Preview Newsletter
ACC AM 19/06/17
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Hearing on Energy Budget
Jun 20, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Location: 2359 Rayburn / 1:00 PM. -
Hearing on Environmental Technology
Jun 21, 2017 | Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment
Location: 2318 Rayburn / 10:00 AM. -
Hearing On Cybersecurity Regulation
Jun 21, 2017 | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Location: 342 Dirksen / 10:30 AM -
Hearing on Rail
Jun 22, 2017 | Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
Location: 2167 Rayburn /10:00 AM. -
(ACC Mentioned) Mostly Good News For U.S. Chemical Makers
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Michael McCoy
It’s a sign of the U.S. chemical industry’s current good health that the closing banquet at the American Chemistry Council’s annual meeting earlier this month had to be moved to a bigger room to accommodate the crowd. -
(ACC Mentioned) LIVE: Plastics And The Fight For The Future
Jun 17, 2017 | GoLocalProv
Clean Water Action Rhode Island along with multiple other environmental agencies are gathering on Monday, June 19 outside of the American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Marine Debris Solutions conference in Newport to voice their opinion on the future of plastics. -
Slashing EPA Budget May Send Wrong Staff to Toxics Office
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Steve Gibb
Former EPA chemicals officials warned that if the agency's budget is significantly cut, employees with the wrong training may be transferred to implement a recently amended chemicals law. -
(ACC Mentioned) Monsanto Spin Doctors Target Cancer Scientist In Flawed Reuters Story
Jun 16, 2017 | HuffPost
By Carey Gillam
In a well-orchestrated and highly coordinated media coup, Monsanto Co. and friends this week dropped a bombshell on opponents who are seeking to prove that the company’s beloved Roundup herbicide causes cancer. -
(ACC Mentioned) One-Year After TSCA Signed Into Law, Where Do We Stand on an Asbestos Ban?
Jun 19, 2017 | HuffPost
By Linda Reinstein
This time last year, we at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) were jumping for joy and doing victory laps. After nearly a decade of nail-tough negotiations, common sense reforms to the decrepit (and deadly) 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act(TSCA) were finally signed into law. -
Pruitt Willing to Work With Appropriators on Chemical Testing
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said he is willing to work with Congress on funding the agency's process to evaluate chemicals, pesticides, and environmental contaminants for endocrine system health impacts. -
1 Dead, 6 Others Infected In Legionnaires’ Outbreak In Lenox Hill
Jun 16, 2017 | CBS New York
Health officials say one person has died and at least six others have been infected by Legionnaires’ disease in the Lenox Hill area, near Third Avenue and East 70th Street. -
EU Sets Phaseout Dates For 12 Hazardous Chemicals
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
A European Commission decision to prohibit the use of 12 hazardous substances in the European Union ending a three-year moratorium on phaseout decisions is a welcome development, the European Chemicals Agency told Bloomberg BNA June 16. -
EU Designates Bisphenol A an Endocrine Disruptor
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The widely used chemical bisphenol A will be categorized as an endocrine disruptor for the purposes of the European Union's REACH regulation, the European Chemicals Agency said June 16. -
EU Publishes Nanomaterials Resources
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The European Union has published two new resources providing an overview of nanomaterials on the EU market and cataloging the use of nanomaterials in cosmetics sold in the bloc. -
Europe May Call TiO2 a Carcinogen
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Melody M. Bomgardner
The risk assessment committee of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed that the white pigment titanium dioxide be classified as a potential carcinogen. The move was requested by Anses, the French environmental and occupational health agency. -
EU Commission Grants Sodium Dichromate Authorisation Applications
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has granted authorisations to five companies for a use of sodium dichromate. -
Danish EPA Identifies Most Significant EDCs For Babies
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The most significant endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to which babies and pregnant women may be exposed are dioxins, PCBs, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), BHA and BHT, according to Danish state research. -
(ACC Mentioned) Appalachian Storage Hub An Opportunity For W.Va.
Jun 19, 2017 | Parkersburg News
By Joe Manchin
Throughout the history of the United States, West Virginia has done the heavy lifting that helped build our country and power our economy. West Virginians are proud, patriotic and hard-working. But, sadly, in recent years, West Virginia has suffered a downturn in both energy production and manufacturing, resulting in lost job opportunities, economic resilience, and budget difficulties. -
(ACC Mentioned) Manchin: $36B In Investment Possible With Storage Hub
Jun 19, 2017 | Martins Ferry Times Leader
By Casey Junkins
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin represents West Virginia, but he’ll gladly share $36 billion worth of potential capital investment with Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky — which could become reality if any of these states can land an ethane storage hub. -
(ACC Mentioned) Gas Storage Hub Concept Could Further Region’s Manufacturing Base
Jun 17, 2017 | Observer-Reporter
By Michael Bradwell
For the past decade, massive amounts of natural gas and natural gas liquids have been extracted from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, with much of the production being shipped for export. -
(ACC Mentioned) The ‘Next Big Thing’ Could Be Coming To Appalachia
Jun 19, 2017 | Kallanish Energy
It’s called the Appalachian Basin’s “next big thing”, following development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays and, in the last year, Royal Dutch Shell saying “go” to its $6 billion ethane cracker and attendant facilities in Western Pennsylvania. -
Senate Sanctions Bill Pits U.S. LNG Against Russian Energy
Jun 16, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Ben Lefebvre
The Senate’s Russia sanctions bill has put the U.S. LNG industry squarely in the fight over Europe's energy security — and brought new tension to the already strained relationship with Germany. -
API: NAFTA Critical For North American Energy Independence
Jun 16, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Ben Lefebvre
The American Petroleum Institute is warning the Trump administration that if it wants North American energy independence, it should not make a mess of NAFTA. -
Top Texas Scientists To Release Fracking Impact Study
Jun 16, 2017 | FuelFix
By David Hunn
A respected state research cooperative will release on Monday a report on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on communities in Texas. -
US Atlantic Coast Refiners Face New Threat In Buckeye Proposal To Reverse Pipeline: Fuel for Thought
Jun 19, 2017 | Platts
By Janet McGurty
Storm clouds are gathering once again over US Atlantic Coast refineries, but unlike a few years ago when it was high oil prices causing a problem, this time the threat is coming from the Midwest. -
Lawmakers To Look At Spending On Rail
Jun 19, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Camille von Kaenel
Rail executives will likely press House lawmakers this week to maintain funding for rural trains and public transit grants despite the White House's proposed budget cuts. -
EPA Seeks Seven-Year Deadline To Complete Overdue Air Toxics Reviews
Jun 19, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA is asking a federal district court to set a seven-year deadline for completing overdue air toxics rule reviews for nine industrial sectors, conceding that it has missed Clean Air Act deadlines for the reviews but arguing that separate court-imposed deadlines for reviewing other rules are limiting resources and justify the seven-year target. -
California: CARB Urges State High Court To Uphold GHG Auction Ruling
Jun 19, 2017 | Inside EPA
Lawyers for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are urging the state's high court to reject industry calls to overturn the board's greenhouse gas allowance auctions under cap-and-trade, arguing in a recent legal brief that the auctions represent legitimate exactions on regulated entities, not an illegal tax as industry claims.
Congressional Hearings
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation News
Environment News
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Jun 20, 2017 | Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
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Hearing on Environmental Technology
Jun 21, 2017 | Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment
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Hearing On Cybersecurity Regulation
Jun 21, 2017 | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
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Jun 22, 2017 | Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
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(ACC Mentioned) Mostly Good News For U.S. Chemical Makers
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Michael McCoy
It’s a sign of the U.S. chemical industry’s current good health that the closing banquet at the American Chemistry Council’s annual meeting earlier this month had to be moved to a bigger room to accommodate the crowd.
Indeed, executives at the event, held at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, were almost uniformly in good spirits. Chemical companies posted strong first-quarter profits, and firms continue to invest in new facilities that make products out of . . .
Access to full text unavailable – subscription required. For full story:
https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i25/Mostly-news-US-chemical-makers.html?type=paidArticleContent
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(ACC Mentioned) LIVE: Plastics And The Fight For The Future
Jun 17, 2017 | GoLocalProv
Clean Water Action Rhode Island along with multiple other environmental agencies are gathering on Monday, June 19 outside of the American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Marine Debris Solutions conference in Newport to voice their opinion on the future of plastics.
Jonathan Berard, State Director of Clean Water Action Rhode Island, says the ACC's plastics conference presents a future path that includes incineration.
Berard says the agencies will come together Monday, voicing their opinion that incineration is not an option and that source reduction, or reducing plastic use, is the best way moving forward for environmental and economical purposes.
Berard says the focus needs to be on source reduction of the generation and use of plastics as disposable, single use items.
“Plastics have overwhelmed the global system causing serious negative impacts, beyond a simple management problem,” says Berard.
“The problem is pervasive and cannot be burned away. There is no away. Incineration is not the solution.”
http://www.golocalprov.com/live/live-plastics-and-the-fight-for-the-future
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Slashing EPA Budget May Send Wrong Staff to Toxics Office
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Steve Gibb
Former EPA chemicals officials warned that if the agency's budget is significantly cut, employees with the wrong training may be transferred to implement a recently amended chemicals law.
The Trump administration forwarded an Environmental Protection Agency budget to Congress for fiscal 2018 that slashes its budget by one-third, or by about $2.6 billion compared to 2017 levels. But the chemicals program is slated for a substantial budget increase to address new risk review responsibilities under the Toxics Substances Control Act updated last June.
Former officials said that cuts of this magnitude would lead to significant personnel transfers with the wrong skills for chemical oversight.
For example, if the cuts outpace EPA's ability to meet budget targets through staff attrition or voluntary retirements, enforcement officers or air program engineers may be shifted to the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) that needs toxicologists, chemists and exposure scientists.
Challenging New Mandates
Despite cuts for most EPA programs, the proposed White House fiscal year 2018 budget would raise funding for the EPA's chemical risk review and reduction program to $65 million—a $6.59 million increase over fiscal 2017 levels.
OCSPP is one of the few EPA programs expected to receive a budget increase from Congress because of challenging new mandates to expand oversight of chemicals produced or imported into the U.S under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (LCSA).
“If EPA budget cuts are bigger than can be absorbed through attrition, then staff from other offices will be transferred to the toxics office,” Jim Jones, former chief of the EPA chemicals and pesticide programs, told Bloomberg BNA. “Solid, hard-working staff will join OSCPP but some won't have the skill mix the program needs to continue to implement the LCSA.”
Former EPA pesticide and union official Steve Hopkins agreed. “The proposed cuts will further diminish important oversight, review and registration functions and result in people performing work outside their experience skill set,” he told Bloomberg BNA.
But other union officials say transfers can work out well and are preferable to general workforce cuts.
Joe Edgell with the National Treasury Employees Union—which also covers some EPA employees—told Bloomberg BNA, “We would encourage moving people around” rather than having a general reduction-in-force and then hiring new staff for the chemicals program. “Obviously we want to make sure people are qualified to do the work, but people can learn new things.”
EPA downplayed the potential shift of unskilled personnel, saying it's speculative.
“These are hypothetical scenarios. The fact is that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt supports a budget that provides funding to protect our air, water, and land while reducing wasteful spending in our government,” according to EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=114458694&vname=dennotallissues&fn=114458694&jd=114458694
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(ACC Mentioned) Monsanto Spin Doctors Target Cancer Scientist In Flawed Reuters Story
Jun 16, 2017 | HuffPost
By Carey Gillam
In a well-orchestrated and highly coordinated media coup, Monsanto Co. and friends this week dropped a bombshell on opponents who are seeking to prove that the company’s beloved Roundup herbicide causes cancer.
A widely circulated story published June 14 in the global news outlet Reuters (for which I formerly worked) laid out what appeared to be a scandalous story of hidden information and a secretive scientist, “exclusive” revelations that the story said could have altered a critical 2015 classification that associated Monsanto’s Roundup to cancer and triggered waves of lawsuits against Monsanto.
It was a blockbuster of a story, and was repeated by news organizations around the globe, pushed by press releases from Monsanto-backed organizations and trumpeted by industry allies like the American Chemistry Council.
It was also flawed and misleading in a number of critical respects.
Authored by Reuters’ reporter Kate Kelland, who has a history of cozy relations with a group partly funded by agrichemical company interests, the piece accused a top epidemiologist from the U.S. National Cancer Institute of failing to share “important” scientific data with other scientists as they all worked together assessing the herbicide glyphosate for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). That group reviewed a wide body of research on glyphosate and determined in March of 2015 that the pesticide should be classified as a probable human carcinogen. Had the group known of this missing data, it’s conclusion could have been different, according to Reuters.
The story was particularly timely given glyphosate and Roundup are at the center of mass litigation in the United States and under scrutiny by U.S. and European regulators. After the IARC classification, Monsanto was sued by more than 1,000 people in the United States who claim they or their loved ones got non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) from exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup and the company and the cases could start going to trial next year. Roundup is the most widely used herbicide in the world and brings in billions of dollars a year for Monsanto. The company insists the IARC classification is meritless and the chemical is proven safe by decades of research.
So yes, it was a big story that scored big points for Monsanto in the debate over glyphosate safety. But. drilling deeply into the sourcing and selective nature of the Reuters piece makes it clear the story is not only seriously flawed, but that it is part of an ongoing and carefully crafted effort by Monsanto and the pesticide industry to discredit IARC’s work.
The story contains at least two apparent factual errors that go to the credibility of its theme. First the story cites “court documents” as primary sources when in fact the documents referred to have not been filed in court and thus are not publicly available for reporters or members of the public to access. Kelland does not share links to the documents she references but makes it clear her information is largely based on a deposition from Aaron Blair, the National Cancer Institute epidemiologist who chaired the IARC working group on glyphosate, as well as related emails and other records. All were obtained by Monsanto as part of the discovery process for the Roundup litigation that is pending in federal court in San Francisco. By citing court documents, Kelland avoided addressing whether or not Monsanto or its allies spoon-fed the records to her. And because the article did not provide a link to the Blair deposition, readers are unable to see the full discussion of the unpublished study or the multiple comments by Blair of many other studies that do show evidence of links between glyphosate and cancer. I’m providing the deposition here, and disclosing that I requested and obtained it from attorneys involved in the Roundup litigation after Kelland’s story was published.
Second, the story relies in part on an anti-IARC view of a scientist named Bob Tarone and refers to him as an “independent” expert, someone “independent of Monsanto.” Kelland quotes Tarone as saying that IARC’s evaluation of glyphosate is “flawed and incomplete.” Except, according to information provided by IARC, Tarone is far from independent of Monsanto; Tarone in fact has acknowledged that he is a paid consultant to Monsanto, and a piece cited by Reuters and authored by Tarone last year in a European scientific journal is being recorrected to reflect Tarone’s conflict of interest, according to IARC, which said it has been in communication with that journal.
But much more noteworthy than the errors is how selective the story is in pulling from the Blair deposition. The story ignored Blair’s many affirmations of research showing glyphosate connections to cancer, and focused instead on Blair’s knowledge of one unpublished research study that was still in progress. The story hones in on speculation that the data perhaps could have been finished and published in time to be reviewed by IARC and further speculation by Blair, prodded by a Monsanto attorney, that had it been finished and had it been published it could have helped counter the other studies IARC viewed that showed positive cancer connections.
That research, part of a massive ongoing project by U.S. government researchers called the Agricultural Health Study, includes hundreds of studies and years of data analyzing pesticide impacts on farmers. Blair, who retired from the National Cancer Institute in 2007, was not leading that research but was part of a team of scientists who in 2013 were analyzing data about pesticide use and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The data specific to glyphosate did not show a connection to NHL but in working to publish a paper about all the data the group had gathered, they decided to narrow the focus to insecticides and in 2014 did publish a paper on that work. The data on glyphosate and NHL has yet to be published, and some scientists who are familiar with the work say it has not tracked people long enough yet to be definitive given NHL generally takes 20 or more years to develop. A prior compilation of data by AHS researchers that also showed no connection between glyphosate and NHL was published in 2005 and was considered by IARC. But because the newer data was not published it was not considered by IARC.
Blair said the decision to limit the published work to insecticides was to make the data more manageable and was made well before IARC announced it would be looking at glyphosate in 2015.
“The rule is you only look at things that are published,” Blair told me this week after the Reuters story was published. “What would it be like if everyone on the working group whispered things they knew but weren’t published and made decisions on that?” IARC confirmed it does not consider unpublished research. In his deposition, Blair states that nothing has changed his opinion about glyphosate and NHL.
Epidemiologist and University of Toronto scientist John McLaughlin, who sat on the glyphosate working group for IARC with Blair, said to me in a note this week that the information about the unpublished work written about by Reuters did not alter his view of the validity of IARC conclusion on glyphosate either.
Also left out of the Reuters story - the deposition and a draft copy of the study in question shows that there were concerns about the AHS results due to “relatively small” subgroups of exposed cases. And notably, the Reuters report leaves out Blair’s discussion of the North American Pooled Project, in which he participated, which also contains data related to glyphosate and NHL but is not favorable to Monsanto. A synopsis of that project presented to the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology in 2015 showed that people who used glyphosate for more than five years had significantly increased odds of having NHL, and the risk was also significantly higher for people who handled glyphosate for more than two days per year. That information, like the new AHS data, was not given to IARC because it wasn’t yet published.
“When Dr. Blair’s deposition transcript is read in total, it shows that nothing was wrongfully withheld from IARC,” said Plaintiffs’ attorney Aimee Wagstaff. She said Monsanto was using pieces of the deposition to “further its agenda in the media.”
To epidemiologist Peter Infante, who spent more than 20 years leading a cancer identification unit at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and analyzed a body of epidemiology research on glyphosate in testimony to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scientific Advisory Committee in December, the attention drawn to unpublished data that supports Monsanto’s position is much ado about nothing.
“You still have other studies that show dose response,” he told me. “This Agricultural Health Study is not the gold standard. For glyphosate and NHL they haven’t been following people long enough. Even if the data had been published and had been considered by IARC it would be in the context of all the other study results.”
And finally, in an odd exclusion, the story fails to disclose that Kelland herself has at least tangential ties to Monsanto and friends. Kelland has helped promote an organization called the Science Media Centre, a group whose aim is to connect certain scientists such as Tarone with journalists like Kelland, and which gets its largest block of funding from corporations that include the agrichemical industry. Current and past funders include Monsanto, Monsanto’s proposed merger partner Bayer AG, DuPont and agrichemical industry lobbyist CropLife International. Kelland appears in a promotional video for SMC touting the group and authored an essay applauding the SMC that appeared in a SMC promotional report.
As a Reuters reporter for 17 years (1998-2015) I know the value of an “exclusive.” The more such scoops a reporter garners, the more bonus points and high praise from editors. It’s a system seen in many news agencies and it works great when it encourages dogged, investigative journalism. But powerful corporations like Monsanto also know how eager reporters are to land exclusives and know that handing favored journalists cherry-picked information with the promise of exclusivity can serve their public relations needs quite well. Follow up the hand-fed story with a press release from an industry-funded outlet and calls for an investigation from the industry group American Chemistry Council and you have propaganda gold.
What you don’t have is the truth.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monsanto-spin-doctors-target-cancer-scientist-in-flawed_us_594449eae4b0940f84fe2e57
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(ACC Mentioned) One-Year After TSCA Signed Into Law, Where Do We Stand on an Asbestos Ban?
Jun 19, 2017 | HuffPost
By Linda Reinstein
This time last year, we at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) were jumping for joy and doing victory laps. After nearly a decade of nail-tough negotiations, common sense reforms to the decrepit (and deadly) 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act(TSCA) were finally signed into law.
For ADAO, this meant the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was finally empowered to ban asbestos. This set of reforms, dubbed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century (LCSA), eliminated business-friendly loopholes that required EPA to consider the economic burden of any potential restriction or regulation. Under the 2016 TSCA, EPA must evaluate chemicals solely on health-based standards.
A lot has happened in the year that has passed since TSCA was signed into law, so it seems high time for an update on the progress and challenges in our work toward an asbestos ban.
Asbestos as the Poster Child
When signing LCSA into law, President Barak Obama became the first sitting US president to publically acknowledge asbestos as a “known carcinogen that kills as many as 10,000 Americans every year.” By making this statement during the signing ceremony, President Obama framed asbestos as the poster child for the necessity of the reforms as well as the litmus test by which LCSA’s success will be measured.
Priority Status
LCSA tasked the EPA with a pretty tall order: to evaluate and, if needed, regulate more than 80,000 chemicals already active in U.S. commerce. In order to kick-start this Herculean task, the agency was required to select and prioritize 10 of the most dangerous chemicals. In November, asbestos was rightfully selected for priority risk evaluation to begin in 2017, which will hopefully be followed by a swift ban.
Stronger Together
From the beginning of LCSA negotiations to now, ADAO has remained a staunch stakeholder. Throughout the process, we’ve garnered incredible solidarity from other advocates and nonprofits — including heavy hitters like Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families(SCHF), Environmental Working Group (EWG), and the Natural Resources Defense Council(NRDC) — which has strengthened our position exponentially.
We also saw important consensus against Trump’s directive to “repeal, replace, or modify regulations” related to LCSA and TSCA. Advocates and chemical industry alike agreed that this important bill should stay off the regulatory rollback chopping block.
Finally, it’s important to remember that this bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan and bicameral support — proof and a much-needed reminder that such co-operation IS possible in Washington.
The Trump Effect
The unfortunate reality is that all of this progress happened when President Obama was in office, and the EPA was run by Obama appointees. Trump’s election and subsequent appointments threaten to undermine the historic accomplishments of the past year.
Not only does Trump question science on a regular basis, he has specifically bad track record when it comes to asbestos. Trump has claimed that asbestos is “100 percent safe” and that the effort to ban and abate asbestos is a mafia conspiracy. He’s also been on a warpath against regulations since Day 1, and the EPA has been a prime target.
What may be even worse than Trump’s own stances on asbestos and regulation are the appointments being made by him and his team. Scott Pruitt, Trump’s EPA Administrator, is a rampant climate change denier and a lawyer — not a scientist of any sort. He even proudly touts the many lawsuits he brought against the EPA when he was Oklahoma’s Attorney General.
Along with Pruitt, we have grave concerns about the appointment of Dr. Nancy Beck to lead the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Her immediate past employment is with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a powerful lobbying group for the chemical industry. She is required to recuse herself from any discussions directly mentioning ACC, a concerning sign that she may lack the ability to objectively and fairly implement TSCA.
Lobbying & Propaganda
There’s only one industry that still uses asbestos in manufacturing — other industries, such as construction and automotive, have long since switched to safer substitutes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the chlor-alkali industry was responsible for 100% of the asbestos consumption in the U.S. 2016. They use it to make chlorine and caustic soda, but only in 40% of their plants — they use asbestos-free methods more than half the time.
If the chlor-alkali industry would simply stop using asbestos and transition all of their plants to the safer process, we would have a de facto ban Unfortunately, the chlor-alkali industry doesn’t want to stop using asbestos — and they have a loud voice in Washington.
Since LCSA legislative discussions began, the ACC, which lobbies on behalf of the chlor-alkali industry, has been repeatedly requesting an exemption from any forthcoming asbestos regulation, claiming the industry uses the carcinogen safely. Industry’s efforts to spin the science, they even produced a bright, shiny infographic explaining just how safe the asbestos use throughout various steps of the manufacturing process.
This assertion is, of course, contrary to the determination made by every leading scientific organization, including the World Health Organization (WHO), which are all in consensus that there is “no safe level” of exposure.
Looking Forward
To be sure, we’ve made monumental strides toward an asbestos ban over the past year. In the same time, some new and admittedly tricky challenges have cropped up in our path.
As we move forward, ADAO will of course remain a strong stakeholder in discussions. For now, our efforts are concentrated around demonstrating to the EPA how imperative it is that when they ban asbestos, they do so without any exemptions or loopholes that allow the chlor-alkali or any other industry to continue recklessly using this deadly carcinogen.
Despite justified concerns, we remain confident that the EPA will heed the resounding consensus of science about asbestos and faithfully uphold their duty to protect Americans by enacting an exemption-free asbestos ban. You can help push our message by sharing news with your networks and signing our petition to the EPA. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to keep you updated with the latest progress and challenges from the front lines. The irrefutable fact remains – Asbestos Kills.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/one-year-after-tsca-signed-into-law-where-do-we-stand_us_59444780e4b024b7e0df4bf3
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Pruitt Willing to Work With Appropriators on Chemical Testing
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said he is willing to work with Congress on funding the agency's process to evaluate chemicals, pesticides, and environmental contaminants for endocrine system health impacts.
The Trump administration's fiscal year 2018 budget request proposed to zero out funding dedicated to the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, but Pruitt told lawmakers during a June 15 hearing that the agency's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention would still continue implementing it.
The program, which is required by law, tests substances for potential effects on the estrogen, androgen and thyroid hormone systems, which affect reproduction, neurological development, and other critical biological functions.
The EPA has completed its review of some substances, including 2,4-D, the active ingredient in several herbicides sold by Dow AgroSciences LLC, and atrazine, a weedkiller made by Syngenta Crop Protection LLC. A full list of company products evaluated by EPA shows the status of the reviews and further testing requests that may be in jeopardy if the program is underfunded or cut completely.
Funding Cut Criticized
Pesticide and chemical makers support the risk-based approach the EPA uses to identify potential endocrine disruptors, Daniella Taveau, a former trade negotiator with the EPA who now serves as a regulatory and trade specialist for King & Spalding LLP in Washington, told Bloomberg BNA after the administration released its budget blueprint. Without that U.S. approach, a hazard-based method that doesn't consider exposure levels, which is preferred by some European governments, could affect global trade, she said.
During the hearing, Democrats on a House Appropriations subcommittee criticized Pruitt for the proposed cuts to the endocrine program. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Committee on Appropriations, said the program can identify chemicals that have the potential to cause men and women to have a hard time having children, increase incidences of breast cancer, and cause neurodevelopmental delays in children.
“This is the perfect example of senseless cuts that will cost us more in the long run with threats to public health and safety,” Lowey said. “How do you justify eliminating funding for this program?”
Pruitt said the proposed budget stands. “But, you raise a very, very important question,” about a program that has had significant impacts, he said. Pruitt invited ideas from Lowey and other lawmakers about how the program could be addressed or its responsibilities handled in another way.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), said she was pleased to hear Pruitt's assurances about the importance of the endocrine program, but questioned how the EPA would have “any tools in the tool box” to address endocrine disruptors or other priority programs under the administration's proposed EPA budget.
Chemical Rules ‘On Track’
Pruitt also told lawmakers the EPA is on track to issue three final chemical regulations by June 22 as required by the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act amendments.
The three rules would describe the procedures the EPA would use to:
• update its chemical inventory to distinguish between chemicals active in commerce and chemicals that have been in commerce, but are dormant;
• decide which chemicals are priorities for risk assessment; and
• assess chemical risks.
Issuing those rules as Congress mandated and eliminating a backlog of new chemical applications that had developed since the chemicals law was updated sends a good message to citizens that the EPA's oversight of chemicals is a priority, Pruitt said.“It also provides certainty to industry that as new chemicals go into commerce EPA will review them within the time lines Congress set,” Pruitt said.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=114458692&vname=dennotallissues&fn=114458692&jd=114458692
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1 Dead, 6 Others Infected In Legionnaires’ Outbreak In Lenox Hill
Jun 16, 2017 | CBS New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Health officials say one person has died and at least six others have been infected by Legionnaires’ disease in the Lenox Hill area, near Third Avenue and East 70th Street.
Officials say the person who died was in their 90s, and that three of the six others are still hospitalized. The remaining three have already been treated and released.
The outbreak took place in the past 11 days.
As CBS2’s Alice Gainer reported, Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett says the Health Department identified the cluster of Legionnaire’s within a small radius of the area and are attempting to identify the source.
“Because we’re aware of nothing in common with these seven people, except their geography, they don’t share a spa or healthcare, we are concerned that there may be a cooling tower source,” she said.
Officials are focusing on cooling towers in the neighborhood.
“For that reason the health department has taken water samples from all 116 cooling tower systems within half a kilometer, within the neighborhood,” Dr. Bassett said.
CBS2’s Jessica Layton was on the Upper East Side on Friday night, where fliers were being handed out with details on the disease.
“I don’t understand how this could be so widespread and affect people in New York,” Christine Rosa said.
Council member Ben Kallos was stopping people heading into the subway at 72nd Street and Second Ave to make sure they knew about the Legionnaires’ cases in the neighborhood.
“I’m pretty concerned with what’s going on,” he said.
The city started regular, mandatory inspections of cooling systems after a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in the South Bronx two-years-ago. In that case 12 people died.
Upper East Side residents still feel they need more information what’s happening.
“How can we protect ourselves? How is this spreading?” Rosa asked.
Legionnaires’ does not spread from person to person. Those at highest risk are people age 50 or older who smoke cigarettes, have lung disease, or weakened immune systems.
It’s caused by the bacteria legionella, according to the New York City Health Department, most cases can be traced to plumbing systems like cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, and large air conditioning systems.
The Health Department noted that Legionnaires’ cannot be spread person to person, and those at high risk are people 50 and older with respiratory issues.
Symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and diarrhea, officials said. Symptoms typically appear 2-10 days after exposure to Legionella bacteria.
“I urge individuals in this area with respiratory symptoms to seek medical attention right away,” Bassett said.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/16/legionnaires-outbreak/
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EU Sets Phaseout Dates For 12 Hazardous Chemicals
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
A European Commission decision to prohibit the use of 12 hazardous substances in the European Union ending a three-year moratorium on phaseout decisions is a welcome development, the European Chemicals Agency told Bloomberg BNA June 16.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, published the list of 12 substances in a regulation that amends Annex XIV of the EU's REACH law (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals). The regulation brings the number of substances in the annex to 43.
Use of the substances will be phased out in the EU on various dates between July 4, 2020, and Jan. 4, 2021. Companies that want to continue using the substances thereafter must apply for specific authorizations, which can be granted if they can prove no alternatives exist and risks can be controlled.
The chemicals agency said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg BNA it was “delighted that this key process of the REACH regulation is moving again,” following the moratorium. The commission suspended new additions to Annex XIV in 2014 amid concerns the process of applying for authorizations was too burdensome for companies.
In addition to the 43 substances now listed in REACH Annex XIV, the chemicals agency has submitted recommendations to the commission to list another 24 hazardous substances. The agency said, “We trust that the commission will continue to update the list regularly” based on these recommendations.
Range Of Substances
The 12 substances affected by the new listing decision include eight with a sunset date of July 4, 2020: 1-bromopropane (n-propyl bromide); 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid di-C6-8-branched alkyl esters C7-rich; 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, di-C7-11-branched and linear alkyl esters; 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dipentylester, branched and linear; bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate; diisopentylphthalate; dipentylphthalate; and n-pentyl-isopentylphthalate.
A sunset date of Oct. 4, 2020, will apply to anthracene oil and coal-tar pitch, high temperature. For the final two substances—4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol, ethoxylated and 4-nonylphenol, branched and linear, ethoxylated—the sunset date will be Jan. 4, 2021.
The substances have a variety of uses, including in cleaning products, cosmetics, consumer electronics, detergents, dyes and paints. Decisions to phase them out have been taken on the basis that they are toxic for reproduction, carcinogenic or damaging to the hormone system.
The regulation listing the substances in REACH Annex XIV was published in the June 14 edition of the EU Official Journal.
Moratorium Ends
Frida Hok, a policy adviser with ChemSec, a Stockholm-based group that campaigns for the phaseout of toxic chemicals, told Bloomberg BNA June 16 that with the ending of the moratorium on new Annex XIV listings, the commission has no reason not to take further phaseout decisions for hazardous substances.
“We've been waiting for this for a long time. We definitely hope they will update the list on a regular basis,” Hok said.
The moratorium on new Annex XIV was primarily introduced because it was felt the process of applying for authorizations to continue to use hazardous substances in the EU was too costly and complex, especially for substances that are produced and used in low volumes, or that are needed for spare parts for machinery that is still in use but no longer manufactured.
The commission said in October 2014 it would put in place a simplified procedure for low volume substances, but this has not appeared. The commission “has been struggling” with the procedure because of difficulties in defining thresholds below which a simplified procedure would apply, Hok said.
Restriction Finalized
Separately, the commission published a regulation June 14 adding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and related substances to Annex XVII of REACH, which contains restrictions on the uses of substances.
The restriction would outlaw the manufacture and sale of PFOA in the EU, and would allow only limited continued uses in some applications, such as in foam used in fire-fighting and in some medical devices. The restriction will apply in most cases from July 4, 2020, with longer deadlines in some specialized cases.
PFOA is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. In practice it has already largely been phased out from use in the EU.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=114458699&vname=dennotallissues&fn=114458699&jd=114458699
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EU Designates Bisphenol A an Endocrine Disruptor
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The widely used chemical bisphenol A will be categorized as an endocrine disruptor for the purposes of the European Union's REACH regulation, the European Chemicals Agency said June 16.
Bisphenol A is already considered under REACH to be a “substance of very high concern” (SVHC) because it is toxic to reproduction. But a regulatory committee of representatives from the EU's 28 countries unanimously agreed at a June 12-16 meeting that it should also be designated an endocrine disruptor, or a substance that could damage the hormone system, the chemicals agency said.
The additional designation has no immediate impact but could come into play if a decision is made to ban bisphenol A from use in the EU. Under REACH (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals), SVHCs can be prioritized for phaseout, meaning their use would be prohibited in the EU unless companies obtain usage-specific authorizations.
To obtain an authorization, applicants must prove banned substances can be used safely and cannot be replaced by safer alternatives. Proving the safe use of an endocrine disruptor would be difficult because it is assumed there is no safe exposure level, unless the applicant for an authorization can prove such a level exists.
Natacha Cingotti, a policy officer with advocacy group the Health and Environment Alliance, said in a statement June 16 that the designation of bisphenol A as an endocrine disruptor was “long overdue and of crucial importance so that measures to reduce people's exposure to the substance can be introduced in the future.”
SVHC Updates
Bisphenol A is manufactured in or imported into the EU in annual volumes of up to 10 million metric tons, according to European Chemicals Agency data. Most of that volume is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic, which leaves only traces of bisphenol A in the finished product and would not be affected by a potential future phaseout decision on the substance.
Other uses of bisphenol A, such as in brake fluids, tires and adhesives and in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), could be affected if a decision is taken to phase out the substance. In such an eventuality, companies would require authorizations to continue using the substance in these applications.
The European Chemicals Agency said it would formalize the additional designation of bisphenol A by the end of June.
The agency added that the regulatory committee of EU national representatives had also agreed to identify the substance perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid and its salts as an SVHC because of its persistence in the environment and because it bioaccumulates in organisms.
The addition of the substance brings the number of SVHCs under REACH to 174. So far, decisions on phaseout have been taken for 43 of those substances.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=114458697&vname=dennotallissues&fn=114458697&jd=114458697
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EU Publishes Nanomaterials Resources
Jun 19, 2017 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The European Union has published two new resources providing an overview of nanomaterials on the EU market and cataloging the use of nanomaterials in cosmetics sold in the bloc.
The EU Observatory for Nanomaterials, managed by the European Chemicals Agency, collects information on the uses of nanomaterials (particles so small they can be seen only with a microscope), how they are characterized, how their risks are assessed and how they are regulated in the EU. The observatory went live June 14.
Nanomaterials in the EU are regulated through a patchwork of laws at EU and member-country level. For example, there is no blanket EU-wide reporting obligation for nanomaterials in products, but Belgium, Denmark and France have national obligations, and Sweden is considering a national registry.
Geert Dancet, executive director of the European Chemicals Agency, said the nanomaterials observatory was aimed at consumers and workers as well as regulators, and was intended as a reliable source of “objective and easily understandable information.”
Separately, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, published June 15 a catalog of nanomaterials used in lipsticks, shampoos, sun creams and other cosmetics. The catalog lists the nanomaterials, the categories of cosmetic products in which they are used, and routes by which the nanomaterials could potentially enter the human body.
Although the EU has no overall nanomaterial reporting obligation, the EU Cosmetics Regulation ((EC) No 1223/2009) requires cosmetics companies to notify basic information about their use of nanomaterials. The commission said it “takes no responsibility for the content and the scientific qualification of the notifications.”
The nanomaterials in cosmetics catalog includes 43 substances used as colorants, preservatives and UV-filters. The commission said the catalog was “a work in progress subject to modifications,” which would be updated regularly.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=114458698&vname=dennotallissues&fn=114458698&jd=114458698
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Europe May Call TiO2 a Carcinogen
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Melody M. Bomgardner
The risk assessment committee of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed that the white pigment titanium dioxide be classified as a potential carcinogen. The move was requested by Anses, the French environmental and occupational health agency.
TiO2 is the world’s most widely used white pigment. It provides white color, opacity, and UV blocking to consumer goods including paints, plastics, paper, foods, cosmetics, and medicines. It is also used in tattoos and toothpaste.
In 2015, Anses asked ECHA to classify TiO2 as a presumed carcinogen by inhalation, citing studies in rats that resulted in the formation of malignant tumors. The request noted that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has listed TiO2as possibly carcinogenic to humans since 2006.
The ECHA committee concluded that TiO2 is a potential carcinogen, which is a less restrictive legal status than a presumed carcinogen. It says studies suggest the carcinogenic action of the pigment is due to inflammation and oxidative stress on the respiratory system. The ECHA committee agrees with Anses that toxicological effects are due to TiO2’s biopersistence and poor solubility.
The ECHA committee, like IARC, bases its classifications on data solely about hazard, not exposure. Still, the hazard characterization could result in requests for more research or labeling requirements. The European Commission must make a final decision.
The Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association, a trade group, says it is disappointed by the recommendation. TDMA argues that the rat studies are related to a mode of action that occurs only in rats.
“There is a vast body of scientific evidence that does not support a classification of TiO2 for humans, which is supported by over 50 years of epidemiological data on more than 24,000 workers and demonstrates there is no link between cancer in humans and exposure to titanium dioxide,” TDMA says.
https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i25/Europe-call-TiO2-carcinogen.html
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EU Commission Grants Sodium Dichromate Authorisation Applications
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has granted authorisations to five companies for a use of sodium dichromate.
Solvay Portugal, Kemira Chemicals, Electroquimica De Hernani, Caffaro Brescia and Ercros are permitted to use the substance as: an additive for suppressing parasitic reactions and oxygen evolution, pH buffering and cathode corrosion protection in the electrolytic manufacture of sodium chlorate with or without subsequent production of chlorine dioxide or sodium chlorite.
The recommended review period expires on 21 September 2029.
The Commission has also granted an application from BASF for industrial use of 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) as a recyclable solvent and extraction agent in a closed system for purification of 1,3,5-trioxane.
The recommended review period expires on 22 November 2024.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56938/eu-commission-grants-sodium-dichromate-authorisation-applications
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Danish EPA Identifies Most Significant EDCs For Babies
Jun 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Dioxins, PCBs, phthalates, BPA, BHA and BHT contribute most to risk
The most significant endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to which babies and pregnant women may be exposed are dioxins, PCBs, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), BHA and BHT, according to Danish state research.
The phthalates included in this group were DEHP, DBP and DIBP.
The study by the Danish EPA assessed the combined risks posed by 37 EDCs and suspected EDCs to children under the age of three, pregnant women and unborn children.
The aim was to simulate overall exposure by including as many substances from previously published literature. The team then discounted any for which exposure was not realistic based on an initial qualitative assessment, including several brominated flame retardants, perfluorinates and phenols.
They selected the final substances using criteria produced by the agency in 2011.
The researchers estimated hazard in the form of derived no effect levels (Dnels) and exposure based on both modelled and measured data. They then combined these to give risk characterisation ratios (RCRs).
Exposure through food contributed significantly to the risk for all of the substances with high RCRs. Exposure through indoor environment contributed significantly for the phthalates, and exposure through consumer products for the phthalates and bisphenol A.
The researchers found relatively high levels of BHT in cosmetics, primarily creams. But they also found "considerable" uncertainty in their exposure estimates. This was because knowledge on absorption and metabolism in the body through dermal exposure was "limited".Paracetamol
The RCRs for the common over the counter painkiller paracetamol were orders of magnitude higher than those for any other substance.
But the researchers say in their report the risks associated with a drug would not normally be assessed using the method they used. They based their risk assessment on animal studies and followed principles generally applicable to environmental or food related substances.
They say that risk assessment of drugs is generally based on human data. It is also different because drugs have acceptable side effects.
Pharmacovigilance groups at the European Medicines Agency have concluded that based on available studies and data there is insufficient evidence for a link between paracetamol and anti-androgenic effects.
Nevertheless the researchers say "the intake of paracetamol at critical periods during the early development may result in a potential risk of anti-androgenic effects".Neurotoxic substances
The study included assessment of 39 neurotoxic substances. The most significant to which babies and pregnant women may be exposed are lead, dioxins, PCBs, mercury, methyl mercury, BPA and acrylamide. Lead "constitutes by far the highest risk of the chronic neurotoxic effects," the researchers say.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56936/danish-epa-identifies-most-significant-edcs-for-babies
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(ACC Mentioned) Appalachian Storage Hub An Opportunity For W.Va.
Jun 19, 2017 | Parkersburg News
By Joe Manchin
Throughout the history of the United States, West Virginia has done the heavy lifting that helped build our country and power our economy. West Virginians are proud, patriotic and hard-working. But, sadly, in recent years, West Virginia has suffered a downturn in both energy production and manufacturing, resulting in lost job opportunities, economic resilience, and budget difficulties.
Our state is filled with people who work for what they have and don’t want handouts — they want a hand up. We are resilient in times of hardship and, no matter what the obstacle; we keep working toward a better more prosperous West Virginia. That is why I am proud to introduce legislation to establish the Appalachian Storage Hub and help create jobs and spur economic growth in West Virginia.
The Capitalizing American Storage Potential (CASP) Act, would make the storage hub possible. With this legislation, the hub would be eligible for the Department of Energy’s successful Title XVII loan guarantee program, allowing West Virginia to seize the unique opportunities associated with Appalachia’s abundant natural gas liquids (NGLs) resources, naturally occurring geologic storage, and expanding energy infrastructure.
Natural gas liquids are high-value products like ethane, propane and butane. All types of manufacturing processes use these products as feedstocks and manufacturers seek out locations with reliable and affordable supplies of natural gas liquids. A regional storage hub will help catalyze this type of investment, which will be vital to West Virginia.
The region’s supplies of NGLs are actually underutilized. An abundance of wet natural gas in the Marcellus, Utica and Rogersville shale formations has resulted in recent announcements of new investment in the Appalachian region. I am optimistic that the development of the regional storage hub would bring new investment and high-paying quality jobs for the people in the surrounding communities, especially in West Virginia. A recent economic study from the American Chemistry Council concluded that the cultivation of the Appalachian Storage Hub could bring up to $36 billion in new chemical and plastics industry investment and create 100,000 new jobs in the region by allowing the area to seize new opportunities to do with its natural resources.
I’ve always said that the government cannot create jobs but the government can create an economic environment that promotes growth. The Appalachian Storage Hub will be a step to help us build the momentum necessary to get our economy growing. It is an important American energy infrastructure project that will enhance energy and national security. This region has unique energy resources that can be used for the long-term economic benefit of families, manufacturers, and communities in surrounding states and across the country in a safe and responsible way. With West Virginians’ hard work, determination, and commitment to help others, I have no doubt that the Appalachian Storage Hub will be a success for the Mountain State.
Over my time as Senator, I have repeatedly said that I would push for solutions that will help keep and create good-paying jobs in our state and our nation. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to help us pass my legislation which would make this project eligible for innovative technologies loans by the Department of Energy. This bill will help a region that has been left behind for so many years. This investment in our future will take care of our children and help those in need as well as strengthen our economy and create jobs. It has always been my belief that the federal government should be a partner in the people’s success. This is an opportunity for the government to truly invest in the future of Appalachia, especially West Virginia.
http://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/local-columns/2017/06/appalachian-storage-hub-an-opportunity-for-w-va/
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(ACC Mentioned) Manchin: $36B In Investment Possible With Storage Hub
Jun 19, 2017 | Martins Ferry Times Leader
By Casey Junkins
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin represents West Virginia, but he’ll gladly share $36 billion worth of potential capital investment with Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky — which could become reality if any of these states can land an ethane storage hub.
While meeting with numerous Upper Ohio Valley public officials and industry leaders Friday at the City-County Building in Wheeling, Manchin, D-W.Va., discussed both legislation he recently introduced to help make the ethane storage hub a reality, as well as a recent report from the American Chemistry Council. This study estimates the four-state region could attract $36 billion worth of investment, while generating more than 100,000 jobs, by 2025 — if there are ultimately five ethane crackers and two propane processing facilities.
“People keep talking about diversifying the economy. You have to use what you’ve got,” Manchin said. “I don’t think anyone ever imagined that we would have access to these liquids and to this much natural gas.”
Royal Dutch Shell is moving forward on its ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pa., while Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical continues evaluating the prospects of a similar project along the Ohio River at Dilles Bottom.
According to Manchin, further development of shale natural gas from the Marcellus, Utica, Rogersville and other potential rock formations is one of the region’s best hopes for prosperity.
Manchin is sponsoring legislation to create a “subterranean ethane storage and distribution hub.” This would call for analyzing potential locations based on favorable geology, existing infrastructure and proximity to well sites and end users, such as cracker plants.
“We don’t have to reinvent ourselves. We just have to use what we have,” Manchin said.
Earlier this year, PTT officials said they would wait until the end of 2017 to make a final decision on whether to proceed. On Friday, Belmont County Commissioner Mark Thomas told Manchin and others in attendance the prospects remain “positive.”
About 12 miles south of the Dilles Bottom site, Denver-based Energy Storage Ventures hopes to begin storing ethane before the end of 2018. Officials said the ethane would be pumped into and out of the underground caverns through pipelines.
Some Marcellus and Utica shale ethane is now being shipped out of the region for cracking via pipelines. Manchin said he hopes West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky — as well as Congress, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other divisions of the federal government — can act before it is too late.
“Once the pipelines are built to take the product out, you’ve got to compete to keep it,” he said. “We can’t blow this opportunity.”
Also during the meeting, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott noted the diverse group on hand, which included officials from Belmont County, Jefferson County, Marshall County, the city of Moundsville, the city of Wellsburg and others.
“It is no longer a zero-sum game. We can’t allow arbitrary borders to divide us anymore,” Elliott said of the need to collaborate in terms of economic development.
http://www.timesleaderonline.com/news/local-news/2017/06/manchin-36b-in-investment-possible-with-storage-hub/
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(ACC Mentioned) Gas Storage Hub Concept Could Further Region’s Manufacturing Base
Jun 17, 2017 | Observer-Reporter
By Michael Bradwell
For the past decade, massive amounts of natural gas and natural gas liquids have been extracted from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, with much of the production being shipped for export.
On Thursday, about 200 energy executives, as well as those from the legal and construction industries, gathered at Southpointe to hear about the next underground revolution in natural gas.Regional hub
The concept of an Appalachian Storage Hub, which is rapidly moving toward fruition, is being studied with a goal of creating a large underground storage hub in a salt or limestone cavern as a way to hold ethane and possibly other natural gas liquid products, which would be deposited by cracker plants and withdrawn by manufacturing customers.
The concept is envisioned as a way to keep some of the abundant product in the region as a means of attracting petrochemical and plastics manufacturers here.
Tom Gellrich, a chemical engineer and co-organizer of Thursday’s event at Hilton Garden Inn, told the group as a result of the Marcellus and Utica shale regions’ tremendous output of natural gas and their associated liquids, the United States has now become the top gas producer in the world.
“We now have an advantage in North America,” said Gellrich, whose Topline Analytics consults with companies on the downstream impacts of shale gas, with a focus on the revolutionary changes in the chemical industry.
The “shale shock” of the past decade has impacted the domestic chemical industry the most, he said, because it uses gas for fuel as well as feedstock to create its products, which when combined equals 85 percent of operating costs.A chemical buildout
As a result of cheaper natural gas, the chemical industry has been building out in the U.S., creating a 50 percent capacity increase.
According to the American Chemistry Council, new manufacturing projects have created 294 new chemical industry projects due to shale gas, registering $179 billion in new capital investment, 462,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2025, $294 billion in new economic output and $25 billion in new tax revenue.
The revolution is happening in Beaver County, where Shell Chemical is constructing a $17 billion ethane cracker plant where it will supply 70 percent of North America’s polyethylene demand within 700 miles of its customer base.
Gellrich and others who spoke at Thursday’s event want to see more of those customers in chemicals and plastics locate plants here to take advantage of the cheap feedstock from Shell or other cracker plants that are expected to locate in the tri-state area.
Brian Anderson, director of West Virginia University’s Energy Institute and professor of chemical engineering at WVU, said plans for a storage hub for ethane and other natural gas byproducts have been in the works for several years, and are picking up momentum.
Several pieces of legislation at the federal level are creating a tailwind for the project, with bills created in the House and Senate in May that would provide additional funding for the hub study.
While the proposals haven’t become law yet, the hub study has continued with assistance from the Benedum Foundation.
The study, which is about 75 percent completed, also has the support of the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to Anderson, the next step will be to choose among sites in the region where a storage hub could be created from underground limestone or salt caverns.
He acknowledged that while the hub study is operating on a $200,000 budget, an engineering study on the actual site “would be an order of magnitude greater” than the hub study.
He added that numerous potential investors have been identified for the project, which has been estimated to cost $10 billion.
But James Cooper, a senior petrochemical adviser for the trade group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, said the storage hub won’t magically appear.
“It’s going to happen in waves,” Cooper said. “People have to be patient.”
Cooper and others also stressed that a storage hub in Appalachia shouldn’t be seen as competing with the other U.S. hub that exists at Mont Belvieu, Texas, which supplies ethane feedstock for Houston’s massive petrochemical industry.
That sentiment was also expressed by Janson Lankford, site director for Dow Chemical’s West Virginia operations.
“Dow wants an Appalachian region and a Gulf Coast region,” Lankford said.A regional approach
One of the most unique aspects of the natural gas revolution in the Appalachian Basin has been the effort by Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to promote themselves as a region.
The initiative was launched in October 2015, when the governors of the three states signed a pact committing to the regional approach.
“The geology doesn’t care where the borders are,” said Anderson, who also chaired a panel on regional planning.
Lance Chimka of the Governor’s Action Team for Pennsylvania’s Department of Economic and Community Development, noted that the Keystone State’s interest in the collaboration stemmed from the fact that currently 100 percent of all natural gas liquids are being exported from Pennsylvania.
His panel counterpart from Ohio, Paul Boulier, who works for a subsidiary of Jobs Ohio, showed a map pinpointing 17,000 companies in the three states that are involved in petroleum and plastics processing that could grow if cheap feedstock were to become available here.
While the ethane feedstock is used to create everything from fertilizer to plastic bottles and medicine, Gellrich gave one example to illustrate how the low-cost environment in Appalachia could work.
“Ninety-eight percent of all toothpaste tubes are made in China today,” he said. “We can make them cheaper here.”
http://www.observer-reporter.com/20170617/gas_storage_hub_concept_could_further_regionx2019s_manufacturing_base
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(ACC Mentioned) The ‘Next Big Thing’ Could Be Coming To Appalachia
Jun 19, 2017 | Kallanish Energy
It’s called the Appalachian Basin’s “next big thing”, following development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays and, in the last year, Royal Dutch Shell saying “go” to its $6 billion ethane cracker and attendant facilities in Western Pennsylvania. With…
... The American Chemistry Council in May released a study stating the creation of such a hub would allow the Appalachian region to potentially attract up to $36 ...
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http://www.kallanishenergy.com/2017/06/19/the-next-big-thing-could-be-coming-to-appalachia/
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Senate Sanctions Bill Pits U.S. LNG Against Russian Energy
Jun 16, 2017 | PoliticoPro
By Ben Lefebvre
The Senate’s Russia sanctions bill has put the U.S. LNG industry squarely in the fight over Europe's energy security — and brought new tension to the already strained relationship with Germany.
The bill, which passed the Senate 98-2 on Thursday, includes provisions opposing Nord Stream 2, a politically fraught pipeline that Russia’s state-owned Gazprom is seeking to build to increase its gas deliveries to Germany. The bill also calls for U.S. oil and natural gas exports to help cut Ukraine's reliance on Russian energy supplies.
Those provisions caught the attention of Germany and Austria, which are big supporters of the Nord Stream 2 project. U.S. relations with Germany in particular have become strained under the Trump administration, and Berlin is now criticizing the Senate for using a bill focusing on European security to sell U.S. energy.
“The draft bill of the U.S. is surprisingly candid about what is actually at stake, namely selling American liquefied natural gas and ending the supply of Russian natural gas to the European market,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Kern said in a joint statement. “Europe’s energy supply network is Europe’s affair, not that of the United States of America! We decide who supplies us with energy, and how they do it, and we do so based on transparency and on free market principles.”
The two governments called on the U.S. State Department to alter the Senate bill, which is now on its way to the House.
Neither spokesmen for bill sponsor Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) nor the White House responded to questions.
But while Germany and Austria lodged complaints, some Eastern Europe countries have welcomed the possibility of more U.S. gas arriving to counter Russian supply. Eastern European diplomats speaking on background told POLITICO last week that they had been pleased the Trump administration had been speaking out against the Nord Stream 2 project as voraciously as the Obama administration had.
Russia provides Poland with 60 percent of its natural gas, according to Gazprom, which has shut off supply when it has suited the Kremlin’s geopolitical interest.
“In our corner of Europe there is only one player,” said Piotr Woźniak, president of Polish energy company PGNiG’s management board. “We’ve been interrupted six times for no reason whatsoever from our view. We just wake up in the morning and there’s no gas in the line. That was a disaster. There will be room for LNG from the United States.”
Cheniere and other up-and-coming U.S. LNG exporters have already targeted Europe as a potential market for U.S. gas. A Cheniere cargo landed in Poland earlier this month, the first time U.S. gas delivery to Eastern Europe.
Tellurian, another LNG export company formed by Cheniere’s founder Charif Souki, is also filling out its executive suite with former government officials familiar with European energy issues.
Tellurian recently hired Amos Hochstein, who led the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources during the Obama administration and worked to convince European countries to diversify their energy supply.
Still, at least one major European oil company warned that U.S. LNG suppliers may be as used to exert leverage by European states the same way they are invoked by the Senate. Even European boosters of U.S. LNG may be more interested in using the vast U.S. gas supplies as a bargaining chip to talk down Russian gas prices than actually scheduling cargoes, said Spencer Dale, chief group economist at BP.
“Russia has a clear economic incentive to ensure its market share,” Dale said. “[Europe] doesn’t necessarily need to consume LNG if it knows it has the option to do so when the need arises. As long as you have ability to access LNG, the chances you have to get a good deal with Russia go up.”
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2017/06/senate-sanctions-bill-puts-lng-into-european-crosshairs-158426
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API: NAFTA Critical For North American Energy Independence
Jun 16, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Ben Lefebvre
The American Petroleum Institute is warning the Trump administration that if it wants North American energy independence, it should not make a mess of NAFTA.
"The overall functionality of the current NAFTA agreement works for the oil and natural gas industry," the trade association wrote this week in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative. "API and its industry members therefore wish to ensure that as NAFTA is modernized, the provisions of the current agreement remain in place in a new NAFTA."
USTR asked for comments on issues that could play into the development of negotiations for a modernization of NAFTA.
API outlined its priorities for any NAFTA negotiations, including no tariffs, intellectual property rights protection, mobility of labor and more flexible language when it comes to diluents, the light oil that Canadian oil sands producers mix into bitumen to make it easier to process and send through pipelines.
As long as the free energy trade continues — and is expanded to Mexico, which wasn’t a party to NAFTA’s original energy provisions — North America’s energy production will continue to grow faster than demand, API writes in its letter.
“This allows supply to overtake demand, offering North America the opportunity to be self-sufficient, provided open trade flows — especially between the U.S. and Canada,” API’s June 12 letter states. “Taken together, the U.S., Canada and Mexico are on the cusp of North American self-sufficiency.”
What's Next: API asked to testify at a June 27 public hearing on NAFTA.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Top Texas Scientists To Release Fracking Impact Study
Jun 16, 2017 | FuelFix
By David Hunn
A respected state research cooperative will release on Monday a report on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on communities in Texas.
The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, a conglomerate of Texas research scientists across disciplines, has spent two years reviewing the impacts of shale oil and gas development on earthquakes, wildlife, air quality, water, transportation and area residents.
The academy, known as TAMEST, touts the report, Environmental and Community Impacts of Shale Development in Texas, as the first comprehensive analysis of its kind.
“The goal of the TAMEST Shale Task Force report is to provide a clear, science-based assessment of these impacts and the gaps in our current knowledge of them,” said task force chair Christine Ehlig-Economides, a petroleum engineer and professor at the University of Houston.
TAMEST calls itself “Texas’ premier scientific organization,” which includes all of the state’s Nobel Laureates, plus Texas-based members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The Shale Task Force report is an analysis of existing peer-reviewed scientific literature, following the same processes used by the National Academies, TAMEST said.
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation paid for some of the project. TAMEST neither sought nor accepted funding from the oil and gas industry interests.
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Top-Texas-scientists-to-release-fracking-impact-11224879.php
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US Atlantic Coast Refiners Face New Threat In Buckeye Proposal To Reverse Pipeline: Fuel for Thought
Jun 19, 2017 | Platts
By Janet McGurty
Storm clouds are gathering once again over US Atlantic Coast refineries, but unlike a few years ago when it was high oil prices causing a problem, this time the threat is coming from the Midwest.
Hemmed in by geography, Midwestern refiners are looking east as a logical place to sell their gasoline and diesel.
The proposed partial reversal of Buckeye’s Laurel Pipeline, a 350-mile line now carrying gasoline and diesel from Philadelphia-area refineries west to Pittsburgh, would offer Midwest refiners easier access to the East Coast market.
But the proposal to reverse a portion of the pipeline by Q3 2018 does not bode well for US Atlantic Coast refineries. Four out of five of these refineries nestle close to Philadelphia and depend on the Laurel flowing to the west as an outlet for their output. Without the flow westward some of those Philadelphia area refiners could be hard pressed to remain in business.
Earlier this decade, USAC refiners faced a similar threat of extinction.
Between 2010 and 2013, USAC refinery capacity was reduced by about one-third, or over 500,000 b/d, to the current 1.28 million b/d as the price of crude rose more quickly than the price of gasoline and diesel.
The Marcus Hook refinery was shut down and three other area refiners were turned into terminals, slashing hundreds of jobs in the process.
Now as Midwestern plants look for a longterm solution to winnow seasonal builds of gasoline, USAC refiners are again feeling the pressure of encroachment on their market area and once again jobs are at stake.
In March, 858,000 barrels of CBOB gasoline moved via pipeline from the Midwest plants east into PADD 1, versus 175,000 barrels five years ago, EIA data showed.
If the Laurel is partially reversed even more gasoline would head east.
“We get past all that [high oil prices]. And here we are again. Now we are faced with a domestic threat and not a foreign threat,” said Denis Stephano, recently retired after decades at the 185,000 b/d Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery.Regulatory path to reversal
In November 2016, Buckeye’s Laurel Pipeline filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, “to change the direction of its petroleum products transportation service over a portion of its system west of Eldorado, Pennsylvania.”
Eldorado is a Buckeye-owned terminal in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and is the terminus of a stubline off the main Laurel pipeline. It is currently served by eastern refineries in Pennsylvania as well as PBF’s Delaware City, Delaware, plant.
Monroe Energy and Philadelphia Energy Solutions along with other users of the pipeline filed a motion to modify and extend the procedural schedule with the PUC. The group is seeking clarity on market information, including volumes carried through Laurel, which reports its pipeline volumes on a company level.
This regulatory process of discovery is ongoing and as of now, litigation will last at least through November. At that time, PUC Administrative Law Judge Eranda Vera will craft a recommendation and submit it to the commission, which can accept, deny or change the recommendation. There is no timeframe for when this could happen.
Economically, the more complex refineries in the Midwest create better margins, in part due to easier access to cheaper North American crudes.
Back in 2012, the shale revolution and burgeoning output of North Dakota Bakken helped save the USAC refineries, weighed down by high crude oil prices.
Fast forward to 2017, and Bakken is no longer the economic boon it once was for the USAC. So far this year, the USAC Bakken cracking margin averaged $1.98/b. In the Midwest, a refiner running Bakken gets much better margins, with an average cracking margin of $7.37/b so far this year, according to Platts margin data.
Platts margin data reflects the difference between a crude’s netback and its spot price. Netbacks are based on crude yields, which are calculated by applying Platts product price assessments to yield formulas designed by Turner, Mason & Co.
In the Midwest, refining margins would be even better if refiners had an outlet for seasonal stock builds, a fact which is not lost on Midwestern refiners like Marathon Petroleum.
Traditionally, stocks of gasoline mount there in Q1. If stocks get too high, prices drop, and margins turn negative as they did in 2016 when WTI Midwest cracking margin dipped as low as minus $6.27/b. Hence the need for another outlet for their production.
And while it could be a year or more before the PUC hands down a decision, there is more at stake than margins and product flows. As in 2010-2013, jobs and livelihoods are at stake.
http://blogs.platts.com/2017/06/19/usac-refiners-threat-buckeye-laurel-pipeline/
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Lawmakers To Look At Spending On Rail
Jun 19, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Camille von Kaenel
Rail executives will likely press House lawmakers this week to maintain funding for rural trains and public transit grants despite the White House's proposed budget cuts.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials will question current and former top Transportation Department officials and executives in charge of large public transit projects Thursday.
The White House proposed cutting federal cash to long-distance, rural Amtrak lines and halving grants to transit. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao last week defended the cuts as a "philosophical disagreement" about the department's mission and said much of the cash will be "repackaged" in an infrastructure bill this fall. She did not provide a detailed breakdown.
Legislators this week will also focus on "whether the federal government is making the most of its investments in passenger rail, how funds provided under the 2009 stimulus legislation have been used and what has been accomplished, the private sector's investments in developing high-speed rail service, and Amtrak's rehabilitation work at New York's Penn Station," according to the subcommittee.
Among the witnesses are representatives from some of the largest rail projects in the country. California Republicans have heaped criticism on that state's high-speed rail venture, attempting but failing to stop a separate Federal Transit Administration grant to electrify existing Caltrain tracks.
John Porcari, who leads the Gateway Program Development Corp. to upgrade rail, tunnels and bridges around New York and New Jersey, has lashed out at the proposed cuts, saying there was no "Plan B" if federal funds fell through.
Schedule: The hearing is Thursday, June 22, at 10 a.m. in 2167 Rayburn.
Witnesses: Paul Nissenbaum, associate administrator for railroad policy and development, Federal Railroad Administration; Charles "Wick" Moorman, CEO, Amtrak; John Porcari, interim executive director, Gateway Program Development Corp.; Mike Reininger, executive director, Florida East Coast Industries; and Dan Richard, chairman, California High-Speed Rail Authority.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/06/19/stories/1060056197
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EPA Seeks Seven-Year Deadline To Complete Overdue Air Toxics Reviews
Jun 19, 2017 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
EPA is asking a federal district court to set a seven-year deadline for completing overdue air toxics rule reviews for nine industrial sectors, conceding that it has missed Clean Air Act deadlines for the reviews but arguing that separate court-imposed deadlines for reviewing other rules are limiting resources and justify the seven-year target.
The agency seeks the 2024 deadline in a June 15 filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Community In-Power and Development Association, et al., v. Scott Pruitt, et al., in which environmental groups sued to force EPA to conduct the overdue risk and technology reviews (RTRs) of the air toxics rules. The suit is one of at least three in the same court that all address delays in EPA performing the RTRs.
Under the air law, the agency must review its rules reducing hazardous air pollutants for individual sectors eight years after their implementation to determine whether health risks remain from emissions, or whether new technology exists that can further drive down emissions. If EPA finds the answer to either is affirmative, it can revise the air toxics rules to set new requirements -- but tight resources means the agency is past due on many RTRs.
In the Community In-Power and Development Association suit, environmentalists are seeking a two-year deadline for completion of RTRs in the following source categories: mercury cell chloralkali plants; semiconductor manufacturing; cyanide chemicals manufacturing; spandex production; carbon black production; primary copper smelting; flexible polyurethane foam fabrication operations; refractory products manufacturing; and primary magnesium refining.
All the RTRs for these sectors are years overdue. However, EPA says it cannot even begin to address them until it has largely completed reviews for another 37 sectors that are now due under judicial deadlines.
Deadlines for reviews of 33 of those 37 sectors were set recently by the same court in two other suits brought by environmentalists, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, et al. v. Scott Pruitt, and the case California Communities Against Toxics (CCAT), et al. v. EPA.
EPA must complete the 33 RTRs covered by these two cases in 2020 under the deadlines imposed by the two rulings. In its new filing in the suit over the nine RTRs, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on EPA's behalf says “because of these existing obligations, the Agency will not be able to begin work on the RTRs for the nine source categories at issue in the present case until most of these 33 rulemakings have been completed in March 2020.”
Thus, “the last deadline would be approximately four years after EPA is able to begin work on the nine source categories at issue here.” EPA says. The final reviews would be completed by July 2024, EPA says.
“Plaintiffs suggest that the RTR rulemakings at issue are straightforward and fairly simple. They ignore the technical complexity of the needed analyses and the differences between source categories.”
Rule Reviews
DOJ's filing argues that the court should consider the impact of the other two RTR deadline suits. DOJ says, “Plaintiffs suggest that, in determining the appropriate deadlines, the Court should simply ignore that this is only one of several cases filed by an overlapping set of environmental plaintiffs that have resulted in consent decrees or judicial decisions ordering EPA to complete the RTR rulemakings for 37 categories.”
DOJ adds, “If the Court were to order the truncated schedule proposed by Plaintiffs, EPA would have to significantly scale back the scope of its analyses and scale back or potentially eliminate data collection, which is a time-consuming process, for many source categories. In addition, the exceedingly short period between issuing the proposed and final rule would allow EPA to provide only a cursory consideration of comments received during the comment period. These strictures would undermine the effectiveness of EPA’s review.”
To conduct the review and analysis required, EPA has only a limited number of staff available, DOJ notes, pointing to a June 14 statement submitted to the judicial record by Panagiotis Tsirigotis, director of EPA's Sector Policies and Programs Division (SPPD) within the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) that has responsibility for RTR reviews.
“We evaluated our available staff and resources for the program in light of the court orders for the 33 RTR deadlines” set in Blue Ridge and CCAT “and determined that we do not have the staff and resource available to begin work on the 9 categories at issue until March 16, 2020,” Tsirigotis writes.
In a March 1 declaration entered in evidence in both of those lawsuits, Tsirigotis earlier wrote, “due to SPPD's considerable workload, the available staff, and budgetary constraints, SPPD must prioritize work, and it is usually the case that the available resources are insufficient to allow all of the required work to be completed in a timely fashion.”
EPA's air toxics program has been criticized for years for not completing RTRs on time, and now faces the prospect of a 31 percent overall cut to EPA's budget proposed by the Trump administration, which if enacted would likely impact the toxics program. Under the proposed budget, OAQPS funding would fall from $69.8 million in fiscal year 2017 to $48.4 million in FY18, with full-time equivalent positions falling from 349.6 in 2017 to 240.7 in 2018.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-seeks-seven-year-deadline-complete-overdue-air-toxics-reviews
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California: CARB Urges State High Court To Uphold GHG Auction Ruling
Jun 19, 2017 | Inside EPA
Lawyers for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are urging the state's high court to reject industry calls to overturn the board's greenhouse gas allowance auctions under cap-and-trade, arguing in a recent legal brief that the auctions represent legitimate exactions on regulated entities, not an illegal tax as industry claims.
And as reported by Inside Cal/EPA's Curt Barry, environmentalists are backing CARB's position, adding in their own brief in California Chamber of Commerce, et al., v. CARB that a high court review would "prolong the disruption of the cap-and-trade program caused by this litigation."
Industry groups are asking the California Supreme Court to review a lower court's 2-1 decision that upheld a 2013 state superior court ruling backing the auctions' legality. The ruling rejected industry claims that the auctions represent an illegal tax under the state's Proposition 13 because the law authorizing CARB to hold the auctions -- AB 32 of 2006 -- was not passed by a two-thirds vote.
Chamber attorneys argued in a May 15 petition to the high court that if allowed to stand, the appellate court's ruling "would mark a revolution in the established law governing taxation in this state.”
The Chamber's appeal joins a similar petition filed in April by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents plaintiffs in a companion case, Morning Star Packing Co., et al., v. CARB.
But CARB, in a June 12 “answer” brief filed with the high court, argues that the industry petitions fail to establish that review is necessary to "secure uniformity of decision or to settle an important question of law,” and that the issues presented are unlikely to arise in future cases, the petitions fail to identify any conflict in relevant authority, and they identify no error in the appellate court's opinion.
In addition, the industry plaintiffs offer no reason to believe that the Legislature will create similar cap-and-trade programs with auction components to address any other state concerns, CARB argues. "Supreme Court review is not necessary to further review a case with facts so unlikely to recur."
The Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense Fund, in their June 9 intervenor brief supporting CARB, additionally argue that high court review would "prolong the disruption of the cap-and-trade program caused by this litigation," in part by providing "none of the benefits of certainty and uniformity on important legal issues that this Court seeks."
Any "slight benefit [of high court review] would come at a significant cost: further extending the shadow cast by this case over the cap-and-trade program," the environmental groups argue.
The industry petitioners are expected to file briefs responding to the CARB and intervenor briefs within about a week, according to an attorney involved in the case.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/california-carb-urges-state-high-court-uphold-ghg-auction-ruling
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