Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 1/09
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(ACC Mentioned) IG to Audit Pruitt's Hiring
Jan 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
U.S. EPA's internal watchdog plans to review Administrator Scott Pruitt's use of a special hiring authority to fill top political jobs at the agency. -
EPA Staffing Falls to Reagan-Era Levels
Jan 9, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) staffing is now lower than it was in former President Ronald Reagan’s final year in office. -
Ewire: Carper Ramps up Attacks on CEQ Nominee White
Jan 9, 2018 | Inside EPA
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the top Democrat on the Senate environment committee, is strongly President Donald Trump's decision to re-nominate Kathleen Hartnett White to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), raising doubts about a top EPA pick whose nomination Carper has agreed to advance in exchange for dropping White's. -
Owner of California Shipping Company Guilty of Hazardous Materials Violations
Jan 9, 2018 | American Shipper
By Mark Edward Nero
The owner of a San Francisco Bay Area shipping company has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting hazardous materials and failing to properly declare imports of toxic substances, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed Monday. -
Three New Chemicals Cleared for Manufacture by US EPA
Jan 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie A Miller
The US EPA has found three new chemical substances "unlikely to pose an unreasonable risk", clearing the way for their manufacture. -
U.K. Ban on Microbeads in Personal Care Products Takes Effect
Jan 9, 2018 | The New York Times
By Des Shoe
They’re tiny, colorful and harmless-looking, but these little pellets are being blamed for causing big problems for the world’s oceans and seas. -
Analysts Predict Big Year for Oil Industry Mergers
Jan 9, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
Consolidation in the oil and gas sector has been slow, but some analysts think that's about to change in 2018. -
Lawmaker Wants Rehearing for Appalachia-to-Southeast NatGas Pipelines
Jan 9, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jamison Cocklin
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has written Chairman Kevin McIntyre asking that FERC grant rehearing requests on the Appalachia-to-Southeast Atlantic Coast (ACP) and Mountain Valley pipeline (MVP) projects. -
Trump Administration's Offshore Drilling Proposal a Threat to Coastal Communities
Jan 9, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Frank Pallone
During his campaign and Inaugural Address, President Donald J. Trump repeatedly claimed that he was on the side of “the forgotten men and women of our country.” -
Enterprise Products Expanding NGL Facilities in Houston and Permian
Jan 9, 2018 | The Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum
Houston's Enterprise Products Partners said it's further expanding its natural gas liquids facilities in the Houston area and West Texas to continue taking advantage of booming production from the Permian Basin. -
DOE Set to Finalize Procedures on Grid Security Emergencies
Jan 9, 2018 | Politico Pro - Whiteboard
By Darius Dixon
The Energy Department is slated to finalize new procedures Wednesday on how it handles grid security emergencies, according to a Federal Register notice slated for publication. -
Guest Commentary: Competitive Freight Keeps Steel on Track
Jan 9, 2018 | The Northwest Indiana Times
By Philip K. Bell
America’s industrial greatness was forged by two industries more than any other: steel and railroads.
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(ACC Mentioned) IG to Audit Pruitt's Hiring
Jan 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
U.S. EPA's internal watchdog plans to review Administrator Scott Pruitt's use of a special hiring authority to fill top political jobs at the agency.
In a notice dated yesterday, the EPA inspector general said it will begin "preliminary research" on the administrator office's use of its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to fill "administratively determined" positions.
The auditors' objective will be to determine how EPA used that authority to fill up to 30 positions. The IG launched the probe partly based on a congressional request.
"The anticipated benefit of this project is to strengthen agency policies and procedures related to filling administratively determined positions," said the notice, signed by John Trefry, forensic audits director for the IG's Office of Audit and Evaluation.
The IG's office asked for a list of all administratively determined positions filled under the Safe Drinking Water Act from January 2009 to December 2017. In addition, it requested any guidance documents related to hiring for those jobs.
The increase in "administratively determined" jobs at EPA during Pruitt's tenure has attracted scrutiny from environmental groups as well as Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Nancy Beck, deputy assistant administrator at the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, was hired under the authority and thus was not considered a political appointee, according to documents obtained by E&E News. That meant Beck, a former top American Chemistry Council official, didn't have to sign President Trump's ethics pledge (Greenwire, Aug. 8, 2017).
In October, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed the EPA IG to investigate Beck's hiring and whether she was properly brought on to the agency in an "administratively determined" position (E&E Daily, Oct. 31, 2017).
The Government Accountability Office has also committed to investigate the Trump administration's hiring practices for political appointees at the agency (E&E Daily, Sept. 11, 2017).
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/01/09/stories/1060070513
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EPA Staffing Falls to Reagan-Era Levels
Jan 9, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) staffing is now lower than it was in former President Ronald Reagan’s final year in office.
An EPA spokeswoman said Tuesday that, as of Jan. 3, the agency had 14,162 employees, down from about 15,000 at the beginning of last year.
That’s even lower than the 14,400 employees the agency had in fiscal year 1988, Reagan’s final year.
The figures come after President Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s pledges to shrink the size of the federal government, as part of their efforts to demonstrate that they are saving money and reducing regulatory burdens.
“We’re proud to report that we’re reducing the size of government, protecting taxpayer dollars and staying true to our core mission of protecting the environment,” Pruitt said in a statement.
If every EPA employee eligible to retire by 2021 does so, the EPA would have less than 8,000 employees by the end of Trump’s first term, a cut of nearly half.
The reductions have come from employees leaving on their own will and not being replaced, including through early retirements and buyouts.
The New York Times and ProPublica reported last month that some of the hundreds of employees who have left were key to critical missions at the agency.
For example, about 200 scientists had left as of last month, along with 96 environmental specialists, and nine department directors, many of whom won’t be replaced, the news organizations reported.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/368090-epa-staffing-hits-reagan-levels
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Ewire: Carper Ramps up Attacks on CEQ Nominee White
Jan 9, 2018 | Inside EPA
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the top Democrat on the Senate environment committee, is strongly President Donald Trump's decision to re-nominate Kathleen Hartnett White to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), raising doubts about a top EPA pick whose nomination Carper has agreed to advance in exchange for dropping White's.
The Trump administration “should expect a fight,” Carper pledged in a Jan. 8 statement, underscoring his prior opposition to White, a former Texas environment regulator.
The senator had previously blocked unanimous consent to hold over White's pending nomination to the Senate's 2018 session. Trump late Jan. 8 re-submitted White along with a host of other nominees that were not held over.
In addition, Trump also re-nominated former Senate staffer and lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to be deputy EPA administrator.
But Carper focused all of his biting criticism on White after the move, charging that her “disdain for science and basic facts is clear and poses a serious threat to the health of our environment and the American people. Her statements are wildly inappropriate and her extreme stances have elicited serious concerns on both sides of the aisle and across the country.”
Among White's stances that Democrats object to is her skepticism of anthropogenic climate change, as well as her strident criticism of EPA air rules.
He also said it is “virtually impossible to find anyone who can, after watching Ms. White’s hearing, sincerely say that she is well-qualified for the important job to which she has been nominated."
Further, he said White is “not just another Trump nominee,” and that he had never said through a hearing “as excruciating” as White's Nov. 8 confirmation hearing.
Carper has previously used his opposition to White's nomination as leverage against Wheeler, offering to speed approval of the prospective EPA deputy if Trump picked a new CEQ leader.
He might have a stronger hand to play now that Republicans' Senate majority has narrowed to 51-49 after Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) prevailed in last month's special election. That means if just two Republicans oppose White, her nomination would fail.
In his recent statement, Carper warned that Trump's decision to re-nominate White is “shortsighted, irresponsible and, I believe, will prove to be a mistake.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-carper-ramps-attacks-ceq-nominee-white
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Owner of California Shipping Company Guilty of Hazardous Materials Violations
Jan 9, 2018 | American Shipper
By Mark Edward Nero
The owner of a San Francisco Bay Area shipping company has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting hazardous materials and failing to properly declare imports of toxic substances, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed Monday.
On Dec. 20, 2017, Peiwen Zhou, the owner of Union City, Calif.-based AK Scientific, Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
He had been indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2017 and charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Hazard Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) and the Toxic Substance Control Act.
It was alleged that between 2008 and 2016, Zhou instructed employees to deliberately ship hazardous materials as nonhazardous to avoid HMTA requirements. The company willfully and recklessly made shipments to domestic and international customers without labeling them as hazardous. Hazardous material markings are used by shippers and first responders to determine the appropriate response in the event of a spill or accident with the package.
The OIG said Zhou admitted he failed to adequately train employees at his company on the requirements of the HMTA, which resulted in AK employees shipping hazardous materials on a number of occasions without properly labeling, marking and identifying the packages.
Zhou also admitted that he caused his company’s employees to fail to comply with the rules and regulations set forth in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Specifically, he acknowledged that he caused AK employees to fail to file TSCA import certifications on a number of occasions when the company imported chemical substances into the United States from China, including on one occasion when a substance was shipped to his company under a different name.
As part of his plea agreement, Zhou agreed to step down as chief executive officer of AK and to play no role in the company’s shipping or regulatory functions, the OIG said.
AK entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in which it agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and retain an independent monitor to oversee compliance. Pursuant to the agreement, the charges against the company will be dismissed if the company abides by the terms of the agreement for three years and complies with safety and labeling requirements.
https://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/7f3dc811-31b5-4abf-9941-726b58e9d4da.aspx
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Three New Chemicals Cleared for Manufacture by US EPA
Jan 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie A Miller
The US EPA has found three new chemical substances "unlikely to pose an unreasonable risk", clearing the way for their manufacture.
The chemicals are:
D-glucitol, 1-deoxy-1-(dimethylamino)-;
alkyl alkenoic acid, alkyl ester, polymer with alkyl alkenoate, dialkyl alkanediol, substituted carbomonocycle, disubstituted heteromonocycle,disubstituted heteropolycyclic, alkanediol, substituted alkyl alkyl alkenoate and substituted heteromonocycle, dialkyl peroxide initiated; and
isesquioxanes, 2,4,4-trimethylpentyl, hydroxy-terminated.
They are for use as additives, the first two substances for paints and coatings, the third for oils, lubricants and coatings.
Although the EPA found that all three substances would be persistent in the environment, they are unlikely to pose an unreasonable risk. This is due to "low potential for bioaccumulation, low human health hazard and low environmental hazard".
The determinations on pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) were finalised in December and published on the agency's website on 8 January.
https://chemicalwatch.com/62939/three-new-chemicals-cleared-for-manufacture-by-us-epa
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U.K. Ban on Microbeads in Personal Care Products Takes Effect
Jan 9, 2018 | The New York Times
By Des Shoe
They’re tiny, colorful and harmless-looking, but these little pellets are being blamed for causing big problems for the world’s oceans and seas.
The items in question are plastic microbeads, and on Tuesday, Britain made good on a pledge to ban the manufacturing of personal care products containing them.
So what are these pellets, and what’s all the fuss about?What are microbeads?
Microbeads are itty-bitty plastic orbs that can be found in exfoliating facial scrubs, shower gels and toothpaste, among other products. They are part of a larger class of microplastics, or pieces of plastic less than five millimeters, or 0.2 inch, long. (Roughly the size of a grain of rice.)
Microplastics don’t exist only in cosmetic products, however. They can be found in chewing gum, and are used in industrial cleaning products, synthetic clothing fibers and tires.Why do cosmetics makers use them?
Manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble have advertised the exfoliating powers of microbeads, particularly in face and body scrubs.
Many of those companies have pledged to voluntarily phase out use of the pellets.What’s the problem?
About eight million tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year, according to a 2015 report by the journal Science. While microbeads represent only a small percentage of those plastics, there is growing concern about their presence in oceans, lakes and rivers.
Microbeads that wash down drains cannot be filtered out by many wastewater treatment plants, meaning that tiny plastics slip easily into waterways. Fish and other marine animals often eat them, introducing potentially toxic substances into the food chain.
A single shower can flush as many as 100,000 microbeads, according to a 2016 report by the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons in Britain. That adds up pretty quickly.What is Britain doing?
The government pledged in September 2016 to ban the manufacturing of cosmetic products with microbeads, and that ban took full effect on Tuesday. A ban on the sale of such products is to follow later this year.
“The world’s seas and oceans are some of our most valuable natural assets, and I am determined we act now to tackle the plastic that devastates our precious marine life,” Thérèse Coffey, the British environment minister, said in a statement. “Microbeads are entirely unnecessary when there are so many natural alternatives available, and I am delighted that from today cosmetic manufacturers will no longer be able to add this harmful plastic to their rinse-off products.”
Sue Kinsey, a senior pollution officer at the Marine Conservation Society, called the microbead ban “the strongest and most comprehensive ban to be enacted in the world.”Where else are they banned?
The United States passed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which required companies to stop using microbeads in beauty and health products by July 2017, and Canada’s ban on manufacturing the pellets took effect at the beginning of this year.
New Zealand’s ban on microbeads is to take effect in June. Several countries in the European Union have campaigned for a similar ban.Is it enough?
“Microbeads linger — the ones in our oceans will be there for centuries, and they’re still permitted in products other than rinse-off cosmetics,” said Tisha Brown, a campaigner for Greenpeace in Britain.
Chris Flower, the director general of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, said in an email that most of the industry had already phased out microplastics in rinse-off products.
He still welcomed the ban, however, saying it “will ensure that all cosmetics companies, now and in the future, are bound by law to not include plastic microbeads in their products.”
Dr. Flower added that broader action against plastic pollution would be needed.What other steps is Britain taking against plastic waste?
The harmful effects of plastic on the world’s oceans were documented by David Attenborough recently on the BBC series “Blue Planet II.” Scenes from the television program include a turtle trying to swim while tangled in a plastic bag, and clumps of plastic trash floating in the open ocean.
Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted about the show and the need to act, mentioning Britain’s introduction of a 5-pence, or 7-cent, charge for plastic shopping bags in 2015. The fee is meant to encourage the use of renewable or reusable carrier bags.
The government is also considering a “latte levy” — a tax of 25 pence — on disposable coffee cups, which are laminated with plastic to make them waterproof. And Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has pushed for more public drinking fountains and bottle-refilling stations in an attempt to cut back on the use of plastic water bottles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/world/europe/microbeads-ban-uk.html
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Analysts Predict Big Year for Oil Industry Mergers
Jan 9, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
Consolidation in the oil and gas sector has been slow, but some analysts think that's about to change in 2018.
With the oil price crash beginning in mid-2014, many oil industry observers assumed companies would combine in order to stay alive. But that hasn't really happened, aside from some key mergers and acquisitions in the oil field service sector. Two offshore drilling rig contractors also merged in another transaction.
Otherwise, the dearth of dealmaking or consolidation during this down cycle, particularly in the upstream exploration and production side of the business, has been noteworthy to experts who recall the waves of M&A deals cut in other past low oil price environments. But as the crude price stabilizes and companies prepare their spending plans for this year, many see more M&As on the horizon, with the long-awaited industry consolidation possibly picking up speed.
Total M&A value in the industry fell quickly in the second half of last year, according to data compiled by the research firm 1Derrick. Transactions totaled roughly $18 billion in the bottom half of 2017, analysts there report, compared to $43 billion during the same period in 2016.
But the value of deals reached for all of last year was largely in line with previous annual averages. Private equity firms also played a major role in financing oil industry consolidation in 2017, 1Derrick analysts noted, and they expect stronger private equity interest in 2018 mergers and acquisitions.
"This level of [private equity] investment is one reason why we believe another wave of U.S. M&A and consolidation is on the horizon," said 1Derrick analyst Mangesh Hirve. "For example, EnCap and Natural Gas Partners each funded seven companies that have yet to make any significant acquisitions. The remaining capital will likely be allocated over the next two or three quarters, with the focus expanding beyond the Permian."
The Permian Basin was the focus of transactions last year, as well. Though it will continue to be the dominant oil play, Hirve expects money to flow to other U.S. shale oil patches this year. "We expect oil-weighted investment will accelerate to the rapidly growing alphabet soup of plays in the Mid-Continent," Hirve said.
In a recent briefing, Andrew Slaughter, director of the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions, remarked on the low appetite for consolidation during the most recent oil price collapse. More business stability and caution during this year could set the stage for a turnaround, he said.
"Paradoxically, mergers and acquisitions activity has been rather depressed in the downturn," he said. "In previous downturns — I remember the early 2000s — low oil prices seemed to trigger a lot of consolidation in the business; as you remember, some of the major oil companies merged and consolidated at that time. This has been different."
Experts privy to merger talks report that during 2017, companies looking to sell assets or themselves outright were still unable to accept prices put on offer by would-be buyers, as the so-called bid-ask spread failed to narrow. A more stable market this year should help spur deals, many observers believe.
"The range of uncertainty around prices and around the value of assets has really gone against the M&A increase," Slaughter added.
Some disagree with the view that 2018 will be the year the oil industry reorganizes itself. A recent report forecasting 2018 economywide M&A activity by the global consultancy Baker McKenzie sees dealmaking gradually on track to return to value levels seen just prior to the 2008-09 global financial crisis. But energy is not included among the industries it sees as the most active in consolidation this year.
"We forecast a gradual slowdown in the energy sector, as well as a rebound in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare and technology and telecom sectors following disappointing levels of activity in 2017," Baker McKenzie analysts wrote.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/01/09/stories/1060070455
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Lawmaker Wants Rehearing for Appalachia-to-Southeast NatGas Pipelines
Jan 9, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jamison Cocklin
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has written Chairman Kevin McIntyre asking that FERC grant rehearing requests on the Appalachia-to-Southeast Atlantic Coast (ACP) and Mountain Valley pipeline (MVP) projects.
In a letter, which was sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday, Kaine expressed his concern over FERC’s rare 2-1 split decision in October that approved both projects. At the time, McIntyre, a Republican, and Richard Glick, a Democrat, had not yet been sworn in.
“Given that the Commission now has a full complement of five members, there is a real concern about whether the divided rulings by a partial Commission fairly reflect the FERC position,” Kaine wrote. He noted that nearly all of FERC’s 2016 decisions were unanimous.
About a month after Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, who at the time was FERC’s lone Democrat, dissented from Commissioners Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson, dozens of groups and individuals filed rehearing requests challenging the projects' certificate orders. LaFleur argued in part that the two pipelines should be merged into one to reduce environmental impacts.
Kaine’s letter supports those formal requests, some of them filed by environmental groups that are vehemently opposed to all natural gas infrastructure projects. The Sierra Club, which has filed for rehearing, welcomed Kaine’s letter on Monday, saying in a statement that he knows the Commission “should be a watchdog for Americans, not a rubber stamp” for the oil and gas industry.
But the senator stressed that he does “not endorse or oppose” the views of the petitioners on the “substantive merits of these projects,” saying instead that “it is important for the public to have confidence in the integrity of FERC’s process. All I request is for every step of that process to be followed to the fullest extent of the law.”
ACP spokesman Aaron Ruby said the project’s backers agree with Kaine that the Commission should completely follow its process, but said “we believe FERC has done so.” He added that “the law requires a quorum of three Commissioners to make permitting decisions, and FERC had such a quorum when it approved the ACP.” Ruby said ACP sponsors are confident that FERC will affirm approval of the project as it considers the rehearing requests.
As FERC continued to receive a steady stream of rehearing filings for natural gas pipeline projects, it tolled many of them to freeze the statutory timeframe in which it has to consider and decide on them. While Kaine acknowledged FERC’s announcement last month that it would review the decades-old policy that informs its pipeline certification process, he asked McIntyre for a “fuller understanding” of the orders. Kaine expressed concern over pipeline opponents claims that the tolling orders are being used to freeze appeals and advance construction.
The 303-mile, 2 million Dth/d MVP is targeting a 4Q2018 in-service date. It is a joint venture (JV) between EQT Midstream Partners LP, NextEra US Gas Assets LLC, Con Edison Transmission Inc., WGL Midstream and RGC Midstream LLC. MVP could not be reached to comment on Monday.
The 600-mile, 1.5 Bcf/d ACP is targeting a 2019 in-service date. The project is a JV of Dominion Energy Inc., Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas.
Both MVP and ACP are designed to deliver Marcellus and Utica shale gas to Southeast markets. Each greenfield project would start in West Virginia before crossing into Virginia to connect with the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line. ACP would extend into North Carolina as well.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/112992-lawmaker-wants-rehearing-for-appalachia-to-southeast-natgas-pipelines
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Trump Administration's Offshore Drilling Proposal a Threat to Coastal Communities
Jan 9, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Frank Pallone
During his campaign and Inaugural Address, President Donald J. Trump repeatedly claimed that he was on the side of “the forgotten men and women of our country.” However, his first year in office is proof that, despite his words, the president and his administration are committed to serving the needs of corporate interests, regardless of the impact on everyday Americans. Nowhere is this more clear than in the administration’s recent proposals to dramatically increase offshore drilling while rolling back safety regulations put in place after the catastrophic BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. These decisions are clearly designed to benefit Big Oil at the expense of coastal communities.
Last week, the Department of the Interior released its draft proposal to allow offshore drilling in essentially all U.S. waters, including the Atlantic Ocean. In New Jersey, we have long had bipartisan consensus that drilling offshore threatens workers, families, and businesses up and down the coast. The Jersey Shore, which runs through my congressional district, is a national treasure, and plays a huge role in powering New Jersey’s economy, adding $45 billion of economic activity to the state.
The Shore helps employ nearly 10 percent of New Jersey’s workforce via the tourism industry, including 65,000 New Jerseyans working in the state’s recreational and commercial fishing industries, and there are also countless home- and business- owners who have made lives for themselves along the Shore. Additionally, allowing oil and gas development in the Atlantic would not meet any immediate energy needs, and it is, at best, unclear that doing so would be an energy boon. Simply put, drilling in the Atlantic is not acceptable.
Beyond New Jersey, coastal communities and citizens throughout the country are rallying in opposition to this plan. New drilling leases have not been allowed in the Pacific for decades. Floridians have long sought to protect the Eastern Gulf of Mexico from drilling, in order to protect their own beaches and coastal economies. The Arctic Ocean has long been recognized as a place where an oil spill would be ecologically catastrophic. The Obama administration recognized the widespread, grassroots opposition to drilling in all of these areas and the Atlantic when it maintained protections against offshore drilling.
The Trump administration proposal puts all of this at risk. An oil spill is an inevitability, not a possibility, if drilling occurs off of our coast. While the American people know it’s not worth the certain damage, the Trump administration is fine with local communities facing a crippling spill as long as corporate oil interests can line their pockets.
Then, to double down on its gambling of coastal economies, the Trump administration has also announced that it intends to weaken oil rig safety regulations, including rules developed after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. One of the targeted rules simply requires third-party inspections of safety equipment - hardly job-killing government overreach. There have also been media reports that the administration intends to weaken the well control rule, which was developed to prevent future explosions on oil rigs.
Whether it is healthcare, net neutrality, taxes, or our most beautiful and important lands and waters, the Trump administration is firmly on the side of corporate interests, and against those of everyday working Americans.
For the Atlantic alone, Oceana, an organization devoted to protecting our oceans, has found that over 140 East Coast municipalities, more than 1,200 local, state and federal elected officials, a coalition of over 41,000 businesses, and hundreds of thousands of fishing families all oppose offshore drilling in the Atlantic. That does not include the innumerable number of parents who take their children down the Shore each year, where they play on safe, beautiful beaches.
The Trump proposal is the greatest threat to the Jersey Shore and to our oceans in a generation. Our local economies and environment – indeed, our way of life – are at risk. We need Americans to get involved. Public meetings have been scheduled throughout the country (including one in Trenton, N.J. on Feb. 14), and a public comment period is currently open until March 9. People who care about our coasts and our oceans need to come out and make their voices heard. Over the coming days and weeks, I know that we will hear families and communities all along our coasts say with a single voice, “Kill the drill.”
Pallone represents New Jersey’s 6th District and is ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/368092-trump-administrations-offshore-drilling-proposal-a
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Enterprise Products Expanding NGL Facilities in Houston and Permian
Jan 9, 2018 | The Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum
Houston's Enterprise Products Partners said it's further expanding its natural gas liquids facilities in the Houston area and West Texas to continue taking advantage of booming production from the Permian Basin.
Enterprise said it will expand its butane refining capabilities at its massive Mont Belvieu complex and continue to build out its new natural gas liquids processing plant in Orla in West Texas.
Enterprise aims to take advantage of the associated NGLs and natural gas that are produced along with crude oil to serve export markets and the Gulf Coast's growing petrochemical sector.
"Over the next five years, supplies of natural gas and NGLs in the Permian Basin could nearly double, and Orla is ideally situated to capitalize on growth opportunities in the region," said Enterprise CEO Jim Teague.
The Orla facility, which is scheduled to open its first processing units in the spring, is designed to separate and process natural gas and a variety of NGLs, such as ethane and butane.
Enterprise said it now plans to add 300 million cubic feet per day of capacity at its cryogenic natural gas processing facility near Orla. The third processing unit at Orla would allow Enterprise to expand its NGL extraction capabilities by 40,000 barrels per day up to to 120,000 barrels a day. The third unit is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2019.
In Mont Belvieu, Enterprise said it plans to add 30,000 barrels a day of processing capacity to its butane isomerization facilities. Isomerization is the process of turning butane into the more complex and valuable NGL, isobutane.
The isobutane is then used as a feedstock for petrochemicals or gasoline feedstocks. Enterprise already is building a isobutane dehydrogenation plant in Mont Belvieu to create isobutylene that's used to make lubricants, rubber products, gasoline components and more.
Enterprise would not reveal the costs of these expansion projects.
Enterprise currently is building its 571-mile Shin Oak pipeline to transport more NGL's from West Texas to Mont Belvieu.
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Enterprise-Products-expanding-NGL-facilities-in-12484155.php
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DOE Set to Finalize Procedures on Grid Security Emergencies
Jan 9, 2018 | Politico Pro - Whiteboard
By Darius Dixon
The Energy Department is slated to finalize new procedures Wednesday on how it handles grid security emergencies, according to a Federal Register notice slated for publication.
Under the 2015 FAST Act, Congress expanded DOE’s powers to respond to a broad sweep of potential grid emergency events, ranging from cyberattacks and electromagnetic pulse attacks to physical damage, if the president issues a special declaration.
That declaration would authorize the Energy secretary to issue emergency orders deemed necessary to “protect or restore the reliability of critical electric infrastructure or of defense critical electric infrastructure.”
Under a grid emergency declaration, which would last up to 15 days and could be renewed in 15-day increments, DOE’s electricity office and an internal “Emergency & Incident Management Council” would coordinate the agency’s response.
The FAST Act also extended vast legal protections to anyone subject to DOE emergency orders that would protect companies from civil and criminal liability, as well as environmental and reliability regulations except in cases of “gross negligence.”
Still, the language describing the procedures was fairly broad, the notice says, because “the nature of a grid security emergency is uncertain” and the procedures “allow for flexibility in response measures.”
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Guest Commentary: Competitive Freight Keeps Steel on Track
Jan 9, 2018 | The Northwest Indiana Times
By Philip K. Bell
America’s industrial greatness was forged by two industries more than any other: steel and railroads. Together they built our nation, one by providing the raw material and the other by hauling it where it needed to go.
Indiana has been the largest steel manufacturing state for the past 35 years. Like Indiana, our industry has gone through many changes over the years. For us, competition has helped make U.S. steel producers stronger than ever.
In one recent week, domestic raw steel production topped 1.76 million raw tons, an increase of 6.3 percent from the same period a year ago. And most people would probably be surprised to know more than 154,000 hard-working Americans produce steel each day, with another 420,000 employed indirectly in related industries.
We are proud of what our industry has accomplished to support American manufacturing. We believe the increased competition that helped make the steel industry stronger also would benefit other industries that support our operations — including the rail carriers that are so critical to moving raw materials and finished goods.
That is why we have joined with other manufacturers as part of the Rail Customer Coalition to get Washington to act on regulatory reforms that would help create a more competitive freight rail network.
It’s not always easy for Washington to do things differently, but the Surface Transportation Board, which has been tasked by Congress to address freight rail issues, is working on sensible reforms to remove regulatory barriers to competition and cut red tape at the agency.
Under one of the board’s proposals, steel manufacturers and other rail customers will for the first time have an effective means to seek competitive bids for service from other railroads through reciprocal or competitive switching.
The board also is trying to cut red tape out of its procedures for resolving rate issues in markets that lack competitive transportation options. The current system is a bureaucratic nightmare, with rate cases taking an average of three and a half years and more than $5 million to complete.
The STB has made some progress on these important regulatory reforms, but it is handcuffed by simple math. The board is made up of a five-person panel, but two of the seats have been vacant for far too long.
American manufacturers, in steel and other vital industries, need the STB to operate at full strength, and with a deep commitment to enacting reform policies that will light a fire under our economy.
For that to happen, we need President Donald Trump and Congress to act quickly to fill the vacancies at the STB with members who will advance long overdue regulatory reforms that will help manufacturers, farmers and energy producers across America.
http://www.nwitimes.com/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-competitive-freight-keeps-steel-on-track/article_22136bae-6280-586b-84ee-78c86dafc250.html
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