Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 9/10/17
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(ACC Blog) National Nanotechnology Day: Celebrating the Possibilities of the Small
Oct 9, 2017 | American Chemistry Matters
By Jay West
It’s National Nanotechnology Day! A day for raising awareness of nanotechnology and celebrating the science of the small. -
(ACC Mentioned) At 'Our Ocean' Forum, It's a Serious Look and Some Serious Money, Aimed at Plastic Waste
Oct 9, 2017 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
At every major gathering these days to talk about the health of the oceans, plastics gets a lot of attention. The latest, the fourth Our Ocean summit in Malta Oct. 5-6, was no different. -
EU Publishes Sub-Studies for Non-Toxic Strategy
Oct 9, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has published seven sub-studies that will form the basis of its non-toxic environment strategy, which is due next year. -
(ACC Mentioned) Supports NGL Pipeline Plan, Petrochemical Industry
Oct 9, 2017 | The Danville Advocate-Messenger
By Charles Gregory Higdon
In a guest column appearing on Sept. 6 in the Danville Advocate-Messenger, Mr. Tom Ellis seemed to suggest that natural gas liquids (NGLs) have no place in modern society. In fact, they play a major role in America’s economy. -
E.P.A. Announces Repeal of Major Obama-Era Carbon Emissions Rule
Oct 9, 2017 | The New York Times
By Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer
The Trump administration announced Monday that it would take formal steps to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, setting up a bitter fight over the future of America’s efforts to tackle global warming. -
EPA to Begin Repealing Obama's Landmark Climate Rule Tuesday
Oct 9, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration on Tuesday will begin repealing the Obama administration’s landmark climate change rule for power plants, a key part of the U.S. commitment to reduce emissions as part of the Paris climate agreement. -
Texas Plant to Close Under Pressure From Cheap Natural Gas
Oct 9, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
One of the largest coal-fired power plants in Texas will be shut down, its owner announced Friday, underscoring the state of play in the hard-pressed coal industry as cheap natural gas makes the fuel less viable. -
Harvey and Irma Remind Us of the Importance of Energy Infrastructure
Oct 9, 2017 | RealClearEnergy
By Craig Stevens
With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma subsided, now begins the difficult and often heart-wrenching work for those affected throughout Texas, Florida and the Southeast. Families displaced by the storms are slowly returning to survey the damage to their neighborhoods. -
Senate Confirms Elliott as PHMSA Administrator
Oct 9, 2017 | Progressive Railroading
The U.S. Senate last week confirmed Howard "Skip" Elliott to serve as the next administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). -
Rebuffing EPA, D.C. Circuit Keeps Ozone Litigation Alive
Oct 9, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A federal appeals court has rejected U.S. EPA's bid to squelch legal challenges to its handling of a key compliance milestone for the 2015 ground-level ozone standard, opting instead to freeze further proceedings for at least a month.
Industry and Association News
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Transportation and Infrastructure News
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(ACC Blog) National Nanotechnology Day: Celebrating the Possibilities of the Small
Oct 9, 2017 | American Chemistry Matters
By Jay West
It’s National Nanotechnology Day! A day for raising awareness of nanotechnology and celebrating the science of the small.
What is nanotechnology and how small is it?Nanotechnology involves the use of incredibly small pieces of matter. How small? “Nano” means a billionth of a meter. To put that in perspective, an average human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide. Therefore, a nanometer is tiny, and much smaller than the human eye can see. And yes, while nanotechnology is incredibly small in scale, that doesn’t make it unimportant, even if you haven’t dusted off a chemistry textbook recently!
Nanotechnology is used across all scientific fields, including chemistry, biology, physics, materials science and engineering, and it is at the forefront of some incredible discoveries and technological advances.
Here are a few ways nanotechnology is changing our world in 2017:
· Helping to heal spinal cord injuries: Researchers at Northwestern University have demonstrated that injection of a biodegradable nanoparticle into the bloodstream of mice can prevent the damage caused by inflammation and scarring following an initial spinal cord injury. According to the researchers, “these findings suggest that the nanoparticles potentially offer a practical treatment for human spinal cord injury.”
· Delivering fresh air: Researchers from National University of Singapore have successfully concocted a novel nanofiber solution that creates thin, see-through air filters that can remove up to 90 per cent of PM2.5 particles and may be able to achieve high air flow 2.5 times that of conventional air filters.
· Treating cancer: MIT engineers have developed a more sensitive way to reveal cancerous ovarian tumors than previously used methods. The engineers created a new test which makes use of a “synthetic biomarker” — a nanoparticle that interacts with tumor proteins—to release fragments that can be detected in a patient’s urine sample.
· Water clean-up: Thanks to the application of nanotechnology, a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota developed a sponge with mercury adsorption properties. The sponge can remove mercury contamination from tap, lake and industrial wastewater to below detectable limits.
· Tackling electronic waste (e-waste): Nanjing University researchers have modified a degradable bioplastic derived from corn starch and other natural sources with metal-organic framework nanoparticles for use in creating degradable electronic components.
Looking for more ways to celebrate nanotechnology?
The National Nanotechnology Initiative plays a critical role in coordinating research, investments and education efforts across the federal government. To celebrate National Nanotechnology Day, the National Nanotechnology Initiative and several schools, labs and organizations nationwide will be holding events to commemorate the date, including a challenge to run a #100BillionNanometers (equal to 100 meters) and a series of podcasts featuring stories from the National Nanotechnology Initiative. A full list of events for the date and updates can be found on the official NNI website and on their twitter page, @NNInanonews.
Alongside these efforts, the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Nanotechnology Panel is at the forefront of guiding the responsible development of nanotechnologies domestically and internationally and providing a scientifically sound approach to nanotechnology policy.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2017/10/national-nanotechnology-day-celebrating-the-possibilities-of-the-small/
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Oct 9, 2017 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
At every major gathering these days to talk about the health of the oceans, plastics gets a lot of attention.
The latest, the fourth Our Ocean summit in Malta Oct. 5-6, was no different.
There was Prince Charles, giving a speech to delegates about the 8 million metric tons of plastic that leak into the oceans each year.
Beyond more trash in the water, he noted that more and more wild fish caught for our tables have plastic in them.
“Faced with such damaging effects on the ocean from plastic waste, from the throwaway convenience lifestyles of many around the world, it is I believe utterly crucial that we transition to a circular economy,” he said. “A circular economy allows plastics along with many other substances to be recovered, recycled and reused, instead of created, used and then thrown away.”
As we reported a few days ago, the environmental group Ocean Conservancy used the Malta event to launch a $150 million investment fund, with participation from the plastics industry, to tackle plastic marine litter in Southeast Asia.
Ocean Conservancy, which is partnering with the American Chemistry Council in that fund, also noted the risks to human health in its blog from the conference, mentioning a study last year that found 25 percent of the fish sold in Indonesian markets contained plastic.
Or as Prince Charles told the conference: “We are very close to reaching the point where whatever wild caught fish you eat will contain plastic. Plastic is indeed now on the menu.”
The Ocean Conservancy said that Indonesia and others in the region are very interested in tackling their plastic waste problems.
Susan Ruffo, managing director of international initiatives at the Washington-based OC,wrote that she’s “encouraged that the world is waking up to the crisis of plastic waste in our ocean.”
At these gatherings, she said she sees “much-needed common sense proposals clearly backed by a lot of political will and personal concern, not only from numerous countries but also from major corporations like Dell, as well as key actors like the Closed Loop Fund, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.”
You can look through the lengthy commitments page from the conference, under the marine pollution category, and see 93 mentions of plastics in statements from countries, companies and NGOs.
They include things like the Plastics Solutions Fund, a philanthropic group that’s so far given $2.5 million to organizations with the twin goals of “reducing not only the amount of this plastic that enters the environment, but the amount that is manufactured in the first place.”
It hopes to raise $15 million total.
As well, the NGO Think Beyond Plastic said it has a partnership with California State University at Monterey Bay for a $5 million innovation center on plastic waste to “accelerate commercialization of research and innovation with a focus on plastic pollution.”
“This hub will bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, businesses, investors and consumer advocates to facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to solving this complex problem," the group said, noting it has a launch date of 2020.
France said it is “committed to ban single-use plastic cups, glasses and plates” by 2020. The U.S. outlined grant funding to help with marine waste in Asia.
And Malta, the conference host, said it was committed to a container deposit system by 2019 to raise bottle recycling rates to 70 percent, reducing the waste that gets to the ocean.
Germany endorsed extended producer responsibility systems and developing new sources of funding to pay for more effective waste management.
Companies also talked about their commitments, like Unilever planning for 25 percent recycled content plastic in its packaging by 2025.
Plastics maker Borealis launched a 4-million-euro ($4.7 million) effort to provide more money to accelerate waste management systems in Indonesia.
Of course, not all commitments become reality. But scanning the list and following the conference online, it’s another reminder of the work getting underway, and the huge efforts still needed around the world, to address the harm plastic litter causes to our seas and waters.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20171009/BLOG03/171009911/at-our-ocean-forum-its-a-serious-look-and-some-serious-money-aimed-at-plastic-waste
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EU Publishes Sub-Studies for Non-Toxic Strategy
Oct 9, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has published seven sub-studies that will form the basis of its non-toxic environment strategy, which is due next year.
The EU executive is mandated under the 7th Environment Action Programme to develop a strategy on this by 2018. A final report on the main study was published last month.
It highlighted the variety and complexity of risks posed by millions of articles used every day and the inadequacy of current EU law in the face of this. The report concluded that new strategies to prevent toxic substances from entering articles, and increased supply chain transparency, are key for achieving a non-toxic environment.
The seven sub-studies cover the following aspects:
· substitution, including grouping of chemicals and measures to support substitution;
· chemicals in products (articles) and non-toxic material cycles;
· improved protection of children and vulnerable groups from harmful exposure to chemicals;
· very persistent chemicals;
· policy means, innovation and competitiveness;
· programme on the development of new, non-/less toxic substances; and
· early warning systems for examining a non-toxic environment that is free of exposures to minimise and eliminate all exposures to hazardous substances.
They are available on the DG Environment website.
https://chemicalwatch.com/59849/eu-publishes-sub-studies-for-non-toxic-strategy
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(ACC Mentioned) Supports NGL Pipeline Plan, Petrochemical Industry
Oct 9, 2017 | The Danville Advocate-Messenger
By Charles Gregory Higdon
Dear Editor,
In a guest column appearing on Sept. 6 in the Danville Advocate-Messenger, Mr. Tom Ellis seemed to suggest that natural gas liquids (NGLs) have no place in modern society. In fact, they play a major role in America’s economy.
NGLs are naturally occurring elements that are separated from natural gas via refrigeration and distillation processes. Most people don’t realize that many products they use every day contain NGLs. The propane purchased at your local store to heat a gas grill is an NGL. That same propane can also be used in various residential, commercial and auto gas applications. Butane is another example of an NGL, which is commonly used in various gasoline blends that are routinely purchased.
Over the last few years, NGLs have become a major feedstock for the petrochemical industry, which in turn, is driving a renaissance for U.S. manufacturing. The Appalachian region contains enough feedstock to attract $35 billion in new chemical industry investment, according to an American Chemistry Council analysis.
Finally, pipelines are among the safest ways to transport these products. Demand for takeaway capacity for NGLs in the Appalachian region has increased in recent years and local markets are not yet able to absorb that capacity. Without sufficient pipeline capacity, other modes of transportation may be, and possibly already are, overburdened.
Having a pipeline of readily accessible NGLs running through our state may spur more investment from the petrochemicals industry, which creates jobs and produces the household items each of us use daily. Kinder Morgan is one of the most reputable pipeline operators in the nation, and we believe they are capable of converting and operating current pipeline resources for NGL transportation.
Charles Gregory Higdon
President, CEO
Kentucky Association of Manufacturers
http://www.amnews.com/2017/10/09/supports-ngl-pipeline-plan-petrochemical-industry/
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E.P.A. Announces Repeal of Major Obama-Era Carbon Emissions Rule
Oct 9, 2017 | The New York Times
By Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer
The Trump administration announced Monday that it would take formal steps to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, setting up a bitter fight over the future of America’s efforts to tackle global warming.
At an event in eastern Kentucky, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that his predecessors had departed from regulatory norms in crafting the Clean Power Plan, which was finalized in 2015 and would have pushed states to move away from coal in favor of sources of electricity that produce fewer carbon emissions.
“The war on coal is over,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Tomorrow in Washington, D.C., I will be signing a proposed rule to roll back the Clean Power Plan. No better place to make that announcement than Hazard, Kentucky.”
The repeal proposal, which will be filed in the Federal Register on Tuesday, fulfills a promise President Trump made to eradicate his predecessor’s environmental legacy. Eliminating the Clean Power Plan makes it less likely the United States can fulfill its promise as part of the Paris climate agreement to ratchet down emissions that are warming the planet and contributing to heat waves and sea-level rise. Mr. Trump has vowed to abandon that international accord.
In announcing the repeal, Mr. Pruitt made many of the same arguments that he had made for years to Congress and in lawsuits: that the Obama administration exceeded its legal authority in an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. (Last year, the Supreme Court blocked the rule from taking effect while courts assessed those lawsuits.) A leaked draft of the repeal proposal asserts that the country would save $33 billion by not complying with the regulation and rejects the health benefits the Obama administration had calculated from the original rule.
Coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants are responsible for about one-third of America’s carbon dioxide emissions. When the Clean Power Plan was unveiled in 2015, it was expected to cut power sector emissions 32 percent by 2030, relative to 2005. While many states are already shifting away from coal power for economic reasons, experts say scrapping the rule could slow that transition.
Environmental groups and several states plan to challenge the repeal proposal in federal courts, arguing against Mr. Pruitt’s move on both scientific and economic grounds.
Industry groups cheered the announcement, but have also indicated
that they would prefer that Mr. Pruitt replace the Clean Power Plan with a new, more modest regulation on power plants in order to blunt any court challenges. The E.P.A. is still required to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions because of a 2009 legal opinion known as the endangerment finding.
“We have always believed that there is a better way to approach greenhouse gas emissions reductions,” Karen A. Harbert, the president of the Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute said in a statement. “We welcome the opportunity for business to be at the table with the E.P.A. and other stakeholders to develop an approach that lowers emissions, preserves America’s energy advantage, and respects the bounds of the Clean Air Act.”
How does Trump plan to roll back the Clean Power Plan?
In order to regulate pollution from existing power plants, the E.P.A. has to set goals for each state based on what’s technically feasible and cost-effective. Under the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration set targets by assuming utilities could improve the efficiency of their coal plants, shift from coal to cleaner natural gas, and add more renewable energy to their grids.
But Mr. Obama’s approach was controversial, because the E.P.A. assumed utilities could reduce emissions at individual plants by taking actions outside of those plants — say, by replacing coal plants with wind farms elsewhere. Industry groups and more than two dozen states challenged this move in court, arguing that the E.P.A. can only look at cleanup measures that can be undertaken at the plants themselves.
Mr. Pruitt is proposing to repeal the Clean Power Plan on this basis. He also argued that the Obama administration overstated the benefits of its rule by factoring in the gains from curbing global warming in other countries as well as from reducing harmful air pollutants other than carbon dioxide.
If Mr. Pruitt does end up pursuing a replacement rule, it would almost certainly be confined to inside-the-fenceline measures, like upgrading coal-plant boilers. Previous E.P.A. analyses found that such upgrades would lead to a roughly 4 percent increase in efficiency at coal plants.
What does this mean for emissions?
While the repeal of the Clean Power Plan offers a reprieve for America’s coal industry, it is unlikely to halt the decline of coal altogether. Even in the absence of the rule, many utilities around the country have opted to shift to natural gas, wind and solar, driven by cost concerns and state-level policies. Many states, like California and New York, are already moving ahead of the targets set by the Clean Power Plan as they develop their own climate policies.
Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, a Democrat, noted that his state has plans to exceed the goals that had been set under the Clean Power Plan because the state is closing coal plants early and developing jobs in wind and other renewables.
“We have dramatically cleaner air and we are saving money. My question to the E.P.A. would be, ‘Which part of that don’t you like?’ ” Mr. Hickenlooper said.
A new analysis by the research firm Rhodium Group estimated that United States electricity emissions are currently on track to fall 27 to 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, roughly in the range of what the Clean Power Plan originally envisioned, even if the regulation is repealed.
But John Larsen, the author of the Rhodium Group analysis, estimated that if Mr. Obama’s policies had remained in place, as many as 21 states would have had to make deeper reductions than they are currently expected to do without the rule — including Texas, West Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and emissions most likely would have fallen further than the 32 percent originally envisioned.
“So for certain states,” Mr. Larsen wrote, “today’s announcement is a big deal.”
Experts also note that the Clean Power Plan would have prevented a rebound in coal use in case natural gas unexpectedly became more expensive or various policies to promote renewable energy were blunted. The repeal comes on the heels of a proposal by the Department of Energy to subsidize coal and nuclear plants by revamping electricity markets.
Jody Freeman, director of the environmental law program at Harvard Law School, said the Energy Department proposal combined with the Clean Power Plan repeal signals the Trump administration is putting its thumb on the scale in favor of fossil fuels.
“You see a pretty powerful message. Disavow any effort to control greenhouse gases in the power sector, and instead, intervene in the market to promote coal. It’s a wow,” she said.What happens next?
Mr. Pruitt’s proposal for repeal will now have to go through a formal public-comment period before being finalized, a process that could take months. Mr. Pruitt will also ask the public for comment on what a replacement rule should look like, but the E.P.A. has not offered a timeline.
Environmental groups and Democratic-controlled states are expected to challenge these moves on multiple fronts.
“Every step of this, from the repeal to the replacement, will involve a lot of time-consuming litigation, and we could ultimately see this end up in the Supreme Court,” said Richard L. Revesz, a professor of environmental law at New York University.
That raises the question of whether the Trump administration can craft and finalize a replacement rule by the 2020 election. Failure to do so, some industry groups worry, could allow a new administration to start over and impose a more stringent climate plan on power plants.
Partly for that reason, many states are already preparing for the prospect of tougher carbon regulations down the road.
Consider Arkansas, one of the states that challenged the Clean Power Plan in court. Ted J. Thomas, the chairman of the Arkansas Public Service commission, says that his state is nonetheless in the process of shifting from coal to cheaper natural gas. The initial rule also convinced the state to start exploring clean-energy options, like expanding wind power, promoting the use of smart meters, and developing a working group to look at carbon capture technology for coal plants.
“Even if they repeal the Clean Power Plan, or replace it with something that doesn’t require us to do very much, you still have to reckon with the fact that ultimately regulations on carbon are coming,” Mr. Thomas said. “So we need to develop options to deal with that other than sticking our heads in the sand and hoping we can just file lawsuits forever.”
“You can either be prepared or unprepared,” he added, “and that’s a pretty simple choice.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/climate/clean-power-plan.html?_r=0
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EPA to Begin Repealing Obama's Landmark Climate Rule Tuesday
Oct 9, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration on Tuesday will begin repealing the Obama administration’s landmark climate change rule for power plants, a key part of the U.S. commitment to reduce emissions as part of the Paris climate agreement.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt on Monday confirmed his plan to sign a formal proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which sought a 32 percent cut in the carbon dioxide emissions of the nation’s power sector.
Pruitt made the announcement at a coal-focused event in Hazard, Ky., alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The Obama rule was expected to significantly hurt the coal industry since coal-fired power plants are the biggest carbon emitters.
Trump has promised to help the coal industry, and he announced earlier this year that he would remove the United States from the Paris climate accord unless it was rewritten.
“Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., I’ll be signing a proposed rule to withdraw the so-called Clean Power Plan from the past administration, and thus begin the effort to withdraw that rule,” Pruitt told the Kentucky crowd, to raucous applause.
“That rule really was about picking winners and losers,” he said. “Regulatory power should not be used by any regulatory body to pick winners and losers. The past administration was unapologetic. They were using every bit of power, every bit of authority, to use the EPA to pick winners and losers in how we generate electricity in this country. And that’s wrong.”
Hazard is in the heart of Kentucky's hard-hit coal country and the event was at a mining and construction equipment business.
The proposal will start to implement one of Trump’s signature campaign promises and a top request by the fossil fuel industry and congressional Republicans to undo the rule.
In doing so, it will start to roll back the key pillar of former President Obama’s aggressive second term climate agenda, in which he sought to use executive authority to fight climate change after Congress refused to pass cap-and-trade legislation in 2010.
The Clean Power Plan was never enforced. It was put on hold by the Supreme Court in 2016 to allow litigation against it to proceed. Pruitt, who was Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general at the time, was a leader in the court fight against it.
The proposed repeal, which was leaked to the press Friday, centers on the argument that the Obama administration exceeded the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act with the rule.
“The EPA proposes to take this action because it proposes to determine that the rule exceeds its authority under the statute, that those portions of the rule which arguably do not exceed its authority are not severable and separately implementable, and that it is not appropriate for a rule that exceeds statutory authority — especially a rule of this magnitude and with this level of impact on areas of traditional state regulatory authority — to remain in existence pending a potential, successive rulemaking process,” it says.
Environmentalists have been sharply critical of Pruitt’s repeal plan.
“If Administrator Pruitt plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan, that would be a complete abdication of EPA’s legal responsibility to protect our children’s lungs from dangerous smokestack pollution and their homes from climate-destabilizing extreme weather,” Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp said last week.
The EPA will leave the door open in its repeal to replacing the rule with a much weaker version, but will not commit to doing so.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/354531-epa-to-begin-repealing-obamas-landmark-climate-rule-tuesday
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Texas Plant to Close Under Pressure From Cheap Natural Gas
Oct 9, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
One of the largest coal-fired power plants in Texas will be shut down, its owner announced Friday, underscoring the state of play in the hard-pressed coal industry as cheap natural gas makes the fuel less viable.
Texas utility Luminant said it will close the Monticello Power Plant in January after the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages its grid, approves the move.
Environmentalists had long targeted the plant as a major polluter. A 2013 report from Environment Texas said it emitted the 17th most carbon of any power plant in the country.
But the decision was made purely on economic grounds and had little to do with environmental regulations, said Allan Koenig, a spokesman for Luminant's parent company, Vistra Energy. The decision came after a yearlong study of Monticello's economic longevity, he said.
"It's purely economic," Koenig said. "The plant guys tried everything they could to keep it open, but it was a money-loser. In a competitive market, you've got to take these steps. This is a coal plant operating in a market that's flooded with cheap natural gas."
Luminant in 2011 shut down two of the three units at the plant, blaming U.S. EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. But Texas was exempted from complying with the rule, and in recent years, the utility had only been operating the plant in times of high demand or when electricity prices were high enough to make it worthwhile.
"It seems like they've been bluffing for a few years now that it was the regulations that were dragging them under when by their admission today, it's the economics," said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas. "Coal is just not competitive like it was" (Jeff Mosier, Dallas Morning News, Oct. 7). — NS
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/10/09/stories/1060063009
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Harvey and Irma Remind Us of the Importance of Energy Infrastructure
Oct 9, 2017 | RealClearEnergy
By Craig Stevens
With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma subsided, now begins the difficult and often heart-wrenching work for those affected throughout Texas, Florida and the Southeast. Families displaced by the storms are slowly returning to survey the damage to their neighborhoods. Communities face the hard task of beginning to repair and rebuild infrastructure fundamental to day-to-day life.
The damages from these storms are still being tallied. What’s evident is that the road to recovery will be long. An analysis by AccuWeather estimates the economic costs will total as much as $290 billion—a full 1.5 percent of U.S. GDP. Yet, amid the devastation, the most important story to emerge has been the resilience and solidarity with which America has responded. From the White House to the everyday heroes organizing volunteer efforts, the country’s collective response has been swift, effective and well-coordinated.
Clean-up and rebuilding must remain the top priorities for policymakers at every level. Yet, these storms also offer an important reminder about the imperative to continue to invest in the United States’ energy infrastructure. They revealed how vulnerable the country’s nascent energy security is, and how far there is to go to solidify – and diversify – the remarkable energy renaissance taking place nationwide.
There is a lot of work to be done. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. energy infrastructure a “D+” grade in its latest annual report card. Sixty percent of the country’s 2.4 million miles of oil and gas pipelines were built before 1970 when federal authorities began seriously regulating them. Even though many refineries are unequipped to process the light, sweet crude oil abundant here at home, since 1977 only one new refinery has been built—putting a greater strain on transportation lines and concentrating refining capabilities.
It will require strong public-private partnerships and considerable investment to modernize and expand the country’s energy networks. Lawmakers should use every policy lever to reduce the bureaucratic red tape and political roadblocks that for too long have discouraged construction of pipelines and refineries. Instead of treating the private sector as the enemy, regulators should bring these leaders into the fold to help shape policy, improve safety procedures and bring online new technologies.
Policymakers have an opportunity to reinforce the United States’ energy stability—and by extension the economic growth and geopolitical positions it supports—by prioritizing infrastructure. Doing so will not only bolster our energy security, it will better protect public lands and waters. It will mitigate the impact of disasters, natural or manmade, and create reliable access to affordable fuels necessary to respond to and recover from emergencies.
For its part, the private sector has made a good-faith effort to begin filling the yawning investment void. Last year, almost 40 major pipeline projects began construction. Newly operational transportation lines, like the Dakota Access Pipeline, have begun moving domestic oil and gas to markets across the country. The effect on consumers has been apparent. Following Hurricane Harvey, for example, oil and natural gas production in North Dakota spiked to an average of more than 1 million barrels per day and 1.85 billion cubic feet per day, respectively, helping create great stability and certainty in energy prices.
It’s impossible to deny the impact domestic oil and natural gas production is having. About 35 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by natural gas today. Likewise, technological developments are improving both production and consumption efficiencies. Not coincidentally, energy-related CO2 emissions fell last year, consistent with a decade-long trend that has put current levels 14 percent below those of 2006.
In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Americans from all walks of life set aside their differences to help those in need. Their example should send a message to policymakers. For too long, Washington has put barriers in the way of the country’s energy infrastructure demands, discouraging investment and ultimately putting communities at risk. It’s time for a paradigm shift. It’s time government regulators partner with the private sector to build the energy network necessary to ensure the United States’ long-term energy security.
http://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2017/10/09/harvey_and_irma_remind_us_of_the_importance_of_energy_infrastructure_110249.html
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Senate Confirms Elliott as PHMSA Administrator
Oct 9, 2017 | Progressive Railroading
The U.S. Senate last week confirmed Howard "Skip" Elliott to serve as the next administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
A 40-year veteran of the U.S. freight-rail industry, Elliott most recently served as group vice president of public safety, health, environment and security for CSX.
"We look forward to working with Skip Elliott and the team at PHMSA for the advancement of hazardous materials transportation safety," said Tom Murta, executive director of the Short Line Safety Institute. "Having worked closely with Mr. Elliott over the past 17 years, I know that he is dedicated to improving training and information exchange between the transportation industry and the emergency response community."
Elliott is a pioneer and leading advocate in developing and implementing computer-based tools to assist emergency management officials, first responders and homeland security personnel in preparing for and responding to a railroad hazardous materials incident, according to a press release issued by the White House.
Elliott also is a recipient of the Association of American Railroads' Holden-Proefrock Award for lifetime achievement in hazardous materials transportation safety.
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/people/news/Senate-confirms-Elliott-as-PHMSA-administrator--53000
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Rebuffing EPA, D.C. Circuit Keeps Ozone Litigation Alive
Oct 9, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A federal appeals court has rejected U.S. EPA's bid to squelch legal challenges to its handling of a key compliance milestone for the 2015 ground-level ozone standard, opting instead to freeze further proceedings for at least a month.
In an order released late Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the request of states and advocacy groups to put the consolidated litigation into abeyance. The court also instructed all sides to file motions to govern the case's future direction by Nov. 8.
The lawsuits, filed this summer by environmental and public groups and a coalition of Democratic-led states, challenged EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's June decision to unilaterally push back all attainment designations from this October until October 2018.
After Pruitt reversed that decision in August and withdrew the extension, EPA attorneys asked the court to dismiss the litigation as moot.
The plaintiffs, however, argued that their lawsuits should be kept alive in the event EPA reversed course again and tried anew to postpone the designations.
As an alternative to dismissal, they asked the court to put the ligation into abeyance until Nov. 8, which marks the 90-day point since EPA published the withdrawal notice in the Federal Register.
If, at that time, no one has sought to legally challenge the withdrawal notice and EPA has not attempted to delay the Oct. 1 attainment designations, parties could then file motions to govern future proceedings, lawyers for the American Lung Association and other groups wrote in an August filing.
Ozone, a lung irritant that is the main ingredient in smog, is linked to asthma attacks in children and worsened breathing problems for people with emphysema, cystic fibrosis and other chronic respiratory diseases.
EPA tightened its air quality standard for ozone in October 2015 on the grounds that the previous 75-parts-per-billion limit was too weak to adequately protect public health.
The attainment designations are significant because they start the clock for states to come up with cleanup plans for areas that are deemed out of compliance with the 70-ppb standard. States had turned in their recommendations last fall; the Clean Air Act sets the Oct. 1 deadline for EPA to make final decisions.
But while the legal fencing played out before the D.C. Circuit, Pruitt has again delayed the attainment decisions, albeit in this round without a formal announcement or explanation.
EPA aides have said only that the agency is continuing to work with states on the designations; they have not responded to questions on a timetable for releasing the final decisions.
Last week, many of the same states and advocacy groups that brought the litigation before the D.C. Circuit Court formally notified EPA of plans to bring fresh lawsuits if the agency does not act within 60 days (E&E News PM, Oct. 5).
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/10/09/stories/1060063061
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