Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 15/02/18
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(ACC Mentioned) Chinese State-Owned Chemical Firm Joins Dark Money Group Pouring Cash Into U.S. Elections
Feb 15, 2018 | The Intercept
By Lee Fang
Wanhua Chemical, a $10 billion chemical company controlled by the Chinese government, now has an avenue to influence American elections. -
LyondellBasell Doubles Plastics Business With $1.24 Billion Schulman Deal
Feb 15, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
Chemicals maker LyondellBasell Industries NV said Thursday it will buy smaller rival A. Schulman Inc for $1.24 billion (881.56 million pounds), doubling the size of its plastics business and moving into the packaging, electronics and building markets. -
European Styrene Surges Thursday on Bullish Signals From the US
Feb 15, 2018 | Platts
By Yuriko Kato
European styrene prices surged Thursday on bullish signals from the US according to market sources. -
Faulting EPA, Coalition Backs State Toxics Rules
Feb 15, 2018 | Inside EPA
A coalition of environmental groups is backing pending state policies to restrict toxic chemicals, underscoring concerns that the Trump administration's is failing to adequately use new authority granted EPA under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), increasing the need for state regulations. -
Since the Lead Crisis, Reading Scores in Flint Drop Dramatically
Feb 15, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Olga Naidenko
Third-graders’ reading scores in Flint, Mich., have dropped dramatically since the city’s crisis of lead contamination in drinking water began, according to reports in the Detroit Free Press and The New Republic. -
Echa Round-Up
Feb 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Echa is consulting on three harmonised labelling and packaging (CLH) proposals. -
Committee Says Integrate Into EU Environmental Implementation Review
Feb 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Committee Of the Regions has recommended that REACH be integrated into the EU's Environmental Implementation Review (EIR). -
(ACC Mentioned) Q&A: What's Next for W.Va.'s China Energy Deal?
Feb 15, 2018 | West Virginia Public Broadcasting
By Glynis Board
November last year West Virginia's Commerce Department announced a deal with China Energy the biggest Chinese coal company, to invest billions in the state’s natural gas industry. -
Who Benefits From BLM Rule Change?
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
At the high end of the Bureau of Land Management's estimates, the net gain of revisions to its methane regulations could approach $1 billion over a decade. -
Enforcement is Lagging Under Pruitt, Green Group Says
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
When U.S. EPA officials inspected oil and gas well sites in rural eastern Ohio, they found more than 30 leaking methane and toxic vapors. -
Halliburton Warns of Earnings Hit Due to Delays in Sand Delivery
Feb 15, 2018 | Wall Street Journal
By Christopher M. Matthews
Halliburton Co. HAL -2.06% warned Thursday that its first-quarter earnings would take a hit due to delays on delivery of a key ingredient used to hydraulically fracture shale wells: sand. -
Homeland Security Subcommittee Reviews CFATS
Feb 15, 2018 | Homeland 411
A House Homeland Security subcommittee convened Feb. 15 to get industry input on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. -
Committee Approves Two Rail Data Security Bills at Full Committee Markup
Feb 15, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
This morning, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved its views and estimates for the fiscal year 2019 budget, as well as two important railroad data and information security bills. -
The President's Climate Guy is Out. Will Trump Find Another?
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Zack Colman and Jean Chemnick
People across the ideological spectrum yesterday lamented the resignation of a White House aide who was seen as an honest broker on climate issues in a period of outward skepticism over the science, led by a president who recently suggested the world is cooling. -
EPA Penalties for Polluters Cut in Half Under Trump, Study Finds
Feb 15, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The amount of civil penalties charged to polluters by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped by nearly half under President Trump, according to a new study released Thursday.
Industry and Association News
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Feb 15, 2018 | The Intercept
By Lee Fang
WANHUA CHEMICAL, a $10 billion chemical company controlled by the Chinese government, now has an avenue to influence American elections.
On Monday, Wanhua joined the American Chemistry Council, a lobby organization for chemical manufacturers that is unusually aggressive in intervening in U.S. politics.
The ACC is a prominent recipient of so-called “dark money” — that is, unlimited amounts of cash from corporations or individuals whose origin is only disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service, not the public. During the 2012, 2014 and 2016 election cycles the ACC took this dark money and spent over $40 million of it on contributions to Super PACs, lobbying, and direct expenditures. (Additional money flowed directly to candidates via the ACC’s political action committee.)
For example, in 2012 the ACC was the largest single donor funding last-minute ads attempting to save former Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., then House Majority Leader, during his losing primary campaign. The ACC donated $50,000 to a Super PAC supporting the 2014 campaign of GOP Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana for the state’s governorship. And while lobbying to revamp federal chemical safety standards in 2015, the ACC simultaneously aired advertisements in support of key legislators who were then crafting an industry-friendly version of the legislation.
Wanhua Chemical was founded as Yantai Wanhua Polyurethane Co in 1998. Though the firm underwent a public offering about two years later, the ultimate controlling shareholder of the firm is a division of the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China, the government entity that oversees state-owned enterprises.
Despite the nationalistic name of the organization, the ACC announced that Wanhua would join the group as a regular dues-paying member. Other dues-paying members of the ACC include BASF, Dow Chemical, Huntsman Corp., and Shell Chemical.
The ACC’s membership guidelines state that a corporation may join if it “manufacturers and sells ‘chemical products’ in the United States, or manufacturers chemical products abroad but sells them in the United States.” Wanhua, notably, has pledged to spend over $1 billion on a new plant in Louisiana currently under construction.
Wanhua and the ACC did not respond to requests for comment.
The 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United ruling and related decisions made it possible for corporate trade associations like the ACC — known as non-profit 501(c)(6) corporations — to spend as much as they want directly advocating for or against candidates for office “so long,” the IRS says, “as that is not its primary activity.”
This in turn made such organizations an ideal conduit for foreign money to influence U.S. races.
It is formally illegal for foreign nationals — which includes foreign individuals, corporations and governments — to spend any money attempting to influence U.S. elections.
Therefore, any contributions the ACC accepts from a foreign corporation like Wanhua must theoretically go to an account separate from that which the ACC uses for political spending. But whether this actually happens is extremely difficult for the public to find out, and even if the ACC is following the law it would be essentially irrelevant.
“I’m sure ACC will claim that any foreign funds it receives will be segregated from the money used for elections, but how will we know?” asks Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance counsel with the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for stricter enforcement of campaign finance law. “And in any case, money is fungible, so the influx of Wanhua funds could free up other ACC resources for political activity.”
“This is one of those situations where the scandal is what is legal,” continued Fisher. “The FEC will almost certainly accept ACC’s claim that it does not use foreign money to funds its ads, and because the FEC also allows dark money nonprofits like ACC to ignore disclosure requirements, neither the FEC nor the public will have any way of proving otherwise.”
Secondly, and even more strangely, even a wholly-owned subsidiary of a foreign company is considered American if incorporated in the U.S. — and therefore can legally spend as much as it wants on American elections as long as it follows complicated, difficult-to-enforce regulations. “Even if Wanhua Chemical directly funded political ads,” says Fisher, “it could probably get away with it if the money came from its U.S. operations and was formally directed by U.S. citizens.”
The ACC is by no means the only trade association to take advantage of Citizens United: After the decision came down, a number of organizations in the U.S. with foreign-owned members began spendingcorporate money on elections. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another 501(c)(6) with foreign corporate members, now routinely spends directly on congressional elections. Trade associations are in some ways the perfect vehicles for foreign money: Not only do they not have to disclose donors, most already maintain sophisticated lobbying operations, so that campaign cash is targeted in a way with the most political impact.
The American Petroleum Institute is another trade groups with foreign members that spend big on U.S. elections. Wanhua appears to be the second partially state-owned corporation paying dues to ACC. SABIC, the majority state-owned Saudi chemical company, is also a dues-paying member.
In addition to Fisher, other campaign legal scholars noted that Wanhua’s decision to join the ACC represents another worrying example of creeping foreign influence.
“The ACC’s spending is likely merely one example of foreign money that has or will be spent to influence who we elect as our representatives,” says Jessica Levinson, an ethics expert and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Rick Hasen, professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, says he’s also concerned about the flow of foreign cash through untraceable “c(4)s, c(6)’s and LLCs which contribute to those entities and super PACs.” And he’s unsure the Federal Election Commission “disclosure rules and IRS investigations can deal with the issue of foreign money in U.S. election.”
The significance of Wanhua contributing dark money to the ACC can be seen in a 2016 Intercept series on foreign influence on U.S. elections. The Intercept revealed that a Chinese-owned real estate company had directly donated to the Super PAC supporting Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. The decision to donate was made by Chinese nationals living abroad using a California-based subsidiary of their company. The election attorney advising the Bush Super PAC even wrote a legal memo outlining how it was permissible to receive a donation from a foreign-owned firm.
However, The Intercept was only able to track the money flow because donations to Super PACs must be publicly disclosed. If the Chinese company had been sophisticated enough to give the cash to Bush’s related dark money outfit, no one would have ever known.
Three Democratic FEC commissioners cited The Intercept’s series in a move to strengthen rules governing foreign corporate cash in elections. But any effort to move forward was thwarted by the three Republican members of the commission. Most major enforcement actions do not advance at the FEC because of the agency’s structure — no more than three of the six commissioners can be from the same party — and because GOP commissioners often vote as a block.
This campaign cycle, the ACC is again airing campaign-style advertisements in key states, including the following spot for Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who is facing a competitive reelection this year:
“Maybe allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on politics is a bad idea,” said Fischer.
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/15/chinese-state-owned-chemical-firm-joins-dark-money-group-pouring-cash-into-u-s-elections/
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LyondellBasell Doubles Plastics Business With $1.24 Billion Schulman Deal
Feb 15, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
Chemicals maker LyondellBasell Industries NV said Thursday it will buy smaller rival A. Schulman Inc for $1.24 billion (881.56 million pounds), doubling the size of its plastics business and moving into the packaging, electronics and building markets.
LyondellBasell's plastics business currently gets about 90 percent of its revenue from the automotive industry and the all-cash deal will lower that proportion to just over 50 percent, the company said.
The rest of the revenue will come from plastic compounds – blending molten plastic with additives – used to make products such as headphones, mobile chargers, PVC pipes, water bottles and food containers among others.
The plastics compounding industry has grown faster-than-expected over the past decade, with improving margins, while not requiring much capital, analysts and company executives said.
Shares of A. Schulman surged 11 percent to $42.93 in morning trading, compared with the offer price of $42 per share. LyondellBasell's shares fell 2 percent to $109.65.
The deal will also marginally boost LyondellBasell's exposure to the agricultural sector, which has been the focus of recent mega-deals among chemicals makers.
Dow Chemical and DuPont completed their $130 billion merger last year to form DowDuPont, while ChemChina [CNCC.UL] bought Swiss seeds group Syngenta for $43 billion.
A combined LyondellBasell-A. Schulman had $4.6 billion in revenue and EBITDA margins of 9.5 percent over the last 12 months, with a majority of revenue coming from A. Schulman and the bigger margin boost from LyondellBasell, the companies said.
The combined company is expected to hit $150 million in run-rate cost savings within two years. The deal will add to earnings within the first full year after closing, expected in the second half of 2018, LyondellBasell said.
A. Schulman shareholders will also get one contingent value right per share that will allow them to get certain net proceeds recovered, if any, from ongoing litigation and government probes related to Schulman's Citadel and Lucent acquisitions.
Including A. Schulman's existing debt, the deal is valued at $2.25 billion, the companies said.
J.P. Morgan and Dyal Co are LyondellBasell's financial advisers and Citigroup is advising A. Schulman. Shearman & Sterling LLP is LyondellBasell's legal counsel, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is advising A. Schulman.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/02/15/business/15reuters-a-schulman-us-m-a-lyondell.html
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European Styrene Surges Thursday on Bullish Signals From the US
Feb 15, 2018 | Platts
By Yuriko Kato
European styrene prices surged Thursday on bullish signals from the US according to market sources.
Bids for March were heard at $1,550/mt Thursday afternoon, higher than S&P Global Platts March assessment of $1,515/mt FOB ARA on Wednesday.
A trader source said Thursday that prices could strengthen further.
A second trader source said that the uptick in prices today was due to continued bullish signals from the US.
Earlier in the week, Cosmar extended its previously announced force majeure to mid-April, which sent spot prices soaring on Tuesday afternoon.
Cosmar operates two styrene lines totaling 1.15 million mt/year and is a 50:50 joint venture between Total Petrochemicals and Sabic.
As the force majeure was previously expected to be lifted in March, the extension could mean a loss of production from the US close to 100,000 mt, a third source previously said.
In the US, February prices jumped to 70.75 cents/lb ($1,559.50/mt) on Wednesday, up from 69.4 cents/lb ($1,529.50/mt) on Monday, with European sources anticipating further increases in the US.
With the CFR China marker price at $1,446/mt on Thursday, significantly lower than prices in Europe and the US, sources said that a reverse arbitrage window is open where Asia exports product to the US.
The US is typically the biggest seller of styrene to Asia which is structurally net short.
A reverse arbitrage -- where both Asia and Europe sent product to the US -- was last seen in Q1 last year when the US market suffered from planned and unplanned outages.https://www.platts.com/latest-news/petrochemicals/london/european-styrene-surges-thursday-on-bullish-signals-21336929
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Faulting EPA, Coalition Backs State Toxics Rules
Feb 15, 2018 | Inside EPA
A coalition of environmental groups is backing pending state policies to restrict toxic chemicals, underscoring concerns that the Trump administration's is failing to adequately use new authority granted EPA under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), increasing the need for state regulations.
In a new analysis released Feb. 13, Safer States, a coalition of environmental and public health groups, finds that at least 23 states are slated to consider a total of 112 different policies to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals in consumer products, including certain flame retardants and paint-strippers.
“Despite an overhaul to the nation’s primary chemical safety law in 2016 that was intended to fix the broken chemical regulatory system, [EPA] has largely failed to take meaningful action to restrict toxic chemicals,” the Safer States coalition, which includes Alaska Community Action on Toxics and Clean & Healthy New York says in a statement. “States are doing what the federal government is not: protecting the health of families by pursuing stronger protections against harmful chemicals.”
Safer States, formed in 2005, conducts a similar analysis of pending state toxics rules each year. But Gretchen Salter, the group's interim director, says that while states should always have a role in toxics oversight, their rules are becoming paramount as the Trump administration fails to adequately implement TSCA and weakens related rules.
“There was a lot of hope for a while there when TSCA passed that state's wouldn't have to step in,” she said, adding that the Trump administration has created a greater need for state rules than initially envisioned. “Any help on toxic chemicals at this point will come from the state and local level,” rather than from the feds.
The Safer States statement faults the Trump administration's shelving of Obama-era rules that would have banned uses of methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) in paint strippers, as well as changes the group says complicates tracking of health impacts of the drinking water contaminant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
According to the coalition, at least 15 states, including Alaska, Connecticut, Iowa and West Virginia will consider banning toxic flame retardants from residential furniture and children’s products. More than a half dozen states including New York and Washington will consider restrictions or bans on use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging, as well as other efforts to prevent drinking water contamination.
And states including Alaska, California, Mississippi and North Carolina are considering laws requiring manufacturers of certain chemicals to disclose their use, actions that could affect consumer choices while also informing policymakers of potential exposures.
“States must deal with the real world consequences of chemical pollution,” Washington State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbons (D), chair of the state’s House Environment Committee, says in the Safer States statement. “From undrinkable water to contaminated residents to huge costs of clean up, we don’t want to be left holding the bag.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/faulting-epa-coalition-backs-state-toxics-rules
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Since the Lead Crisis, Reading Scores in Flint Drop Dramatically
Feb 15, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Olga Naidenko
Third-graders’ reading scores in Flint, Mich., have dropped dramatically since the city’s crisis of lead contamination in drinking water began, according to reports in the Detroit Free Press and The New Republic.
Standardized test results show that in 2014, about 42 percent of Flint’s third graders were proficient in reading. Last year, about 11 percent were found proficient. Over those three years, reading scores throughout Michigan also declined, and the test was made harder, but Flint’s decline was significantly larger than the statewide average.
Even though many Flint families have switched to bottled water, high lead levels at the taps in homes and schools continue to plague the city. EWG’s Tap Water Database shows that in 2015, the highest recorded lead level in Flint was 707 parts per billion, or ppb – nearly 50 times greater than the federal action level for lead of 15 ppb.
Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule, lead concentrations must be below 15 ppb in 90 percent of households sampled. If water exceeds this legal limit, the utility must apply measures to control lead leaching from water pipes and warn its customers.
There is strong scientific consensus that any amount of lead exposure during childhood is harmful.
“Even the very lowest levels of exposure, we know that lead erodes a child’s IQ, shortens attention span, and disrupts their behavior,” Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and the dean for global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told The New Republic. He said children exposed to lead are more likely to be dyslexic, have behavioral problems and get in trouble with the law.
The impact of lead on reading and math scores has been reported in recent studies. In 2015, University of Chicago researchers analyzed children’s reading and math scores on standardized tests. They found that for every 5 microgram per deciliter increase in blood lead levels, the risk of failing on the reading and math tests increased by a third.
After the Flint water crisis started, children who consumed the city’s lead-tainted water had 46 percent higher blood lead levels than children in nearby Detroit. It has been estimated that roughly 12,000 Flint children were exposed to water with high levels of lead.
As EWG analysis of federal data shows, more than 1,000 water systems nationwide have elevated levels of lead. The permanent, effective solution is replacement of aging lead water pipes around the country and remediating lead hazards in old housing. Until then, EWG recommends that parents take measures to reduce their children’s exposure to lead from all sources, paying special attention to old lead paint and lead pipes in their water supply systems.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/02/lead-crisis-reading-scores-flint-drop-dramatically#.WoW_fiVubIV
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Feb 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
CLH consultationsEcha is consulting on three harmonised labelling and packaging (CLH) proposals. They are for:2,4-dinitrophenol – an industrial chemical used as a monomer. It has no existing CLH in Annex VI to CLP. Comments are invited on acute toxicity specific and target organ toxicity – repeated exposure hazard classes;2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde – an industrial chemical, used in consumer products including personal care, washing and cleaning products, as well as an active substance (for example, in disinfectants, pest control products). It has no existing CLH. Comments are invited on the reproductive toxicity hazard class; anddibenzo[def,p]chrysene – a chemical contaminant from the family of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It is released into the environment during incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic matter, an important source for human exposure. It has been detected in consumer products and articles such as toys, tool handles, bicycle grips, shoes and sports equipment. It has no existing CLH. Comments are invited on germ cell mutagenicity and carcinogenicity hazard classes.
The deadline for comments is 13 April.Application for authorisations
Echa has opened public consultations on two applications for authorisation. The substances and uses are:
sodium dichromate, used as a corrosion inhibitor in ammonia absorption deep cooling systems, applied for the dewaxing and deoiling process steps of petroleum raffinate. H&R Ölwerke Schindler GmbH and H&R Chemisch-Pharmazeutische Spezialitäten GmbH are requesting a review period of 20 years;
dibutyl phthalate (DBP), used in the manufacture of ceramic sheets for the production of multi-layer ceramic capacitors. AVX Limited is requesting a seven-year review period for the plasticiser; andbis(2-methoxyethyl) ether (diglyme) used as a solvent for the synthesis of the anti-HIV active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) dapivirine. N.V. Ajinomoto OmniChem SA is requesting a seven year review period.
The deadline for comments is 11 April.Opinion on 1,2-dichloroethane
The consolidated opinion of the Committees for Risk Assessment (Rac) and Socio-economic Analysis (Seac) for a use of 1,2-dichloroethane by Microbeads AS is available on the agency's website.Webinar: REACH 2018 last minute advice
Echa is running a webinar, offering last minute advice for registrants on 8 March 11:00–12:00 EET (Helsinki time). Questions can be posed directly to experts, the agency says.Core work programme 2018
Echa's work programme for 2018 has been published and is available from the EU bookshop.Substance evaluation document available
Echa has made available a new substance evaluation conclusion document on its website for 7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-ylmethyl 7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]heptane-3-carboxylate.
It was added to the Corap list in 2013 and evaluated by Ireland.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63909/echa-round-up
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Committee Says Integrate Into EU Environmental Implementation Review
Feb 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Committee Of the Regions has recommended that REACH be integrated into the EU's Environmental Implementation Review (EIR).
The EIR, announced in 2016, is, the European Commission says "a tool to help deliver the benefits of EU environmental law and policies for businesses and citizens through better implementation".
Among its recommendations, the Committee of the Regions (COR) recommends "integrating EU policy on chemicals, which is a cornerstone of EU environmental policy. The EIR should highlight shortcomings and positive experiences with respect to the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals."
The COR is an EU advisory body composed of locally and regionally elected representatives coming from all 28 Member States. Through the CoR they are able to share their opinion on EU legislation that directly impact regions and cities.
https://chemicalwatch.com/63907/committee-says-integrate-into-eu-environmental-implementation-review
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(ACC Mentioned) Q&A: What's Next for W.Va.'s China Energy Deal?
Feb 15, 2018 | West Virginia Public Broadcasting
By Glynis Board
November last year West Virginia's Commerce Department announced a deal with China Energy the biggest Chinese coal company, to invest billions in the state’s natural gas industry. A memorandum of understanding outlines a 20 year commitment to invest 83.7 billion dollars in the states shale gas industry. The deal didn’t happen overnight. Brian Anderson, founder and director of the Energy Institute at West Virginia University offers some insight into the deal and the company behind it.
Q: When did this deal with China Energy first hit your radar?
A: This partnership with the precursor company of China Energy, Shenhua -- one of the two companies that merged to create one energy company -- that partnership with WVU predates me at the university. It's been going on for about 15 years, developing technologies to convert coal to liquid fuels and also carbon capture and storage. We've had this relationship ongoing, but about three years ago we started developing some ideas for investment opportunities for a then Shenhua in West Virginia because of the resources that are here in the state.
Q: Commerce officials say projects are going to focus on power generation, chemical manufacturing, and underground storage of natural gas liquids and derivatives. So this idea of a storage hub is something you've really been focused on. The idea is that instead of simply exporting all out natural resources, we want to try to attract economic development here with this gas storage, correct?
A: That's exactly right. So instead of export the commodities, we have an opportunity for rebirth and adding value to the raw materials through converting them into a plastics. And then manufacturing, every time you add value, you add jobs and you add wealth, where are the resource is extracted.
So we're trying to set that course now with the storage hub -- a critical piece of the infrastructure that we don't have in the region. The major petrochemical hub in the United States, in Texas and Louisiana has this trading facility for the natural gas liquids where you can create a robust trading market. And that's what we don't have currently an Appalachia. And that's what we're trying to trying to build with the storage hub.
Q: You've said this could bring 100,000 jobs to the region.
A: The American Chemistry Council estimated that it would be about 101,000 jobs and about $36 billion of investment in the region just waiting to happen. The American Chemistry Council’s assumption is that we're successful in building this storage and trading hub.
Q: What kind of jobs are we talking about? Four-year degree jobs, associate's degrees? How do we prepare for this?
A: It is a mixture of four-year, associate's and trade jobs. The bulk of them will be associate's and trade jobs in manufacturing facilities. They're all permanent jobs and per the American Chemistry Council, very well-paying jobs. But it's specifically around a cracker facility to take the ethane and converted into the building material of plastics. And then it's all the derivatives of creating something from the plastics, whether it's diapers or toys and all along that pathway. It's that whole supply chain all the way from the crackers through the final manufacturing. But that adds up to the hundred thousand jobs.
Q: Won't all of these jobs be gone in 30 years to robots?
A: Well, certainly not all of them. I'm not ready to trust a driving my car to artificial intelligence quite yet. And I think that there's a not only the operation and maintenance jobs that will continue, but also the higher tech employment that leads to automation. We will need people who are skilled in computer programming and computer technicians as well, in supporting this advanced manufacturing.
And there are some real opportunities that are right in front of us now in advanced materials. The commodity chemicals that come out of the back of a cracker, those are pretty a widespread and ubiquitous, but it's the new materials that we're going to continuously be developing that adds value to this resource because it provides these new materials that go into light-weighting of vehicles. Things like carbon fiber reinforced plastics that can help revitalize our road and bridge structures.
What is important to remember is, the farther down that supply chain you go toward the end product, the more people per pound of material it takes for that manufacturing to occur. So every step we take from the cracker than the plastics, composites and manufacturers, and then into the final products, every step, we're multiplying the number of people that are employed per pound of original ethane that we start with.
Q: There have been some folks from China Energy who have been touring the region. You've been involved with that. Can you tell us about your experiences?
A: Yeah, absolutely. China Energy’s investment portfolio that they had proposed to the state of West Virginia includes a number of different projects and all of these projects are in various stages of development, as has been announced. It includes natural gas power plants, as well as a chemical manufacturing facilities and interest in investment in the storage hub throughout the chemical manufacturing portfolio. There's a number of different projects and project teams from China Energy that are working on various stages of those projects and development. This is a bit of a different type of project development than we're used to in West Virginia. We’re familiar with Braskem and their announcement and trying to build the ethane cracker in Wood County, and usually with commercial development, a lot happens behind the scenes until they're ready to make the announcement. And then it's announced. And so you can imagine a portfolio of China Energy projects that are all working behind the scenes right now ready to individually be announced. And so that's what we're going to see over the course of the next 20 years or a number of different individual projects being announced.
Q: What else can you tell us about this company, the culture of the company, and what it is that they do?
A: Because we have a long history of working with China Energy and the Shenhua Corporation before them, we at WVU have had a very good opportunity to see behind the scenes the way that this company works. They are a state-owned enterprise, partially. 40 percent of the company is traded publicly in Shanghai and Hong Kong and they have been continuously progressing to look much more like a Western company than the traditional Chinese state-owned enterprises.
And what I mean by that is they're investing in research and development. They have a major R&D center in Beijing and another that they opened in Palo Alto next to Stanford University that are specifically focused on mostly environmental research in terms of carbon capture sequestration storage or CO2 conversion or in alternative energy. They have one of the world's biggest solar panel research facilities for the development of solar electricity.
They're also the largest solar company in the world in terms of the amount of a solar and also the wind power that they generate. And so this is a company that is not foreign to renewable energy investments. They also operate a much more like a vertically integrated company, through their entire supply chain. And that's why they're interested in a portfolio of projects all along the supply chain, because there's economic benefit for them. And for us it means just more investment and more manufacturing here in the state.
I think that there's a lot of potential, a lot yet to be seen in terms of these projects coming to fruition. China Energy is certainly an indicator that Appalachia and West Virginia is a good place for investment. And we want to continue that, not just with China energy but other companies around the world.
http://wvpublic.org/post/qa-whats-next-wvas-china-energy-deal#stream/0
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Who Benefits From BLM Rule Change?
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
At the high end of the Bureau of Land Management's estimates, the net gain of revisions to its methane regulations could approach $1 billion over a decade.
Those benefits are mostly derived from reduced industry compliance costs, which would outweigh losses sustained from escaped natural gas and unaddressed atmospheric emissions, according to BLM's analysis of its proposed revisions to the 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention Rule.
"This is truly an attempt at wholesale evisceration of this rule and the elimination of nearly all meaningful measures to reduce waste," said Matt Watson, associate vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund's climate and energy program.
BLM estimated that the changes would yield a total net benefit of between $578 million and $942 million from 2019 to 2028. Compared to the original rule, the update drastically reduces the estimate of benefits gained from cutting methane emissions.
The relative change in oil and gas production from onshore federal and Indian leases, however, would be small.
BLM estimated that the revisions would forgo 299 billion cubic feet of natural gas that would have been extracted and sold under the Obama-era rule. At least $26.4 million in royalty payments would be lost, according to the proposal's estimates.
The potential lost royalty dollars raised the ire of Democratic Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. The lawmakers said they were counting on those revenues from oil and gas production on their state's public lands.
"The BLM's proposal to gut a rule designed to limit wasteful venting and flaring of natural gas would hurt taxpayers, school children, New Mexico's economy, and our environment," they said in a joint statement. "Ultimately, it would rob the state of New Mexico of millions of dollars in royalties that could be used to pay for school books, hospitals, and infrastructure projects, and to keep our air clean."
BLM's prioritization of industry wishes comes as little surprise.
The proposal cites President Trump's "Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth" executive order as its basis for introducing changes to the Obama-era rule.
Under the March 28 directive, Trump instructed his agencies to examine and consider retracting "regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy production."Heeding industry
For the oil and gas industry, the changes are a signal that BLM is abandoning its efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions — a job that companies say is best left to U.S. EPA and states — and getting back to its core duties under the Mineral Leasing Act.
During a push to kill the 2016 rule under the Congressional Review Act, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma advocated for a limited rule like the one BLM proposed this week (Energywire, Feb. 1, 2017).
"If you look at BLM's authority, it is confined to conservation of resources and prevention of waste," said Erik Milito, director of upstream and industry operations for the American Petroleum Institute.
API last year rolled out a voluntary methane emissions reduction program that BLM cited in its revision of the 2016 rule.
But the program was never designed to avoid regulations, API and participating companies have said (Energywire, Dec. 6, 2017). Groups like the Environmental Defense Fund have criticized the API protocol for not going far enough.
Creators of the BLM rule say they designed the regulation to fill gaps left by EPA's methane guidance, which applies to new and modified sources. BLM's 2016 rule expanded federal regulations to cover emissions from existing sources.
Milito said energy firms have little appetite to regulate another class of equipment.
"Over time, existing sources are going to be replaced," he said. "As you bring on new sources, as you modify facilities, you're going to make changes in a cost-effective way."
The savings expected under this week's proposal are particularly meaningful for small producers, said Dan Naatz, senior vice president of government relations and political affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
"We welcome the opportunity to talk about reasonable development of oil and natural gas resources on federal lands," he said. "We need to make sure, as we always have, that these activities are designed to protect the environment."What remains?
There are a few elements of the rule that would stay on the books when and if those revisions are finalized, BLM said in the text of its proposal and in an emailed summary yesterday.
"The BLM is not proposing to revise the royalty provisions or the royalty-free use provisions that were set in place as part of the 2016 final rule," the bureau wrote. "These provisions have not been controversial."
But even requirements that remain in place could be subject to change.
BLM said it will be accepting comments on where it could improve its processes for determining when oil and gas should not be subject to royalties. The proposal classifies the benefit of the accountability measure as "incremental."
Even if those elements of the 2016 rule remained intact, the overall outlook for the rule is dire, said Watson of the Environmental Defense Fund.
"That in no way offsets the massive increase in energy waste that would result if this proposal is finalized," he said.
The proposed revisions could appear in the Federal Register as early as tomorrow.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/02/15/stories/1060073979
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Enforcement is Lagging Under Pruitt, Green Group Says
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
When U.S. EPA officials inspected oil and gas well sites in rural eastern Ohio, they found more than 30 leaking methane and toxic vapors.
More than two years later, the agency hasn't taken action against the oil companies operating the wells — Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Gulfport Energy Corp. An environmental group that analyzed the cases and enforcement data says it's a sign that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration are throttling back the agency's environmental enforcement.
"There's lots and lots of open cases," said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. "With the loss of resources, these cases will fall off the vine."
Schaeffer suspects some already have. EIP's analysis of EPA data, being released today, shows that in the year after President Trump took office, the agency resolved 48 civil enforcement cases in court actions that recovered $30 million in penalties.
That's 44 percent fewer cases and 49 percent less in penalties than the average during the three previous presidential administrations, according to the report being released today.
An EPA spokeswoman said yesterday the agency couldn't comment on a study its leaders haven't seen, except to say that "EPA works with state partners on enforcement oversight."
Since Pruitt became EPA administrator and started rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations, he has stressed that he's still a tough enforcer of the rules on the books. "I don't spend any time with polluters. I prosecute polluters," he told Time last year.
But the numbers indicate he prosecutes them less often. In December, The New York Timesreported that EPA under Pruitt had opened about 25 percent fewer cases than during the same period during the administration of President George W. Bush (Greenwire, Dec. 11, 2017). Earlier this month, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse released criminal enforcement data showing a sharp drop in new environmental prosecutions across the administration (E&E News PM, Feb. 1).
At Trump's six-month mark, EIP released numbers showing that civil fines were down 60 percent. EPA officials have noted that enforcement cases often take years, so it can be difficult to attribute changes to the policies of a new administration.
EPA enforcement numbers have been dropping in recent years as Congress cut back the agency's budget. The number of inspections by agency staff dropped by nearly one-third between 2012 and 2016, from nearly 20,000 to a little more than 13,500. But enforcement data indicate the number of enforcement cases was dropping under the Obama administration even before Republicans took control of Congress and started cutting.
About 700 people have left EPA in the past year as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the size of the agency. The administration has also sought deep budget cuts to EPA and enforcement in particular.
Schaeffer, who ran EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement from 1997 to 2002, said that after a year, the sharp decreases are revealing Trump's and Pruitt's true colors on prosecuting polluters.
"Now we're looking at shrinking resources and an unfriendly climate," he said.
EPA inspectors visited the Ohio oil and gas sites in April, August and November 2015. The agency sent formal notices of violation in December 2016 to the two companies, which are both based in Oklahoma City.
The inspectors spotted leaks from "thief hatches" and pressure relief devices on the storage tanks at the site. The volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that leak out can include butane, xylenes and benzene. VOCs can cause eye, nose and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to the liver, kidneys and the central nervous system, according to EPA, and can lead to smog.
In a November securities filing, Chesapeake said it was in discussions with EPA to resolve the allegations and noted that might cost the company more than $100,000.
EPA and other federal agencies have also investigated cases in which blasts of VOCs appear to have killed workers after they opened thief hatches (Energywire, Oct. 20, 2017).
The methane that leaks out is less directly harmful to humans if it doesn't ignite, but it is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
The oil and gas industry complained to Pruitt shortly after he took office last year about Clean Air Act inspections at production sites, mostly in North Dakota and Colorado. In response, Pruitt promised a more "judicious" use of EPA's enforcement powers (Energywire, Jan. 17).
He also pledged a roundtable meeting with industry leaders to hear complaints, which is to take place later this month.
The Chesapeake and Gulfport cases were two of more than a dozen examples that EIP included in its report to show what cases could be left undone if the EPA continues to lag in enforcement. EIP obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report notes that federal officials could still be seeking to resolve the cases but stresses that they are a fraction of the backlog of cases at the agency.
EIP also flagged violations reported found by EPA at a MarkWest gas plant in Somerville, Ohio, and the St. Paul refinery in Minnesota.
EIP's report also includes an Exxon Mobil Corp. enforcement action that EPA said showed its "commitment to enforce the law." But EIP said the agency exaggerated the effect of the action by including emissions reductions that Exxon had to make for other reasons.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/02/15/stories/1060073949
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Halliburton Warns of Earnings Hit Due to Delays in Sand Delivery
Feb 15, 2018 | Wall Street Journal
By Christopher M. Matthews
Halliburton Co. HAL -2.06% warned Thursday that its first-quarter earnings would take a hit due to delays on delivery of a key ingredient used to hydraulically fracture shale wells: sand.
Trading in shares of the oil-field services giant was briefly halted Thursday morning before Chris Weber, Halliburton’s chief financial officer, said the company expected an impact of 10 cents per share on its first-quarter earnings due to delays by Canadian rail companies that would slow sand delivery.
Trading resumed minutes after Mr. Weber made the announcement during remarks at the Credit Suisse Energy Summit, and the company’s stock was down 1.8% to $47.
Oil-field services companies like Halliburton pump millions of pounds of sand in each shale well to help producers prop open rocks cracked during hydraulic fracturing, to help oil and gas seep out.
Any delays in sand delivery could slow the uptick in production in oil-rich regions like Texas’ Permian basin.
Investment bank Evercore ISI said in a note to investors that it expects “customer frustration is rampant given the impact to production. Most other pressure pumpers will likely see similar headwinds, further hampered by the cold weather Texas experienced in January.”
Fracking companies have traditionally hauled sand from mines in the Midwest by rail to shale sites across the country, from Texas to North Dakota. The Canadian National RailwayCo mpany said in January that severe cold conditions in its Canadian and U.S. Midwest rail network would cause it to run shorter trains in those regions, reducing capacity.
Evercore said it expects Halliburton will buy sand on the spot market from new, local suppliers in Texas to supplement the lost volumes, but that it will not be enough to cover all the needed sand. More than a dozen companies have flocked to mine sand in West Texas close to production activity, but only five out of 20 planned mines are active, Evercore said.
Mr. Weber said that despite the delays, Halliburton is still on track for normalized margins of around 20% in North America in 2018, following years of steep pricing cuts in the industry due to low oil prices.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/halliburton-warns-of-earnings-hit-due-to-delays-in-sand-delivery-1518711799?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1
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Homeland Security Subcommittee Reviews CFATS
Feb 15, 2018 | Homeland 411
A House Homeland Security subcommittee convened Feb. 15 to get industry input on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. Originally Authorized by Congress in 2007, CFATS “identifies and regulates high-risk chemical facilities to ensure they have security measures in place to reduce the risks associated with these chemicals.”
Committee Chairman John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) noted at the hearing’s opening that managing the security of high-risk chemicals is something the government can’t solve on its own.
“Working with industry stakeholders in this area is an integral part and aspect of our nation’s continuing counterterrorism efforts,” Ratcliffe said. “By identifying high-risk facilities and ensuring that they have appropriate security measures in place, the risks associated with these chemicals can be heavily mitigated, especially after recent tragedies, greater collaboration between government and facility owner-operators also can provide confidence and peace of mind to the American public.”
The hearing featured testimony from a number of professionals in industry, including Chet Thompson, president of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers; Kristin Meskill, director of BASF Corporation; Pete Mutchler, environment, health, and safety director for CHS Inc.; and Paul Orum, chemical safety advocate for the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters.
Please visit the committee’s website to watch the hearing in its entirety.
http://homeland411.com/homeland-security-subcommittee-reviews-cfats-program/
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Committee Approves Two Rail Data Security Bills at Full Committee Markup
Feb 15, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
This morning, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved its views and estimates for the fiscal year 2019 budget, as well as two important railroad data and information security bills.
Under current law and House rules, standing committees are required to submit their views and estimates to the Committee on the Budget identifying the legislative priorities for that committee. The Committee approved its views and estimates by voice vote.
“The views and estimates reflect the Committee’s belief that the federal government has a fundamental responsibility to make investments in transportation infrastructure to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods, increase economic growth, and promote the Nation’s general welfare,” said Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA).
The views and estimates can be read here.
The two bipartisan railroad data and information security bills considered today were H.R. 4921, the “STB Information Security Act,” and H.R. 4925, the “FRA Safety Data Improvement Act.” Both pieces of legislation were approved by voice vote. A technical amendment to H.R. 4921 was also approved.
H.R. 4921 is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI). This legislation would direct the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to implement an improvement plan for its information security system, as recommended by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General (DOT IG).
H.R. 4925 is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). This legislation would ensure greater accuracy and quality of safety data collected and reported by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The bill instructs FRA to develop a plan and timeline to implement DOT IG recommendations to improve the management and collection of railroad safety data.
“The bipartisan bills passed out of Committee today will address cybersecurity challenges facing our rail systems, help Federal agencies better prepare for changing technology threats, and fill gaps in tracking, identifying, and mitigating rail safety risks. I commend Representatives Gottheimer and Mitchell for these bipartisan rail bills,” said Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR).
“I am pleased that today the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced two bipartisan bills that can now head to the full House of Representatives for a vote: my bill, the STB Information Security Improvement Act, and a bill from my colleague Josh Gottheimer, the FRA Safety Data Act. Both of these bills are simple, straightforward measures that solve serious problems.” said Congressman Mitchell. “Companies and individuals from across the Nation interact with and report to the STB and need to be assured their proprietary information is not at risk, and the STB Information Security Improvement Act makes the STB update their currently inadequate data security practices. The FRA Safety Data Act will ensure that when rail accidents and problems occur, there is a standardized way information can be reported to regulators and policy makers so they can act on it.”
“As we saw in Hughson, California this week, it’s critical FRA update accident reporting requirements and better train their staff. Safety is a bipartisan issue and I will continue to work with my colleagues to provide for strong safety measures,” said Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-CA).
“Today’s bills require the Surface Transportation Board to implement a number of cybersecurity recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Railroad Administration to implement recommendations to improve FRA safety data management and reporting. The Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Administration should act quickly to fully implement these recommendations,” Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Capuano (D-MA).
More information from today’s markup and the approved legislation can be found here.
https://www.ajot.com/news/committee-approves-two-rail-data-security-bills-at-full-committee-markup
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The President's Climate Guy is Out. Will Trump Find Another?
Feb 15, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Zack Colman and Jean Chemnick
People across the ideological spectrum yesterday lamented the resignation of a White House aide who was seen as an honest broker on climate issues in a period of outward skepticism over the science, led by a president who recently suggested the world is cooling.
The departure of George David Banks, who handled international energy and climate issues for President Trump, creates a vacuum on climate change for an administration that has sought to roll back rules to reduce emissions and slash funding for research. Many said the White House will struggle to replace Banks with someone who accepts mainstream science, given the positions of the administration.
"It's totally arbitrary, it's totally unfair and it's going to be really hard to fill that position because Dave is the best in that policy space," said a senior White House official.
Banks was a reliable line into the White House for environmental groups, industry and journalists alike. He was one of a few advocates for remaining in the Paris climate accord and has sought to advance other international agreements, such as the Kigali Amendment to phase out heat-trapping gases in air conditioners known as hydrofluorocarbons.
"It's hard to imagine who would want to step into this environment, especially because Dave Banks is someone who had a lot of friendship and support across communities," said Heather Coleman, climate and energy director with Oxfam America. "So you see him step down and people would think, 'What would happen to me in that situation?'"
Those who corresponded with Banks described him as a buffer against the administration's hard-line conservatives, nationalists and isolationists. They said his open-door policy was unusual in an administration that has operated opaquely and often in defiance of climate science.
Banks communicated often with reporters, many of whom bemoaned his departure. He was an unusual presence in an administration that riled foreign allies by disputing the severity of climate change. He privately disagreed with the administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, and he was a proponent of finding a way for the United States to stay in the international accord.
Yet Banks also led the White House effort to expand U.S. exports of coal and natural gas, in what administration officials have recently begun to call the "fossil alliance."
A guest list for Banks' recent birthday party reflects his ability to make relationships across political lines. The party at Edgar Bar & Kitchen, a hotel bar near Dupont Circle last month, included administration officials, energy lobbyists, trade group representatives and dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists. It also featured reporters. The theme was a favorite of the Missourian: pirates.
Banks was also a reliable advocate for industry, including nuclear energy and fossil fuels. He argued that other nations will use oil and coal for decades, and said the United States should play an active role in providing them with that energy and technology.
"Dave was very diligently pursuing the administration's international energy agenda, and he was a very dedicated, very intelligent and — maybe most important — very experienced in all the areas of the international energy and environment issues," said Barry Worthington, executive director of the U.S. Energy Association. "It's going to be a challenge to replace him."
In an administration often criticized for elevating neophytes to powerful positions, Banks brought a wealth of experience to his office.
George David Banks.
Under former President George W. Bush, Banks was an aide on the Council on Environmental Quality, where he began working on the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. At the State Department, he was the lead contact on climate issues between the United States and Europe. He also served in the Senate as Environment and Public Works Committee staff director when it was chaired by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). And he was a CIA analyst. Just before entering the Trump White House, Banks was a vice president at the American Council for Capital Formation.
"It's incredible to find somebody with the level of sophistication who can argue for Paris and Kigali and still function in this administration without losing his credibility," said Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, whom Banks has called a mentor. "This is an extraordinarily talented guy and one of the greatest strategists I've ever worked with. He was able to balance an extremely difficult set of forces."
A case in point was when Banks played the provocateur during last year's U.N. climate talks in Bonn, Germany, and as a heat shield for U.S. negotiators still haggling over the Paris Agreement rulebook despite Trump's decision to leave the deal at the earliest opportunity.
He hosted a gathering of fossil fuel industry representatives one night during the conference to tout the role those industries could play in lower-emissions electrification. The event raised the hackles of advocates and diplomats meeting in Bonn, prompting a musical protest by a group of young climate activists. Banks proposed one of his favorite activities — karaoke.
Banks was at once the most and least popular man in Bonn, making himself available to the press and foreign delegations. At an event in the U.S. Center, a privately sponsored headquarters for American proponents of the Paris Agreement, he accepted a button declaring, "We're still in."
The agreement bars the United States from leaving until 2020. Many saw Banks as one of the top people working on how the United States might re-engage in Paris to head off an official exit.
Still, to many in the environmental space, Banks was another merchant of Trump's "energy dominance" agenda that seeks to extract and export planet-warming natural gas, coal and oil.
"Reminder, he worked for Inhofe and then hosted a panel in Bonn last year espousing coal as a climate solution," tweeted David Turnbull, strategic communications director with Oil Change International. "So, uh, advocating for active role sure ... but to what end?"
Banks' resignation, which E&E News confirmed after it was first reported by Politico, is part of the fallout from the White House scandal over domestic abuse and temporary security clearances. Banks was operating on an interim security clearance after being informed that his admission to smoking marijuana in 2013 would prevent him from obtaining a full clearance.
The White House's practice of allowing aides to operate on extended interim security clearances gained attention when the ex-wives of former staff secretary Rob Porter accused him of physical and verbal abuse. Porter held an interim clearance despite those allegations. The White House claimed that Porter, who resigned late last week, was given the interim clearance because his background check was still pending. FBI Director Christopher Wray contradicted that version of events Tuesday at a Senate hearing.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Banks' departure.
Some officials who have worked with Banks on energy issues remain in the administration, and they could pick up some of the slack created by his resignation.
Mark Eshbaugh has led energy issues at the National Security Council under Trump and former President Obama. Tristan Abbey, a former Senate GOP Energy and Natural Resources Committee staffer, has been with the NSC since the fall. So has Aaron Weston, a nuclear engineer and former House staffer. State Department official John Thompson, the lead negotiator on Kigali, had been working with Banks to get the hydrofluorocarbons policy approved. He's still in the administration.
"We're definitely sorry to see [Banks] go," said Francis Dietz, spokesman with the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, which supports the Kigali amendment. "We've had a very good working relationship with John Thompson, as well. Certainly we would expect that he would step up. We don't make decisions in the White House, obviously, but he certainly has the knowledge and depth of experience."
The administration has other voices involved in climate issues, too. National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is seen as being engaged on the issue. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also angled for the administration to remain in the Paris accord.
Still, few in the Trump administration have pursued climate change with Banks' vigor.
"I think it's a loss, regardless of your politics," said Paul Bodnar, managing director at the Rocky Mountain Institute, who held Banks' position under Obama, "because Dave was a well-informed, engaged senior energy and climate policymaker, and his departure further depletes the ranks of the administration's bench on international affairs generally and specifically on this issue."
Foreign diplomats who work in the energy space say Banks' departure will be felt especially keenly if it takes long for the White House to replace him.
"He certainly was the primary contact in the White House, and it had been a constructive dialogue despite severe differences of opinion," said one European diplomat.
Banks was familiar with the U.N. climate talks from his work under Bush, and he had an understanding of other countries' priorities, the diplomat said. He also credited Banks with helping to forge an agreement at last year's Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, that avoided an outright split between the United States and other major countries over climate change. The final text did show substantial differences between the United States and the "Group of 19," especially over the Paris Agreement, but it also showed points of agreement.
Representing a White House derided by the international community for its retrograde climate stance while hosting events with fossil fuel industry allies and simultaneously looping in the countries and environmental groups criticizing those positions — before gabbing with reporters about it all — is the kind of juggling act that Banks could pull off.
"This is a unique character we're talking about," said Coleman, of Oxfam. "Dave Banks characters don't come around every day."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/02/15/stories/1060073989
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EPA Penalties for Polluters Cut in Half Under Trump, Study Finds
Feb 15, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The amount of civil penalties charged to polluters by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped by nearly half under President Trump, according to a new study released Thursday.
The report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that in the year since Trump's inauguration, the penalties companies were forced to pay for violating regulations dropped by 49 percent compared to in President Obama's first year.
Looking specifically at penalty amounts determined for cases lodged by the Trump administration, EIP found the Trump EPA collected $30 million compared to $71 million and $50 million in penalties under the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, respectively.
The report also found the number of cases filed against polluters by the Trump administration dropped drastically. There were 44 percent fewer cases opened under Trump than Obama in the first year of their administrations. In 2017, Trump recommended the Justice Department prosecute 48 civil cases compared to 71 civil cases prosecuted in 2009 under Obama. Comparatively, Bush officials lodged 112 cases in his first year in office.
“President Trump’s dismantling of the EPA means violators are less likely to be caught, making illegal pollution cheaper,” said Eric Schaeffer, EIP executive director and former director of EPA enforcement, in a statement. “The president’s ‘law and order’ agenda apparently wasn’t intended for fossil fuel companies and other big polluters.”
The numbers in the report paint a more dire picture at EPA than numbers released by the agency just last week in its annual enforcement report. That report, which tallied enforcement cases and penalties between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2017, found that EPA enforcement cases dropped by almost 30 percent.
The number of cases recommended in fiscal 2017 was 110, compared to 152 the year before.
Experts warned the fiscal year wasn't the most complete measurement of regulatory enforcement under the Trump administration because it likely included cases opened under Obama and completed under Trump.
The EIP data, instead, solely tallied cases opened under Trump.
http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/373947-report-epa-penalties-against-polluters-cut-in-half-under-trump
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