Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 14/9/17
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(ACC Mentioned) Shifting the Burden for Toxics With a Sneaky Website: One More Reason Dourson Shouldn't Lead EPA Toxics Office
Sep 14, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Jack Pratt
With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. -
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Associations Push for Closer NAFTA Collaboration
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Chemical industry groups in the US, Canada and Mexico have issued joint recommendations on regulatory cooperation and rules of origin in anticipation of a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). -
Washington State Finds Alternatives to Copper Marine Coatings
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A list of less hazardous alternatives to copper-based antifouling paints, available on the US market, has been published by NGO Northwest Green Chemistry, as the result of a state-funded comparative assessment. -
Tattoo Particles Deposited in Lymph Nodes in German Study
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
German researchers have found "strong evidence" that tattoo pigments deposit in lymph nodes. Such deposition could cause chronic enlargement of the organ and lifelong exposure to the particles, the researchers warn. -
Finland developing RMOA on suspected EDC resorcinol
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Finland is developing plans for a risk management option analysis (RMOA) of resorcinol, which it suspects is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). -
Echa Round-Up
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Echa is consulting on seven harmonised and classification proposals (CLH). -
Trump 'Delighted to Hear About' Appalachia Hub — Manchin
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Dylan Brown
Dinner at the White House this week gave Sen. Joe Manchin a chance to pitch a major new ethane storage hub proposal to President Trump, the West Virginia Democrat said yesterday. -
Gulf Coast Oil, Gas Operations ‘Too Important to Fail,’ Says IEA
Sep 14, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
The oil and gas industry is able to respond faster than it did a decade ago when severe storms hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the region today also is more strategic to world energy markets, which means disruptions like Hurricane Harvey have to be overcome, and quickly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. -
For Gulf Coast LNG Industry, 'Cosmetic' Storm Damage Equals Success
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The natural gas export industry came through the one-two punch of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma with minimal damage, with the U.S.'s only currently operating export terminal producing through the storms and minimal reported damage at facilities under construction. -
Kansas Fast Tracks Plan to Replace Aging NatGas Utility Pipeline
Sep 14, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Richard Nemec
Kansas regulators on Tuesday laid out an accelerated plan for natural gas utilities to replace aging and obsolete pipeline infrastructure. -
Methane Leak Bill Passes, Seeks Renewables, Storage, Efficiency
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Anne C. Mulkern
Clean energy and power storage won boosts yesterday in a bill passed by California's Legislature, one triggered by the massive methane leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site. -
Filing Shows Spill at Arkema Plant Before It Caught Fire
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
The chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, that caught fire in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey experienced a chemical spill more than a day before the fire broke out, according to a regulatory filing. -
Investigators Probe Threats to Pruitt
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Borgardus
U.S. EPA's internal watchdog has already opened more investigations of threats against Administrator Scott Pruitt than against his Obama-era predecessors. -
Dems Threaten to Delay EPA Nominee's Confirmation
Sep 14, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Blog
By Timothy Cama
Two Senate Democrats are threatening to delay a confirmation vote for a key Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee. -
The Skeptics Who Could Snag Science Adviser Slots
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Climatewatch
By Scott Waldman
Climate skeptics may soon join a key science advisory panel at U.S. EPA. -
Pruitt Rules EPA Under a Cloak of Secrecy. Here's Why You Should Care.
Sep 14, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Martha Roberts
The imposing limestone government building in central Washington where Scott Pruitt holds sway is increasingly operating away from public view with decisions made behind closed doors, once-public information blacked out, and influential insiders taking charge. -
New York 'Environmental Rights' Bill Sparks Industry Fears
Sep 14, 2017 | Inside EPA
Industry attorneys are sounding alarms over pending legislation that would amend the New York state constitution to expand residents' “environmental rights,” warning of a potential flood of citizen suits against companies in addition to litigation against the state.
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Environment News
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Sep 14, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Jack Pratt
With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination:
· EDF has deep concerns over nomination of industry consultant to lead toxics program at EPA
· EPA toxics nominee has been paid by dozens of companies to work on dozens of chemicals
· Dourson’s go-to journal for publishing his industry-funded papers is, well, also industry-funded
· Toxicologists endorsing Dourson’s nomination are birds of a feather
· Report: Widespread exposure to a risky chemical “blessed” by the Trump Administration’s nominee to head EPA’s toxics office
Starting with work he did for the tobacco industry, Dourson has made a career downplaying concerns about chemicals, from harmful pesticides to cancer-causing solvents, paid for that work by the same companies that make or use those chemicals.
In addition to his work as a toxicologist-for-hire, Dourson and his firm, TERA, have provided more public-facing services. One of these, done with funding from the American Chemistry Council, was the “Kids+Chemicalsafety” website, now defunct, but still available online at the Internet Archive.
We wrote two earlier blog posts on that site, which can be found here and here. Several points from those posts are worth revisiting, given that Dourson may now be in the position of speaking from a government post, rather than a private one.
As we pointed out when the website first appeared, the site presented itself as a neutral source of information: “Kids + Chemicals is your best source of balanced, scientifically accurate chemical health information. We will alert you to the latest chemical-related health concerns, but also let you know when you can relax.”
In fact, the site provided thinly disguised chemical industry spin about the safety of chemicals that sought to shift the burden of protection onto parents and consumers.
One page on toxic chemicals in toys noted: “[I]t is important to consider not just the chemical levels in the toy, but also whether they can cause an exposure above a safe level.” The page urges parents to read the label on a toy (ignoring the fact that such labels on toys rarely if ever disclose chemical composition) and suggesting that concerned parents ensure that children keep the toys out of their mouths and wash their hands after playing with them.
For parents wondering just what is a “safe level,” another page offers old industry sops about risk assessment: “All chemicals are toxic at some level. … For example, ingesting dihydrogen monoxide can cause harm to people at high exposure levels, but few people would want to ban di-hydrogen (H2) mono-oxide (O) – also known as 'water.'”
A page on asthma listed many contributing risk factors: “pet fur and dander, dust, cigarette smoke, mold, and pollen” and notes that “other common pollutants found in the air can also cause asthma, such as ozone and car exhaust.” As to chemicals in your home? The page goes as far as to cite some peer-reviewed studies claiming a link – but quickly dismisses them, stating “most studies cannot link one individual chemical or product to the increase in wheezing or asthma-like symptoms,” despite vociferously arguing elsewhere on the site that only peer-reviewed studies of chemicals should be deemed credible.
An entry on flame retardant chemicals noted: “Until further information on toxicity from exposures to specific flame retardant chemicals is available, parents will need to make the decision on how best to protect their children by balancing the known risk of injury or death due to fire with the potential risk of adverse health effects from exposure to these chemicals.”
As we pointed out in those earlier posts, the biggest problem with the website is its sneakiness. EDF’s Richard Denison noted: “I would have no beef with TERA’s website if it described itself as what it is: a source of information that reflects its own or the industry’s positions and perspective, and is intended to provide a counterpoint to what parents or consumers may be hearing from others, EDF included.”
That gets to the heart of our concerns about Dourson’s nomination to run the toxics office at EPA. After decades of living with a dysfunctional law, we desperately need a credible chemicals program at EPA—one that the public and the business community alike can trust to make difficult calls on chemical safety. By nominating someone who has deliberately muddied the waters on chemical safety issues, President Trump is doing just the opposite. Confirming Dourson would further undermine the toxics program at EPA and signal an abandonment of the progress just made through TSCA reform last year.
http://blogs.edf.org/health/2017/09/14/shifting-the-burden-for-toxics-with-a-sneaky-website-one-more-reason-dourson-shouldnt-lead-epa-toxics-office/
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(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Associations Push for Closer NAFTA Collaboration
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Chemical industry groups in the US, Canada and Mexico have issued joint recommendations on regulatory cooperation and rules of origin in anticipation of a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).
The statement signals a push by industry toward what they hope will be a regional chemical management regime based on the risk-based model of the US and Canada.
The two papers, released on 11 September by the Chemical Industry Association of Canada (CIAC), the Mexican Chemical Industry National Association (Aniq) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), follow up a more general statement the groups issued in March.
The new recommendations reiterate that "chemical regulations should be science and risk-based, taking both hazard and exposure into consideration." The groups view Nafta "modernisation" as an opportunity to set a global precedent in favour of risk-based regulation.Extending approach to Mexico
Testifying in July at US Trade Representative (USTR) public hearings on renegotiating the agreement, ACC senior director of global affairs Greg Skelton said his organisation specifically sees an opportunity to extend the approach to Mexico and align its chemicals programme with those of the US and Canada.
Mr Skelton said the ACC seeks to have Mexico "adopt either the US or Canada’s chemical inventory instead of trying to compile their own" as well as sign onto the other nations' aligned implementation of the UN Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classification and labelling.
The industry groups may also be hoping to influence Canada, whose Liberal government may be movingtoward a hazard-based approach that shifts the burden onto industry to prove a chemical is safe.
The joint recommendations include:
· sharing data related to "ongoing work and decisions to prioritise, evaluate, and manage chemical substances safely," while recognising "the right of governmental bodies to make sovereign decisions on the basis of the data and information before them";
· agreement on "common scientific criteria to ensure the quality and reliability of scientific data underpinning regulatory decisions," such as common definitions for terms such as "weight of the evidence";
· promoting alignment in chemical classification and labelling; and
· changes in rules of origin that make it simpler and easier to qualify for Nafta tariff exemptions.
Among other things, the organisations propose raising the percentage of non-qualifying material that is allowed in Nafta-advantaged goods from 7% to 15%. They are also backing rules that make it easier to qualify substances undergoing processes such as purification and blending in Nafta countries
The CIAC said that representatives from all three trade groups will be meeting with the Nafta negotiating teams in connection with the upcoming third round of negotiations. These are scheduled to be held in Canada in late September.Earlier pact
The idea of a regional regime is not entirely new. In 2007, the US, Canadian and Mexican governments signed a pact to each take action towards improving the knowledge and management of risks posed by chemicals on their markets.
The pact was intended as a response to a commitment – made by world governments at the Johannesburg summit on sustainable development in 2002 – to put in place measures by 2020 to minimise the adverse effects of man-made chemicals on health and the environment. The EU’s different response to the same goal is the REACH Regulation.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58672/chemical-associations-push-for-closer-nafta-collaboration
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Washington State Finds Alternatives to Copper Marine Coatings
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A list of less hazardous alternatives to copper-based antifouling paints, available on the US market, has been published by NGO Northwest Green Chemistry, as the result of a state-funded comparative assessment.
The project was a response to a 2011 law passed by Washington state, requiring the phase out of the paints on recreational vessels less than 65 feet in length, by 2020.
Washington's Department of Ecology passed the law in 2007, after finding high levels of copper in Puget Sound marinas, much of it due to antifouling paints.
Northwest Green Chemistry evaluated alternatives available in the state for their hazard and exposure profile, performance, cost and availability. Its assessment was based on the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse AA Guide.
Rather than recommend specific products, the NGO's report includes a selection of available alternatives. It says this should cater to the diversity of boater needs because "there is no one size fits all."
The organisation says it is discussing how to keep the guide updated, but has no definite plans for fund sources yet.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58719/washington-state-finds-alternatives-to-copper-marine-coatings
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Tattoo Particles Deposited in Lymph Nodes in German Study
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
German researchers have found "strong evidence" that tattoo pigments deposit in lymph nodes. Such deposition could cause chronic enlargement of the organ and lifelong exposure to the particles, the researchers warn.
The findings have arrived, while EU regulators are looking closely at the potential human health risks of tattoo inks.
In July 2016, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre published a final policy report, calling for a full risk assessment of ingredients. The Commission asked Echa to determine whether an EU-wide restriction was needed to ensure that all tattoo inks were safe.
Echa is now working on this issue with Denmark, Germany, Italy and Norway. In August 2016, the agency launched a call for evidence to gather information on substances used in tattoo inks and permanent make-up. It recently surveyed manufacturers and plans to submit its restriction intention for certain chemicals in tattoo inks by 6 October.
A team led by Andreas Luch from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) analysed skin and lymph nodes from both tattooed and non-tattooed human corpses. Two of the four tattooed individuals had pigments in their lymph nodes matching those in their tattoos, including azo dyes.
Using mass spectrometry, the researchers identified aluminium, chromium, iron, nickel and copper in both skin and lymph nodes. Nickel and chromium are potentially allergenic as well as carcinogenic. All the samples from the tattooed bodies contained titanium. Titanium dioxide is one of the most widely used pigments.
Using synchrotron x-ray fluorescence techniques at the micro and nano scale, the team found evidence that only the smaller nanoparticles had migrated to the lymph nodes.
Finally, using synchrotron micro-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, they detected changes in tissue around the tattoo particles, with altered protein structures.
"With the detection of the same organic pigments and inorganic titanium dioxide in skin and lymph nodes, we provide strong analytical evidence for the migration of pigments from the skin towards regional lymph nodes in humans," the researchers write in Nature's Scientific Reports.
In future, the team plans to look into the pigment and heavy metal burden of other internal organs and tissues, to track the distribution of tattoo ink ingredients throughout the body.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58703/tattoo-particles-deposited-in-lymph-nodes-in-german-study
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Finland developing RMOA on suspected EDC resorcinol
Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Finland is developing plans for a risk management option analysis (RMOA) of resorcinol, which it suspects is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC).
Resorcinol is used in cosmetics and personal care products and has indoor applications as a processing aid. The substance is manufactured and/or imported in the European Economic Area in volumes of 10,000-100,000 tonnes a year.
According to harmonised classification and labelling under the CLP Regulation, and the classification provided by companies in REACH registrations, this substance is:
· very toxic to aquatic life;
· harmful if swallowed; and
· causes serious eye and skin irritation.
In June, Canada added resorcinol to part 1 of its Non-Domestic Substances List (NDSL).Dimantine
Finland’s plans were updated on Echa’s public activities coordination tool (PACT) on 13 September. On the same day, the agency also published an update of France’s hazard assessment for dimantine, an intermediate used for making quaternary ammonium compounds and surfactants.
In May, Echa’s expert group on persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals said dimantine isnot considered persistent or bioaccumulative in its own right, but it could contain traces of other substances with these properties.
France has agreed that the substance does not have these properties, but is also not very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB).
In August, Echa updated its PACT webpage with other member state intentions to conduct RMOA on suspected PBTs. Germany said it plans an analysis for decamethylcyclopentasiloxane and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. Meanwhile, Denmark intends to assess perfluorobutanoic acid and its salts and precursors for their potential PBT and carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) properties.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58711/finland-developing-rmoa-on-suspected-edc-resorcinol
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Sep 14, 2017 | Chemical Watch
CLH consultationsEcha is consulting on seven harmonised and classification proposals (CLH). They are for:
· flupyradifurone. The Netherlands submitted the dossier with hazard classes open for comment of physical hazards; health hazards with the exception of aspirational hazard, respiratory sensitisation and irritation; environmental hazards with the exception of hazardous to the ozone layer;
· azoxystrobin (ISO). The UK submitted the dossier with hazard classes open for comment of acute toxicity – inhalation and hazardous to the aquatic environment ;
· tetraglyme. Austria submitted the dossier with hazard class open for comment of reproductive toxicity;
· dichlorodioctylstannane. Sweden submitted the dossier with hazard classes open for comment of acute toxicity via inhalation route and reproductive toxicity;
· lead with hazard class open for comment of hazardous to the aquatic environment;
· sodium N-(hydroxymethyl)glycinate. Austria submitted the dossier with all hazard classes open for comment except respiratory sensistisation; and
· trimethoxy(methyl)silane. Sweden submitted the dossier with hazard class open for comment of skin sensitisation.
The deadline for comments on all is 30 October.Opinions on two applications for authorisation published
The consolidated opinions of the Committees for Risk Assessment and Socio-economic Analysis (Rac and Seac) for two uses of chromium trioxide and one use of sodium dichromate have been posed on Echa's website. The applications were made by ZF Luftfahrttechnik.Echa announces OEL consultation
Echa says it plans to run a public consultation on scientific evaluation of occupational exposure limits (Oels) for acrylonitrile, benzene and nickel.
The consultation will start on 9 October and finish four weeks later on 6 November.Substances in articles online notification to close temporarily
The agency says it is modernising the online submission interface for substances in articles notifications. As a result, the current web form will be taken down on 6 October. The new system will go live on 7 November.
During this period, notification through REACH-IT (using Iuclid) will run normally. Any importers or producers who experience any problems as a result should contact the Echa help desk.Supply chain communication: web forms to be suspended
Echa is modernising the online submission interface for information concerning downstream user notifications of authorised uses, and downstream user reports for unsupported uses.
The web forms will be closed from 6 October. The new system will go online on November 7.
Any importers or producers who experience any problems as a result should contact the Echa help desk.New online tutorial on access rights for Iuclid Cloud Services
Echa has posted a new online tutorial that explains to users how they can add or remove users from their organisation and manage access rights and passwords in the Iuclid Cloud Services.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58697/echa-round-up
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Trump 'Delighted to Hear About' Appalachia Hub — Manchin
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Daily
By Dylan Brown
Dinner at the White House this week gave Sen. Joe Manchin a chance to pitch a major new ethane storage hub proposal to President Trump, the West Virginia Democrat said yesterday.
Manchin was one of three Democrats to dine and discuss tax reform with Trump and several Republicans on Tuesday night. During the meal, Manchin asked the president for help building a $10 billion storage facility for "wet gas" — ethane, propane and other gases separate from natural gas — somewhere in Appalachia.
"He was delighted to hear about it. I gave it to [chief of staff] Gen. [John] Kelly. He's going to look at it and see if he can get this thing moving," Manchin said yesterday after a panel discussion convened by the Bipartisan Policy Center on Capitol Hill.
The think tank had Manchin and Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) weigh in on their "Appalachia Initiative," proposals to confront the region's legacy of poverty and geographic isolation.
Many Appalachians refuse to leave the mountains, Manchin said, but all the coal, steel and other materials they supplied to build infrastructure in the U.S. should merit them some help dealing with the decline of those industries.
"All they're asking for is that opportunity again not to be forgotten," he said.
Top of the list for Manchin is a storage hub, which could supply the feedstock needed to resurrect West Virginia's once-mighty chemical manufacturing industry (E&E Daily, May 19).
Despite the natural gas boom in Appalachia, most investment in chemical manufacturing has been along the Gulf Coast — a dependency posing risks revealed by Hurricane Harvey, Manchin said
"It creates a dynamic for our country that we shouldn't be in," he said.
But the storage hub's massive price tag has Manchin appealing to Trump to save the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program. Both Congress and the White House have proposed eliminating the Title 17 program (Greenwire, Aug. 7).
Manchin and his Republican West Virginia colleague, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, have sponsored S. 1337 to make the storage hub eligible for funding (E&E Daily, June 15).
That legislation faces a fundamental problem in Washington, Perdue said during yesterday's panel discussion.
"If we don't find a way to break through the gridlock in Washington, it's going to be hard to find the money and focus on the development opportunity," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/09/14/stories/1060060619
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Gulf Coast Oil, Gas Operations ‘Too Important to Fail,’ Says IEA
Sep 14, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
The oil and gas industry is able to respond faster than it did a decade ago when severe storms hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the region today also is more strategic to world energy markets, which means disruptions like Hurricane Harvey have to be overcome, and quickly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
The global energy watchdog, in its latest Oil Monthly Report (OMR) on Wednesday, acknowledged the severity of the twin terrors, Harvey and Irma. Harvey’s impact more directly touched energy operations far beyond the Gulf Coast, IEA said.
“As far as Harvey is concerned, disruption to local oil markets in the U.S. Gulf Coast is easing on a daily basis and its impact on global markets is likely to be relatively short-lived,” analysts said. “Given the severity of the storm, it was inevitable that the normal output and distribution of products would be hampered, that local shortages would emerge, and prices would rise.”
Harvey’s aftermath is still being felt nearly three weeks later, as communities and businesses slowly return to business.
For a long time, the Gulf Coast has been known as a production and refining hub, but the region has become much more key to world trade.
Today the region for crude oil alone has become an “important global trading center, with more than 4 million b/d of products and 0.8 million b/d of crude oil being exported,” IEA said.
U.S. oil exports are growing in importance for many countries, including to Mexico, Venezuela and several Central American states. As well, domestic crude oil is winding its way to more countries, including China, Korea, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
As U.S. export volumes increase, “the strategic importance of the Gulf Coast will grow,” IEA said.
“The rise of the Gulf Coast as a major energy hub means that, in some respects, it can be compared to the Strait of Hormuz in that normal operations are too important to fail.” The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow strip between Oman and Iran, is the chokepoint for about 35% of all seaborne traded oil and nearly 20% of all oil traded worldwide.
Thus far, the oil market has coped relatively well with the two major hurricane challenges. That being the case, the IEA said “now may be a good time to consider steps to mitigate the impact of future severe-weather events.
“This could encompass reviewing the robustness of the Gulf Coast energy infrastructure, including production facilities, refineries, crude and product storage capacity, pipelines and marine infrastructure, and what measures can be taken to minimize disruptions to port operations.”
An opportunity also exists to consider what more can be done “by industry and government working together to strengthen energy security, perhaps including the provision of government-held product stocks in the U.S.,” which IEA examined in its 2015 Quadrennial Energy Review.
Before Harvey stormed ashore in Texas, commercial oil stocks in the United States and in the Gulf Coast region were at comfortable levels.
“This was a good thing because the estimated loss of refinery output in September of about 1.6 million b/d has only partially been offset by lower demand,” IEA analysts said.
IHS Markit estimated Wednesday that 13 of the 20 affected refineries were at or near normal operating rates. Five of the other seven were actively in the process of restarting or ramping up runs.
“The amount of capacity offline is still significant,” according to IHS Markit. Including the impact of refineries partially operational, it estimated that around 1.7 million b/d of distillation capacity (9%of U.S. total) was offline as of Tuesday, which was down from around 4.8 million b/d (27% of U.S. total) at the peak of the flooding.
IHS Markit noted there was a “persistently wide” Brent-West Texas Intermediate price spread, “the most telling signal that U.S. crude oil markets need more time to return to normal in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.”
The price differential, about $3/bbl pre-Harvey, is now above $6.00, “a sign that U.S. crude oil supplies are increasing surplus relative to the international market.”
The surplus has emerged as a still significant chunk of Gulf Coast refining capacity remains offline.
In addition to the adaptations made by the market, the IEA said it was “ready to act through its collective response mechanism if the situation had worsened, although that did not turn out to be necessary. However, the availability of global strategic stocks proved their value, even at a time of strong oil market liquidity.”
The IEA said it remained committed to strengthening energy security in all parts of the value chain and would work with member governments and others to achieve objectives.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/111733-gulf-coast-oil-gas-operations-too-important-to-fail-says-iea
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For Gulf Coast LNG Industry, 'Cosmetic' Storm Damage Equals Success
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The natural gas export industry came through the one-two punch of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma with minimal damage, with the U.S.'s only currently operating export terminal producing through the storms and minimal reported damage at facilities under construction.
Sabine Pass LNG, a liquefied natural gas import-export terminal just east of the Texas-Louisiana border that began shipping LNG early last year, suffered minor "cosmetic" damage following landfall of Harvey, according to a spokesman.
"We were very fortunate as a company that we sustained only minor cosmetic impacts and kept operating throughout the storm," said Cheniere Energy Inc. spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder. "Our facility was designed, engineered and constructed to withstand and operate through challenging weather events that can occur along the Gulf Coast."
Tanker traffic to and from the company's facility was suspended during the storm's heavy winds, as was ship traffic elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, but Burnham-Snyder said "normal ship movements" have since resumed. "Production of LNG at Sabine Pass continued throughout the storm, natural gas supply was managed through Cheniere's multiple pipeline options to the facility, and working with the port, marine traffic was safely managed," he said of terminal operations as the storm hovered over Texas.
Other parts of the Gulf Coast's petroleum industry were not so fortunate, with extensive shutdowns, flooding and other damage at numerous refineries and power outages that crippled recovery efforts (Energywire, Sept. 5).
Burnham-Snyder pointed to the three natural gas pipelines that feed the Sabine Pass facility as an asset for the facility in continuing operations through disruptions like the recent storm, as well as its on-site power production.
Cheniere is completing construction on later phases of the Sabine Pass plant and is in the midst of construction at a second terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas. Burnham-Snyder said that facility, too, suffered "minor cosmetic" impacts and that construction is fully underway at both facilities again.
Another Texas LNG plant under construction, Freeport LNG due south of Houston, also skipped by with only minor damage. "The site was secured so there was no significant impact, [just] one downed power line," said Zdenek Gerych, a spokesman for the project. He said construction work was curtailed during the first days after the storm's landfall, with around one-fifth of the project's 5,000 workers on site, but is now at full strength.
Charlie Riedl, head of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, said he heard "more than a few reports" from members that they had seen damage to their homes, vehicles and personal property from Harvey but said he "didn't hear from members or nonmembers that they were having issues with their projects."
"Which is incredible, quite frankly," he added. "The fact that Cheniere really didn't have an interruption other than the fact that vessels couldn't move is a pretty good sign that the planning that they're putting forward is good."
Riedl said the planning process also accounts for the need for continuous refrigeration for hazardous chemicals like coolants, as well as backup plans for contingencies like a loss of primary power.
Gulf Coast cluster
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved construction on six LNG export terminals that are under construction and another three that are not currently being built, and is considering several more projects for approval. A majority of those potential export sites sit along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, aiming to take advantage of the region's extensive natural gas grid and shipping infrastructure to monetize domestic gas production.
A spokeswoman for FERC said agency staff members "have been monitoring the situation along hurricanes' paths and have been in contact with our regulated entities" with "no problems reported, so far."
Among those facilities that are not located in Texas or Louisiana are Southern LNG Co. LLC's facility under construction on Elba Island, Ga., and Dominion Energy Inc.'s Cove Point LNG terminal on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. A smaller-scale LNG export plant, Eagle LNG Partners LLC, is proposed for construction in Jacksonville, Fla. There are no reports of hurricane impacts at the Georgia or Florida projects.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060613
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Kansas Fast Tracks Plan to Replace Aging NatGas Utility Pipeline
Sep 14, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Richard Nemec
Kansas regulators on Tuesday laid out an accelerated plan for natural gas utilities to replace aging and obsolete pipeline infrastructure.
The final 52-page order issued by the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) follows a general investigation begun two years ago, which determined an accelerated replacement program was needed.
Atmos Energy, Black Hills Energy, Kansas Gas Service, which together deliver 90% of the state’s gas supply, participated in the investigation with consumer utility watchdog, the Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board.
The three utilities were ordered to develop a plan within three months to replace all bare steel and cast iron gas distribution lines in populated areas.
To support faster replacement of the obsolete lines, the three-member KCC created an Accelerated Replacement Program (ARP), which allows the utilities to submit a plan to the KCC and to charge up to 40 cents/month per customer to speed the process.
Under the ARP, the utilities are to develop 10-year replacement plans. Utilities would be required to file monthly progress reports with the commission.
Since 2008, the utilities have used a surcharge to recover investments for pipeline safety, but it had limits that would not allow for its use in the ARP program.
"Commissioners attached a number of conditions to the program to ensure utility accountability and reasonable costs to consumers," a KCC spokesperson said. The commission “took a significant step toward ensuring the future safety and reliability of the state’s natural gas pipeline system."
The state's gas pipeline system is "inherently safe," but nearly 5,300 miles of the 21,800 mile-long distribution network in the state were constructed with obsolete, mostly steel materials. Safety risks are expected to increase over time.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/111734-kansas-fast-tracks-plan-to-replace-aging-natgas-utility-pipeline
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Methane Leak Bill Passes, Seeks Renewables, Storage, Efficiency
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Anne C. Mulkern
Clean energy and power storage won boosts yesterday in a bill passed by California's Legislature, one triggered by the massive methane leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site.
S.B. 801 from state Sen. Henry Stern (D) orders the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to maximize energy efficiency, renewable energy and conservation. It's aimed at buttressing reliability now that Aliso Canyon is operating at reduced capacity.
The site in north L.A. County, run by utility Southern California Gas Co., in July was allowed to reopen with 60 percent of 114 wells taken out of service. Then in August SoCalGas revealed that 13 wells failed safety tests as they were brought online. Natural gas is used to fuel area power plants that ramp up quickly to meet electricity demand.
Stern said he wants to see a switch to all-green solutions.
"The future of storage is not in oil fields," Stern said in an interview. "It's in batteries and pumped hydro and all these fly wheel technologies, and there's plenty of other exciting energy storage and other demand-response resources we can use to offset the need for big fields like Aliso Canyon that are just inherently risky."
Until it was repaired and sealed in February last year, a methane leak at Aliso Canyon spewed nearly 100,000 metric tons of methane, about the annual greenhouse gas pollution of 572,000 cars. The leak forced the evacuation of an estimated 8,000 residents and the relocation of some schools.
S.B. 801 directs LADWP to make moves that shrink consumption "to the extent doing so is cost-effective." The utility additionally by next June must "determine the cost-effectiveness and feasibility" of adding at least 100 megawatts of energy storage and then consider deployment, according to a bill analysis for the Assembly floor vote.
The California Public Utilities Commission last year accelerated approval of about 100 megawatts of storage from utilities Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric, to address energy reliability concerns. At the time there was a prohibition on new injections at Aliso Canyon. LADWP needs to pursue the same green approach, Stern said.
LADWP at the direction of the L.A. City Council already is studying how it could switch to 100 percent clean energy.
S.B. 801 also requires SCE by next June to deploy at least 20 MW of energy storage "to the extent doing so is cost-effective, feasible and necessary to meet the energy reliability requirements" of the L.A. region, the analysis said.
The measure also orders that a penalty assessed against SoCalGas for the leak must "equal the amount necessary to reduce the impact on the climate" from the GHGs emitted, with the cost determined by the California Air Resources Board.
SCE said it did not have a position on the legislation. LADWP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Another Stern measure, S.B. 57, seeks a continued moratorium on new injections at Aliso Canyon until a review determines the cause of the leak. The bill is dead for this session, however, after not emerging from committee.
Stern said the revelations that 13 wells have had pressure buildup show the facility should close. In July he criticized the CPUC and the state's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) call to reopen Aliso Canyon. The agencies said it was safe.
"It shakes my confidence in DOGGR's judgment on that front a bit," Stern said of the data on the 13 wells. "It doesn't sound particularly safe."Disclosure of chemicals in water discharge ordered
The measure was one of several passed over the last few days, as the Legislature finishes it session. There were several other oil and gas bills.
Lawmakers also approved A.B. 1328 from Assemblymember Monique Limón (D). It allows regional water quality control boards or the State Water Resources Control Board, while investigating an oil field wastewater discharge, to demand information on chemicals in the wastewater. Water agencies also can require chemical suppliers to provide information about a chemical.
"Californians deserve to know the chemicals used in oil and gas extraction around our communities," Limón said in an email. "The same chemicals used in fracking are also present in the majority of other operations but are not reported.
"AB 1328 is an important first step that allows the Water Boards to collect and publicly report many of these hazardous chemicals, especially from third party suppliers," she added.
While oil and gas companies must report chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing, the state does not track chemical usage for other extraction methods. Many of the same chemicals that are used in fracking are also used in other oil and gas activities, Limón said in the bill analysis.
Rock Zierman, CEO of the trade group California Independent Petroleum Association, said the measure wouldn't significantly change driller operations. He said if an oil operation produces water discharge, the driller must get a permit for it. He said drillers must disclose the chemical makeup of the water.
The bill in an early version required operators of oil and gas wells to disclose quarterly to DOGGR a complete list of chemicals added for all operations. Senate amendments deleted that and replaced it with the more limited version.
Zierman said the first version of the mandate was impractical and costly. Many of the chemicals are used by third parties, and the contents in some cases are considered trade secrets. Drillers use "multiple layers of steel and cement" to protect water aquifers, he said.
"You want to open up this various onerous reporting protocol on things that, it's not going into water, it's only going down a hole," he said.
The amended measure remains important, Limón said.
"The intent of the bill has always been to get critical chemical information into the hands of Californians and regulators — this bill accomplishes that," she said. "We are creating a pathway to a healthier environment and healthier communities."
The California Legislature also passed S.B. 724 from state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D). It authorizes DOGGR to spend up to $3 million for four years to plug hazardous or deserted wells, or hazardous or deserted production facilities. It allows the agency's leaders to order the decommissioning of a facility.
CIPA supported the measure, Zierman said. He said it sets up a special account to fund the work out of the fees the companies pay per barrel of fuel extracted.
A.B. 1649 from Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D) also passed. It requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate activities of state and local agencies that regulate oil refineries and orders CalEPA to hold at least two public meetings yearly to give the public information on refinery safety.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060643
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Filing Shows Spill at Arkema Plant Before It Caught Fire
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
The chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, that caught fire in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey experienced a chemical spill more than a day before the fire broke out, according to a regulatory filing.
The spill happened Aug. 29, according to an emissions report that Arkema Inc. filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It raises fresh questions about how much regulators knew about the dangers at the facility and whether the company was completely forthcoming about the incident.
It's unclear when the report was actually filed — it wasn't available on the TCEQ website until this week. That means local firefighters and sheriff's deputies may not have known about the spill when they responded to the plant two weeks ago, said Elena Craft, a senior health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund who reviewed the report.
"They were making decisions based on information that might not have been accurate," she said.
The stricken plant, about 25 miles northeast of Houston, made national news and became a flashpoint for local residents and environmentalists who have been alarmed by the pollution that the storm unleashed. Texas officials have scaled back disclosure requirements for chemical companies, and the Trump administration has delayed Obama-era rules aimed at making it safer for emergency workers who respond to chemical plants (Greenwire, Aug. 31).
The TCEQ and U.S. EPA declined to comment on the report, citing their ongoing investigations into the plant. EPA has previously said it found no volatile organic compounds in water samples near the plant (Greenwire, Sept. 11).
A company spokeswoman declined to comment, except to say Arkema is cooperating with the investigations.
Arkema officials have previously said the smoke was harmless and that no chemicals left the site.
"We don't anticipate that this is going to be anything related to water contamination or water issues," Arkema President Richard Rowe said at a Sept. 4 news conference. "There was no organic peroxide, no material that moved off of the site as a result of the flood. So we don't anticipate that there's going to be any implications to people's water or water supply."
Arkema's plant produces organic peroxides, which are used to make plastics and other products. Some of the compounds have to be kept cold to keep them from catching fire.
Heavy rain on Aug. 29 caused two tanks at the plant to overflow, the report says. Secondary containment dikes around the tanks also overflowed in the rain, "which resulted in the release of storm water containing mineral spirits and residual organics into/onto the flood waters within the plant," it says.
Arkema took samples from the containment dike, the plant's sump system and the plant's stormwater outfalls to look for "dissolved constituents." The results of those tests aren't included in the report.
While it's unclear if the chemicals left the plant site with the floodwater, about 23,000 pounds were released into the air, the report says. That includes 11,000 pounds of mineral spirits, 3,400 pounds of volatile organic compounds and smaller amounts of organic peroxides, ethylbenzene, naphtha, naphthalene, trimethylene and tert-butyl alcohol, the report says.
Many of those compounds can cause short-term health problems such as nausea and irritation of the skin, eyes and ears. In large doses, some of them can cause cancer or kidney and hearing problems, according to EDF's Craft and Luke Metzger at Environment Texas.
Around the same time as the spill, the plant lost power and its backup generators failed. With no way to keep the products refrigerated, Arkema said it was forced to allow them to burn. An 11-member "rideout crew" moved the organic peroxides to nine cargo trailers and rolled the trailers to remote locations at the plant, away from other stockpiles of chemicals.
The first fire happened at about 2 a.m. CDT on Aug. 31. On Sept. 3, Arkema and local firefighters decided to ignite the remaining trailers deliberately. All the fires were out by Sept. 4.
Arkema filed two emissions reports in connection with the fires, on Sept. 1 and 3, but said it couldn't estimate what kinds of chemicals were released in the smoke. The company has said about 500,000 pounds of organic peroxides were at the plant.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060645
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Investigators Probe Threats to Pruitt
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Borgardus
U.S. EPA's internal watchdog has already opened more investigations of threats against Administrator Scott Pruitt than against his Obama-era predecessors.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews by E&E News show that in Pruitt's almost seven months on the job, threats against him have already triggered enough investigations by the inspector general to surpass the number of similar probes for threats against both former EPA chiefs Gina McCarthy and Lisa Jackson.
One record shows that as of May, the inspector general had opened three investigations into threats against Pruitt. Yet there have been even more probes since then into messages threatening Pruitt's health and safety.
The watchdog office's top criminal investigator told E&E News in an interview that the inspector general has now initiated more than three investigations of threats against President Trump's EPA administrator.
"I can tell you we have more than three investigations. That's for sure," said Patrick Sullivan, the EPA assistant inspector general for investigations.
Sullivan declined to share an exact number of investigations into threats against Pruitt that his office has opened. Nevertheless, asked whether Pruitt is facing more threat probes than his immediate predecessors, Sullivan answered in the affirmative.
"Absolutely. There is no question about that," Sullivan said.
McCarthy spent almost four years as EPA administrator during President Obama's second term. During her entire tenure, the inspector general opened three investigations of threats against her, according to documents.
Jackson was EPA chief during Obama's first term. Records show the inspector general investigated no threats made against her during her tenure. 'Lightning rod'
Sullivan — who has spent decades in federal law enforcement, including more than 20 years in the Secret Service — said EPA as the nation's top environmental regulator has always provoked strong emotions.
"The EPA as an organization is a lightning rod for people on both sides of the political equation for either not enforcing the environmental laws or enforcing the environmental laws too heavily," said Sullivan, who has been in the inspector general office since 2011. "We engender a lot of emotional response."
Those who threaten Pruitt as well as other EPA employees, often through letters and emails, are typically expressing their displeasure about how the agency is being run. Sullivan did note the current EPA chief has apparently received more threats than prior administrators.
"It appears Administrator Pruitt gets more threats as well as what we call 'correspondence of unusual interest,'" Sullivan said.
The inspector general has already begun to close cases regarding threats against the administrator.
One investigative report detailed a postcard allegedly purchased at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts — with the image of "Symphony in Red," a painting by James Abbott McNeill Whistler — that was mailed to EPA headquarters in Washington. It included statements like "Get out while you still can, Scott" and "You are evil incarnite [sic]."
Inspector general agents talked to the Secret Service and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston, asking if they were aware of anyone who may have "an unusual interest" in Pruitt. They decided not to present the case to a U.S. attorney for prosecution after determining the postcard lacked "a clear threat" and they were unable to determine who sent it.
Sullivan also described to E&E News one other closed investigation of a threat against Pruitt.
He said inspector general agents arrived at someone's house who was found to have written another threatening postcard to Pruitt. The man had two attack dogs on leashes in his yard. When he greeted agents, the person had a sidearm holstered on each hip, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said this postcard writer apologized for sending the message when talking to inspector general agents.
"It was not a direct threat. It was an implied threat that contained obscene language," Sullivan said. "The U.S. attorney's office determined that there was no probable cause to meet the statute and there was no crime committed, so they declined." 'Ban glyphosate or die'
McCarthy faced similar threats.
One report described an anonymous letter sent to the EPA administrator in May 2016 that had statements like, "There is an old saying in NY organized crime, 'You hurt us and our families, and we will hurt you and your family.'"
Others were even more direct regarding McCarthy, with one email sent in November 2016 saying, "Ban glyphosate or die you haggard nazi bitch! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE," according to another report.
An October 2016 letter came under scrutiny by the inspector general office for threatening McCarthy. An agent who reviewed the letter, however, didn't see an actual threat.
"The contents of the letter seemed to be rambling by the writer and full of disjointed thoughts," said the report on the incident.
It also turned out the individual who wrote the letter had been interviewed by the FBI in the summer of 2015 on another matter. The bureau did not believe the person "posed any threat to anyone."
All three investigations regarding threats against McCarthy were taken seriously by the EPA inspector general, with the Secret Service, FBI or a U.S. attorney often contacted during the investigation. Nevertheless, either inspector general agents determined there was no threat or federal prosecutors declined to follow up on the matter.
The FBI has been involved in investigating threats against an EPA administrator in the past. Russell Train, the agency's second chief, received threatening mail once, including a certificatetitled "Bullets for Bureaucrats" that grabbed the bureau's attention (Greenwire, Jan. 30, 2015).
"You have to take these threats seriously until they're proven not to be," said Earl Devaney, a former Interior Department inspector general. "More often than not, you find the person has a mental illness and needs to be hospitalized or get help."
Devaney, who also spent 20 years in the Secret Service and once was director of EPA's criminal enforcement office, said mental illness could often excuse those behind the threats unless the situation became more grave.
"If that's the case, the U.S. attorney won't prosecute," Devaney said. "If someone jumps the fence at the White House with a gun in hand, they're going to get prosecuted."
Sullivan also noted that the inspector general office considers the free speech rights of those complaining to EPA.
"There is a big bucket of information we have that never makes it to the formal investigation stage," Sullivan said. "It's not an exact science, but we always take into account people's First Amendment rights."
Under the Inspector General Act, the EPA watchdog office has broad jurisdiction to investigate issues affecting the agency, including threats to its personnel and facilities. Sullivan said the office's agents will pursue those threatening EPA under laws prohibiting assaults on federal employees; using interstate commerce to transmit threats, like a telephone call or email; or mailing threatening communications.
The inspector general office is also in close contact with the EPA administrator's security team — staffed by the agency’s criminal enforcement agents — sharing information about potential threats.
"We have an excellent relationship. We have daily contact with the administrator's protective detail," Sullivan said. "We constantly exchange information."
A former EPA official said that was McCarthy's experience with the inspector general.
"The OIG always worked hand in hand with her protective services crew, and she always felt well protected," the former agency official said.
It's not just EPA administrators who have received threats but agency employees as well.
Inspector general officials pointed to one case in October 2014 where a Missouri man who owns two Superfund sites was indicted for threatening an EPA employee over the phone. Agents seized two firearms during his arrest.
Sullivan said 40 cases of threats against EPA personnel, which includes the administrator, and facilities have been opened in the first 10 months of fiscal 2017. Twenty-eight of those cases were still pending as of the end of July. Hiring more security
EPA has sought to increase Pruitt's protective detail since he has come to the agency.
Internal documents and emails show EPA has requested around-the-clock security for Pruitt. Former EPA officials say that is a substantial boost in protection for the agency's administrator.
Consequently, the agency has spent more on the EPA chief's security, at least in the first months of Pruitt's tenure. Documents obtained by E&E News under FOIA show the agency has spent close to double on Pruitt's security detail during roughly his first three months than it did on Jackson's and McCarthy's details (Greenwire, July 5).
The agency, meanwhile, has sought to hire more agents to fill out Pruitt's detail.
In June, Larry Starfield, EPA's acting enforcement chief, asked for an exception to the agency's hiring freeze to bring on more agents, according to a memo first reported on by Bloomberg BNA. By July, EPA had posted a job notice online to hire those agents for Pruitt's security (Greenwire, July 24).
An EPA spokesman declined to discuss security measures taken by the administrator's protective detail.
"We don't comment on the security measures in place to protect U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt," spokesman Jahan Wilcox said.
Devaney said he isn't surprised by the rising number of threats to Pruitt that have come under investigation.
"He is a controversial figure," he said. "The more controversial the figure, the more likely that his or her life will be threatened."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060709
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Dems Threaten to Delay EPA Nominee's Confirmation
Sep 14, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Blog
By Timothy Cama
Two Senate Democrats are threatening to delay a confirmation vote for a key Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) wrote a letter late Wednesday to Susan Bodine, picked to lead the EPA’s enforcement office, expressing “several concerns” about her current job at the agency, the EPA's enforcement of an Obama administration methane rule and some written answers she gave after her confirmation hearing.
Trump nominated Bodine, previously chief counsel at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to the EPA position in May, and that same committee voted along party lines in July to advance her nomination.
But the full Senate still has not taken up her nomination. Earlier this month, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt hired her as a special counsel to “work closely” with the enforcement office, which is officially being led on an interim basis by Larry Starfield, a career EPA employee.
Whitehouse and Merkley said Bodine’s new job is alarming.
“Your appointment creates the appearance, and perhaps the effect, of circumventing the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent responsibility for the position to which you have been nominated,” they wrote in their Wednesday letter.
“Your improper involvement in EPA enforcement decisions could provide grounds for subjects of EPA actions to challenge the legal validity of those actions in court.”
Whitehouse and Merkley also want details about the EPA’s practice of enforcing the methane rule for oil and natural gas drilling, a rule that Pruitt is working to repeal, but for now is enforcing on a “case by case” basis.
The two Democrats said they would not consent to any requests to shorten debate time for Bodine — a common practice the Senate uses to speed votes for nominees — until they get satisfactory answers from Bodine.
“This appointment raises several concerns that we request you address before we can consent to any time agreement to process your nomination,” they wrote.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/350649-dems-threaten-to-hold-up-epa-nominees-confirmation
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The Skeptics Who Could Snag Science Adviser Slots
Sep 14, 2017 | E&E Climatewatch
By Scott Waldman
Climate skeptics may soon join a key science advisory panel at U.S. EPA.
A number of people who reject the findings of mainstream climate science are being considered by the Trump administration for spots on EPA's Science Advisory Board, a voluntary but influential panel that reviews science used in environmental regulations.
At least one nominee hopes to use a position on the board to challenge the science undergirding many environmental regulations. One has said in a statement that the world must "abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade." Another compared people concerned about climate change to "Aztecs who believed they could make rain by cutting out beating hearts."
EPA has submitted 132 names for public comment as possible members of the panel. About a dozen of them have made comments rejecting mainstream climate science. Many have connections to the fossil fuel industry or conservative think tanks, and some have received funding to attack the findings of mainstream scientists that humans are warming the globe at an unprecedented pace through the burning of fossil fuels.
The selection of any of those researchers would be the beginning of a very different advisory board that would bear the hallmark of the Trump administration's position on climate change, said Steve Milloy, an attorney and longtime EPA foe who worked on President Trump's transition team for the agency.
"Had some other Republican won the presidency and a swamp creature taken over the EPA, this would not be happening," he said, "but thank God for Scott Pruitt that he's got the courage to do this."
The Heartland Institute — a Chicago-based free-market think tank that pushes alternative climate science — nominated many of the current prospects.
Heartland Institute spokesman Jim Lakely said in an email: "We applaud any effort by Administrator Pruitt to bring qualified non-alarmist scientists onto the EPA's advisory boards. There is a vigorous debate over the causes and consequences of climate change, and it's vital that EPA acknowledge that fact and have a more balanced approach to the agency's rule-making."
The long list of nominees — identified by EPA staff members who oversee the advisory board — also includes mainstream climate scientists who have extensive experience working with the United Nations and EPA on climate change. Former top Obama EPA science official Paul Anastas made the list.
The deadline for public comment is set to expire Sept. 28. After that, EPA boss Pruitt will have final approval on the candidates. The board has 48 member slots, 15 of which expire at the end of the month. It's not clear how many positions will be filled.
The SAB, created in 1978, is tasked with "independent advice and peer review on the scientific and technical aspects of environmental issues to the EPA's Administrator." An EPA spokesman has said the agency wants industry to have a greater role than it has had previously in evaluating the science used by EPA to craft regulations.
Traditionally, most of the SAB members are from academia, though some have also come from industry and environmental groups.
The SAB is essential to the functioning of EPA because it is chartered by law to ensure the agency is using the best available science for regulations, said Peter Thorne, the board's current chairman and director of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa. He said the SAB has a wide range of tasks that touch on almost every aspect of EPA's functioning. He said it's not just EPA that draws on its work — it's also state governments, nongovernmental organizations and private companies.
"The EPA Science Advisory Board needs to have people who are well-versed in the science that underlies the decisions that EPA makes, so if there are people who end up on the board who have views that are not grounded in solid science, then that is a problem," Thorne said.Pruitt's prospects
Here are some of the skeptical nominees under consideration:
Joseph D'Aleo, a certified consultant meteorologist and co-founder of the Weather Channel: He has run climate skeptic websites and has appeared as a speaker at Heartland conferences. D'Aleo said his priority on the board would be attacking the endangerment finding, the legally binding document that holds that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases harm human health and must be regulated by the executive branch. He said he wants to challenge the finding because it could otherwise be used later to build back Obama-era environmental regulations.
"We're going to push for reconsideration, start from scratch and put together the best science," he said. "If CO2 is not a serious pollutant, let's focus the attention of the EPA on other issues."
Edwin Berry, a meteorologist and atmospheric scientist: He has funded his own climate research and says human carbon dioxide emissions do not cause climate change. He has compared those who believe in human-caused climate change to "Aztecs who believed they could make rain by cutting out beating hearts and rolling decapitated heads down temple steps." On his Twitter account, he has called Islam "a death cult" and has encouraged motorists to drive into protesters.
Berry, who confirmed that he and a number of other skeptics were nominated by Heartland, said he wants to use his position on the board to show that humans barely contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, which he claimed are mostly driven by natural factors.
"Let's get over this whole thing about climate change being an important thing, because in fact we humans have a negligible impact on climate," he said. "And if we had the Paris Agreement and everything else, it wouldn't do any good anyway."
Alan Carlin, a retired EPA employee who is affiliated with Heartland: He fought the agency's crafting of the endangerment finding. Carlin, an economist, was at the center of a political firestorm under Obama after he produced a widely criticized 93-page report comprising cherry-picked scientific data and blog entries concluding that regulating carbon dioxide was "the worst mistake that EPA has ever made."
Kevin Dayaratna, a statistician at the conservative Heritage Foundation: His report was cited by Trump as a reason to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. It claimed that the agreement could shrink U.S. gross domestic product by $2.5 trillion within two decades (though Trump stated the impact as coming within a decade). The report was criticized by some as being misleading, because that amount is less than 1 percent of the aggregate GDP over that period and the report did not account for the cost of taking no climate change action. Dayaratna was invited to attend Trump's withdrawal announcement in June in the White House Rose Garden.
Craig Idso, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute: He has researched the benefits of atmospheric carbon dioxide. His work has centered on highlighting how increased carbon dioxide will benefit plants.
Paul Driessen, a senior policy adviser at the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a libertarian environmental think tank: His organization handed out leaflets at a climate protest this year in Washington, D.C., that said, "CO2 is not the 'control knob' of the climate." He also co-founded Climate Exit, or "Clexit," which criticized the science behind the Paris climate agreement and holds that spiking levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide benefit the Earth. "The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade," the group stated in its founding statement. "Man does not and cannot control the climate."
Gordon Fulks, a physicist and adviser to the Cascade Policy Institute, an Oregon-based libertarian think tank: He has denied that net sea ice melt is occurring and that the Earth is warming. He has said those who express concern about climate change are like a "societal pathogen that virulently spreads misinformation in tiny packages like a virus."
Anthony Lupo, another founding member of Clexit: He has received support from the Heartland Institute and helped in the unsuccessful fight against the endangerment finding in court.
Leighton Steward, a former energy company executive and a founder of groups that promote the rise of carbon dioxide as a benefit: He has also encouraged the United States to drop out of the Paris climate accord and says that natural warming is raising the temperature of the Earth.
David Legates, a professor of climatology at the University of Delaware: He has denied that human-caused climate change could have catastrophic consequences and has co-authored climate research claiming polar bears are not harmed by human-caused climate change that was quietly funded, at least in part, by Koch Industries Inc.Critics want to boot EPA 'cronies'
Republican lawmakers and other conservatives have long wanted to revamp the board.
House Republicans have repeatedly tried to increase industry's role on the board, and this year they passed a perennial bill, the "Science Advisory Board Reform Act." Some conservative lawmakers have accused the board of being politically biased. Critics of the legislation say it's designed to make it harder for academics to serve on the board.
Pruitt seems determined to leave his mark on EPA's advisory boards.
In April, EPA dismissed about half of the 18 members of its Board of Scientific Counselors, just weeks after they had been told that they would be appointed to a second term — which is generally the practice. That board is largely tasked with technical and management reviews of EPA research programs. By contrast, the SAB has a more significant role: It was created by law and evaluates science that informs regulations, including those that affect the fossil fuel industry.
EPA did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The Trump transition team at EPA recommended a complete reworking of all of its science advisory boards, and this is part of that process, Milloy said. He added that he expects the panel's composition will change even more as additional spots open and Pruitt can stamp it with his influence. And while think tanks have typically been excluded from the SAB, Milloy said, he expects that will now change.
Milloy accused the panels of being rubber stamps and said they should be "reconstituted" because they lean toward environmentalism and liberal politics.
"They're cronies of EPA, they fall in line, they do what EPA wants," he said. "It's extraordinarily rare that they dare to question the EPA and, if they do, then the EPA just ignores them. If they're not rubber stamps, then they're useless."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/14/stories/1060060647
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Pruitt Rules EPA Under a Cloak of Secrecy. Here's Why You Should Care.
Sep 14, 2017 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Martha Roberts
The imposing limestone government building in central Washington where Scott Pruitt holds sway is increasingly operating away from public view with decisions made behind closed doors, once-public information blacked out, and influential insiders taking charge.
As the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pruitt has also proven elusive, having spent more than half of his days away from Washington amid speculation he’s really focused on a future run for Oklahoma senator or governor. His frequent travel to the Midwestern state at taxpayers’ expense recently prompted the agency’s Inspector General to open an investigation – and yet, Pruitt has found time to quietly and systematically tear down policies that protect our health and safety.
Here are the five most glaring examples of the EPA chief’s pattern of secrecy, and what it means for you.
1. Suppressed web pages about climate change
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, my organization recently received EPA records detailing more than 1,900 items that had been modified or deleted from the agency’s website since President Trump’s inauguration day – including information about how climate change affects children and pregnant women.
2. Keeps his schedule secret
Pruitt is hiding from the public even the most basic information about how he spends his business hours and with whom. Contravening a bi-partisan EPA transparency practice, Pruitt no longer makes any senior management calendars – including his own – available to the public. Americans have a right to know how a high-ranking, taxpayer-funded public servant spends his time and makes decisions that directly affect their lives.
3. Suspends pollution laws without public input
Over the past six months, Pruitt has taken actions to suspend environmental safeguards without providing any opportunity for public input – including protections against toxic wastewater, oil and gas pollution as well as climate pollution.
Among one of Pruitt’s earliest actions was to suspend, without any public input, protections against safety risks at major chemical facilities. Just a few months later, the Houston-area Arkema plant exploded after Hurricane Harvey flooded the site.
4. Attacks reporter covering the EPA
Pruitt’s press team lashed out against an Associated Press journalist after he co-authored a report that exposed the EPA’s absence at Superfund sites flooded after Hurricane Harvey. The agency’s press release attacked the reporter without rebutting any of the article’s factual findings, raising concerns about the politicization of press coverage when public safety is at stake.
5. Rolls back enforcement against polluters
Under Trump’s administration, the EPA has quietly but dramatically reduced enforcement against polluters. So far, the agency has collected 60 percent less in civil penaltiesthan previous administrations did during their first six months in office, a recent analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project found.
Not holding companies responsible for their pollution has tangible impacts in the form of more pollution, more illness and more avoidable early deaths among Americans like you and me.
As someone ‘taking a meat ax to the protections of public health and environment and then hiding it.’
So covert is Pruitt that he earned the Golden Padlock Award this summer from investigative reporters and editors who recognize the most secretive United States agency or individual. The judges were impressed by “the breadth and scope of Pruitt’s information suppression techniques around vital matters of public interest.”
Indeed, looking at the rapid transformation of the agency he led during the Nixon and Reagan administrations, former EPA Administrator Bill Ruckelshaus described Pruitt’s first six months as someone “taking a meat ax to the protections of public health and environment and then hiding it.”
Pruitt’s efforts to hollow out the EPA and weaken the public health safeguards that the agency is required to uphold is why we’re mobilizing, like never before, to protect and defend America’s clean air and water.
Public opinion and, increasingly, the courts are on our side, but we cannot let up the fight for the future of our children and grandchildren at this critical time.
https://www.edf.org/blog/2017/09/14/pruitt-rules-epa-under-cloak-secrecy-heres-why-you-should-care
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New York 'Environmental Rights' Bill Sparks Industry Fears
Sep 14, 2017 | Inside EPA
Industry attorneys are sounding alarms over pending legislation that would amend the New York state constitution to expand residents' “environmental rights,” warning of a potential flood of citizen suits against companies in addition to litigation against the state.
“What happens if a citizen of New York feels her right to clean water or air has been violated? Can she sue an industry? Can she sue her neighbor? What standard of review will the courts use?” asks a recent blog post by attorneys with the firm Nixon Peabody.
The New York State Assembly recently approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would add the following to the Constitution’s Article 1 Bill of Rights: “Environmental rights. Each person shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthful environment,” the blog notes.
The proposal, A6279, cleared the Assembly on April 24, and it awaits action by the state Senate's Judiciary Committee.
Identifying clean water and clean air as a fundamental right embedded in the state constitution provides wide latitude, separate and distinct from anything established by state law or regulation, for citizens to bring actions against the state if they believe that officials have taken an action that will interfere with this constitutional right, the attorneys say.
The blog post cites a June decision by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, which added an environmental rights amendment to its constitution in 1971, that established a broad interpretation of the amendment, representing a defeat for the state and industrial polluters, who had argued that move could deter economic development.
In addition, the Nixon Peabody attorneys cite a recent decision by Pennsylvania's environmental hearing board that sided with environmental groups' challenge to a mine expansion project. The decision overturned a permit revision granted to a coal company granted by state environmental regulators in 2015.
The hearing board agreed that the state violated the environmental rights amendment by allowing the company to damage a nearby stream, according to reports.
Montana and Hawaii have similar constitutional amendments, the industry attorneys note.
However, due to the “absence of specific language allowing citizen suits against other entities than the state, at least the Pennsylvania and Hawaii constitutions seem to not provide a broader basis for a citizen to sue an industry or other entity that it believes is preventing it from having clean water or air,” the blog post says.
Nonetheless, “these constitutions, as well as the Montana constitution, do appear to significantly broaden the available bases for citizens to challenge state actions (or alleged inaction). The same would appear to be true for the proposed New York Constitutional amendment.”
However, the post says than an additional variable may restrict potential future litigation.
New York's Constitution already has language addressing conservation that “may be sufficient to provide the rights purported to be protected by the proposed constitution amendment,” the lawyers say. “Thus the question is, does New York need this Constitutional Amendment?”
Unless the purpose of the proposed New York amendment is to “allow any state citizen to sue any other citizen it believes is making the air or water unclean, which would likely bury the state’s lower court systems under dubious cases where no statutory or regulatory violation can be substantiated, then the language probably needs to be further modified to clarify that the only entity that can be sued by a citizen for alleged failure to keep the state’s air and water 'clean' is the state itself.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/new-york-environmental-rights-bill-sparks-industry-fears
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