Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 19/7/2017
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump Names Nominee to Head US EPA Chemicals Office
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The Trump administration has signalled its intent to nominate Michael Dourson to serve as the new assistant administrator to the US EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). -
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Industry Shill Nominated to Lead EPA Toxics Program
Jul 19, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Melanie Benesh
Yesterday President Trump announced that he will nominate Michael Dourson to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical and pesticides office. Like Beck, who was appointed as one of the deputies in that office, and other recent appointees, he has deep ties to the chemical industry he will be tasked with regulating if confirmed. -
EU Court Dismisses Part of BASF Grenzach Appeal over Triclosan
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The EU General Court has dismissed an appeal by chemicals manufacturer BASF Grenzach to suspend an Echa Board of Appeal (BoA) decision that requires it to carry out animal testing on triclosan. -
DG Sante Proposes Options for Printed Food Contact Measure
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Vanessa Zainzinger
The European Commission has outlined two possible approaches to an EU measure on printed food contact materials (FCMs), which it expects to be in place by mid-2018. -
EU Member States Approve Chromium Trioxide Authorisation Application
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
EU member states have agreed to grant seven Finnish companies authorisation to use chromium trioxide in chromium VI-based functional plating. -
Germany Reduces Heavy Metal Limits in Cosmetics
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Germany’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has reduced the limits for "technically avoidable" heavy metals in cosmetic products and published new orientation values for manufacturers. -
Perry Says Gas Exports Address Climate Change Better Than Paris
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Umair Irfan
The United States is stepping forward with natural gas after stepping back from the Paris climate accord. -
Select Energy Buying Houston's Rockwater in Water Services Merger
Jul 19, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Two of the biggest water management companies for the drilling and fracking industry are merging in a combination of Texas rivals. -
Mining for Sand in the Booming Frac Sand Business
Jul 19, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Oil prices may remain weak, but business is booming for oil in Texas shale plays, especially in West Texas’ Permian Basin. -
Democrats Request Review of Pipeline Cyberdefenses
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak
The top Democrats on the Senate and House energy panels are seeking an assessment of the cyber and physical security protections for natural gas, oil and other hazardous pipeline infrastructure, warning of increased cyberthreats from foreign state-backed and criminal hacking organizations. -
Infrastructure: Competition Trumps Cronyism
Jul 19, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Bonner Cohen
What will it cost to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure? Nobody knows, but estimates are in the trillion-dollar range. -
EPA, Businesses Blast States' Bid to Intervene in Ozone Case
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
That's the initial response from U.S. EPA and business groups opposed to a recent bid by California and a half-dozen other states to intervene in long-running litigation over the agency's 2015 ground-level ozone standard. -
Republican Votes in the Assembly Proved Critical to Passing an Extension of California's Cap and Trade Program, Which Aims to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Jul 19, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
The longer humans continue to pour carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the closer we draw to leaving the next generation with an unmanageable climate problem, scientists say.
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump Names Nominee to Head US EPA Chemicals Office
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The Trump administration has signalled its intent to nominate Michael Dourson to serve as the new assistant administrator to the US EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP).
According to an EPA press release, Dr Dourson previously worked at the EPA and has served in multiple positions at the American Board of Toxicology, Society of Toxicology, Society for Risk Analysis and Toxicology Education Foundation.
He left the agency in the 1990s and began a non-profit consulting firm, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (Tera). The consultancy is now the Risk Science Center at the University of Cincinnati, in Ohio, where Dr Dourson is a professor of environmental health.
Several academics wrote to the EPA in support of the nomination. Jay Goodman, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, said Dr Dourson’s career has been centred "around advancing science-based safety/risk assessment of chemicals".
And the American Chemistry Council (ACC) called the nominee a "highly respected, award winning scientist who brings to the agency decades of experiences".
"His knowledge, experience and leadership will strengthen EPA's processes for evaluating and incorporating high quality science into regulatory decision making," added the trade group.
But the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said it is "deeply concerned" over the nomination, which "fits the clear pattern of the Trump administration in appointing individuals to positions for which they have significant conflicts of interest." Dr Dourson has "extensive, longstanding ties to the chemical industry", and a "history of undertaking work, often with significant funding from industry, to undermine public health protections and the science underlying them."
The NGO was among the critics of Nancy Beck’s appointment to deputy assistant administrator at the OCSPP. Several consumer advocacy groups have suggested her past employment at the ACC played a role in tilting the recently finalised TSCA framework rules in industry’s favour.
According to the EDF, Dr Dourson’s nomination "threatens to move us further away from health-protective implementation of the new TSCA".Consultancy
Fellow NGO Environmental Working Group said that in the more than two decades Dr Dourson has spent away from the EPA, he has served as a "scientist for hire", working for chemical companies.
The Tera website – no longer updated but available for "historical purposes" – states that the firm was organised for scientific and educational aims. Its mission is to "support the protection of public health by developing, reviewing and communicating risk assessment values and analyses; improving risk methods through research; and, educating risk assessors, managers and the public on risk assessment issues."
Its annual funding sources in 2014 – the most recent year available – was 57% government and non-profit and 43% industry-related work.
Tera project sponsors, in the three most recently available years, include:trade groups the ACC, American Cleaning Institute (ACI) and the American Petroleum Institute (API);major corporations like coatings giant PPG and pharmaceuticals companies Eli Lilly and Amgen;governmental organisations the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) and Health Canada.
Dr Dourson's appointment will need to be confirmed by the US Senate. He would replace Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, who has been serving as acting assistant administrator since President Trump's inauguration.
https://chemicalwatch.com/57731/trump-names-nominee-to-head-us-epa-chemicals-office
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(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Industry Shill Nominated to Lead EPA Toxics Program
Jul 19, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Melanie Benesh
In May, EWG reported that former chemical industry bigwig Nancy Beck was the scariest Trump appointee you’ve never heard of. We may have spoken to soon.
Yesterday President Trump announced that he will nominate Michael Dourson to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical and pesticides office. Like Beck, who was appointed as one of the deputies in that office, and other recent appointees, he has deep ties to the chemical industry he will be tasked with regulating if confirmed.
Here’s why Michael Dourson may actually be the scariest Trump nominee you’ve never heard of.
1. He founded a group dedicated to undercutting chemical regulations.
Dourson is the founder and leader of the nonprofit consulting group Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, or TERA. TERA, part of the University of Cincinnati since 2015, gets 30 to 40 percent of its funding by helping the industry fight regulations by conducting or peer-reviewing favorable risk assessments for chemicals.
Industry-funded studies have made up more than half of the studies reviewed by TERA since 1995. TERA also provides expert witnesses for chemical companies involved in lawsuits to help minimize liability. TERA has taken funding from the American Chemistry Council and others to create the incredibly misleading (and now inactive) website www.kidschemicalsafety.org, which downplayed the risks of chemical exposure to children.
2. He’s helped the tobacco industry.
The dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke are well-known, but that didn’t stop Dourson from working with the tobacco industry to downplay the risks. The Center for Indoor Air Research, a now-defunct tobacco-industry front group, gave TERA fundingin 1997 to study the effects of secondhand smoke. He is listed as a co-author on a 1999 study. Emails from Dourson and other TERA employees also show that TERA has worked directly with Phillip Morris.
3. He wants weaker air quality emissions rules.
When the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality decided to weaken the state’s emissions standards for toxic chemicals like benzene and others released by the oil and gas industry, it enlisted Dourson and TERA to review and endorse its work. Other reports seeking to erode or eliminate the EPA’s mercury air emissions rules, have cited Dourson’s work as well.
Even though the office Dourson is nominated to head doesn’t set air emissions standards, it is supposed to consider exposure from sources like air and water when evaluating chemical safety. Dourson’s history shows that he doesn’t take risks from chemicals in air and water seriously, and is likely to grossly underestimate or even ignore those risks.
4. He wants to keep flame retardants in your couches and car seats.
Dourson worked with the American Chemistry Council again when he served on the North American Flame Retardant Alliance Science Advisory Council. EWG has reported extensively on the dangers of flame retardant chemicals in upholstered furniture and children’s products such as car seats, crib mattresses and changing pads. The EPA says exposure to some flame retardant chemicals is linked to cancer, reduced IQ, learning disorders, reduced fertility and thyroid disruption. Nonetheless, the ACC’s flame retardant group and Dourson fought proposals to ban flame retardant chemicals in upholstered furniture and children’s products.
5. He thinks rocket fuel chemicals in your drinking water is no big deal.
Perchlorate is a toxic, thyroid-disrupting, chemical component of rocket fuel that contaminates the drinking water of as many as 17 million Americans. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found it in 15 top-selling brands of infant formula. The EPA announced plans to regulate perchlorate in drinking water in 2011, but has failed to do so.
Dourson has done work for the Perchlorate Study Group, which is made up of perchlorate manufacturers and users. The group and Dourson’s research have been used to try to undercut potential federal regulation of perchlorate, particularly in drinking water.
6. He put victims of the 2014 Elk River chemical spill at risk of drinking contaminated tap water.
In January 2014, a major chemical spill in West Virginia’s Elk River contaminated the water supply of up to 300,000 residents. Before the spill, TERA worked for Dow and Eastman Chemical, two companies that manufactured the chemical implicated in the spill. TERA did not disclose this obvious conflict of interest when West Virginia hired the company to take a leading role in studying the health effects of the spill.
Not surprisingly, in April 2014 the panel concluded that the water was safe, despite a significant lack of safety data available at the time. Dourson’s willingness to reassure citizens without safety studies to back him up is disturbing and sets a poor precedent for the kinds of decisions he’ll be making if confirmed for a high-level position at the EPA.
Trump has only been in office six months, so another chemical industry hack may emerge to claim the mantle of scariest appointee you’ve never heard of. Stay tuned.
http://www.ewg.org/planet-trump/2017/07/chemical-industry-shill-nominated-lead-epa-toxics-program#.WW97Y4SGPIU
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EU Court Dismisses Part of BASF Grenzach Appeal over Triclosan
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The EU General Court has dismissed an appeal by chemicals manufacturer BASF Grenzach to suspend an Echa Board of Appeal (BoA) decision that requires it to carry out animal testing on triclosan.
Echa has asked the company to perform:
· persistence testing in marine and freshwater;
· a developmental neurotoxicity test with additional elements of an extended one-generation reproductive toxicity study (Eogrts); and
· a fish sexual development test,
under the REACH substance evaluation process.
In December 2016, the BoA backed Echa's request. BASF Grenzach then turned to the General Court to ask for annulment of this decision, as well as interim measures that would, in the meantime, suspend it.
The company claimed that it would have to choose between compliance with the BoA's decision and the risk of incurring liability for infringement of the cosmetics Regulation, which prohibits animal testing for cosmetic ingredients.
In addition, it said it could lose its entire European market for triclosan because customers using it in cosmetic products would be encouraged to replace the biocide with other ingredients.
The court has ruled that following the decision will not incur liability under the cosmetics Regulation. It also says BASF Grenzach has not proven the importance of triclosan in its product range to justify that losing the European market for it would do the company any serious harm financially.
The court's decision on the annulment will follow "at a later date".
https://chemicalwatch.com/57739/eu-court-dismisses-part-of-basf-grenzach-appeal-over-triclosan
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DG Sante Proposes Options for Printed Food Contact Measure
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Vanessa Zainzinger
The European Commission has outlined two possible approaches to an EU measure on printed food contact materials (FCMs), which it expects to be in place by mid-2018.
The Commission’s health directorate’s (DG Sante) proposal, which was presented at the May meeting of its working group on FCMs, offers a "traditional" way forward that is similar to the EU Regulation on plastic FCMs.
This would include a positive list of authorised substances, migration limits, and specific rules on how industry should document testing and verify compliance with the law.
But it warns that it could take "decades of work" to evaluate all substances used in printed FCMs.
Germany's national ordinance on printing inks, for example, lists over 700 substances. While the positive list of compounds allowed in printing inks under the Swiss national law on foodstuffs holds several thousand, the Commission said.
The second option suggested by DG Sante would shift the responsibilities for ensuring compliance to "designated bodies", such as laboratories or consultants.
These would identify migrating substances in an FCM and carry out toxicology testing, then evaluate their risk and propose how they should be regulated. Substance dossiers would be stored in a central database that can be accessed by public authorities and - to a limited extent - FCM manufacturers and members of their supply chain.
The Commission would provide legislation that outlines rules on substance hazards and exposure, the risk assessment and general functioning of the system. Standards and guidance would give some technical detail to direct the work of the designated bodies.
DG Sante says substances would have to meet "conservative" safety criteria. If a substance does not, it could be sent for an evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) and potentially go on a positive list with migration limits.
Both options possible
The Commission is "not committed" to any approach for regulating printed FCMs and says it wants to raise awareness of the potential new system.
But it says the "new" approach would solve the problems it identified under the traditional approach. And it would "increase transparency", make "more efficient use of scientific resources" and allow a shorter time to market for printed FCMs.
The European Printing Inks Association (EuPIA) says it has been in touch with the Commission about the two options, but says they are "in no way carved in stone" and that it will continue talks to arrive at a "pragmatic and workable piece of legislation".
Last month, the group criticised the use of positive lists and said it would encourage the Commission to incorporate elements from its own printing inks good manufacturing practice (GMP) into the European measure.
Next steps
If it chooses the new approach, DG Sante would next have to draft the Regulation and hire a contractor to identify the laboratories and consultants which could act as designated bodies. The only criteria for this is that they should be independent from FCM manufacturers.
It says the measure could be adapted to other FCMs as well. The Commission is currently evaluating the EU FCM framework Regulation and considering specific measures for paper, board, coatings and adhesives.
https://chemicalwatch.com/57728/us-study-epas-current-tox-tests-insufficient-for-low-dose-exposures
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EU Member States Approve Chromium Trioxide Authorisation Application
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
EU member states have agreed to grant seven Finnish companies authorisation to use chromium trioxide in chromium VI-based functional plating.
A qualified majority of member states backed the conditional application at the 12 July REACH Committee meeting.
In its Opinion, Echa’s Socio-economic Analysis Committee (Seac) set the recommended review period at seven years, expiring on 21 September 2024.
The applicants are:
· Kromatek;
· Cr-Te Plating;
· Kova-Kromi;
· Pirkan Kovakromaus;
· Saizeri Plating;
· Turun Kovakromi; and
· Veljekset Wallenius.
In May, the REACH Committee granted applications for five uses of the substance.
Echa figures show that from 2012 to 30 January this year, the highest number of applications for authorised use of a substance were for chromium trioxide.
https://chemicalwatch.com/57771/eu-member-states-approve-chromium-trioxide-authorisation-application
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Germany Reduces Heavy Metal Limits in Cosmetics
Jul 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Germany’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has reduced the limits for "technically avoidable" heavy metals in cosmetic products and published new orientation values for manufacturers.
Monitoring of the products has shown that current values are outdated, the BVL says.
Heavy metals are banned in cosmetics under EU law, but traces are allowed if the amount is small enough to be technically unavoidable and does not present a danger to human health. There are no specific limits, however.
Germany publishes orientation values for "technically avoidable" metal content to be used in cosmetics and has a monitoring scheme in place to review the levels.
The BVL has published the following new limits (mg/kg) for cosmetics in general and toothpaste, respectively:
· lead: 2.0 (or 5.0 for certain make-up products) and 0.5;
· cadmium: 0.1;
· mercury: 0.1;
· arsenic: 0.5 (or 2.5 for theatre make-up); and
· antimony: 0.5.
The orientation value for soluble nickel is unchanged at 10mg/kg.
Elsewhere, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is deliberating amendments to its cosmetics Regulation, which sets limits for heavy metals in products.
https://chemicalwatch.com/57740/germany-reduces-heavy-metal-limits-in-cosmetics
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Perry Says Gas Exports Address Climate Change Better Than Paris
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Umair Irfan
The United States is stepping forward with natural gas after stepping back from the Paris climate accord.
The nation is shrinking its carbon footprint by producing cheap natural gas and can do the same for other countries through exports, according to Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
"We have contributed to curbing global CO2 emissions through the increased use of natural gas, the use of cleaner-burning coal, the use of nuclear, hydro and renewables in our power portfolio," Perry said at a press conference yesterday. "It's American innovation and technology that's driving this success, not some international agreement."
With the recent rise in energy exports and more on the way, the Trump administration wants to use coal, oil and natural gas to exert "energy dominance." That can strengthen allies and weaken adversaries, officials say, adding that hunger for U.S. fuels extends to nations that disagree with Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
The Department of Energy is a key player in that effort.
"At DOE, we're focusing on streamlining the process for natural gas production and exports," Perry said. "In fact, we've authorized two large-scale LNG [liquefied natural gas] export facilities as well as a design increase authorization for the Lake Charles [LNG] facility."
He added that gas exports could accelerate the decline of dirtier energy sources.
"If you want to clean up your emissions, shifting from older, inefficient plants to LNG is a very good way to do that," Perry said.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, also noted at the press conference that U.S. shale gas production will increase "substantially" over the next five years. It's enough to cover domestic demand and export markets.
"There will be enough opportunities for U.S. shale gas to use domestically, especially for the manufacturing industry, but at the same time, there will be significant opportunities to export LNG to European and also Asian markets," Birol said.
However, Samantha Gross, a fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, was skeptical about brandishing natural gas as a foreign policy weapon and using it to fight climate change.
While natural gas-fired power plants produce less than half the greenhouse gas emissions of equivalent coal plants, the major component of natural gas, methane, is much more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.
Methane leaks at wells, at pipelines and in shipping could undermine the climate benefits of natural gas if not properly controlled.
"The one thing that concerns me is this administration's goal of pulling back on environmental regulations around natural gas production," Gross said. "If we're going to advertise it as a positive, I hope we keep our house in order as far as keeping the emissions from the production stage under control."
Gross added that energy-starved nations like Japan welcome the United States as a natural gas exporter, but there may not be enough fuel to make a significant dent in prices or change political calculations in some countries.
"I'm not sure there's enough gas there to meet some of the geopolitical goals the administration is putting forward," Gross said. "Are people happy to see another producer out there? Sure. Does it make a huge difference in our foreign policy? I sincerely doubt it."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/07/19/stories/1060057593
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Select Energy Buying Houston's Rockwater in Water Services Merger
Jul 19, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Two of the biggest water management companies for the drilling and fracking industry are merging in a combination of Texas rivals.
Select Energy Services said it will acquire Houston-based Rockwater Energy Solutions in an all-stock deal valued at more than $470 million. Select, which just went public this spring, is headquartered north of Dallas in Gainesville. The companies each employ about 2,000 people.
As oil and gas companies are increasingly drilling deeper wells both vertically and horizontally in shale rock with more hydraulic fracturing stages, so to is the demand growing for water per well. The water is used along with sand and chemicals to unlock and extract the oil and gas from beneath the surface. Wells now routinely use up more than 20 million gallons of water each.
Both Select and Rockwater, which is privately owned, provide water, logistics and chemical services to the energy sector. The merger will take place under the Select name with the Rockwater brand maintained for the chemical services. The merged headquarters will be in Gainesville, but Select already has a Houston office as well.
Rockwater CEO Holli Ladhani will become the new president and CEO of Select, while current CEO John Schmitz will serve as the executive chairman of the merged company. Schmitz founded Select nearly 10 years ago.
"This is a very exciting opportunity to combine two companies that are highly focused on the challenge of providing world-class water-related services to the major shale basins," Schmitz said in a prepared statement. "As we are experiencing a strong recovery in many of our markets, we have the opportunity to combine our equipment, management teams, and over 3,200 field personnel to provide more comprehensive services to our customers."
Both companies are children of private equity firms. Select is backed financially by New York-based Crestview Partners, while Rockwater was created through Houston-based SCF Partners. As such, Crestview and SCF would become Select's two largest shareholders, respectively.
Rockwater was founded in 2011 through the mergers of four companies — Odessa-based Benchmark Performance Group; Canada-based EnerMAX Services; Boyd, Texas-based Red Oak Water Transfer; and Midland-based Reef Services Holdings.
Current Select shareholders will own 64.5 percent of the combined company. The two companies are projecting to create a business with $1.3 billion in annual revenues.
The deal is expected to close by the end of September.
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Select-Energy-buying-Houston-s-Rockwater-in-water-11298957.php
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Mining for Sand in the Booming Frac Sand Business
Jul 19, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Oil prices may remain weak, but business is booming for oil in Texas shale plays, especially in West Texas’ Permian Basin.
That means the demand for sand is skyrocketing to churn out oil and gas as part of the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process.
The industry is moving quickly to produce more sand than ever to meet the demand of an oil and gas sector that is using up to 20 times more sand per well than it did during the peak of the last energy boom.
Across the state, already home to nearly 10 frac sand mines, operators are moving to expand or open new facilities, setting the stage for Texas to become a bigger player - and competitor - in an industry long dominated by purer Wisconsin and Minnesota sands.
At the same time, the growth of sand mining is opening a new front in the battle between the energy industry and environmentalists, who argue the mines despoil pristine land and create health hazards by kicking up silica dust, which has been linked to lung cancer, tuberculosis and other lung diseases when inhaled.
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Mining-for-sand-in-the-booming-frac-sand-business-11296985.php#item-38488
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Democrats Request Review of Pipeline Cyberdefenses
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak
The top Democrats on the Senate and House energy panels are seeking an assessment of the cyber and physical security protections for natural gas, oil and other hazardous pipeline infrastructure, warning of increased cyberthreats from foreign state-backed and criminal hacking organizations.
In their request yesterday to the Government Accountability Office, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) also noted the U.S. electric power networks' increased dependence on natural gas generation as a reason for the review. Cantwell is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Pallone has the same position on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
"The reliability of the [power] grid is now more than ever directly tied to the security of gas pipelines," the legislators wrote, noting that gas supplies fuel one-third of all U.S. electricity generation.
Unlike interstate high-voltage grid networks and nuclear power reactors, which are covered by mandatory federal regulation, the security of the 300,000-mile interstate gas pipeline matrix is subject to voluntary review by the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration.
William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in March that a briefing from energy officials on the pipeline threat "really scared me."
An investigative series by E&E News in May reported that TSA had only six staff people at its Arlington, Va., headquarters dedicated to assessing cybersecurity defenses in the far-flung interstate pipeline system (Energywire, May 23).
TSA was still "slowly rebuilding" its cybersecurity capabilities after a 2014 reorganization that "dismantled" prior programs, according to congressional testimony by industry executive Kathy Judge last year. TSA has defended its voluntary oversight as "currently achieving desired results in protecting pipeline infrastructure."
Natural gas industry groups cite their expanding cyberdefense efforts, saying there is no evidence that mandatory rules are required. But the E&E News report documented that neither the Energy Department, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nor gas industry groups had a comprehensive view of cyberdefenses in the pipeline sector.
"We still don't have the metrics needed to measure the relative cybersecurity of our pipeline systems," Cantwell said at an April Senate hearing.
Cantwell and Pallone asked GAO to examine how much cybersecurity oversight pipeline companies receive from TSA and FERC, and the effectiveness of the industry's cyberthreat sharing processes.
"If Congress determines that mandatory cybersecurity standards are appropriate for the pipeline industry, which federal entity should enforce those standards?" the legislators asked.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/07/19/stories/1060057553
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Infrastructure: Competition Trumps Cronyism
Jul 19, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Bonner Cohen
What will it cost to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure?
Nobody knows, but estimates are in the trillion-dollar range.
Rehabilitating the nation’s roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. at a time when governments at all levels are cash-strapped will be a daunting task. But an even greater challenge will be replacing our vast network of leaking, corroded underground water pipes. By one estimate, leaking pipes lose 2.6 trillion gallons of water a year, or 17% of all the water moved in the United States.
As the Trump administration and Congress, along with state and local governments, contemplate how to pay for long-overdue water infrastructure upgrades, one idea can help stretch scarce resources. To help keep costs down, we should ensure that an open and competitive bidding process is used for material selection in water infrastructure projects. This isn’t the heavy hand of government picking winners and losers; it’s about making sure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and that the bidding process is based on merit.
Competitive bidding on infrastructure projects is also a protection against cronyism. Where artificial barriers to competition exist, someone benefits. Suppliers who know they are protected against competition can jack-up prices and even neglect to upgrade their products. Sadly, the country is still riddled with municipalities that engage in quasi-monopolistic practices when it comes to replacing underground water pipes. In fact, approximately 75% of municipalities have closed bidding process for pipe material selection, tying the hands of engineers and limiting material choices. For example, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority states, “all waterlines shall be push-on joint ductile iron pipe with mechanical joint ductile iron fittings.”
Thankfully a proven program for fostering open bidding already exists at one federal department, and it is well worth emulating elsewhere. For over 15 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been at the forefront of fostering truly competitive bidding. USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) program provides funding for water systems in rural areas across the country. As is customary with government programs, there are safeguards in place to make sure taxpayers dollars are used responsibly.
In a March 2002 internal memorandum, USDA specified that bidding procedures under the RUS program “shall be conducted in a manner that provides maximum open and free competition.” “Contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers with acceptable equipment and materials should have a chance to participate in the project,” the memo continued. “Once the facility requirements have been established that assure good quality, the goal is to construct the project at the best price for the system and the taxpayer.”
Note that USDA does not mandate the materials or the technologies to be used in water projects; those decision are left up to local engineers. The program is based on the assumption that advances in technology will outpace antiquated procurement specifications and that competition will drive down costs. That’s a model for all levels of government to follow – federal, state, and local.
Of the many factors that led to the water-contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., one merits closer scrutiny: Flint did not allow for competitive bidding on underground water infrastructure projects. Flint’s corroded underground water pipes were a disaster waiting to happen. By not allowing competitive bidding, Flint, over the decades, simply replaced corroded iron pipes with corrosion-prone iron pipes. As a result, the city’s long-suffering residents wound up paying the highest water rates in the country for water they dared not drink.
While underground water pipes lack the pizzazz of majestic bridges or other high-profile infrastructure projects, they are absolutely essential to public health. Flint shows what can happen when water systems fail to keep pace with innovations in technology. In the spirit of “may the best technology win,” we can apply the creative talents of our best engineers and inventors to development cost-efficient solutions to our pressing water-infrastructure needs. It also shows how costly and devastating bad public policy can be for communities.
When it comes to eliminating unnecessary regulatory restrictions, there’s nothing wrong with a little competition.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/18/infrastructure-competition-trumps-cronyism/
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EPA, Businesses Blast States' Bid to Intervene in Ozone Case
Jul 19, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
Too late and out of place.
That's the initial response from U.S. EPA and business groups opposed to a recent bid by California and a half-dozen other states to intervene in long-running litigation over the agency's 2015 ground-level ozone standard.
"Such a request is due 30 days" after a petition for review is filed, attorneys for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an array of trade organizations wrote in a filing this week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. "California's request arrives 619 days after the first-filed petition in these consolidated cases."
In a separate response, EPA lawyers said that California and the remaining Democratic-led states should not have filed the intervention motion while the court is holding the litigation in abeyance and that they in any case lack legal "standing" to proceed.
And while the states voiced concerns that the Trump administration would not zealously defend the 70 parts per billion standard, that "hypothesis regarding what EPA may or may not do in the future is insufficient to meet the requirements for intervention in the present," the agency response added.
Ozone, a lung irritant that is the main ingredient in smog, is produced by the reaction of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in sunshine. It has been linked to asthma attacks in children and aggravated breathing difficulties in emphysema sufferers.
Under the Obama administration, EPA had adopted the 70 ppb threshold in October 2015 on the grounds that it was needed to protect public health. That decision was quickly contested by businesses and environmental groups, the former on the grounds that the new standard was unlawfully stringent, the latter arguing that it needs to be even tougher.
In April, the Trump administration asked the court to hold the litigation in abeyance while EPA officials rethink their position on the standard. Last month, agency chief Scott Pruitt pushed back attainment designations, which had been scheduled for this October, by a year.
California, Massachusetts and the five other states highlighted that postponement in making this month's bid to intervene in the standard's defense (Greenwire, July 7).
Allowing them to defend the 70 ppb benchmark is "the only way" to protect their states' interests in seeing the standard left in place, their motion added.
Signing on to this week's response by the U.S. Chamber are Texas and eight other states who also say the standard is too strict. Yesterday, the House approved legislation that would delay attainment designations until 2025 (E&E Daily, July 19).
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/07/19/stories/1060057617
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Jul 19, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
The longer humans continue to pour carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the closer we draw to leaving the next generation with an unmanageable climate problem, scientists say. A new study, just out Tuesday in the journal Earth System Dynamics, suggests that merely reducing greenhouse gas emissions may no longer be enough — and that special technology, aimed at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, may also be necessary to keep the Earth’s climate within safe limits for future generations.
The research was largely inspired by a landmark climate change lawsuit brought by 21 children against the federal government, which is scheduled to go to trial in February 2018, and will be used as scientific support in the case. In fact, its lead author, Columbia University climatologist and former NASA scientist James Hansen, is a plaintiff on the case, along with his now 18-year-old granddaughter.
The new paper argues that the Paris Agreement’s target of keeping global temperatures within 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of their preindustrial levels isn’t strong enough. During a previous warm period in the Earth’s history, known as the Eemian, or the last interglacial period, the planet experienced similar levels of warming, the authors note — and the resulting consequences included the disintegration of ice sheets and six to nine meters of sea level rise.
Noting the dramatic changes that occurred during the last interglacial period, the paper calls for a more stringent target of bringing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels down from their current concentration of more than 400 parts per million to about 350 parts per million by the end of the century. This would bring global temperature closer to a 1-degree threshold, rather than 1.5 or 2 degrees, the authors say.
But the study has already come in from some criticism from other scientists, such as Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who told The Washington Post that some aspects of the study were “alarmist” and that if changes come slowly enough, society will be able to adapt to them. Trenberth said he disagreed that the 1 degree target is justified and thinks that even 1.5 degrees is “unrealistic.”
Hansen is no stranger to controversy. In 2015, he and more than a dozen colleagues published a highly contested paper in the open-access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, suggesting that sea level rise may occur more rapidly in this century than previously predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In the new study, the researchers suggest that allowing temperatures to creep into the Eemian range once again could eventually trigger the onset of certain slow-developing climate processes that may ultimately enhance global warming, once again inducing catastrophic ice melt, sea level rise and other harmful climate effects. For instance, continued loss of ice may reduce the Earth’s reflectivity, they suggest, allowing more solar radiation to warm the planet’s surface and melt more ice.
But to keep temperatures lower, the paper finds, would require not only significant emissions reductions efforts, but also the use of “negative emissions” technology, or special methods for pulling carbon dioxide back out of the atmosphere.
Using models, the researchers suggest that if immediate and significant emissions reduction efforts are undertaken — amounting to a decline in global carbon output by at least 3 percent annually starting in the next four years — then less carbon extraction will be needed. A majority of it could be accomplished through basic changes in agricultural and forestry practices to promote greater storage of carbon in vegetation and soil.
On the other hand, the longer global greenhouse gas emissions are allowed to remain at high levels, the more carbon extraction will be needed to reach this target, requiring additional, costlier forms of technology. These may include the burning of biomass for energy, accompanied with carbon capture and storage technology, or technology that directly sucks carbon dioxide out of the air.
If humans immediately began reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by a relatively high rate of 6 percent each year, the researchers estimate that the carbon extraction technology needed to get down to 350 parts per million could cost anywhere from $8 trillion to nearly $18.5 trillion. And if no emissions reductions occur, these costs could rise above $500 trillion through the end of the century.
“Some consequences [of climate change] are already becoming inevitable, but as yet it could be moderate if we begin to reduce emissions rapidly,” Hansen said. “So that’s the objective — to try to get the global community to understand the importance of beginning those emissions reductions soon, and keeping the task that we’re leaving for young people one that they can manage.”
But Trenberth said of the paper that while “it is a good point that some slow feedbacks do not kick in until temperatures have been sustained at a certain level,” a great deal of the future human experience with climate change will depend not only on which thresholds we cross, but how quickly we cross them.
“If we can slow things down then a lot of adaptation can occur,” he said.
Other researchers are a little more cautiously accepting of the paper’s points.
Cristian Proistosescu, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington who was not involved with the new research (but who recently led a major study, himself, on the potential future impact of slow-developing climate modes) expressed some skepticism about using the Earth’s ancient history as an analogy for the future.
He noted that some of the conditions that were true during the Eemian — the existence of large ice sheets that have already disappeared, for instance — are not the same now. And because humans have not been around to witness some of the slow-developing climate processes that scientists fear will intensify in the future, there’s uncertainty about how and even whether they will affect future climate change.
“But that would be the wrong way to think about it,” he added in an email to The Post. “The more important point is that we cannot rule out the very real probability that there are slow feedbacks — and risk is probability times cost. … Once you start thinking in terms of risks I would concur with Dr. Hansen that the current trajectory presents some unacceptable risks.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/07/19/climate-change-will-force-todays-kids-to-pay-for-costly-carbon-removal-technologies-study-says/?utm_term=.e35706602925
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