Preview Newsletter

ACC PM 25/01/18

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) Reason for Optimism on NAFTA Talks
Jan 25, 2018 | ICIS
By Cal Dooley

Wagering that US President Trump can still reach a deal on North American free trade isn’t for the faint of heart.
NRDC Sues Pruitt Over Advisory Panel Mandate
Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly

The Natural Resources Defense Council has brought the third legal challenge to U.S. EPA's recent restrictions on advisory panel membership, arguing agency chief Scott Pruitt ran afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act on several fronts.
Ewire: EPA Struggles to Find Region 9 Pick
Jan 25, 2018 | Inside EPA

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appears to be struggling to find a pick to lead Region 9 -- the only EPA region that currently lacks a top political appointee.
Michael Dourson to Leave the US EPA
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie A. Miller

Michael Dourson is leaving the US EPA, a month after withdrawing his nomination to lead the agency's office of chemical safety and pollution prevention (OCSPP).

LCSA News

EPA: Courts Should Limit Scope When Reviewing Citizen Petitions Under TSCA
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie A. Miller

In reviewing citizen petitions for chemical regulation under the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), courts should only consider information originally presented to the EPA in administrative proceedings, the agency has argued.
Industry: Federal Rules Should Bar California from Acting on Methylene Chloride
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie A. Miller

Industry's primary strategy to block California from restricting paint strippers containing methylene chloride – also known as dichloromethane – will apparently rely on arguing that state action duplicates, and may be pre-empted by, existing and pending federal regulations.

Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) CAPHR Coalition Launches to Advocate for Reform of IARC Monographs Program
Jan 25, 2018 | PR Newswire
By American Chemistry Council

A diverse group of industry and business interests today announced the launch of a new coalition to advocate for reform of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) Monographs Program.
EDF: Ingredient Disclosure Rising in Cleaning Product, Personal Care Sectors
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Retailers and brands in the household cleaning and personal care sectors took major steps towards public ingredient disclosure in 2017, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
EU's SCCS: Safety of Sprayable Sunscreens with Titanium Dioxide Remains Uncertain
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Some sprayable sunscreens containing nanoscale titanium dioxide may not be safe, a European Commission science committee has concluded.
CLP Case Will Have 'Repercussions' for Echa Decision Making, Lawyer Says
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Andrew Turley

A recently concluded legal case will have repercussions on the way Echa's Risk Assessment Committee (Rac) makes decisions, says one of the key lawyers involved.
Echa Round-Up
Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Echa's Committees for Risk Assessment (Rac) and Socio-economic Analysis (Seac) have agreed on advice, relating to applications for authorisation for substances on the authorisation list with endocrine disrupting properties for the environment.

Energy News

Sand, Water, and Horsepower: Welcome to the Year of the Fracker
Jan 25, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum

Oil companies are on track to produce a record 10 million barrels of American crude a day, a milestone that could be reached as soon as February largely due to another record that is expected to fall in coming months.
Fracking Fight Begins Again
Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer

Settle in for another long fight over federal hydraulic fracturing standards.
The Energy 202: California Just Can't Get Enough of Suing the Trump Administration
Jan 25, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni

Here we are again.
Chemical Safety Board Weighing Larger Investigation for Oklahoma Rig Explosion
Jan 25, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board will consider launching a larger investigation into the deadly Oklahoma rig explosion that claimed five lives on Monday.
2018: The Year of American Energy
Jan 25, 2018 | Forbes
By Brigham A. McCown

It has been one year since President Trump issued executive orders allowing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline to proceed.
$150M Natural Gas Processing Plant Planned in North Dakota
Jan 25, 2018 | AP (In The Washington Post)
By James MacPherson

A $150 million natural gas processing plant is planned in western North Dakota, bringing to four the number of projects proposed to capture more of the record volume of gas that is coming as a byproduct of the state’s oil production.

Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.

Transportation and Infrastructure News - There are no clips to report at this time.

Environment News

Md. Democrat Wants 'Insurance' to Guard Against Withdrawal
Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Josh Kurtz

With the Maryland State House gripped by election-year maneuvering, a state senator has introduced a bill that would require the Legislature to approve any recommendation by the governor to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Signs at EPA Building Tout 'Environmental Achievements' Under Trump
Jan 25, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama

The Trump administration has installed signs inside the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) headquarters celebrating “environmental achievements” by the EPA in President Trump’s first year in office.
5 Climate Themes from Davos
Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Hulac and Jean Chemnick

Before he called the White House home, President Trump often sought to hobnob with the world's wealthy and powerful at exclusive events like the economic summit underway in Davos, Switzerland.

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) Reason for Optimism on NAFTA Talks

Jan 25, 2018 | ICIS

By Cal Dooley

Wagering that US President Trump can still reach a deal on North American free trade isn’t for the faint of heart. But this former House Democrat believes there is reason to be optimistic. The president’s top trade envoy will head to Montreal, Canada to further negotiations with Canada and Mexico on how to best update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Back at home, American chemical manufacturers are growing increasingly confident that the administration will modernise the 25-year old trade pact so that, like the president’s new tax plan, it can promote growth and enable industries like ours to create jobs.
Given the tough talk from all sides on the trade agreement so far, where does our industry find such confidence? It’s a fair question.
I was in Congress in December 1993 when President Clinton first signed NAFTA into law. Since that time, NAFTA has proven to be a boon for a lot of businesses – but no industry has illustrated the promise of free trade and regional economic integration better than US chemical manufacturing. Trade in chemicals among the US, Canada and Mexico has more than tripled under NAFTA, from $20bn in 1994, to $62bn in 2016. The agreement helped reduce US manufacturing costs, create jobs, increase customers abroad and lower costs for US consumers.
Since chemistry touches more than 96% of all manufactured goods, the chemical industry has had a multiplier effect on job creation and economic growth throughout North America.
Today, thanks to the shale gas revolution, US chemical manufacturing has entered a new golden age. The relatively low price of natural gas has strengthened our competitive advantage and brought unprecedented foreign investment to US shores. According to the Census Bureau, expenditures on chemical plants accounted for half of all US manufacturing construction spending in 2016, up from just 20% in 2009.
The chemical industry as a whole has announced 300 projects valued at $185bn. An impressive 62% of that investment is from overseas. Many projects are aimed at supplying not only the North American market, but also the global market.
RECORD CHEMICAL TRADE SURPLUS
By the end of this decade, the US chemical sector is positioned to post record trade surpluses. But for that to happen, we have to keep trade alive with Canada and Mexico, the two leading foreign markets for US chemicals exports.
Withdrawing from NAFTA, and reintroducing tariffs into the North American supply chain, would erode US manufacturing competitiveness and extinguish a renaissance that is expected to peak within the next decade.
Tariffs artificially inflate the price of chemical industry goods. They also hike up the costs of the inputs that businesses purchase to produce those goods. Operating margins would take a significant hit – and with them, jobs. That’s because US chemical industry jobs are high-paying, and 30% of them depend on exports.
When the price of chemical products goes up, customers begin to look for cheaper substitutes and China will be well-positioned to meet their demand. Shuttering chemical facilities or propping up China’s economy at America’s expense is hardly in our country’s best interest.
MODERNISING NAFTA
Although NAFTA has worked well, it isn’t perfect. I believe the pact should be modernised to ensure that its benefits can flow more freely across the US economy. For instance, NAFTA negotiators are considering a chapter on Regulatory Cooperation, which would enable all three governments to better coordinate regulatory activity and avoid unnecessary barriers that have hindered trade between our countries.
Still, when the president talks about withdrawing from NAFTA, inserting highly controversial proposals or removing investor protections from a new agreement, he makes it difficult for his most steadfast supporters to back any reform effort. On the other hand, the president understands what he can do to continue to support our nation’s booming chemical manufacturing industry and knows what the industry can continue to do for our country – drive economic growth, boost exports, and create jobs.
The chemical industry is betting on the president to negotiate sound NAFTA reform, but we’re also betting on ourselves. We know the value we bring to the table and the impact we have on other sectors. And that should give manufacturers across North America, and the countless businesses that depend on our products, reason to be optimistic.
Cal Dooley is president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Dooley represented the 20th District of California as a Democratic member of the House from 1991 until 2004. He served on the House Agriculture Committee, as well as the House Resources Committee.
https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2018/01/25/10186766/reason-for-optimism-on-nafta-talks/

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NRDC Sues Pruitt Over Advisory Panel Mandate

Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

By Sean Reilly

The Natural Resources Defense Council has brought the third legal challenge to U.S. EPA's recent restrictions on advisory panel membership, arguing agency chief Scott Pruitt ran afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act on several fronts.
Among the alleged violations: failures both to first seek public comment and to provide a "reasoned explanation" for deciding to bar current EPA grant recipients from also serving on any of the agency's almost two dozen advisory committees, according to the lawsuit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where NRDC is based.
Pruitt also did not explain how the ban is consistent with statutory requirements that EPA advisory committees "have appointees with relevant scientific expertise in their fields," the 30-page filing said. The suit asks a judge to vacate the policy, along with "all EPA actions" that have resulted since its adoption last fall.
The complaint comes on the heels of a separate legal challenge brought Tuesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Elizabeth Anne Sheppard, a University of Washington professor and current member of EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) (Greenwire, Jan. 24). A half-dozen researchers and advocacy groups launched the initial challenge late last month (E&E News PM, Dec. 21, 2017).
In a statement this morning, EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said the agency looks forward to using the CASAC and other panels "to ensure the highest quality independent advice to provide a foundation for the agency's policies and decisions."
EPA also pointed to Pruitt's explanation last October for the change. "Whatever science comes out of EPA, shouldn't be political science," Pruitt said at the time. "From this day forward, EPA advisory committee members will be financially independent from the agency."
His directive also included provisions to "enhance geographic diversity" in advisory panel membership and increase participation by government officials below the federal level.
But the NRDC suit says the prohibition on service by current grant recipients hinges on a concept of conflict of interest that is "inconsistent" with governmentwide rules and so should have been issued as a supplemental agency ethics regulation. Pruitt also did not explain an exemption for state, local and tribal assistance grant recipients, according to the suit.
NRDC has members and employees who have served on EPA advisory committees, the suit said. By forcing them to choose between continued service on those panels and competing for EPA grants, "the directive injures these scientists by limiting their professional opportunities," the filing added.
How broadly Pruitt has applied the new policy to all of EPA's advisory committees thus far is unclear. But on two panels — the CASAC and the Science Advisory Board — a total of eight members have been forced off as a result, according to EPA figures obtained by E&E News.
If NRDC fully prevails in the litigation, those former members "would be allowed to rejoin," NRDC spokesman Jake Thompson said this morning.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/01/25/stories/1060071971

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Ewire: EPA Struggles to Find Region 9 Pick

Jan 25, 2018 | Inside EPA

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appears to be struggling to find a pick to lead Region 9 -- the only EPA region that currently lacks a top political appointee.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “a top oil and gas lobbyist from New Mexico who, according to several people inside the Trump administration, was poised to fill the post told The Times it was all a big mistake. He'd be staying put in New Mexico.”
"I am not leaving my current role as Executive Director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association for any position at EPA or elsewhere within the federal government," Ryan Flynn told the paper.
His “'unwavering declaration” apparently caught some in the administration off guard, the paper says, as “Flynn had already been spotted at EPA offices this week, where staff in the building reported he was fingerprinted, a final step before assuming the role as head of EPA Region 9.”
According to the Times, Flynn is the second oil and gas industry official to decline the job. “In other cases, candidates had been approached, but took a pass before talks got that far.”
Inside EPA, for example, reported last year that Seyed Sadredin, chief of California's San Joaquin Valley air district, was expected to take the position.
No reasons were given for why Flynn declined to take the post but the Times suggests that pushing the Trump administration's aggressive deregulatory agenda in a region with a reputation for aggressively implementing environmental requirements might have had something to do with it.
“The assignment is to carry out the Trump agenda -- industry-friendly and averse to action to combat climate change -- in one of the nation's most environmentally active states. The post is guaranteed to come with daily confrontation with the state's battle-ready leaders, not to mention the hordes of protesters who can make just getting to and from work in San Francisco a professional hazard,” the paper said.
"The saying goes that there are nine EPA regions and then there is Region 9," Jared Blumenfeld, who ran that office during the Obama administration, told the paper.
The passion of the scientists, enforcement officers and others who work in California, he said, has made it "nearly impossible for Trump to recruit" someone "to stand in front of the 900 EPA professionals in Region 9 and lead them and the agency over the precipice. It would be a fool's errand," he said.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-epa-struggles-find-region-9-pick

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Michael Dourson to Leave the US EPA

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Julie A. Miller

Michael Dourson is leaving the US EPA, a month after withdrawing his nomination to lead the agency's office of chemical safety and pollution prevention (OCSPP).
Dr Dourson had been working as a senior adviser to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt while the nomination was pending. In response to media reports that he was leaving the agency, the EPA issued a statement on 23 January wishing him "continued success in his future endeavours".
The controversial nominee withdrew his nomination on 13 December. That day the New York Times published hundreds of pages of emails outlining his relationship with the chemical industry.
But the nomination had already been in trouble, as two Republican senators announced their opposition in November. They cited current local controversies over chemical contamination at the Camp Lejeune marine base and water pollution in North Carolina's Cape Fear River, which has been connected to GenX – a chemical Dr Dourson evaluated for corporate clients.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63398/michael-dourson-to-leave-the-us-epa

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LCSA News

EPA: Courts Should Limit Scope When Reviewing Citizen Petitions Under TSCA

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Julie A. Miller

In reviewing citizen petitions for chemical regulation under the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), courts should only consider information originally presented to the EPA in administrative proceedings, the agency has argued.
The EPA made the argument in connection with a lawsuit brought by a group of NGOs demanding that the agency ban the addition of fluoride to drinking water. This case could end up setting precedent for how the judiciary handles citizen petitions under TSCA, and may also have implications for a separate legal dispute over the EPA’s implementation of TSCA’s risk evaluation mandates.
In a December ruling, the court rejected both the agency’s request to dismiss the case and its contention that citizen petitions must address all potential conditions of use, rather than demanding action against one use of a chemical.
The administrative action underlying the case is the EPA’s February 2017 denial of a petition by organisations campaigning against fluoridation of drinking water. The agency argued that other uses must be addressed as well as disputing the scientific evidence of neurotoxicity that the NGOs presented.
The issue, addressed by legal papers submitted in January, is whether the NGOs can submit information beyond that already presented in their petition to the EPA and demand that the agency provide additional information to the court.
Section 21, the part of TSCA providing for citizen petitions, states that when the EPA denies one, "the petitioner shall be provided an opportunity to have such petition considered by the court in a de novo proceeding."
The EPA argues that the words "such petition" should limit consideration to information in the administrative record.
The NGOs’ interpretation would allow a petitioner to argue one set of facts and then seek a judicial order for regulation "based on a completely different set of facts," the EPA says in its filing. In addition, the EPA says, the NGOs have not identified what additional facts they wish to present or seek.
The NGOs contend that a "de novo proceeding" by definition involves creation of a new record, and that Section 21 draws a distinction between administrative proceedings and the higher level of evidence "required to prevail in district court."Broader Implications
A separate group of NGOs filed petitions in August 2017 for court review of the final framework rules, arguing they do not faithfully implement the 2016 TSCA amendments.
One of the major issues in dispute is what "conditions of use" must be considered in risk evaluation. In that case, the NGOs are arguing that TSCA requires consideration of all possible uses – the interpretation the EPA wishes to apply to citizen petitions in the fluoride case.
The proceedings in the fluoride case may take on additional importance as it is being argued in a federal district court in California. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit would hear an appeal of the eventual decision. This is the court that will decide the TSCA framework cases.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63397/epa-courts-should-limit-scope-when-reviewing-citizen-petitions-under-tsca

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Industry: Federal Rules Should Bar California from Acting on Methylene Chloride

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Julie A. Miller

Industry's primary strategy to block California from restricting paint strippers containing methylene chloride – also known as dichloromethane – will apparently rely on arguing that state action duplicates, and may be pre-empted by, existing and pending federal regulations.
Last November, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) proposed regulations to name the paint and varnish strippers a "priority product" under the state's Safer Consumer Products (SCP) programme. This would trigger requirements that manufacturers undertake "alternatives analysis". It could eventually lead to the products being restricted or banned in the state.
However, in comments on the proposal, industry groups and manufacturers noted that:the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) already regulates worker exposure to methylene chloride;the US EPA has regulated emissions of the chemical under the Clean Air Act; andthe Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has required warning labels for consumer products.
In June 2017, CPSC commissioners voted unanimously to grant an industry petition to revise labelling requirements to better address acute hazards from vapour inhalation. The new requirements are in the process of being drafted.
"This comprehensive regulatory framework provides protection with respect to the same potential adverse impacts and potential exposure pathways targeted by the current DTSC initiative," wrote Faye Graul, executive director of the Halogenated Solvents Industry Association (HSIA). "Taking steps that may lead to the removal of products from the marketplace because workers or consumers failed to comply with these existing requirements is not consistent with the SCP regulations," she wrote.
Not only should state consumer regulation be pre-empted by the CPSC initiatives, but the US EPA is also in the process of addressing methylene chloride under TSCA, which would explicitly pre-empt state action, argued Anthony Sampson, an attorney at William and Porter writing on behalf of solvent manufacturer WM Barr.
The EPA technically has proposals pending to restrict the use of of methylene chloride. But they were issued in the final days of the Obama administration, and the agency indicated in December that it is probably abandoning them by downgrading their status on its regulatory agenda.
Indeed, Jennifer McPartland, senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), argued in her comments that the EPA's recent action "makes it all the more urgent that California move now."
Methylene chloride is also among the first ten substances undergoing risk evaluation under the new TSCA.Acute and chronic toxicity
In general industry's comments did not dispute the acute toxicity of paint strippers, which have been linked to several well publicised fatalities in recent years, but argued that labelling requirements are sufficient protection. And they attacked the scientific basis of the DTSC's argument that longer term exposure to methylene chloride has been shown to cause cancer.
They also argued that because alternatives to methylene chloride are ineffective, a ban would lead consumers to use much larger amounts of alternative chemicals, some of which also present fire hazards.
Once the DTSC finalises the designation of a priority product, manufacturers of such products sold in the state will have 60 days to register and begin an analysis to determine if a safer alternative exists.
Children's sleeping items containing the flame retardants TDCPP or TCEP officially became the first "priority product" in July 2017 and the public comment period on the second priority product – spray polyurethane foam (SPF) containing MDI – ended in June.
Listing as a priority product "sets in motion a strategy to reduce human exposure," the DTSC said in its current proposal, but it is unknown what regulatory action DTSC could take in response to alternatives analyses.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63394/industry-federal-rules-should-bar-california-from-acting-on-methylene-chloride

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Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) CAPHR Coalition Launches to Advocate for Reform of IARC Monographs Program

Jan 25, 2018 | PR Newswire

By American Chemistry Council

A diverse group of industry and business interests today announced the launch of a new coalition to advocate for reform of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) Monographs Program. The Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR) Coalition will advocate to modernize the Monographs Program through greater transparency and balanced assessments that produce credible conclusions.
The Monographs Program, which evaluates cancer hazards, has been criticized by leading scientists and regulators for its lack of transparency, frequent conflicts of interest, questionable carcinogen classifications and misleading communications. The CAPHR Coalition was formed to address concerns that have been raised and reinforced by numerous credible and independent experts about IARC's efforts to suppress and omit relevant data, as well as the organization's well-established track-record of manipulating outcomes when it comes to designating key carcinogenic classifications.
"Recent conclusions from the IARC Monographs Program, along with media reports that Monograph Program leaders have manipulated outcomes, should raise serious concerns for all governments and private organizations that donate the funding that makes up IARC's annual budget," said Cal Dooley, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). "Reform should be a shared priority for all who support IARC's mission and rely on IARC for useful information about how to enhance public health."
The Coalition includes the following partners:American Chemistry CouncilAmerican Petroleum InstituteChemistry Industry Association of CanadaCropLife AmericaNational Association of ManufacturersNational Stone, Sand, and Gravel AssociationSociety of Chemical Manufacturers and AffiliatesUnited States Council for International Business
"Manufacturers, governments, and individuals around the world are prioritizing transparency as a means to build trust, promote inclusion and ensure smart policies," said Linda Dempsey, Vice President of International Economic Affairs Policy of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). "IARC's Monographs Program, however, is blatantly pursuing a policy of secrecy and exclusion, prohibiting participants and observers from discussing how Monograph conclusions are reached, even threatening lawsuits against those who reveal information about the proceedings. These systematic efforts to conceal information and intimidate those with concerns directly contradict the values of IARC, the World Health Organization, and the member states that support their work."
As part of its commitment to the improvement of IARC's Monographs Program, the CAPHR Coalition has released principles for reform. These principles will strengthen the integrity of Monographs Program processes and ensure that IARC updates the methods and assumptions of the Monographs Program to reflect modern scientific practices, rather than the outdated approaches that the Agency has relied on since the program was established in 1969.
"Concerns about the conduct and credibility of the Monographs Program are detracting from IARC's important mission to track and help fight cancer, particularly in the developing world," said Bob Masterson, President and CEO of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC). "The members of CAPHR are committed to working with the World Health Organization and the leadership of IARC to implement fundamental reforms so that the Monographs Program produces information that is relevant to public health policymakers and the public."
Coalition members will work with the United States Government as well as their international colleagues to encourage other voices from industry, donor communities, and the public sector to call on IARC to reform the Monographs Program.
About the Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR)
The Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research (CAPHR) is an education and outreach initiative to promote credible, unbiased, and balanced assessments of science as the basis of policy decisions and help the public and policymakers understand the relevance of public health studies in our daily lives. In particular, CAPHR promotes reform of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) Monographs Program and brings to light the deficiencies, misinformation, and consequences associated with its work.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/caphr-coalition-launches-to-advocate-for-reform-of-iarc-monographs-program-300588310.html

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EDF: Ingredient Disclosure Rising in Cleaning Product, Personal Care Sectors

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Retailers and brands in the household cleaning and personal care sectors took major steps towards public ingredient disclosure in 2017, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
The NGO has published a list of companies in the sector that have publicly committed to:ban certain ingredients;increase ingredient transparency; orphase out, ban, or restrict the use of chemicals of concern.
It says significantly more companies disclosed ingredients in cleaning products and fragrances last year, a "major step towards greater transparency in a sector with little disclosure".
This may be driven by new US state regulations and growing consumer demand for improved transparency and safer products, the EDF says.
California passed a law requiring ingredient disclosure for cleaning products, last year. New York state has also floated a proposal for cleaning product manufacturers to publicly disclose ingredients and identify chemicals of concern used in formulations.
Currently the EDF's list shows two retailers – Target and Walmart – committed to ingredient disclosure on product labels, and 11 brand manufacturers with transparency commitments.
Many of these have focused on disclosing fragrance allergens. SC Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Unilever US, for example, have said they would reveal either fragrance ingredients, or all allergens, product by product, online.
The EDF says its list only includes commitments that are explicitly stated on company websites. It hopes to update it over time.
"As more companies join the movement to set public commitments, we are encouraged that the trend will continue," the NGO says.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63395/edf-ingredient-disclosure-rising-in-cleaning-product-personal-care-sectors

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EU's SCCS: Safety of Sprayable Sunscreens with Titanium Dioxide Remains Uncertain

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Some sprayable sunscreens containing nanoscale titanium dioxide may not be safe, a European Commission science committee has concluded.
The Opinion from the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) is restricted to sprayable personal care products containing titanium dioxide as a UV filter at a concentration up to 5.5%.
The committee says the information provided by industry was insufficient to allow safety assessment. In particular, the industry dossier did not include any exposure data for non-water based formations, which represent 20% of the EU sprayable sunscreens market. It also did not provide adequate toxicological evaluation relevant to inhalation.
The SCCS says that, according to the information provided, there are already sprayable products on the market containing nanoscale titanium dioxide. "Such uses need to be carefully evaluated so that the chance of harmful effects through consumer's lung exposure by inhalation is avoided," it adds.
The Opinion does not say who supplied the dossier. A corresponding 'request for a SCCS request' says that Dutch company DSM Nutritional Products submitted a dossier to support the use of titanium dioxide as a UV filter in sprayable personal care products.
Background
The SCCS has published previous Opinions on the use of titanium dioxide as a UV filter in sunscreens. In July 2013, it said such use was safe, up to a concentration of 25% and excluding sprayable products.
In 2015, the Commission received new information from industry to support the safe use of the substance in sprayable products, up to a concentration of 5.5 %.
Since then, the potential carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide via inhalation has been under intense scrutiny within the EU. Last year, Echa's Risk Assessment Committee (Rac) decided that the substance should be classified as category 2 carcinogenic by inhalation under EU CLP.
The use in cosmetics of substances classified as such is prohibited under Article 15 of the cosmetics Regulation. But industry association Cosmetics Europe has said it will seek an exemption if titanium dioxide is classified as carcinogenic.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63403/eus-sccs-safety-of-sprayable-sunscreens-with-titanium-dioxide-remains-uncertain

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CLP Case Will Have 'Repercussions' for Echa Decision Making, Lawyer Says

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Andrew Turley

A recently concluded legal case will have repercussions on the way Echa's Risk Assessment Committee (Rac) makes decisions, says one of the key lawyers involved. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has dismissed an appeal by the European Commission, effectively ending the case, which concerns how mandatory CLP classifications are set.
The appeal represented the final motion in a long-running dispute between the Commission and a group of companies that supply or use the substance coal tar pitch high temperature (CTPHT).
The Commission adopted a Regulation that set mandatory aquatic toxicity classifications for the substance, which is derived from coal, on the basis of an Opinion from Rac. But this was challenged by suppliers and downstream users, which said the solubility of the substance as a whole should have been taken into account.
Koen van Maldegem, a partner at Fieldfisher and the lead legal representative for the CTPHT suppliers and downstream users, said the case had wider implications because it addressed the discretion the Commission has when conducting scientific assessments. The section of the legal text for CLP, describing the method used by the EU executive, does not explicitly mention the solubility of the substance as a whole. The Commission said this meant it was not permitted to take it into account.
But the General Court and the Advocate General disagreed, saying the Commission was obliged to identify and consider all relevant factors, not just those mentioned in the text.
From now on, the Commission and Echa will have to demonstrate that they have taken into account comments and scientific data, submitted by concerned companies, Mr van Maldegem said.Discretion 'cuts both ways'
In a previous case, the CTPHT suppliers and downstream users challenged the Commission's identification of the substance as a very persistent and very bioaccumulative substance (vPvB). The companies said that the Commission was wrong to base its approach on the persistence, potential for bioaccumulation and toxicity of the constituents because doing so was not – at that time – explicitly permitted in the REACH legal text.
But in that case, the courts backed the Commission, albeit with some of the same reasoning: the Commission had discretion to identify and consider other relevant factors.
In his Opinion on the most recent case, published last year, the Advocate General, Michal Bobek, said that, "if one accepts some degree of discretion as a matter of principle, one must accept that that discretion can cut both ways.
"It can be exercised in a manner which clearly goes in the direction of the objectives [of CLP to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment] by imposing a higher, more stringent hazard classification. However, it can also be exercised in a way that results in a lower, less stringent classification."Background
CTPHT is the residue from the distillation of high-temperature coal tar. It is a substance of unknown or variable composition, complex reaction product or biological material (UVCB) because it cannot be fully identified by its chemical composition. The substance is mainly used to produce non-metallic materials that are exceptionally resilient to heat stress, so-called refactory materials, and as a binding agent.
In 2015, the General Court annulled the mandatory category 1 acute and chronic aquatic toxicity classifications for the substance. The judgement did not affect the other mandatory classifications – category 1A carcinogenicity and category 1B mutagenicity and reprotoxicity – or the inclusion of the substance on the REACH candidate list of SVHCs.
The Commission subsequently appealed against this.
The ECJ's dismissal of that appeal ends the legal process for the contested classification, Mr van Maldegem said. But companies affected by the unlawful adoption may yet try to seek compensation through the courts for damages incurred during the period it was applicable.
A spokesperson for Echa said that the agency and the Commission were still analysing the impact of the ruling.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63388/clp-case-will-have-repercussions-for-echa-decision-making-lawyer-says

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Echa Round-Up

Jan 25, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Advice on authorisation applications for endocrine disrupting substances
Echa's Committees for Risk Assessment (Rac) and Socio-economic Analysis (Seac) have agreed on advice, relating to applications for authorisation for substances on the authorisation list with endocrine disrupting properties for the environment.
The specific substances that the considerations apply to are octylphenol ethoxylates (OPnEO) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEO).

Rac's Q&As on risk-related considerations help applicants to understand how the committee will evaluate any predicted no-effect concentration (Pnec) values proposed and how a ‘non-threshold’ approach to authorisation could be described in their application.

The advice by Seac describes one possible approach for socio-economic analysis that an applicant may use to justify authorisation.Update to 'communication in the supply chain' webpages
The agency says its webpages now offer information on the roles of other actors in the supply chain, as well as on tools that help them to meet their obligations.
It adds that downstream user pages have also been moved here to reflect the significance of that group's roles and responsibilities.
It recommends checking the pages to keep up to date on developments, including updates from the Exchange Network on Exposure Scenarios (Enes).REACH 2018 stakeholders' day next week
Echa is running its 2018 REACH stakeholders' day on 31 January, ahead of the registration deadline on 31 May.
The conference will take place in Helsinki, Finland. Registration has now closed, but the agency will be streaming the event live online and accepting questions via social media using the hashtag #REACH2018.Last chance for feedback for identifying EDCs
Echa and the European Food Safety Authority are asking interested parties to comment on the draft guidance document for the identification of endocrine disruptors under EU legislation for pesticides and biocides.
Stakeholders are invited to comment by 31 January. All received comments will be taken into consideration in finalising the guidance, which is scheduled to be available by June 2018.
The agency first asked parties for comment on 7 December 2017. A form for this is available on the agency’s website.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63386/echa-round-up

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Energy News

Sand, Water, and Horsepower: Welcome to the Year of the Fracker

Jan 25, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

By Jordan Blum

Oil companies are on track to produce a record 10 million barrels of American crude a day, a milestone that could be reached as soon as February largely due to another record that is expected to fall in coming months.
By the end of the year, fracking intensity is projected to exceed levels reached in 2014 - the height of the so-called shale revolution - as hydraulic fracturing operations use more sand, more water and more pumping horsepower than ever before to free oil and gas from shale rock. The result: U.S. crude production should reach an all-time high with just half the number of drilling rigs used at the peak of the last energy boom.
Welcome to the year of the fracker. The controversial technology that transformed the U.S. energy industry and reshaped global oil markets has advanced to a new level, becoming more science than art as fracking operations run round the clock, target ever smaller sections of wells with greater precision and greater force, and squeeze more oil out of every well.
"It never stops," said David Adams, senior vice president for completions and production for Halliburton of Houston. "We're pushing the limits."
Fracking facts
Sand consumption in largest wells:
2014: 3 million pounds
2018: 50 million pounds
Average water consumption per well
2014: 5 million gallons
2018: 25 million gallons
Ratio of fracking fleets to drilling rigs
2014: 1:4
2018: 1:2
Pumping horsepower deployed:
2014: 18 million horsepower
2018 (projected) 19 million horsepower
Source: Industry data
As fracking plays an even larger role in oil production, it is boosting oilfield services companies like Halliburton that employ tens of thousands of people in Houston and Texas as well as creating more jobs near the state's shale fields, particularly the Permian Basin in West Texas, and increasing the flow of oil and gas to fuel an export boom of crude, chemicals and liquefied natural gas along the Gulf Coast.
It also is intensifying environmental concerns about air and water pollution, the destruction of habitat, the future of endangered species and increased number of earthquakes, which have been tied to the millions of barrels of chemical-laced wastewater that are pumped into deep, underground disposal wells.
"There are still people out there subjected to significant health impacts and potential property damage or, at least, having the wits scared out of them," said Luke Metzger, director of the advocacy group Environment Texas.
Fracking 101
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the high pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals to crack shale rock and release oil and natural gas. When energy companies combined fracking with horizontal drilling, it allowed producers to tap multiple reservoirs of oil and gas from a single rig site, ultimately reviving U.S. oil fields and transforming the industry.
Today, 90 percent of the wells in the Permian Basin are drilled horizontally, up from just 10 percent in 2014. The amount of sand used in the largest wells has soared up to 50 million pounds, up from an average of 3 million four years ago, while water consumption has surged to about 25 million gallons per well, up from about 5 million.
In 2018, there is one fracking fleet for every two drilling rigs, up from one fleet for every four rigs a few years ago. The number of sections, or stages, of a well the get fracked has doubled, from about 25 to 50.
Fracking is powered by fleets of a dozen or more semi-trucks connected to pressure pumps which increasingly run 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The U.S. record for pressure pumping intensity, set in 2014 was about 18 million horsepower. Already this year, frackers have deployed roughly 15 million horsepower and analysts project it could hit 19 million by the end of the year as new fracking fleets are assembled.
Halliburton, which leads North American fracking market, said it built a handful of new fleets at the end of the last year and is likely to add more. Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company, said it may spend $100 million to upgrade and unleash 20 fracking fleets recently acquired from Weatherford International, which has its main operations in Houston.
"It's just massively increased in a short period of time," said James West, an energy analyst at the research firm Evercore ISI. "It's a big industrialization effort."
The fracker rises - again
That effort is only expected to grow with some 7,000 drilled wells waiting to be fracked, nearly double the number in 2014, when oil prices were still at $100 a barrel. ProPetro, a Midland oilfield services company, said it could double its number of fracking crews from 10 at the beginning of 2017 to 20 by the end of this year. ProPetro's 17th fracking fleet is about to come online.
Each fracking fleet requires a crew of about 30 people, about 15 for each 12-hour shift. ProPetro has tripled its workforce in less than 18 months, from 400 to 1,200 - all working in the Permian.
"It's pretty unprecedented to add capacity at that pace," said Dale Redman, ProPetro's CEO and co-founder. "It's been an unbelievable transition to watch."
Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy is known for its drilling, but the company's fracking revenues exceeded 50 percent for the first time late last year. That trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as it keeps starting up more fracking fleets, said Mark Siegel, the company chairman.
"Fracking is becoming an ever-more-important expense of each well," Siegel said.
This week, five workers were killed in Oklahoma in an explosion involving a Patterson-UTI rig. Siegel was interviewed before the tragedy.
Tracking the oil price
Byron Pope, an energy analyst at the Houston investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., suggested that fracking horsepower may become a better indicator of U.S. oil and gas production than the rig count, as companies introduce high-tech rigs that can drill more wells that are longer and closer together. The active U.S. rig count was 936 last week, more than double its recent low of 404 in May 2016, but far below the nearly 2,000 rigs that were operating in 2014.
"The rig count is roughly half the prior peak, but horsepower demand is going to get back above that peak," Pope said. "It's silently outpaced the rig count."
The pivot to fracking was anticipated this year, but the big question now is how much activity might accelerate if oil prices stay near $65 a barrel compared to $45 at mid-2017.
Exploration and production companies are expected by analysts to boost spending in U.S. oilfields by least 20 percent this year - likely more - and much of that increase will go to cover the costs of fracking crews working in the Permian Basin and other U.S. shale fields.
"The main issue is oil prices are that much stronger than what everyone was expecting coming into the year," said Bill Herbert, a senior energy analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Houston. "That's huge."
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Sand-water-and-horsepower-Welcome-to-the-year-12524642.php

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Fracking Fight Begins Again

Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Energywire

By Ellen M. Gilmer

Settle in for another long fight over federal hydraulic fracturing standards.
California and a coalition of environmental groups yesterday kicked off the latest battle, with two lawsuits aimed at reviving the Obama administration's rule for fracking on public and tribal lands.
The Trump administration rescinded the Bureau of Land Management fracking rule last month, concluding that state requirements and existing federal standards would suffice.
The new lawsuits counter that the Obama updates were necessary to address the impacts from the rapid spread of fracking and horizontal drilling across the country over the past decade.
"The agency's previous oil and gas regulations had been developed in the 1980s, long before modern hydraulic fracturing practices came into common use," the environmental groups' lawsuit says.
According to BLM, fracking is used on about 90 percent of wells on federal lands.
The environmental coalition pushing to revive the rule includes several big national organizations, plus local advocacy groups representing members of tribes in oil and gas hot spots like North Dakota and the Four Corners region (E&E News PM, Jan. 24).
Defenders of the fracking standards have already ricocheted through the courts once, waging a nearly three-year legal battle to defend the 2015 rule.
Their effort is notable in light of the regulation's history. Environmentalists had pushed for years for a federal crackdown on fracking, and the BLM rule was viewed as just a first step toward increased oversight.
"The BLM fracking rule isn't perfect, but it does provide a floor of water protections below which the oil and gas industry cannot sink," Earthworks' Energy Program Director Bruce Baizel said in a statement.
The rule created an additional layer of BLM approval for fracked wells and set new requirements for well construction, water management and chemical disclosure for those operations.
The oil and gas industry — and, now, the federal government — argues that the regulation created red tape by duplicating state efforts.
Indeed, some states have adopted extensive new regulations to address fracking and other elements of oil and gas development in recent years. Some other states have lagged behind.
"Americans deserve better than a 'trust us' approach that fails to forthrightly address fracking-related drilling risks to our public lands," David Hayes, executive director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, said in a statement.
Hayes was deputy secretary at Interior during the Obama and Clinton administrations and helped craft the rule.Legal issues
The new legal challenges say the Trump administration violated federal laws when it rescinded the fracking rule.
Specifically, the groups say, Interior and BLM violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to give a good reason for the rollback.
"In particular, BLM failed to consider how the Final Repeal would fulfill the important statutory mandates that the Fracking Rule was designed to address, failed to explain why it reversed course based on the same information that it considered when it formulated and promulgated the Rule just two years earlier, and offered a purported justification for the Final Repeal that runs counter to the evidence before the agency," California's lawsuit says.
The two lawsuits also allege violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Mineral Leasing Act, and Indian Mineral Leasing Act. They ask the court to reinstate the fracking rule.
In a press conference yesterday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) framed his state's challenge as a critical check on the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to streamline fossil fuel production.
"Once again, President Trump and Interior Secretary [Ryan] Zinke didn't let the law or facts get in their way in their zeal to repeal this commonsense measure," Becerra said.
California and environmental groups have opposed several other rollbacks of Interior Department rules, including the delay of restrictions on methane emissions from oil and gas wells on public lands and the rescission of an update to how royalties are calculated for federal fossil fuels.
Those challenges, and the fracking rule lawsuits, are all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma criticized the venue choice, previewing what will likely be the first scuffle in the new litigation.
"It seems as though the environmental groups have decided their favorite venue is Northern California rather than the District Court for Wyoming that has spent the past three years understanding the rule," she said, referring to the original litigation over the fracking rule. "Better to go to a court with no experience in the matter."
She added that she's confident the Obama rule will not make a comeback.
Interior and BLM declined to comment on the new challenges.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/01/25/stories/1060071907

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The Energy 202: California Just Can't Get Enough of Suing the Trump Administration

Jan 25, 2018 | The Washington Post

By Dino Grandoni

Here we are again.
On Wednesday, California filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration — this time concerning the repeal of an Obama-era rule regulating hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," on publicly owned lands. A coalition of environmental and tribal groups also sued this week to block the rollback of the fracking rule, which the Trump administration finalized on Dec. 29.
“The risks of fracking to our health and our environment are real,” Xavier Becerra said at a news conference Wednesday on the anniversary of his first year since becoming California’s attorney general.
And what a busy year it has been for the former Democratic congressman and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. In 2017, California challenged the Trump administration in court at nearly every turn. With this latest fracking suit added to the list, California has sued the administration 26 times, according to the office of the attorney general.
That's a dizzying pace of a new lawsuit every two weeks. While New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Vermont, Oregon, New Mexico, and Connecticut have also challenged the Trump administration's environmental deregulation proposals in court, California has filed the most lawsuits to date, according to the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center, which helps coordinate the efforts of state attorneys general.
California has left few federal agencies unchallenged. The state has sued, to list just a few issues, over immigration enforcement, Trump's proposed ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, the Affordable Care Act, birth control and student loan protections. It's a testament to the tempo at which the Trump administration is rolling back Obama-era rules — and to the tenacity with which California along with other Democratic-controlled states are resisting the changes.
So far, Becerra's office has secured 10 legal victories. Most of that success has come in the environmental arena -- of those wins, six of them concern environmental issues. They include the rollback of rules meant to curb methane leaks from oil and gas wells and to make cars burn fuel more efficiently.
According to Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at Columbia Law School, “a major reason why states are having such success in court” on environmental issues is that the “Supreme Court has held that each state has such an interest in its own environment that it may have standing to sue in some cases where others might not.”
Indeed, in California alone, the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Interior Department, oversees 600 oil- and gas-producing leases on federal or tribal lands, covering more than 200,000 acres.
Of course, as Trump's Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt knows well, oil- and gas-producing states have an interest in their economic well-being as well, and often filed lawsuits against the Obama administration over environmental regulations, too. As the attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt sued the agency he now runs 14 times.
Pruitt scored some significant wins, including putting on hold a major water-pollution regulation in 2015. But the grounds on which California and other blue states are challenging Trump may be firmer. “It just so happens that Democrats want something that is more consistent with the existing environmental statutes,” said David Spence, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Under the 2015 rule issued by the Interior Department, companies that drill on public or Native American lands were subject to stricter standards for oil and gas wells, and for ponds and tanks where toxic wastewater resulting from the fracking process is stored. With the rule, the Obama administration also sought to compel oil and gas firms to report what chemicals they use when they fracked
Still, some of California's victories may be fleeting. In October, for example, a federal judge ordered the government to enforce the rule regulating the leaking of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from natural gas wells on federal land while Interior was in the process of mapping a strategy for rescinding the rule.
That was a victory for California, technically. But two months later, the Trump administration reissued a rule to “temporarily suspend or delay” the old one. California sued again.
“Some of the states' victories occur when the Trump administration didn't follow the right procedures,” Gerrard said. “Those victories are temporary -- the administration can go back and do it right the second time. In other cases, the administration acted contrary to a congressional statute -- those victories are durable, at least unless Congress repeals the statute.”
POWER PLAYS
— Senate Republicans are condemning Trump's solar tariff, a controversial protectionist move by the administration marking one of the most significant policies making good on his "America First" rhetoric since the president was elected. Via The Post's Erica Werner, Heather Long and David J. Lynch:Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.): "I don’t agree with it. I think it’s a bad path to head down." Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) “I understand what the administration’s trying to do — they’re trying to send a message. And at the same time, we want them to be very careful in terms of causing problems for organizations that are trying to do business in the United States who might still get hit with tariffs on their products."
And like a lot of people in the energy sector, the lawmakers are worried about Trump pulling out of NAFTA next:Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho): "There’s a lot of us that come from states that are big beneficiaries of NAFTA, as an example, and it’s important that we have a NAFTA or NAFTA-like agreement, and the president understands that."Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.): "I think withdrawing from NAFTA would be a disaster."
— Koch Bros. smack gas tax: In a letter this week, Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity, two groups backed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, petitioned the Trump administration not to back a gas tax to fund infrastructure spending, arguing it would "undermine the benefits of recent tax-cut legislation." The letter is icing on the cake: GOP leaders in Congress rejected an increase on the federal tax on gasoline after Trump flirted with the idea.
— Democrats dare Zinke: The interior secretary distinguished himself from his Republican colleagues when he served in the House by opposing the sale or transfer of public lands to private interests. So on Wednesday, a group of Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, challenged Zinke to turn that position into official Interior Department policy, and issue a regulation codifying it.
"We, like you, are committed to retaining ownership of federal lands for the use and enjoyment of all Americans," the Democrats wrote in a letter sent this month.
— Zinke’s Sunshine State burn: Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee are calling for a hearing to get answers to why Zinke summarily exempted Florida (at the behest of its GOP Gov. Rick Scott, who may run for Senate this year) from his department's offshore oil drilling proposal.
“The American people, and in particular the people of Florida, are rightly confused about the current situation with the 5-year program,” the letter to Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) reads. “We therefore respectfully request that you schedule at the earliest possible opportunity a full committee oversight hearing on this issue and insist that [Zinke] himself appear before the committee."
There's more: A bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers want answers from Zinke on the state's exemption.
The letter is signed by 22 of the 27 members of the House from the state, as well as Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). It asks Zinke to address the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Acting Director Walter Cruickshank’s recent statement before the Natural Resources Committee that Florida’s coasts are still under consideration for opening up to drilling. "We object to any efforts to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling, and we urge you to remove this area from the five-year plan immediately," the letter reads.
— Acting Park Service head takes a hike: Zinke announced Wednesdayhe had appointed Paul Daniel Smith as the acting director of the National Park Service, replacing Michael Reynolds, who was named the superintendent of Yosemite National Park in California. The National Park Service still has no permanent director as the president hasn't yet nominated anybody to the job.
As The Post’s Darryl Fears reported this month, Smith improperly helped the owner of the Washington Redskins cut down more than 130 trees near his property. Reynolds was also the official that the president pressured to uncover proof to support the claims of his inauguration crowd size.
— Davos debrief:In a special address on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron subtly jabbed at Trump ahead of the president's appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “When you look outside, especially arriving in this building, I mean it could be hard to believe in global warming,” he joked. “Obviously and fortunately you didn’t invite anybody skeptical with global warming this year.” He also noted he believed the world is “losing the battle” against climate change. (For special coverage, sign up for my colleague Tory Newmyer's newsletter, The Finance 202. Tory is on the ground for Trump's visit).Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the United States is exporting freedom: in the form of natural gas: “Here’s what I try to share with all of our allies and for all of the audience here at Davos. The United States is not just exporting energy, we’re exporting freedom. We’re exporting to our allies in Europe the opportunity to truly have a choice of where you buy your energy from. That’s freedom and that kind of freedom is priceless," he told Fox Business on Wednesday.
Perry also signaled to world leaders the United States will rely on fossil fuels in the long term, per the Washington Examiner. “We are blessed to be in countries with a substantial ability to deliver the people of the globe a better quality of life through fossil fuels,” he said.
Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said the public offering for the state oil company Saudi Aramco is on track, probably for this year. “We hope that 2018 will be the right time but ultimately we have to make sure the market is ready,” said during a Wednesday panel, per the National. “We’re ready for the listing but we have to be sure the market is ready, that the time is right, and we will calibrate that as we get closer.”
America’s Pledge, which is co-chaired by California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, launched a digital ad Wednesday targeting the Trump administration on climate issues. The spot is running online and in social media in Davos ahead of the president’s appearance. “South Korea and North Korea don’t agree on much. Neither do Iran and Israel. And India and Pakistan rarely see eye to eye. But they all agree on one thing: The Paris agreement on climate,” the ad begins.
THERMOMETER
— Avalanches made worse by the changing climate: The New York Times debriefs on an analysis of two avalanches in western Tibet in 2016, one of which led to the death of nine people. “Glaciologists hadn’t quite believed that glaciers could behave this way, and suddenly they had witnessed two similar collapses in a year. An analysis of the events, published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that climate change was the culprit in both collapses."
OIL CHECK
A contractor for First Solar Inc. works on construction of the Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center South project in Imperial County, California. (Sam Hodgson/Bloomberg)
— While the burn from Trump's solar tariff decision still stings, the solar industry is being offered a balm from the Energy Department. On Wednesday, the department announced a $3 million prize to boost solar manufacturing. From the Houston Chronicle: "With manufacturers in China and southeast Asia now dominating the global market, U.S. manufacturers have a long way to go to catch up." Still, $3 million is unlikely to make up for the 23,000 installers, engineers and project managers the solar industry estimates will lose their jobs due to the tariff.
— Robots are helping the solar industry: A year after First Solar laid off hundreds of workers and rebuilt and remodeled a factory in Toledo, the space has been reborn. Its now fully automated operation produces “hundreds of solar panels for a fraction of what it costs rivals to make them. The secret: supersize panels made with cadmium telluride, an energy-absorbing metal compound that First Solar engineers figured out how to spray on glass sheets in a thin film … Its success upended the business of solar panel production even before the Trump administration announced tariffs on overseas solar hardware on Jan. 22,” Bloomberg Businessweek reports.Trump’s failing war on green powerWind and solar energy may have come too far for even a pro-fossil-fuel administration to stuff back into the barrel.
DAYBOOK
TodayPolitico holds an event on “Driverless Cars: Who’s Making Sure They’re Safe.
"Wilson Center holds a discussion on “A World Without NAFTA?"
The American Wind Energy Association holds its Southeast Wind Conference in Atlanta, Ga.
Coming Up
Brookings Institution holds a live webcast with OIRA administrator Neomi Rao on “What’s next for Trump’s regulatory agenda” on Friday.
The Society of Environmental Journalists, George Mason University and the Wilson Center host an event to launch the annual report on: “The Journalists' Guide to Energy and Environment" on Friday.
EPA chief Scott Pruitt is scheduled to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Jan. 30.
FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee is scheduled to speak at the 31st annual Power and Gas M&A Symposium on Feb. 1.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/01/25/the-energy-202-california-just-can-t-get-enough-of-suing-the-trump-administration/5a68bc3130fb0469e8840365/?utm_term=.c64dcf99e606

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Chemical Safety Board Weighing Larger Investigation for Oklahoma Rig Explosion

Jan 25, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

By Jordan Blum

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board will consider launching a larger investigation into the deadly Oklahoma rig explosion that claimed five lives on Monday.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will lead its own investigation of the natural gas well explosion, but the CSB typically only gets involved for larger or more deadly industrial disasters. The incident occurred at a drilling rig owned by Houston's Patterson-UTI Energy by Quinton, Okla.
"The CSB has sent two investigators to gather additional information in order to determine if the CSB will be pursuing a full investigation," said CSB spokeswoman Hillary Cohen.
The rig explosion is the deadliest since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people.
Three of the five killed were Patterson-UTI employees, including one Texan. The victims are Josh Ray, of Fort Worth; Cody Risk, of Wellington, Colo.; and Matt Smith, Parker Waldridge and Roger Cunningham, all of Oklahoma. Ray, Smith and Risk were Patterson-UTI employees.
Patterson-UTI has about 25 drilling rigs active in Oklahoma, second only to Texas, where it has nearly 60 rigs in operation.
The last major CSB investigation focused on the Arkema chemical fires near Houston during Hurricane Harvey last year.
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Chemical-Safety-Board-weighing-larger-12524332.php

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2018: The Year of American Energy

Jan 25, 2018 | Forbes

By Brigham A. McCown

It has been one year since President Trump issued executive orders allowing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline to proceed. Though considered contentious in the media, today we are witnessing the positive impacts that decision, along with policies more broadly designed to support the industry, have had on the American economy.
The administration’s focus on domestic energy development and the corresponding infrastructure required to support it has helped domestic production levels reach unimaginable heights as the U.S. has now become the undisputed leader in oil and natural gas.
Expedited environmental reviews and faster permitting for high priority infrastructure projects gave strong momentum to the energy sector in 2017 that continues to build.
North Dakota raised $43.5 million in tax revenue solely attributed to the Dakota Access Pipeline’s first five months in operation, far exceeding state expectations. That’s no small amount to improve schools, hospitals, and community programs. Since the project began transporting oil in June, the pipeline has driven down transportation prices so much that energy production has surged in response. North Dakota added an extra 15 drilling rigs since last January, and peak production in the fall reached 1.185 million barrels of oil per day, an 11% uptick.
New pipeline infrastructure has helped shale production surge, reaching production numbers the industry could have never predicted a few years ago. Forecasts expect U.S. oil output will soon hit 10 million barrels per day, beating the record set in 1970. By the end of 2019, Reuters suggests we could reach 11 million barrels a day. With such a swell in oil production, the U.S. is expected to cut oil imports by at least 20% in the next decade.
Escalating production is also creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs in rural areas. In the shale industry hub of Midland, Texas, for example, unemployment has dropped to 2.6 percent. In North Dakota, the picture was even brighter with the state posting a 2.3 percent rate of unemployment in November.
Record-setting energy production is not the only benefit being seen as construction workers lay more pipes in the ground. Trucks and trains are more prone to spills and fatal accidents than pipelines. Pipelines, on the other hand, are subject to a regulatory process at local, state, and federal levels that ensure safe construction and operation processes. In fact, a study by the Fraser Institute found rail transportation is 4.5 times more likely than a pipeline to experience an incident. The Dakota Access Pipeline has already reduced oil-train traffic in North Dakota from 12 trains to 2 daily, thereby enhancing the safety of local communities and their environments. Simply put, the industry favors underground pipelines not just for economic efficiency, but because they’re a state of the art technology that provides the safest way to transport energy resources.
President Trump’s order approving Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline exactly one year ago was only the beginning of an important year for the energy sector and that momentum continues to grow. President Trump’s forthcoming infrastructure plan promises even more jobs and economic competitiveness for American energy.
This upward trajectory—one that transforms the lives of so many American families by providing tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, more affordable and reliable energy, and strengthened national security—is only expected to continue.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brighammccown/2018/01/25/2018-the-year-of-american-energy/2/#5e759d493dac

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$150M Natural Gas Processing Plant Planned in North Dakota

Jan 25, 2018 | AP (In The Washington Post)

By James MacPherson

A $150 million natural gas processing plant is planned in western North Dakota, bringing to four the number of projects proposed to capture more of the record volume of gas that is coming as a byproduct of the state’s oil production.
New York-based Hess Midstream Partners LP and Houston-based Targa Resources Inc. announced the Little Missouri Four gas plant Thursday, two days after Republican Gov. Doug Burgum called for more gas-gathering and processing facilities to help control the amount of natural gas that’s being burned off at well sites and wasted.
North Dakota’s gas-gathering and processing capability is 2.1 billion cubic feet (0.06 billion cubic meters) daily. In November, the latest figures available, the industry was right at that ceiling — with a record 2.09 billion cubic feet (0.06 billion cubic meters) of natural gas produced daily.
The Little Missouri Four gas plant is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year and will process 200 million cubic feet daily at an existing facility owned by Targa, the companies said in a statement. An additional $100 million for new pipeline infrastructure to gather gas for the processing plant is planned, they said.
A permit application had not been filed with the state as of Thursday morning.
North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad said the addition of the new plant and other projects proposed in western North Dakota by Oneok Inc., Crestwood Midstream Partners, and Oasis Midstream Services will increase the states gas-gathering and processing capability by 615 million cubic feet daily.
All of the projects are expected to come on line within the next two years and should keep pace with expected oil production until 2020, Kringstad said.
North Dakota set rules in 2014 that allow regulators to set production limits on oil companies if gas-caputuring targets aren’t met. Companies that fail to meet the goals could have production limited to as little as 100 barrels a day per well, depending on the amount of gas flared.
The rules that were adopted by the state and endorsed by the industry now require oil companies to capture 85 percent of the gas, rising to 90 percent by 2020. The rules were adopted after as much of a third of the gas went up in smoke, drawing criticism from environmentalists and many residents who said the state was losing revenue from the wasted gas, and that it contributed to unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions.
Industry and state officials said last week that some North Dakota oil drillers already have begun cutting output to control the amount of natural gas flared. And on Wednesday, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, a three-member panel headed by Gov. Burgum, denied Marathon Oil’s request for several exemptions from the state’s flaring restrictions for several oil wells until more infrastructure is built.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/150m-natural-gas-processing-plant-planned-in-north-dakota/2018/01/25/8ade8b32-01f7-11e8-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html?utm_term=.91f3408fe216

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Environment News

Md. Democrat Wants 'Insurance' to Guard Against Withdrawal

Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

By Josh Kurtz

With the Maryland State House gripped by election-year maneuvering, a state senator has introduced a bill that would require the Legislature to approve any recommendation by the governor to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Even though Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles is the current chairman of the nine-state compact that oversees a cap-and-trade program to reduce power plant emissions, state Sen. Paul Pinsky (D) said he introduced the bill this week "as insurance."
Grumbles works for popular Gov. Larry Hogan (R), and Democratic lawmakers are trying to slow Hogan's political momentum and blunt his power as the election year ramps up. Hogan and Grumbles have worked hard to burnish the administration's environmental record, and both have been supportive of RGGI's work to date.
But Democrats are regularly looking for ways to try to tie Hogan to unpopular national Republicans like President Trump and remember that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) — a Trump ally and Hogan mentor — unilaterally withdrew the Garden State from RGGI in 2011 (Climatewire, May 27, 2011).
Pinsky, the vice chairman of the state Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee in Annapolis, insisted that his legislation was not intended to send a political message.
"The idea that the executive could take us out [of RGGI] is troubling," he said. "I really don't mean it as a shot across the bow."
Douglass Mayer, a spokesman for Hogan, did not say if the governor would sign Pinsky's bill, but he said in an email, "The Governor has consistently voiced support and has actively championed the work of RGGI. In fact, MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles sits on RGGI Board of Directors."
Pinsky said he expected both chambers of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to support his legislation.
"It would seem to me the Legislature would want input," he said.
A hearing on Pinsky's bill has been set for Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, a state House committee in Annapolis held a hearing yesterday on another bill designed to pressure Hogan on climate. The legislation would require Maryland to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 16 states that formed last year and committed to certain greenhouse gas reductions after Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.
But Hogan essentially forestalled the legislation earlier this month by announcing that the state would join the alliance (Climatewire, Jan. 12). Nevertheless, Grumbles testified in favor of the bill at the state House Environment and Transportation Committee.
But Grumbles did seek an amendment to the legislation that would acknowledge Hogan's prior commitment to the alliance and his opposition to Trump's withdrawal from the Paris accord. The administration's proposed amendment would also decree that "Maryland should remain in the U.S. Climate Alliance as long as it adds value, shows true bipartisanship, and avoids Washington, D.C.'s politics-as-usual, corrosive tactics and distractions."
In written testimony before the committee, Grumbles said: "Maryland is a leader in protecting our environment and fighting climate change. Maryland's work to find the right balance for environmental, economy and energy progress shows that it is possible to both protect the natural world while also fostering a pro-jobs and vibrant economic opportunity environment."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/01/25/stories/1060071879

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Signs at EPA Building Tout 'Environmental Achievements' Under Trump

Jan 25, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire

By Timothy Cama

The Trump administration has installed signs inside the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) headquarters celebrating “environmental achievements” by the EPA in President Trump’s first year in office.
The “Year of Great Environmental Achievements” poster highlights five actions by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, mostly in rolling back Obama administration policies: his proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, his proposal to repeal the Clean Water Rule, “cleaning up contaminated sites,” providing “confidence for American families” and providing “certainty” for the economy.
It also has four photos of Trump, three of which also have Pruitt.
The New York Times’s Eric Lipton first publicized the posters on Twitter, and an EPA source confirmed that they are in the building.
“The posters speak for themselves and all EPA employees should take pride in the good work they’ve achieved this past year, and will continue to achieve over the next 7 years,” EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement.
Environmentalists have argued that Trump’s first year in office has been disastrous for the environment.
The League of Conservation Voters, which annually grades lawmakers for their environmental votes, gave Trump an F in December for his first year, compared with B+ for President Barack Obama’s first year and D- for President George W. Bush’s first year.
The Trump administration has advanced very few new environmental policies, including an EPA rule to limit mercury pollution in water from dental offices and Energy Department efficiency standards, both of which the Obama administration started.
Cleaning up contaminated Superfund sites is one of Pruitt’s stated priorities for his time in office, and one of the accomplishments highlighted on the poster.
Earlier this month, Pruitt boasted that he removed seven sites from the EPA’s Superfund list, signifying that their cleanups are complete.
The cleanups took decades and were completed before Pruitt arrived at the agency.
Pruitt is also working on a handful of fronts to expedite cleanups at Superfund sites and otherwise make the program more effective.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/370684-signs-at-epa-building-celebrate-environmental-achievements-by-trump

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5 Climate Themes from Davos

Jan 25, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

By Benjamin Hulac and Jean Chemnick

Before he called the White House home, President Trump often sought to hobnob with the world's wealthy and powerful at exclusive events like the economic summit underway in Davos, Switzerland.
He was never before invited to the World Economic Forum talks held there annually. Now that he's president, he's about to get his chance. But based on the not-so-subtle comments coming from the summit ahead of Trump's expected speech, he won't be getting the warm reception he probably hopes for.
While Trump won't take the stage until Friday — when he's expected to speak in favor of hard-line economic nationalism — the differences between his policies and those of other foreign leaders are already on display. Heads of state delivered withering rebukes of Trump and his administration's "America First" agenda, declared climate change to be a devastating world threat and denounced retreats from global trade, cooperation and engagement. Meanwhile, the United States sent a delegation led by seven Cabinet secretaries, who have been forcefully defending Trump's policies on everything from solar tariffs to coal.
President Clinton attended Davos at the end of his term; then-Vice President Joe Biden went when President Obama was in office. But U.S. presidents have traditionally avoided the talks for fear they would seem out of touch with voters. Trump appears to have no such qualms.
Still, there's a contrast presented by Trump, who ran a populist presidential campaign but will rub shoulders with billionaires in a city where, according to Canada's Global News, one restaurant charges $75 per hamburger, and at a conference famously called a place "where billionaires tell millionaires what the middle class feels."
Here are five climate and energy themes from the Davos summit so far:Heads of state set the tone
World leaders who preceded Trump to the podium Tuesday and yesterday lobbed veiled criticisms at him, fretting about threats to globalization and to solidarity needed to address problems like climate change.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a move away from collective responsibility would complicate efforts to confront challenges like global warming, which he called the "greatest threat to the survival of human civilization as we know it."
Said Modi, "It is a matter of concern that the divisions between us, the rifts, the fault lines between us, they have made these challenges and mankind's struggle against them all the more complex and much harder."
He touted India's plans to achieve its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement, a pledge global advocates say is ambitious but may not be reached.
India pledged two years ago in Paris to increase renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 — a fivefold increase that Modi reminded participants in Davos was a "very big target for a country like India."
Most analyses show India is behind in its progress toward that goal. But here, India returned to a message it has often floated at U.N. climate summits and in other venues, challenging rich nations to help it meet targets by providing free technology.
"Everyone talks about reducing carbon emissions," he said. "But there are very few countries that back their words with their resources to help developing countries to adopt appropriate technology."
He did praise France for working with India to convene the International Solar Alliance to expand solar power utilization in the wake of the Paris summit.
Modi's words came a year after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Davos to claim China's place as a leader on both globalization and climate change.
European leaders also directed fire at Trump, referring obliquely to his nationalist agenda.
"Let us not be naive. Globalization is going through a major crisis, and this challenge needs to be collectively fought by states and civil society in order to find and implement global solutions," said French President Emmanuel Macron, one of Trump's sharpest critics over leaving the Paris deal.
Macron pledged to phase out coal-fired power in France by 2021.
And German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has struggled to meet her nation's greenhouse gas commitments, took a similar approach.
"We think that shutting [ourselves] off against the rest of the world, isolating ourselves, will not lead us into the future," she said. "Protectionism is not the proper answer."
Andrew Light, a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, said remarks on climate change by other leaders are likely aimed more at the finance and business leaders gathered in the Swiss Alps than at the current White House occupant. They're the ones who must transform and decarbonize the world economy, preferably by diverting money to the speaker's home country, he said.
But they're talking to Trump, too, Light said.
"Given where the United States has positioned itself, there's no way any leader can talk about climate change without at least implicitly criticizing the U.S. position right now, and they all know that," he said.Trump Cabinet hits back
U.S. officials set out to defend Trump's economic and environmental policies.
In response to questions about the United States' decision this week to slap 30 percent tariffs on imported solar equipment and washing machines, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the move was expected, and he criticized the landscape of global trade.
"I can't imagine that the washing machine event or the solar panel event came as a big shock to anybody," said Ross, adding that modern trade relations are broken. "It's an old system."
And as Energy Secretary Rick Perry has done when challenged about his policies to prop up coal power, Ross questioned whether free trade is real.
"Is there really free trade, or is it a unicorn in the garden?" he asked.
Speaking on a panel with Khalid al-Falih, the energy minister of Saudi Arabia, Perry shared his thinking on the "America First" idea.
"I can tell you in one word — it's competition," said Perry, who then took on the role of salesman. "When your country is looking for a place to purchase LNG," he said, "think about America ... first."
Also in Davos, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said attendees who don't care for Trump's views can get out. "Those who don't want to listen to him can leave," she said.Oil pitched as 'clean fuel'
Not only is oil not going anywhere, but it's going to be a "clean" energy option for years to come, said al-Falih of Saudi Arabia.
"We in the kingdom have been working through the climate change community," said al-Falih, the former CEO of Saudi Aramco, adding that fossil fuels, including oil and gas, will be "part of the clean fuel menu" sold for generations to come.
In response to a lawsuit New York City recently filed against five oil majors, in which the city accused the firms of contributing to climate change damages, the minister called the suit hypocritical.
The editorial board of The New York Times said there is merit to the suit, "not least in spotlighting evidence" that the companies have known about climate change for decades.
"I'm sure whoever's suing would probably cry foul if they couldn't get to their gas station," al-Falih said. "There is a lot of hypocrisy in some quarters."
Perry chimed in. "Certainly the legal profession is always looking for a new and interesting angle; this looks like a new one and interesting one, and I'll be one of the last people in this room to defend The New York Times," he said.Climate change looms large
Past conferences placed a heavy focus on climate change, but this year's Davos talks seem to have ratcheted it up even more.
For the third year in a row, a World Economic Forum survey ranked threats related to climate change and natural disasters as the most severe risks to society.
"Extreme weather events were ranked as a top global risk by likelihood and impact," said Alison Martin, group chief risk officer of Zurich Insurance Group. "Environmental risks, together with a growing vulnerability to other risks, are now seriously threatening the foundation of most of our commons."
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said the world's wealthy nations are debating climate science while the poor are being wiped out.
"In our generation, there will be a few countries that will no longer exist," O'Neill said. "Through no fault of their own," he said, people in Africa, on Pacific island nations and throughout the Caribbean are in danger of disappearing.
"The rest of the world is continuously debating about whether climate change is real or not," he said.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, sitting in the next seat, said disasters aggravated by climate change are killing at a frantic pace.
"Every night on the news is like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation," Gore said, describing mudslides that killed more than 1,000 people in the West African nation of Sierra Leone.Private sector speaks up
In the early 2000s, BP PLC was in the solar energy business. It made solar panels and sold them.
Speaking at the forum to Bloomberg about BP's recent $200 million investment in a solar company Lightsource, BP CEO Bob Dudley said the company wants to be a leader in the industry.
"We've got lots of experience in solar," Dudley said. "We haven't made really big bets, but we're scanning and screening everything," he said. "We're not going to be behind in this."
When asked if the solar tariffs would prevent BP from undertaking projects in the United States, Dudley said no. "We've still got some plans in the United States," he said.
Elsewhere in Davos, Philipp Hildebrand, vice chairman of BlackRock Inc., said companies can no longer sidestep climate change.
"I think it's time that we recognize, that corporations recognize, this can no longer be ignored," Hildebrand said.
Clients are demanding investment strategies that consider global warming and its effects, he said. But he lamented the sluggish global response to the threat. "Unfortunately, we've wasted precious time."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/01/25/stories/1060071915

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