Preview Newsletter
ACC AM 6/12/17
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Hearing On NRC, EPA Nominees
Jun 13, 2017 | Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Location: 406 Dirksen / 10:00 AM -
Hearing on EPA Budget
Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment
Location: 2007 Rayburn / 1:00 PM. -
Hearing On Energy Security And Preparedness
Jun 14, 2017 | House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy
Location: 2123 Rayburn / 10:00 AM -
Hearing On NNSA Budget
Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Location: 138 Dirksen / 2:30 PM. -
Hearing On Cyber Threats
Jun 15, 2017 | Science, Space and Technology Subcommittees on Oversight, and Research and Technology
Location: 2318 Rayburn / 10:00 AM. -
Hearing On Transportation Budget
Jun 14, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
Location: 138 Dirksen / 2:30 PM. -
Hearing on Transportation Budget
Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
Location: 2358-A Rayburn / 10:00 AM. -
(ACC Mentioned) Bob Grand to Lobby on Border Wall
Jun 9, 2017 | Politico - Tipsheets
By Theodoric Meyer
...Brian Gottlieb has launched a new firm, Gottlieb Strategic Research. He was previously a managing director at Purple Strategies and is also a former lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council and the American Society for Microbiology -
Week Ahead: Pruitt Meets the Purse-String Holders
Jun 9, 2017 | Bloomberg BNA
By Chuck McCutcheon
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will explain to Congress why he believes cutting his agency’s budget by 31 percent is a good idea, one of numerous energy and environment events during the week of June 12. -
Pruitt, Flurry of Admin Officials Due on Hill
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Manuel Quiñones
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will be one of numerous administration officials on Capitol Hill this week defending the White House's fiscal 2018 budget request. -
TSCA Burden Reduction Rule Panel Grapples With 'Consensus' Decisions
Jun 9, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Dave Reynolds
A panel convened to inform a future Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule reducing reporting mandates for certain chemicals is grappling with several major issues, including how to define “consensus” decisions and whether to address topics like data quality and the frequency of reporting in crafting the burden reduction rule. -
(ACC Mentioned) EPA's 'Safer' Chemicals Label Under Fire From Industry, White House
Jun 9, 2017 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
The Environmental Protection Agency's 25-year-old program to highlight products made with "safer" alternative chemicals faces an uncertain future. -
EU Panel Classifies Titanium Dioxide as Cancer Risk
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
Titanium dioxide, which is widely used in the manufacture of paints, paper, and plastics, should be classified as carcinogenic in the European Union, the European Chemicals Agency said June 9. -
Commission Survey Finds EU Citizens Need More Chemical Safety Information
Jun 9, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A European Commission survey on public awareness of the safety of chemical products has concluded there is a need to better inform EU citizens and clarify the concerns that many of them have. -
2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Announced
Jun 9, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Stephen K. Ritter
The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are a how-to guide written 20 years ago for chemists and chemical engineers. They provide insight on developing new chemicals and chemical processes and for revitalizing existing ones so that they achieve their desired function while being environmentally and economically friendly. -
Health and Consumer Groups Challenge FDA Over Perchlorate in Food Packaging
Jun 9, 2017 | Food Dive
By Caroline Macdonald
A coalition of public health watchdogs have challenged the FDA’s decision not to ban perchlorate in food packaging, Food Safety News reports. -
(ACC Mentioned) Hunting For Caverns: Appalachia’s Bid To Rival The Gulf Coast
Jun 11, 2017 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Anya Litvak
For more than 400 million years — since salt, shale, and dolomite settled into a layer of rock that stretches from outcrops in upstate New York through the underground of Pennsylvania all the way to Michigan - the Salina formation was sealed away from human engineering. -
Clean Power Plan Review Tests EPA's Climate Change Obligations
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Whether the EPA has an obligation to address climate change will be central as the agency begins its efforts to roll back Obama-era limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. -
Bipartisan House Bill Takes Aim At Methane Emissions
Jun 9, 2017 | E&E News PM
By Hannah Hess
Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) introduced a bill yesterday to cut methane emissions from natural gas production. -
The Natural Gas Boom Could Snarl Traffic at One of America's Busiest Ports
Jun 9, 2017 | Bloomberg
By Brian K Sullivan
A boom in natural gas exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast is raising the prospect of traffic jams at one of America’s busiest ports. -
House Set to Pass 11 Energy Bills
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Sam Mintz
The House will vote on 11 energy-related bills this week. -
Trump Proposes Dismantling Board that Investigates Chemical Disasters
Jun 11, 2017 | EcoRI News
By James Celenza
President Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal would eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) even though the CSB is to catastrophic chemical disasters what the National Transportation Safety Board is to airline crashes, train derailments and bridge collapses. -
Bipartisan Senators: Trump Hampers Permitting
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E News PM
By Camille von Kaenel
A bipartisan pair of senators this week told President Trump they are concerned he isn't implementing existing laws to streamline infrastructure permits despite his promises to speed up construction. -
Slashing Permit Wait Time Key to Fixing Infrastructure: Trump
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Shaun Courtney
President Donald Trump called for major changes to the infrastructure approval process, vowing to ease the “excruciating wait time” for federally funded projects. -
Paris Pullout Pits Chamber Against Some of Its Biggest Members
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
As President Donald Trump mulled whether to exit the Paris climate accord, companies as varied as Dow Chemical Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., and Citigroup Inc. prodded him to stay in. -
As Trump Exits Paris Accord, Investors Bring Climate Change Into Boardrooms
Jun 12, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Ben Lefebvre
As President Donald Trump reduces the pressure on businesses to deal with climate change, activist investors are flooding company shareholder meetings to apply it themselves. -
Local Governments Step Up Fight With Trump On Climate
Jun 11, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Puerto Rico, a dozen states and hundreds of municipalities have stepped up to fight climate change in response to President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
Congressional Hearings
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation News
Environment News
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Jun 13, 2017 | Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
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Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment
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Hearing On Energy Security And Preparedness
Jun 14, 2017 | House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy
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Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
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Jun 15, 2017 | Science, Space and Technology Subcommittees on Oversight, and Research and Technology
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Hearing On Transportation Budget
Jun 14, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
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Hearing on Transportation Budget
Jun 15, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
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(ACC Mentioned) Bob Grand to Lobby on Border Wall
Jun 9, 2017 | Politico - Tipsheets
By Theodoric Meyer
BARNES & THORNBURG WILL LOBBY ON BORDER WALL: Here’s an interesting filing: Barnes & Thornburg will lobby for the Modern Group, a manufacturing company based in Beaumont, Texas, and assist them “with Request for Proposal relating to construction of a border wall and associated matters.” One of the lobbyists listed on the filing is Bob Grand, a Barnes & Thornburg partner in Indianapolis who’s close to Vice President Mike Pence and has signed more than a dozen clients this year.
Story Continued Below
— The Modern Group isn’t the only company lobbying specifically on the border wall. Dragon Products, another Beaumont firm, signed the Ben Barnes Group to lobby on the wall in March, according to a disclosure filing. And a number of other firms have lobbied for existing clients on the wall.
MEXICAN BUSINESS GROUP SIGNS AKIN GUMP TO LOBBY ON NAFTA: The Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, the Mexican equivalent of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has signed Akin Gump’s Scott Parven and Justin McCarthy to lobby on U.S.-Mexico trade relations and NAFTA,” according to a disclosure filing. It’s the first time the group has signed a Washington lobbying firm. The Consejo Coordinador Empresarial announced a new “North American Economic Alliance” with the U.S. Chamber and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce earlier this week to protect NAFTA’s free trade benefits.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT: Here’s some analysis from Jeremy Cape, a partner in Squire Patton Boggs’ London office, on what’s happening right now in Britain, where Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to form a minority government and hang onto power: “In the immediate aftermath of the result, a narrative is developing that the hung parliament may result in a softer Brexit. … A reality check is needed. The Liberal Democrats, the most pro-EU of the parties, only won 12 seats. The SNP, who oppose Brexit, lost 21 seats. The Conservative Party and Labour Party, who both support leaving the single market and scrapping free movement of people, hold 580 of the 650 seats.”
— “Even the idea that a vote for the Labour Party could be seen as some sort of ‘protest’ is not necessarily borne out by the evidence. According to the Lord Ashcroft Polls, Brexit was the most important issue for 48% of Conservative voters, but only 8% of Labour voters.”
Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Tips are always appreciated. Get in touch:tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer.
HOW BALLARD MET TRUMP: The Tampa Bay Times’ Alex Leary profiles Brian Ballard, the Florida lobbyist who was a top fundraising lieutenant for Donald Trump and opened up a Washington office after he won. (Ballard’s firm, Ballard Partners, has signed an impressive 30 federal clients this year, according to disclosure records.) Here’s how Ballard first met Trump three decades ago: “Ballard's first interaction with Trump came when he was working in [GOP Gov. Bob Martinez]'s office and read 'Art of the Deal.' So impressed, he said, he wrote the businessman a letter, and Trump wrote one back on fancy stationary. ‘I reached back out to him and said, “If you ever have any issues in Florida, please don't hesitate to call.”’ Trump, who had purchased Mar-a-Lago in 1985, did call.” Full story.
WHAT PAUL SINGER’S MILLIONS GET HIM IN RETURN: Paul Singer, the GOP megadonor who refused to support Donald Trump (but says he ultimately voted for him), granted a rare interview to David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV. Here’s what he said when Rubenstein asked “how much influence” he got for his millions in donations: “I don’t think of it in terms of value for your money. … I do have — and do speak to policy makers, try to convey ideas about the things that I know best. … Their problem is that they are subject to all kinds of forces, all kind of pressures coming from 360 degrees on their compasses. And so, the right policies and the best ideas — many of them listen and many of them are smart — are not necessarily things that make the final cut.” Here’s the full interview.
FULBRIGHT ALUMNI LOBBY AGAINST BUDGET CUTS: The Fulbright Program’s “funding is facing what its alumni association calls an existential threat from a 47 percent cut proposed by the Trump administration, one of many sharp reductions in the State Department budget,” The Washington Post’s Carol Morello reports. “And over 100,000 former Fulbright scholars, among them several members of Congress, are being asked to lobby for not only full funding but also a small increase. ‘A 47% cut would devastate the Fulbright Program, forcing the elimination of many grants and damaging our relationships with host countries,’ says the appeal, which also asks alumni to take to social media using the hashtag #StandForFulbright.” Full story.
MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK: “Uber Technologies failed to report $6.3 million in lobbying expenses in the 2015–2016 filing period, according to a settlement it reached with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics,” POLITICO New York’s Bill Mahoney reports. “The ride-hailing company has agreed to a $98,000 settlement. ‘We updated our reports because there were unintentional omissions from our initial disclosures,’ a company spokeswoman said in a statement. ‘Uber NY has revised its processes and no longer uses the third party filing firm who prepared these disclosure statements.’” Full story.
JOBS REPORT:
— The Organization for International Investment has added Clinton Blair as vice president for public policy and government affairs. He was previously a lobbyist for Jaguar Land Rover.
— Weber Shandwick has named Pam Jenkins the head of its global public affairs practice. She was previously president of Powell Tate, which is a division of Weber Shandwick. Ranny Cooper, the current head of the practice, is cutting back her schedule after 24 years at the firm. Paul Massey will take over as president of Powell Tate. And Peter Carson, Powell Tate’s managing director of public affairs, has been tapped as head of public affairs for Weber Shandwick in North America.
— Matt DeLuca has joined AARP as the senior adviser for paid media on their social media team. He was previously a paid media lead at Edelman.
— Powerplant Strategies, which describes itself as “a communications and public affairs firm solely focused on the cannabis industry,” has tapped Michael Huttner as its next chief executive. He was previously chief executive of Fenton.
— Brian Gottlieb has launched a new firm, Gottlieb Strategic Research. He was previously a managing director at Purple Strategies and is also a former lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council and the American Society for Microbiology.
SPOTTED: At the “MedTech Showcase” at the Capitol Visitors Center Thursday night hosted by AdvaMed and FamousDC, according to a PI tipster: Jonathan Sackier of Helius Medical Technologies; Greg Musser of Swiss Bionic Solutions USA; Greg Crist of AdvaMed; John DiCarlo of IBM; Noelle Clemente of S-3 Public Affairs; Patrick Hefflinger of American Action Forum; and Thayer Surette of Research!America.
— At the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center's TechFair on Wednesday: Sen.Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Reps. George Holding (R-N.C.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Will Hurd (R-Texas), Tim Walberg (D-Minn.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and John Ratcliffe (R-Texas); and Fred Humphries and Eric Horvitz of Microsoft.
ON THE CALENDAR: House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer will headline the DCCC's summer reception on Tuesday evening on the rooftop of the W Hotel.
NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS:
None
NEW PACs:
Codeblue PAC (PAC)
Guard Freedom (Super PAC)
Michigan Wins PAC, Inc. (Super PAC)
Sierra Forward (PAC)NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Consejo Coordinador Empresarial
B+S Strategies: BNSF Railway Company
B+S Strategies: Deutsche Post World Net USA, Inc d/b/a DHL
Barnes & Thornburg, LLP: The Modern Group
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Statoil Wind US LLC
DCB Law Group, LLC: City of Hartford, Connecticut
Holland & Hart LLP: American Wind Energy Association
MJWT Consulting: John Matthews
Shorelight Education, LLC: Shorelight Education, LLC
Van Scoyoc Associates: Wall Aviation, LLCNEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Propeller Airports
Alpine Group, Inc.: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
Bockorny Group, Inc.: Black Beret Life Sciences LLC (Formerly Reporting As Bosarge Life Sciences)
Int'l Council of Employers of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers: Int'l Council of Employers of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers
Washington Strategy Group Inc.: Washington Strategy Group Inc.http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/politico-influence/2017/06/09/bob-grand-to-lobby-on-border-wall-220766
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Week Ahead: Pruitt Meets the Purse-String Holders
Jun 9, 2017 | Bloomberg BNA
By Chuck McCutcheon
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will explain to Congress why he believes cutting his agency’s budget by 31 percent is a good idea, one of numerous energy and environment events during the week of June 12.
Pruitt is scheduled to appear June 15 before the House Appropriations’ Interior, Environment and Related Agencies’ Subcommittee to discuss President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget request. Pruitt has defended the proposed cut to the Environmental Protection Agency by saying he has met with many state officials “who are committed to pro-jobs and pro-environment” and who will join in funding a greater share of U.S. environmental protection needs.
Republicans on the Appropriations Committee are expected to give Pruitt a warm reception because of his commitment to overhauling the agency, as Brian Dabbs has reported. However, they have been more dismissive about the magnitude of the proposed cut.
Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), who chairs the EPA funding subcommittee, has said he looks forward to working with the Trump administration. But in President Barack Obama’s final year in office, his appropriations subcommittee called for cutting less than $300 million from Obama’s EPA budget request—which would have amounted to about a 3.5 percent cut to EPA’s budget—while at the same time boosting spending by more than $200 million over what Obama had sought for drinking water state revolving funds.
Calvert is a conservative who has spoken of the need to reduce “job-killing regulations.” But he also has a bipartisan side: He has held a seat on the Appropriations Committee since 2007 and has reached across the aisle on votes to raise the debt limit and keep the government running when hardliners threatened a shutdown. With a business background in the real estate and restaurant industries, Calvert is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a coalition of more than 70 members of Congress that backs “advancing positive policies that can command bipartisan support.”
Also on Capitol Hill
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing June 13 on several of Trump’s nominees: Annie Caputo and David Wright to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (as well as the reappointment of Commissioner Kristine Svinicki); and Susan Bodine to assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Bloomberg BNA will cover.
Environment and Public Works also will hold a hearing June 14 on the renewable fuel standard Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver. The bill (S. 517) would waive summer restrictions on transportation fuel containing 15 percent ethanol, known as E15, and higher ethanol blends. Among those scheduled to testify is Mike Lorenz, executive vice president of Sheetz Inc. Brian Dabbs will monitor.
Also June 14, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy Subcommittee is set to explore states’ roles on energy security planning, emergency preparedness and state energy programs. Rebecca Kern will cover.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Water and Power Subcommittee will meet June 14 to look at a variety of water- and power-related bills, including one aimed at making it easier to build new surface water storage projects. Alan Kovski will cover.The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry will hold a hearing June 13 on small watershed structure. Trump has proposed to zero out funds for the Department of Agriculture’s rural wastewater and water infrastructure program in the fiscal year 2018 budget. Amena H. Saiyid will cover.
In Other News
G-7 meeting: Environmental officials from the Group of Seven nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.—meet in Bologna, Italy, June 11-12. Climate-related issues are just one part of the agenda, but Pruitt can expect an earful on the decision of the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement. Eric J. Lyman is covering.
European Parliament: European Union lawmakers are scheduled to discuss the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement June 14. Votes also are expected on a variety of environment issues, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions through 2030 for parts of the economy that are not covered by emissions trading as well as the use of pesticides in certain conservation areas. Stephen Gardner will cover.
Methane lawsuit: Environmental groups are asking a federal appeals court to stop the EPA from placing a stay on an Obama-era regulation on methane emissions from oil and gas wells. The agency has until 4 p.m. on June 15 to submit a response to the groups arguing why the stay shouldn’t be struck down. David Schultz will handle.
Social cost of carbon: The National Academies’ Board on Environmental Change and Society will hold a June 14 symposium on the social cost of carbon and climate impacts. Rachel Leven will track.
EPA Review of New Chemicals: EPA’s Jeffery Morris discusses during a free June 12 webinar what the agency’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics has been doing to slash the backlog of new chemical requests that had piled up following last year’s overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act and prevent another backlog from occurring. Specialty chemical manufacturers, former EPA officials and Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C., add their perspectives. Pat Rizzuto is moderating the webinar.
Green chemistry: William Feehery, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences, will deliver the keynote address at the American Chemical Society’s 21st Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference June 13-15 in Reston, Va. Bloomberg BNA will cover.Chemical dispersants: The toxicity and efficacy of chemical dispersants used to respond to oil spills is the subject of a new science review that aims to improve oil spill cleanups. The tools will be studied by a new scientific advisory committee that holds its first meeting June 13-15. The trade-offs for workers, coastal communities and the environment when other cleanup methods are used—or when oil spills are left untreated—also will be discussed by the National Academies’ Committee on the Evaluation of the Use of Chemical Dispersants in Oil Spill Response. Pat Rizzuto is following.
https://www.bna.com/week-ahead-pruitt-b73014453106/
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Pruitt, Flurry of Admin Officials Due on Hill
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Manuel Quiñones
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will be one of numerous administration officials on Capitol Hill this week defending the White House's fiscal 2018 budget request.
Hearings in both the House and Senate come as appropriators and congressional leaders face difficulties as they try to avoid another fiscal cliff.
Pruitt is scheduled to appear Thursday before the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and he will face questions on the dramatic EPA reshaping envisioned by the budget.
President Trump has proposed cutting about 30 percent, or more than $2 billion, of EPA's budget, resulting in 3,800 fewer jobs at the agency.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a senior appropriator, said Pruitt would get a "very friendly reception" from Republicans for pushing regulatory rollbacks. But, Cole said, Pruitt would get some pushback on deep agency cuts.
"I think at the end of the day, the EPA takes a haircut, but it's hard for me to see cuts of the size that were proposed in the president's budget," he said.
Cole noted that the White House pushed for sharp reductions to EPA as part of the recent fiscal 2017 omnibus package, but lawmakers only supported a 1 percent reduction.
Pruitt will likely take fire over plans to reduce or eliminate EPA programs that help support state regulators, including the Great Lakes cleanup efforts. Also likely to draw lawmaker scrutiny is a proposed cut of more than $300 million to EPA's Superfund program.
Pruitt may have to defend his own security budget, too. Some lawmakers have questioned an increase in spending on his personal protection detail, which has surfaced in internal budget documents leaked to the media.Climate
Democrats may also press Pruitt on Trump's decision to exit the Paris climate agreement; the EPA administrator was one of the top boosters of the move.
Paris will also likely come up during one of numerous hearings on the State Department and foreign affairs spending in both the House and Senate. Expect Democrats to use the hearings as a platform to blast Trump for ceding international leadership on clean energy.
Republican appropriators on both sides of Capitol Hill have expressed distaste for the Trump administration's "hard power" approach of increasing defense spending while slashing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's budget. Still, international climate change funds may be hard to resurrect.
House appropriators have in the past tried to block international climate spending, and those riders are likely to be part of the conversation this year.
Other prime venues for climate and renewable energy issues to emerge are hearings on proposed spending for the Defense and Treasury departments.Forest Service
The Forest Service's proposed budget will come before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday. The Trump administration proposed $4.73 billion in discretionary funding.
Proposed cuts to collaborative management programs and to maintenance of roads and trails are likely to generate questions, as is the continuing effort to end the raiding of non-fire-related accounts to pay for fire suppression.
The administration didn't propose a long-term solution to wildfire funding, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the agency's budget request.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is concerned the budget doesn't adequately fund firefighting, an aide said.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell has said officials "stand committed to finding a solution for this once and for all," as lawmakers debate legislation on the issue.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, said last week she was skeptical of a proposal to move funding for the removal of hazardous fuels — meaning dry, dead wood — out of the wildland fire management account and into forest management.
She cast doubt on the agency's predicted harvest of 3.4 billion board feet of timber, which she said would be hard to achieve with the proposed cuts to forest maintenance.Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will appear tomorrow before the Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss his department's budget request.
The proposed spending plan would cut the agency's funding by 20.5 percent, including reductions to conservation programs and crop insurance. Discretionary spending would total about $21 billion, and mandatory funding would be about $117 billion.
Perdue is likely to face questions about plans, not in the budget, to reorganize the department and eliminate the position of undersecretary for rural development.
The Trump administration has also said it wants to encourage more private-sector conservation assistance, while reducing staff in USDA field offices.
Cuts to crop insurance have brought objections from farm-state lawmakers, including Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), suggesting they won't go far.
A spokeswoman for subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said he will likely press Perdue on crop insurance, the Conservation Reserve Program, agriculture research, trade, food aid and rural development.
Subcommittee ranking member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) has said the Trump budget hurts rural America. "It represents a direct attack on rural communities' most basic needs, from slashing investment in small-business growth and job creation, to threatening access to clean drinking water," he said.Outlook
Amid the hearings, appropriators and congressional leaders will continue discussions on how they will actually move the 12 fiscal 2018 spending bills.
Despite perennial opposition to such a move, momentum is building toward packaging them into a single omnibus for the House to pass before the August congressional recess.
The Republican Study Committee, a bloc of more than 150 House conservatives, late last week got behind the idea. The group only takes a position when at least two-thirds of its members support it.
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), the RSC chairman, said: "The game of financial and political brinksmanship has yielded few, if any, victories for conservatives. We cannot keep punting this problem and should be proactive rather than reactive." Walker also said lawmakers should be given the chance to offer amendments to the omnibus on the floor.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week called that proposal "almost impossible" given that Republicans have gotten a late start in writing spending bills with the White House's budget sent to Congress only last month.
Pelosi did credit Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for recently reaching out to her to begin discussions over setting a top line for discretionary spending.
"He made the overture. It's just up to them to get moving," she said.
Current spending caps, set by a 2015 bipartisan deal, would call for a $5 billion decease in discretionary spending in the coming fiscal year.
Both parties want to raise the limit, but for different priorities. The GOP wants to boost defense accounts, while Democrats are looking to raise domestic spending.
Pelosi also softened earlier comments on hiking the debt ceiling, saying she would now support a clean increase in the nation's borrowing limit by August. She previously suggested she might not go along if the GOP continued to seek tax breaks for the wealthy.
"I would hope we would have no debate about it," Pelosi said. "We want to remove all doubt."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently called on Congress to act by August on a clean borrowing extension to avoid any chance of an unprecedented federal default. The current national debt is just under $20 trillion.
Next week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings on the administration's budget request for the departments of the Interior and Energy. And the House Natural Resources Committee will meet on Interior.
Reporters Kevin Bogardus, George Cahlink, Hannah Hess and Marc Heller contributed.
Schedule: The House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Treasury budget is Monday, June 12, at 4 p.m. in 2359 Rayburn.
Witness: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Schedule: The House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Defense budget is Monday, June 12, at 7 p.m. in 2118 Rayburn.
Witnesses: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis; and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
Schedule: The House Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Justice budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 2 p.m. in 2359 Rayburn.
Witness: Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Schedule: The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Defense budget posture is Tuesday, June 13, at 9:30 a.m. in G-50 Dirksen.
Witnesses: Mattis and Dunford.
Schedule: The Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Justice budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 10 a.m. in 192 Dirksen.
Witness: Sessions.
Schedule: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 10 a.m. in 419 Dirksen.
Witness: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Schedule: The Senate Budget Committee hearing on revenue and the fiscal 2018 request is Tuesday, June 13, at 10 a.m. in 608 Dirksen.
Witness: Mnuchin.
Schedule: The Senate Agriculture, Rural Development and the FDA Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Agriculture budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 10:30 a.m. in 124 Dirksen.
Witness: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Schedule: The Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the State budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 2:30 p.m. in 192 Dirksen.
Witness: Tillerson.
Schedule: The Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Transportation budget is Tuesday, June 13, at 2:30 p.m. at 138 Dirksen.
Witness: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
Schedule: The House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the foreign affairs budget is Wednesday, June 14, at 9 a.m. in 2172 Rayburn.
Witness: Mnuchin.
Schedule: The House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Treasury international programs budget is Wednesday, June 14, at 10 a.m. in 2359 Rayburn.
Witness: Mnuchin.
Schedule: The Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Defense budget is Wednesday, June 14, at 10:30 a.m. at 192 Dirksen.
Witnesses: Mattis and Dunford.
Schedule: The Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Nuclear National Security Agency budget is Wednesday, June 14, at 2:30 p.m. in 138 Dirksen.
Witnesses: Philip Calbos, acting deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration; David Huizenga, acting deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration; and Adm. James Caldwell, deputy administrator for naval reactors at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Schedule: The House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Transportation budget is Thursday, June 15, at 10 a.m. in 2358-A Rayburn.
Witness: Chao.
Schedule: The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Defense budget is Thursday, June 15, at 10 a.m. in 2359 Rayburn.
Witnesses: Mattis and Dunford.
Schedule: The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee on the EPA budget is Thursday, June 15, at 1 p.m. in 2007 Rayburn.
Witness: U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Schedule: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Forest Service budget is Thursday, June 15, at 10 a.m. in 366 Dirksen.
Witnesses: TBA.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060055866
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TSCA Burden Reduction Rule Panel Grapples With 'Consensus' Decisions
Jun 9, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Dave Reynolds
A panel convened to inform a future Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule reducing reporting mandates for certain chemicals is grappling with several major issues, including how to define “consensus” decisions and whether to address topics like data quality and the frequency of reporting in crafting the burden reduction rule.
Section 8(a)(6) of the revised TSCA enacted last June directs EPA to convene a negotiated rulemaking committee to address industry concerns about the agency's chemical data reporting rule (CDR) program, though the agency has asserted -- over industry objections -- that a rule is only required if the panel provides a “consensus” recommendation.
During a June 8-9 meeting in Washington, D.C., the panel broached a variety of issues that it will weigh in four remaining meetings between June and October, with the next scheduled for Aug. 16-17 in Washington, D.C.
Industry officials pushed to resolve a controversy that dogged the panel's preliminary session last month: How to define a “consensus” recommendation, which EPA says is needed to trigger the agency's obligation to pursue a burden reduction rule. Industry argues that a few outliers should not stymie a consensus.
But environmentalists on the panel caution they are outnumbered by industry and that a less than unanimous definition of consensus risks drowning out their views.
The panel failed to resolve the issue and tasked a work-group with deliberating over the consensus question and other concerns, such as the scope of subjects that the committee may tackle in addition to burden reduction. Environmentalists expressed interest in ensuring EPA receives quality data and increasing the frequency of reporting.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act included a requirement for the rulemaking committee to limit existing CDR requirements on manufacturers of inorganic byproducts when those products are recycled, reused, or reprocessed. Lawmakers included the requirement for the rulemaking committee in the updated toxics law to address industry's confusion and criticism resulting from past administrations' regulatory updates.
The George W. Bush EPA in 2006 made changes to the requirements in the CDR, requiring for the first time reporting on inorganic chemicals' use and disposal, including metals, in volumes greater than 25,000 pounds. In the rule, EPA subjected inorganic metals to the same reporting requirements as organic chemicals, failing to take into account what sources say are the nuances of the materials.
Problematic for metals are byproduct recycling requirements of the Obama administration's subsequent chemical data reporting rule that require a manufacturer to report the fate of any substance that has to be removed from a byproduct by a reaction -- chemicals simply extracted are exempt from reporting -- which EPA then considers the manufacturing of a new chemical.
Rulemaking Steps
During the meeting EPA staff outlined steps they must take to complete a rule in advance of a June 2020 reporting period, the scope of data reporting requirements, and enforcement policy. Staff said CDR data helps assess pollution risks and worker exposures, and noted that enforcement of CDR violations is conducted on a per chemical, per facility basis rather than the daily penalties assessed for some other TSCA violations.
Derek Swick, a panelist with the American Petroleum Institute, urged EPA to issue the final CDR update at least one year before companies are required to report or postpone the rule's effect until a subsequent period, four years later.
Lynn Vendinello, deputy director of EPA's Chemical Control Division, said the agency is working toward that goal but cautioned that both the proposed and final versions of the rule will undergo White House Office of Management and Budget review, a process that generally takes 90 days, but can take more or less time.
Environmental panelists, Amy Kyle, of the Sierra Club, and David Lennett, of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), argued that their input on the rule should not be strictly limited to reducing reporting burdens, suggesting they intended to raise other issues including ensuring data quality or increasing the frequency of reporting.
“We want to reduce burdens in ways that maintain or improve use of data,” Kyle said. We “don't want to reduce burdens and also lose important data."
EPA's Vendinello backed the suggestion, saying that ensuring EPA receives quality data should be a goal of the panel's discussions. “We know right now we don't have the best data quality in this area,” she said. “I don't see why we couldn't discuss things that would make for better data."
But Fern Abrams, of the electronics industry trade group IPC, argued that such discussions are outside the committee's mandate to negotiate recommendations for an EPA rule reducing reporting burdens.
“The underlying goal of TSCA is protection of environment and human health, it's not generating data for the sake of data,” Abrams said. “We want to focus on burden reduction while maintaining environmental and human health. . . . If there is data that doesn't serve that goal we should be free to jettison” it from required reporting.
'Consensus' Recommendation
Panel members revisited, but failed to resolve, continuing disagreement over how to define a “consensus” recommendation that would trigger EPA's mandate to pursue a burden reduction rule. Under the current process, panel leaders say the group will only recommend to EPA potential changes that the group agrees on unanimously. Other topics will be included in a report to the agency, but not part of the recommended rulemaking. But panelists have expressed concern about that approach.
Kathleen Roberts of the North American Metals Council argued, “If there is a situation where a committee member blocks consensus, there has to be a backup option.”
She floated an alternative approach, suggesting that if five of the six stakeholder groups represented on the panel, such as industry, EPA, states, and environmental groups, agree to a recommendation, that idea should be included in a final recommendation to the agency and in a report to Congress.
The outlier group would be free to include their views in a minority report, but should not block the consensus that EPA says triggers its mandate for the rulemaking.
NRDC's Lennett said the approach failed to ensure that input from environmental and public interest groups, who are outnumbered by industry, do not have their opinions voted out of a final recommendation.
“Even if everyone in the environmental caucus opposed it, it would still be” a consensus recommendation to the agency, he said. “I don't think that's an acceptable solution.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/tsca-burden-reduction-rule-panel-grapples-consensus-decisions
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA's 'Safer' Chemicals Label Under Fire From Industry, White House
Jun 9, 2017 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
The Environmental Protection Agency's 25-year-old program to highlight products made with "safer" alternative chemicals faces an uncertain future.
Chemical industry groups believe the EPA should add more criteria to its evaluation of products for the "Safer Choice" label, but advocacy groups suggested that taking those steps could jeopardize public trust in the program.
The debate, Bloomberg reports, is also playing out as the Trump administration's budget proposal calls for the elimination of funding for the program under the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
Companies seeking the voluntary "Safer Choice" label must demonstrate that their products are made with safer or more environmentally-friendly alternatives to other conventional chemicals.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents many of the world's largest chemical producers, argued last month that the label should be awarded based on risk assessments and exposure levels — and not simply because a chemical could present a hazard.
The group particularly took issue with a Tide detergent that did not qualify for the program even though it met recently added criteria for energy savings.
“How is a product like this that is going to reduce energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, not a safer choice for the environment?” ACC President Cal Dooley asked of Tide Coldwater detergent at a conference.
Environmental and health groups, however, countered that although reducing emissions is a worthy goal, the Safer Choice program was designed specifically to address chemical risks.
They warned that additional criteria could make the program more complicated and susceptible to influence by the chemical industry — which could lead those groups to abandon their support.
“We could spend 10 years arguing about how much of a dangerous chemical is too much,” BlueGreen Alliance's Charlotte Brody told Bloomberg. “When we start arguing how much is too much we move away from good science and move to magic with numbers.”
https://www.chem.info/news/2017/06/epas-safer-chemicals-label-under-fire-industry-white-house
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EU Panel Classifies Titanium Dioxide as Cancer Risk
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
Titanium dioxide, which is widely used in the manufacture of paints, paper, and plastics, should be classified as carcinogenic in the European Union, the European Chemicals Agency said June 9.
ECHA's Risk Assessment Committee concluded that titanium dioxide could cause cancer if inhaled, and should be ranked as a Category 2 carcinogen, the lowest classification for carcinogenicity. These substances are suspected of causing cancer compared to category 1B and 1A substances which are presumed to and known to cause cancer, respectively.
The Category 2 carcinogenicity rating would apply EU-wide to all forms of titanium dioxide, including its nanoforms. Companies that sell the substance would be required to bring their product hazard labels into line with EU standards for hazardous substances, which are set out in the EU CLP Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labeling, and packaging of substances and mixtures).
France proposed the common EU classification of titanium dioxide and called for it to be considered a Category 1B carcinogen, but the evidence was insufficient for that classification, the chemicals agency said.
From a compliance point of view, there are significant differences between a 1B or 2 classification. Substances classified 1A or 1B cannot be supplied to consumers and might become candidates for phaseout under the EU's REACH law (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals).
Classifying titanium dioxide as Category 2 will have “limited direct consequences,” the European Chemicals Agency said in a statement to Bloomberg BNA.
The risk committee's opinion on titanium dioxide will be forwarded to the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, which will formally decide on the classification of the substance, ECHA said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=113762414&vname=dennotallissues&fn=113762414&jd=113762414
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Commission Survey Finds EU Citizens Need More Chemical Safety Information
Jun 9, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A European Commission survey on public awareness of the safety of chemical products has concluded there is a need to better inform EU citizens and clarify the concerns that many of them have.
Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska presented the findings of the special Eurobarometer survey in a keynote speech to the Helsinki Chemicals Forum.
Carried out to mark the tenth anniversary of the REACH Regulation, the survey paints a mixed picture of public awareness of, and confidence in, the safety of chemical products, the Commission admits.
Among its finding are that:
· around two-thirds of EU citizens are, to varying degrees, concerned about being exposed to hazardous chemicals in their daily life;
· less than half of respondents feel well informed about the potential dangers of the chemicals contained in consumer products;
· the public uses product labels and the media to determine any potential dangers;
· two-thirds of respondents say that if they ask whether a product contains particularly hazardous chemicals, the seller is required by law to provide them with this information. Only a small minority does not think this is the case;
· awareness and comprehension of hazard pictograms is patchy, with some much more recognisable than others;
· almost half think that chemical products are safe for human health and the environment. However half of respondents say the current level of EU regulation and standards is not high enough and should be increased;
· more respondents think that product safety has improved in the last 10-15 years than say it has deteriorated; and
· perceptions of who has responsibility for ensuring the safety of chemicals contained in consumer products in the EU varies greatly. And there are widely differing views on who should have this responsibility.
The survey, based on fieldwork carried out between November and December 2016, involved interviewing more than 28,000 members of the general public. The aim was have 1,000 interviews in each EU country.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56741/commission-survey-finds-eu-citizens-need-more-chemical-safety-information
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2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Announced
Jun 9, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Stephen K. Ritter
The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are a how-to guide written 20 years ago for chemists and chemical engineers. They provide insight on developing new chemicals and chemical processes and for revitalizing existing ones so that they achieve their desired function while being environmentally and economically friendly. It’s a creative challenge to put the 12 principles into action.
Five technologies that have succeeded in meeting that creative challenge are being recognized with 2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. Merck, Dow Chemical, Koehler, Amgen, Bachem, UniEnergy Technologies, and University of Pennsylvania chemistry professor Eric J. Schelter will be honored for their achievements at a ceremony held on Monday, June 12, at the National Academy of Sciences, in Washington, D.C.
As the name suggests, the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards encourage chemical companies and academic researchers to improve processes and products and recognizes their successes for developing innovative technologies with demonstrable human health and environmental benefits. These benefits include reducing toxicity of chemical products, reducing the use or generation of hazardous substances, introducing a renewable feedstock, saving water or energy, and reducing waste even if it’s not hazardous.
The awards program was established by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1995 as a competitive effort to promote chemical products and manufacturing processes that help the agency achieve federal goals set by the provisions of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The program is administered by EPA’s Green Chemistry Program and is supported by partners from industry, government, academia, and other organizations, including the American Chemical Society and its Green Chemistry Institute.
“These awards showcase the importance and raise the general awareness of green chemistry, including its role in solving global sustainability challenges,” says ACS Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Connelly, who will be on hand Monday to help present the awards. “The accomplishments being recognized clearly demonstrate that truly great science can be accompanied by significant health and environmental benefits, reductions in the use and generation of hazardous substances, and economic advantages,” Connelly adds. “These efforts result in the kinds of change that will not only reshape our economy, but also our expectations for how new products and technologies are commercialized.”
EPA has now presented 114 of the awards to scientists and companies selected from some 1,700 nominations. The work described in the award nominations must have been carried out or demonstrated in the U.S. within the preceding five years. An independent panel selected by ACS, which publishes C&EN, judges the nominations and selects the award winners.
Among this year’s winners, Merck took home the Greener Synthetic Pathways Award for developing a streamlined synthesis of the antiviral drug letermovir, which is currently in Phase III clinical trials. The new synthesis reduces the process mass intensity for making the drug, a sustainability measure of raw materials used per amount of product made, by 73% compared with the original synthesis.
Dow and Koehler jointly landed the Designing Greener Chemicals Award for a new technology that uses a polymer coating on paper to create air pockets that collapse during printing to create an image stemming from the altered refractive index of the coating. This physical process replaces chemical dyes and image developers such as bisphenol A in the production of thermal paper, which is used for printing receipts.
Amgen and Bachem teamed up to receive the Greener Reaction Conditions Award for an improved peptide manufacturing technology to make the drug etelcalcetide, a calcium inhibitor to help control activity of the thyroid gland in patients with kidney disease. The new process produces more peptide in less time while drastically cutting solvent and water use.
UniEnergy Technologies garnered the Small Business Award for its design of a vanadium-based redox flow battery for grid-scale energy storage. The new battery has double the energy density of previous flow battery technology even though it’s smaller and uses smaller amounts of chemicals.
Schelter got the nod for the Academic Award for developing a process that uses tailored ligands to separate mixtures of rare-earth metals during the recycling of consumer lighting and electronics. Scientists expect the approach to reduce energy use and the waste generated during recycling of rare-earth metals and help minimize new rare-earth metal mining.
“The Green Chemistry Challenge Awards highlight the importance of sustainable chemistry and its impact across a range of disciplines,” says Princeton University’s Paul J. Chirik, a 2016 award recipient. “Striking features common among many of the winners is that green chemistry often results in an improved product or a cost savings, demonstrating that environmentally responsible science does not have to come with reduced performance or added cost.”
https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/web/2017/06/2017-Green-Chemistry-Challenge-Awards-announced.html
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Health and Consumer Groups Challenge FDA Over Perchlorate in Food Packaging
Jun 9, 2017 | Food Dive
By Caroline Macdonald
Dive Brief:A coalition of public health watchdogs have challenged the FDA’s decision not to ban perchlorate in food packaging, Food Safety News reports.
The organizations have requested a public hearing, claiming the FDA has ignored evidence that children’s exposure to the chemical has increased since its 2005 decision to allow perchlorate in packaging. They say it could disrupt fetal and infant brain development.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, the amount of perchlorate in infants’ diets has increased by 36%, and in toddlers’ diets by 24% since it has been allowed in packaging. “FDA’s initial decision to approve perchlorate grossly underestimated the amount of perchlorate migrating into dry food,” the objection document says.Dive Insight:
Perchlorate is a chemical primarily used in rocket fuel and fireworks, but it is also used in some pesticides and fertilizers, and can be formed during the degradation of sodium hypochlorite used to disinfect water.
It is added to plastic packaging — often for baby food, flour and spices — to reduce static charge, which can be a significant problem in the food industry in the filling and packing stages of production. Static can cause food to stick to the heat seal area on a package, attract airborne particles and affect the labeling of products if the area is not entirely clean.
Other solutions to the chemical do exist, such as installing ionized blowers or static neutralization bars into a production line. There is evidence that these can reduce waste, as well as wear and tear on machinery.
The groups argue that the FDA made numerous errors in its assessment of the chemical. The agency, they say, has not discussed why perchlorate levels have increased in food products since 2005-2006, despite its own research revealing a significant rise in perchlorate levels in foods like salami, bologna and baby rice cereals.
The levels at which perchlorate is allowed in food packaging in the United States far exceed those permitted elsewhere, with the FDA approving its use at up to 1.2% in plastic packaging for dry foods. In the European Union, the maximum permitted level is 0.05%, which is considered to have no effect on health due to migration from food packaging.
http://www.fooddive.com/news/health-and-consumer-groups-challenge-fda-over-perchlorate-in-food-packaging/444650/
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(ACC Mentioned) Hunting For Caverns: Appalachia’s Bid To Rival The Gulf Coast
Jun 11, 2017 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Anya Litvak
For more than 400 million years — since salt, shale, and dolomite settled into a layer of rock that stretches from outcrops in upstate New York through the underground of Pennsylvania all the way to Michigan — the Salina formation was sealed away from human engineering.
Then came the oil and gas wells.
As drill bits pounded past the Salina to deeper, fuel-bearing layers, geologists grew intrigued by its salt zones.
In the 1960s, the U.S. government studied the formation as a possible host for radioactive waste. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists proposed it as a site for wastewater injection. About a decade ago, geologists concluded it might make a good storage container for carbon dioxide — that was back in the days when either a tax on carbon or some other mechanism to curb global warming seemed an inevitability.
But times have changed and the glory days of oil and gas have returned. And the Salina, that accommodating host, is being reshaped in service of hydrocarbons.
A pioneering project is underway across the state line in eastern Ohio, where private-equity funded Mountaineer NGL Storage is building a salt cavern to hold 2 million gallons of ethane, propane and butane.
This is how it will work. The company will drill wells into the Salina salt zone in Monroe County, flood it with water to dissolve the salt, and suck the salty water out of the ground. That will leave behind a cavern into which the company can pump natural gas liquids.
Meanwhile, brine will be stored in large above-ground impoundments. When it’s time to retrieve some of the natural gas liquids in storage, the brine will be pumped back into the well, displacing the hydrocarbons and bringing them up to the surface.
“It’s actually pretty ... simple,” said Tim Hanley, vice president of business development for the company. He compared it to holding two straws in a glass of water and vacillating the amount by pulling one out with your finger over the hole.
The mechanics of the process might be simple but getting a new project approved, contracted and built — and introducing a new concept to the area — has taken time.
Mountaineer drilled a 6,200-foot-deep test well last year, and is working to get environmental permits and customer commitments to start construction.
There’s been a good amount of interest, Mr. Hanley said, but, “Until somebody signs on the dotted line, it’s like you almost sold your used car.”
An Appalachian hub
Mountaineer’s effort might a prelude of bigger things to come.
For several years, economic development officials in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia have been kicking around the idea of an Appalachian storage hub — a network of underground sites, pipelines and processing facilities.
Their concept — the focus of a geological study funded in part by Pittsburgh-based Benedum Foundation and due for completion next month — will be discussed at a conference devoted to Appalachian storage Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe.
Supporters are hailing it as manna from heaven, a way to capitalize on the vast supplies of shale gas and natural gas liquids in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations and funnel that profit to economically starved parts of Appalachia that have been bruised by the decline of coal and manufacturing over the past decades.
In testimony advocating for a storage hub before a U.S. Senate committee last year, Steve Hendrick, president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Technology Research & Innovation Center, quoted ancient Greek historian Thucydides, declaring, “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike … and yet notwithstanding … go out to meet it.”
In his own words, he added, “We need to realize our own new reality. Because, frankly, if we don’t, we’ll never get out of this rut.”
Mr. Hendrick said he “read with vigor” the economic projections for this idea released by the American Chemistry Council last month. The trade group’s study, and Mr. Hendrick, envision a storage hub that would command $10 billion in investment.
That includes a network of caverns connected to 500 miles of pipelines running from Royal Dutch Shell’s petrochemical complex in Monaca, Beaver County, to Kentucky — storing and circulating up to 100 million barrels of ethane, propane, ethylene, propylene, chlorine and methane.
These are the building blocks of the chemical industry, which economic development officials say will flock to this region to take advantage of them.
The American Chemistry Council’s projections bet on seven petrochemical crackers eventually locating in the region, two propane processing plants and an unspecified number of facilities that process ethylene into other chemicals.
So far, Shell is the only company that has committed to building an ethane cracker. Two other large firms have repeatedly delayed decisions on building in Ohio and West Virginia, but are still evaluating.
Natural gas liquids, like ethane, propane, and butane, are the heavier components of natural gas and are plentiful in the Marcellus Shale of southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio.
Push-back on new pipelines
A large portion of the natural gas liquids recovered from Appalachian wells today are either left in the gas stream that goes to transmission pipelines, or separated and sent by pipeline to the Gulf Coast, which is home to the largest hydrocarbon storage hub in the world — Mont Belvieu.
There, about 200 million gallons of liquids are stored in a salt dome under Barbers Hill, about 30 miles northeast of Houston. Hydrocarbon storage there began in the 1950s.
The area has been through its share of challenges. Pipeline and factory accidents resulted in more than 200 Mont Belvieu residents getting buyout offers in the 1980s.
A petrochemical storage hub, such as the one being proposed in Appalachia, would require a massive build out of infrastructure to transport volatile materials at high pressure. Opposition to such pipelines has lined up across Pennsylvania opposing Sunoco’s Mariner East projects, for example.
In 2015, an Enterprise Products Partners pipeline carrying ethane from a Washington County natural gas processing plant down to the Gulf Coast exploded in Follansbee, W.Va., setting off a fire that burned for 10 hours.
Only woods and powerlines were damaged in that remote area, but the blast exposed the complicated interplay between Appalachia’s new infrastructure and its past.
The ethane pipeline, less than two years old, had been on mined land, and sunk three feet during its short life, putting stress on the weld that eventually ruptured.
Finding the best rock
The state’s geology and the history of its underground exploits is something that Kristin Carter pays attention to everyday.
Assistant state geologist with the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Ms. Carter is leading the state’s study of underground layers that might prove a good match for natural gas liquids storage. Her counterparts in Ohio and West Virginia are doing the same.
Ms. Carter is focusing her work on three types of underground containers: salt zones, like in the Salina; underground limestone mines; and depleted or depleting gas reservoirs. “We’ve got lots of those,” she said.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each option, and even if some are found to be geologically suitable, they may not be in the money for other reasons, she cautioned.
It’s not just about the geology, Ms. Carter said, it’s also about what else is happening both under the ground and above it — how many wells already pierce these formations, who holds the legal rights.
And it’s not just about Pennsylvania.
“This kind of project you have to look beyond the state lines,” Ms. Carter said.
The fruit of the effort will be a website with data and maps that prospective investors and economic development officials can use while pursuing the Appalachian hub concept.
“We wanted to make sure we give the facts on geology,” she said. “If you have to spend the money on it, those things are going to guide you in the decision making process.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies/2017/06/11/Hunting-for-caverns-Appalachia-s-bid-to-rival-the-Gulf-Coast-salina-salt-cavern-ethane-propane-storage-shale/stories/201706110097
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Clean Power Plan Review Tests EPA's Climate Change Obligations
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Whether the EPA has an obligation to address climate change will be central as the agency begins its efforts to roll back Obama-era limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency took its first step toward undoing the power plant standards, known as the Clean Power Plan (RIN:2060-AR33), sending a proposal to reconsider the Obama-era regulation to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review June 8. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who was a leading opponent of the rule as Oklahoma attorney general, has not yet said whether the rule will be revised or scrapped outright. However, the upcoming review will kick off an inevitable battle with environmental groups over whether the EPA can simply rescind the carbon dioxide standards without issuing an adequate replacement.
“There is no question making the Trump/Pruitt administration follow the law is going to be difficult. Making them actually act is going to be difficult. But they won't be able to undo the duty to act. The obligation will be there, and they'll be in default of it,” David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Bloomberg BNA.
How Far Does Past Finding Reach?
The EPA in 2009 determined that greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles should be regulated in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision forcing the agency to make that finding. The Obama administration argued that subsequent determination, known as the endangerment finding, applied to stationary sources such as power plants as well, leading to the Clean Power Plan. Pruitt could reverse that interpretation in an effort to halt power plant regulation, Theodore Hadzi-Antich, an attorney at the Texas Public Policy Foundation who previously represented the Pacific Legal Foundation in challenges to the Clean Power Plan, told Bloomberg BNA.
“The key question there is does it only trigger mobile source emissions or does it necessarily trigger stationary source emissions?” he said.
Deciding that the 2009 endangerment finding only applies to vehicles would force the EPA to issue a similar determination for power plants, slowing down any attempt to replace the Clean Power Plan. But ultimately, that may just be another stalling technique, Victor Flatt, an environmental law professor at the University of Houston, told Bloomberg BNA.
“They do can lots of delaying, but ultimately you have to do something, that's my opinion,” he said.
The Clean Power Plan faces a host of legal challenges from states and utility groups. The EPA has asked a federal appellate court to indefinitely pause those challenges while it reconsiders the power plant rule. However, many of the legal arguments Pruitt and other opponents of the Clean Power Plan made could be recycled to justify repealing the carbon dioxide standards administratively, Doniger said.
“One strategy they might be planning to follow is lay those out serially,” he said. “‘We'll try this one and make the environmentalists and action-oriented states and industry go one by one. Hedgerow by hedgerow.’”
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=113762396&vname=dennotallissues&fn=113762396&jd=113762396
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Bipartisan House Bill Takes Aim At Methane Emissions
Jun 9, 2017 | E&E News PM
By Hannah Hess
Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) introduced a bill yesterday to cut methane emissions from natural gas production.
The "Methane Emissions Mitigation Act" would require the Energy Department to set up a research and development program and a separate technology clearinghouse to develop practices for detecting and stopping leaks. It would authorize $25 million per year through 2025.
Lawmakers who prioritize climate action have unveiled new proposals for tackling greenhouse gas emissions in recent days, following President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement (E&E Daily, June 9).
Curbelo described the measure as a "timely" solution to combat emissions, while increasing the efficiency of natural gas operations.
The pair teamed up earlier this year on a bill aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel generators (E&E Daily, April 7).
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced last week, one day before Trump's Paris decision, that the agency would formally delay Obama-era standards to reduce methane emissions from new oil and gas sources.
Environmentalists have challenged Pruitt in court over the issue (Greenwire, June 5).
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/06/09/stories/1060055845
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The Natural Gas Boom Could Snarl Traffic at One of America's Busiest Ports
Jun 9, 2017 | Bloomberg
By Brian K Sullivan
A boom in natural gas exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast is raising the prospect of traffic jams at one of America’s busiest ports.
Weather delays from fog and storms are nothing new at the Houston Ship Channel, which links the prolific oil and gas fields of Texas and Louisiana to the rest of the world. But as more cargoes of liquefied natural gas and petrochemicals head across the globe from newly built plants, the tanker bottlenecks are poised to get worse, according to Poten & Partners.
Sixteen months after the first cargo of gas from U.S. shale fields headed overseas, the nation is on the path to becoming a net exporter of the fuel for the first time in decades. The supply surge has created the need for more and bigger roads, pipelines and waterways, prompting a $5.3 billion expansion of the Panama Canal to accommodate the massive tankers used to haul LNG. And with about 20 export terminals already approved or proposed for the Gulf Coast, even more ships are on the way.
“A lot of waterways in the Gulf aren’t ready for prime time,” Gordon Shearer, a senior adviser at Poten in New York, said by phone. “Everything is going into a very concentrated strip of coastline.”
Between 1900 and 2010, Texas’ Galveston County -- located at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel -- has been hit by eight hurricanes of Category 3 or stronger, and neighboring Chambers County has been pummeled by seven, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The area around Galveston, New Orleans and the southern tip of Florida gets hit by more tropical systems than anywhere else in the U.S.
Forecasters are expecting the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, to churn out 11 to 17 named storms, compared with the 30-year average of 12. A storm gets a name when it reaches tropical-storm strength of 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour.
The Calcasieu Ship Channel, which leads to the Port of Lake Charles in Louisiana, is another potential bottleneck for LNG tankers, Shearer said. But Channing Hayden, Lake Charles’ director of navigation, says the port can handle the traffic.
Poten is being “overly pessimistic,” Hayden said. While wind creates delays at the port about 16 percent of the time in March, and the fog season runs from October to April, the backups aren’t extensive, he said.
“We may have fog, but it is not all the time,” Hayden said. “We do have three or four days in a row, yes, but do we have 30 days in a row? No.”
A spokeswoman for the Houston Ship Channel couldn’t immediately find an official available to comment.
For more on why natural gas may be the fuel of the future, click here
Every gas export project has to undergo a suitability study by the Coast Guard, which takes weather and traffic into consideration, said Zach Allen, president of Pan Eurasian Enterprises Inc., a Raleigh, North Carolina-based tracker of LNG shipments.
Shearer said the U.S. government should make it easier for gas export terminals to open on the East and West coasts, despite state and local resistance, to take pressure off of Gulf Coast facilities. He was the chief executive of Hess LNG, leading a failed effort to site an LNG import terminal in Fall River, Massachusetts.
But local opposition to LNG in other parts of the country is one reason why the Gulf, even with its weather challenges, is where developers want to build these projects, Hayden said.
“The Gulf Coast is the only section of the country that welcomes the petrochemical industry,” he said. “This is where the petrochemical industry is, it is where all the pipelines converge, it is the logical place to put it.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-08/gas-boom-seen-snarling-traffic-at-one-of-america-s-busiest-ports
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House Set to Pass 11 Energy Bills
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Sam Mintz
The House will vote on 11 energy-related bills this week.
The measures, many of which have passed the House before, are coming up under suspension of the rules, a process that allows for fast-track consideration. To pass, they must get a supermajority of votes.
H.R. 2274, from Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), would ease hydropower permitting by extending construction deadlines. Several of the bills on the agenda would extend deadlines for specific projects. They are:H.R. 446, from Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), for the Gathright Dam.H.R. 447, also from Griffith, for the Flannagan Dam.H.R. 951, from Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), for the W. Kerr Scott Dam.H.R. 2292, from Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), for the Cannonsville Dam.H.R. 2457, from Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), for a J. Bennett Johnston Waterway hydropower project.H.R. 2122, from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), for the Jennings Randolph Dam.
Other bills on the calendar:H.R. 627, led by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), to direct the Energy secretary to establish an outreach program for efficiency projects at schools.H.R. 723, from Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), to amend the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to encourage increased use of performance contracting at federal facilities.H.R. 338, from Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), to improve education and training for energy-related jobs.H.R. 1109, from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), to put in place a minimum monetary threshold of $10 million for mergers and acquisitions of public utility facilities to be subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jurisdiction.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/06/12/stories/1060055859
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Trump Proposes Dismantling Board that Investigates Chemical Disasters
Jun 11, 2017 | EcoRI News
By James Celenza
President Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal would eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) even though the CSB is to catastrophic chemical disasters what the National Transportation Safety Board is to airline crashes, train derailments and bridge collapses.
Take one example: CSB’s investigation of the Texas City BP refinery explosion in 2015 that killed 15 workers. While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found numerous violations of the facility’s Process Safety Management standard and issued hundreds of violations with a $21 million penalty, the CSB identified serious problems about how BP failed to evaluate the “safety implications of major organizational, personnel, and policy changes,” and failed to “provide adequate resources to prevent major accidents.”
The CSB also determined that BP had failed to “create an effective reporting and learning culture; reporting bad news was not encouraged. Incidents were often ineffectively investigated and appropriate corrective actions not taken.”
The CSB was authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, in the wake of catastrophic chemical plant accidents such as the Philips 66 explosion in the United States, which killed 23 workers in 1989, and the Bhopal chemical release that killed thousands in India in the mid-1980s.
The CSB conducts in-depth analyses of major chemical incidents and issue recommendations to government agencies (OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency), industry associations (American Petroleum Institute) and labor unions (United Steelworkers) with a budget of less than $12 million, five board members and a staff of less than 50 that include chemical-safety experts, chemical and mechanical engineers, and health and safety professionals.
While OSHA and EPA can only look into specific violations of their standards and regulations, the CSB can look at deeper causes that aren't covered by any regulations — things such as the effect of worker fatigue or organizational changes that may increase environmental and workplace hazards.
CSB’s real value, however, is conducting root-cause analyses of chemical disasters, and then proposing a range of organizational, engineering and structural recommendations to prevent additional disasters. Many of the CSB’s recommendations are currently forming the basis of OSHA’s revisions to its Process Safety Management standard, and revisions of EPA’s Risk Management Program rules, the two major federal rules that address catastrophic chemical accidents and releases.
Ironically, considering Trump’s complaints that regulations have frustrated industry, many in the chemical industry strongly support the CSB, as Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.
“I don’t think anyone in the industry wants to see the Chemical Safety Board be abolished,” Stephen Brown, a vice president with Tesoro Corp., an oil refiner that was the focus of a 2014 CSB report, told the media outlet. “The goal is a fully functional, professional investigative body that approaches things in a professional manner with integrity.”
Even the Chlorine Institute, which has been the subject of a number of CSB recommendations, opposes the board's elimination. In a letter to Congress, Chlorine Institute president Frank Reiner wrote that his institute “fully supports” the agency and stressed that “the CSB fills a vital role in the chemical industry and we strongly encourage the full funding of the CSB.”
Many states have adopted new safeguards for chemical safety as a result of CSB reports. North Carolina, Kentucky and New Jersey trained fire inspectors on prevention of dust explosions. Colorado took measures to protect emergency responders during rescues in confined spaces. Connecticut banned flammable gas for cleaning pipes. New Jersey issued policies to prevent runaway chemical reactions.
New York City strengthened its fire code to address chemical risks, thanks to CSB recommendations.
After a 2012 fire at a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif., the CSB discovered that the pipe used was subject to corrosion and rupture because of the materials it carried. Though there were no rules against using that kind of pipe, industry changed its practice because of the CSB recommendations.
“We know CSB recommendations have made our plants safer, not just for workers but for residents surrounding those plants,” said Mike Wright, health and safety director for United Steelworkers. “When a chemical accident is prevented, it doesn’t make news.”
James Celenza is the executive director of the Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health.
https://www.ecori.org/green-opinions/2017/6/11/trump-proposes-dismantling-board-that-investigates-chemical-disasters
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Bipartisan Senators: Trump Hampers Permitting
Jun 12, 2017 | E&E News PM
By Camille von Kaenel
A bipartisan pair of senators this week told President Trump they are concerned he isn't implementing existing laws to streamline infrastructure permits despite his promises to speed up construction.
Trump this morning concluded a week meant to promote his vision for infrastructure by promising to "hold bureaucracy accountable," vowing to cut the time for private companies and state and local officials to get approval for infrastructure projects from the federal government (Greenwire, June 9).
But Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) warned Trump yesterday in a letter that his administration may be doing the opposite.
The senators, who co-wrote a permitting reform measure passed into law as part of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, said the delay in implementing the law "has hampered cross-agency efforts and allowed permit siloing to continue."
"Given the Administration's stated interest in facilitating the permitting process and infrastructure development, it is perplexing that the Administration has not taken full advantage of the powerful tools Congress gave it in FAST-41 to accomplish those goals," they wrote.
Trump this morning said his administration is setting up new initiatives to coordinate federal permitting, but they appear to mirror those required by the legislation. He did not provide a timeline for when he would get those initiatives going, and the White House did not respond to additional questions by publication time.
Portman and McCaskill pointed out that the president's past moves — like an executive order requiring the Council on Environmental Quality to identify high-priority infrastructure projects — already "duplicate or conflict" with efforts started under President Obama.
"We have heard from numerous stakeholders that the executive order is confusing and makes the permitting process even more complex — the exact opposite result of what seems to have been intended," the senators wrote.
The FAST Act sets up a Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council to shepherd projects through the federal permitting process and monitor their progress in an online dashboard. It had barely gotten off the ground before the election, and the website lists dozens of projects covered by several agencies, including pipelines, transmission lines, roads, bridges and public transit.
The Trump administration has not yet appointed a permanent executive director for the council. The senators wrote that they are concerned the delay is "significantly impairing" the goal of greater coordination.
Trump said this morning that he was creating a new council to "help project managers navigate the bureaucratic maze," maintain an online dashboard and impose "tough new penalties" on agencies that are slow to grant approval, appearing to reference the existing council.
Trump also said he would create an office within the Council on Environmental Quality to "root out inefficiencies," but he has not appointed someone to lead CEQ. He called for environmental reviews to be reduced to a "few simple pages."
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/06/09/stories/1060055848
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Slashing Permit Wait Time Key to Fixing Infrastructure: Trump
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Shaun Courtney
President Donald Trump called for major changes to the infrastructure approval process, vowing to ease the “excruciating wait time” for federally funded projects.
Speaking June 9 at the Transportation Department, the president called on federal agencies to streamline review processes and said his administration will penalize agencies that “consistently delay” projects by missing deadlines. Trump announced the creation of a council to help infrastructure project managers navigate the bureaucracy, in part by creating an online dashboard for project tracking.
“The excruciating wait time for permitting has inflicted enormous financial pain on cities and states—and has blocked many important projects from ever getting off the ground,” Trump said. “To all our state and local leaders here today, I want you to know that help, after many, many decades, is finally on the way.”
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, as she introduced Trump at the DOT, said her agency issued a notice in the Federal Register seeking suggestions to help her agency improve permitting.
Meets With Officials
Prior to his speech, Trump met with about a dozen heads of state transportation departments and U.S. DOT leaders for a discussion on how the federal government can shift responsibility for review processes to the states. He told the group he hoped to cut permitting time from what he described as more than 10 years to two years, maybe even one year, according to a pool report of the conversation.
Though the administration cited permitting processes that take a decade or longer, a Federal Highway Administration official previously told Bloomberg BNA that the National Environmental Policy Act process at the agency takes on average three-and-a-half years.
An Inspector General report this year found that streamlining requirements in the 2015 FAST Act have actually slowed down other efficiency efforts required under a 2012 transportation authorization.
Trump said his proposal will reduce redundancies and get the federal government out of the way to allow states and cities to move ahead with long-awaited projects.
“Washington has spent decades building a dense thicket of rules, regulations and red tape,” Trump said.
“This massive permit reform—and that's what it is, a permit reform—doesn't sound glamorous,” Trump said. “But it's so important.”
Infrastructure Week
The president's address at DOT came at the end of what the White House called infrastructure week.
It began June 5 with an event in the White House announcing a proposal to privatize air traffic control. The proposal would remove the air traffic control function from the Federal Aviation Administration and put it under the control of a non-governmental entity. Trump's plan closely replicates 2016 legislation by House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
Chao spent June 7 and June 8 defending the proposal before a skeptical Senate committee and a slightly more welcoming House committee, led by Shuster.
The permitting-efficiency proposal Trump unveiled June 9 closely mirrors a proposal laid out in an April letter from the Business Roundtable, calling on the administration to expedite permitting of infrastructure projects.
The president's proposed budget calls for $200 billion in direct federal investments in infrastructure over 10 years, which the administration hopes will leverage an additional $800 billion in state, local and private money for a total of $1 trillion in infrastructure spending.
The administration hasn't yet released a detailed infrastructure plan, though the White House issued a principles document that accompanied the budget proposal. Chao has repeatedly said a full legislative proposal on infrastructure spending won't be ready until the third quarter.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=113762405&vname=dennotallissues&fn=113762405&jd=113762405
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Paris Pullout Pits Chamber Against Some of Its Biggest Members
Jun 12, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
As President Donald Trump mulled whether to exit the Paris climate accord, companies as varied as Dow Chemical Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., and Citigroup Inc. prodded him to stay in.
But when Trump announced his decision, he cited research from one business behemoth that's issued a steady stream of criticism to the Paris deal, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that counts all three companies as members.
That disconnect between corporate executives and the nation's top corporate lobbying force is reviving pressure on the Chamber—and on the companies that remain members despite their differences over climate policy.
“For decades, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been big polluters’ partisan enforcer in Washington,” Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who co-authored a congressional report last year about this corporate disconnect over climate change, said in an emailed statement.
“It's time for member companies to ask themselves whether they want to side with a relentless climate foe, or protect the health and safety of the American people and the reputation of our country,” he added.
Public Citizen and other groups said they are starting a petition drive to prod three companies—Walt Disney Co., Gap Inc., and PepsiCo Inc.—to drop their connection to the U.S. Chamber. That organized pressure is reminiscent of 2009, when companies such as Apple Inc. and Exelon Corp that advocated for federal action to address climate change quit the Washington group as it lobbied to derail cap-and-trade legislation.
“You've got a lot of companies that are really talking out of both sides of their mouth,” said Dan Dudis, who heads the Chamber Watch project at Public Citizen.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent nearly $104 million on lobbying last year making it the top lobbying spender among 3,734 groups tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics. Among the issues it has championed are reworking the Affordable Care Act, business tax cuts, and opposition to a minimum wage hike. The group, which has its headquarters across Lafayette Square from the White House, said it was officially neutral on the Paris accord despite its long list of criticisms.
The chamber said in a statement that the business community “stands ready to fashion solutions to keep America prosperous, clean and secure. America should choose a path for an energy future that is achievable, affordable, and most importantly meaningful.”
From coal producer Cloud Peak Energy Inc. to electric-automaker Tesla Inc., corporate America has broadly supported the Paris accord, a 2015 agreement of nearly 200 nations to address the threat of climate change. The deal is the first to include pledges from developing nations such as India and China to curtail their emissions, as well as developed nations in North America and Europe.
Among the companies that signed onto an open letter to publicly support the Paris climate agreement were Microsoft Corp. and Google's Alphabet Inc. Ivanka Trump appealed to Dow Chemical's CEO Andrew Liveris to spearhead a late lobbying push to try to save U.S. involvement in the pact. And executives’ response to Trump's decision was quick and overwhelmingly negative. Robert Iger, chief executive of Disney, resigned from a White House advisory council. Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft weighed in with their dismay, too.
In response to questions from Bloomberg, companies said they agree with the chamber on some issues, but not all. Others said they are putting pressure on it to change course.
“We have been outspoken in our support for the Paris Agreement and have had a dialogue with the chamber about how its views and advocacy on climate policy are inconsistent with Citi's position,” Citigroup spokeswoman Elizabeth Kelly said in an email. “Citi does not expect to be in agreement with every position our trade associations take.“
Time to Time
Dow, which gave the chamber $1.8 million for lobbying in 2016, “participates in many trade and business associations,” the chemical-maker's spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra, said in an email. “From time to time, we find ourselves in disagreement with the prevailing views of the majority of the U.S. Chamber's membership, including issues such as climate change.“
“PepsiCo's long-standing commitment to addressing climate change will not change,” the company said in a statement that didn't address questions about its ties to the chamber.
“No organization speaks for Ford on every issue,” said Christin Baker, a Ford spokeswoman. “The chamber has been actively supportive of tax reform, but takes a different view on climate. We will continue to work with the chamber on issues where we are aligned.“
Companies may differ with the chamber on climate change, but agree on taxes or labor issues, said Lee Drutman, a senior fellow in the program on political reform at New America, a Washington research organization. Still, they face the risk of customer blowback.
“Any company with a consumer-facing brand has to worry about its reputation,” Drutman said in a phone interview. “If it's on the wrong side of a political issue that its customer base is passionate about, it could find itself losing a lot of customers.“
Oil giant Exxon, which disclosed giving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation $1 million in 2015, advocated for staying in the Paris accord, as its chief executive Darren Woods argued that oil demand will continue to grow in the coming decades even with the agreement in place.
“We believe that the United States is well positioned to compete within the framework of the Paris Agreement, with abundant low-carbon resources such as natural gas, and innovative private industries,” spokesman Alan Jeffers, said in an email. He declined to comment on the chamber's report on Paris.
While the chamber said it hadn't made a recommendation on whether the U.S. should remain in Paris, it issued a series of criticisms of the pact since even before it was completed.
In congressional testimony, it said the U.S. pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent would hike U.S. energy costs and diminish job creation—and that the pact would not do much to actually curtail greenhouse gas emissions. The chamber jointly funded a study in March that determined the deal could slice $3 trillion off U.S. gross domestic product by 2040.
Trump made specific reference to that study, and each of the group's earlier arguments, in announcing his decision to pull the U.S. out of the pact.
“The cost to the economy at this time would be close to $3 trillion in lost GDP and 6.5 million industrial jobs, while households would have 7,000 less income, and in many cases, much worse than that,” Trump said in the Rose Garden ceremony June 1.
Kevin Steinberger, a policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council's climate and clean air program, said the chamber's claim that it was neutral on the accord was “disingenuous.“
“The report was clearly aimed at attacking the Paris agreement and used an unrealistic scenario to do so,” he said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=113762416&vname=dennotallissues&fn=113762416&jd=113762416
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As Trump Exits Paris Accord, Investors Bring Climate Change Into Boardrooms
Jun 12, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Ben Lefebvre
As President Donald Trump reduces the pressure on businesses to deal with climate change, activist investors are flooding company shareholder meetings to apply it themselves.
The grassroots campaign has picked up significant momentum, even as it has been overshadowed by Trump's decision to abandon the Paris climate accord and his efforts to dismantle federal policies to limit heat-trapping emissions. This year, for the first time, majority owners of three major energy companies endorsed resolutions calling for them to disclose how government efforts to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius would affect their businesses.
Exxon Mobil shareholders endorsed one such resolution just the day before Trump's Rose Garden announcement that he would pull the U.S. out of the global climate agreement because, he said, it would harm manufacturing. Similar resolutions were adopted by investors in Occidental Petroleum and Pennsylvania-based PPL Electric Utilities. And at utilities Ameren, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy and DTE, climate-focused shareholder resolutions came within a few percentage points of succeeding.
The resolutions sprung from efforts among dozens of institutional investors — including the New York Comptroller, the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the Church of England — who teamed up with activist groups including Ceres and As You Sow. This year they targeted 15 publicly traded energy companies with shareholder resolutions calling for companies to disclose how changes in government climate policies could change their businesses.
“There’s a growing realization of this systemic risk that climate change poses to investors,” said Adam Matthews, head of engagement for the Church of England’s commissioners and pension boards, which owns stock in Exxon Mobil as part of an overall $10 billion in holdings. “You’ve got a lot of dialogue between asset owners and major funds, and there’s a clearer realization of the importance of addressing climate change. It’s a shame what happened in the terms of the U.S. and the position of Donald Trump withdrawing from Paris, but the message to investors is this is longer-term than any one President. The train has left the station.”
To be sure, the resolutions are non-binding, but corporate boards typically respond to the wishes expressed by shareholders.
Investors worried that a company isn’t doing enough to deal with falling demand for gasoline, for example, may sell their shares to invest in a competitor. Or green-minded investors may support a hostile takeover of the company by activist investors who promise to take climate change more seriously.
Part of what helped the climate resolutions this year was growing support from cool-eyed capitalists, alongside the more liberal-minded shareholders who have championed them in the past. That was the case this year with Occidental Petroleum and investment firm Blackrock, one of its major shareholders.
Blackrock, which manages $5.4 trillion in its overall portfolio, decided in 2015 that climate change could pose a significant risk to some of the companies it owns. Still, the firm sided with Occidental’s management last year to help stave off a climate related resolution to give the oil company more time to address the issue on its own.
By the time this year's shareholder meeting came around, Blackrock decided to endorse activist investors' effort to get the company to do more. A resolution urging Occidental to publish annual assessments of how government climate change policies could risks its business passed with support from 67 percent of voting shareholders.
“Our patience is not infinite — when we do not see progress despite ongoing engagement, or companies are insufficiently responsive to our efforts to protect the long-term economic interests of our clients, we will not hesitate to exercise our right to vote against management recommendations,” Blackrock said in a letter to clients endorsing the resolution.
Blackrock's support demonstrated the growing economic appeal of climate resolutions that activist shareholders have been organizing around for years.
The win at Exxon only occurred after the Church of England sought potential allies via Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit that helps connect investors interested in various social causes. The Church eventually made contact with New York State Comptroller, which holds Exxon shares through its retirement fund.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods said before the company’s annual shareholder meeting that the company supports the Paris provisions and would factor government climate policies into its business plan. But investors still wanted to ensure the company would keep that promise, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
“As investors, we want to be sure that companies like Exxon walk the walk when it comes to climate risk, and that’s where our shareholder resolutions can be very effective,” DiNapoli told POLITICO. “No company wants to be in a fight with a majority of its shareholders.”
Exxon’s board will reconsider the provision to disclose how climate policies would impact is business, Woods said after the vote, in which 62 percent of voting shareholders endorsed the climate resolution. The Church of England, whose other holdings include BP and Shell, will continue to focus on bringing climate-related risk disclosure resolutions up. But will also start looking at a potential next step — forcing companies to publicize how climate change is affecting their financial performance, Matthews said.
In many cases, investors and nonprofits are trying to convince energy executives to incorporate more climate-related disclosures outside the threat of resolutions.
As You Sow, a nonprofit that lobbies companies on the behalf of shareholders, filed a climate-related resolution with Anadarko Petroleum that would have gone to shareholders this year. It withdrew the resolution after getting a meeting with Anadarko’s CEO and other executives at the company’s headquarters outside Houston, according to representatives of both entities.
“We wanted to talk and work together to see if there way to move forward with carbon reporting,” said Danielle Fugere, As You Sow’s chief counsel. “We had a good discussion, and we will have another meeting or two.”
Despite the few outright wins at shareholder meetings this year, the relatively strong showing has convinced some that the movement is gaining momentum. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who on the floor of the senate last week called American corporations “AWOL in the policies of climate change,” said he is encouraged by the progress.
“For the first time, after hundreds and hundreds of these resolutions have gone to failure at the hands of company management, shareholders are starting to win,” Whitehouse told POLITICO. “Part of what that’s about is very big and very smart investors coming to the realization that they are not getting adequate information when it comes to fossil fuel liability. The power of a Blackrock, Goldman Sachs or CalPERS is engaged in a new and different way.”
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2017/06/as-trump-exits-paris-accord-investors-bring-climate-change-into-boardrooms-158071
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Local Governments Step Up Fight With Trump On Climate
Jun 11, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Puerto Rico, a dozen states and hundreds of municipalities have stepped up to fight climate change in response to President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
Through formal and informal initiatives, the non-federal government bodies are seeking to work directly with foreign governments to reduce emissions. They see Trump’s decision to abandon the climate pact as an opportunity to play their part on global warming while seeking new opportunities in clean energy.
The efforts, led mostly by Democrats, are bringing forth more aggressive localized climate action plans than likely would have happened if the United States had stayed with the Paris pact.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the states and cities will make real pledges that go beyond political statements. Even supporters concede that they cannot replace the strong federal actions that Trump is unwilling to take.
Nonetheless, they see the non-federal commitments as a way to keep the anti-Trump, pro-climate momentum going.
“It’s the silver lining from what happened last week. It’s really encouraging, and it may be that, ironically, the decision to vacate Paris energizes the pro-climate movement,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told The Hill.
“I don’t think it’s a substitute for international policy. But to get more renewable energy online is mostly a local decision. It’s made by public utility commissions, it’s made by governors and mayors and utility companies, and so, the fight goes local.”
Hawaii was one of the more aggressive actors last week on climate policy. Spurred by Trump’s election and his decision on Paris, Gov. David Ige (D) signed legislation into law that formally aligns Hawaii with the goals of the Paris agreement.
Like many of the states and localities rolling out new climate initiatives, Hawaii has been at the forefront of fighting global warming. It previously committed to getting 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2045.
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has also taken a high-profile role.
He went to China days after Trump’s announcement and used the trip to highlight California’s independence on climate change.
“President Trump’s announced withdrawal [from the accord] has heightened the focus on this fundamental existential threat called global warming, called habitat destruction, called species extinction,” Brown said in a speech in Beijing, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We have to wake up our countrymen — in fact, the world.”
Chinese officials were uncharacteristically candid during Brown’s visit about their displeasure with Trump’s decision.
“I am so deeply disappointed at the announcement of President Trump,” said Xie Zhenhua, China’s lead climate negotiator, according to the Times.
David Hart, a professor of policy and government at George Mason University, said the state and local climate pledges can be an important caveat to Trump’s Paris pullout.
“I think it can make a difference,” Hart said, adding that the commitments “can help send a message of reassurance to the rest of the world, especially if it can be done in a concerted, organized way.”
Hart said he’s keeping an eye on an effort being led by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to organize non-federal climate commitments — including those by businesses and universities — into a new submission to the Paris agreement.
It would act as an alternative to Trump’s position. But the United Nations currently has no mechanism for a contribution from entities other than a nation’s national government.
“Americans don't need Washington to meet our Paris commitments, and Americans are not going to let Washington stand in the way of fulfilling it,” Bloomberg said this week in France after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, two strong proponents of the agreement.
“I want the world to know that the U.S. will meet its Paris commitments and that through partnerships among cities, states and businesses we will seek to remain part of the Paris agreement process,” Bloomberg said.
Nick Loris, a fellow at the right-wing Heritage Foundation who pushed for Trump to exit the pact, questioned the usefulness of the state and local pledges.
“States and cities committing to climate plans that regulate affordable, dependable power sources out of existence or subsidize uncompetitive energy technologies is a harmful to families, businesses and taxpayers in those respective areas,” he said, referring to fossil fuels.
But at the same time, conservatives’ main request was that the federal government get out of Paris, and they got their wish.
If states and cities want to buck that, they’re free to do so, Loris said, even if he doesn’t think it’s smart.
“States are laboratories of democracy. As expensive and ineffective as the regulations may be, it’s their right to do it,” he said. “Voters and businesses suffering the consequences of these policies will ultimately determine the fate of the politicians championing these policies.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/337186-local-governments-step-up-fight-with-trump-on-climate
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