Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 07/12/17
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(ACC Mentioned) GM’s Latest Weapon in Pickup Truck Wars: Carbon Fiber
Dec 6, 2017 | The Wall Street Journal
By Mike Colias
General Motors Co. GM +1.13% plans to use costly but lightweight carbon fiber to make the beds on premium versions of large pickup trucks, according to people familiar with the strategy, as the auto maker aims to stay competitive in the crucial category while also satisfying tightening fuel-economy standards. -
(ACC Mentioned) Top Dem to Pruitt: 'Why All The Secrecy? One Has to Wonder'
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers today his long-anticipated exercise to debate climate change science could be launched early next year as Democrats criticized him, saying EPA shows "all the signs of an agency captured by industry." -
(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Partners Appoints Exec to Oversee Ocean Debris Initiative
Dec 7, 2017 | Waste 360
Closed Loop Partners announced the appointment of Grant Collins as vice president of Closed Loop Oceans, its initiative to develop a new funding mechanism to prevent plastic waste from leaking into the world’s oceans. -
(ACC Mentioned) Plastics Makers and Recycling Stakeholders Partner for Omaha Plastics Recycling Campaign
Dec 7, 2017 | EP Magazine
By Jessica Davis
The Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) joined partners in Omaha, Nebraska, last weekend to launch a new campaign to increase the recycling of plastic wraps and bags in the city. -
Chatterjee Era Ends at FERC as Kevin McIntyre Sworn in As Chairman
Dec 7, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By David Bradley
Kevin McIntyre, an attorney with Jones Day who has served as co-head of the global energy practice, was sworn in as FERC chairman Thursday morning, bringing the regulatory panel to its full strength of five members. -
Pruitt Hints at Expanded Asbestos Review
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt today indicated EPA may expand its review of asbestos to include millions of tons of the carcinogen already in use, potentially reversing a decision from earlier this year. -
Legal Challenge to EPA's TSCA Regulations Due in January
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A coalition of 17 chemical industry groups is taking legal action in defence of the US EPA. -
Environment Ministers Commit to Action on Chemicals to Curb Pollution
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
Environment ministers from around the world have pledged to promote policies that address hazardous chemicals. -
US Healthcare Sector ‘Needs to Gather Data on Chemicals in Products’
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
US NGO Clean Production Action has made recommendations to the healthcare sector, after it identified a number of chemicals of high concern in products commonly found in paediatric patient rooms. -
Echa Round-Up
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Echa is running consultations on proposals for harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) of the following substances:2-ethylhexyl 10-ethyl-4,4-dioctyl-7-oxo-8-oxa-3,5-dithia-4-stannatetradecanoate [DOTE];3-chloro-4-(chloromethyl)-1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]pyrrolidin-2-one; andhexythiazox (ISO); trans-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-cyclohexyl-4-methyl-2-oxo-3-thiazolidine-carboxamide. -
Oil Industry Chief Warns Trump NAFTA Withdrawal Would Cost Jobs
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Doug Palmer
President Donald Trump would put U.S. energy jobs and leadership at risk if he decides to withdraw from NAFTA because Canada and Mexico won't agree to U.S. demands for changes to the pact, the head of the American Petroleum Institute said today. -
The Energy 202: Trump Has Backed Away From Regulating Methane. Now Industry Says It Will Reduce Emissions Itself.
Dec 7, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
Amid an effort by the Trump administration to ease rules on the oil and gas sector, 26 companies said they will take voluntary steps to ratchet down emissions on a potent greenhouse gas the Obama administration tried to regulate. -
LNG is About to Change Global Markets, 2 Ex-DOE Officials Say
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
The world is moving toward a global natural gas market, one that will materialize relatively quickly, according to two former Department of Energy officials. -
BLM Finalizes Delay for Methane Rule
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Pamela King and Ellen M. Gilmer
The Interior Department revealed a final plan today for giving oil and gas producers more time to comply with methane restrictions for operations on public lands. -
W.Va. Opts Out of Water Quality Permitting Again
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
West Virginia regulators yesterday opted to waive their right to review the water quality impacts of the proposed Atlantic Coast pipeline, mirroring a similar decision made last month on another project. -
Unlocking Free-Market Competition with Freight Rail Reform
Dec 7, 2017 | James Madison Institute
By Chris Jahn
Like other industries critical to our state and nation, Florida’s fertilizer industry needs reliable and cost-effective freight rail service to meet the demands of its customers. -
(ACC Mentioned) UN Meeting Calls for Global Treaty on Plastics Marine Waste
Dec 7, 2017 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
More aggressive action against plastic waste, especially to keep it from getting into the oceans, was in the driver’s seat at a major United Nations environmental meeting Dec. 6, with some countries advocating a zero tolerance approach. -
Pruitt Says EPA Will Write Replacement for Clean Power Plan
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said today that he will write a replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan, a shift from previous statements that EPA was also considering not replacing the Obama administration's rule designed to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. -
EPA Head: Anti-Greenhouse Gas Declaration Involved 'Breach of Process'
Dec 7, 2017 | The Hill
By Devin Henrey
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said Thursday the Obama administration erred when it formally declared greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant worthy of regulations in 2009. -
World’s Environment Officials Set Goal for Contamination-Free Planet
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Cheryl Hogue
Top environmental officials from around the globe pledged on Dec. 6 to improve people’s lives by cutting contamination of land, air, fresh water, and oceans. -
Will Xi Help Trump Re-Enter the Paris Agreement?
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
A breakthrough agreement between the United States and China paved the way for a global deal on climate change two years ago. -
'Everything is Melting' — Alaskans Plead for Help
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
George Carl took a short trip this week to Washington, D.C., but he's worried that his home in Alaska might be gone by the time he returns.
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(ACC Mentioned) GM’s Latest Weapon in Pickup Truck Wars: Carbon Fiber
Dec 6, 2017 | The Wall Street Journal
By Mike Colias
General Motors Co. GM +1.13% plans to use costly but lightweight carbon fiber to make the beds on premium versions of large pickup trucks, according to people familiar with the strategy, as the auto maker aims to stay competitive in the crucial category while also satisfying tightening fuel-economy standards.
The change, which the people say is expected to be implemented within two years, is likely to increase the cost of the pickups, testing GM’s ability to charge a hefty premium.
However, it would help the auto maker comply with the new regulatory standards by making the vehicles lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient.
GM also is trying to keep innovating in the face of other moves by rivals. Ford Motor Co.F +1.37% in 2014 launched aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup trucks, which GM criticized in advertisements by questioning whether aluminum is as durable as the steel that auto makers conventionally used to build work trucks.READ MORE
The Promise and Pitfalls of Carbon Fiber
Pickup sales represent about 16% of the U.S. market, but delivered the bulk of the $25 billion in operating profit Detroit’s Big Three auto makers earned in North America last year, according to analysts. J.D. Power estimates GM’s large pickups fetch $43,220 on average, up about 30% from five years ago, but below the $45,000 transactions on Ford’s F-Series.
“I think you’re going to see GM go all out on this truck,” said Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific Inc. “It’s a fight to keep these products relevant in a changing regulatory environment. They can’t afford to have a miss.”
Carbon fiber, which today is reserved mostly for exotic sports cars, could deliver an advantage to GM because it is significantly stronger than steel or aluminum, but also far lighter. The composite, however, is much costlier and more complicated to produce than other materials, adding pressure to Detroit’s effort to charge more for products that already have risen well into luxury-car territory.Shedding PoundsUse of lightweight materials like plastics, which include carbon fiber, and aluminum is expected to grow.
GM will unveil redesigned versions of its next-generation full-size pickup trucks—the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra—in coming weeks, and will start selling those models at dealerships next autumn, without a carbon-fiber box available, the people said. The carbon-fiber pickup box is under development and expected to be offered on higher-priced pickup trucks in late 2019, the people said. Plans could change if the project hits technical or cost hurdles, the people said.
A GM spokesman declined to discuss future product plans.
Development of the new trucks slated for sale next year—along with several large SUVs such as the Chevy Suburban that will use the same underpinnings—consumed a few billion dollars and took several years. They will use a patchwork of materials to balance cost and regulatory concerns, including aluminum doors and a high-strength steel cabin, the people said.
GM and Ford in recent years have joined with carbon-fiber producers to accelerate its readiness for applications in the broader market. GM and Tokyo-based Teijin Ltd. teamed up in 2011, for instance, and Ford entered a joint venture with carbon-fiber manufacturer DowAksa in 2015.
GM sells about 800,000 full-size pickups annually, and its use of carbon fiber, even if initially confined to higher-priced models, could push broader adoption in the auto industry.
Trucks represent a unique challenge for Detroit. Buyers expect ample power to haul boats and construction gear, but regulators are demanding more efficient designs over the next seven years to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve fuel economy. That thinking underpinned Ford’s use of aluminum for the market-leading F-Series, which Environmental Protection Agency officials have said they see as already nearly meeting 2025 fuel-economy standards.
GM plans to add other features to its trucks to help hit fuel-economy targets, including a new diesel engine and hybrid version, the people said.
Auto makers have been using steel and aluminum in large quantities for more than a century. Carbon-fiber production, by contrast, involves a painstaking weaving of carbon into a fabric, which is combined using a glue-like chemical and hardened into parts.
Carbon fiber is at least 50-75% lighter than steel and 20-50% lighter than aluminum, depending on the type, according to Ducker Worldwide, a materials consultancy that works with auto makers. It would improve dent resistance and give GM a differentiating feature in the fierce realm of truck marketing, said Richard Schultz, a metals expert at Ducker.
GM’s use “would overshadow any other use of carbon fiber in the auto industry if they could pull that off,” Mr. Schultz said. Because the process requires expensive equipment and takes much longer than making stamped metal or aluminum, GM likely will have fully formed parts shipped from a supplier to its truck plants, he said.
GM has experimented with plastics on pickup beds before. In 2001 it offered a pickup-truck box made of a composite material, though not carbon fiber, as an $850 option on the Silverado. But it was discontinued in 2003 after being hampered by quality problems and sales fell far short of targets, according to industry researcher Wardsauto.com.
Some high-end cars already use substantial amounts of carbon fiber including Ford’s $450,000 GT supercar, BMW AG’s i3 electric vehicle and Audi AG’s R8.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gms-latest-weapon-in-pickup-truck-wars-carbon-fiber-1512565200
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(ACC Mentioned) Top Dem to Pruitt: 'Why All The Secrecy? One Has to Wonder'
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers today his long-anticipated exercise to debate climate change science could be launched early next year as Democrats criticized him, saying EPA shows "all the signs of an agency captured by industry."
Appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Pruitt said EPA's work on his "red team, blue team" review of climate science is still ongoing. Nevertheless, he said, the exercise's public debut could come as soon as January.
"That's an ongoing review internally, and it's something we hope to do," Pruitt said at today's hearing. "That would be a process where we would focus on objective, transparent real-time review of questions and answers around the issue of CO2."
Pruitt added, "We may be able to get there as early as January next year."
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) asked Pruitt for his thoughts on EPA's 2009 endangerment finding against carbon dioxide. The administrator has been under pressure from critics of climate science to reverse the finding, which serves as the basis of the agency's climate regulations.
Pruitt criticized the process that produced the finding, saying it was rushed under the Obama administration and took its work from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
"The work done in 2009 was accelerated by the agency. In fact, there was something done in 2009 that in my estimation has never been done since and has not been before that event," Pruitt said. "There was a breach of process that occurred in 2009."
Under Pruitt, EPA has begun to roll back the Clean Power Plan, the Obama-era regulation to curb power plants' carbon emissions. Pruitt told the subcommittee EPA would introduce a replacement rule.
Lawmakers have pushed repeatedly for the EPA chief's appearance today. Pruitt last testified before Congress in June, when he appeared before House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees to discuss the agency's budget plan.
But Pruitt's testimony was limited to just an hour this morning so he could rush off to attend a White House meeting with Republican senators on biofuels. He's expected to return to Capitol Hill this afternoon to finish the hearing.
New York Rep. Paul Tonko, the subcommittee's top Democrat, elicited groans from the hearing crowd as he made a pun on Pruitt's monthslong absence before Congress.
"I fully expected you, Mr. Administrator, as a proud Oklahoman, would have been here Sooner," Tonko joked, referring to a nickname for Oklahomans.
Republicans, too, expressed disappointment that Pruitt had to take a break from the hearing.
Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-Ill.) said the unusual schedule should give members time to ask questions of the EPA boss.
"We have come to an agreement, which we understand is not ideal, but gives members maximum flexibility to personally question the administrator about the agency's mission," Shimkus said.
The chairman of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), said lawmakers wanted to discuss the administrator's plans for EPA, which Pruitt has heralded as a return to the agency's core mission after what he has termed overreach by the prior administration.
"I expect that 'back to basics' is not an abdication of environmental protection, but rather a rededication," Walden said.Dems take their shots
Democrats, meanwhile, recited a litany of complaints about Pruitt's time at EPA, including not at first releasing his public calendar, traveling on charter jets and building a secure phone booth in his office.
"The stories coming from the agency paint a pretty bleak picture," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member on the full Energy and Commerce panel. "And why all the secrecy? One has to wonder."
Tonko said it seemed EPA has "all the signs of an agency captured by industry," given Pruitt's moves to roll back several of the agency's regulations. The congressman also took issue with the EPA chief's order to bar scientists receiving agency grants from serving on its advisory committees.
Pruitt argued in favor of the ban, saying some of EPA's outside advisers had received millions in grants from the agency.
"That causes a perception or an appearance of a lack of independence," Pruitt said, noting that the agency told its advisers they could give up their grants to continue to serve on EPA's boards.
Pallone asked several questions of Pruitt regarding Nancy Beck, a top EPA political appointee, formerly of the American Chemistry Council, who has helped craft some of the agency's chemical safety rules this year.
Pruitt told the lawmaker he would provide Beck's ethics documents as well as other records related to her work at EPA.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing's break, Pallone and Tonko criticized the three-hour intermission. Pallone called the setup "pretty outrageous."
Nevertheless, the New Jersey Democrat said having Pruitt appear before the subcommittee in some fashion was a sign of progress, noting the EPA chief has promised to cough up records regarding Beck.
"The fact that he was here and we were able to ask questions, I think we actually got information," Pallone said.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068411
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(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Partners Appoints Exec to Oversee Ocean Debris Initiative
Dec 7, 2017 | Waste 360
Closed Loop Partners announced the appointment of Grant Collins as vice president of Closed Loop Oceans, its initiative to develop a new funding mechanism to prevent plastic waste from leaking into the world’s oceans. Closed Loop Oceans is a collaborative initiative in partnership with Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance, Closed Loop Partners, 3M, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, The Coca Cola Co., the American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council.
Research indicates that the majority of plastic debris originates from five fast growing economies in Asia–Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China. As a result, the initiative will focus on galvanizing investment in waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia.
Collins, who has spent over two decades in the international capital and commodities markets as a financier and a lawyer, joins Closed Loop Partners from Charlotte Square Consulting, where he focused on the development of innovative risk management and investment products with ethical or socially responsible objectives.
“With his multidisciplinary expertise in a broad range of developing economies, particularly those in Asia, as well as his deep knowledge of various investment products,” Rob Kaplan, managing partner of Closed Loop Partners, said in a statement. “Grant is ideally positioned to lead this complex and impactful initiative to bring capital market solutions to bear on a global challenge—improving environmental, social, and economic outcomes across the region.”
“I am delighted to be joining Closed Loop Partners,” Collins said in a statement. “And to have the opportunity of contributing to the development of a funding strategy that will facilitate new sources of public and private investment in Southeast Asia’s waste management and recycling ecosystem while also demonstrating positive investment returns and tangible environmental impact.”
The initiative was launched at the Our Ocean 2017 conference, a global gathering of world leaders to address some of the world’s most pressing ocean challenges. This initiative is designed to fund waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia, with a focus on investments to improve collection, sorting and recycling markets.
http://www.waste360.com/plastics/closed-loop-partners-appoints-exec-oversee-ocean-debris-initiative
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Dec 7, 2017 | EP Magazine
By Jessica Davis
The Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) joined partners in Omaha, Nebraska, last weekend to launch a new campaign to increase the recycling of plastic wraps and bags in the city. The campaign is part of the Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP), a public-private partnership that promotes recycling of plastic wraps and bags.
Representatives from the FFRG, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and First Star Fiber material recovery facility (MRF) were in attendance to educate consumers about the campaign and encourage them to recycle plastic materials at participating retail and grocery stores. The goal is to help the city divert more plastics from landfills.
The WRAP launch coincided with a promotional event for the Hefty Energy Bag Program, which allows consumers to separate their non-recycled plastics from their waste so that the plastics can be collected at the MRF and converted into fuel. The city has participated in the Energy Bag Program for more than a year.
“We’re thrilled to work with our partners in Omaha to educate consumers about recycling plastic wraps and bags,” said Shari Jackson, director of film recycling for ACC. “Recycling plastic wraps and bags at retail drop-off locations instead of through curbside collection programs helps ensure that this material does not damage equipment at the local MRF. Moreover, recycling plastic wraps and bags at grocery and retail locations helps keep the material clean and dry, which is critical to maintaining quality for recycling.”
People in Omaha and nationwide can recycle the following clean and dry plastics at participating stores: plastic bags such grocery bags, produce bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags, and food storage bags (even sealable food bags and bags with “zippers”); plastic wraps from beverage cases, diapers, bathroom tissue, and paper towels; bubble wrap and shipping pillows. Residents can recycle any thin, flexible plastic wrap labeled with a #2, #4, or the How2Recycle™ store drop-off label.
These materials can then be recycled into new products such as new bags and packaging or durable lumber that can be used for backyard decks, fences, and benches.
https://eponline.com/articles/2017/12/07/plastics-makers-and-recycling-stakeholders-partner-for-omaha-plastics-recycling-program.aspx
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Chatterjee Era Ends at FERC as Kevin McIntyre Sworn in As Chairman
Dec 7, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By David Bradley
Kevin McIntyre, an attorney with Jones Day who has served as co-head of the global energy practice, was sworn in as FERC chairman Thursday morning, bringing the regulatory panel to its full strength of five members.
McIntyre, a Republican, has practiced law at Jones Day for most of his nearly 30-year legal career. He is a graduate of San Diego State University and Georgetown Law.
President Trump said in July he intended to nominate McIntyre to a term expiring June 30, and an additional term expiring June 30, 2023. The White House sent the nomination to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in August.
TheSenate confirmed the nominations of McIntyre and Richard Glick Nov. 2. Glick, a Democrat, was sworn in Nov. 29 to serve the remainder of a five-year term expiring June 30, 2022.
The swearing in brings to a close the brief tenure of Neil Chatterjee as acting chairman, a post he had held since August. During that time, Chatterjee oversaw the clearing of a backlogof cases that had built up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission beginning in early February, when then-Chairman Norman Bay resigned, leaving the Commission without a quorum and, therefore, unable to vote on major issues.
Chatterjee was also at the helm when the Department of Energy (DOE) filed its controversial notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). FERC is expected to take action on the NOPR next week. Chatterjee will remain at FERC as a Commissioner.
The NOPR would allow "for the recovery of costs of fuel-secure generation units that make our grid reliable and resilient," according to DOE Secretary Rick Perry, and would reward units that have a 90-day supply of fuel on site.
McIntyre's attitude toward the proposal hasn't been made clear, though he said in testimony during his confirmation process that "FERC is not an entity whose role includes choosing fuels for the generation of electricity. FERC's role, rather, is to ensure that the markets for the electricity generated by those facilities proceed in accordance with law."
With the swearing in completed, the five-member panel includes three Republicans (McIntyre, Chatterjee and Robert Powelson) and two Democrats (Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick).
The last time FERC had a full complement of five members was October 2015.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/112671-chatterjee-era-ends-at-ferc-as-kevin-mcintyre-sworn-in-as-chairman
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Pruitt Hints at Expanded Asbestos Review
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt today indicated EPA may expand its review of asbestos to include millions of tons of the carcinogen already in use, potentially reversing a decision from earlier this year.
EPA in July said it would not consider "legacy" uses and disposal while reviewing asbestos under the newly reformed Toxic Substances Control Act, instead limiting the review to “manufacturing, processing and distribution.”
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s ranking member, said at a hearing with Pruitt today that he is concerned that by not considering use and disposal, “you’ll produce a risk assessment that fails to capture the risk to workers and ordinary Americans, and in my opinion will not be scientifically valid, and will not be protective of public health.”
“I think you’ve raised a very valid concern,” Pruitt replied. “In fact, I had a conversation last week about this very issue with the chemical office. I think you raise a very, very meaningful concern.”
Pallone said he hopes to see action on the matter.
“I think it’s a very important factor that we need to consider and it’s something I’ve already raised with the office that’s overseeing this,” Pruitt said.
Asbestos is no longer produced in the U.S., and Pallone said the only remaining source of imports is Russia. President Trump has famously said that asbestos, once a popular flame retardant used in building construction, is "100 percent safe, once applied," despite OSHA's declaration that there is no safe level.
WHAT’S NEXT: EPA is expected to issue a "problem formulation" document soon that could change the scope of the asbestos review, and will take public comment before proceeding with the risk evaluation.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy
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Legal Challenge to EPA's TSCA Regulations Due in January
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A coalition of 17 chemical industry groups is taking legal action in defence of the US EPA. The coalition has been allowed to intervene in lawsuits seeking court review of the agency's regulations for implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act amendments.
At least one of the cases will be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California. Briefs in that case are to be filed in January and February.
Several NGOs filed petitions on 10 and 11 August for court review of the agency's final framework rules for prioritisation and risk evaluation. These have been sharply criticised by NGOs and Democratic lawmakers since they were published in June.
The petitions argue that the regulations deviate drastically from the proposals set out in the Obama administration's final days, and do not faithfully implement the 2016 TSCA amendments.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed an additional petition on 1 September asking for review of the agency's inventory notification rule. It argued it does not meet the requirements of the new TSCA and allows companies to inappropriately conceal information about chemicals whose identity they claim is confidential business information (CBI).
A coalition of industry organisations moved to intervene in those actions, acknowledging that it would go against their interests for the NGOs to succeed in changing the regulations. The various courts involved all agreed to that request between September and November.Circuit courts
Petitioners challenging implementation of federal laws can file lawsuits with any of the courts of appeals that have jurisdiction over geographical regions of the country. Where to file a suit can be a strategic decision in some cases.
Parallel lawsuits challenging the prioritisation and risk evaluation rules were filed in the Second, Fourth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. The inventory notification petition was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the capital.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned the risk evaluation lawsuits to the California-based Ninth Circuit, while the prioritisation lawsuits were assigned to the Fourth Circuit court, located in Richmond, Virginia, and covering the mid-Atlantic region. The EPA then asked the Ninth Circuit to transfer the risk evaluation case to the Fourth Circuit so the two challenges can be tried simultaneously. Their opponents made the opposite request, seeking to try both cases in California.
The Ninth Circuit on 27 November refused without comment to relinquish the risk evaluation case, and set deadlines of 23 January to receive formal written arguments from the plaintiffs and 22 February for the EPA and its industry supporters.
The Fourth Circuit announced on 21 November that it would defer a ruling until after the Ninth Circuit acted, hinting that it might agree to send the prioritisation suit to California.
The venue for the inventory notification case has not been challenged, so it will be heard in Washington, DC. That court has not set a schedule.
https://chemicalwatch.com/62137/legal-challenge-to-epas-tsca-regulations-due-in-january
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Environment Ministers Commit to Action on Chemicals to Curb Pollution
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
Environment ministers from around the world have pledged to promote policies that address hazardous chemicals.
A ministerial declaration – which sets out a commitment to work towards a pollution-free planet – was adopted yesterday, the final day of the third UN Environment Assembly (Unea3).
The global meeting – which took place in Nairobi this week – had the overarching theme of pollution.
In the declaration, the ministers say that it is both "inexcusable and preventable that tens of thousands of chemicals are used in everyday objects and applied in the field without proper testing, labelling or tracking.
"Far too many communities lack either information about the chemicals and hazardous substances they use or are exposed to, or the capacity to manage them safely," it continues.
With this agreed, the declaration says the ministers will promote the adoption of policies and approaches, such as those for "the environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste, including the use of integrated lifecycle, value chains and sustainable chemistry".
In addition, the meeting adopted a Resolution on the 'environment and health', which is a call to action on harmful chemicals. In particular it urges:UN member countries and regions to intensify efforts to achieve the 2020 goal for the environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste throughout their lifecycle;countries signed up to the Basel, Minamata, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions to implement them and invites those that have not to consider doing so; andencourages governments and relevant actors to develop, adopt and implement effective measures, national legislation/regulations aimed at minimising the risks posed by chemicals, including heavy metals, endocrine disruptors or pesticides, in particular to pregnant women, infants and children.
In preparation for the meeting, UN Environment executive director, Erik Solheim, set out his vision to tackle the rise in global pollution in a report, which outlines measures to address, what he calls a "hard-hitting target", hazardous chemicals. Accelerating chemicals management
On the first day of the meeting, a side event was held, which discussed ways of accelerating the sound management of chemicals and waste. On the panel, Friedrich Barth, managing director of the recently launched International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3), said that it would be a transformation of business models, and the support of small start-ups developing innovative chemicals and products, that will drive this.
"I'm not saying you don't need legislation and economic incentives but the new business models will be core to a more sustainable world," said Mr Barth.
He said that part of the ISC3 work will be to assess whether chemicals being developed by innovative start-up companies are "fully sustainable", taking into account all areas of environment, health and society. He added that this may evolve into a ranking of such businesses to highlight the best.
Agreeing, Rolph Payet, secretariat of the UN's Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, said: "We should be stimulating, as much as possible, start-up companies".
The relationship, he said, between the consumer and the private sector should also be further explored. "Many consumers are now very interested in chemicals in products found in their homes."Women and pollution
Meanwhile, on day two of the event, a network of women ministers and leaders for the environment met to discuss and develop measures that tackle the impact pollution has on different genders. The members and partners made recommendations on how to implement action over the next two years.
Outlining the outcomes of the session, Carole Dieschbourg, Luxembourg's minister for the environment said that one of the recommendations is to improve access to information related to gender and chemical safety, and support studies with "gender disaggregated data" on exposure and impacts of chemicals on different groups of women and men.
"There is a need to develop data on inaction to increase political will to take action," she said.
The network also suggested support on "quick-win pollution prevention efforts", such as phasing out single-use plastic and eliminating harmful chemicals from products, particularly personal hygiene products.
In line with this, a global partnership on women, chemical safety and sustainable development, run by the Swedish government, Unep and the NGO Ipen is being established.
It was agreed that Unea-4 will be held again in Nairobi in March 2019.
https://chemicalwatch.com/62357/environment-ministers-commit-to-action-on-chemicals-to-curb-pollution
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US Healthcare Sector ‘Needs to Gather Data on Chemicals in Products’
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
US NGO Clean Production Action has made recommendations to the healthcare sector, after it identified a number of chemicals of high concern in products commonly found in paediatric patient rooms.
In a recently released report, the CPA – which oversees the Chemical Footprint Project – says that for healthcare organisations to measure the chemical footprint of products used there, it needs to identify:products to evaluate for chemicals of high concern (CoHCs);annual usage of those products purchased; anda list of CoHCs.
It should also:ask suppliers which products contain the chemicals; andcompile a list of paediatric products that do and do not contain them.
It also identified two key additional research needs: to identify alternative products that do not contain CoHCs; and, within product categories where some products contained them and others did not, gather data on their specific end uses and determine whether they can be substituted without "offsetting required levels of performance".
"With these data in hand, healthcare organisations can measure their progress in reducing their chemical footprint," the report says.
CoHCs were defined as substances with potential to cause adverse health effects to people or the environment, and the sector has prioritised them for reduction. These include the carcinogenic and reproductive/developmental toxicants on the California Proposition 65 list and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances.Product evaluation
The CPA says that its evaluation of products used in paediatric patient rooms, demonstrates how healthcare organisations can measure their chemical footprint at the departmental level.
It first identified paediatric products with moderate to high potential of exposure and then surveyed the suppliers concerning CoHCs. Of the 62 suppliers surveyed, 50 replied with data on 253 products.
The products covered four categories:medical supplies (185 products);personal care products (50 products);furnishings (11 products); andcleaning or disinfecting (seven products).
Of the 253 products evaluated, 114 contained CoHCs (45%), such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, bisphenol A, certain PFCs and the phthalates DIDP, DBP and DEHP, many of which are regulated under the EU's REACH Regulation.
The report says that in the medical supplies category, IV products, enteral feeding products, respiratory therapy products and catheters had the greatest number of products containing CoHCs.
Of the 50 personal care products, 16 (32%) contained one or more CoHC. The three surface disinfectants surveyed contained antibacterials/antimicrobials, and a cloth used with the disinfectants included the Prop 65 chemical, titanium dioxide.
The furnishings category included cribs, crib mattresses, beds, bed mattresses and other patient furniture. In total, 11 products were included in the survey, with all of the products except crib mattresses containing the chemicals.
The report says that with alternative products identified that do not contain CoHCs, healthcare organisations will have the information they need to replace products. They "will be able to engage suppliers in evaluating, selecting and purchasing alternative products ... while meeting performance and price requirements."
A step along this path, it continues, would be to set goals for reducing the chemical footprint by a percentage or number of products a year.
https://chemicalwatch.com/62366/us-healthcare-sector-needs-to-gather-data-on-chemicals-in-products
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Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical Watch
CLH consultationsEcha is running consultations on proposals for harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) of the following substances:2-ethylhexyl 10-ethyl-4,4-dioctyl-7-oxo-8-oxa-3,5-dithia-4-stannatetradecanoate [DOTE];3-chloro-4-(chloromethyl)-1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]pyrrolidin-2-one; andhexythiazox (ISO); trans-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-cyclohexyl-4-methyl-2-oxo-3-thiazolidine-carboxamide.
The consultations close on 2 February 2018.Echa to move headquarters in 2020
The agency says it will move into a new development in a former shipyard in Helsinki city centre at the start of 2020.Holiday closing dates
Echa will be closed from 23 December until 2 January.
The closure will affect the availability of the dossier submission and communication tool REACH-IT and support through contact forms.
REACH-IT will close on Friday 22 December at 22:00 Helsinki time (EET) and reopen on Wednesday 27 December at 10:00 for three days. It will close again on Friday 29 December at 22:00 and open for regular hours on Wednesday 3 January at 10:00.
The biocides submission tool, R4BP 3, and the IT tool for Pic notifications, ePIC, will remain open.
Any questions submitted though contact forms or applications through R4BP 3, will be processed from 3 January.
https://chemicalwatch.com/62346/echa-round-up
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Oil Industry Chief Warns Trump NAFTA Withdrawal Would Cost Jobs
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Doug Palmer
President Donald Trump would put U.S. energy jobs and leadership at risk if he decides to withdraw from NAFTA because Canada and Mexico won't agree to U.S. demands for changes to the pact, the head of the American Petroleum Institute said today.
"The natural gas, oil and refined products industry support efforts to modernize NAFTA, which will enhance North America's role as a global energy leader," Jack Gerard, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said during a discussion on the pact hosted by the Washington International Trade Association.
"However, if a modernization agreement cannot be reached, the administration must retain its commitment to the current trade agreement," Gerard said, joining a growing chorus of industry leaders worried that Trump might follow through on repeated threats to pull out of the pact.
Trump would also jeopardize U.S. energy jobs by weakening NAFTA's investment protections, Gerard continued, referring to U.S. proposals that would reportedly allow countries to opt out of a binding investor-state dispute settlement process.
Those proposals reflects a view in the Trump administration that binding dispute settlement decisions impinge on national sovereignty. However, Gerard dismissed that as a "philosophical" argument that carries little weight with energy companies, who put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk in foreign projects.
With the North American region on the verge of energy independence by 2020, the United States, Canada and Mexico should be moving to strengthen ties, not potentially weaken them, Gerard argued.
NAFTA recently enacted reform to allow foreign and private investment in its energy sector for the first time in more than 75 years. A Trump decision to withdraw from NAFTA could encourage Mexico to favor other sources of foreign investment, such as China, over the United States, he said.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Dec 7, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
Amid an effort by the Trump administration to ease rules on the oil and gas sector, 26 companies said they will take voluntary steps to ratchet down emissions on a potent greenhouse gas the Obama administration tried to regulate.
The week, the American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil and gas lobbying group in Washington, announced the launch of a program aimed at reducing emissions of methane from oil and natural gas production.
"The program overall is set up to continuously improve the environmental performance for onshore operators throughout the country through the process of learning, collaborating and taking action," said Erik Milito, director of upstream and industry operations for API. "This is a very robust program."
However, some environmental groups called the initiative, titled The Environmental Partnership, too little, too late given the industry’s embrace of Trump’s deregulatory agenda.
“It’s somewhat amazing that the industry hasn’t already put forward its own standard,” said Chase Huntley, director of energy and climate at The Wilderness Society.
Oil and gas firms participating in the program, which includes heavyweights like Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil onshore subsidiary XTO Energy, have agreed to cut pollution by monitoring and repairing leaks and replacing or retrofitting “high-bleed” pneumatic controllers, identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a top spot for the release of methane."It's a very targeted, surgical approach," Milito said.
Methane is between 28 and 36 times more effective than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere over a 100-year time period, according to the EPA. The measures are also meant to curb the release of volatile organic compounds, which can act as a precursor to ground-level ozone, a component of smog linked to heart and lung problems.
The voluntary program, in which 23 of the top 40 U.S. natural gas producers by volume are participating, focuses on the process of producing natural gas, not the final product — that is, not on the amount of methane actually released into the atmosphere. Under the program, API will publicly report on its progress, with the first report coming in 2019.
Energy firms have a financial incentive to work together, as they are under this program, to capture as much methane as possible. Because methane is the main component of natural gas and can be burned for fuel, every molecule of methane emitted is lost energy — and lost revenue.
The Obama administration, through rules issued by the EPA and the Interior Department, attempted to rein in methane emissions. But Trump has put both agencies’ policies under review, a move API and other industry players welcomed.
For example, the Bureau of Land Management, finalized a rule in late 2016 designed to curb the practice on public lands of venting and flaring — or burning off some gas as it arises from a natural gas well — that the new API program leaves unaddressed.
After Congress narrowly voted against repealing the BLM rule, Interior decided to take action itself. On Friday, Interior will formally announce a two-year delay in the implementation of that rule, according to a Federal Register filing.
“We suspect the timing is not coincidental with the administration’s next step of seeking to significantly revise the rule,” Huntley said of API’s announcement.
The launch of API’s program follows a similar announcement earlier this month by eight large oil firms, including Exxon, BP and Shell, that they would significantly shrink the amount of methane emitted across the natural gas supply chain.
“For years, many in industry have argued against government action to address their climate impact, touting voluntary corporate pollution reductions as a substitute for regulations,” Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental group that helped those firms develop that plan, wrote in a blog post.
EDF says there is one important difference between the two initiatives: Their plan emphasizes that “regulations are needed," while API's does not. "We're looking at this outside of the regulatory scope," API's Milito said.
“The last several months have produced a number of good examples of what leadership in reducing methane looks like,” said Matt Watson, EDF’s associate vice president of climate and energy. “At a time when API is aggressively putting its full weight into tearing down federal methane rules, this weak initiative does little to show that API is serious about tackling the methane problem.”
The divide: Compliance with regulations is more costly for independent operators extracting gas domestically than it is for multinationals like Exxon, BP and Shell. In general, while industry giants may prefer watered-down rules, smaller players are more likely to favor little to no regulation at all.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017/12/07/the-energy-202-trump-has-backed-away-from-regulating-methane-now-industry-says-it-will-reduce-emissions-itself/5a28315030fb0469e883fa5f/?utm_term=.d3352a84d2a4
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LNG is About to Change Global Markets, 2 Ex-DOE Officials Say
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
The world is moving toward a global natural gas market, one that will materialize relatively quickly, according to two former Department of Energy officials.
Melanie Kenderdine and Joseph Hezir, who worked at DOE under the Obama administration, are now with the think tank Energy Futures Initiative. They see the U.S. shale gas revolution as upending world natural gas trading, but caution that the rise of gas could be cut short by the growing popularity of renewable energy generation.
The two experts yesterday mused about the future of the natural gas market in the United States and abroad to an audience of mostly private-equity energy investors, gathered here for the annual year-end Privcap Game Change: Energy conference.
"By 2020, LNG volumes will exceed pipeline volumes of gas for the first time in the history of gas," Kenderdine said. U.S. LNG exports with no fixed destination are "contributing to the development of a global gas market," she said.
The result should be the end of three regional gas markets — North America, Europe and Asia — and the emergence of natural gas as a globally traded fungible commodity, one in which U.S. gas competes well, thanks to the low cost of supply and the widening of the Panama Canal.
New LNG export capacity is coming online mainly from the United States and Australia, but there are several other projects in the works globally. Observers, including the two DOE speakers, see LNG supply growth exceeding demand growth in the near term, pressuring gas prices. North America stands to gain anyway, given the relatively cheaper sources of gas.
Post-2020, Hezir and Kenderdine said, their research suggests no new LNG export capacity being built, given the forthcoming market saturation, nor do they see a huge increase in domestic U.S. gas demand helping to underpin the natural gas industry. This is because, despite the shift away from coal, renewable generation from sources like wind and solar is likely to gain market share at a faster pace.
"Renewables continue to grow very rapidly," Hezir explained, pointing to studies conducted both at DOE and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Next-generation nuclear power production may affect gas demand also, he added, though he said "that's several decades away."
A study the two helped to conduct at MIT forecasts that natural gas and renewables will crowd out coal in electricity generation almost entirely by 2030 or 2035. The study also predicts trouble for natural gas beyond those years as future governments deem gas too carbon-intensive. That could change with the advent of viable carbon capture and storage technology, Kenderdine offered.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068351
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BLM Finalizes Delay for Methane Rule
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Pamela King and Ellen M. Gilmer
The Interior Department revealed a final plan today for giving oil and gas producers more time to comply with methane restrictions for operations on public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management's final rule postpones by one year many of the requirements of the 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention Rule. The delay, set for publication in tomorrow's Federal Register, doesn't substantively change the earlier rule.
Interior's suspension of the Obama-era rule fits into a broader review of regulations that the Trump administration says "potentially burden" domestic energy production.
"As we strengthen America's energy independence, we need to make sure that regulations do not unnecessarily encumber energy production, constrain economic growth, or prevent job creation," Brian Steed, BLM's deputy director for policy and programs, said in a statement. "By holding off on certain requirements, the BLM now has sufficient time to review the 2016 final rule while avoiding any compliance costs on industry that may not be needed after the review."
Trade groups representing the oil and gas firms that would have had to start complying with many parts of the Obama rule by Jan. 17, 2018, welcomed the extension.
"This action is a good step in providing our member companies some much-needed certainty as they plan their capital expenditure budgets for the upcoming year," Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President and CEO Barry Russell said in a statement. "It is never the desire of any company to waste a valuable product that could otherwise be brought to market and sold to the American consumers."
BLM's delay comes on the heels of the American Petroleum Institute's introduction of a voluntary methane reduction program. The initiative takes effect Jan. 1 (Energywire, Dec. 6).
Companies that have signed on to the API program say it is not an attempt to avoid federal regulation. Environmental groups said the voluntary push pales in comparison with methane controls introduced by BLM and U.S. EPA. It's even weaker than Exxon Mobil Corp.'s self-imposed standard, they said (Climatewire, Sept. 27).
"The delay of the BLM methane waste rule is unwise and unnecessary," said Wayne Warmack, owner and operator of the Double W Ranch in Colorado and a former oil worker. "In fact, Exxon Mobil has already committed to complying with the BLM rule, and all companies should be held to that same standard."
Groups that backed the Obama rule knocked the suspension for its climate and financial implications.
"Today the Department of the Interior finalized a rule that takes taxpayers back 30 years in the battle to stop the waste of natural gas, and get taxpayers a fair return," Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander said in a statement.Industry's sustained assault
BLM's delay isn't the first attempt to gut the 2016 rule. Late last year, states and industry groups filed lawsuits to fight the regulation. That litigation is one of several courtroom actions targeting both attempts by former President Obama's BLM to regulate methane leaks and President Trump's BLM to undo those actions.
When Trump took office, lawmakers wielded the little-known Congressional Review Act to scrap 15 rules introduced in the twilight of the Obama administration.
In May, a resolution to kill the 2016 BLM methane rule came to a vote on the Senate floor. The measure failed without the support of a simple majority.
Just a month later, BLM proposed to indefinitely halt provisions of the rule that had yet to take effect — without engaging in a public notice and comment period.
A California district court struck down that move Oct. 4, the same day BLM first revealed the suspension strategy that takes effect 30 days from tomorrow.
The Trump administration was under the gun to finalize the delay. Oil and gas operators, which have opposed the regulation in court since its 2016 release, have pressured BLM to wrap up its rulemaking process quickly. The first phase of the Obama rule is already in effect, and the next, more costly requirements were set to kick in next month — giving heartburn to drillers unsure of whether they would be required to comply.
Lawyers for the IPAA and Western Energy Alliance have expressed frustration about the long process, noting that they've been on a regulatory roller coaster after multiple failed attempts to sideline the rule through other measures.
In recent court filings in Wyoming, the industry groups asked to fast-track consideration of their case against the Obama rule. The Trump administration pushed back, seeking to avoid continued legal action in light of the ongoing rulemaking process. After BLM promised to complete the delay by Dec. 8, the court sided with the government, agreeing that finalization of the delay "may very well moot the Petitions for Review now before the Court."
Groups supporting the Obama rule are expected to challenge BLM's latest move in court. Environmental lawyers this morning said they were reviewing the decision and coordinating with their partners on next steps.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068403
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W.Va. Opts Out of Water Quality Permitting Again
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
West Virginia regulators yesterday opted to waive their right to review the water quality impacts of the proposed Atlantic Coast pipeline, mirroring a similar decision made last month on another project.
The state's Department of Environmental Protection told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it would not require the Atlantic Coast pipeline, proposed to cross from northern West Virginia to eastern Virginia and North Carolina, to obtain water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
The West Virginia DEP announced last month that it would not review water quality impacts of the proposed Mountain Valley pipeline, which has a similar West Virginia-to-Virginia route. That decision came as a surprise several weeks after the DEP had pledged to assess how the project would affect the state's waters "as expeditiously as possible" (Energywire, Nov. 2).
In waiving the corresponding analysis for the Atlantic Coast project, the DEP may be seeking to dodge lawsuits from environmentalists on the quality of its review. Without a state-level analysis, the responsibility falls to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the project proposal meets federal water quality requirements.
In announcing the decision yesterday, the DEP said the state's stormwater permit is unusually robust and would allow authorities to exercise strong inspection and enforcement authorities during the project's construction. Two public hearings have been scheduled for this month to gather input on the stormwater permit.
The issuance of water quality permits is one of the few levers that states control in the interstate pipeline permitting process, and in many cases the permits become highly contentious (Energywire, Nov. 27).
In Virginia, which also has yet to decide on the issuance of water quality permits for the two pipeline projects, the State Water Control Board held a public meeting yesterday to consider the Mountain Valley project and is scheduled to vote on it today. The Atlantic Coast project has a similar process scheduled for next week.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068345
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Unlocking Free-Market Competition with Freight Rail Reform
Dec 7, 2017 | James Madison Institute
By Chris Jahn
Like other industries critical to our state and nation, Florida’s fertilizer industry needs reliable and cost-effective freight rail service to meet the demands of its customers. The freight rail system is indispensable to both the nation’s and specifically Florida’s economy. In 2013, freight railroad in Florida moved nearly 88.7 million tons of freight,[1] exporting bulk commodities like fertilizer, timber, and agricultural products out of the state and bringing commodities like cars, coal, and machinery into the state.[2] The fertilizer industry, which mines about 50% of the phosphate rock used nationwide and about 15% globally,[3] ships more freight by rail than any other commodity in Florida, nearly as many rail tons as the second and third most-shipped commodities combined.[4]
We understand the importance of a well-run and affordable freight rail system, and its potential to energize Florida’s economy.
Unfortunately, that’s not what our state – or the rest of the nation – has now.
Outdated federal regulations have given rise to a virtual government-supported monopoly on freight rail service that is raising prices and putting the brakes on economic growth and job creation. The freight rail system is broken, with delayed delivery of fertilizer shipments to farmers, and ongoing challenges for shippers of other goods in and out of Florida, including timber, agricultural products, cars, coal, and machinery.[5]
Derailing Competition
An examination of a close to 40-year old piece of federal legislation provides some insight into how our current rail system is both anti-competitive and in need of reform.
The Staggers Rail Act, passed by Congress in 1980, had two goals: to create economically successful railroads and maintain free-market competition. It was well-intentioned, deregulating the struggling railroad industry and paving the way for more mergers and acquisitions. But what in the days of the Carter Administration looked like a way to ensure a competitive and fair market has now devolved into a tool of federal protectionism.
Over the years, rail-to-rail competition declined substantially, from 31 Class I carriers in 1981 to just seven today. Four of these dominate the entire industry, with each maintaining near-monopolistic control over quadrants of the United States. [6]
As a result, most rail customers have access to only one freight carrier serving either their location of operations or their customer’s location. They are “captive” shippers, forced to confront the realities of textbook monopoly power and market dominance. An absence of effective competition from other rail carriers or modes of transportation forces the shipper to accept whatever rate the railroad company dictates in order to transport its goods.
It is the definition of a Hobson’s choice, essentially “take it or leave it” – and the “leave it” option would mean goods never make it to market. This lack of competition has resulted in excessive rates and unreliable service, with minimal incentive for the railroads to meet the needs of their customers.
Captive shippers, lacking free-market alternatives, pay significantly more to ship goods to market than those with competitive choices. In Florida, more than 90 percent of all freight rail stations are captive to a single major railroad. It comes as no surprise, then, that freight rail rates have increased at three times the rate of inflation over the past 15 years.
When no competitive options are available, rail customers are deprived of efficient ways to address problems with rates and service. There is no real recourse if rates skyrocket, if service is unacceptable, if the trains don’t run on time. But there are real consequences for businesses and consumers when shipping rates are unreasonably expensive or products don’t arrive where they are needed, when they are needed.
Sensible Solutions
Reforms can and would bring more market-based forces to this challenge. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is essential to reforming the freight rail system, removing bureaucratic barriers and increasing free-market competition. Two specific proposals that would help accomplish this include competitive switching and rate benchmarking.
Current STB rules state that a captive shipper cannot move its freight between lines during transit; it must follow a route created solely by the railroad that started the journey, regardless of other more affordable and efficient options available along the way. The STB’s proposed competitive switching rules would allow the shipper to request that railroad transfer its freight to another railroad at a nearby interchange. This would allow the shipper to choose the rail carrier with the most competitive rates and more reliable service.
Competitive switching is similar to market-based policies that cut red tape and promote competition in such networks as telecommunications, broadband, and interstate pipelines. Rail customers should be able to enjoy the same benefits.
Additional reforms are needed to assist rail shippers that still lack competitive transportation options. Currently, captive rail rates are regulated under a standard that requires shippers to hypothesize how much it would cost to build and operate a brand-new railroad to compete with the existing railroad. This process takes years to complete and costs millions of dollars.
Competitive rate benchmarking, a statistical concept leveraged by business and other regulatory agencies, would offer a market-based approach to STB rate reviews. Using benchmarking methodology, captive shippers would compare their rates to “benchmark” rates for competitive rail traffic for similar shipments. The STB would judge the reasonableness of rates based on real-world data in competitive markets – rather than hypothetical information currently required.
Railroads would still set rates in competitive markets, but a captive shipper could challenge a rate that is drastically higher than its competitive benchmark. The STB would decide what rates would be reasonable for the railroad to still be financially strong and economically competitive.
In today’s era of big data, it makes no sense to continue using an overly complex and burdensome evaluation method that was developed almost four decades ago. Rate benchmarking would significantly decrease the cost in time and money it now takes for shippers to try to address unreasonable rates set by near-monopolies and compounded by the current bureaucratic standards.
Conclusion
It is clear that the fertilizer industry plays a critical role in U.S. and global agriculture. It is just as clear that the industry depends on a freight rail system that must be updated if American farmers are going to able to continue to feed our nation and the world.
In a properly functioning free market, the forces of supply and demand would effectively set economically sound rail rates that benefit both the shipper and the railroad company. To unlock these market forces, we must eliminate outdated regulations at the Surface Transportation Board that shield railroads from competing with each other as we simplify costly and bureaucratic government procedures.
Competition is the foundation of the free enterprise system and it is what helps drive innovation and cost-savings throughout our economy. The STB understands that the marketplace is preferable to regulatory oversight, which is why it is pursuing reforms that are in accordance with a statutory mandate that directs the Board to ensure effective competition among rail carriers.
Policy solutions exist, and the antiquated regulations of the 20th century can and should be modernized to reflect the realities of 21st century innovation, technology, and competitive environments. Enacting those reforms will require an appropriately-staffed STB, which currently counts three vacancies among the five seats on its Board. By nominating and confirming appointees who are ready to set aside the status quo, we can get our nation’s freight rail system on the right track for American businesses and consumers.
https://www.jamesmadison.org/blog/detail/unlocking-free-market-competition-with-freight-rail-reform
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(ACC Mentioned) UN Meeting Calls for Global Treaty on Plastics Marine Waste
Dec 7, 2017 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
More aggressive action against plastic waste, especially to keep it from getting into the oceans, was in the driver’s seat at a major United Nations environmental meeting Dec. 6, with some countries advocating a zero tolerance approach.
The U.N. Environment Assembly’s actions are not legally binding, but more than 200 countries adopted a resolution urging much more be done about plastic waste, and some said they want the action to lead to legally binding treaties.
Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Vidar Helgesen, for example, told the Reuters news service the plastics language is “very strong” and that countries will now “explore a legally binding instrument and other measures and that will be done at the international level over the next 18 months.”
The assembly met Dec. 4-6 in Nairobi, Kenya, and adopted 13 resolutions on topics including plastics, mercury and lead poisoning, and air pollution. It was the third gathering of the assembly, with the next session likely in two years.
The plastics industry, through the World Plastics Council, issued a statement Dec. 6 saying the assembly vote “adds to the fast-growing global consensus that to end marine plastic pollution we must invest in improved municipal solid waste management, with a focus on emerging economies with large populations near rivers and coastlines.”
WPC is made up of plastics trade associations around the world, including the American Chemistry Council, PlasticsEurope and the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association.
WPC Chairman Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh said the U.N. resolution is consistent with other research and government statements from APEC, the G-7 and G-20, and commitments by plastics makers. He said the plastics industry supports 260 marine litter projects globally.
“Since 2011, our industry has partnered in many efforts to research and prevent marine debris around the world,” he said. “Marine debris is a complex, global issue that deserves thoughtful consideration and action on the part of government, scientists and industries working together.”
But other actions up for serious consideration by the U.N. body include things that could make some in the industry nervous, including container deposits (which the resolution specifically encouraged), plastic bag bans and phasing out single-use plastics.
The executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, which organized the assembly, said in a Dec. 6 tweet at the close of the forum that his blueprint for “what comes next” included, as his first item, to “stop plastics.”
“For too long, we have treated the ocean as a bottomless dumping ground for plastic, sewage and other waste,” said Erik Solheim, director of U.N. Environment. In a news release he identified plastic pollution, air quality and chemicals as the priority areas from the meeting.
Helgesen, who co-chaired a U.N. meeting on plastic ocean debris in June, said at the closing session that he favored a “zero vision” for plastic waste, and said stronger worldwide action is needed on marine litter.
“There is a lack of a coherent international governing framework to address marine litter in a comprehensive manner,” Helgesen said. “The rapidly increasing level of plastic litter and microplastics in our oceans is a global concern.”
The assembly meeting suggests high-level discussions around plastics will continue, with stepped up attention from governments.
Plastics industry officials in the past have called the U.N. Environment Programme’s approach “problematic,” particularly after that agency declared a “war on ocean plastic” earlier this year.
Industry executives have said they prefer approaches that focus on building government waste collection programs, like that pushed by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, instead of product bans.
WPC noted in its statement that a study by Trucost found that replacing plastics with other materials in consumer goods and packaging would increase environmental costs three-fold.
But the U.N. meeting included discussions on actions against specific products, including an official side conference on Kenya’s recent plastic bag ban.
The assembly also celebrated moves in Chile and Sri Lanka to ban or restrict plastic bags or single-use plastics.
The assembly focused on pollution because, according to Helgesen, it is the single-largest cause of premature deaths worldwide, accounting for 9 million deaths, with air pollution causing 6.5 million of those early fatalities.
The U.N. said pollution also is a drag on economic growth, equal to 6.2 percent of global economic output.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20171207/NEWS/171209925/un-meeting-calls-for-global-treaty-on-plastics-marine-waste
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Pruitt Says EPA Will Write Replacement for Clean Power Plan
Dec 7, 2017 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Alex Guillen
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said today that he will write a replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan, a shift from previous statements that EPA was also considering not replacing the Obama administration's rule designed to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Appearing for the first time before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Pruitt faced questions from Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) about whether EPA had reversed its position on the health effects of particle pollution in proposing to repeal the Clean Power Plan in October.
“We did not reverse it, congressman. And moreover, we are going to be introducing a replacement rule to replace the Clean Power Plan under Section 111,” Pruitt replied.
The hearing went into recess at that point so Pruitt could attend a White House meeting.
“We have no further details at this time," an EPA spokesperson said in response to questions about Pruitt's statement.
Pruitt also indicated his “red team” review of climate change science could begin as soon as next month.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy
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EPA Head: Anti-Greenhouse Gas Declaration Involved 'Breach of Process'
Dec 7, 2017 | The Hill
By Devin Henrey
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said Thursday the Obama administration erred when it formally declared greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant worthy of regulations in 2009.
Pruitt said Obama’s EPA engaged in a “breach of process” when it relied on United Nations science for part of its endangerment funding for climate change-causing greenhouse gases.
“There was breach of process that occurred in 2009 that many believe wasn’t handled the proper way,” Pruitt told a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel.
“But the Mass. v EPA decision, and the processes that followed involved both the Bush and Obama administration and that process, in 2009, I think, was short-shrifted.”
The Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA decision in 2007 determined that federal law had not declared greenhouse gases as dangerous enough to warrant regulations, and it directed the EPA to formally consider make such a conclusion.Bush administration regulators put together a version of that endangerment finding, though it never took effect. Obama’s EPA concluded in April 2009, that greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health, opening the door to future regulations.
That endangerment finding is at the heart of EPA rules like the Clean Power Plan, the Obama-era regulation designed to slash pollution from power plants.
But even as Pruitt has tried to undo much of the Obama administration’s climate change agenda — including the power plant rule — he has not committed to revisiting or repealing the endangerment finding.
That's something conservatives have urged him to do. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) joined the call on Thursday, telling Pruitt to “go back and revisit the finding document.”
Pruitt also said Thursday he intends to announce his red-team/blue-team debate over climate science early next year.
Pruitt detailed plans this summer to conduct an internal debate over the validity of the scientific consensus behind climate change, which both he and President Trump have publicly doubted.
“It is something that I hope to be able to do, and announce, sometime beginning part of next year at the latest,” he said.
“That would be a process that would be focused on objective, transparent, real-time review of questions of answers around this issue of CO2.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/363749-epa-chief-agencys-climate-finding-under-obama-was-a-short-shrifted
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World’s Environment Officials Set Goal for Contamination-Free Planet
Dec 7, 2017 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Cheryl Hogue
Top environmental officials from around the globe pledged on Dec. 6 to improve people’s lives by cutting contamination of land, air, fresh water, and oceans.
Meeting as the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, the officials set an international goal of a pollution-free planet. They did not establish a time frame for reaching this lofty objective, calling it “a long-term endeavor.”
“We have put the fight against pollution high on the global political agenda,” says Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
One activity that must be improved to eliminate pollution is use of commercial chemicals, the assembly determined.
“We believe that it is both inexcusable and preventable that tens of thousands of chemicals are used in everyday objects and applied in the field without proper testing, labelling or tracking,” the environment ministers say in a 2017 UN Environment Assembly" style="color: rgb(36, 49, 64); font-family: "Franklin ITC", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">declaration. “Far too many communities” lack information about hazardous substances they use or are exposed to, or they lack the capacity to manage those hazards safely, the declaration says.
Separately, the assembly called for action to curb the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans as global plastic production and use continues to increase. The assembly called for UNEP to create a global experts group to study options for reducing marine plastic litter, including microplastics. To this end, the assembly encouraged countries to establish policies that extend producers’ responsibility for the fate of their products.
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Will Xi Help Trump Re-Enter the Paris Agreement?
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
A breakthrough agreement between the United States and China paved the way for a global deal on climate change two years ago. Now, China might help President Trump find a path back into that accord, the Paris Agreement.
White House officials have said vaguely that any chance of Trump reversing his plans to leave the Paris climate pact would involve a "heads-of-state discussion" to find "more favorable terms" for the United States. The president's international energy adviser, George David Banks, has declined to explain the conditions that Trump might seek to stay in the accord.
But others believe that it would involve Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"The only thing that matters, in my view, is agreement between the U.S. and China," said Jim Connaughton, the former White House Council on Environmental Quality chief under President George W. Bush. "Everything else follows."
The U.N. climate process has often followed the ups and downs of the U.S.-China relationship, with success in Paris possible only after the two superpowers found common ground in 2014 and 2015 on issues that had long stymied progress. Connaughton said a new "G-2," or Group of Two, deal could return the United States to the Paris Agreement while forcing China to increase its ambition to levels that would be more in line with avoiding worst-case-scenario warming.
But he acknowledged that neither Xi nor Trump is likely to ask for a new climate deal. The Chinese leader is comfortable with the status quo, and Trump doesn't care about the issue, Connaughton said.
"Other nations, if they were smart, would push the U.S. and China into a room and ask both to do better," he said, suggesting there's a role for "a really good third leader who can then help bridge the conversation forward."
Other countries don't seem to be champing at the bit to broker a deal. French President Emmanuel Macron did not invite Trump to the summit he's hosting Tuesday in Paris to mark the accord's second anniversary. Macron said the event is reserved for leaders who show a deep commitment to the pact.
Environmentalists, for their part, say international leaders would be well-advised to avoid appeasing Trump on climate change, either in the Paris process or elsewhere.
"It's ridiculous to say that the Chinese or anybody should now give the U.S. concessions in order to get us to meet our obligations under the Paris Agreement," said Nathaniel Keohane, vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund.
The United States will return under a new administration that values climate leadership, he said. "And until we do, no other country should be giving us the time of day," Keohane added.
China is basking in the glow of international approval for remaining in the climate pact, as the United Sttaes' departure sent shock waves throughout the international community. In Bonn, Germany, during a recent U.N. climate conference, China's top negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, shared a stage with California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who praised China's upcoming carbon trading program and expressed "embarrassment" over Trump's suggestion that climate change is a Chinese "hoax."
China is working with Europe and Canada on a new major economies climate group to replace the long-standing Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change. The forum held its inaugural meeting this year, and the next one is slated for Brussels in 2018.
And Xi has used podiums from Beijing to Davos, Switzerland, to throw shade on Trump's climate retreat.
"No country can afford to retreat into self-isolation," he said at the opening of the Communist Party congress last month, adding that China is now in the "driving seat" on climate change.
"Trump's announcement on the Paris Agreement was a gift to the Chinese leadership," said David Sandalow, who has held senior positions at the White House and in the State and Energy departments in past administrations and is now at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. "It has allowed them to assume the mantle of global leadership."
It's not a mantle China is accustomed to wearing. China and India shouldered much of the blame for the collapse of the 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark, talks when they rejected the idea that developing countries had a responsibility to combat climate change. President Obama spent his second term chipping away at that "firewall" between developed and developing emitters in a succession of bilateral deals with Xi. The biggest achievement came in 2014, when the two nations agreed to voluntary commitments for Paris.
China then made its first-ever pledge to stop growing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, an about-face that followed years of claiming that developing countries had no responsibility for mitigation.
"In and of itself, the fact that China made a commitment was something new," said Elizabeth Economy, Asia studies director at the Council on Foreign Relations.
But the 2030 peaking deadline is not a stretch for China, which is on track to meet its goals several years ahead of time. Yet that progress masks other aspects of China's climate performance, including its support for fossil fuel infrastructure in other countries. That has the potential to overshadow its domestic climate gains.
"The tendency has been in general for the international community to give China too much credit," said Economy, adding that the theory seems to be that positive reinforcement will be motivating.
"I don't subscribe to that notion," she said. "I think we should be very honest about exactly what China and what every other country is and is not doing."China's NDC
The Obama administration brokered the U.S.-China joint release of Paris commitments, known as nationally determined contributions, in part to pre-empt Republican complaints that the coming Paris deal would bind the United States to onerous commitments while letting developing economies off the hook. At the time, then-U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern and others argued that to peak emissions and draw 20 percent of its energy from non-fossil sources by 2030, China would need to build green energy infrastructure equal to the entire U.S. power grid.
But Republicans balked. They claimed that China could still grow its emissions through the end of the next decade, while the United States pledged in Paris to cut its own between 26 and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
The message was this: The United States is getting a raw deal.
"They can do whatever they want for 13 years. Not us," Trump said in the Rose Garden in June when he announced the U.S. withdrawal from Paris.
Banks echoed the same theme in Bonn, calling the notion of Chinese climate leadership "largely rhetorical" because "the United States continues to reduce emissions through innovation and market forces."
Meanwhile, China's share of global greenhouse gas emissions has skyrocketed since it overtook the United States in 2006 as the world's largest emitter. It is now responsible for 28 percent of global emissions, compared with 15 percent for the United States. And while U.S. per capita emissions are still far higher overall than China's, that is not true for urban emissions. A recent report by research firm SEI International found that some large Chinese cities emit nearly twice as much per capita as some U.S. cities.
"That's where there's sort of a half-truth to what's behind President Trump's statements, that we can do everything we can conceive of in the developed world, but if China is not taking a much stronger position, then it's all for naught," said Connaughton. "And right now, I think China's getting a pass."Peak year
Two years after the Paris Agreement was brokered, China's 2030 peak date appears to be obsolete. Earlier this year, analysts wondered if China had already peaked its coal use. In 2016, the central government shuttered hundreds of coal mines as part of its economic restructuring. Coal use rose again late this year in response to an economic stimulus program that boosted industrial production and infrastructure investment. But observers say the central government's policies support a long-term reduction in the role that coal could play in powering China.
The Paris pledge is written into the most recent five-year plan that governs China's controlled economy. It introduced a mandatory limit of 58 percent coal as part of the nation's energy mix by 2020, compared with the 64 percent share it had in 2015. China has also started a transition to electric vehicles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released an analysis in September showing that Chinese coal use could flatline between now and 2040, while renewable energy and other sectors grow to meet China's rising demand. The country's coal fleet will also become more efficient as old coal-fired power plants are swapped out for new ones, U.S. EIA said, and new solar and wind projects will total 240 and 280 gigawatts, respectively, by 2040. China is already the world's largest solar power producer.
But Jane Nakano, a senior fellow in the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said dwindling competition from the United States could reduce the pressure on China to act further.
"At this point, there seems to be no reward for going an extra mile, if you will," she said. "But that doesn't mean they will be making U-turns or they won't be able to fulfill commitments."
Environmentalists have generally given China a pass for delaying its new market-based trading mechanism for carbon emissions. Its original start date was 2016. Now it's set to debut in a reduced form this month, covering only a few sectors.
"I am not surprised," said Barbara Finamore, founder of the China program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Carbon trading is a market-based system, and China is not yet a market-based economy. And it is still weak in a number of the building blocks that need to be in place for carbon trading to be effective."
These include monitoring and verification to ensure that the trading program will have integrity as it slowly grows to cover the whole Chinese economy, she said. Even if the new program initially applies to only China's power sector, it will still cover more emissions than the European Union's trading system, which is now the largest in the world.Belt and Road
Even if China's domestic climate program is strong, those gains could be erased if the net effect of its infrastructure investments abroad is to establish coal-fired power.
China is in the midst of a massive global infrastructure and trade project known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that plans $1 trillion to $4 trillion in investment in regions from South Asia and Africa to the European Union.
Kevin Gallagher, a professor of global development policy at Boston University, calls the program "a Marshall Plan on steroids."
"If it could globalize some of its domestic policies through the Belt and Road Initiative, it would really be a great benefit for climate and social inclusion," he said.
But his research shows that the BRI is poised to explode emissions globally, not to limit them. Almost 80 percent of planned investment from China's overseas development banks has gone to large hydropower plants and coal plants, he said. Chinese-backed coal plants overseas emit as much carbon dioxide annually as the entire economy of the United Kingdom.
And more is on the way. Urgewald, a German environmental group, reported earlier this year that Chinese corporations are planning 700 new coal plants in China and abroad — nearly half of what is in the pipeline globally.
In fact, reductions in Chinese coal-fired power at home might create an incentive for Chinese corporations to look for foreign customers to buy their coal and power plant components.
"There's this huge fork in the road," said EDF's Keohane. If developing countries in Asia and elsewhere follow the Chinese example and modernize on the back of coal, "we're totally hosed," he said. "We're going to blow through 2 degrees." The Paris Agreement set that Celsius threshold to avoid catastrophic warming.
Here again, the loss of U.S. leadership could lighten pressure on China to contain its emissions, said Nakano. Last year, Xi stated as part of his final joint statement on climate change with Obama that "China is taking concrete steps to strengthen green and low-carbon policies and regulations with a view to strictly controlling public investment flowing into projects with high pollution and carbon emissions both domestically and internationally."
Now that calculus might be changing.
"I think now there's no pressure on China to really deliver on that particular commitment," said Nakano.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068315
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'Everything is Melting' — Alaskans Plead for Help
Dec 7, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
George Carl took a short trip this week to Washington, D.C., but he's worried that his home in Alaska might be gone by the time he returns.
Carl was part of a delegation from the village of Newtok, Alaska, who traveled to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars yesterday to ask for federal help in relocating their homes because of climate change. The Yup'ik Alaska Native village is seeking a disaster declaration that could unlock federal aid because thawing permafrost and rapid erosion will make it uninhabitable in just a few years. Newtok could become a test case for the federal government to rescue people who could soon no longer have a home because of climate change.
"Everything is melting," said Carl, who is the Village Council vice president.
Newtok has just 450 residents and is located in one of the most isolated spots in America. But it is on a spit of land that has been continuously occupied for millennia, where the ancestors of those who live there now have survived off the land and for generation upon generation. Within the next few years, Newtok is expected to be wiped away due to climate change. It is located near the Arctic Circle, which is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe.
In Washington, where some lawmakers, the president and a number of his Cabinet members question whether humans are the primary drivers of climate change, Newtok represents the human cost of inaction. Its residents are among the first climate refugees in America. Across town, just in front of the Capitol, a group of Arctic residents and their supporters held a rally opposing the GOP tax bill, which could open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge refuge to oil drilling.
Newtok is losing 70 feet of land a year to the Ninglick River, according to engineers. Locals lose sleep listening to weather, because a shift of the wind can inundate some parts of the village within minutes. Some stay up nightly on weather watch to monitor erosion and flooding. The pooling of water around homes helps black mold thrive, which causes high rates of respiratory problems and illness among local residents. Village elders are worried that if they don't receive help quickly, nothing will be left of their heritage and their traditions for the next generation.
"I'm always wary when the storm comes, and one thing that bothers me is, how will I protect my children if something happens? That's the only thing; we need help for our children," said Katherine Charles, a local resident who has pushed for greater federal help for years.
A new village is already under construction 9 miles away and will take years to complete. The village needs about $100 million to move, because any building project in the region is prohibitively expensive as a result of harsh conditions and the fact that virtually everything needed to construct homes and infrastructure — from heavy moving equipment to nails — must be flown in or brought by ship. Four new homes were built this summer, and a plan to rehabilitate former military barracks and ship them to the new village, Mertarvik, is already underway.
To offset those costs, the village wants the government to declare the effects of climate change a slow-moving natural disaster, which would unlock funds but also would have implications for municipalities throughout the country as sea levels rise, wildfires burn and heavy rains flood areas. Near the end of the Obama administration, White House officials realized the dire situation faced by the village but did not approve funding, and the Trump administration has done nothing to help them, said Mike Walleri, the village's attorney.
Newtok, located on the west coast of Alaska, is also a harbinger of the future for a number of Iñupiat villages in the American Arctic, many of which are located just a few feet above sea level. The Arctic Ocean is chewing up village boundaries year by year. Sea ice has receded dramatically, leaving the villages exposed to the angry ocean for a month more each year than just a decade or two ago. Waves pound the shore, washing away homes, roads and the ruins of ancient homes built at what was once a safe distance from the water.Slow-moving disasters
Typically, federal disasters are declared after a major destructive event, such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In Newtok, the disaster has been slow-moving over the course of years. Homes have tumbled into the sea, but so has the sewage lagoon, and the village's drinking water source is just 20 steps from the river's edge. Based on the current rate of erosion, it will be destroyed within the year.
Seven major disasters have been declared in the area near Newtok, but not a single cent has flowed to the village as a result, Walleri said. The Obama White House did request a tribal disaster declaration for the first time as a result of climate change on behalf of Newtok, but it was denied because the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have a national policy to deal with disasters such as that now being experienced by Newtok. Federal officials are always looking at how to provide help for the last disaster, not the future disaster, he said.
"These slow-moving disasters are real, they're happening and they're making people, children, sick, and they have to be addressed," Walleri said, adding, "The vast majority of people believe in climate change; an even larger majority of Americans don't think it will ever effect them. Until people understand it is affecting people, we will not have a resolution to the issue."
The Stafford Act gives federal officials broad authority to declare disasters in a wide variety of circumstances, Walleri said. For instance, he said, the federal government has recognized droughts and fishery reductions as slow-moving disasters. He said FEMA officials have declared disasters before hurricanes make landfall, and they could use the same standards to declare a disaster in Newtok.
"There is no time limit on a disaster. It's totally up to the White House and FEMA. It is the culture of FEMA, it's not the Stafford Act itself, that says they don't recognize slow-moving disasters," he said. "There is no regulation, there is no statute that prohibits a slow-moving disaster from [being] declared a disaster."
A FEMA spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
It's the duty of the U.S. government to protect the next generation, and Newtok is part of the first wave of climate migration in the country, said Sherri Goodman, former U.S. deputy undersecretary of Defense and a senior fellow at the Wilson Center.
"You are the front line of climate change. This is where it's really happening," she said. "It's clearly not a hoax, and it's not perpetrated by the Chinese, either. Climate change is a humanitarian health crisis in our own country."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/12/07/stories/1060068357
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