Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 09/04/18
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Pruitt's Holding On. But He's Tarnished
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender and Niina Heikkinen
Scott Pruitt still has a job. -
Top Ethics Official Asks EPA to ‘Appropriately Address’ Pruitt Controversies
Apr 9, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The federal government’s top ethics official on Friday implored the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to properly investigate Administrator Scott Pruitt’s alleged ethical violations and potentially take action against him. -
California to Assess Carcinogenicity of Two Substances
Apr 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha) has selected gentian violet and N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine for carcinogenicity assessment. -
US NTP Report Recommends Adding Six Substances to Carcinogen List
Apr 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) has concluded six haloacetic acids are "reasonably anticipated" to be human carcinogens. -
Like Coal, Natural Gas Losing Ground to Renewables
Apr 9, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
As expensive, dirty coal power staggers toward its inevitable demise, natural gas has come to dominate the electricity market. -
Houston Gas Prices Fall on Threat of Trade War
Apr 9, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Katherine Blunt
The price of gasoline in Houston and across the country fell for the first time in weeks as the threat of a trade war between the U.S. and China depressed crude oil prices. -
Three Former FERC Members Dispute Pruitt on CPP Repeal
Apr 9, 2018 | Inside EPA
Three former Democratic members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are disputing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's reasoning for seeking to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) to cut utility greenhouse gas emissions, saying that contrary to what the administrator says, the rule does not step on FERC's authority. -
EPA Advancing Proposed Refinery Reg Changes
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is poised to start taking public feedback on another round of proposed changes to its 2015 update to emissions standards for oil refineries. -
Keystone Leak Almost Twice as Large as Previous Estimate
Apr 9, 2018 | Reuters (In E&E Greenwire)
By Jon Herskovitz
The Keystone pipeline last fall leaked nearly twice as much crude oil in South Dakota as originally estimated, a TransCanada Corp. spokeswoman told a local newspaper Saturday. -
Leak Spills 7,000 Gallons of Diesel in Idaho
Apr 9, 2018 | AP (In E&E Greenwire)
A pipeline owned by Andeavor ruptured and spilled nearly 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel in south-central Idaho late last week, the company said. -
Agencies to Sign Memo Today to Fast-Track Environmental Reviews
Apr 9, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Lauren Gardner
Federal agencies will sign a memorandum of understanding today vowing to make "one federal decision" for major infrastructure projects. -
Agencies Sign Agreement to Speed Permitting
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
At least a dozen federal agencies today signed an agreement to streamline the environmental permitting process, a White House official confirmed to E&E News. -
Not Such a Bad Year for International Climate Funding
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
Buried deep in the recent government spending bill is a minor victory for international climate change efforts.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Chemical Management News
Energy News
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
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Pruitt's Holding On. But He's Tarnished
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender and Niina Heikkinen
Scott Pruitt still has a job.
That seemed improbable at times during the past week, as the U.S. EPA administrator was besieged by bad press reports and the White House waffled on whether President Trump had Pruitt's back.
But Pruitt appears to have Trump's support — at least for now. The president praised Pruitt on Twitter on Saturday while defending his use of a lobbyist's condo and his high-priced security and travel arrangements.
"While Security spending was somewhat more than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt has received death threats because of his bold actions at EPA," Trump wrote. "Record clean Air & Water while saving USA Billions of Dollars. Rent was about market rate, travel expenses OK. Scott is doing a great job!"
With that full-throated endorsement from his boss, Pruitt begins the week on firmer footing.
Still, even if the EPA chief sticks around, things will never be the same.
Pruitt's reputation has been badly tarnished during the recent spate of ethics scandals, according to people who have worked with him. His critics won't relent until he leaves office. His already troubled relationship with some of EPA's career staffers has gotten worse. And his prospects for career advancement may have taken a hit.
"This has damaged him," said a source close to the administration who has worked with Pruitt. "It's damaged his brand, and it's damaged his credibility."
Now, "when people meet him, they go, 'Oh, wow, he's kind of corrupt,'" that person said.
EPA career staff who oppose Pruitt's agenda feel emboldened by the latest spate of controversies.
"I think folks were trying to live by the oath that we will fulfill the mission and take orders," said one EPA career employee.
"We're not just going to sit there and do what we're told right now. I think that people are going to take a more assertive stance inside the bureaucracy."
And green groups plan to keep pressing the issues.
"Whatever Trump decides, Scott Pruitt has been a weak administrator who has simply gotten weaker with all the latest scandals," said Jeremy Symons, vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund.
"We know what his agenda is and will continue to fight it, and we have a lot more tools to fight back with as the public is much more aware of what he's all about," Symons said. "We're confident that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of his unethical favors for lobbyists."
Even Pruitt's supporters say the EPA boss will be operating in a new reality where he's constantly under intense scrutiny.
"I think he will have to walk very carefully in terms of his own, shall we say, lifestyle," said Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
"Now that the hounds are after him ... once the environmental groups start going after you, they continue to check up. They'll be checking his garbage and seeing how many flights he takes," said Ebell, who ran Trump's EPA transition team.
Ebell and other Pruitt supporters say he's being unfairly targeted by those who want to oust him over his policy agenda.
"The problem with these spending accusations is that, yeah, I can see that people correctly see that there are excesses here, but what he's done is nothing unusual compared to his predecessors," Ebell said.
Pruitt has used a similar defense, saying he's being attacked because he's effective. "We're getting things done, and that's what's driving these folks crazy," he said in an interview with The Washington Times last week.
Trump's former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, also defended Pruitt over the weekend.
"People make mistakes, and mistakes don't put people in a swamp," Priebus said Saturday on "Fox & Friends."
"He has done a huge chunk of the changes that are making the economy hum again. ... Trump world loves Scott Pruitt. You have a huge base of the party who actually knows who the EPA director is, which isn't normally the case."Do Pruitt's supporters care?
Still, the hubbub could hurt Pruitt in some important ways, including staffing his agency. The nominee for EPA's deputy administrator, Andrew Wheeler, was slated to see a vote in the Senate this month, but that's almost certain to be complicated by the recent drama. Even if Wheeler clears the vote, the process will almost certainly give Pruitt's critics in the Senate a forum for griping about the EPA boss.
Some think the uproar has damaged Pruitt's chances of being promoted by Trump or running for a national political office. He's rumored to want to be attorney general, governor of Oklahoma, a senator or even president.
Mark Hammons, former Oklahoma Democratic Party chairman, sees little chance that Pruitt could win a gubernatorial or Senate seat in the Sooner State following the wave of scandals.
"I don't think this is a storm he could weather. There were a lot of people who were very dissatisfied with him as attorney general," he said.
Even while in Oklahoma, Pruitt had been criticized for politicizing the attorney general's office by playing favorites and serving as a "rubber stamp" for the oil and gas industry, Hammons added. Pruitt could be especially at risk among Oklahoma Republicans who are not pro-Trump.
"If you add to that the criticism in D.C., that greatly damages his prospects in the foreseeable future," Hammons said.
But former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters (D) doesn't think Oklahoma voters are seeing the deluge of Pruitt news as a huge scandal.
"We are a very conservative state, people have been delighted by his work," he told E&E News. "There is a sense that it's exaggerated, that he's trying to 'drain the swamp.'"
Walters said he doubted that the president would fire his EPA administrator, and even if he did, the optics of the firing would have to be very bad for it to have a negative impact.
He recalled watching Pruitt speak as state attorney general before a local rotary club, where he was warmly received by the audience.
"He never once touched on a single local issue, and they would turn to me and say, 'Isn't he wonderful? What a marvelous job he is doing,'" he said. "If someone sounds good and looks OK and is famous, they are hard to beat."
Ebell suggested the scrutiny could even help Pruitt.
"When people are hounded by their political opponents, the people that are the most enthusiastic supporters of that candidate or person often find their enthusiasm intensified by the attacks of the other side," Ebell said.
"I expect it will dissipate, and he will be in good shape to run for whatever office he wants to run for."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078425
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Top Ethics Official Asks EPA to ‘Appropriately Address’ Pruitt Controversies
Apr 9, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The federal government’s top ethics official on Friday implored the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to properly investigate Administrator Scott Pruitt’s alleged ethical violations and potentially take action against him.
David Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), told the EPA’s top ethics official, Kevin Minoli, that Pruitt’s actions “raise concerns and may constitute a violation of the States of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch” as well as President Trump’s ethics pledge.
“The American public needs to have confidence that ethics violations, as well as the appearance of ethics violations, are investigated and appropriately addressed,” Apol wrote in the letter, first reported Monday by the The New York Times, and released publicly by OGE on Monday.
The letter came after a week of reports about numerous controversies involving Pruitt’s spending of taxpayer money, hiring practices, ethics and more.
The EPA and Pruitt have consistently defended his actions as aboveboard and compliant with relevant laws and standards, but numerous former ethics officials and ethics advocates have disagreed.
Apol and his office do not have the ability or authority to punish Pruitt for alleged ethical lapses.
Trump, who does have the power to fire Pruitt, tweeted Monday that two of the most high-profile controversies involving Pruitt — his travel expenses and his apartment rental — are “OK,” and Pruitt is “doing a great job!”
The EPA did not respond to a request for comment on the ethics letter Monday.
Apol’s letter focuses on three areas.
First is Pruitt’s rental last year of a bedroom from the wife of an energy lobbyist for just $50 per day he slept there. Apol noted that Pruitt “did not seek ethics advice prior to entering into the lease” to uncover any potential violations of gift rules and that ethics staffers were provided “limited information” about it to write rulings on its compliance.
Second, Apol brought up Pruitt’s spending on travel, security and aides’ salaries, and the allegation that Pruitt enlisted an aide to help him shop for apartments.
“Reports of the administrator making frequent official trips to his home state at government expense to offset the expense of returning home for personal or political reasons do raise concerns about whether the administrator is using his public office for personal gain in violation of ethics rules,” he said.
Lastly, Apol wrote of allegations that Pruitt punished staffers for objecting to his spending and management decisions, which he called “extremely concerning.”
“If true, it is hard to imagine any action that could more effectively undermine an agency’s integrity than punishing or marginalizing employees who strive to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations that safeguard that integrity,” the ethics official wrote.
Walter Shaub, who preceded Apol atop OGE before resigning last year, has been outspoken against Pruitt, saying that there is a good chance his actions have violated ethics rules. The White House chose to elevate Apol to the acting director role after Shaub left.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/382268-top-ethics-official-asks-that-epa-appropriately-address-pruitt
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California to Assess Carcinogenicity of Two Substances
Apr 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (Oehha) has selected gentian violet and N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine for carcinogenicity assessment.
Oehha has referred the substances the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) – the advisory board that gives opinions on whether a substance has been clearly shown to cause cancer. The group’s review precedes a chemical's addition to Proposition 65.
Gentian violet, also known as crystal violet, is an antifungal and dye. N-Nitrosohexamethyleneimine is a chemical intermediate and used as an explosive in ejector seats in military jet fighter planes, according to a 2009 Oehha document.
The agency is requesting that the public provide information relevant to the assessment of substances’ carcinogenicity. This includes:cancer bioassays and epidemiological studies;genotoxicity testing; anddata such as pharmacokinetics, biomarkers and effects on biochemical and physiological processes in humans.
Information may be submitted until 21 May.
Submitted information will be reviewed by the CIC before it meets to determine whether the substances should be considered for listing under Prop 65. These meetings have not yet been scheduled.
https://chemicalwatch.com/65798/california-to-assess-carcinogenicity-of-two-substances
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US NTP Report Recommends Adding Six Substances to Carcinogen List
Apr 9, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) has concluded six haloacetic acids are "reasonably anticipated" to be human carcinogens.
The substances, found as water disinfection by-products, have been nominated for possible inclusion in the 14th Report on Carcinogens (RoC), which is currently under development. They are:dichloroacetic acid;dibromoacetic acid;bromochloroacetic acid;bromodichloroacetic acid;chlorodibromoacetic acid; andtribromoacetic acid.
The most common exposure route for disinfection by-products is ingestion of chlorinated drinking water. Exposure can also occur via dermal and inhalation routes from bathing or the use of swimming pools and spas that use chlorine for disinfection.
For more detail on this story go to CW+BiocidesHub.
https://chemicalwatch.com/65801/us-ntp-report-recommends-adding-six-substances-to-carcinogen-list
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Like Coal, Natural Gas Losing Ground to Renewables
Apr 9, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
As expensive, dirty coal power staggers toward its inevitable demise, natural gas has come to dominate the electricity market. Now natural gas is also losing ground to cleaner, cheaper renewable energy sources and technological advances.
Last year, both natural gas and coal generation fell for the first time ever, according to the Energy Information Administration. Wind and solar power are increasingly cheaper and easier to install than natural gas power plants, as The New York Times recently reported.
Natural gas proponents are relying on the same arguments used to justify propping up the coal industry. They say natural gas is more reliable and stable than wind and solar because there has historically been no way to store excess energy generated by renewable energy. Emerging advances in battery storage could be the nail in the coffin of natural gas plant economics.
With the advent of fracking, the U.S. has been flooded with cheap natural gas. But the real costs of relying on natural gas are enormous – measured in the devastating impacts to our health, environment and climate.
A recent study from two leading groups of health professionals concluded that fracking threatens to cause a nationwide public health crisis because it can’t be done safely. Air pollution, drinking water contamination, and increased rates of cancer, asthma and birth defects are all documented hazards of fracking.
Natural gas boosters have claimed that it’s preferable to coal because burning it in power plants doesn’t produce as much carbon dioxide pollution, a main source of climate change. But methane, the main component of natural gas, leaks from fracking drill rigs and other infrastructure, and over a 20-year period it is 84 times more potent in driving climate change. And methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry are likely 20 to 60 times higher than historically thought, the health professionals’ study estimates.
But as the decline in natural gas demand shows, the market is already moving on to cheap, renewable sources. In March, two power plant developers abandoned the California market because, the companies say, they can’t compete with renewables. And in November, the subsidiary of Texas-based Exelon, which sells energy on the open market, declared bankruptcy because its natural gas plants couldn’t compete with the lower cost of wind generation.
Policymakers are encouraging the shift from natural gas to wind and solar. In Arizona, regulators directed a utility to scrap its plans for a natural gas plant, and instead rely on energy storage and “plants that produce zero emissions,” according to The New York Times article. Regulators in California directed Pacific Gas & Electric to shutter three existing natural gas plants in favor of building out renewable and storage resources.
Advocates and the public are also pushing for change. For instance, in Michigan, a $1 billion natural gas plant proposed by Detroit Edison has come under fire. In March, Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists released a study demonstrating that the electricity demand the Michigan plant was supposed to meet could be provided by a combination of solar power, wind power and energy efficiency – creating about 10 times the number of construction jobs and four times the number of ongoing jobs.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/04/coal-natural-gas-losing-ground-renewables#.WsuLlYNubIU
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Houston Gas Prices Fall on Threat of Trade War
Apr 9, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Katherine Blunt
The price of gasoline in Houston and across the country fell for the first time in weeks as the threat of a trade war between the U.S. and China depressed crude oil prices.
The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded in the Houston area dropped by nearly 2 cents last week to $2.43, while the national average fell 0.6 cents to $2.65 a gallon, according to GasBuddy, which tracks fuel prices nationwide.
In Houston, gasoline costs about 21.6 cents more than it did at this time last year. Nationally, prices have increased by nearly 27 cents during the same period.
The Trump Administration last month imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, prompting China to retaliate with tariffs on some $3 billion in U.S. goods. The back-and-forth quickly escalated, with each country threatening to target additional imports worth billions of dollars.
Talks of a possible trade war drove down the price of crude oil, which closed at $62.06 a barrel last week. It had topped $65 a barrel the prior week.
The market jitters slowed what has been a fairly steady rise in the price of gasoline, which traditionally becomes more expensive in the spring as refiners complete seasonal maintenance and switch to pricier fuel blends ahead of the summer driving season.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said prices will likely continue to rise unless markets continue to swing on news from Washington, D.C.
"The volatility of the stock market has had a major influence on gas prices in the last year, so we may still be susceptible to sudden and dramatic change in U.S. policy," he said.
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Houston-gas-prices-fall-on-threat-of-trade-war-12817460.php
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Three Former FERC Members Dispute Pruitt on CPP Repeal
Apr 9, 2018 | Inside EPA
Three former Democratic members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are disputing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's reasoning for seeking to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) to cut utility greenhouse gas emissions, saying that contrary to what the administrator says, the rule does not step on FERC's authority.
The former commissioners, Norman Bay, John Norris and Jon Wellinghoff say in a March 27 letter to Pruitt placed in EPA's regulatory docket that “EPA's suggestion in the proposed repeal that the CPP may tread impermissibly onto the functions and authority of FERC . . . is unfounded. The CPP is fully consistent with EPA's traditional regulatory role.”
They add that the rule is also “consistent with ongoing trends in the power sector, is achievable at reasonable cost, and does not pose threats to reliability. Contrary to EPA's statements in the proposed repeal, the CPP does not 'threaten[] to impose massive costs on the power sector and consumers' or affect the 'national interest in affordable, reliable electricity.'”
They also cite recent data from the Energy Information Administration that shows the power sector is nearly 80 percent of the way to achieving the CPP targets for 2030, which they argue demonstrates “the reasonableness of those requirements.”
The former commissioners include a 2015 letter to EPA that all five members of the commission signed at the time, including Bay, to note that FERC's input “was ultimately reflected in the final CPP; EPA included the reliability safety valve and moved the initial compliance deadline from 2022 to 2022” in response to FERC's concerns.
EPA is accepting comments on the proposed CPP repeal until April 26. A March 29 analysis of power sector GHGs by the Rhodium Group confirms that power sector emissions continued to decline in 2017 but also noted that some of those cuts were offset by increases in GHGs from other sectors, particularly transportation.
Just this week, Pruitt announced that EPA would replace the Obama EPA vehicle GHG rule for model years 2022-2025 with less-stringent requirements, after finding the original requirements that vehicle fleets meet an average of 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025 “no longer represent realistic assumptions.”
Further demonstrating the power sector's GHG cuts, Carnegie Mellon University released April 4 its latest Power Sector Carbon Index to show that emissions from domestic power plants have dropped to below 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour (lb CO2/MWh), which is the lowest intensity ever recorded.
The CPP set a performance standard for coal at 1,305 lbs CO2/MWh, which would require carbon capture, and a gas standards at 771 lbs CO2/MWh, but allowed flexible measures including fuel switching from coal to gas or from fossil fuel to renewables for states to meet the standard.
The new report says that power plant emissions averaged 967 lbs CO2/MWh in 2017, a 3.1 percent drop from the prior year and a 26.8 percent cut from the annual value of 1,321 lb CO2/MWh in 2005. The 2016 average was 998 lb CO2/MWh.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/three-former-ferc-members-dispute-pruitt-cpp-repeal
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EPA Advancing Proposed Refinery Reg Changes
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is poised to start taking public feedback on another round of proposed changes to its 2015 update to emissions standards for oil refineries.
After unveiling the proposed rule last month in response to industry requests for reconsideration, the agency will open a 45-day public comment period tomorrow, according to an upcoming Federal Register notice. It will also hold a public hearing if a request is received within five days of the notice's publication.
The proposed amendments pertain to requirements for fence-line pollution monitoring, performance testing and other issues (E&E News PM, March 20).
While EPA describes them as "technical corrections," the agency also predicts they would save the industry some $77 million in capital expenses and $11.5 million in yearly compliance costs "without sacrificing environmental protection," according to a news release and data included in the proposed rule.
The updated New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, published in December 2015, apply to almost 150 refineries nationwide.
At that time, EPA predicted they would eventually reduce yearly emissions of toxic air pollutants by 5,200 tons per year, accompanied by an annual cut in releases of ozone-forming volatile organic compounds of 50,000 tons. The agency had made an earlier set of technical corrections and clarifications to the standards in 2016.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078505
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Keystone Leak Almost Twice as Large as Previous Estimate
Apr 9, 2018 | Reuters (In E&E Greenwire)
By Jon Herskovitz
The Keystone pipeline last fall leaked nearly twice as much crude oil in South Dakota as originally estimated, a TransCanada Corp. spokeswoman told a local newspaper Saturday.
The line spilled around 9,700 barrels of oil — far greater than the original estimate of 5,000 barrels, spokeswoman Robynn Tysver told the Aberdeen American News.
TransCanada shut down the line after the Nov. 16, 2017, leak in Marshall County, S.D. (E&E News PM, Nov. 16, 2017). Operations resumed less than two weeks later.
TransCanada was not immediately available for further comment.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078481
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Leak Spills 7,000 Gallons of Diesel in Idaho
Apr 9, 2018 | AP (In E&E Greenwire)
A pipeline owned by Andeavor ruptured and spilled nearly 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel in south-central Idaho late last week, the company said.
U.S. EPA is overseeing the cleanup of the spill, which contaminated soil and a pond but hasn't reached a Snake River tributary.
"So far, we've dodged a bullet," said EPA spokesman Bill Dunbar. "So far, things seem to be going smoothly."
The spill was detected Tuesday after a resident reported smelling diesel fuel.
The cause of the spill has not been determined, said Andeavor spokesman Brad Shafer. About 80 workers — including company response crews and local contractors — are helping with the cleanup, he said.
Andeavor purchased the Northwest Products pipeline from another company five years ago, and it likely dates to the 1950s, Shafer said. "I believe it's the original pipe that hasn't been disturbed since initial construction," he said.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration were also at the scene.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078487
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Agencies to Sign Memo Today to Fast-Track Environmental Reviews
Apr 9, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Lauren Gardner
Federal agencies will sign a memorandum of understanding today vowing to make "one federal decision" for major infrastructure projects.
The memo, which a White House spokeswoman said would be signed after today's Cabinet meeting, states that one agency will be designated as the lead for any one project so that one environmental impact statement and one record of decision can be issued. Agencies will conduct their reviews simultaneously and will aim to complete them within two years.
A White House official first said the administration was working on the MOU in January. While Council on Environmental Quality official Alex Herrgott said the White House was trying to get 17 agencies to sign on, information released by the White House today indicates that 12 agencies will agree to the effort.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Agencies Sign Agreement to Speed Permitting
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
At least a dozen federal agencies today signed an agreement to streamline the environmental permitting process, a White House official confirmed to E&E News.
The memorandum of understanding implements President Trump's Aug. 15, 2017, executive order, which aims to cut permitting time for big infrastructure projects to two years.
Signatories of the agreement, first reported by Bloomberg, will include the Energy, Interior, Transportation and Agriculture departments as well as U.S. EPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers. Agency chiefs signed the deal at the end of today's Cabinet meeting.
The memo mirrors the permitting agenda outlined in Trump's infrastructure plan, released in February, which has fallen flat on Capitol Hill.
One federal agency will take the lead on permitting under the MOU, issuing a single environmental impact statement for the entire federal government, the White House official said. The lead agency will be able to set timetables for other agencies, with the goal of getting the entire process down to two years.
The official said the agreement could improve cases like a bridge replacement project in North Carolina that took 20 years to permit because it ran through a wildlife refuge.
Details remain hazy, but a spokeswoman for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America said today's agreement emphasizes FERC's role as the lead permitting agency for pipelines.
"We appreciate the guidance given to all permitting agencies to work cooperatively on reviewing infrastructure projects," said Catherine Landry, vice president of communications for INGAA, said in an emailed statement.
"We view better cooperation and concurrent review by participating agencies as important to the timely review of proposed pipeline projects," she added.
Critics argue that today's agreement ironically creates more red tape.
The 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act — the last major infrastructure bill to pass Congress — "basically did all this stuff," said Scott Slesinger, legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Critics say the administration is adding bureaucracy by forging ahead with its own initiatives, instead of using existing tools to cut down permitting time.
"This is essentially existing law, even before the executive order," Slesinger said.
Trump has yet to appoint a director for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, an interagency body created by the FAST Act. And the White House Council on Environmental Quality — which oversees permitting regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act — still does not have a permanent director. Trump's pick for that position, Kathleen Hartnett White, withdrew her name from consideration after it became clear she would not pass the Senate.
What's more, existing regulations at individual agencies could supersede the collaborative framework the administration is trying to implement, said Raul Garcia, senior legislative counsel at Earthjustice. That could prompt lawsuits.
"We'll be looking at the process and seeing if anything runs afoul of those regulations, and if it does, we'll be there to call it out," Garcia said.'A real diversion'
The White House sees the reform as key to its infrastructure plan, saying long permitting waits drive up project costs.
But the momentum on infrastructure has slowed in recent weeks. Congress is unlikely to pass a broad, bipartisan bill this year, a fact Trump acknowledged at a speech in Ohio last month.
And last week, Trump's top infrastructure aide, D.J. Gribbin, announced he's leaving the White House (Greenwire, April 5).
Still, the administration has sought to enact some of its plan through presidential orders. Officials have repeatedly stressed that moves like today's agreement will not erode environmental protections.
Conservatives and energy industry groups have hailed the various proposals as a necessary step to reversing the course set by the Obama administration.
But environmentalists say today's agreement ignores the real problem plaguing the president's plan in Congress: a lack of funds.
"This is a real diversion from the real issue of money," Slesinger said. "What's holding up infrastructure is not environmental reviews; it's money."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078515
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Not Such a Bad Year for International Climate Funding
Apr 9, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
Buried deep in the recent government spending bill is a minor victory for international climate change efforts.
The fiscal 2018 omnibus provided $3 million for the State Department to pay some dues to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and its scientific cousin, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
That's not much. The United States generally provides a combined $10 million for the two agencies. Even President Trump's fiscal 2019 budget blueprint was more generous — offering a combined $6.4 million for the two agencies.
The $3 million amount is not explicitly mentioned in the bill's report language. A line item that in a usual year would provide $7 million for the United Nations is expanded to $10 million for "U.N. Environment Programs." Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) negotiated the increase during conference.
Climate advocates gave a muted cheer.
"These organizations provide critical information to communities and decisionmakers on everything from infrastructure risks as sea levels rise to health effects from rising temperatures," said Rachel Licker of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "And I think that kind of information is appreciated on both sides of the aisle."
But it's not clear when, or if, the State Department will actually transfer that funding to the U.N. Most observers say career staff at State is unlikely to make a move until secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo is confirmed, if then.
Pompeo, who's skeptical about climate change, might not approve an allocation — even a tiny one — to U.N. climate work, some observers say. He could use the ambiguity in the report language as permission to use it for something else.
The last time the United States ponied up for either climate organization was in January 2017, before Trump was inaugurated.
Congress showed its disdain for climate programs elsewhere in the omnibus, too.
The Green Climate Fund received no funding, and programs like the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group are effectively defunct.
Allocations for clean energy and adaptation in the Senate bill disappeared in the final version.
Meanwhile, the United States still participates in the Clean Energy Ministerial and U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, though the latter project is running on funds appropriated during the Obama administration.
Trump signed into law last month a surprisingly strong allocation of $139.5 million for the Global Environment Facility, which supports programs to alleviate a host of environmental ills, including climate change, biodiversity and desertification. That's $7 million less than the fund received last year.
Joe Thwaites, who works on finance issues at the World Resources Institute, said Congress should get the credit rather than the administration. Programs that have a strong constituency in Congress were protected from administration hostility, he said.
"This is a tried and trusted fund that's been doing good work for 25 years now, and so I think there was an understanding that the GEF was important," Thwaites said. "Congress has always supported the GEF, so it was no deviation from the norm."
The Multilateral Fund to help countries implement the Montreal Protocol received $31 million, down only $1 million from enacted levels — an allocation credited at least in part to former White House energy adviser George David Banks, a strong backer of the ozone treaty.
"Given the importance of the Montreal Protocol to U.S. commercial interests, the United States needs a financially healthy multilateral fund," said Banks, adding that securing the funding was "a terrific team effort."
The spending law also provides $123.5 million for sustainable landscapes work, which enjoys support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Sustainable landscapes, like adaptation and clean energy, were a pillar of the Global Climate Change Initiative, an informal Obama-era construct that came to cover a host of projects and programs.
Andrew Deutz, director of international government relations at the Nature Conservancy, said career staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development took care not to let their land-use work be painted too heavily with a climate change brush.
International biodiversity work was also a big winner, receiving $269 million in fiscal 2019, up $4 million from previous levels.
"We were kind of pleasantly surprised," said Deutz. "The numbers for those things look like what we used to think of as a normal year."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/09/stories/1060078429
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