Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 6/9/2017
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(ACC Mentioned) New Digital Tools Help Educate on Plastic Wrap and Bag Recycling
Sep 6, 2017 | Packaging World
By Anne Marie Mohan
The Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has released two new online tools and an updated website designed to help grow the recycling of plastic wraps, bags, and other flexible polyethylene film packaging. -
Leaders, White House Reach Deal on Harvey Aid and Fiscal Priorities
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By George Cahlink
The House approved $7.85 billion this afternoon to help Texas recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 419-3. -
Trump, Dems Reach Deal on Short-Term Funding, Debt Package
Sep 6, 2017 | The Hill
By Jordain Carney
President Trump has reached a deal with congressional Democrats to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling through December 15. -
EDF Asks Court to Review TSCA Inventory Notification Rule
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The Environmental Defense Fund has petitioned a federal court to review the US EPA's inventory notification rule, arguing it does not meet the requirements of the new TSCA and allows companies to inappropriately conceal information about chemicals whose identity they claim is confidential business information (CBI). -
EPA Rejected Dow Chemical's Institute Cleanup Plan
Sep 6, 2017 | Charleston Gazette-Mail
By Ken Ward Jr.
Five months ago, federal regulators quietly rejected a Dow Chemical proposal for cleaning up toxic pollution at the Institute chemical complex, a move that court records show is now generating significant controversy in West Virginia State University’s lawsuit against the chemical giant over contamination of the groundwater under the university’s nearby campus. -
EPA May Progress Proposed Methylene Chloride and NMP Restrictions
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA may yet move ahead with a proposal to restrict the use of the solvents methylene chloride (dichloromethane) and n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) under section 6 of TSCA. But, at the same time, it appears to be tacitly setting aside section 6 rules on trichloroethylene (TCE). -
Hidden Carcinogen Taints Tap Water, Consumer Products Nationwide
Sep 6, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Alex Formuzis
An unregulated cancer-causing industrial solvent, which is also a hidden impurity in cosmetics and household cleaners, was found in samples from tap water supplies for nearly 90 million Americans in 45 states, according to test data from local utilities analyzed by EWG. -
Silent Spring Study Reveals Higher Than Expected BPF Levels
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Urine analysis for a campaign run by the Silent Spring Institute has revealed higher than expected levels of bisphenol F, an alternative to BPA. -
North Carolina Moves to Block Chemical Discharges From River
Sep 6, 2017 | AP (In The Washington Post)
By Emery P. Delasio
North Carolina officials took legal and administrative actions Tuesday to stop a chemical company from discharging compounds with unknown health risks into a river that supplies hundreds of thousands of people with drinking water. -
CW Report Captures Key Helsinki Chemicals Forum Debates
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Ten years of REACH and the UN's sustainable development goals are key themes in a report published by Chemical Watch on this year's Helsinki Chemicals Forum (HCF). -
EU Firms' ECHA Export Notifications up, Agency Asks for More Resources
Sep 6, 2017 | ICIS
By Jonathan Lopez
EU chemical companies have increased their notifications with information on the export of hazardous chemicals by 74% in the last three years, according to new data from the European Chemical Agency (ECHA). -
Natural Gas Looks Hurricane-Proof, for Now
Sep 6, 2017 | Bloomberg View
By Nathaniel Bullard
U.S. energy markets, efficient as they are, have already begun pricing Hurricane Harvey’s effects. -
Large Chunk of U.S. Chemical Production Struggling to Come Back Online After Harvey
Sep 6, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Colin Eaton
As oil refiners reboot, the nation's chemical makers are still struggling to restart key petrochemical facilities after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas. -
DOE Proposes Expedited Small-Scale LNG Exports to Non-FTA Countries
Sep 6, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
The Department of Energy (DOE) said it wants to expedite the approval process for small-scale exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), primarily to countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. -
Company Says N.Y. Approved 1 Project, Rejected Another
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Saqib Rahim
New York regulators last week denied a key permit for a natural gas project proposed by Millennium Pipeline Co. LLC, effectively blocking the project. -
Harvey Caused a Chemical Plant Explosion. Is That the Next Face of Climate Change?
Sep 6, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Jeff D. Colgan
While media reports have understandably focused on the flooding, these accidents reveal a new consequence of climate change — some of which will prompt fierce political fights over who should pay for the cleanup. -
Pruitt Tightens Political Reins on Key Operations
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender
U.S. EPA plans to shift its environmental justice and environmental review operations closer to Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to agency employees, a move that critics say politicizes those offices. -
Benzene Detected in Houston After Storm Damages Oil Refinery
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
Local and federal officials are investigating a leak of benzene, a carcinogen, in a Houston neighborhood near an oil refinery damaged by Hurricane Harvey. -
EPA Gets Short Harvey-Related Delay on Texas Haze Deadline
Sep 6, 2017 | Politico Pro Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA and environmental groups have reached a deal to give the agency an extra three weeks in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to take action on Texas haze.
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(ACC Mentioned) New Digital Tools Help Educate on Plastic Wrap and Bag Recycling
Sep 6, 2017 | Packaging World
By Anne Marie Mohan
The Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has released two new online tools and an updated website designed to help grow the recycling of plastic wraps, bags, and other flexible polyethylene film packaging. These free tools provide resources to a wide range of audiences—including consumers, recycling coordinators, local and state governments, and businesses—about this material, collectively known as “film.” They aim to help these audiences learn more about what material can be recycled, how to properly recycle it, and how to grow plastic film recycling at a local level. Says the FFRG, more and better plastic film recycling can help improve the environment and support local recycling or waste diversion goals.
According to the FFRG, plastic film is one of the fastest growing areas of recycling, with collection increasing nearly 84% since just 2005. Plastic film can be recycled in the U.S. at more than 18,000 grocery and retail stores nationwide. Film typically cannot be collected curbside because it requires a separate collection stream from rigid plastics (e.g., bottles, cups, tubs, and other containers) and different processing equipment. Because many consumers are unclear about what film is recyclable and how to recycle it, the WRAP Recycling Action Program (WRAP) was created.
The Roadmap to WRAP tool is an interactive guide with step-by-step instructions to help recycling coordinators, and local and state governments implement plastic film recycling campaigns and programs. The Roadmap contains free educational materials such as downloadable posters, tip cards, and bookmarks to educate residents about plastic film recycling; a work plan, a plastic film recycling audit template, and checklists to help recycling coordinators organize and launch a campaign; and insights, tips, and examples from prior campaigns. These resources were designed to help support these campaigns and increase post-consumer and commercial film recycling.
To date, Milwaukee, WI, Vancouver, WA, Mecklenburg County and Onslow County, NC, and the State of Connecticut have launched WRAP recycling campaigns. WRAP campaigns are based on public-private partnerships that promote recycling of plastic wraps and bags, and a FFRG initiative.
The Value Chain Case Study tool provides a visual depiction of PE film recycling to demonstrate the value proposition for recycling this material to attract other stakeholders. It explains the steps in the PE film recycling process, from collection to end use, and profiles businesses that are leaders in plastic film recycling. The profiles recognize these businesses, such as grocers, retailers, recycling businesses, and brand companies for their leadership and serve as examples for other businesses interested in starting or growing plastic film recycling operations.
Both tools reside on the updated Plastic Film Recycling website, which contains information on post-consumer and commercial PE film recycling for consumers, businesses, and government entities.
“We are very excited about these new tools and their potential to help grow PE film recycling,” says Shari Jackson, Director of the FFRG. “Polyethylene film is a valuable material that should be recycled whenever possible. It can be turned into useful products such as composite lumber for backyard decks, fences, and benches, and new bags and packaging. These new tools will support the continued expansion of PE recycling by making it easier for consumers, communities, and businesses to participate.”
https://www.packworld.com/article/sustainability/recycling/new-digital-tools-help-educate-plastic-wrap-and-bag-recycling
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Leaders, White House Reach Deal on Harvey Aid and Fiscal Priorities
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By George Cahlink
The House approved $7.85 billion this afternoon to help Texas recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 419-3.
And despite opposition among conservatives about attaching the aid to other priorities, congressional leaders and the White House also agreed to combine the storm money with a debt-ceiling increase and a continuing resolution to keep the government running until Dec. 15.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement, "Both sides have every intention of avoiding default in December and look forward to working together on the many issues before us."
Even though the House-passed Harvey measure, H.R. 3672, does not include any other issues, the debt-ceiling increase and the CR may get added when the Senate takes up the debate.
Earlier today, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) accused Democrats of "playing politics" by suggesting they would only agree to a short-term extension in the country's borrowing authority.
A statement by Democratic leaders this morning said requiring another hike this year could allow for combining it with priorities like changes to federal health care programs and immigration reforms related to the children of undocumented workers.
Both sides met with President Trump at the White House late this morning. Pelosi and Schumer released the deal statement after that.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/09/06/stories/1060059867
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Trump, Dems Reach Deal on Short-Term Funding, Debt Package
Sep 6, 2017 | The Hill
By Jordain Carney
President Trump has reached a deal with congressional Democrats to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling through December 15.
The deal, reached Wednesday at a White House meeting between congressional leaders from both parties and Trump, would attach both measures to a $7.85 billion bill approved by the House to help communities hit by Hurricane Harvey.
“We essentially came to a deal and I think the deal will be very good,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, according to a Bloomberg reporter traveling with him.
But Democrats were the first to announce the deal, which appeared to come despite some objections from Republicans.
“In the meeting, the president and congressional leadership agreed to pass aid for Harvey, an extension of the debt limit, and a continuing resolution both to December 15, all together,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement.
The agreement came after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) earlier in the day called the idea of adding a three-month extension of the debt ceiling to Harvey aid “ridiculous” after the Democratic leaders proposed it. The initial Democratic offer did not mention the government funding, but it has long been seen as legislation that could be paired with a debt limit hike.
The announcement comes after Pelosi, Schumer, Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) met with Trump at the White House to discuss the fall agenda.
If it clears Congress, the package would set up a end-of-the-year cliff on both funding the government and the debt ceiling.
Trump’s deal with Democrats also raises new questions for both parties about what will happen next on immigration reform.
The president angered Democrats on Tuesday by announcing the end of a program that allowed young immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally to stay, get work permits and live free from deportation.
Trump has asked Congress to provide legislation for the program as part of a broader immigration bill.
Schumer and Pelosi added that “both sides have every intention of avoiding default in December and look forward to working together on the many issues before us.”
The deal would clear the deck of the three biggest September priorities for GOP leadership amid a packed floor schedule, but is likely to spark outrage from rank-and-file Republicans.
Conservatives were already balking over a plan to attach a debt ceiling increase to the Harvey recovery bill that cleared the House on Wednesday.
Ryan shot down an offer from Democrats earlier on Wednesday that would link a three-month debt ceiling increase and Harvey aid, accusing the Democrats of trying to “play politics with the debt ceiling.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose state was hit hard by the hurricane, refused to say how he would vote if it was attached to a debt ceiling vote but said "the best way for that relief package to move quickly is for it to be a clean package."
Ryan also faced opposition within his conference to a long extension of the debt limit.
A spokesperson for Ryan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Democratic statement.
Asked about the statement, a spokesman for McConnell predicted the Kentucky Republican would address the deal at a weekly leadership press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/349447-dems-say-trump-agrees-to-short-term-funding-debt-package
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EDF Asks Court to Review TSCA Inventory Notification Rule
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The Environmental Defense Fund has petitioned a federal court to review the US EPA's inventory notification rule, arguing it does not meet the requirements of the new TSCA and allows companies to inappropriately conceal information about chemicals whose identity they claim is confidential business information (CBI).
Legal experts agreed that the final rule on reporting substances as active or inactive on the TSCA inventory, published on 11 August,will ease notification obligations in a number of ways.
The EDF’s lawsuit, which cites TSCA's own review section as well as more general administrative procedure laws, does not specify what it wants the court to review. But the NGO's press release focuses on information shielded as "confidential".
The so-called inventory reset rule requires manufacturers and importers to submit to the EPA the substances they have used in the ten-year ‘lookback period’, ending on 21 June 2016. The agency expanded the pool of substances that will be included on an "interim active substances list" – for whichnotification will not be required – to include those reported as confidential under the 2012/2016 chemical data reporting (CDR) rule.
The EDF said the notification rule "deviated from the law’s requirements and falls short of the desired goal to improve transparency about chemicals in use, by failing to ensure that CBI claims are appropriately asserted and reviewed".
The Lautenberg Act amending TSCA specifically intended to tighten the CBI rules, the EDF said, requiring the EPA to review the claims to ensure they are still warranted, and establishing "a significantly higher threshold for claiming".
Access to information about chemicals currently in use "is crucial for researchers, journalists and public health advocates, as well as businesses who wish to better understand their own supply chains and consumers ... the consequences of, and exercise some control over, their chemical exposures," the EDF said.Earlier lawsuits
The EDF joined in a coalition of NGOs that filed additional petitions in August, seeking court review of the EPA's final framework rules for prioritisation and risk evaluation, which govern how the agency will prioritise and conduct evaluations of chemicals in commerce.
They argued that these key procedural rules deviate drastically from the proposals set forth in the final days of the Obama administration and were skewed in industry's favour.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58494/edf-asks-court-to-review-tsca-inventory-notification-rule
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EPA Rejected Dow Chemical's Institute Cleanup Plan
Sep 6, 2017 | Charleston Gazette-Mail
By Ken Ward Jr.
Five months ago, federal regulators quietly rejected a Dow Chemical proposal for cleaning up toxic pollution at the Institute chemical complex, a move that court records show is now generating significant controversy in West Virginia State University’s lawsuit against the chemical giant over contamination of the groundwater under the university’s nearby campus.
Attorneys for State say that Dow misled a federal judge and the university with statements that suggested the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had approved the company’s cleanup plan, though EPA had specifically turned down the Dow proposal back in April.
Dow “withheld this fact from the court while claiming that EPA has “determined that any contamination beneath the WVSU campus ... can be effectively addressed without remediation” and that EPA is “presently in the middle of reviewing the corrective measures proposal that addresses proposed protective measures to be taken both at the Institute facility and the surrounding properties,” the university’s court filing said.
“But the truth is this: The EPA rejected Dow’s proposed cleanup plan in April 2017,” university lawyer Steve Ruby wrote in a court filing late last month.
Ruby cited an April 10 email that EPA sent to Dow and to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Joan Schafer, a spokeswoman for EPA’s regional office, confirmed federal officials had rejected Dow’s proposal and said the EPA had asked for “additional information” that would “summarize their investigation in support of the proposed remedy.” Schafer did not respond to requests for additional details or copies of any documents that outlined EPA’s action.
In its own court filing, Dow sought to downplay the EPA action. Company lawyers said EPA’s activities are “ongoing” and that “EPA has not yet approved the final version of the specific corrective measures proposal” for the site.
Word of EPA’s move rejecting the Dow cleanup proposal emerged as the university and company are arguing over whether the lawsuit should be litigated in state or federal court, as Kanawha County officials press forward with their plans for a new youth sports complex at Shawnee Park near state’s campus, and as the potential health threats related to one of the Dow chemicals -- 1,4-dioxane -- are getting increased attention nationally.
In late April, West Virginia State sued Dow and other former Institute plant owners and operators, seeking to force the companies to clean up contamination beneath the campus, prevent future migration of the chemicals, and compensate the university, a historically black institution, for harm to its image to the public and potential students. University officials and lawyers say three contaminants have been found at “elevated levels” in the groundwater 15 to 50 feet beneath the campus. The chemicals are 1,4-dioxane, 1,1-dichloroethane and chloroform.
University lawyers originally filed the case in state court. Dow moved it to federal court, and now State is trying to convince U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. to send it back to Kanawha Circuit Court.
Last year, the EPA said that 1,4-dioxane would be among the first chemicals that it would review under the provisions of the updated Toxic Substances Control Act, and on Wednesday the non-profit Environmental Working Group cautioned that the chemical has been found in tap water supplies that serve nearly 90 million Americans in 45 states. The report from EWGsaid that the chemical is classified as a likely carcinogen.
Because the university’s tap water comes from West Virginia American Water’s Elk River facility, the concern with the campus groundwater contamination is potential exposure to humans through vapors that could travel up through the soil. University officials have said that testing has found some chemicals above screening levels that would require more investigation, but has not discovered levels that create any immediate health threats to students, faculty, staff, or others on campus. University officials say they learned of the contamination about four years ago, when they took ownership from the state of the former West Virginia Rehabilitation Center, located between the campus and the chemical plant.
The plant in Institute has been operating since the late 1940s, and was for decades run by Union Carbide, a company that was once a major institution in the Kanawha Valley. The plant was sold to the French firm Rhone-Poulenc in 1986, and later to Bayer CropScience. It was sold to Dow, which has since merged with Carbide, in 2015. Chemical manufacturing facilities like the Institute plant are subject to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, which requires facilities to correct and clean up releases of hazardous wastes.
Dow had in January proposed a cleanup plan to EPA that would have -- without West Virginia State’s approval -- prohibited any residential construction on parts of the rehab center property, and bar the use of the groundwater and impose “costly conditions” on any non-residential construction, the university says.
In an Aug. 21 court filing, Dow lawyers said that the case should remain before Copenhaver, in part because the university was in effect challenging a federally ordered cleanup of the site.
Dow lawyers said the EPA, after reviewing “voluminous scientific reports compiled over a period of years” had “determined that any contamination beneath the WVSU campus poses no threat to health or safety and can be effectively addressed without remediation.” Dow noted that EPA had said in a July 2016 letter that the agency “agrees with the conclusions” presented by Dow in a report on the site. When they announced their lawsuit against Dow, West Virginia State officials had cited that same EPA letter as evidence in their effort to assure the campus community there was no current threat to the health of students, faculty or staff at the university.
University lawyers, though, learned more recently about the April 2017 email in which EPA rejected Dow’s cleanup proposal.
“The EPA has approved no corrective measures for the groundwater contamination at issue here,” the university’s court filing said. “It has made no determination about what corrective measures are necessary. Indeed, the EPA does not even have a plan before it for approval. And even when a new plan eventually is submitted, it can only be approved after it is accepted by the EPA and undergoes public comment.”
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170906/epa-rejected-dow-chemicals-institute-cleanup-plan
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EPA May Progress Proposed Methylene Chloride and NMP Restrictions
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA may yet move ahead with a proposal to restrict the use of the solvents methylene chloride (dichloromethane) and n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) under section 6 of TSCA. But, at the same time, it appears to be tacitly setting aside section 6 rules on trichloroethylene (TCE).
TSCA section 6, which predates the 2016 amendments, gives the EPA power to ban or restrict a chemical if it concludes that it presents an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. The last time it tried to use this mechanism was in 1989, when a court overturned its rule banning asbestos.
The agency issued three proposed section 6 rules in the Obama administration's final days in January.
One would restrict the use of methylene chloride and NMP for all consumer and most commercial paint removal. Two separate proposals would prohibit the use of TCE in vapour degreasing and as an aerosol degreaser and spot cleaner.
On 24 August, the EPA, along with all federal agencies, published a semiannual regulatory agenda that lists the status of pending proposals.
The listing for methylene chloride/NMP indicates that the agency intends to publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), amending its original proposal.
W Caffey Norman, an attorney representing the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance (HSIA), told Chemical Watch that the EPA plans to add provisions addressing the use of the solvents in furniture refinishing rather than publishing a separate rule. The EPA specifically excluded the use, a decision related to the need to get small business input. The EPA has scheduled a 12 September workshop for that purpose.
"It wouldn't make any sense to do all the other uses of paint stripping in one rule and do furniture refinishing separately," Mr Norman said.
"My interpretation is this probably means they are not dropping it," agreed Melanie Benesh, a legislative attorney at the Environmental Working Group. But that does not mean the agency plans to act soon, she said, and "there is nothing to stop the EPA from weakening the proposed rule."
However, Richard Denison, lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, said that a stated intent to publish a supplemental NPRM and the upcoming workshop does not mean the EPA will move ahead with the rule.
"The most optimistic scenario is they haven't decided what to do yet," Dr Denison told Chemical Watch. "If they were serious ... there would be a date [in the regulatory agenda] as to when the final rule is expected."TCE ban in limbo
The outlook for the TCE proposals is even more uncertain. The vapour degreasing rule is listed as pending finalisation, with a date "to be determined". And the aerosol degreasing proposal has been moved to the "long term action" list of items the EPA does not plan to act on within a year.
"I can't explain" why one was moved to the long-term list, Mr Norman said, but "the EPA always said they would take action on both [of the TCE rules] together".
The environmental advocates agreed moving one rule to the inactive list isn't a good sign, but said the EPA could act on them separately.
"I don't think we know what's going to happen," Ms Benesh said. "It could mean they will do something, but much later. They could drop one of them, but not both."
"I'm not surprised they would put [the TCE rules] into limbo, and moving one to long-term action says something about their intent," Mr Denison said. "They could completely drop these or could issue some insufficient rule that requires labelling."
TCE, NMP and methylene chloride are among the first ten substances subject to risk evaluation under the new TSCA, and industry would prefer that the EPA defer to that process. Industry groups have attacked the section 6 proposals on procedural grounds and argued that the agency improperly relied on old risk assessments.
Mr Norman said: "The aerosol degreasing proposal was defunct out of the box," because the agency did not follow mandated procedures for consulting small business.
The EPA had not responded to requests for comment by publication time.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58483/epa-may-progress-proposed-methylene-chloride-and-nmp-restrictions
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Hidden Carcinogen Taints Tap Water, Consumer Products Nationwide
Sep 6, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Alex Formuzis
An unregulated cancer-causing industrial solvent, which is also a hidden impurity in cosmetics and household cleaners, was found in samples from tap water supplies for nearly 90 million Americans in 45 states, according to test data from local utilities analyzed by EWG.
The tests showed that more than 7 million people in 27 states are served by public water systems with a higher average level of the chemical, 1,4-dioxane, than the Environmental Protection Agency says poses an increased risk of cancer. States with the most people exposed to 1,4-dioxane above the increased cancer risk level are California, with 2.5 million people exposed; North Carolina, with 1.2 million; and New York, with 700,000.
EWG’s report, released today, includes an interactive map showing test data for 1,4-dioxane in drinking water across the nation. Detailed information for each affected water system is listed in EWG’s Tap Water Database.
The EPA classifies 1,4-dioxane as a “likely” human carcinogen, and the state of California lists it as a chemical known to cause cancer. Despite the known health risks, the EPA has set no enforceable legal limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The agency has prioritized a review of 1,4-dioxane under the nation’s new chemical safety law, but prospects for tighter regulation are uncertain: President Trump’s pick to head the EPA’s chemical safety office is the author of two industry-funded studies arguing that people can safely be exposed to 1,4-dioxane at 1,000 times the agency’s increased cancer risk level.
1-4-Dioxane has been used since the 1950s as an industrial solvent and a stabilizer in other solvents. The EPA reports that in 2015, approximately 1 million pounds were produced or imported into the U.S., and 675,000 pounds were released into the environment.
The chemical is also a common impurity in cosmetics and household cleaning products, as the byproduct of a process called ethoxylation. Products in which 1,4-dioxane contamination is found include shampoos, foaming soaps, bubble baths, lotions and laundry soaps. But the Food and Drug Administration does not require it to be listed on product labels.
“Once again, industry negligence and government inaction results in millions of Americans being exposed through multiple pathways to a highly toxic chemical that could cause cancer,” said EWG Senior Scientist Tasha Stoiber, co-author of the report. “Much of the nation’s tap water and consumer goods are awash in 1,4-dioxane, putting the health of children and adults at risk.”
In July, President Trump nominated Michael Dourson to head the EPA office that oversees chemical and pesticide safety. Dourson is the founder and head of TERA, a science-for-hire consulting firm that has consistently worked to undercut chemical regulation.
His work on 1,4-dioxane was funded by PPG Industries, a manufacturer of paints and other coatings. 1,4-Dioxane released from the company’s factory in Circleville, Ohio, has migrated from an underground plume to pollute nearby public water supplies.
“President Trump could not have found a more objectionable nominee to be in charge of safeguarding Americans from dangerous chemicals than Dourson,” said Melanie Benesh, an EWG legislative attorney and co-author of the report. “His history of pleasing industry funders with studies that find even the most toxic chemicals to be ‘safe’ makes him uniquely unfit for the job.”
http://www.ewg.org/release/hidden-carcinogen-taints-tap-water-consumer-products-nationwide#.WbAgTT4jHIU
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Silent Spring Study Reveals Higher Than Expected BPF Levels
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Urine analysis for a campaign run by the Silent Spring Institute has revealed higher than expected levels of bisphenol F, an alternative to BPA.
The US institute is running a crowdsourced campaign called Detox Me, with more than 300 people having signed up so far. It sends out urine test kits to detect the presence of ten common environmental chemicals. Each participant then receives a report listing their urine analysis results.
Initial results suggest that participants have lower levels of BPA than the US population in general, but higher levels of BPF.
The BPF finding is "troubling", says the institute. About 85% of action kit users deliberately avoid buying products known to contain BPA. However, by choosing 'BPA-free', they may be buying products containing substitutes like BPF, it suggests.
The results for BPF may reflect rising levels in the general public, with the most recent nationwide measurements for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention taken several years ago, it adds.
Studies suggest that BPF, and the commonly used BPS, may cause similar health effects to BPA.
The Swedish Chemicals Agency recently suggested that BPF and BPS should be the focus of regulatory action, together with four other related chemicals.
The EU has already initiated risk management option analyses (RMOA) under REACH for the chemicals.
Although Detox Me users report avoiding products containing parabens, they all had at least one in their sample and more than 60% had three or four.
Overall, participants have lower levels of target chemicals than the US population as a whole, according to the institute.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58485/silent-spring-study-reveals-higher-than-expected-bpf-levels
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North Carolina Moves to Block Chemical Discharges From River
Sep 6, 2017 | AP (In The Washington Post)
By Emery P. Delasio
North Carolina officials took legal and administrative actions Tuesday to stop a chemical company from discharging compounds with unknown health risks into a river that supplies hundreds of thousands of people with drinking water.
The state environmental agency said it gave Chemours Co. a required 60-day notice before suspending a key permit needed by its chemical plant near Fayetteville that employs nearly 1,000 workers. The Fortune 500 company can’t release any wastewater into the Cape Fear River without the permit. It’s not clear whether losing the discharge permit would force the plant’s shutdown.
A Chemours spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
The river is the main source of the water utility serving about 200,000 people in and around Wilmington, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) downstream of the Chemours plant.
The Department of Environmental Quality notified Chemours that it’s taking action because the Wilmington, Delaware-based company didn’t adequately disclose releases of GenX, an unregulated and little-studied compound used to make Teflon.
Only after a North Carolina State University researcher’s findings were publicized in June by news organizations did Chemours inform the state agency that GenX byproducts had been discharged into the river for decades, DEQ said in a letter to the company Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, Attorney General Josh Stein’s office began seeking a state court order to stop the discharges.
Federal prosecutors last month issued a subpoena demanding documents, research and monitoring data from the state agency as they investigate Chemours’ chemical releases.
GenX has been used since 2009 to make Teflon and other non-stick products, replacing the suspected carcinogen PFOA. There are no federal health standards for GenX. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as an “emerging contaminant” to be studied.
DuPont spun off Chemours two years ago. In February, DuPont and Chemours agreed to pay nearly $671 million to settle 3,500 lawsuits related to the release of PFOA from a Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant more than a decade ago. That was two months after a federal jury determined DuPont should pay $2 million to an Ohio man who says he got testicular cancer because of the company’s negligence over PFOA.
GenX is part of a broader problem of chemicals deployed into industrial production before their risks are clear. For example, researchers are increasingly finding a likely human carcinogen called 1,4-dioxane in water supplies in North Carolina and dozens of other states.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/north-carolina-moves-to-block-chemical-discharges-from-river/2017/09/05/4c46d666-9273-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html?utm_term=.6f39bc4907ec
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CW Report Captures Key Helsinki Chemicals Forum Debates
Sep 6, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Ten years of REACH and the UN's sustainable development goals are key themes in a report published by Chemical Watch on this year's Helsinki Chemicals Forum (HCF).
The forum held its ninth meeting in the same month that Echa celebrated its tenth anniversary. This helped to feed discussion on what EU chemicals legislation has achieved and forecasts on regulatory and industry activity and concerns for the future.
The CW report shares the thoughts of policy makers, companies and academics on:
· what chemicals legislation has done for us over the last decade;
· the potential business case for the UN’s sustainable development goals;
· drivers for market supply and demand for post-2020 global chemicals supply chains;
· how to speed up chemicals assessments; and
· whose job it is to control SVHCs in products in a free trade world.
It includes take-home messages that offer an incisive summary of stakeholder views on the topics addressed at the forum.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58491/cw-report-captures-key-helsinki-chemicals-forum-debates
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EU Firms' ECHA Export Notifications up, Agency Asks for More Resources
Sep 6, 2017 | ICIS
By Jonathan Lopez
EU chemical companies have increased their notifications with information on the export of hazardous chemicals by 74% in the last three years, according to new data from the European Chemical Agency (ECHA).
ECHA also launched on Wednesday a call for more financial resources as its workload increases, an issue it said it was seeking to discuss with the EU institutions and member states.
Under the EU chemical regulation Reach’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation, companies have increased their “awareness and compliance” about export notifications, taking them from 4,500 in 2014 to nearly 8,000 in 2016.
“This increase is far beyond the originally estimated 10% yearly increase. The large number of notifications also implies that the EU gives an increasing amount of useful information to authorities in importing countries, which they can use for regulatory purposes and to identify the companies using these chemicals in their country,” said ECHA.
The Helsinki-based body also said the number of companies involved in PIC activities had risen from 390 in 2014 to 1,177 in 2016 on the back of new chemicals added to the list of products subject to export notification and “partly due to EHCA’s activity in raising awareness” about the regulation.
However, the larger workload also means ECHA is getting stretched, it said.
While more compliance with Reach would help “make the international trade of very hazardous chemicals transparent for the protection of human health and the environment worldwide”, according to ECHA director general Geert Dancet, the large workload is putting a strain on how much ECHA can do.
Another example of increased workload, for example, would be the requests it had received for technical or regulatory support from national authorities from EU and non-EU countries, which rose by 80% in the three-year period – from 1,000 to 1,800.
“We express our concern about the higher than planned workload, which continues to increase. Without adequate resources, the Agency cannot guarantee the same level of quality as we have achieved so far,” said Dancet.
The agency said it was seeking to discuss its allocated resources with both the European Commission (the EU’s executive body) and the 28 member countries.
“The report suggests further ways of improving cooperation with the Commission on topics such as distributing or reallocating certain tasks, planning workloads and managing amendments to the regulation,” said ECHA.
“It also proposes potential changes to the legal text to improve or resolve some of the workability issues that the Agency has faced.”
In related news, ECHA said on 4 September EU chemical companies “lack incentives” to update their Reach registrations and Classification and Labelling (CLP).
The EU’s chemical regulation came into force in 2007 and its latest phase of implementation is due in mid-2018, when chemicals produced in small quantities – from 1 to 100 tonnes – will have to be registered within ECHA’s systems.
The 2018 deadline is expected to mostly affect small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with some industry insiders fearing it will put a strain in costs and may put some of them out of business.
“As the main issues affecting companies responsible for updating their information, it [a report commissioned by ECHA] mentions the perception that registration is the end of the process and that no additional work is needed afterwards; obscurity of what needs to be updated, when and by whom; and limited resources, especially for SMEs,” ECHA said.
“The report proposes improvements structured around four steps: [1] A clear definition of what needs to be updated; A clear definition of who is responsible for the updates – clarifying the roles of the lead and co-registrants.
“[3] An improved understanding of why updates are important – that they have an impact on protecting the human health and the environment [and 4] An Implementing Act to clarify the update requirement of Article 22 of Reach, including clear circumstances and fixed intervals when dossiers need to be updated.”
Reach’s Article 22 specifies a number of “further duties of registrants”, which can be divided into those that registrants are expected to do spontaneously under their own initiative and those required by ECHA during the evaluation process.
“Around 64% of the registration dossiers submitted to ECHA since 2008 have never been updated,” concluded the Agency.
ECHA said this latest report on Reach has already been sent to the EU Commission to be taken into consideration within its Reach review expected to be finalised by the end of 2017.
https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2017/09/06/10140352/eu-firms-echa-export-notifications-up-agency-asks-for-more-resources/
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Natural Gas Looks Hurricane-Proof, for Now
Sep 6, 2017 | Bloomberg View
By Nathaniel Bullard
U.S. energy markets, efficient as they are, have already begun pricing Hurricane Harvey’s effects. With refineries and pipelines out of service, gasoline futures have spiked. So far, however, natural gas futures have hardly responded to Harvey, and it may be another week before they do. One thing is certain: The U.S. gas-production sector has changed drastically in the 12 years since Hurricane Katrina.
From Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, 2005, thanks to Katrina, gas futures prices rose 70 percent. But changes in the production landscape have created a less reactive market this year. The gas-production system isn’t hurricane-proof, by any means, but it is more widely distributed than it was.
Since 2005, the U.S. has added more than 120,000 gas wells, mainly in Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Colorado. In 2015, there were 555,000 in total.
Land Is Up and Water Is Down
Those onshore wells have not just made up for declining offshore production, they have handily exceeded it. Offshore gas is now only 4 percent of total U.S. withdrawals. Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Colorado are 53 percent of all production.
The oil and gas value chain seems to view hurricanes as less material to business. Mentions of “hurricane” in public company filings have fallen, after rising for years. Falling Since 2012
It’s understandable that upstream and services companies mention hurricanes less these days, given production’s move inland. Midstream companies and refining and marketing firms, on the other hand, mention hurricanes more, because their coastal infrastructure hasn’t moved since 2005.
Factors other than a hurricane can also affect the U.S. gas market — lower-than-usual gas storage inventories, for instance, or heat waves causing a spike in demand for power. A sustained impact on Gulf of Mexico offshore production would also influence prices, even though the Gulf is far less significant than it once was.
Because none of these things happened this week, natural gas futures have not reacted as wildly as gasoline has. At the moment, shale gas production — and with it a more distributed, more resilient gas production system — makes for a post-storm futures market that would have been hard to imagine just 12 years ago.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-01/natural-gas-looks-hurricane-proof-for-now
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Large Chunk of U.S. Chemical Production Struggling to Come Back Online After Harvey
Sep 6, 2017 | Fuel Fix
By Colin Eaton
As oil refiners reboot, the nation's chemical makers are still struggling to restart key petrochemical facilities after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas.
More than half of the country's output of natural gas-derived ethylene, the primary building block for most plastics, hasn't come back online almost two weeks after the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast energy complex.
In a new report Wednesday, IHS Markit said petrochemical companies are still examining ethylene units for damage and reviewing logistical constraints such as the trucking logjam in the Houston area. It could take weeks for chemical makers to bring steam crackers back into full production.
"The ethylene market may see a temporary tightening of supply and hence higher prices that approach affordability levels," IHS said.
Some makers of propylene, another common building block of plastics, are beginning to reboot facilities in Corpus Christi and Texas City. Those could be running as early as later this week.
Still, at the moment, 41 percent of propylene production assets are still offline, and some facilities in Pasadena, Deer Park, Cedar Bayou and Port Arthur will take longer to bring back up because Harvey poured more rain on those regions.
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Large-chunk-of-U-S-chemical-production-12176733.php
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DOE Proposes Expedited Small-Scale LNG Exports to Non-FTA Countries
Sep 6, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
The Department of Energy (DOE) said it wants to expedite the approval process for small-scale exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), primarily to countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
According to a proposed rule published in last Friday's issue of the Federal Register, DOE has proposed revising its process for authorizing LNG exports to countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. Specifically, the rule calls for DOE to issue an export authorization for any complete application that proposes exports of up to 140 MMcf/d, and which do not require an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act.
"For applications meeting these criteria, the exports are considered 'small-scale natural gas exports' and are deemed in the public interest under the Natural Gas Act (NGA)," DOE said Friday. "Exports of natural gas to FTA countries are already deemed in the public interest under the NGA."
DOE Secretary Rick Perry added that the Trump administration "is focused on finding ways to unleash American energy and providing a reliable and environmentally friendly fuel to our trading partners who face unique energy infrastructure challenges. The DOE and this administration are wholeheartedly committed to strengthening the energy security of the United States and our allies."
DOE will accept public comments on the proposed rule until Oct. 16.
Last March, the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas appealed to Perry and lawmakers in Congress to expedite the LNG approval process, to both FTA and non-FTA countries. The next month, the DOE approved an authorization for Golden Pass Products LLC to export up to 2.21 Bcf/d of LNG to non-FTA countries. In June, Delfin LNG LLC was given authorization to export 1.8 Bcf/d to non-FTA countries from a proposed offshore Louisiana floating LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month approved a Bermuda-based partnership's plans to slightly expand an LNG import terminal in Puerto Rico.
But manufacturers worry that an increase in LNG exports will drive up domestic natural gas prices. Last April, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) sent a letter to Perryurging him to enact a moratorium on exports. Two months later, IECA renewed its call for a moratorium on LNG exports to non-FTA countries in a series of recommendations to Perry and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
At the time of Golden Pass's approval, DOE had authorized 19.2 Bcf/d of LNG exports to non-FTA countries. Last month, DOE reported that as of Aug. 25, it had received applications to export a combined total of 51.59 Bcf/d from the Lower 48 to non-FTA countries. But it is doubtful that much LNG would ever be exported, since many of the proposed export facilities won't be built.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/111641-doe-proposes-expedited-small-scale-lng-exports-to-non-fta-countries
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Company Says N.Y. Approved 1 Project, Rejected Another
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Saqib Rahim
New York regulators last week denied a key permit for a natural gas project proposed by Millennium Pipeline Co. LLC, effectively blocking the project.
But two weeks ago, Millennium claims, the same regulators granted a permit to a separate gas project — one the company is now moving forward.
Millennium Pipeline claims it now has all necessary state and federal permits for its Eastern System Upgrade, a batch of projects meant to expand its existing network in New York. The company yesterday asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the final go-ahead.
"Millennium has received all required permits, addressed all data requests, and needs only the Commission's authorization to construct the Project," the company said in a letter to FERC. "Millennium requests that the Commission promptly approve the ESU Project to allow Millennium to meet its shippers' requested in-service date."
Although New York gets 40 percent of its power from gas, the state has recently flexed its regulatory muscles to deny new gas projects. FERC plays the lead role in environmental reviews, but federal law requires projects to also get water-quality permits from states in their path.
Over the last two years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has used that authority to reject the Constitution pipeline and Northern Access projects, both of which would have imported gas from the Marcellus Shale.
Then, last week, DEC rejected the water permit for Millennium's Valley Lateral Project, an 8-mile spur to a new gas plant north of New York City (Greenwire, Aug. 31).
Environmentalists cheered that decision, partly because of how DEC justified it. DEC pointed to a recent federal appeals case in which the court ruled that FERC, in its environmental review, needed to consider the greenhouse gas emissions of those burning the natural gas (Greenwire, Aug. 22).
The Sierra Club is arguing that the case should also apply to the ESU project.
"FERC must account for the significance of cumulative GHG impacts from this project and other gas projects in the region," Sierra Club attorneys wrote in an Aug. 30 letter to FERC. "Only once that is done may FERC develop reasonable mitigation measures to reduce the climate impacts."
Millennium disputed that yesterday, saying FERC has already accounted for greenhouse gases in its environmental assessment. In its letter to FERC, the company said its project already meets the standard laid out in the federal appeals case.
In an emailed comment, DEC said, "After a rigorous review of Millennium's application for a Water Quality Certification and related permits, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) determined that the ESU project meets State water quality standards and issued a WQC and related permits.
"By contrast, DEC conditionally denied Millennium's Valley Lateral project based in part on the inadequacy of the environmental review conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which failed to account for downstream greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike Millennium's proposed Valley Lateral project — which would be built solely to serve a new energy facility — the purpose of the ESU project is to ensure that existing customer demand is met along Millennium's existing system. The ESU pipeline would run primarily within or adjacent to existing rights-of-way."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/06/stories/1060059777
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Harvey Caused a Chemical Plant Explosion. Is That the Next Face of Climate Change?
Sep 6, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Jeff D. Colgan
Among Hurricane Harvey’s devastating effects were environmental accidents. In Crosby, Tex., for example, a chemical plant lost electrical power, leading to a massive fire. While media reports have understandably focused on the flooding, these accidents reveal a new consequence of climate change — some of which will prompt fierce political fights over who should pay for the cleanup. With Hurricane Irma barreling down on Florida, more such fights seem likely.
Was Harvey — and the environmental accidents that resulted — caused by climate change?
Hurricane Harvey reached Category 4 at its peak. Although it was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it did most of its damage in Texas, there it dropped an unprecedented 35 inches of rain over Houston in only four days. Scientists are careful to say that it is impossible to pin any single event, like Harvey, on climate change. After all, hurricanes were happening long before the global climate started to change in the 20th century.
Still, there is good reason to think that climate change contributed to Hurricane Harvey’s force. Harvey’s direct environmental impact included wind, rain, and flooding that have been blamed for at least 60 deaths so far.
But the storm also had indirect environmental consequences. After flooding knocked out the emergency backup power for the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, 19.5 tons of volatile chemicals were no longer getting the refrigeration they needed to avoid combustion. Although EPA officials insisted that no toxic chemicals were being spread, local officials urged residents in a 1.5-mile radius around the plant to evacuate.
The Arkema plant wasn’t the only one. Harvey released over a million pounds of extra air pollutants across the Texas Gulf Coast. Further, the Associated Press reported that 13 Superfund sites(named after the federal fund to pay to mitigate these sites’ industrial pollution) were flooded and possibly leaking pollutants; no EPA officials were immediately on site. Naturally, locals worry about potential effects on their health.
These are knock-on effects of climate change. What does that mean?
Indirect environmental consequences are known as “knock-on effects” or “cue ball effects” of climate change. That’s because in billiards, the cue ball is put in motion first, before hitting other balls to put them in motion. Here the cue ball would be the changes in temperature, precipitation, sea levels, and storm activity that make up climate change itself. Knock-on effects often involve the interaction between climate change and human-made infrastructure or wastes, though they can involve purely natural phenomena, like naturally occurring anthrax buried in — and released from — melting permafrost.
Climate change can cause or exacerbate natural disasters, which in turn create knock-on effects like the chemical plant fire in Crosby. But knock-on effects are also starting to appear even without natural disasters, in places around the globe that are already being affected by the warming climate.
Many military bases, both abandoned and current, will see dangerous effects from climate change
Last year I studied some fascinating but disturbing knock-on effects in Greenland with a team of climatologists. Between 1953 and 1967, the U.S. Army maintained secret bases in Greenland as precursors for a larger ballistic missile complex. The plan, known as “Project Iceworm,” was to deploy up to 600 nuclear ballistic missiles, constantly moving around a 4,000-kilometer (about 2,500-mile) long railway cut into the ice sheet. The bases were eventually abandoned with minimal decommissioning, leaving large quantities of wastes buried in the ice sheet. Those included tens of thousands of liters of diesel fuel, a substantial quantity of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and even some low-level radioactive waste. Climate change is poised to remobilize these pollutants into the surface water, creating a risk that they will spread and enter the food chain in the nearest human settlements.
In new research, I show that this could soon be a problem for other military bases worldwide. The United States alone has hundreds of overseas bases that require continuous political coordination with host governments over such issues as who gets the lucrative service contracts associated with the bases or how to handle lawbreaking by U.S. personnel.
If these bases also leave behind potential environmental problems triggered by climate change, host governments could be left with a liability for which the United States hasn’t necessarily agreed to pay. Such unfunded liabilities would almost certainly set off complex conflicts — within the host nation, between the host nation and the United States, and among nations in the region. That would raise the political and economic costs of overseas bases — and, in extreme circumstances, could rupture the international relationship under which such bases operate.
Consider former U.S. military bases currently or once situated on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Many of these low-lying islands are harmed by rising sea levels. Not only does the rising sea shrink the landmass on an average day, but the islands are becoming much more vulnerable to overwash during storms.
After World War II and the Cold War, the U.S. military left tons of abandoned toxic waste and even radioactive materials on these islands. For instance, nuclear weapons tests took place in the low-lying Marshall Islands, leaving behind radioactive waste that could reenter the ocean and affect the nearby human population by working its way up the food chain through sea plants and fish. Who is responsible for preventing such toxic effects?
The politics of these ‘knock-on effects’ will probably be messy
We don’t yet know the potential consequences of all these knock-on effects. Scientists are just beginning to assess the risks, the timeline before human health is at risk, and the costs of remediation. Already, however, we can see fights emerging over who will pay.
While the responsibility for climate change itself is global and involves emissions from everywhere, knock-on effects tend to be territorially specific. As a result, some entity — or several entities — have political jurisdiction over the problem. That will prompt fights over who will be responsible for the mess.
For instance, Greenland’s parliament debated the Project Iceworm pollution; it formally asked both Denmark and the United States, which is responsible for the pollution, and it filed a complaint on the issue at the United Nations. In 2016, Greenland’s foreign minister, Vittus Qujaukitsoq, actually accused his Danish counterpart of lyingon the issue. Earlier this year, Greenland’s prime minister fired Qujaukitsoq when they disagreed about the forceful approach Qujaukitsoq was taking with Denmark and the United States.
We can expect more such battles as climate change speeds up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/09/06/harvey-caused-a-chemical-plant-explosion-is-that-the-next-face-of-climate-change/?utm_term=.af8f7d0536cb
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Pruitt Tightens Political Reins on Key Operations
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender
U.S. EPA plans to shift its environmental justice and environmental review operations closer to Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to agency employees, a move that critics say politicizes those offices.
Agency officials have informed staff in the past week that the environmental justice office and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) office will be moved from their current home in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to the Office of Policy, EPA staff told E&E News. Because the policy office is housed organizationally within Pruitt's office, some view it as an effort by political employees to exert more influence over their work.
Cynthia Giles, who led EPA's enforcement office under President Obama, said she found reports of the moves "very concerning."
The Trump administration has "already signaled that they intended to zero out the environmental justice work, so presumably this idea of shifting the office is not a move to enhance environmental justice," she said, referring to the White House 2018 budget request that would eliminate funding for EPA's environmental justice programs.
Giles added, "The only reason I can think of to move the NEPA function" from where it is now to the policy office "is to inject politics."
The policy office, located within the administrator's office, is headed by Samantha Dravis, a longtime conservative political operative hired by Pruitt earlier this year. The position doesn't require Senate confirmation.
Dravis previously worked with Pruitt at the Republican Attorneys General Association, where she was policy director and general counsel. She was also president of the Rule of Law Defense Fund and legal counsel at Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, which is linked to the Koch brothers' network of conservative-leaning donors. She worked on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and was associate director for political affairs in the George W. Bush White House.
The environmental justice and NEPA offices would answer to political appointees even if they were to stay in the enforcement shop. Trump has nominated Susan Bodine to lead the enforcement office. But current and former EPA employees say the move would make it easier for political officials to oversee their operations.
EPA's press office did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the reorganization.
Staff were informed during meetings and on conference calls in recent days about the administration's plans, according to EPA employees.
The agency's environmental justice office will be moved in its entirety from the enforcement office to the policy office, said one employee informed about the plans. The Office of Federal Activities — which now includes the NEPA compliance division and the international compliance assurance division — will be split, that person said.
NEPA staff will be transferred to the policy office, while the international component of the office will be shifted to the Office of Land and Emergency Management. EPA intends to create a new permitting policy division within the Office of Federal Activities to streamline permitting procedures, the employee said.
Relocating the NEPA staff comes amid a broader administration push to speed up environmental permitting. NEPA requires federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of major actions that significantly affect the environment. EPA's NEPA compliance office is tasked with reviewing other agencies' environmental impact statements.
One EPA employee said there are concerns about whether the NEPA office will continue to achieve its mission within the policy shop. While the move might seem innocuous, it is not, that person added. EPA staff have been instructed to limit their comments on NEPA reviews, and employees are concerned that members of Congress will attempt to eliminate EPA's authority to review other agencies' NEPA analyses.
Giles said EPA's reviews don't add time to the process and are valuable to other agencies. "It's much faster for agencies to find and fix the problems in advance rather than waiting to get sued," she said.
In one of his first big energy moves, President Trump revoked a document issued by the Obama administration that instructed federal agencies on how to account for climate change in their NEPA reviews.
"Climate change is real, and it's having very important environmental impacts, and therefore, courts have already been telling federal agencies that they need to consider it when they look at environmental impacts under NEPA," Giles said.
Some conservatives have been pushing the Trump administration to eliminate the EPA enforcement office in its entirety.
Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, led Trump's EPA transition team. Last month, he sent a list to the White House of the EPA programs he'd like to see axed, which included the enforcement office (Climatewire, Aug. 16).
Under Ebell's plan, the functions of the enforcement shop could be returned to program offices. Clean Air Act enforcement, for example, would be handled by the air office.
One EPA employee expects that the new administration "will want to emphasize the work that they like and de-emphasize the work that they don't like." That person added, "I may be too optimistic, but I'm encouraged that these programs will continue."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/06/stories/1060059803
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Benzene Detected in Houston After Storm Damages Oil Refinery
Sep 6, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
Local and federal officials are investigating a leak of benzene, a carcinogen, in a Houston neighborhood near an oil refinery damaged by Hurricane Harvey.
Benzene is found in crude oil and gasoline. The city, U.S. EPA and the Environmental Defense Fund are investigating after air monitors detected varying levels of the chemical near a Valero Energy Partners LP refinery that was damaged Aug. 27.
EPA officials said they are trying to pinpoint the source of the leak and determine how far the benzene has spread.
"EPA continues to conduct ambient air monitoring in Houston and is focusing on an area of potential concern associated with reported air emissions from a Valero facility in Houston," said David Gray, a spokesman for the agency.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had received 56 emissions reports citing hurricane damage from petrochemical companies as of Aug. 31, the Center for Biological Diversity found when it analyzed the agency's records.
Those filings encompass nearly 1 million pounds of toxic chemicals, according to CBD. The emissions were largely caused by shutdown procedures due to the storm (Melanie Evans, Wall Street Journal, Sept. 6). — NB
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/09/06/stories/1060059831
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EPA Gets Short Harvey-Related Delay on Texas Haze Deadline
Sep 6, 2017 | Politico Pro Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA and environmental groups have reached a deal to give the agency an extra three weeks in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to take action on Texas haze.
A federal judge last week rejected EPA’s request for a longer-term delay of the deadline, saying EPA was supposed to have acted in 2007 and that further delay was untenable.
But in a filing today, EPA and environmental groups that sued to force the action said they have reached a deal to push the deadline from Sept. 9 to Sept. 30. The consent agreement allows for a delay of up to 60 days if both EPA and the environmental groups agree.
Key EPA staff who would work on the Texas haze issue “are involved in dealing with environmental issues of immediate, near-term concern that have arisen as a consequence of Hurricane Harvey,” the filing said.
“EPA reserves the right to seek further extensions,” the filing added.
WHAT'S NEXT: The deadline is expected to require EPA to issue a federal plan to curb emissions from coal plants and other sources that contribute to haze. Texas has not filed a state implementation plan after years of dispute with the Obama administration over stringency.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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