Modernization Amendments of 2015 in November of 2015 (HR 4075). But the measure didn't reach the floor for a vote and died when the last congressional session ended earlier this month.
Icmad supported the previous version of the bill for its benefits to small business. And it says the reintroduced bill increases consumer protection on cosmetics, while allowing continued growth of smaller and entrepreneurial cosmetic companies.
"The [reintroduced] bill will empower these small businesses, who have been the source of product innovation and creativity in our industry to compete on the national and international stage through national uniformity of regulation," said Pam Busiek, Icmad president.

Mr Sessions' 2015 measure was one of a number of bills introduced in the last Congress aimed at cosmetics reform. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Personal Care Products Safety Act (S 1014) in 2015, and representatives Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) and Leonard Lance (R-New Jersey) outlined another approach in a discussion draft released last year.
https://chemicalwatch.com/52413/us-industry-groups-support-cosmetic-modernisation-legislation

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Target Tightens Grip Over Chemicals in Bid to Make Goods Safer

Jan 26, 2017 | Bloomberg

By Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Andrew Martin

Target Corp. introduced a sweeping new policy governing chemicals in products, a move that will push hundreds of suppliers to list ingredients in everything from fragrances to floor cleaner.
The guidelines, due to be unveiled Wednesday, include removing perfluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textiles in the next five years, as well as eventually disclosing ingredients in all products.
Target Corp. introduced a sweeping new policy governing chemicals in products, a move that will push hundreds of suppliers to list ingredients in everything from fragrances to floor cleaner.
Customers “are increasingly concerned about those chemicals in the products that they use,” said Jennifer Silberman, Target’s chief sustainability officer. That’s prompted them to demand greater transparency and access to greener products, she said.
In 2015, Target began encouraging manufacturers to list ingredients and remove hundreds of what it calls “unwanted chemicals,” such as bisphenol A. The company is relying on a sustainable product index, which awards points to greener items, to judge vendors’ wares. The new policy sets a goal of full ingredient disclosure by 2020 in categories consumers encounter most closely: beauty, baby, personal care and cleaning goods. The ultimate aim is disclosure of all ingredients in all products.
Protecting Employees
The retailer also vowed to reformulate products by 2020 without certain chemicals, such as formaldehyde and phthalates. The plan encompasses substances used in the manufacturing process and in and around stores -- like landscaping materials -- to protect workers as well, Silberman said.
Yet, finding safer ingredients isn’t always easy or cheap. In some cases, there may be no alternative, forcing the industry to invent new ingredients. Target plans to invest as much as $5 million to develop products through green chemistry.
Retailers have plenty of reason to change. In a June report, research firm Mintel found that 66 percent of consumers it surveyed said it was important to use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and 63 percent believed ingredients in many cleaning products are unhealthy.
“Target’s new chemical policy commitment and goals will go a long way in driving harmful chemicals out of consumer products,” Mike Schade, of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, said in an e-mail.
Schade, who runs the group’s retail campaign, co-wrote a November report ranking the 11 largest U.S. retailers on their chemical-disclosure policies. Target ranked second-highest, just behind Wal-Mart. Schade said his group will update its ranking later this year.
Veena Singla, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Target’s plan is a move in the right direction.
“Transparency is a key element of the Target policy because you can’t address what you don’t know,” Singla said. “Identifying and removing harmful chemicals is just the first step.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-25/target-asks-suppliers-to-list-ingredients-in-sweeping-overhaul

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EU Chemicals Agency Identifies 162 Potentially Hazardous Substances

Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report

By Stephen Gardner

The European Chemicals Agency Jan. 25 said it had identified 162 potentially hazardous substances for regulatory controls under the European Union's REACH regulation, but that it couldn't disclose the list of substances until further checks have been done.
The list was derived from an automated search of REACH registration dossiers for information that could indicate hazardous substance properties, ECHA said. The 162 substances also were selected on the basis that their uses could result in risks to people or the environment, ECHA added.
ECHA said that authorities in EU member countries responsible for chemical safety would select substances from the list of 162 for “manual examination,” which could trigger information requests to companies that have registered the substances, or could lead to the substances being added to other ECHA lists for more detailed evaluation of their hazards.
‘Address Any Shortcomings’
Companies that have submitted registration dossiers under REACH (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) for any of the 162 substances would be notified and should update their dossiers “to address any shortcomings as soon as possible,” ECHA said.
ECHA told Bloomberg BNA that although it would notify companies that had registered any of the 162 substances, “we cannot indicate the number of affected registrants yet as this number depends on how many substances will be selected” for the subsequent “manual examination.”
Possible follow-up action could include in-depth evaluations of the potential risks of substances, which could ultimately lead to them being designated “substances of very high concern” (SVHCs) under REACH. Alternatively, companies could be instructed to improve their REACH registration dossiers to provide better safe-use information, or substances could be made subject to harmonized EU classification and labeling.
ECHA said that in previous similar screening exercises, about three-quarters of listed substances were marked down for further checks or regulatory controls, and it was decided only in 22 percent of cases that no further action was needed.

REACH requires companies that trade in chemicals on the EU market to submit registration dossiers containing extensive information on the properties and safe use of substances. So far, 173 substances have been designated as SVHCs, and decisions have been made to phase out from use in the EU 31 of those substances, unless specific continued-use authorizations are granted.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=104631352&vname=dennotallissues&fn=104631352&jd=104631352

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Energy News

While Trump Backs Oil Pipelines, Gas Lines Hang in Limbo

Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report

By Jonathan N. Crawford

While President Donald Trump works to advance two controversial oil pipelines—Dakota Access and Keystone XL, a war's being fought in Washington over a whole other set of lines: natural gas ones.
Take Rover, a gas pipeline proposed by Energy Transfer Partners LP, the same company building Dakota Access. It's been waiting for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for two years. In fact, as Trump was declaring his support for the oil lines on Jan. 24, a would-be shipper on Rover was asking the regulatory commission to expedite its decision on the gas project.
Trump has pledged to accelerate approvals for energy infrastructure, but lines like Rover underscore the unique challenges facing the gas industry. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, charged with reviewing gas lines, was established as an independent agency when it was formed by Congress in 1977. As environmental opposition to gas projects mounts, the time it takes for the commission to review them has also risen—to average 429 days by Bloomberg Intelligence's estimates.
Dakota Access and Keystone are “the most politicized infrastructure projects out there,” so it makes sense for Trump to address them first and “set the tone for the early days of his administration,” said Brandon Barnes, an energy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “There might be a delay in the gas pipes feeling the same kind of love.”
At least five major gas pipelines planned across the U.S. are caught up in legal battles and lengthy reviews before energy regulators. The lack of pipeline space is meanwhile depressing prices for gas flowing out of prolific shale formations in the eastern U.S., forcing drillers to curb output.
Energy explorer Antero Resources Corp., which signed up to ship gas on the Rover pipeline, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 24 to decide “as soon as possible” so the project can meet its planned startup date this year.
“A delay would be a hardship on producers who have invested in anticipation of completion of the Rover project in 2017, as well as consumers who will pay more for their natural gas,” the Denver-based company said.
Other gas projects still waiting on permits include the PennEast shale line in the U.S. Northeast. On Jan. 23, the commission delayed its review of the project, being built by a group of companies including UGI Corp. and Spectra Energy Corp., by almost two months.
In October, the agency similarly pushed back a review of Williams Partners LP's $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise gas project in Pennsylvania, sending the stock of one planned shipper, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., plunging. The project has since cleared its environmental study.

For their part, spokesmen for Williams, PennEast and Energy Transfer have said the companies still plan to bring their respective gas lines into service as scheduled.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=104631333&vname=dennotallissues&fn=104631333&jd=104631333

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House Passes DOE 'Research and Innovation' Bill

Jan 26, 2017 | E&E Daily

By Christa Marshall

The House passed legislation by voice vote yesterday that would overhaul Department of Energy policies and research.
The "Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act," H.R. 589, from House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), aims to speed up the commercialization of new technologies, boost advanced nuclear reactors, and establish research initiatives on electricity storage, solar fuels and other technologies.
The measure was considered under suspension of the rules, a process meant to fast-track legislation. Under suspension, lawmakers cannot submit amendments, and measures must receive a two-thirds majority to pass.
Some of the bill's language was in an amendment to a major energy reform package that stalled last year. Other language was included in separate bills that passed the House last year.
"This bill includes the first comprehensive authorization of the DOE Office of Science, which is the largest supporter of physical sciences research in the country," said ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who joined several Democrats in support.
The measure also would authorize national laboratory directors to use technology transfer funds for early stage projects; would push for more innovation hubs; and would establish a database that lists all research contracts, grants and cooperative agreements.
It calls for the elimination of duplicative research and increased coordination across the department, including through a review of science and technology activities.
"This review allows the secretary to pinpoint programs that cost too much and could be better accomplished by the private sector," Smith said on the House floor.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said it was "generally supportive" of the bill, outside of a provision boosting research on advanced nuclear technologies.
"We just don't believe that Congress should be mandating fast reactor development. The DOE is already in the process of evaluating the need for an advanced test or demonstration reactors. There's no need for this provision," said Rob Cowin, the group's director of government affairs for climate and energy.
Separately, senators introduced companion legislation yesterday to two bills that passed the House this week. S. 190 from Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) would exempt life-safety alarms or surveillance systems from a DOE efficiency rule.
Bill supporters said the exemption is needed because the targeted rule isn't compatible with the devices, which need to be on constantly. The bill extends their current exemption, set to expire this year, to 2023.
A second measure, S. 186 from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would amend the Federal Power Act to allow challenges to rate decisions that take effect without an official decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Currently, affected parties cannot seek a rehearing without an official agency decision (E&E Daily, Jan. 24).
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/01/25/stories/1060048921

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On Pipelines, Donald Trump Looks Backward

Jan 26, 2017 | New York Times

By Bill McKibben

If you’re searching for a lens to understand just how President Trump sees the world, his executive orders on Tuesday reviving the Keystone XL and expediting the Dakota Access pipelines provide a sharply focused glimpse. In a word, he looks backward at all times. We’re beginning to get a better sense of what he means by “again” in “Make America Great Again.”
On questions of jobs and industry, he looks back at least to the 1950s. If something is big and made of steel, then it’s great. Like some Soviet Realist painter, Mr. Trump seems to have an image stuck in his head of brawny men building a nation. Those are real jobs, and all the other innovation in the economy doesn’t amount to much.
In fact (a phrase that suddenly seems politically charged) that’s not how economies work any more: If something is big and steel, it’s probably going to be run by robots. If the Keystone XL Pipeline is ever completed, for instance, it will employ about 35 full-time workers, relying for its operation on a vast network of sensors, drones and the like. The number of workers employed in generating solar power now surpasses those employed in the generation of electricity from coal, gas and oil combined.
On questions of energy economics, Mr. Trump is stuck somewhere in the Reagan era, when energy independence at any cost was the watchword. He’s lost the plot of modern technological development. It’s sun and wind that are going to be our dominant sources of power as their prices continue to plummet. In fact, his approach may be even more antique: Fixating on Canada’s tar sands — where the economics of extracting low-quality crude have driven one big company after another out of that oil patch — is roughly equivalent, in its energy logic, to planning a sperm whale expedition.
And on the question of relations with the people who first inhabited this continent — well, he would fit in just fine with Andrew Jackson. Standing Rock, the scene of the battle over the Dakota pipeline, stands with Flint., Mich., as the flash points of environmental racism in our recent history. The Obama administration made a significant stride forward when it took seriously the complaints of Native Americans; Mr. Trump clearly prefers a world where Indians are simply colorful set decorations in the diorama of American history.
It’s impossible to predict exactly how these pipeline battles will play out. Each is a complex mix of commercial, political and legal calculation. TransCanada, the company behind Keystone XL, said Tuesday that it was “fully committed” to building the pipeline, even though the planned expansion of oil extraction in the tar sands isn’t happening. So we’ll see. In the case of the Dakota pipeline, it’s unclear whether President Trump can simply wave away the environmental impact review that the Army Corps of Engineers has begun on that project.
What is clear, however, is that there will be enormous resistance. Many Indian nations were represented at the Standing Rock camp, and they drew big contingents of clergy members, military veterans and young people as allies. Farmers and ranchers across the heartland are far more sophisticated than they were a decade ago in standing up to eminent domain actions by foreign corporations. Demonstrations against the pipelines were popping up around the country within hours of the president’s action. There will be a major gathering in the capital on April 29 to demand a clean energy revolution.
And looking further forward — the opposite of the direction in which the president is staring — the future becomes very clear indeed. Temperatures around the planet are rising, and rising fast; we may be weeks away from observing an iceberg the size of Delaware dropping off the edge of the Antarctic. In the real, fact-based world the pressure for change will become impossible to resist, and the only question is who will get to lead, and benefit from, the transition. As the director of international economics for China’s Foreign Ministry said over the weekend about his nation’s standing on the world stage, “If anyone were to say China is playing a leadership role in the world, I would say it’s not China rushing to the front but rather the front-runners have stepped back.”
It’s easy enough to imagine that, even if he gets them built, Mr. Trump’s pet pipelines will be relics long before their life span is over, rusting reminders of what happens when countries get mesmerized by the past and take their eye off the future.
Correction: January 25, 2017
An earlier version of this article included an incorrect description of the size of the solar power industry work force. It is larger than the work force employed in the generation of electricity from coal, gas and oil, not than the work force employed in extracting those fossil fuels.
Bill McKibben is a founder of 350.org and teaches environmental studies at Middlebury College.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/opinion/on-pipelines-donald-trump-looks-backward.html?_r=0

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Little-Noticed Memo Shows High Hurdle for Dakota Access Foes

Jan 26, 2017 | PoliticoPro

By Elana Schor

Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline have vowed to keep fighting President Donald Trump’s bid to push it through — but a little-noticed recommendation from an Army Corps of Engineers commander to approve the project in December could indicate they face long odds.
Col. John Henderson, a commander of the Army Corps’ Omaha district, wrote in a Dec. 3 memo that his office “intends to execute and issue” a pivotal permit to finish Dakota Access. But his verdict was overridden the next day by the Army Corps’ former Obama-appointed leader, Jo-Ellen Darcy, in a memo that delayed a decision on the pipeline.
Trump on Tuesday issued an edict of his own to “review and approve” as quickly as possible any necessary permits for the $3.8 billion pipeline, which would ship up to 570,000 barrels a day of oil from the fracking fields of North Dakota to Illinois refineries. His order includes direction to Darcy’s yet-to-be-nominated successor and the Corps’ top general to look at whether to “rescind or modify” Darcy’s Dec. 4 delay of the permit needed to complete a disputed section of Dakota Access. Ordinarily permit decisions are made by district commanders, and the Trump memo could allow Henderson’s positive judgment to replace the Darcy’s hold.
“It’s now clear and certainly unfortunate that” Darcy as well as “other appointees in the Obama administration blocked the Corps’ work purely for political reasons,” said Craig Stevens, a spokesman for the pro-Dakota Access group MAIN Coalition. “We’re pleased that President Trump is clearing the way for this and other important energy infrastructure projects to move forward.”
Lawyers for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe are due in court on Monday for a hearing on how Trump’s Dakota Access memo would affect its legal challenge to the pipeline. The project’s builders, led by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, argued in an Inauguration Day court filing that the necessary easement to build the pipeline was issued in July — when Henderson first signed off on permits, pending the required congressional notification.
Earthjustice lawyer Jan Hasselman, who represents the tribe in its legal case, told reporters Wednesday that should Trump’s administration “decide to issue the easement tomorrow, it’s reasonable that we will all be back in court with a response to that decision.”
If the Trump administration does not to stand in the way of Dakota Access backers' arguments against the Sioux in Court, analysts at the firm ClearView Energy Partners wrote on Monday, lawyers for the tribe are likely “to submit new motions for preliminary injunction, but we would assess their odds of success as low.”
The Sioux and allied tribes have fought Dakota Access in court and on the ground near Standing Rock’s North Dakota reservation since early last year. The Sioux’s fears that Dakota Access would contaminate its water in the event of a spill crescendoed into a series of clashes over the past several months between protesters and private security and local law enforcement.
The Sioux chairman, David Archambault, said Wednesday that he expects Trump’s Tuesday proclamation on Dakota Access will make its case harder.
"It’s scary times for our country and scary times for indigenous peoples,” Archambault told reporters. “We need to prepare for what’s to come."
Prominent Republicans and the oil industry representatives who pressed the Obama administration to approve an easement for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, near the Sioux’s lands cheered the new president’s Dakota Access edict on Tuesday.
Henderson’s Dec. 3 memo shows that while Trump’s November victory led activists to expect a greenlight of the easement, Darcy instead asked the Sioux on Nov. 14 to “engage in discussion” on new safety measures the pipeline company could take that might mitigate the tribe’s fears of a spill.
The Corps district commander wrote in his memo that the Sioux agreed to a meeting on Nov. 23, one day after he proposed it, so long as the sitdown took place with the collective understanding that “the easement to cross Lake Oahe at the Tribe’s doorstep must be denied.” The tribe also sought detailed design information for the disputed section of the pipeline to provide to independent consultants it had hired, according to the memo.
That meeting between the Sioux, the Corps, and the pipeline company took place on Dec. 2, one day before Henderson recommended approval of Dakota Access. The memo resulted in a proposal for new "special conditions" addressing the tribe's safety concerns that were discussed at that meeting, but offers no detail on the scope of the commitments that the pipeline company may have offered the tribe.
The following day, Henderson wrote that his office "intends to execute and issue the easement to Dakota Access." One day later, Darcy overruled him.
Eric Wolff and Annie Snider contributed to this report.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2017/01/dakota-access-opponents-145436

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Market Currents: North American Drilling Activity Picking Up

Jan 25, 2017 | Fuel Fix

By Matt Smith

Today’s EIA report has left oil prices flat-footed, as crude inventories were in line with consensus, while a(nother) gargantuan build to gasoline stocks has not been enough to drag the complex lower (…has only served to keep it in check). Hark! Here are five things to consider in oil and energy markets today:
1) While we highlighted on Monday that the U.S. imported over 1.8 million barrels per day from the Arab Gulf last year, and yesterday how the U.S. imported 1.6mn bpd from South America, let’s turn our attention to West Africa.
Our ClipperData show that flows from West Africa to the U.S. were close to 280,000 bpd last year. Nigeria is the leading source, with volumes predominantly heading to the East Coast. Despite geopolitical tension, the U.S. received nearly 200,000 bpd of Nigerian crude last year, up 15 percent on the year prior.
Angola is the second leading source, averaging over 70,000 bpd, sending mostly medium and heavy crude (whereas Nigerian sends predominantly light crude). Because of this tilt towards heavier grades, the majority of Angolan crude goes to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, who are more geared towards refining it. Heavy sweet Dalia crude accounts for over 40 percent of all Angolan crude into the U.S., followed by medium sweet Clov:
2) After a counter-seasonal jump higher to start the year, refinery runs have dropped considerably for a second consecutive week, falling in line with the seasonal trend as maintenance gets underway. The majority of the decline in refining activity occurred on the Gulf Coast, with crude inputs dropping 390,000 bpd, but lesser imports meant that stocks for the region only built by 900,000 barrels.
The majority of this week’s build occurred on the East Coast, boosted by imports. Hark, crude inputs are now just above 16mn bpd, still well above last year’s level (in itself the 5-year high), but is building up a head of steam for continued move lower:
3) This chart from the FT today highlights the extent of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) mission to raise cash amid the oil price crash of recent years. As lower oil prices have dramatically crimped the coffers of the six members of the GCC – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. – they have raised $66 billion dollars in international bond issuances. Saudi led the charge with a $17.5 bln issuance last year, and is earmarked to issue a further $10 bln as early as March.
Moody’s estimate the aggregate deficit across the GCC this year is set to be ~7.5 percent of GDP, indicating the likelihood of even higher bond issuance. Moody’s also estimates that debt-to-GDP across the region is to reach 32 perecnt, up from just 10 percent in 2014. All this leaves economic growth for the region set to be around 1.6 percent this year.
4) Just as we are seeing with the capex of U.S. producers, and just as we expect to see with global conventional oil and gas discoveries, Canadian drilling is expected to pick back up this year, after being in the doldrums (hark, below).
As oil prices have pushed higher, renewed optimism in the oil patch is manifesting itself in increasing activity and investment. Not only are more wells expected to be drilled, but capex is rising. MEG Energy plans to spend C$590 million in 2017, nearly five times more than last year, while Cenovus and Canadian Narural are moving forward with a project expansions.
After oil companies cut capex in half over the last two years, investment is returning and the rig count is rising – now up 40 percent since a year ago. A rebound in activity is breathing life into both employment and the economy as a whole; after 110,000 jobs were lost from 2014 to April 2016, hiring is rebounding, while Alberta’s economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent this year, after two years of contraction.
5) Finally, the chart below illustrates that certain regions of India are primarily still without electricity. Some fifty million rural homes, accounting for 240 million Indians, are still without power; this is due to electricity being ‘unaffordable, inadequate, or simply unavailable‘.
A World Bank study from 2014 said that 300 million in India were without power, something new Prime Minister Modi committed to rectify ahead of his election in the same year. Some 18,452 villages were without electricity, according to an audit in 2015. Although data suggest this number has fallen by a third, the definition of ‘electrification’ is a loose term, and appears to be vastly overestimated.
A lack of infrastructure is dragging on implementation – both because it isn’t an attractive business opportunity (due to low usage and below-cost tariffs) and because of theft, which accounts for a loss of one quarter of electricity flows.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2017/01/25/market-currents-north-american-drilling-activity-picking-up/

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Fueled by Shale, U.S. to Remain Largest NatGas Producer to 2035, Says BP

Jan 25, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence

By Carolyn Davis

North America's fuel mix will undergo significant upheaval to 2035, with natural gas, fueled almost entirely by unconventional production, overtaking oil as the dominant fuel, BP plc reported Wednesday.
The 2017 edition of the annual BP Energy Outlook, which provides key trends for fossil fuels, renewables and carbon policy to 2035, was unveiled in London by Group CEO Bob Dudley and chief economist Spencer Dale. The "world will almost certainly turn out differently" than the outlook, Dale said, but the judgments presented "add real value" concerning the risks and uncertainty ahead.
Over the forecast period, BP expects the United States to remain "the largest producer of natural gas in the world, accounting for 25% of production in 2035," Dale said.
"We have been repeatedly surprised by the strength of U.S. tight oil and shale gas," he said. "Technological innovation and productivity gains have unlocked vast resources of tight oil and shale gas, causing us to revise the outlook for U.S. production successively higher. In the 2013 Energy Outlook, U.S. tight oil was projected to reach 3.6 million b/d by 2030 -- that level was surpassed in 2014."
Following a "brief retrenchment" from low prices and falling investments, "U.S. tight oil production is now expected to plateau in the 2030s at nearly 8 million b/d, accounting for almost 40% of total U.S. oil production." Meanwhile, U.S. shale gas "is expected to grow by around 4%/year over the outlook. This causes U.S. shale gas to account for around three-quarters of total U.S. gas production in 2035 and almost 20% of global output. The past surprises in the strength of the shale revolution underline the considerable uncertainty concerning its future growth."
Shale Gas On Path to 48 Bcf/d
Shale gas production in the United States could reach 48 Bcf/d by 2035, according to the forecast. Eventually, shale gas production also should increase in Canada and Mexico, collectively to around 3 Bcf/d. The growth in shale gas would offset declines in regional conventional supplies, which are forecast to decline by 2 Bcf/d.
All of the gas won't be used in North America, with liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) reaching nearly 18 Bcf/d by 2035, according to BP. North America's share of global LNG exports is expected to peak around 2030 at nearly 30%, and by 2035, North American LNG exports account for about 25% of global trade.
North American liquids supply is seen expanding by nearly 9 million b/d by 2035, driven by U.S. tight oil (4 million b/d), natural gas liquids (4 million b/d) and Canadian oilsands (2 million b/d).
"By 2035, North America supplies 26% of global liquids supply, compared to 22% today," researchers said. "The shifting pattern of global demand and supply cause regional oil imbalances to shift and become more concentrated."
In particular, BP said the increase in tight oil production, coupled with declining demand, may further reduce North America's reliance on oil imports, "with the region set to become self-sufficient by 2021. The removal of the U.S. crude export ban "helps this adjustment process."
In the outlook's "stronger shale" case, global shale resources would be significantly higher than in the base case -- 50% higher for oil and 20% higher for gas in the United States, growing 100% for oil and 50% for gas elsewhere, while productivity would 20% higher by 2035.
"As a result, global supplies of tight oil and shale gas are much greater than in the base case," Dale said. "The higher weight of shale gas within gas supplies, and the greater ability of gas to substitute for other fuels, means the impact is more marked for shale gas than for tight oil."
North American shale gas production is forecast to reach about 72 Bcf/d higher by 2035, with North America's share accounting for almost one-third of global gas supply in BP's "stronger shale" case. Tight oil output in North America would reach 16 million b/d by 2035, nearly twice its level in the base case, with its share of global liquids output at 14%.
U.S. gas demand is forecast to increase by almost 21 Bcf/d by 2035, with power generation increasing by 14 Bcf/d, industry by 5 Bcf/d, and transport by 3 Bcf/d, while "other" declines by 1 Bcf/d. Demand in Canada and Mexico increases by 10 Bcf/d, driven mostly by power generation and industry.
In North America, gas, joined by growth in renewables, should displace coal in power generation by 2035. The share of gas in power generation is seen reaching 36% by 2035, compared to 22% today. Gas in industry is forecast to have a 46% market share by 2035, while gas in transport reaches a 4% market share.
Over the forecast period, BP's base case assumes North American gross domestic product grows by more than 60%, "but solid gains in energy efficiency mean that the energy required to fuel the higher level of activity grows by just 6% over the outlook."
Although renewables account for a modest net increase in energy consumption, fossil fuels are expected to be the dominant forms of energy in North America's energy mix, accounting for 78% of total energy consumption in 2035, down from 83% today.
Gas Only Fossil Fuel Growing Market Share
"Gas is the only fossil fuel with a growing market share, supported by strong supply growth, particularly of U.S. shale gas, and by environment policies," the outlook said. Meanwhile, North American oil demand should by 1 million b/d over the period.
"U.S. tight oil production continues to grow, although at a gradually moderating pace," said researchers. "Combined with rising Canadian production, this allows North America to become a net oil exporting region by 2021. Coal demand declines by 51% over the outlook, to the lowest level in our dataset going back to 1965."
Hydropower is expected to see growth of about 8% by 2035, while nuclear output declines by 13%. Renewables should grow rapidly, increasing 5.1%/year throughout the forecast period.
"The speed of transition to a lower-carbon energy system is a key source of uncertainty affecting the outlook" for North America. Under the "faster transition" case, based on a rising carbon price, there are tougher vehicle standards and significant energy efficiency. Total North American energy demand declines in the faster transition case (minus 0.2%/year versus 0.3% in the base case). Fossil fuels decline by 21% in the faster transition, with their share in total energy falling from 83% to less than 70% by 2035.
"Natural gas still increases in the "faster transition" case, however, accounting for a little more than one-third of total energy demand in 2035. However, the rate of decline in oil consumption would speed up (minus 1.1%/year versus minus 0.3% in the base case). Coal consumption suffers the most, falling by more than 80% to its lowest level in our dataset going back to 1965. The big winner in the "faster transition" case is renewables, with over a four-fold increase in output (8%/year). Renewables' share in the energy mix grow from 4% today to 17% by 2035 in the "faster transition" case.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/109174-fueled-by-shale-us-to-remain-largest-natgas-producer-to-2035-says-bp

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Methane Leak Rules Ineligible for Congressional Challenge

Jan 25, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report

By David Schultz

Congress has missed its opportunity to quickly kill the EPA's new regulations on methane leaks from oil and gas wells, according to a Republican lawmaker.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) attempted to nullify the regulations by introducing a resolution (H.J. Res. 22) earlier this month through the Congressional Review Act, which gives Congress the opportunity to nullify an agency regulation within a fixed amount of time after the regulation is issued.
“Although we've learned my legislation to block this rule doesn't qualify under the Congressional Review Act,” Perry said in an e-mail to Bloomberg BNA, “it's still a fight worth fighting.”
The House's parliamentary attorneys determined that the methane regulations aren't eligible for a CRA challenge because too much time has passed since the Environmental Protection Agency finalized them in June, a Republican staffer told Bloomberg BNA.
Other Challenges Possible
The EPA's methane regulations require the operators of new oil and gas wells to do more intensive monitoring for leaking methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and to develop leak-monitoring plans.
A CRA challenge would have likely been the quickest way to roll back these new rules. Challenging them in court or undoing them administratively could take months if not years to accomplish.

In a Jan. 24 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House Majority Leader, said Republicans are targeting regulations on methane, writing that they will be “one of the first to go.” He also said Republicans will lob a CRA challenge at the Department of the Interior's Stream Protection Rule.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=104631350&vname=dennotallissues&fn=104631350&jd=104631350

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Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Will Be Built Off Long Island

Jan 25, 2017 | New York Times

By Diane Cardwell

Seeking to meet growing electric demand in the Hamptons with renewable energy, the Long Island Power Authority approved the nation’s largest offshore wind farm on Wednesday, set for the waters between the eastern tip of Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard.
The farm, with as many as 15 turbines capable of powering 50,000 average homes over all, is the first of several planned by the developer, Deepwater Wind. It will be in a 256-square-mile parcel, with room for as many as 200 turbines, that the company is leasing from the federal government.
“It is the largest project to date, but it will not be the last project,” the power authority’s chief executive, Thomas Falcone, said before the vote as a crowd of supporters erupted in whoops and applause.
Wind power has struggled to take off in the United States, but the Long Island project signals that the long-awaited promise of a new, lower-carbon source of electricity is poised to become part of the national energy mix.
It has been given new life by New York’s push to meet Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s goal of drawing 50 percent of the state’s power from renewable sources by 2030. That goal includes 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, enough to power 1.25 million homes. It is the largest commitment to offshore wind in the country and is part of the state’s way of showing the nascent industry it is serious about developing the resource.
“This project will not only provide a new, reliable source of clean energy but will also create high-paying jobs, continue our efforts to combat climate change and help preserve our environment,” Mr. Cuomo said Wednesday in a statement, two weeks after he publicly called for the power authority to approve the proposal.
The project’s cost was projected at $1 billion but is now expected to be $740 million. Deepwater plans to finance the project with loans and equity investments, according to Jeffrey Grybowski, the company’s chief executive. Mr. Grybowski expressed confidence that the project would qualify for an investment tax credit, set to phase out at the end of 2019, that is worth 24 percent of the development’s cost. Whether it does, however, could be open to interpretation by the Treasury.
The turbines, each roughly 600 feet tall, would be connected to a substation in East Hampton by a 50-mile undersea cable. The town has a goal of its own: meeting all of its electric demand with renewable energy by 2020.
Other offshore wind projects, notably one off Cape Cod, have encountered opposition over their effect on ocean views. But Deepwater has said the turbines supplying East Hampton would not be visible from Montauk, on the tip of Long Island, and would barely be visible from Martha’s Vineyard, 15 miles away.
The approval comes six weeks after the nation’s only other functioning offshore wind-energy farm — a Deepwater project in Rhode Island state waters off Block Island — began serving customers on the grid.
Big multinational developers like Statoil and Dong Energy are also investing in the business, snapping up leases for ocean parcels with the aim of competing for utility contracts in Maryland, Massachusetts and New York. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is putting together an offshore wind master plan to guide development, including a swath south of the Rockaways.
The projects have all faced some opposition, some of it from commercial fisheries concerned that the turbines, attached to the seafloor, will disrupt their businesses and consumers worried about higher electricity prices. The power authority, which plans to buy all of the Long Island farm’s output over 20 years, says the cost is about the same as its other renewable energy projects, about 16 cents a kilowatt-hour. Its average electricity price is 7.5 cents a kilowatt-hour, so the project is expected to add $1.19 a month to the average customer bill.
No opposition was in evidence as the authority voted at a public meeting at its headquarters here. Several supporters praised the proposal as a way to move the electric system off fossil fuels to slow climate change, and as an engine for jobs. But much remains to be done before those benefits materialize.
First, the developers must study and map the ocean floor to determine precisely where and how to anchor each turbine, and then go through the federal and state permitting processes. The farm is to begin transmitting power by the end of 2022, so Deepwater would need to start construction no later than 2020.
“We think that thousands of megawatts are going to be built off the coast of the United States in the coming decades,” Mr. Grybowski said. “It’s an enormous clean energy resource. It’s easy for us to tap into it, but we need projects to get from essentially one project to these thousands of megawatts.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/business/energy-environment/long-island-power-authority-offshore-wind.html

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Chemical Security News

(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Board: Contact Limited With Trump Officials So Far

Jan 26, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report

By Sam Pearson

Officials at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board have had only limited contact so far with Donald Trump administration officials, the agency said at a meeting Jan. 25, in contrast with reports that other federal agencies are seeing increased oversight.
Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said Jan. 25 her contact with the administration has been limited to conference calls arranged by the then-president-elect's transition team. CSB joined the calls with a slew of other small agencies, including about 80 members of the Small Agency Council.
The calls included “very high-level” information, much of which did not pertain directly to CSB, Sutherland said, such as the members of landing or “beachhead” teams assigned to larger agencies.
Petition Response Imminent
The CSB—which is managing six open investigations—also plans to issue a written response to a petition it received last year calling for a retraction of its report on the 2014 Freedom Industries chemical spill, Sutherland said. The agency said the document would be posted on its website.
Board members voted to approve the report Sept. 28 at a meeting in Charleston, W.Va. but also agreed to accept public comments for 48 hours.
Andrew Whelton, an assistant professor of civil, environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University, sent the petition to CSB citing what he called significant omissions from the agency's document.
ACC Recommendation Closed
The board also approved, in a 3-1 vote Jan. 11, closing a recommendation to the American Chemistry Council, even though the trade group had not completed the action—something that drew disagreement among members when it was first discussed at a meeting in April 2015. The recommendation was designated as “closed-reconsidered/superseded.”
Last year, the board split 2-2 on the issue.
The recommendation stemmed from a 2002 CSB investigation into runaway chemical reactions. At the time, CSB recommended the trade organization create a program to share information with member companies, the public and government agencies about reactive chemical incidents. In a written dissent, board member Rick Engler wrote ACC has built a data collection system but does not release the information publicly because of legal concerns.
“Labor unions, plant management, trade associations such as the ACC, and government agencies at all levels have a shared responsibility, even when not required by the letter of the law, to share information about chemical dangers, such as reactive hazard incidents,” Engler wrote.
Hot Work
Board members said they agreed Jan. 17 to add safe hot work practices as a new item on its Drivers of Critical Chemical Safety Change list.
The list, which contains four other issues—a federal combustible dust standard, modernizing process safety management regulations, emergency response and planning and preventive maintenance—is a focus of CSB advocacy and outreach.
Hot work, defined as burning, welding or similar spark-producing operations that can ignite fires or explosions, is one of the most common causes of worker fatalities in cases the CSB investigates, according to the agency.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=104631356&vname=dennotallissues&fn=104631356&jd=104631356

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Transportation News

GOP Eyes Options on Infrastructure Funding

Jan 25, 2017 | E&E News PM

By George Cahlink

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) stopped short today of committing to moving one of the Trump administration's top priorities, a massive infrastructure package, in the first 100 days of the new Congress.
"We've got a very focused agenda of things we want to do in the next 100 days, and how infrastructure plays into that we are not sure yet. It could hitch a ride on the Senate tax reform bill, but at this point, that probably requires more discussion," said Thune, the Senate's No. 3 Republican.
If an infrastructure package does move, Thune said, lawmakers would likely weigh whether it would allow funds to go toward states and municipalities that support sanctuary cities, which provide some protections for illegal immigrants.
President Trump took steps today under executive orders to try to put strict limits on sanctuary cities (see related story).
Thune made the remarks at a GOP retreat here, where lawmakers from both chambers are huddling on their upcoming agenda. He said priorities would be finding common ground on replacing the 2010 health care law, regulatory reform and a comprehensive tax code rewrite.
The new commander-in-chief is due to address the GOP conference tomorrow afternoon, where he could talk more about his infrastructure plans.
Trump has said he hopes to move an infrastructure package totaling as much as $1 trillion to help create jobs to boost the economy and repair what he sees as the nation's hollowed-out roads, tunnels and transit systems. He has yet to say how he would pay for it.
Congressional Republicans have been open to the deal, but they say they are concerned about its costs. Several members have said it would be a nonstarter on Capitol Hill if its costs were not fully offset.
Some Republicans, including House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), have said an infrastructure package could move more quickly if linked to a comprehensive tax deal favored by most of the GOP.
Lawmakers are slated to begin hammering out their tax plan this afternoon at a retreat session, being led by House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/01/25/stories/1060048993

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Environment News

Trump Team Restrictions on EPA Expected to 'Maim' Agency’s Operations

Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA

By Suzanne Yohannan, Maria Hegstad, and Dawn Reeves

New restrictions imposed on EPA by the Trump administration -- including a freeze on new contract and grant awards, a halt on new hiring, and a block on outside communications -- are expected to “maim” the agency, while causing a rift between new political appointees and career staff, a slow-down in the agency’s productivity and likely an acceleration of retirements of long-time staff, current and former officials and staff say.
One longtime EPA career official believes that the hiring freezes and other actions the new administration is taking are fairly standard. But coupling these with the Trump campaign’s criticism of the agency and the backgrounds of his personnel, “whether [the actions] are standard or not, they do have a darker quality about them.”
In the first few days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration has taken actions that other sources say go beyond previous administrations’ efforts to control the agency.
Among the actions taken, at least temporarily, are the temporary suspension of all contract and grant awards, including task orders and work assignments; a hiring freeze of many federal civilian employees as a prelude to a long-term plan to reduce the size of the federal government; and a halt in communications with the public from the EPA press office and other staff.
For example, staff in some EPA offices are being asked to submit schedules for any internal and external meetings planned over the next month to the Trump EPA transition team, a requirement that some at the agency see as a new level of micromanagement by political appointees.
Echoing this approach, the White House has tapped key Trump supporters to serve as “senior White House advisors” on EPA and other agencies' transition teams. Politico reported Jan. 24 that the goal is to create “shadow” cabinet secretaries in the agencies and “monitor and shape White House goals across the federal bureaucracy.”
The newspaper reported that the aides “have already been responsible for hiring at some departments and crafting the blueprint of Trump policy before the Cabinet members win Senate confirmation to take office. They have worked with congressional aides, lobbyists and others seeking influence in the new administration.”
According to a Jan. 23 email from the EPA transition team, the senior White House advisor on the Trump transition team is Don Benton, a former Washington state senator and head of a large county environmental office.
The email appears to anticipate likely fallout from the transition to a new administration that is not seen as being sympathetic to the Obama administration's agenda and the career staff, asking agency personnel to help ensure a smoother transition via some some blunt -- but respectful -- discussion.
“We know and understand the incredible knowledge level and commitment of the people who work here,” Benton and White House Liaison Charles Munoz wrote. “While transitions are always hard, straight forward honest communication combined with respect for each other will make the process work much better,” they said.
The officials say that so far, the transition at the agency has been relatively smooth, saying they have received “a warm reception.” They add that they are “looking forward to working with the career professionals at the EPA to make this transition work as well as possible, and to carry out the Agency’s mission to protect public health and the environment.”
Extensive Actions
But current and former officials say they do not expect smooth sailing going forward. One former EPA official says the Trump administration’s actions are “much more extensive” than any transition that has previously occurred at EPA, noting the internal review and curtailment of activities are more sweeping.
The former official stresses the importance of building trust between career staff and political appointees, and says the type of atmosphere and edicts coming from the new administration will cause a “real rift” between the political leadership and career staff, making it tougher on appointees to connect with staff, and staff unwilling to “give their all.” The restrictions being imposed will erode already low morale among agency staff, the source says, and will hurt productivity. The source fears public health and environmental protections will be compromised as a result.
Some EPA sources are concerned about political managers keeping tabs on their planned meeting schedules and other outside communications.
They say they are being asked to submit information on planned meetings and webinars scheduled for the next month, although it appears various offices within the agency may be interpreting the restrictions differently.
One EPA source says that agency Office of Research and Development (ORD) staff were told to inform Trump transition staff “if you are doing anything outside the agency,” such as meetings or conferences through February. Further, the message at a recent all-hands ORD meeting was that “all communication with the outside world would be cut off,” the source says, explaining that staff were told that “all Twitter accounts would be paused.” Staff have been barred from making presentations at conferences and other professional meetings, and were directed to refrain from making any changes to agency websites, according to the source.
A source in another EPA office says staff there were being told to fill in an Excel spreadsheet on internal meetings among federal agencies as well as external meetings and webinars. The source believes such meetings and webinars have to be cleared by the Trump team. Staff have been told that the transition team’s message is: “they don’t want any surprises,” the source says. The source says previous administrations have not required this level of permission, particularly for internal meetings. Other EPA staffers in other offices, however, were unfamiliar with any request to fill in a spreadsheet.
Another EPA staffer -- while unfamiliar with the spreadsheet request -- said in an email response that if the intent of the actions by the new administration “is to micromanage the engineers, scientists, etc. at EPA, there may be repercussions long-[term].” These could include long-time career employees who are hampered from doing their jobs choosing to retire earlier than expected.
Further, “there may be a higher number of manila envelopes being mailed by EPA staffers to [non-governmental organizations], seeking their help in getting things done,” the source adds. For instance, this could be to prompt potential enforcement actions against the agency for failing to comply with laws, or to spur releases to the press of the impacts of micromanagement on scientific integrity, the source says.
Funding Concerns
The freeze on EPA contract and grant awards -- instituted as of Jan. 20 according to a memo from EPA’s Office of Acquisition Management -- is also raising concerns.
Several Michigan Democrats wrote to Trump asking if the freeze would jeopardize recently enacted funds to help restore drinking water in Flint, MI.
And state officials also raised concerns. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a frequent opponent of Trump’s proposals, said the funding freeze “threatens to choke off critical funding that states like New York depend upon to ensure safe drinking water and clean air.” In response, he pledged to “examine all legal options to ensure the EPA meets its obligations to keep our state’s air and water safe.”
A second former EPA official says the grants' freeze "is obviously misguided" and a breach of obligations to states, tribes and local governments.
EPA sources note that the contract and grants’ freeze does not apply to emergency response work. It also does not apply to travel expenses and purchase orders -- requests for small supplies such as office equipment, one EPA source says.
And the first former EPA official believes agency leadership will be allowed to grant limited exemptions for contracts critical to the functioning of the agency.
The agency is also under a temporary media blackout, with bans on press releases, blog updates and social media accounts. In response to an Inside EPA inquiry, an EPA spokeswoman said that the agency “fully intends to continue to provide information to the public.” The spokeswoman said a “fresh look” at the communications process is typical practice for a new administration, “and a short pause in activities allows for this assessment.”
Another concern for many is Trump's Jan. 23 memo that largely froze federal hiring. The memo also requires the White House Office of Management & Budget, within 90 days, to develop a long-term plan to decrease the size of the federal workforce through attrition.
Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a group that represents EPA and other government whistleblowers, says the administration's initial actions suggest that “EPA has no role under [the] Trump agenda other than to go away.” The administration seems to have slowed the transition and is putting a stop on virtually all activity at EPA, he says.
He says to expect more restrictions on personnel and control of the agency's messaging in the future. The freezes on contracts, communications and hiring is “just . . . the hello” from the new administration. Ruch says while Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump's nominee for EPA administrator, backed off from a promise to dismantle EPA during his confirmation hearing, “it looks like at least he’s going to maim” the agency.
He says as a result of the actions being taken, the agency will be a “much smaller, more demure remnant of an agency.”
Ruch says PEER is preparing legal plans to assist employees in case EPA staff positions are “defunded,” preparing for the potentially worse-case scenario.
Ruch notes that there is little recourse if the White House and Congress properly follow the rules for making a “reduction in force,” or RIF. But PEER was partially successful when it challenged RIFs under the Clinton administration at the Interior Department, arguing for instance that whistleblowers were improperly targeted.
The second former EPA official contrasts the temporary blackout with Pruitt's representation at his Senate confirmation hearing that he would have a transparent agency. "This is not the way of exhibiting that," the source says.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/trump-team-restrictions-epa-expected-maim-agency’s-operations

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Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to Scrub Climate Pages from EPA Website

Jan 25, 2017 | Washington Post

By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin

The Trump administration on Wednesday backed away from plans to take down some climate-change information from the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, which employees said had been planned for this week. But political appointees are exerting more oversight over the agency’s scientific communications.
Doug Ericksen, spokesman for the Trump team in charge at the agency, told The Hill in an interview Wednesday that officials are reviewing all “editorial” parts of the EPA’s website and discussing possible changes, not necessarily looking to take down all climate data.
“We’re looking at scrubbing it up a bit, putting a little freshener on it, and getting it back up to the public,” Ericksen, a Republican state lawmaker from Washington, told the publication. “We’re taking a look at everything on there.”
Ericksen, who could not be reached by The Washington Post for comment Wednesday, also told NPR that scientists at EPA who want to publish or present their scientific findings will need to have their work reviewed on a “case by case basis” before it can be disseminated to the public — at least temporarily. “We’ll take a look at what’s happening so that the voice coming from the EPA is one that’s going to reflect the new administration,” he said.
Such statements have raised questions about whether the incoming administration risks violating EPA’s scientific integrity policy, which encourages scientists to conduct their research “accurately, honestly, objectively, thoroughly, without political or other interference.” It also states that the EPA’s scientists can “freely exercise their right to express their personal views,” provided they make clear they aren’t speaking on behalf of the agency.
Reports began to surface this week that members of the Trump administration team working at the agency had instructed EPA staffers to remove the climate-change page from the agency’s website. Reuters reported that EPA officials had told communications employees to remove the information within days. The pages include links to emissions data and explanatory pages about global warming.
One EPA employee familiar with the requests, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because staffers have been under a gag order, told The Washington Post that Trump administration officials recently made a verbal request to managers to take down the climate portions of the EPA’s site. EPA career staffers pushed back against that plan, the employee said, saying they wanted the request in writing before anyone removed content.
“Management was pushing back as far up the chain as we could get to say this was not an acceptable move and to delay it,” the employee said.
n addition, some staff members spent part of the week before Trump’s inauguration downloading “everything” from the EPA’s climate change pages so that it would be preserved no matter what happened, the employee said. The employee said some people had been asked to preserve data on physical media, such as flash drives, so that a copy existed — even though much of the scientific and emissions data on the agency’s site exists elsewhere in the government.
The site also links to scientific data on climate change, including emissions data that the agency gathers and temperature data from other federal agencies. The pages also are catalogued in places such as the Internet Archive.
“It would be a travesty,” the EPA employee said about the prospect of climate data being removed from the EPA’s website, noting that some of the information posted includes congressionally mandated data. “You’re saying the American public will have that removed from their ability to look at? That [would be] pretty unprecedented.”
The EPA’s Climate Change website dates to the Clinton administration, when it was called the EPA’s Global Warming site. The site has long served as a comprehensive portal to climate-change information, including basics about climate science and the impacts of climate change, a section on various indicators of climate change around the United States, details about the EPA’s climate change policies, and programs and guides to what individuals and local governments can do to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
But it isn’t unprecedented for the White House to exercise control over the EPA’s climate site.
During George W. Bush’s first term, new political staffers initially placed a hold on updates to the website. That was followed by a stretch in which EPA staffers were told that updates required review by White House staffers.
Given that the site contained hundreds of individual pages, this policy meant a number of pages became outdated. But aside from speeches from the Clinton administration about climate change and information about policies specific to the Clinton administration, which were removed, the content involving the science and impacts of climate change and emissions data remained untouched.
Later in Bush’s tenure, constraints on updating the site were lifted, although major additions or revisions required clearance through the public affairs office — a policy that continued into the Obama administration.
Asked about the push at several agencies to clamp down on public communications, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday: “From what I understand, is that they’ve been told within their agencies to adhere to their own policies. But that directive did not come from here.”
Asked whether some federal agencies are becoming politicized, Spicer said: “[President Trump’s] focus has been … much more focused on getting the job done than various tweets that are getting tweeted and untweeted.”
In its first week, the new administration has been scrutinizing several aspects of the EPA’s operation, including the money it provides through grants and awards. Officials temporarily suspended all grants and awards, although EPA spokeswoman Nancy Grantham informed agency employees Tuesday that the agency “is continuing to award the environmental program grants and state revolving loan fund grants to the states and tribes; and we are working to quickly address issues related to other categories of grants.”
“The goal is to complete the grants and contracts review by the close of business on Friday, January 27,” Grantham added.
The push to suspend all grants and awards sparked concern from state, local and tribal officials across the country, who rely on the funding to address air and water pollution as well as a range of other environmental threats.
In a separate move Wednesday, the agency suspended 30 regulations that had been issued by the Obama administration. The suspensions will be in effect until March 21. Most of them had been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken effect. Myron Ebell, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who served on the Trump transition’s EPA landing team, said the suspension was needed so that the new administration could review the pending rules.
“The EPA has been headed in the wrong direction for years, so freezing new regulations is a necessary first step in turning the EPA around,” Ebell said. “Taxpayers and consumers across America should be cheering these actions by the Trump administration.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/25/trump-administration-backs-off-plan-to-scrub-climate-pages-from-epa-website/?utm_term=.496c8afb0467

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Litigation: 6th Circuit Stays CWA Rule Suit

Jan 25, 2017 | Inside EPA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has granted an industry motion to hold in abeyance litigation over EPA's Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule pending the outcome of an interlocutory Supreme Court review of whether the 6th Circuit correctly found it has authority to hear initial challenges to the regulation.
“Briefing will be held in abeyance pending the Supreme Court decision in National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) v. U.S. Department of Defense, or further order of this court,” the 6th Circuit says in a Jan. 25 order filed in Murray Energy, et al. v. EPA. et al.
The court is responding to a Jan. 23 motion filed by NAM, also a petitioner in the 6th Circuit litigation, seeking to hold the case in abeyance either pending the Supreme Court's resolution of the threshold jurisdictional question or otherwise extend briefing by six weeks or longer to give the high court time to rule.
The Supreme Court Jan. 13 agreed to review the 6th Circuit's Feb. 22 ruling that initial challenges to the CWA jurisdiction rule are the purview of the appeals courts rather than district courts Petitioners argue high court review is necessary, given that the 2-1 ruling was highly contested and relied on flawed case law.
NAM argued in its motion that allowing merits briefing in the 6th Circuit to advance would be costly and burdensome given not only that the Supreme Court could find that the district courts, not the appeals courts, have jurisdiction, but that the Trump administration has vowed to reconsider the CWA rule.
Citing various public statements made during and after Trump's presidential campaign, the motion said that the statements raise the possibility that even if the Supreme Court upholds the 6th Circuit ruling on interlocutory appeal, “this Court will never need to address the current rule in the current procedural posture.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/litigation-6th-circuit-stays-cwa-rule-suit

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