Preview Newsletter
ACC AM 5/22/17
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(ACC Mentioned) Connecticut WRAP Campaign Aims to Tackle Flexible Film
May 22, 2017 | Waste 360
By Arlene Karidis
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has a goal to double film recycling by 2020. One initiative aimed at helping hit that two billion pound target is the creation of Wrap Recycling Action Programs (WRAPs) in communities across the country. -
EPA Science Board Purge To Play Role In Hearing
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
House Democrats have prepared a showdown tomorrow over why U.S. EPA abruptly dismissed members of a science advisory board earlier this month. -
Pruitt's 'Political Ambition' Could Imperil Overhaul — Ebell
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Arianna Skibell
The leader of President Trump's U.S. EPA transition team fears EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the White House's sluggish pace in nominating officials for key agency posts are wasting an opportunity to roll back environmental regulations. -
Legislators Push Broader Additions To Washington High Concern List
May 22, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
State legislators and consumer advocates have called on Washington state's Department of Ecology to expand the pool of substances to be added to its chemicals of high concern list (CHCC) beyond the 21 current chemical candidates. -
California Consults On Prop 65 Notice Of Violation Amendments
May 22, 2017 | Chemical Watch
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha) is consulting on proposed amendments that would clarify the content required in notices of violation served to alleged violators of Proposition 65. -
New Study Supports Theory Epigenetic Changes Can Impact Fertility
May 22, 2017 | CBS Philly
By Dr. Brian McDonough
In this study male exposure to endocrine disruptors, chemicals that effect hormones, and other environmental toxicants can induce what are called epigenetic changes in sperm, which in descendants can cause infertility and other diseases. -
Exxon Mobil Completes Massive Plastics Expansion Near Houston
May 22, 2017 | Fuelfix
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil said Monday it has completed a large plastics plant expansion in Mont Belvieu as part of a massive, multibillion-dollar petrochemical growth effort in the Houston area. -
Mid-Atlantic Voters Support Local Project Over KXL — Poll
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Mintz
A majority of voters in three states support a local pipeline project, but opposition has grown to coal-fired power plants, hydraulic fracturing and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, according to a new poll. -
China Love for U.S. Gas Begins as Trump Rolls Out Red Carpet
May 22, 2017 | Bloomberg Markets
By Aaron Clark, Sarah Chen, and Dan Murtaugh
After an executive from U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter Cheniere Energy Inc. spoke to a few hundred people at a conference in Beijing last week, the first question from the audience turned out to be an invitation to visit one of China’s biggest energy firms and a main LNG buyer, the state-owned giant known as Sinopec. -
Pruitt Wants To Give Power To States. Not All Of Them Want It
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Niina Heikkinen
Scott Pruitt took the helm at U.S. EPA promising that under the Trump administration, states would take greater control over environmental regulations. -
Leaked Budget Shows Cuts To Pruitt's Stated Priorities
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Emily Holden and Camille von Kaenel
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has spent the last few weeks bashing the Obama administration for leaving behind thousands of unfinished Superfund cleanups. But his agency's budget proposal would slash spending on those efforts by more than a quarter. -
Exxon Doubles Down On Support For Paris Agreement
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Hulac
It's a little more than a week before Exxon Mobil Corp. will hold its annual stockholder meeting, and faced with pressure from investors, the company is redoubling its efforts to emphasize that it views climate change with concern. -
EPA Aids Polluters With 'Exceptional Events' Guidance — Greens
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is giving cover to run-of-the-mill industrial polluters with its updated "exceptional events" guidance, environmentalists charge in a new court filing. -
Carper Questions Pruitt Over Deal With Okla. Energy Firm
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, is questioning U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt over a report that a major energy company is looking to weaken a settlement with the agency.
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(ACC Mentioned) Connecticut WRAP Campaign Aims to Tackle Flexible Film
May 22, 2017 | Waste 360
By Arlene Karidis
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has a goal to double film recycling by 2020. One initiative aimed at helping hit that two billion pound target is the creation of Wrap Recycling Action Programs (WRAPs) in communities across the country.
These public-private partnerships aim to educate consumers and support retailers in collecting the material so it can be processed at correct facilities. Traditional material recovery facilities can’t process polyethylene film and much of it can end up clogging waterways, killing wildlife, and polluting roads and terrain.
The WRAP campaign has seen success in Wisconsin, as well as in Vancouver, Wash., where collection of film has more than doubled through store drop-off sites facilitated by the program. With the support of the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the ACC has brought the campaign to Connecticut last summer and it’s already paying dividends.
“We are doing this so residents know what they can do, beyond simply not put plastic film in their bins,” says Sherill Baldwin, environmental analyst at Connecticut DEEP. “We want to make sure they know they can bring it back to retailers or participating municipal transfer stations. Ultimately, we want to improve quality and reduce contamination.”
So far, about 30 municipalities have signed on; two groups each representing multiple towns; a council of governments that addresses issues regionally; and some grocers.
There are “WRAP Champions”—entities that build relationships with stores in communities to promote the program and build consumer awareness. These “champions” take on a supportive role, helping participating businesses figure out how to collect film or connecting companies with haulers and other resources.
The Connecticut Food Association (CFA) has worked to reduce and recover plastic film for years. Members have eliminated almost 300 million bags since 2010, representing a 30 percent reduction, through incentives and practices to decrease use, among initiatives.
WRAP has solid potential to boost their efforts, believes CFA President.
“The program provides us with bigger collection barrels and better messaging that informs folks we can take back more than before, as well as what items we can take back,” says Pesce. Prior to WRAP most customers only returned plastic bags.
The film is collected and backhauled to a central warehouse for transfer in bulk to Trex, who processes it to make decking and other outdoor products.
The CFA sees its members positioned to play a vital role in stepping up infrastructure and improving recovery and offering convenience through drop off sites.
“We are in every town and county. And most customers visit two to three times a week,” says Pesce.
A survey, likely to take place this summer, will gauge consumer’s gained recycling knowledge. The state will also look at recovery rates.
“Our thought is if we can increase recovery by about 30 percent through WRAP, it would tell us we are on to something,” says Pesce.
Different towns are leveraging strategies, including options beyond store drop off sites.
For instance the town of Branford provides plastic bags for film at a transfer station that can be thrown in a bin containing other materials. The bags, which hold about 50 pounds of plastic film, have holes so they can be compressed and won’t pop. They are pulled out at the recovery facility, eliminating an otherwise tedious separation process. Commercial businesses with low film volumes use this system, and the bags work for haulers, too says Baldwin.
All municipalities working with the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA) have become WRAP champions, and soon nine of the authority’s transfer stations will collect wasted film.
Once HRRA can coordinate with a local hauler and grocery store to take the material, it will launch collection, says Jennifer Heaton-Jones, the authority’s executive director.
The statewide initiative is in its infancy, focusing for now primarily on grocery stores. But the hope, says Baldwin, is to eventually engage universities, dry cleaners, clothing stores and others that generate film waste. WRAP, believe the players behind it, could help bring the state closer to its overall waste diversion goal of 60 percent by 2024, while providing feedstock to create useful new products.
http://www.waste360.com/plastics/connecticut-wrap-campaign-aims-tackle-flexible-film
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EPA Science Board Purge To Play Role In Hearing
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
House Democrats have prepared a showdown tomorrow over why U.S. EPA abruptly dismissed members of a science advisory board earlier this month.
The Science, Space and Technology Committee announced Friday that it had invited the chairwoman of the Board of Scientific Counselors, Deborah Swackhamer, to speak publicly at a hearing tomorrow about EPA's recent purging of the board.
Swackhamer's appearance doesn't directly fit with the stated purpose of the hearing, which is to examine the role of states in EPA rulemaking. Her presence, however, does set up the hearing as a dramatic piece of political theater centered on the current administration's hostility toward science.
EPA abruptly dismissed more than half the Board of Scientific Counselors, even though the members had been recently told by senior officials that they would keep their positions. An EPA spokesman also acknowledged that the agency wanted to increase industry's presence on the board.
Committee Democrats said they expect to "examine the recent actions by EPA Administrator [Scott] Pruitt to dismiss well-established scientific evidence and silence federal scientists."
Swackhamer is a professor of science, technology and public policy at the University of Minnesota. Committee Democrats said she will testify on the role science plays in crafting federal and state regulations.
On Thursday, Democrats sent a letter to Pruitt to express concern that he was stifling the role of science at the agency.
"We have serious concerns about this action that has prematurely removed qualified experts from EPA's Board and deprives EPA of critical scientific and technical expertise needed to support the Agency's mission to protect human health and the environment," they wrote in the letter to Pruitt.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054864
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Pruitt's 'Political Ambition' Could Imperil Overhaul — Ebell
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Arianna Skibell
The leader of President Trump's U.S. EPA transition team fears EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the White House's sluggish pace in nominating officials for key agency posts are wasting an opportunity to roll back environmental regulations.
Myron Ebell, who directs the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Center for Energy and Environment, told a Virginia think tank last month that Pruitt — the former Oklahoma attorney general — is a "clever lawyer" whose "political ambition" could prevent him from doing an adequate rule rollback, according to an April recording obtained and first reported by Reuters.
Speaking in a closed-door session at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy in Fairfax County, Ebell said the Trump administration has made a series of errors that could trip up efforts to cut red tape — chief among them delays in appointing key EPA officials.
"This is an impending disaster for the Trump administration," Ebell said in the recording provided to the Center for Media and Democracy and shared with Reuters.
In an email to E&E News, Ebell said today he didn't say anything in the closed-door talk that he hasn't said in public, although he conceded some of his comments may have been "a bit stronger or sharper or more detailed" than what he's said on the record.
Ebell said he's pleased by the way Pruitt and his "small team" have taken on big tasks — such as reopening the Obama administration's signature climate rule, the Clean Power Plan, and the Waters of the U.S. rule — but those efforts could be undermined by the slow pace of nominations for key environmental posts.
"Specifically, the White House continues to lag in nominating people to the confirmable positions at EPA, Interior, Energy, CEQ, OSTP, NOAA, and NASA," he told E&E News. "My fear is that implementing the President's energy, climate, and environmental agenda is going to grind to a halt if the White House is unable to get some assistant administrators, assistant secretaries, and general counsels nominated and confirmed soon."
Ebell said his concern is not unusual, as many who support Trump's agenda are worried about the "incredibly slow pace" of appointments to positions that must be confirmed by the Senate.
He has previously expressed this concern to E&E News (Greenwire, May 17).
"And I am concerned that the President has not yet decided whether and if to withdraw from the Paris Climate Treaty," Ebell said. "He promised emphatically several times during the campaign to withdraw from Paris, so it should be an easy decision."
Ebell also told the Jefferson Institute the new administration is moving too slowly to reverse climate change regulations and challenge the "endangerment finding," which concludes that carbon dioxide is a public health threat. The finding informs many rules restricting emissions of greenhouse gases.
While conservatives have voiced concern that Pruitt might not take action against the endangerment finding, an EPA aide today pointed out that Pruitt has yet to formally take a stance and is still looking at the issue.
EPA spokesman Lincoln Ferguson responded to Ebell's comments, saying Pruitt is working to implement Trump's executive orders.
"In less than 100 days in office, EPA has spearheaded about two dozen regulatory reform actions focused on getting the job done," he said.
Ferguson said Pruitt has made great strides in protecting the environment, saving manufacturing jobs and promoting American energy independence.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054910
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Legislators Push Broader Additions To Washington High Concern List
May 22, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
State legislators and consumer advocates have called on Washington state's Department of Ecology to expand the pool of substances to be added to its chemicals of high concern list (CHCC) beyond the 21 current chemical candidates.
This is according to comments submitted in response to a proposed rulemaking to update the state’s Children’s Safe Products Reporting Rule. Among changes, the draft update calls for adding a variety of phthalates, flame retardant and bisphenols, while deleting three substances from the list of reportable substances.
Thirty legislators called on the ecology department to include three additional phthalates – DEMP, DIOP and DIPP – and to capture PFOA-related compounds when adding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the list. They also requested that D4 remain a listed substance.
And dozens of individual commenters and the NGO the Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) echoed their suggestion.
Washington-based NGO Toxic Free Future also called for the addition of the flame retardants dechlorane plus and BDBPE.Industry views
Comments from the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) supported a provision in the rule allowing first-time reporters to request an extension beyond the 31 January 2019 deadline.
The AAFA also urged the agency to adhere to the requirement that "credible, peer-reviewed scientific information" be relied on for listing decisions when considering the addition of new substances to the CHCC list.
In its comments the Israeli Chemicals Industrial Products America (ICL-IPA) said it was surprised to see a recommendation to list the flame retardant butylated triphenyl phosphate (TBTPP). While submitting data "supporting the safety in use, combined with the non-use in the children's products" of the substance, it called for its non listing.
The Department of Ecology says it will respond to comments as part of its rule adoption packet. This is set to be published, together with the final rule, in September 2017.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56037/legislators-push-broader-additions-to-washington-high-concern-list
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California Consults On Prop 65 Notice Of Violation Amendments
May 22, 2017 | Chemical Watch
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha) is consulting on proposed amendments that would clarify the content required in notices of violation served to alleged violators of Proposition 65.
Businesses failing to give 'clear and reasonable' warning before exposing an individual to a Prop 65-listed substance may be sued by private individuals acting in the public interest. Private enforcers must submit a so-called notice of violation (NOV) to state attorneys and the alleged violator at least 60 days before such action can start.
The proposal calls for amendments to "clarify the information required in a valid notice of violation".
This includes amending the content requirements for NOVs involving occupational exposure, to cross-reference mandatory language required under occupational health regulations.
It also proposes moving, to a separate appendix, special compliance procedural forms that must be used for certain exposures, These include those related to alcoholic beverages or engine exhaust.
Comments on the proposed amendments will be accepted until 3 July.
In separate notices, the agency also said it will:develop a safe use determination (SUD) for the use of diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in interface modular carpet tiles, per the manufacturer's request; andrepeal emergency regulations for warning to exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from canned and bottled foods and beverages, as these sections were superseded by other regulatory provisions.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56040/california-consults-on-prop-65-notice-of-violation-amendments
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New Study Supports Theory Epigenetic Changes Can Impact Fertility
May 22, 2017 | CBS Philly
By Dr. Brian McDonough
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — They are called epigenetic changes. These can occur in a persons life and later have an impact on fertility.
A new study performed in rodents supports the theory.
In this study male exposure to endocrine disruptors, chemicals that effect hormones, and other environmental toxicants can induce what are called epigenetic changes in sperm, which in descendants can cause infertility and other diseases.
Epigenetic information can be embedded in sperm in the form of changes in DNA or chemical tags on histone proteins, which regulate how DNA is condensed.
What we are talking about is actual changes in the genetic code.
The latest study is supported by a Review of Human and Animal Research suggested that epigenetic changes may be the underlying mechanism by which paternal factors such as age, diet, weight, stress, and alcohol consumption contribute to a range of health outcomes in offspring including birth defects, behavioral problems, developmental disorders, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/05/22/new-study-supports-theory-epigenetic-changes-can-impact-fertility/
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Exxon Mobil Completes Massive Plastics Expansion Near Houston
May 22, 2017 | Fuelfix
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil said Monday it has completed a large plastics plant expansion in Mont Belvieu as part of a massive, multibillion-dollar petrochemical growth effort in the Houston area.
Exxon Mobil said it finished mechanical construction of two plastics facilities at its existing plant that will add 1.3 million metric tons of annual capacity to manufacture the world’s most common plastic, polyethylene. The plastic is created in the form of tiny plastic resin balls to be shipped overseas to meet the rapidly growing demand in nation’s with expanding middle classes like China and India.
The new plastic facilities won’t begin operation until some point in the third quarter of the year. A massive ethane cracker plant expansion is still under construction at Exxon Mobil’s large Baytown complex. The ethane cracker takes cheap and abundant ethane that’s found in shale natural gas liquids and converts the ethane into ethylene, which is the primary building block for most plastics. Easy access to the affordable shale ethane is the primary reason Exxon is continuing to expand its Texas petrochemical facilities.
“As an early mover to complete a polyethylene project fueled by the shale gas revolution, this world-scale, state-of-the-art facility will double the plant’s production capacity, making it one of the largest polyethylene plants in the world,” said Neil Chapman, president of Exxon Mobil Chemical.
Exxon Mobil is investing several billion dollars to increase the production of ethylene and polyethylene at its Baytown and Mont Belvieu plants. The project represents the company’s first major U.S. chemical expansion in more than 15 years. The expansions are creating about 350 new permanent jobs, although the projects required nearly 10,000 temporary construction positions.
Exxon Mobil also has a joint venture with the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp., known as SABIC. The companies will soon decide when to move forward with building a $10 billion chemical plant near Corpus Christi.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2017/05/22/exxon-mobil-completes-massive-plastics-expansion-near-houston/
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Mid-Atlantic Voters Support Local Project Over KXL — Poll
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Mintz
A majority of voters in three states support a local pipeline project, but opposition has grown to coal-fired power plants, hydraulic fracturing and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, according to a new poll.
For the poll, commissioned by the Consumer Energy Alliance and carried out by Hickman Analytics, registered voters in West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia answered questions on a variety of political and energy questions.
A majority of those polled in all three states support the massive Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposed $5.1 billion, 600-mile natural gas line that would start in West Virginia before passing through Virginia and terminating in North Carolina.
The pipeline has been a major focus of the upcoming gubernatorial primaries in Virginia (E&E Daily, April 26). And CEA cited the role energy issues could play across the country in the 2018 midterm elections.
"Voters clearly support the safe, responsible development of energy infrastructure, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," said President David Holt. "To win, candidates are going to have to listen and side with voters."
But support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is actually down since an earlier poll in June 2015, most significantly in West Virginia, which saw a 10 percentage point drop from 70 percent in favor to 60 percent.
Also notable was a decline in support for Keystone XL, a proposed oil pipeline that would start in Alberta and pass through Montana and South Dakota before ending in Nebraska. The controversial project, which was blocked by President Obama before being brought back to life by President Trump earlier this year, saw its support drop by 5 points in North Carolina and Virginia and 12 points in West Virginia since 2015.
Keystone XL's operator, TransCanada Corp., still needs a permit from Nebraska, and the state's Public Service Commission is holding hearings this summer, with a decision due by November.
Predictably, support is strong for renewable energy projects and shrinking for coal, according to the poll. Even in West Virginia, where 72 percent of respondents said they support generating electricity using coal-fired power plants, that number is down 12 points from two years ago. In the other states, a majority of those polled are no longer in favor of such power plants.
Fewer respondents also support expanding offshore drilling than in 2015.
In Virginia electoral politics, the poll gave Lt. Gov Ralph Northam a tight 4-point lead over former Congressman Tom Perriello in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Another poll released today showed both Democrats with comfortable double-digit leads on GOP favorite Ed Gillespie. The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, surveyed 1,395 Virginia voters May 9-14. It had a plus or minus 3-percentage-point margin of error.
The pipeline poll surveyed 660 registered voters in North Carolina, 405 in West Virginia and 500 in Virginia by phone between May 9 and 11. The margin of error was 3.8 percentage points in North Carolina, 4.9 points in West Virginia and 4.4 points in Virginia.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054906
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China Love for U.S. Gas Begins as Trump Rolls Out Red Carpet
May 22, 2017 | Bloomberg Markets
By Aaron Clark, Sarah Chen, and Dan Murtaugh
inopec considering U.S. LNG supplies starting 2022 or late
rCNPC wants to import more U.S. gas, mulls project investments
Let the gushing begin.
After an executive from U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter Cheniere Energy Inc. spoke to a few hundred people at a conference in Beijing last week, the first question from the audience turned out to be an invitation to visit one of China’s biggest energy firms and a main LNG buyer, the state-owned giant known as Sinopec.
“We are very happy to always come to your office, Mr. Chen Bo, and discuss the supply of U.S. LNG to China,” Andrew Walker said in front of an amused audience, responding to the chief of Sinopec’s trading arm.
The exchange highlighted a budding relationship between U.S. gas sellers and Chinese buyers after an agreement struck this month by the Trump administration and President Xi Jinping’s government welcomed the Asian country’s investments and purchases of American gas.
“The trade deal paves the way for Chinese support into U.S. LNG in both existing and potential future projects,” said Kerry Anne Shanks, a Singapore-based analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. That includes immediate LNG sales or signing long-term contracts to underpin financing of new plants.
Gas is poised to play a larger role in U.S.-China trade relations as the Trump administration works to trim a trade deficit and as the world’s largest energy consumer seeks to boost the share of natural gas in its energy mix and lower prices that last year were the world’s highest.
While the trade deal announced May 11 doesn’t appear to alter access for Chinese companies to U.S. gas cargoes, it welcomes China to receive shipments and engage in long-term contracts. That may be able to ease concerns in China that involvement in the U.S. LNG industry would be met with wariness.‘That Fear’
“There’s never been anything formally that said there are restrictions on Chinese buyers,” Shanks said. “But there’s always been that fear.”
U.S. supplies accounted for almost 7 percent of China’s LNG imports in March, customs data show. But these cargoes were supplied to end-users through intermediaries or spot deals since China currently has no long-term contracts to directly buy American gas.
Longer supply contracts, which can run more than 20 years, traditionally help underpin the financing of export projects by providing lenders with confidence the developments will have stable customers. They also strengthen the relationship between the buyer and the plant operator or gas producer, opening the door to investing directly in the export plants.
China National Petroleum Corp. Chairman Wang Yilin said earlier this month that the country’s biggest oil and gas company wants to import more U.S. supplies and will consider participating in projects. Sinopec’s trading unit, Unipec, is considering the U.S., among other producers, for possible long-term LNG contracts for supply starting around 2022, Chen said Wednesday at the CWC China LNG & Gas International Summit & Exhibition.Trading Cargoes
China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., as Unipec is officially known, may use the cargoes for both domestic demand as well as for its trading book. The company resold about 20 percent of its 10 million tons of annual supply last year to Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, Chen said.
ENN Energy Holdings Ltd., one of the country’s biggest gas distributors and a budding LNG importer, is considering U.S. supplies if it offers acceptable price and flexibility, Vice President Ma Shenyuan said at the same event in Beijing.
“U.S. gas will be the cheapest of all because they have abundant supply” and the Trump-Xi trade agreement is encouraging LNG shipments between the two countries, Zhu Xingshan, a senior director in the planning department of CNPC, said in Beijing last week. “Thus we should increase imports of U.S. LNG.”
Most of China’s long-term LNG supply contracts price shipments as a ratio to oil, with one Qatari deal struck in 2008 pricing it at as much as 16.3 percent the cost of crude, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. U.S. LNG exports are priced off benchmark Henry Hub gas in Louisiana.
Natural gas for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.9 percent to $3.317 per million British thermal units at 8:18 a.m.
But with oil prices currently depressed, U.S. LNG imports have no cost advantage, said Ye Yishu, president of China National Offshore Oil Corp.’s gas and power trading arm. American gas may present a buying opportunity if crude rises above $70 a barrel, he said at the summit.
Options for China to secure U.S. LNG may include buying spare volumes from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, which is currently the only U.S. exporter outside Alaska, financing an expansion of that project, or buying into one of a handful of new developments that have permission to export but still need financing, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Shanks.
China oil explorers aren’t the only ones being lured by cheap plentiful reserves and the possibility of greater sales from North America. Qatar Petroleum International Ltd. has teamed up with Exxon Mobil Corp. to build a $10 billion natural gas export plant in Texas, which won approval by federal energy regulators in December.
“We get asked a lot ‘Is there an unwritten rule that Chinese buyers can’t buy from the U.S.?’ and this clearly laid out the words ‘We welcome Chinese purchases,”’ Cheniere’s Walker said of the recent trade deal. “We very much look forward to continuing our conversations with our various potential customers.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-21/china-lovefest-for-u-s-gas-begins-as-trump-rolls-out-red-carpet
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Pruitt Wants To Give Power To States. Not All Of Them Want It
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Niina Heikkinen
Scott Pruitt took the helm at U.S. EPA promising that under the Trump administration, states would take greater control over environmental regulations.
States have had mixed responses to Pruitt's message. Some argue that local officials are better-equipped to choose regulatory strategies that work best within their borders. Others say EPA has a vital role to play in managing air and water pollution, and it should not limit that role.
Now Congress will be taking up the question of how much authority states should have in controlling pollution. The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing tomorrow on ways states could play an increased role in EPA regulations.
Pruitt calls the relationship "cooperative federalism," and he has made it a centerpiece of his "Back to Basics" agenda at EPA. In a recent interview with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Pruitt said Congress initially intended for states to be a "primary or active partner" in implementing regulations created under environmental legislation such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
"It was only this past administration that displaced that. As opposed to working in partnership, they worked in opposition. They worked as adversaries," Pruitt said, adding, "The president and the EPA under our leadership now are focused upon restoring that confidence and that trust to say, 'We can do better than that.'"
But states are also leery of the environmental impact of an EPA potentially becoming less involved in pollution control.
"We believe in a strong partnership between state agencies and EPA," said Dennis Schain, communications director for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. "There are cases where involvement of EPA can be critical. We need EPA to be able to weigh in and settle issues that are interstate."
Because of its location along the Eastern Seaboard, prevailing winds to the west and south carry in neighboring states' air pollution, leaving Connecticut with air quality that does not always meet federal standards. The state also manages water quality in the Connecticut River, which begins in northern New Hampshire and flows into the Long Island Sound. Connecticut does not have the authority that EPA does to enforce cross-state pollution standards or tighten its neighbors' permitting standards, he said.
Schain called Pruitt's idea of cooperative federalism a "great concept," but one that hasn't yet been proved effective. He noted that the state appreciates the authority to create regulations that supersede those enacted by the federal government.
"Definitely the states have an important role to play, and they do know the issues in their states. That doesn't mean you can diminish EPA and the work that they do. You need both," he said.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality air chief Michael Dowd said he is concerned by the Trump administration's proposed 31 percent cut to EPA funding and what that would mean for states' ability to address pollution.
"We sort of are at a loss to understand how we can take on more federal responsibility from EPA while at the same time sustaining a 30 percent cut in funding," he said.
Dowd added that his interactions with EPA at its Region 3 office have not changed since Trump took office. Most of the conversations about greater state authority are still at the state DEQ level.
"These EPA folks that I'm talking to are basically doing the job they always did; they are relating to us on a day-to-day level," Dowd said. "And with respect to the regulatory world as it may evolve, it certainly hasn't gotten down to our level yet.
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Misael Cabrera and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh will be testifying, along with Deborah Swackhamer, professor emerita of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota.
Neither DEQ director was available to speak prior to the hearing. But in written public comments on regulations EPA should roll back or replace, the Arkansas DEQ challenged EPA's regional haze federal implementation plan, arguing that the costs far outweigh the benefits of putting in pollution control technology.
"EPA's mandate to impose billions in economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits is questionable, at best, and irrational at worst," the public comments read.
The state DEQ wrote that EPA's own projections found that visibility improvements would not be detectable by the naked eye, so the federal implementation plan should either be modified or repealed.
In a phone interview, Swackhamer said she would be testifying about the importance of having strong science as a backbone for environmental policy. She cited ozone and regional haze standards as examples where EPA can implement the Clean Air Act more effectively than states because pollution travels across state boundaries.
"The federal government is well-suited to doing some of that science and bette-suited than the states, and the states are more at a place where they can implement as opposed to conduct independent science," Swackhamer said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054887
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Leaked Budget Shows Cuts To Pruitt's Stated Priorities
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Emily Holden and Camille von Kaenel
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has spent the last few weeks bashing the Obama administration for leaving behind thousands of unfinished Superfund cleanups. But his agency's budget proposal would slash spending on those efforts by more than a quarter.
He has touted states' rights to carry out federal laws to protect the environment, arguing that EPA should focus not on climate change but on air quality. The White House spending plan, however, would cut money sent to states and localities for that purpose by 45 percent.
It would cut clean air program funding by about half. It also would zero out all geographic programs, including for water pollution projects in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay and the Puget Sound.
The numbers illustrate a stark divergence between Pruitt's publicly stated environmental goals and the administration's policy plans.
They come from an unverified administration budget document distributed on Friday by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). The figures largely align with a previously released "skinny budget" from the White House and come ahead of an official publication of President Trump's budget proposal tomorrow.
Gutting climate change efforts is one area where rhetoric and policy align.
The new version of the budget strips all mentions of climate work and appears to consolidate them in a"GHG Reporting Program" that would see a cut of 87 percent.
Overall, EPA would see a 31 percent cut. Its Office of Science and Technology faces a 39 percent decrease, and the operating budget would be reduced 35 percent, according to NACAA's calculations.
While EPA's total budget and climate change efforts are likely to see big cuts, the massive reductions Trump proposes are unlikely to pass muster with lawmakers who must approve them. States are already up in arms.
NACAA tomorrow will release the results of a survey of the impacts of the proposed cuts on state environmental programs. It will include anonymized quotes from state officials worried about the budget proposal.
Any cut to already underfunded programs "will have a direct impact on public health and welfare," said NACAA Executive Director Bill Becker. "You will see less protection and more people getting sick and possibly dying.
"They can talk all they want about cooperative federalism, but if they're not following through providing states and localities with the regulatory tools and funding assistance that's necessary to do the job, then that strikes me as not being very cooperative."
The budget document does not provide additional details on which climate programs would be spared. Voluntary public-private partnerships to reduce industry emissions, like the popular Energy Star for energy efficiency or SmartWay for freight companies, or programs reducing methane and hydrofluorocarbon pollution would likely lose their funding under the proposal.Vehicles lab largely spared
In one surprise move, the White House appears to be proposing to restore much of the funding for federal vehicles and fuels standards and certification, taking a new approach to funding the lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., that makes sure cars and trucks meet emissions requirements, according to the leaked summary.
The draft budget proposes a cut of around 25 percent to the lab's total funding, reducing it from around $108 million in 2017 to $80 million.
A previous internal budget memo had proposed cutting the lab's operations by $48 million, or 90 percent, and halving its staff. Administration officials proposed increasing fees on automakers to make up the shortfall. In the short term, that deep of a cut would have shut down the vehicles program, former officials warned.
A 25 percent cut could still seriously hamper the lab, which has been expanding its testing program following the discoveries that Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles polluted more than allowed.
The draft summary also shows a complete elimination of the agency's resources to craft and police greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, which the Trump administration is currently reconsidering.
"It's better but still not great," said a former lab employee who did not want to be attributed commenting on an unconfirmed draft proposal.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054888
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Exxon Doubles Down On Support For Paris Agreement
May 22, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Hulac
It's a little more than a week before Exxon Mobil Corp. will hold its annual stockholder meeting, and faced with pressure from investors, the company is redoubling its efforts to emphasize that it views climate change with concern.
Stockholders will gather May 31 in a Dallas orchestra hall to vote on a handful of proposals, including a measure urging the company to produce a report on the oil giant's financial exposure to climate change and rules to cap emissions.
The resolution, filed by New York state pension funds, the Church of England and others, requests Exxon complete a study of how global policies to slash greenhouse gases and technical changes in the energy industry will affect its business. And the authors want to know how Exxon plans to adapt to a global climate accord to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius — the bar set at the Paris climate talks in the winter of 2015.
"This resolution aims to ensure that ExxonMobil fully evaluates and discloses to investors risks to the viability of its assets as a result of the transition to a low carbon economy, including a 2 degrees scenario, in line with sector good practice," the proposal reads.
But in a series of unusual statements to its stockholders, filed late last week at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Exxon sought to underscore that it views climate change as a serious peril and works to remedy the problem.
"ExxonMobil supports the Paris Agreement in our actions and communications," Jeffrey Woodbury, Exxon vice president of investor relations and secretary, said in a letter to stockholders Thursday. "We advocate that the risks of climate change warrant thoughtful action."
Woodbury said comments from shareholders connected to the resolution "incorrectly characterize the company's position and actions."
An Exxon spokesman did not respond when asked what the company thought was incorrect about the resolution.Oil majors inching toward awareness
In a separate document filed Friday, Woodbury again took issue with the resolution.
Company officials have had "numerous engagements" with stockholders about climate change and Exxon's future, and the company can withstand a 2 C scenario, he said. Exxon officials have met with stockholders who control more than 25 percent of the company, Woodbury said in his letter.
While Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon, viewed climate change as an "engineering problem," many mainstream investors are learning to see it differently.
Increasingly, warming is viewed as a potentially systemic risk for the oil and gas industry. And industry leaders want to know more.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. stockholders made history this month by passing a resolution to stress-test the company's business for climate change threats. Occidental is the first U.S. oil company to pass such a measure (Climatewire, May 15).
Investors at Chevron Corp. reached an agreement with that company's management in early May to withdraw a proposal of their own, in exchange for a Chevron-authored climate stress test (Climatewire, May 8).
And ConocoPhillips Co. said last week it had moved away from a program that tied its executives' pay with exploring for and finding more oil and gas reserves, a practice critics say motivates ham-handed expansion into oil and gas and limits more nimble planning.
Tim Brennan, treasurer and chief financial officer of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which had called for the company to base compensation with a lower-carbon strategy, said the ConocoPhillips decision came as a pleasant surprise.
"The old model was drill, baby, drill and build up the reserves," Brennan said.
Now, he said, ConocoPhillips officials said they're talking about being more strategic in their investment choices and long-term plans. "It's a different way of thinking about capital investment, which I think is very healthy."Shareholders and directors don't talk
Wall Street banks have perked up to investor interest. JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently unveiled a new climate strategy, telling investors that a good company "should consider" how it fuels climate change. And BlackRock Inc., the multitrillion-dollar financial powerhouse, signaled it would value boards of directors with members who possess "fluency in how climate risk affects the business" (Greenwire, March 13).
Exxon is under fire on that front, too.
Edward Kamonjoh, executive director of the 50/50 Climate Project, a nonprofit research group that works with institutional investors to make boards more savvy about climate change, said the company doesn't allow stockholders to talk directly with directors, no matter how many shares they own.
This and other policies have siloed the Exxon directors from outside input and limited what investors hear from the company, he said.
"That avenue is closed off because of this policy," Kamonjoh said in an interview. "There's really no disclosure around really what the board's thinking as to best planning, succession for the future."
Of outside criticism about Exxon's climate policy, he added, "They feel the pressure, I'll tell you that."
In its own statement to shareholders, the 50/50 Climate Project said two Exxon directors — Michael Boskin and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who have raised spurious arguments against climate science — appear "out of step" with the company's climate policies.
Kamonjoh also questioned if Susan Avery, a climate expert who joined the board this year, was getting through to her new colleagues. Due to company policies, it's hard to know, he said.
"That director's expertise has to permeate everything that a board does," he said. "The confluence of all these things," he added, "erodes the company's ability to manage key risks."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054869
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EPA Aids Polluters With 'Exceptional Events' Guidance — Greens
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is giving cover to run-of-the-mill industrial polluters with its updated "exceptional events" guidance, environmentalists charge in a new court filing.
Although such events are mainly supposed to be the result of natural forces, EPA's guidance allows "regular industrial pollution in vast amounts" to qualify as an exceptional event and "violate Clean Air Act health standards," the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club say in a brief filed late Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The upshot: Areas with unhealthy air quality will be able to sidestep cleanup requirements, the brief contends.
The filing amounts to the first punch in the two groups' legal challenge to the updated guidance that was issued last September and was intended to make it easier for states to get a pass on air pollution "exceedances" caused by wildfires, volcanic eruptions and other forces outside of their control (Greenwire, Sept. 19, 2016). While the revisions apply to all six "criteria pollutants" listed in the Clean Air Act, EPA officials have highlighted their value as a tool for helping states meet the stricter 70-parts-per-billion ground-level ozone standard set in October 2015.
State regulators had complained that the previous process for proving an exceptional event was costly and time-consuming. In making the changes, EPA officials had said they wanted to follow Congress' intent in writing the exceptional events provision into law in 2005.
The NRDC and Sierra Club allege, however, that the new guidance goes well beyond the statutory criteria for an exceptional event, which includes such factors as "not reasonably controllable or preventable" or "caused by human activity that is unlikely to recur at a particular location." Instead, the groups say, EPA "invents" another factor — that "'reasonably controlled human activity shall be considered to not play a direct role in causing emissions.'"
As a result, a recurring industrial activity may qualify as an exceptional event as long as it is reasonably controlled, the brief says. That includes "emissions from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, hazardous waste incinerators and a wide array of industrial activity," the brief adds later. The two groups are asking the D.C. Circuit Court to throw out the revised guidance and order EPA to issue "lawful standards."
The agency's response is due Aug. 17, with final briefs in the case scheduled for early October. No state or business trade groups are challenging the guidance, although the American Petroleum Institute has intervened on the side of EPA.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054909
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Carper Questions Pruitt Over Deal With Okla. Energy Firm
May 22, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, is questioning U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt over a report that a major energy company is looking to weaken a settlement with the agency.
In a letter Saturday, Carper raised a New York Times story published on the same day, which reported that Oklahoma-based Devon Energy Corp. told EPA it would no longer install pollution-control technology at a Wyoming site. The company, reported the Times, also expressed willingness to pay a smaller fine than previously discussed.
Devon's apparent change of course came within days of Pruitt's Senate confirmation to lead the agency, said the Times. Pruitt used to be Oklahoma attorney general with ties to fossil fuel interests.
Carper reminded Pruitt that, during his confirmation hearing, he pledged tough enforcement of environmental laws as head of EPA.
"Allowing Devon Energy to back out of both a remedy to 'improve our air' and no longer be subject to 'vigorous enforcement' for violations of the Clean Air Act would seem inconsistent with the statements you made to the Environment and Public Works Committee," wrote Carper.
The Democrat also took aim at "the 24 percent proposed cut to the 2018 [Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance] budget that is expected to be submitted to Congress [this] week."
Carper asked Pruitt to provide several records, including all documents related to pending enforcement actions against or settlements with Devon.
In addition, Carper asked for documents detailing EPA's past civil and criminal enforcement actions since 2009 and going forward on a monthly basis.
The senator also asked for a detailed analysis on the impact of President Trump's proposed budget cuts for OECA, including how many people work in the office as well as how many inspections and enforcement actions they will be able to carry out.
Carper gave Pruitt a deadline of June 23 to respond to his request.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/05/22/stories/1060054908
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