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ACC AM Feb 13
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(ACC Mentioned) Greater State Role in Technical Assistance Envisioned Under Modernized Chemicals Law
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
An updated Toxic Substances Control Act should support states' ability to offer technical assistance to businesses pursuing safer chemistries, the head of the Environmental Council of the States told Bloomberg BNA. “All states are very comfortable in the role of offering technical assistance,” Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, executive director... -
(ACC Mentioned) China is Lead Contributor to Plastic Trash in Oceans, Study Says
Feb 12, 2015 | LA Times
By Geoffrey Mohan
The first worldwide estimate of where the ocean's massive amounts of plastic garbage comes from points at China and developing economies in Asia. The study, published online Thursday in the journal Science, estimates that China's heavily coastal population contributes 1.3 million to 3.5 million metric tons of plastic... -
(ACC Mentioned) Plastic Waste Entering World's Oceans Set to Double in 10 Years
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemistry World
By Patrick Walter
The amount of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans every year could be as much as 8 million tonnes – 3% of the plastic waste produced every year, according to new research findings released on 12 February at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in San Jose, California. -
(ACC Mentioned) Study: Plastic Ocean Waste on the Rise
Feb 12, 2015 | Plastics News
By Gayle S. Putrich & Don Loepp
A new study estimates that 4 million to 12 million metric tons of plastics are washed into the world’s oceans annually — or between 1.5 and 4.5 percent of the world’s total plastic production. The number comes from a study on marine debris from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis ... -
(ACC Mentioned) Plastics Makers Call For Global Cooperation, Action To Prevent Marine Debris
Feb 13, 2015 | Nassau News Live
Science magazine today published a new study on marine debris from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The study’s authors say it is the first research to quantify debris coming from land into our oceans. -
New Evidence of Reproductive Harm Allows Medical Expert to Shift Opinion
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Bruce Kaufman
A medical expert for some 30 plaintiffs allegedly harmed by toxic emissions at a former California chrome plating facility can change her causation opinion based on a newly available study of reproductive injuries, a federal district court held Feb. 11... -
The Age of Greed: Toxic Chemical Control Is 'High Priority' Failure for Nation's Government
Feb 12, 2015 | The Huffington Post
By Rena Steinzor
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reiterated its conclusion that EPA's regulation of toxic chemicals is in crisis, unable to deliver badly needed protection to the American people. These benighted programs are among a couple of dozen of "high priority" failures that cause serious harm to public health, waste resources... -
Millions of Tons of Plastic Debris End Up In Oceans, Threatening Wildlife, Report Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ehren Goossens
About 9.1 million metric tons of plastic are likely to end up in the oceans this year as nations, led by countries in Asia, struggle to manage waste, the first study to quantify the problem showed. The amount of plastic is roughly one to three orders of magnitude greater than the mass of discarded items... -
EU Court Preliminary Opinion Would Increase Hazardous Substance Notification Burden
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
Companies that import into the European Union products containing components that include hazardous substance may be required to submit additional notifications to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), according to a Feb. 12 opinion of the advocate general of the EU Court of Justice. -
EU Commission sets Out TTIP Regulatory Cooperation Principles
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Carmen Paun
The European Commission has published the draft legal text for a chapter on general regulatory cooperation which it presented to the US during the latest round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), held last week in Brussels. -
European Commission Calls for Input On Simplifying Some REACH Authorizations
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The European Commission is calling for comments to be submitted through April 30 on possible amendments to the procedure for obtaining a continued-use authorization for a hazardous chemical that would otherwise be prohibited under the European Union's REACH law. -
ECHA Sets its Science Priorities
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Echa published a regulatory science strategy on 11 February which aims to set priority areas, aid scientific cooperation and consensus, communicate R&D needs and ultimately help improve risk assessment methods. Priorities identified include: improved risk assessment for “difficult scenarios” such as complex substances... -
ECHA Publishes Regulatory Science Strategy
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
The European Chemicals Agency's scientific priorities include improving methodologies for risk assessing “difficult” substances, working on non-animal testing methods, identifying and evaluating endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and analyzing and risk assessing nanomaterials, according to a Regulatory Science Strategy from ECHA. -
Exporting Crude Oil Is Good For The U.S. Consumer? Only Big Oil Could Think So.
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By John T. Johnson III
Who is it that my state representative, Joe Barton, and his band of brothers, is truly supporting? Their constituents or Big Oil? Nary a cent of my business income is derived from any facet of the oil and gas industry. Most Texas household incomes are not, nor are most in the U.S. We are all celebrating low prices at the pump. -
Revised Environmental Analysis Completed For Suspended Leases in Arctic Offshore
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
The possibility of more oil exploration in the Arctic offshore moved a step closer Feb. 12 with the release by the Interior Department of a revised assessment of potential environmental impacts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled more than a year ago that Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management... -
Arctic Offshore Analysis Brings Drilling Closer
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Interior Department completed a new analysis of a 2008 oil and gas drilling lease sale in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, a major step toward allowing drilling there. The analysis was mandated last year by a federal appeals court, which faulted Interior’s last environmental review of the lease that Shell Oil Co. won. -
Amid a Lack of Fracking Data, the State Should Halt New Operations
Feb 12, 2015 | LA Times
The wastewater from oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing and other extraction processes is supposed to be injected only into wells where the groundwater is already too toxic to be used for drinking or irrigation, even if heavily treated. But last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified 10 California wells where that rule had been ignored. -
Oil, Gas Royalties Comments Accepted Until May 8
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An Interior Department office will accept comments through May 8 on a proposed rule to alter how royalties are calculated for oil and gas produced from federal onshore and offshore leases and for coal produced from federal or Indian leases (RIN 1012-AA13). The Office of Natural Resources Revenue proposal... -
Congress to Delay Sending Keystone Bill To Obama Until After Break, Shimkus Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
Congressional leaders will delay sending legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline to the White House until after the week-long Presidents' Day break, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) confirmed to Bloomberg BNA. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) informed Republicans of the plan during a conference meeting Feb. 12... -
Keystone XL Foes Restart Nebraska Land Lawsuits, With Many More Landowners
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Harris
Nebraska landowners trying to derail TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline plans are getting another chance (Steskal v. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP, Neb. Dist. Ct., Holt County, No. CI 15-6, 2/12/15. And this time around there are more than 90 of them instead of just three. -
GOP to Hold Keystone Signing Ceremony
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Laura Barron-Lopez
Republican leaders will hold a signing ceremony on Friday for legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline.The event is intended to highlight the Republican Congress's passage of Keystone, a project proponents say would help the economy. Senate Republicans made the bill their first piece of business after taking control of the chamber. -
Neb. Court Puts Eminent Domain Action for Pipeline on Hold
Feb 12, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Manuel Quiñones
TransCanada Corp. has agreed to halt eminent domain proceedings against Nebraska landowners amid continuing litigation over the route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Last month the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a state law giving the governor authority to decide the route, but it did so on a technicality (Greenwire, Jan. 19). -
Coal State Senators Slam McCabe Comment On EPA Listening Tour for Power Plant Rule
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
Senators from states heavily reliant on coal are denouncing comments from the Environmental Protection Agency's top air official that the agency made the decision on where to hold its listening sessions for its carbon pollution rules for power plants based on “where people were comfortable coming.” -
EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan No Threat to Grid Reliability, Report Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Proposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants will not jeopardize the reliability of electricity generation, the Brattle Group said, disputing concerns raised by grid operators. The power sector is transitioning from coal to cleaner generation sources and the Environmental Protection Agency's... -
ClimateWire's Holden Previews E&E's Power Plan Hub
Feb 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
This week, E&E Publishing launched its Power Plan Hub, a one-of-a-kind interactive tool featuring details about U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan. On today's The Cutting Edge, ClimateWire reporter Emily Holden discusses the unique elements of the tool and how Power Plan stakeholders will benefit from this resource. -
Obama Renominates Two for Senior EPA Positions
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
President Barack Obama renominated Feb. 12 Ann Elizabeth Dunkin and Jane Toshiko Nishida to assistant administrator positions at the Environmental Protection Agency. Dunkin is nominated to be assistant administrator for environmental information, while Nishida is nominated for the position of assistant administrator for international and tribal affairs. -
Interagency Assessment of National Energy Policy Undergoing White House Review
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
A broad interagency assessment of national energy policy led by the Energy Department is undergoing review by the White House and is expected to be released this month, according to the DOE. The Quadrennial Energy Review will include “a major focus” on electricity grid reliability, improving the national oil... -
U.S. 'Clean Coal' Project Demise Shows EPA Plan's Weakness: Lawyers
Feb 13, 2015 | Reuters
By Valerie Volcovici and Ayesha Rascoe
The U.S. government's move to suspend a trouble-plagued $1.65 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project this month may have bolstered legal challenges to proposed environmental regulations on power plant carbon emissions, several legal experts said. -
New Oversight Subcommittee to Scrutinize Public Land Access, EPA Regulations
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
A newly created House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee will actively scrutinize restrictions on access to public lands and Environmental Protection Agency regulations on power plants and revisions to the national ozone standard, the panel's chairman told Bloomberg BNA. -
CEQ Urges Federal Agencies to Adopt NEPA Review Practices From Pilot Projects
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Matthew Taylor
The White House Council on Environmental Quality has released a memo to federal agencies recommending steps they can take to improve implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act as identified through pilot projects initiated in 2011. -
Revised Oil Train Safety Rule Expected To Give Companies More Time for Upgrades
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Jim Snyder
The Obama administration has revised its proposal on preventing oil trains from catching fire in derailments, giving companies more time to upgrade their fleets but sticking with a requirement that new tank cars have thicker walls and better brakes. -
FedEx Hazmat Claims Must Be Assessed In California State Court, Federal Court Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
A FedEx company that sometimes transports hazardous materials must convince a state court that federal law on the handling of damaged or defective packages containing hazardous materials, such as nail polish, pre-empts California laws, a federal court has ruled... -
Transportation Department Pushes Tough Oil Train Standards: Sources
Feb 12, 2015 | Reuters
By Patrick Rucker and David Ljunggren
The U.S. Transportation Department has recommended crude oil trains be reinforced and have advanced braking systems installed to prevent accidents from becoming fiery disasters, according to sources familiar with the plan. The proposal, which now faces a White House review, envisions safety improvements that public advocates...
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(ACC Mentioned) Greater State Role in Technical Assistance Envisioned Under Modernized Chemicals Law
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
An updated Toxic Substances Control Act should support states' ability to offer technical assistance to businesses pursuing safer chemistries, the head of the Environmental Council of the States told Bloomberg BNA.
“All states are very comfortable in the role of offering technical assistance,” Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, executive director and general council for ECOS, said Feb. 10.
The role states would play under a modernized TSCA and whether an updated federal chemicals statute would preempt state regulations are being discussed by congressional staff and were debated during two recent forums sponsored and cosponsored, respectively, by the Environmental Law Institute (18 DEN A-11, 1/28/15; 25 DEN A-7, 2/6/15).
Over the past decade, state laws, regulations and policies addressing chemicals have created a fractured and sometimes contradictory regulatory landscape and marketplace, the American Chemistry Council says on its TSCA modernization website.
“After decades of implementation, it has become apparent that TSCA needs updating to reflect advances in science and technology, as well as today's public expectations of vigorous government oversight,” the chemistry council says.
28 States Proposing Chemical Policies in 2015
The chemistry council's point that states are actively pursuing new chemical laws, regulations and purchasing policies is illustrated in an analysis Safer States released Feb. 9. Safer States is a network of environmental health coalitions and organizations across the U.S.
Legislators, regulators and purchasing managers in at least 28 states are expected to propose an array of new chemical policies in 2015, Safer States said.
Many of these bills or policies address potential exposures of children to chemicals.
Restricting flame retardants in consumer products—or requiring labeling—is another example of policies states such as Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington will pursue, Safer States said.
Additional policies to restrict formaldehyde in children's soaps, lotions or other personal care products; to limit microbeads in personal care products; and to increase the market for cleaning products made with safer chemistries also are slated for discussion, Safer States said.
States Taking Lead Role
“States are still taking the leadership role for chemicals and will continue to do so,” Sarah Doll, national director for Safer States, told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 9.
Doll agreed with Dunn that offering technical assistance to promote safer chemistries and safer uses of chemicals is an important role for states to play under an updated TSCA.
TSCA hasn't had its core provisions amended since it became law in 1976. That makes the law older than some members of the 114th Congress. TSCA also predates the Internet being on most office desks.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who has taken the leading role on TSCA reform in the House, have said they plan to modernize TSCA this year (10 DEN A-3, 1/15/15).
Vitter, Udall Leading Effort on Compromise
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) has worked with Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) on compromise TSCA modernization language since the death in 2013 of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) who championed modernization of TSCA for many Congresses.
“I am working closely with Senator Udall on legislation to reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act, and I remain optimistic that a revised compromise is on the horizon,” Vitter told BNA in a Feb. 10 e-mail.
“Inaction is not in the cards, and bipartisan legislation is the only viable solution to actually move forward with TSCA reform. Fortunately, this is not—and should not—be a partisan issue, and so Senator Udall and I will continue to focus significant attention on passing TSCA reform legislation that will have broad support,” said Vitter, who is chairman of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Section 28 Authorizes State Grants
As legislators modernize U.S. chemicals law, they should revitalize a state grant program established under Section 28 of TSCA, Dunn told BNA.
Section 28 authorized the EPA to “make grants to states for the establishment and operation of programs to prevent or eliminate unreasonable risks within the States to health or the environment which are associated with a chemical substance or mixture and with respect to which the administrator is unable or is not likely to take action under this act for their prevention or elimination.”
The law required states to furnish at least 25 percent of the funding needed for projects the grant would support.
The EPA has provided little, if any, funding through Section 28 grants in years, Dunn said.
Scant information about Section 28's implementation was available from EPA's website or other sources. Nor did the agency respond to BNA's requests for information about the grant program.
A policy analysis two University of Texas professors wrote in 1982 described two of the initial five Section 28 grants the agency issued in 1979 and ways the grant program changed in the early 1980s.
Pollution Prevention
The passage of the Pollution Prevention Act in 1990 opened up another source of chemical-related grants for states.
State pollution prevention (P2) activities—including programs to support safer chemistries—are supported through P2 grants, Mark Greenwood, an attorney with Greenwood Environmental Counsel PLLC, told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 9. Greenwood formerly worked for the EPA for 16 years, including directing the agency's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics from 1990 to 1994.
The Pollution Prevention Act is found at Section 6601 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. Law 101-508; 42 U.S.C. 133).
Historical Context
In the 1990s, the EPA's chemical-related state grants fell into two general categories, Greenwood said.
“Reducing the volume of hazardous substances used in commerce is important because the risk from toxic chemicals doesn't begin with a leaking drum at an industrial site; it begins when toxic chemicals are used to make products or deliver services.”
Ken Zarker, Washington Department of Ecology
The Section 28 grants focused on cleanups of polychlorinated biphenyls and asbestos because states already engaged in site-specific compliance monitoring as they supported the agency's air, water and waste programs, he said.
States already had a primary role overseeing specific facilities, so it made sense for them to monitor PCB cleanups and asbestos cleanups at schools, Greenwood said. The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1990 (Pub. Law 101-637) directed the EPA to maintain a program to assist local schools in carrying out their asbestos abatement responsibilities.
Technical Assistance Grants Received Funding
Technical assistance grants, which could include chemical-related programs, were funded through the pollution prevention program, he said.
In 1991, the P2 grant program totaled about $8 million, Greenwood added.
The tradition of using pollution prevention grants to fund technical assistance continues today, Joel Tickner, director of Community Health and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 9.
As EPA's funding for those grants has dropped in recent years, states have found their own, often fee-based systems to fund P2 activities, Tickner told BNA.
From fiscal year 2010 through fiscal 2014, the EPA had $4.1 million annually to award to state governments, tribes, colleges and universities, according to the agency's pollution prevention website.
It actually awarded about $3.5 million each year through 2013, according to the agency's information (see chart).
EPA awarded about $4 million in pollution prevention grants in fiscal 2014, according to information the agency provided BNA Feb. 10.
States Have Differing Programs
Each state's pollution prevention program is run somewhat differently, but many states, including Massachusetts, include assistance that is offered through universities, Tickner said. That offers companies the assurance that they are getting help from professionals who aren't tied into a regulatory office, he said.
The University of Massachusetts-Lowell's Toxics Use Reduction Institute provides assistance to businesses that is supported by fees established through the state's 1989 Toxics Use Reduction Act, he said.
The state Office of Technical Assistance and Technology, part of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, also provides companies help addressing toxics use reduction, pollution prevention, energy efficiency and water conservation, Tickner said.
Full Funding, Revitalized Section 28 Urged
States would support full funding of the agency's pollution prevention grants and a revitalized Section 28, Dunn said.
ECOS hasn't developed a position on Section 28 under an updated TSCA, but Washington state's Department of Ecology has, she said.
The department has recommended amending Section 28 so it specifically authorizes funds for state programs to reduce the use of and exposure to hazardous chemicals, according to information Dunn provided to Bloomberg BNA.
These programs would include providing technical assistance to businesses seeking information on chemical use and exposure reduction strategies, facilitating state and local toxic use reduction and pollution prevention plans and facilitating the sharing of chemical use and related information among states and local jurisdictions.
Legislative Language Proffered
Ken Zarker, pollution prevention and regulatory assistance section manager of the Washington State Department of Ecology, suggested legislative language to revitalize Section 28 in an addendum to congressional testimony in 2013.
Zarker was among 19 witnesses who testified on TSCA reform during a July 31, 2013, hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (148 DEN A-12, 8/1/13).
Among other points, Washington suggested Section 28 direct the EPA to make grants to state programs that provide business with voluntary technical assistance to:
• eliminate or reduce the use of hazardous chemical substances;
• accelerate the adoption of safer alternatives to hazardous chemical substances;
• encourage the use of alternative assessment as a tool for reducing risk; and
• promote and aid in the adoption of risk reduction measures.
Programs Have Created $56 Million in Business Value
Washington state businesses report that Department of Ecology pollution prevention programs and services have created more than $56 million in business value for them since 2005, Zarker told Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in followup questions from the 2013 hearing.
“That $56 million would pay for 1,100 jobs based on an average Washington State wage of approximately $50,000 as compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Zarker wrote.
“Reducing the volume of hazardous substances used in commerce is important because the risk from toxic chemicals doesn't begin with a leaking drum at an industrial site; it begins when toxic chemicals are used to make products or deliver services,” he wrote.
A modernized TSCA must allow states as well as the EPA the ability to assess chemicals, Zarker wrote Vitter in response to the follow-up questions.
Washington state, for example, is particularly concerned about addressing sources of copper and other metals that are harming the health of Puget Sound salmon, he wrote.
Safer States: Time Is Ripe
The experience states have developed regulating chemicals and the proliferation of state and private sector guidance on conducting alternative assessments to select safer chemicals make the time ripe for states to play an enhanced role managing chemicals through a modernized TSCA, Safer States' Doll said.
Businesses, especially small companies that don't have the resources of multinational chemical manufacturers, would get state help sorting through information about chemicals, ECOS' Dunn said.
Tickner, from Lowell, described differing roles he sees the federal government and states playing with respect to chemicals.
The federal government has more toxicity data, exposure data and other information on chemicals and more scientists and other resources to analyze that data than do states, with the possible exception of California, he said.
A strong, well-funded EPA is essential to any modernized TSCA, Tickner said.
States Accustomed to Working With Companies
On the other hand, states are accustomed to working with companies to find solutions, he said.
“They're keen on adoption and performance. You can assess alternatives all you want; if they don't work well, don't perform well, they're not going to fly,” Tickner said.
States are well suited to work with businesses and help them figure out ways they can use safer chemistries, he said.
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(ACC Mentioned) China is Lead Contributor to Plastic Trash in Oceans, Study Says
Feb 12, 2015 | LA Times
By Geoffrey Mohan
The first worldwide estimate of where the ocean's massive amounts of plastic garbage comes from points at China and developing economies in Asia.
The study, published online Thursday in the journal Science, estimates that China's heavily coastal population contributes 1.3 million to 3.5 million metric tons of plastic to the world's oceans each year, largely due to mismanaged waste.
Eight of the top 10 contributors were in Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh, according to the study, which estimated that 4.8 million to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic wound up in the world's oceans in 2010.
"Our low-end estimate is equivalent to the amount of tuna fished from the ocean in a single year," oceanographer Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Assn. in Woods Hole, Mass., said during a news conference Thursday. "We are taking out tuna and putting in plastic.”
Even the middle range, or 8 million metric tons (8.8 U.S. tons), "is the same as five [trash] bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world," added co-author Jenna Jambeck, a University of Georgia environmental engineer.
Few of the top contributing countries have adequate infrastructure for handling trash disposal, the study noted.
Even with a well-developed infrastructure to handle solid waste, the U.S. contributed 40,000 to 110,000 metric tons per year, and ranked 20th, the study found. A high per capita use of plastic and dense coastal population means that litter had a bigger impact, Jambeck said.
“It’s not about finger-pointing, but examining things that strongly influence a country’s rank on this list," Jambeck said.
Although flotillas of plastic trash have been reported in Earth's oceans since the 1970s, there has been little attempt to quantify its origin, largely because data are incomplete or difficult to obtain.
The ecological effects of the long-lasting trash, much of it matted up in massive ocean gyres, are becoming more clear. Fish and other sea animals can ingest large pieces of plastic that clog their intestines, or they can become entangled and suffocate, studies show. As the plastic breaks down to smaller pieces, it can be ingested by smaller invertebrates that are the base of the food chain.
A study last year found that the amount of floating plastic in the oceans had not increased since the 1980s, despite increased plastic production. Researchers involved in that work suspect the plastic is still there, but has been breaking down into small pieces that sink.
“Our research is a call of duty to look for and find that missing plastic,” said co-author Roland Geyer, a UC Santa Barbara industrial ecologist.
About half of the plastic resin produced (300 million metric tons were manufactured in 2013) is more dense than water, and can be expected to sink, Geyer noted. In addition, he added, the lighter polyethylene can be colonized or otherwise altered and sink.
The study looked only at contributions from coastal population areas, and had to rely on indirect methods to quantify how much plastic was in waste that was not properly disposed of, and then estimate how much was likely to end up in oceans.
"This study is going to suggest that we really research that more," Jambeck said. "We did the best that we could with the data that’s available.”
Nearly a third of the 100 million metric tons of plastic waste generated by the world's coastal population was mismanaged, according to the study. About 15% to 40% of that wayward waste likely made it to the ocean, according to data in the study.
If waste practices don't change and economies and populations continue on their present trajectories, the mass of plastic waste likely to end up in oceans will increase by an order of 10 by 2025, the study projected.
But even small changes could stem the growth, the authors suggested. If the top 20 countries cut mismanaged waste in half, for instance, the total mass of mismanaged plastic would drop 41%, the study estimated.
"The solutions need to be a combination of global and localized efforts," said Jambeck, who added that she uses a refillable water bottle and reusable grocery bags.
The study defined all trash dumped in landfills in low-income countries to be "inadequately managed," based on research showing that it is poorly controlled and contained. Scientists find microbes thriving on plastic marine debris
Very little landfill waste was considered to be mismanaged in the United States, where litter nonetheless had a profound effect.
Steve Russell, vice president of the plastics division of the American Chemistry Council, said the industry group supports efforts by the United Nations to address plastic pollution of marine waters, and signed a 2011 declaration to research the impacts of plastic waste and stem its flow to marine waters.
“Used plastics should be treated as valuable resources and recycled whenever possible or recovered for their energy value when recycling is not feasible," Russell said in a written statement. “It is up to all of us to work together to protect our oceans, waterways and marine ecosystems."
Researchers used 2005 World Bank data on per capita waste and the percentage of plastic waste, which was reported only for 73 countries (for the other countries, they applied an average rate based on their income class). Estimates were conservative for China, the authors said.
To project the growth of plastic waste since then, they used a constant rate of 0.19% annual increase, derived in part from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's data on the growth in the U.S. plastic waste stream since the 1960s.
Quantifying the waste stream to oceans, however, was more problematic; studies vary in their methods, with few reporting the mass of the counted items.
A study last year, however, found that Europe's Danube River ferried 1,500 metric tons of plastic to the Black Sea, Geyer said.
A 2012 San Francisco Bay Area study found that street sweeping, storm water catchment and pumping stations in 71 municipalities missed about 61% of trash, on average, according to the study. Researchers used more conservative ranges of 15% to 40% in their models.
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(ACC Mentioned) Plastic Waste Entering World's Oceans Set to Double in 10 Years
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemistry World
By Patrick Walter
The amount of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans every year could be as much as 8 million tonnes – 3% of the plastic waste produced every year, according to new research findings released on 12 February at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in San Jose, California.
The figure is one to three orders of magnitude higher than reports of the amount of floating plastic waste in the world’s seas. ‘That is the same as five bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world,’ says Jenna Jambeck, from the University of Georgia, US, and one of the authors of the study. ‘And it can get worse. If we assume a business as usual projection with growing populations, increasing plastic consumption and increased waste generation by 2025 this number doubles. We may be adding 17.5 million tonnes per year.’
For the past 40 years reports of plastic waste in the oceans have been commonplace. While some effort has been made to gather and look at the waste circulating in the world’s seas, no rigorous assessment has been made of how much plastic is making its way from the land into the sea. Jambeck says that this is because, until very recently, there was simply no interest. Added to this, assembling the right team of scientists with the appropriate skills was difficult.
Jambeck and her colleagues came up with their figures by looking at the amount of plastic waste produced by communities living near the sea. The team drew on resources such as the World Bank’s recent audit of global waste and estimate that the 192 countries with a coastline, with a combined population of 6.4 billion people, generated 275 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2010. They then looked at just the people living 50km from the coast in these countries, reasoning that they would be the most likely to contribute to plastics entering the world’s oceans.
Of the 99.5 million tonnes of plastic waste these people produced, around 31.9 million was classified as mismanaged, meaning it was dumped or poorly disposed of. Their model estimates that this mismanaged rubbish, combined with litter, adds up to between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste ending up in the world’s oceans every year.Missing plastic
One of the other authors, Kara Lavender Law with the Sea Education Association in Massachusetts, says that these figures matter because of the effects of plastics on the marine ecosystem. This ultimately affects people who consume seafood, some of which may contain small pieces of plastics or microplastics. These plastics can contain additives that may be toxic and they can also act as chemical sponges, capturing persistent compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls. ‘This study shows far more plastic is in the ocean than we thought, and we need to find it,’ she adds.
Of the top 20 plastic polluters all but one – the US – are emerging economies such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines. Jambeck says that their work is not about finger-pointing and adds that the best way to limit the amount of plastic entering the oceans is for these countries to develop proper waste management systems.
Steve Russell, vice president of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division, says that used plastics should be treated as a valuable resource and be either recycled or recovered for their energy value. He notes that in 2011 many world plastic associations signed up to a document on best practice for plastic recycling and recovering. ‘The most important thing we can do right now is to keep all trash, including plastics, from getting into our oceans in the first place,’ Russell said in a statement.
Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute in the US, and author on a paper that estimated the number of plastic particles in the world’s oceans, says that waste management infrastructure – albeit often informal – exists in all the top plastic polluting countries identified. He says that an issue not addressed in this study is product design, pointing out that products that are valuable to recyclers or waste pickers are less likely to end up in the sea.
‘Burdening developing countries with the cost of building waste management infrastructure is not a solution, whereas innovations in product and packaging design that favours incentivised recovery, and a phase out of single-use plastics, is proving to work where it's implemented,’ Eriksen adds.
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(ACC Mentioned) Study: Plastic Ocean Waste on the Rise
Feb 12, 2015 | Plastics News
By Gayle S. Putrich & Don Loepp
A new study estimates that 4 million to 12 million metric tons of plastics are washed into the world’s oceans annually — or between 1.5 and 4.5 percent of the world’s total plastic production.
The number comes from a study on marine debris from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which was published Feb. 12 in Science magazine.
"For the first time, we're estimating the amount of plastic that enters the oceans in a given year," said study co-author Kara Lavender Law, a research professor at the Massachusetts-based Sea Education Association. "Nobody has had a good sense of the size of that problem until now," she said in a news release.
According to the authors, this is the first estimate of plastic marine debris since 1975, when the National Academy of Sciences estimated that 0.1 percent of global plastic production swept out to sea annually.
Researchers looked at how much plastics waste every coastal country in the world produces, and they estimated that between 15-40 percent of that total ends up in the ocean.
Some of the 192 countries included in the model have no formal waste management systems, said Jenna Jambeck, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia, and lead author of the study. Solid waste management lags behind clean water and sewage treatment as priorities for urban environmental engineering infrastructure, she said.
The authors predict the annual amount of plastic marine debris will more than double in the next 10 years.
According to the Science article, China generates the most plastic marine debris, estimated at as much as 3.5 million tons annually. The United States was No. 20, at as much as 110,000 metric tons per year. The estimates were based on 2010 data.
Patty Long, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.’s senior vice president for industry affairs said SPI has been aware of the report since last year and that it has a 30-year history of working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. and the nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy.
"We're as concerned about this as they are," Long said.
SPI and other industry groups have been focused on recycling efforts and preventing plastic trash from reaching the oceans in the first place, especially since efforts to remove plastics from the sea are largely ineffective, as the report points out.
"We think expanded access to recycling is the way to keep plastic out of the oceans," Long said. “Litter is a behavioral issue," she said, and behaviors much change around the world to keep the oceans plastic-free.
The American Chemistry Council reacted to the study by calling for global cooperation, including within the plastics industry, to reduce the amount of plastics marine debris.
“Scientists are working to answer many questions about marine debris, but one thing is certain: The most important thing we can do right now is to keep all trash, including plastics, from getting into our oceans in the first place,” said Steve Russell, vice president of ACC’s plastics division, in a news release.
“The global dimensions of marine debris are creating opportunities for world leaders, [nongovernmental organizations] and the private sector to work together, and America’s plastics makers will continue to partner with these and other stakeholders to develop solutions for a cleaner ocean.
“Used plastics should be treated as valuable resources and recycled whenever possible or recovered for their energy value when recycling is not feasible.”
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(ACC Mentioned) Plastics Makers Call For Global Cooperation, Action To Prevent Marine Debris
Feb 13, 2015 | Nassau News Live
Science magazine today published a new study on marine debris from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The study’s authors say it is the first research to quantify debris coming from land into our oceans. It also offers insights on potential strategies and solutions.The following statement may be attributed to Steve Russell, vice president, Plastics Division:
“Scientists are working to answer many questions about marine debris, but one thing is certain: The most important thing we can do right now is to keep all trash, including plastics, from getting into our oceans in the first place.
“The global dimensions of marine debris are creating opportunities for world leaders, NGOs, and the private sector to work together, and America’s plastics makers will continue to partner with these and other stakeholders to develop solutions for a cleaner ocean.
“Researchers from around the globe are recommending wider adoption of modern, integrated waste management, such as recycling, composting and energy conversion technologies, to reduce marine litter. These findings are reflected in work from the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP, an advisory group to the United Nations) and the Honolulu Strategy (2011). The American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division and America’s plastics makers support these recommendations.
“Used plastics should be treated as valuable resources and recycled whenever possible or recovered for their energy value when recycling is not feasible.
“It is up to all of us to work together to protect our oceans, waterways, and marine ecosystems. In the United States and around the globe, plastics makers are working to prevent and address marine litter. In 2011 leaders from many of the world’s plastics associations signed The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter, a public commitment designed to contribute real solutions.
“The Declaration focuses on education, public policy, best practices, plastics recycling and recovery, plastic pellet containment, and research. Today, 60 plastics associations in 34 countries have signed on to the Global Declaration, and since 2011, 185 projects have been completed or are in progress in various parts of the world (see 2014 progress report).
“In the United States, some of these efforts include helping to sponsor the Curbside Value Partnership, a leader in promoting community recycling programs; funding for Keep America Beautiful’s national consumer-focused recycling campaign, ‘I Want to Be Recycled'; supporting legislation to phase out microbeads in personal care products in Illinois, New Jersey and elsewhere; and placing hundreds of recycling bins on California’s beaches through the ‘Plastics. Too Valuable to Waste. RecycleTM‘ initiative.”
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New Evidence of Reproductive Harm Allows Medical Expert to Shift Opinion
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Bruce Kaufman
A medical expert for some 30 plaintiffs allegedly harmed by toxic emissions at a former California chrome plating facility can change her causation opinion based on a newly available study of reproductive injuries, a federal district court held Feb. 11 (Whitlock v. Pepsi Ams., 2015 BL 35795, N.D. Cal., No. 08-cv-02742-SI, leave to amend granted 2/11/15).
Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the plaintiffs' leave to amend a 2011 report by medical expert Dr. Vera Byers.
The court said the plaintiffs would suffer extreme prejudice if their motion were denied because they wouldn't be permitted to rely on newly discovered evidence in support of their claims.
The ruling rebuffed arguments by defendants Pepsi Americas and Pneumo-Abex LLC, past owners of the Remco Hydraulics plant, that the revised opinion would prejudice them in a 2008 suit linking emissions of hexavalent chromium and other substances to reproductive ailments and multiple miscarriages.
In Byers' 2011 testimony, she was unable to attribute plaintiffs' reproductive injuries to chemical exposure.
Byers' opinion evolved—and ultimately changed—after reviewing two documents:
• a 2012 study by Dr. Linda Remy, a plaintiffs’ epidemiology expert in the related case of Avila v. Willits Envtl. Remediation Trust, No. C 99-3941 SI, 2012 BL 265055 (N.D. Cal. 10/9/2012), showing women near the Remco plant in Willits, Calif., experienced significantly higher rates of miscarriages, endometriosis, ovarian cysts and other pregnancy-related injuries compared to the rest of the county in which the plant was located; and
• 2014 Patient Discharge Data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development for 99 female plaintiffs in the various lawsuits regarding the Remco facility.
The court said the plaintiffs demonstrated good cause to permit the supplemental report, and found the defendants wouldn't be prejudiced by the amendment.
Byers “diligently updated” her medical opinion based upon Remy's 2014 report, the court said. And it was only after Remy issued the 2014 report that Byers became confident about offering an opinion that the exposure to hexavalent chromium was a substantial contributor to one of the plaintiff's reproductive problems.
Plaintiffs Not Adding New Theory
In finding no undue prejudice, the court noted that the plaintiffs weren't adding a new legal theory or claim, only supplementing an expert report to strengthen claims of reproductive injuries.
“Importantly, no trial date has been set in this case,” the court said.
Plaintiffs' counsel include Tesfaye Tsadik in Oakland.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP represented the defendants.
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The Age of Greed: Toxic Chemical Control Is 'High Priority' Failure for Nation's Government
Feb 12, 2015 | The Huffington Post
By Rena Steinzor
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reiterated its conclusion that EPA's regulation of toxic chemicals is in crisis, unable to deliver badly needed protection to the American people. These benighted programs are among a couple of dozen of "high priority" failures that cause serious harm to public health, waste resources, or endanger national security, and Congress is giving the report red carpet treatment, with House and Senate hearings on the report scheduled the very day it was released.
In auditor speak, GAO says that "[b]ecause EPA had not developed sufficient chemical assessment information under these programs to limit exposure to many chemicals that may pose substantial health risks, we added this issue to the High Risk List in 2009." At the time, then-Administrator Lisa Jackson took clear steps to rescue the program. Since then, very little progress has been made, largely because the Obama Administration has narrowed its focus to climate change, and a major overhaul of initiatives swamped by chemical industry nitpicking does not seem to be in the cards until at least 2017.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been reviewing the performance of federal agencies and departments for decades and has achieved amazing success simply by surviving the onslaught of attacks against government in any form. Although GAO's work is largely controlled by majorities in Congress, and its findings of poor performance now provide fodder for anti-government zealots, if anyone read the reports and took them to heart, reform and not destruction would be the goal.
So what's the story on toxics? Marvelous reporting by David Heath of the Center for Public Integrity explains that the Obama administration never fulfilled its campaign promise to divorce science from politics at the EPA:
Political interference from the Bush White House had delayed or derailed dozens of the EPA's findings on potential health risks posed by toxic chemicals. Some of those findings applied to chemicals to which all of us are exposed. Formaldehyde is in our kitchen cabinets and carpet. Arsenic is in our drinking water and rice. EPA scientists had determined that both of these carcinogens were more deadly than previously thought. Yet, officially, the agency remains unable to say so or to do anything about it.
Heath reports that Lisa Jackson, EPA's first administrator under President Obama, quickly rolled out a plan to quicken the pace of toxicity assessments for hundreds of chemicals like formaldehyde that not only cause cancer but harm childhood neurological development, foster birth defects, impede fertility, exacerbate asthma and other respiratory problems, and trigger heart disease. The plan did not require congressional approval. Instead, it was designed to be under the administration's complete control. The goal was to ramp up dramatically the pathetic performance of the Bush administration, which eked out six assessments annually.
In 2014, EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) produced just one new chemical risk assessment.Who made IRIS one of the walking dead? These stories always begin with people, and for toxic chemicals, the first body blow to Lisa Jackson's commitment was the appointment of Ken Olden, a civil servant who decided that making friends with the chemical industry was his top priority. He succeeded in record time. At a recent hearing before the House Science Committee, where I testified as the only Democratic witness among a fulsome panel of industry representatives, Olden was showered with praise. Again, as David Heath reports:
Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia has called for the elimination of the EPA. But at the hearing, he said, 'Dr. Olden has been a refreshing ambassador for the IRIS program and I applaud his commitment to an open and transparent IRIS process that includes early communication and increased opportunities for meaningful stakeholder input.' Michael Walls, a lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council, testified, 'You can count me among the fans of Ken Olden.'
Translate Olden's "open and transparent" leadership as a program suffused in jawboning with industry stakeholders, endless peer review, reconsideration of every assessment in the face of chemical company micro-criticisms, workshops, coffee klatches, and reviews. The chemical industry has not done this dirty work alone. To its everlasting discredit, the National Academies of Science have contributed to the endless barrage of evaluation and advice for no other reason than the need to support its own staff by congressional appropriation and the passion on the Hill of bashing EPA for any reason or none at all.
The upshot is the clearest case of old-fashioned regulatory capture since senior executives at the Minerals Management Service of the Department of Interior partied drunkenly into the night with the very same oil company executives the Department was assigned to regulate.
Ultimately, though, as nauseating as this Republican display of adoration on Capitol Hill for a lone bureaucrat who has effectively shut down the program he is supposed to be running may be, those responsible work in the big White House at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.Yes, the president has a lot on his plate, and yes, climate change is by far the most important environmental problem, and arguably the most important problem, period, that the nation faces right now. But the Obama administration should be able to do more for public health than focus decades into the future while ignoring the grave damage that formaldehyde, dioxin, arsenic, and a slew of other, untested industrial by-products cause every hour of every day. When a Democratic administration that claims to care about ordinary people does worse than a Republican administration known for its lack of enthusiasm for aggressive public health safeguards, it deserves the odor of corruption now wafting through the atmosphere.
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Millions of Tons of Plastic Debris End Up In Oceans, Threatening Wildlife, Report Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ehren Goossens
About 9.1 million metric tons of plastic are likely to end up in the oceans this year as nations, led by countries in Asia, struggle to manage waste, the first study to quantify the problem showed.
The amount of plastic is roughly one to three orders of magnitude greater than the mass of discarded items swirling in ocean gyres, the report in the journal Science said.
The findings mark the most detailed assessment yet of the scale of waste that is circulating in the oceans, imperiling wildlife and blighting once-pristine sites. As many as 155 million metric tons could build up in the oceans by 2025 if no changes are made, the group found.
“We're being overwhelmed by our waste,” said Jenna Jambeck, lead author of the paper and an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia.
Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis along with the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy found that 20 countries account for more than 83 percent of the waste.
China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, were the biggest plastic polluters because of poor or nonexistent policies for litter and waste.
Plastic Growing Part of Waste Stream
Plastic is a growing portion of the stream of solid waste that's thrown out each year, said Roland Geyer, associate professor at UCSB's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and a co-author of the study.
“I don't doubt at all that it's increasing,” Geyer said. “It's a perfect storm in a way.”
The group based its estimate on the 275 million metric tons of plastic waste from 192 coastal countries in 2010. About 4.8 million to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans from land each year.
Strategies to reduce waste and better manage what is thrown away might help, as would better local and global coordination, Jambeck said.
“The numbers are staggering, but as the group points out, the problem is not insurmountable,” said Frank Davis, a professor at UCSB's Bren School.
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EU Court Preliminary Opinion Would Increase Hazardous Substance Notification Burden
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
Companies that import into the European Union products containing components that include hazardous substance may be required to submit additional notifications to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), according to a Feb. 12 opinion of the advocate general of the EU Court of Justice.
The advocate general said a threshold for hazardous substances set out in the EU's REACH regulation, above which it is mandatory to submit a notification to ECHA, should apply to individual components and parts within imported products if they “retain a shape, surface or design of their own.”
The advocate general's opinion is at odds with guidance that ECHA and the European Commission issued, which said the threshold should apply to finished products, or “articles” in REACH terminology, and not to components or parts.
According to the advocate general's opinion, the notification requirement, for example, would apply to each component of an imported car above the threshold, whereas under the interpretation from ECHA and the commission, the requirement would have applied only to the whole car.
The threshold above which notification is required is 0.1 percent by weight of any chemical considered to be a “substance of very high concern” (SVHC) under REACH (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals).
Suppliers of articles that contain SVHCs above the threshold also are obliged to provide, upon request, substance information to buyers or consumers.
French Referral
The advocate general's opinion is not binding and could be overturned in a final judgment, though in most cases judgments concur with the advocate general's opinion.
ECHA published guidance on the application of the threshold in April 2011, but a number of EU countries disagreed that the 0.1 percent threshold should apply only to complex products, and said they would expect importers bringing products into their territory also to submit notifications for component parts (68 DEN A-2, 4/8/11).
France's Conseil d'État in March 2014 asked the EU Court of Justice to rule on the issue after two business federations challenged the French interpretation of the threshold, which was that it should apply at component level.
Following the publication of the advocate general's opinion, it could take up to a year for the court to deliver its final ruling on the issue.
Increased Burden
Nicolas Herbatschek, an associate with Hunton & Williams in Brussels, told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 12 that “my understanding is that many companies rely on ECHA's current interpretation and calculate the concentration of listed SVHC at the level of the whole article.
“A change in interpretation may thus result in significantly more notifications” and would “certainly increase the burden” for companies, Herbatschek said.
In particular, importers will have to determine “which components retain a shape, surface or design of their own,” he said.
Herbatschek added that, even if the final ruling follows the advocate general's opinion, importers “can still invoke two exceptions; namely, that the use of the substance in an article has already been registered, or that there is no expected exposure under reasonable conditions of use.”
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EU Commission sets Out TTIP Regulatory Cooperation Principles
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Carmen Paun
The European Commission has published the draft legal text for a chapter on general regulatory cooperation which it presented to the US during the latest round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), held last week in Brussels.
The document proposes principles and some mechanisms for regulatory cooperation between the two sides of the Atlantic. It says the EU and US should: publish, at least once a year, a list of planned regulatory acts at central level – federal in the US, EU level in Europe – providing information on their objectives and scope and identifying those likely to have a major impact on international trade or investment;provide details of the planning of the legislative process leading to the adoption of a new regulation, including information on any planned stakeholders’ consultations (CW 1 October 2014);examine how the other party has addressed, or is planning to address, a specific issue through regulation, as part of the impact assessment for the planned law.
A bilateral cooperation mechanism should be set to apply the rules in the general regulatory cooperation chapter, the Commission says, with a designated focal point in each of the US and EU central administrations. Each focal point could ask for regulatory cooperation on specific regulations, either existing or planned, and may propose “a joint examination of possible means to promote regulatory compatibility”. This would be through methods such as “mutual recognition of equivalence of regulatory acts, in full or in part”, harmonisation or simplification.
In addition, “the parties agree to cooperate, in areas of common interest, with respect to pre-normative research, and to exchange scientific and technical information relevant for this purpose,” the Commission document says.
In addition, the cooperation mechanism would include a regulatory cooperation body (RCB), which would: prepare and publish an annual regulatory cooperation programme;monitor the implementation of the provisions in the overall regulatory cooperation chapter; andprepare joint initiatives or proposals for international regulatory instruments, among others.
Eight separate sector chapters, covering regulatory cooperation in specific area such as chemicals, cosmetics, textiles, pharmaceuticals, are also to be included in TTIP. No draft legal text has been presented by any of the two sides in these areas because the talks have not yet reached that stage.
If any conflicts were to arise between the provisions of the general regulatory chapter – “horizontal regulatory cooperation” in Commission-speak - and the still be drafted sector-specific chapters, the latter would take precedence, the Commission proposes.
Lacking draft legal texts at this stage, the Commission published a new factsheet on regulatory cooperation in the eight sectors, detailing its objectives and understanding of each of them in the TTIP context. The document highlights the opportunity for regulators from both sides to assess the same substances at the same time and exchange information in the chemical sector (CW 5 February 2015), as well as the potential to exchange information on scientific assessment of existing and new UV filters in cosmetics (CW 2 February 2015). In the textile field, the EU executive wants to “seek convergence” with the US on the voluntary standards and test methods for protective clothing, technical textiles and child safety, among other objectives (CW 8 January 2015).
The Commission is working on a proposal for cooperation between the two parties, targeting the US state and EU member state level. It will be presented before the next round of TTIP negotiations, expected in April in the US (CW 12 June 2014).
While the Commission is publishing more documents as part of its commitment to transparency on TTIP, the US is not planning to follow suit. “We don’t have any plans to release negotiating texts; we need to maintain the balance between transparency and the need to share information and have a frank conversation as part of trade negotiations,” Jeff Weiss, senior advisor for standards and global regulatory policy at the US Department of Commerce told Chemical Watch last week. He said the release of the Commission’s negotiating mandate (CW 10 October 2014) and the other TTIP documents has done little to reduce the opposition from civil society organisations to the trade agreement.
Last week, more than 150 NGOs published a joint statement asking the Commission to remove regulatory cooperation from TTIP in reaction to a leaked version of the regulatory cooperation chapter proposal made public this week.
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European Commission Calls for Input On Simplifying Some REACH Authorizations
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Stephen Gardner
The European Commission is calling for comments to be submitted through April 30 on possible amendments to the procedure for obtaining a continued-use authorization for a hazardous chemical that would otherwise be prohibited under the European Union's REACH law.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, said comments should be submitted for REACH authorization applications for substances that are used at low volumes and for substances that are used in “legacy spare parts,” meaning components for machinery and other items that continue to be used but are no longer produced.
The commission said in September 2014 that it would consider changes to the REACH authorization process in certain cases to reduce the complexity and expense of the application requirements, especially for smaller companies. The commission said a proposal to modify REACH could follow in the second half of 2015 (189 DEN A-12, 9/30/14).
In a background document published alongside the consultation, which opened Feb. 5, the commission said it was “aware of the difficulties for many operators to prepare applications for authorization” under REACH (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals).
The authorization application process involves identifying the risks substances pose and searching for alternatives and assessing their feasibility, which could be “disproportionately costly (for both operators and authorities),” the commission document said.
So far, 31 substances have been included in REACH Annex XIV, meaning they will be phased out from use in the EU unless specific-use authorizations are granted. Final decisions to grant authorizations have been taken in two cases.
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ECHA Sets its Science Priorities
Feb 12, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Echa published a regulatory science strategy on 11 February which aims to set priority areas, aid scientific cooperation and consensus, communicate R&D needs and ultimately help improve risk assessment methods.
Priorities identified include: improved risk assessment for “difficult scenarios” such as complex substances, substances that undergo transformation and naturally occurring mixtures, and for “difficult types of substances” such as metals and petroleum chemicals. Improved risk assessments for substances release from articles or products are also singled out as a priority;non-animal alternative test methods;new approaches to hazard assessment through integrated approaches on testing and assessment (IATAs), adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) and integrated testing strategies (ITSs). These include the use of Qsar toolboxes, high-throughput screening and omics – such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics;improvements in exposure assessment, including modelling and exposure to chemicals through articles;better tools for identifying endocrine disruptors and exposure during sensitive life stages;improved tools for assessing persistence and bioaccumulation; andthe characterisation, hazard and exposure assessment and risk management of nanomaterials.
The agency recognises that it must ensure that its scientific competence and experience develops along with the needs of the organisation. It also wants to act as a hub for regulatory science by organising topical workshops, participating in the academic community and influencing R&D.
Interaction with regulatory partners is also recognised as a part of Echa’s role. These include the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, member states’ authorities and research institutes, industry research bodies and scientific societies. Th agency has memoranda of understandings in place with the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU OSHA) to ensure consistency in scientific opinions and cooperation in regulatory science. And it also has cooperation agreements with the US EPA, Environment Canada, Australia’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (Nicnas) and Japanese authorities.
The strategy will be kept under active review and revised at least every three years.
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ECHA Publishes Regulatory Science Strategy
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
The European Chemicals Agency's scientific priorities include improving methodologies for risk assessing “difficult” substances, working on non-animal testing methods, identifying and evaluating endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and analyzing and risk assessing nanomaterials, according to a Regulatory Science Strategy from ECHA. Other priorities in the strategy, published Feb. 10, include better assessing persistence and bio-accumulation, improving models to measure the effects of exposure to substances, and enhancing methodologies to understand the release of chemicals from products. The strategy document gave few details, but said ECHA would seek to become “a hub for scientific and regulatory capacity building of the [European Union] member states, European institutions and other actors,” which in practice would mean that it would organize topical scientific workshops and seek partnerships, including those with academic institutions and research projects. ECHA required a science strategy because the agency's regulatory decisions, in particular in relation to the EU's REACH law (Regulation No. 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) are “based on scientific arguments in various regulatory contexts,” the strategy document said. ECHA's Regulatory Science Strategy is available at http://bit.ly/1zyDoEV.
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Exporting Crude Oil Is Good For The U.S. Consumer? Only Big Oil Could Think So.
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By John T. Johnson III
Who is it that my state representative, Joe Barton, and his band of brothers, is truly supporting? Their constituents or Big Oil?
Nary a cent of my business income is derived from any facet of the oil and gas industry. Most Texas household incomes are not, nor are most in the U.S. We are all celebrating low prices at the pump.
When I save $20+ per fill-up. I like it. It stays in my pocket. I spend it on other things that generate tax revenue for the state.
Furthermore, this country is not energy independent. Why does Barton want to export crude oil when we are still importing? Make sense? Not to me.
The Big Oil people will tell you that it is because most oil underneath us is high quality "sweet and light". Our refineries were built to handle dirty, heavy imported crude.
Sounds like the solution would be to retrofit existing refineries or build a few new ones. "Can't be done.” they say. "Too expensive; too much EPA red tape." - yet uber expensive, highly EPA regulated, liquid natural gas export terminals are being built along the Gulf Coast as I write this.
Plenty of private money for one, and not the other? What does commonsense tell us?
Exporting LNG will drive up the cost of natural gas here at home thereby making the cost of electricity, manufacturing and consumer goods more expensive, but those drilling for gas will increase profits. Who in their right mind believes that selling to the highest worldwide bidder is going to lower the cost of anything here at home? That is what Barton would have us believe. What type of convoluted deductive reasoning produced this conclusion?
He calls the hydrocarbons underneath us a "commodity". While the financial community might want to refer to it as such, it is no such thing. We can keep planting seed to produce wheat, corn, cotton and soybeans. We can continue to keep cattle, chickens and pigs penned up to produce more protein. But we can't plant or breed crude oil and natural gas. Once used up, it's gone. The hole is dry.
They know that our crude oil and natural gas are finite natural resources, but great grandchildren and future generations be damned, the Bigs want their money now. Our great grandchildren when they are old enough to understand how we sold off reserves as fast as we could, possibly leaving them with limited supplies, are going to hate our generation.
Continuing to use old, slightly modified refineries instead of building a few modernized ones accomplishes several goals of Big Oil - it keeps refining capacity down, which in high usage/demand periods allows them to inflate cost to consumers, and it also enables them to plead that it is necessary to export the light, sweet product and continue to import the nasty stuff that makes our air dirtier, as they are doing now. They have it both ways.
Ever heard Joe Barton talk about subsidizing the cost of building a few new, state of the art refineries? How about subsidizing the cost U.S. consumers pay at the pump? Most other crude exporting countries pay less than a dollar a gallon for their fuel. Is this part of Barton's export plan?
We are simply being hoodwinked by Big Oil and Gas, ladies and gentlemen, through, not only bought politicians, but also the numerous mouthpieces they monetarily support, like university economists and heads of various trade associations that we see quoted in all sorts of newspapers and on various TV interviews dealing with the subject.
We U.S. consumers are being fed a big spoonful of you-know-what. If we don't spit it back at Barton and our government as a whole, we can expect another dose to be served up very soon.
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Revised Environmental Analysis Completed For Suspended Leases in Arctic Offshore
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
The possibility of more oil exploration in the Arctic offshore moved a step closer Feb. 12 with the release by the Interior Department of a revised assessment of potential environmental impacts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled more than a year ago that Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had not done an adequate job of estimating the possible impacts of Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea in 2008. That led to a suspension of the leases pending completion by BOEM of an analysis taking into account a greater range of possible oil production and consequent impacts (81 DEN A-5, 4/28/14).
“The updated analysis is a major step toward resolving the 2008 oil and gas leases that have been tied up in the courts for years,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement issued along with the announcement of the final supplemental environmental impact statement.
The final supplemental EIS proposes to affirm Lease Sale 193 and all of its leases.
Lease holders in the Chukchi since the 2008 sale include Royal Dutch Shell Plc; ConocoPhillips; Spanish company Repsol S.A.; Norwegian company Statoil; Italian company Eni S.p.A.; and OOGC America Inc., a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp.
More Steps Before Any Drilling
Publication of the final supplemental EIS in the Federal Register will not guarantee that exploration can begin on the leases.
“There will be at least a 30-day waiting period before a final decision can be made on the lease sale,” Interior said in its announcement. “The suspensions remain in effect until a Record of Decision is issued.”
If the lease sale is affirmed, then the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement would have to review a company's exploration plan, an application for a permit to drill and other materials before any exploration activity occurs on a lease.
An added complication for drilling could come from what has been dubbed the Arctic Rule—proposed regulations from Interior that are tailored to the Arctic offshore, which includes the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The White House Office of Management and Budget is reviewing the proposed rule.
Most recently, President Barack Obama exercised his authority to put more parts of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off limits to oil and gas exploration (17 DEN A-13, 1/27/15).
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Arctic Offshore Analysis Brings Drilling Closer
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Interior Department completed a new analysis of a 2008 oil and gas drilling lease sale in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, a major step toward allowing drilling there.
The analysis was mandated last year by a federal appeals court, which faulted Interior’s last environmental review of the lease that Shell Oil Co. won.
Interior said the new analysis answers the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s concerns about the potential oil and gas that could be recovered from the offshore lease area.
“The updated analysis is a major step toward resolving the 2008 oil and gas leases that have been tied up in the courts for years,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement.
“We remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration in this unique, sensitive and often challenging environment.”
The ultimate decision on whether to allow drilling in the area — which Shell has said it wants to do this summer — rests with Jewell. But in the analysis released Thursday, the agency said its preferred choice was to reaffirm the 2008 sale and allow drilling.
Environmentalists were livid at the review and said Interior should not go forward with the lease.
“Permitting new drilling in areas like the Arctic Ocean undermines conservation and climate progress,” Dan Ritzman, Alaska program director for the Sierra Club, said in a statement.
“Drilling in the Chukchi Sea comes with a 75 percent chance of an oil spill. And the latest science shows that developing these dirty fuels comes with a 100 percent chance of worsening our climate crisis.”
John Deans, Arctic campaign specialist for Greenpeace, said that if the Obama administration clears the lease, “it will drastically undermine his recent proposals to protect parts of the Arctic, including the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, from oil drilling.”
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Amid a Lack of Fracking Data, the State Should Halt New Operations
Feb 12, 2015 | LA Times
The wastewater from oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing and other extraction processes is supposed to be injected only into wells where the groundwater is already too toxic to be used for drinking or irrigation, even if heavily treated. But last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified 10 California wells where that rule had been ignored.
Since then, the number of wells where wastewater was improperly injected has ballooned to 490, though 109 of them are no longer in use. That's more than a fourth of all the wells — known as injection wells — currently used to dispose of industrial wastewater. It represents a tremendous failure by the state, which wrongly issued injection permits for wells in areas with protected groundwater.
A separate Times analysis of the wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, should increase Californians' concerns about its potential for tainting usable water. On average, the “flowback fluid” from fracking operations contains levels of benzene about 700 times the levels considered safe for human use.
But how much of that has found its way into protected aquifers? Shockingly, no one knows. The state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources does not know how much, if any, of the waste pumped into the improperly permitted wells was from fracking. Industries are required to report the amount and composition of the waste they inject into wells; the state should compile this information in a timely manner and make it readily available to the public.
Industry spokesmen point out that by and large, the protected wells drain into aquifers that already have significant levels of pollution; they downplay suggestions that this groundwater would be used for irrigation or drinking. No one should be buying that argument. The technology for treating water is continually improving, and the state's drought has led to calls for using aquifers once considered too dirty to tap.
The resources division must move swiftly to close wells that were supposed to be protected, even those it believes the EPA may exempt in the future. If the EPA eventually agrees, the wells can be reopened. For now, conserving potentially useful water should be a top priority.The division has vowed to overhaul its sloppy operations. Gov. Jerry Brown should appoint an independent overseer to make sure it does so quickly. This page has called previously for a moratorium on new fracking operations until the state has thoroughly studied their safety; that's increasingly seeming like a wise idea.
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Oil, Gas Royalties Comments Accepted Until May 8
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An Interior Department office will accept comments through May 8 on a proposed rule to alter how royalties are calculated for oil and gas produced from federal onshore and offshore leases and for coal produced from federal or Indian leases (RIN 1012-AA13). The Office of Natural Resources Revenue proposal, which the office said would result in lower costs for industry, was published Jan. 6 in the Federal Register (249 DEN A-2, 12/30/14). The comment deadline initially was March 9, but Interior is extending the deadline by 60 days in response to requests from stakeholders, the office said in its public inspection notice set to publish in the Federal Register Feb. 13. The notice didn't state who requested the extension. The notice is available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-02997.pdf.
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Congress to Delay Sending Keystone Bill To Obama Until After Break, Shimkus Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
Congressional leaders will delay sending legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline to the White House until after the week-long Presidents' Day break, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) confirmed to Bloomberg BNA.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) informed Republicans of the plan during a conference meeting Feb. 12, said Shimkus, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
“I don't think it was a surprise,” Shimkus said in an interview. “I think it's a great success; we need to make sure our districts know about it.”
The bill (S. 1) was given final approval by the House in a 270-152 vote Feb. 11. It has garnered a veto threat from President Barack Obama because it would circumvent an ongoing White House review of the project (29 DEN A-12, 2/12/15).
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), the bill's author, told reporters Feb. 12 that it would be better if Congress were in town when President Obama vetoes the bill “so attention is brought to it,” the Associated Press reported.
The Senate passed the bill Jan. 29 by a 62-36 vote, five short of the votes needed to override a presidential veto.
The $8 billion project first proposed by TransCanada Corp. in 2008 would carry heavy oil from Alberta to refineries in Texas. It has become a proxy for Obama's commitment to climate change, with environmental groups opposed to the pipeline and labor unions and energy companies supporting it.
“Let's let the public decide,” Shimkus said. “We hope [Obama] changes his mind.”
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Keystone XL Foes Restart Nebraska Land Lawsuits, With Many More Landowners
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Harris
Nebraska landowners trying to derail TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline plans are getting another chance (Steskal v. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP, Neb. Dist. Ct., Holt County, No. CI 15-6, 2/12/15.
And this time around there are more than 90 of them instead of just three.
Lawyers for the landowners asked a state court judge in O'Neill, Neb., Feb. 12 for an order blocking TransCanada's appropriation of property on the pipeline path. The owners claim the state law allowing the company to use their land was illegal.
The courtroom arguments from the Nebraska plains follow the 270-152 vote by the U.S. House of Representatives Feb. 11 to allow the pipeline, legislation that President Barack Obama has vowed to veto (29 DEN A-12, 2/12/15).
White House officials say the bill would circumvent administration review, which includes the Environmental Protection Agency's conclusion that developing the oil sands to feed the Keystone XL pipeline will significantly boost emissions of gases tied to climate change.
If completed, the $8 billion, 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) conduit would carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta's oil sands into Montana, then South Dakota and finally to a junction in Steele City, Neb., and from there to Gulf Coast refineries.
First proposed in 2008, the project has been stalled by Obama administration review and the determined opposition of property owners.
Keystone Route
TransCanada's ability to cut through the state's hills and prairies hinges on a 2012 law giving the governor the power to determine the Keystone XL route.
The legislation violated the state's constitution, which reserves that power for the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the landowners' lawyers argued in an earlier case that was thrown out by the state's highest court on Jan. 9. Three of the high court's judges concluded the landowners failed to establish they had the right to sue because they hadn't shown their property would be crossed by the pipeline, whose exact route hadn't been made public.
Still, four of the state's seven Supreme Court justices said in the decision that the landowners' lawyers correctly argued that the state commission regulating pipelines was illegally bypassed. Had one more judge concurred, the five-vote super-majority required under the state Constitution for the court to rule that a law was unconstitutional would have been met and TransCanada would have been forced to go to the commission for approval.
TransCanada Warnings
That ruling may now work in favor of Keystone XL opponents because TransCanada, relying on eminent domain powers granted by the governor, told many Nebraskans in December that it would be building the pipeline across their land.
At least 90 landowners are now suing in two separate cases, the first with more than 60 of them in O'Neill. The 30 remaining landowners, represented by the same lawyers, will get their chance to persuade a judge to block the pipeline at a hearing set for Feb. 23 in York, Neb. (Dunavan v. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP, Neb. Dist. Ct., York County, No. CI 15-12, hearing scheduled 2/23/15).
TransCanada hasn't filed papers opposing the landowners' request in the two new cases, and Shawn Howard, a spokesman for the Calgary-based company, declined to comment on them. TransCanada has agreed to financial terms with about 90 percent of landowners along the pipeline route, Howard said.
Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has told the O'Neill judge that one of his lawyers will appear at the Feb. 12 proceeding. Peterson didn't take a position on the issue in a Feb. 10 court filing. His spokeswoman, Suzanne Gage, didn't respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Judges' Findings
“Every judge who has ever opined on the merits has ruled for the landowners,” David Domina, the lead lawyer for the group, said in a phone interview. That includes the trial court judge in Lincoln, whose decision was overturned by the state Supreme Court.
Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, said while the prior rulings don't control what Holt County District Judge Mark Kozisek in O'Neill will do, they'll certainly be influential.
“Judges don't like to be reversed on appeal,” Schutz said. “From a district court perspective, all you're trying to do with a matter that hasn't been decided clearly is predict what a higher court is going to do.”
Here, the judge already knows what some of the Supreme Court's judges think of the challenged statute, Schutz said.
While the judge could choose a different path, having the earlier ruling by Supreme Court's majority on the same issue gives the landowners a good indicator of their likelihood of success, he said.
“That aspect of it is really unprecedented as far as I can tell,” Schutz said.
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GOP to Hold Keystone Signing Ceremony
Feb 12, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Laura Barron-Lopez
Republican leaders will hold a signing ceremony on Friday for legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline.
The event is intended to highlight the Republican Congress's passage of Keystone, a project proponents say would help the economy. Senate Republicans made the bill their first piece of business after taking control of the chamber.
The event is also intended to make the White House more uncomfortable with its upcoming veto of the measure.
Signing ceremonies are typical for legislation that is signed into law by the president. Lawmakers who crafted the bill typically swarm around the president's desk to get in the picture for the magic moment when a bill becomes law.
A signing ceremony for a bill's enrollment is more unusual, and in this case is intended to make a political point with the White House, which has said Obama will veto the Keystone measure.
It's not clear when that veto will happen, or how the White House will showcase it. The bill will be signed early enough to be delivered to the White House before the end of the day on Friday.
Friday's congressional ceremony will be attended by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), the author of the Senate bill; and Reps. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Kristi Noem (R-S.D.).
Sean McGarvey, president of the North America's Building Trades Union, will also attend the ceremony on Friday morning.
The House voted 270-152 on Wednesday to approve legislation authorizing the $8 billion project.
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Neb. Court Puts Eminent Domain Action for Pipeline on Hold
Feb 12, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Manuel Quiñones
TransCanada Corp. has agreed to halt eminent domain proceedings against Nebraska landowners amid continuing litigation over the route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Last month the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a state law giving the governor authority to decide the route, but it did so on a technicality (Greenwire, Jan. 19).
That opened the door for landowners opposed to KXL's path in York and Holt counties to file another lawsuit within days of the high court decision to challenge the law's constitutionality.
Dave Domina, the landowners' attorney, said today Judge Mark Kozisek had issued a temporary injunction against KXL developer TransCanada's eminent domain activities following a hearing in Holt County.
A look at the far-reaching debate on the Keystone XL pipeline, which could change the energy and economic agenda for both the United States and Canada. Click here to view the special report.
"Our objective is to enforce the state constitution," Domina said in a video statement. "We don't want a for-profit foreign company coming to Nebraska and getting permission to act through political favoritism."
TransCanada, which has obtained the consent of 90 percent of Nebraska landowners along KXL's path, says it agreed to halt eminent domain proceedings to resolve the litigation.
The company said in a statement that "all parties are keenly interested in a decision from the Court that provides finality of the route approval and the related legislation."
The company added, "As part of this agreement, we are seeking an accelerated trial schedule to expedite the process." It will include landowners not covered by the injunction.
The Obama administration review of TransCanada's request for permission to have KXL cross the U.S.-Canada border had been on hold pending the state Supreme Court litigation. The federal process is now moving forward, despite new state litigation.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said this week that there was no timeline for completion. "There's no update," she said. "It's an ongoing process that doesn't have a deadline."
Just yesterday, Congress passed legislation to bypass the administration's review and approve KXL right away. President Obama has promised to veto the bill.
Today, the Republican Governors Association sent the president a letter urging him to reconsider his position. But talk on Capitol Hill is already focused on what to do next.
Some lawmakers have kept the door open to trying to override the president's veto. But at this point, pipeline supporters don't have enough votes.
"If the president should choose to veto, that does not mean this issue is done and dead," said Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). "We will review our alternatives."
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Coal State Senators Slam McCabe Comment On EPA Listening Tour for Power Plant Rule
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
Senators from states heavily reliant on coal are denouncing comments from the Environmental Protection Agency's top air official that the agency made the decision on where to hold its listening sessions for its carbon pollution rules for power plants based on “where people were comfortable coming.”
Janet McCabe, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for air and radiation, made those comments after Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) asked why the agency hadn't included coal states among its 11 past listening sessions on its new source performance standards for existing power plants (RIN 2060-AR33) during a Feb. 11 Senate Environment and Public Works hearing.
An EPA spokeswoman, Liz Purchia, said the agency had to pick “federal facilities that fit within our budget and could accommodate the amount of people in the timelines we were working with” on the listening sessions and touted “unprecedented” outreach on the rules.
Purchia said the agency's Region 3 administrator, office staff and national air office had held a number of outreach sessions with West Virginia and would continue to do so.
Coal state senators have long called for the EPA to visit the states that will likely be most directly affected by the regulations.
The rules, expected to be finalized this year, would establish unique carbon dioxide emissions rates for the power sector in each state. State officials would then determine how best to achieve the emissions targets.
Republicans argued during the Feb. 11 hearing that the regulation is based on dubious legal authority and flawed science (29 DEN A-3, 2/12/15)
Comments ‘Infuriating, Unacceptable.'
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed continued frustration with the Obama administration's reluctance to visit West Virginia, given some of the most productive coal mines are less than five hours away.
“It is unfortunate that Gina McCarthy and the EPA continue to hold energy hearings across the country and around the world, while refusing to travel to the front lines here in West Virginia,” Manchin said in a statement to Bloomberg BNA. “The EPA's latest comments were infuriating and unacceptable, hindering an open line of communication between one of our government's largest agencies and the Mountain State.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also condemned the comments and vowed to continue fighting to block the regulations.
“We knew this administration had no interest in visiting coal country, and now we know why—because it makes them uncomfortable to look Kentucky coal miners and their families in the eye and tell them what they plan to do to their communities,” McConnell said in a Feb. 12 statement.
Personal Invitations Extended
McConnell and Manchin were among the senators who extended personal invitations to McCarthy and President Barack Obama to visit coal-dependent states during the proposed rule's development.
EPA Administrator McCarthy ultimately accepted an invitation in March 2014 from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) to visit North Dakota, but other coal-dependent senators said additional direct outreach was necessary.
“I'm appalled by the EPA's refusal to hold a public hearing in West Virginia,” Capito said in a Feb. 11 statement. “Regardless of whether or not EPA officials feel ‘comfortable’ facing the thousands of West Virginia coal miners whose livelihoods are threatened by these proposed rules, West Virginians deserve the opportunity to make their voices heard.”
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a Feb. 11 statement that his committee's first field hearing of this Congress would be held in West Virginia and would examine the impact of the proposed regulations.
Robust Outreach to Continue
Purchia, the EPA spokeswoman, said the agency has continued to and will continue to conduct robust outreach with all states ahead of the rule's completion.
She noted the agency chose Pittsburgh as the site of one of the listening sessions because the state is the fifth largest coal producer.
“Throughout this process, people could comment on the proposal in-person, by e-mail, fax or letter, and we consider all comments equally, no matter how they were submitted,” Purchia said.
More than 3.6 million comments have been received on the proposed rule to date.
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EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan No Threat to Grid Reliability, Report Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Proposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants will not jeopardize the reliability of electricity generation, the Brattle Group said, disputing concerns raised by grid operators.
The power sector is transitioning from coal to cleaner generation sources and the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan gives states and utilities sufficient flexibility to ensure that reliability will not be a concern, the Brattle Group said in a Feb. 12 report prepared for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute.
“The combination of the ongoing transformation of the power sector, the steps already taken by system operators, the large and expanding set of technological and operational tools available, and the flexibility under the [Clean Power Plan] are likely sufficient to ensure that compliance will not come at the cost of reliability,” the report said.
The report, EPA's Clean Power Plan and Reliability: Assessing NERC's Initial Reliability Review, counters concerns the North American Electric Reliability Corp. raised in November 2014 that the EPA's proposed rule could jeopardize the electric grid's reliability.
The EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan (RIN 2060-AR33) would establish unique carbon dioxide emissions rates for the power sector in each state. The rule, which is expected to be finalized this summer, would be implemented by state officials, who would determine how best to achieve the emissions targets.
The proposal includes interim emissions targets that states would have to meet by 2020. NERC, a nonprofit that assures adequate voltage and power reserves to keep the electric grid functioning, had asked the Environmental Protection Agency to extend that deadline, providing states additional time necessary to make the investments needed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while ensuring reliable generation (215 DEN A-3, 11/6/14).
States, Utilities Have Options
The Brattle Group said in its report that states and utilities should have sufficient resources to ensure reliable electricity generation, even as they move to comply with the EPA's proposal. The report said states and utilities could consider options such as natural gas storage and energy efficiency while they invest in natural gas infrastructure to support a broader shift away from coal-fired generation.
The report also said the EPA's projections of the growth in renewable energy generation are not onerous and are not expected to jeopardize reliability. Many other countries are generating more electricity through renewable energy than the EPA predicts in 2030, according to the Brattle Group.
In addition, the report identifies opportunities for carbon dioxide emissions reductions not explicitly included in the EPA's proposal, including co-firing coal-fired power plants with biomass, increasing demand response programs, and expanding use of combined heat and power systems.
In a separate Feb. 12 report, the American Wind Energy Association said renewable energy, particularly wind power, is poised to help states meet their Clean Power Plan targets. Nine states already generate more than 12 percent of their electricity needs through wind power, according to the report. Wind is projected to provide between 15 percent and 20 percent of all electricity by 2017, the report said.
The reports come as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission begins a series of workshops on the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan. The first conference will be Feb. 19 at FERC headquarters in Washington, D.C. It will be led by the commissioners and will be national in scope.
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ClimateWire's Holden Previews E&E's Power Plan Hub
Feb 13, 2015 | E&E Daily News
This week, E&E Publishing launched its Power Plan Hub, a one-of-a-kind interactive tool featuring details about U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan. On today's The Cutting Edge, ClimateWire reporter Emily Holden discusses the unique elements of the tool and how Power Plan stakeholders will benefit from this resource. Today's The Cutting Edge will air on E&ETV at 12:30 p.m. EST.
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Obama Renominates Two for Senior EPA Positions
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
President Barack Obama renominated Feb. 12 Ann Elizabeth Dunkin and Jane Toshiko Nishida to assistant administrator positions at the Environmental Protection Agency. Dunkin is nominated to be assistant administrator for environmental information, while Nishida is nominated for the position of assistant administrator for international and tribal affairs. Both had their nominations advanced by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in August 2014, but the full chamber never considered them (148 DEN A-2, 8/1/14). Nishida joined the EPA in 2011 and currently serves as principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of International and Tribal Affairs, according to the agency's website. Dunkin's LinkedIn profile says she currently serves as a senior adviser to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy after previously working as chief technology officer for the Palo Alto Unified School District. Republicans have subjected EPA nominations to close scrutiny in recent years.
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Interagency Assessment of National Energy Policy Undergoing White House Review
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Ari Natter
A broad interagency assessment of national energy policy led by the Energy Department is undergoing review by the White House and is expected to be released this month, according to the DOE.
The Quadrennial Energy Review will include “a major focus” on electricity grid reliability, improving the national oil stockpile known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the need to improve transportation infrastructure—rail, inland waterways and ports—that moves commodities as well as materials related to energy, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters Feb. 12.
“There is a huge need for upgrading these infrastructures,” Moniz said following his testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Quadrennial Energy Review also will address methane emissions from natural gas pipelines and other facilities, Moniz said earlier this month(05 DEN A-4, 1/8/15).
Energy Policy Road Map
The review, which is designed to serve as a “road map” to inform a national energy strategy, is expected to include short- and long-term objectives, possible executive actions and legislative proposals for Congress.
President Barack Obama called for the review in his climate action plan in June 2013. He directed the review task force to submit the assessments every four years, with the first report due Jan. 31, 2015.
“This year, we will be hopefully executing many of the recommendations in that document,” Moniz said earlier in February during a briefing on the department's fiscal year 2016 budget request. The request includes $356 million for grid modernization efforts, including new funding for state electricity reliability improvements and research and development funding to fight cyber attacks on the grid.
In addition, Moniz said a 5 million-barrel “test sale” from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve held in 2014 “did in fact reveal distributional issues.”
Petroleum Reserve Needs Re-examination
The emergency stockpile created in 1975 as a way to protect against a severe disruption in supply should be “re-examined” because of increased domestic oil production and decreasing oil imports, the Government Accountability Office said in a September 2014 report.
The Energy Department's fiscal 2016 budget request included a $57 million increase for the SPR to “increase the system's durability and reliability and begin addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance,” according to the request.
The increased funding “is only a down payment on the kinds of infrastructure we need for QER,” Moniz told reporters.
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U.S. 'Clean Coal' Project Demise Shows EPA Plan's Weakness: Lawyers
Feb 13, 2015 | Reuters
By Valerie Volcovici and Ayesha Rascoe
The U.S. government's move to suspend a trouble-plagued $1.65 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project this month may have bolstered legal challenges to proposed environmental regulations on power plant carbon emissions, several legal experts said.
The FutureGen project in Illinois would have been the first U.S. commercial-scale, near-zero emission coal plant to use technologies to capture carbon dioxide from major industrial plants and store it safely underground. This approach could sharply reduce carbon dioxide emissions and curb global warming.
Under the Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards must be based upon the "best system of emission reduction" using technology that has been "adequately demonstrated." Some legal experts said this week the Department of Energy's abandonment of the project proves the technology failed to meet those criteria.
FutureGen's demise is further evidence that EPA's standard for new power plants is not legally defensible, said Jeff Holmstead, of Bracewell and Giuliani, which represents energy-industry clients looking to challenge the proposed regulations, a cornerstone of the Obama administration's climate-change strategy.
"It's sort of another nail in the coffin of EPA's proposal," said Holmstead, who headed EPA's office of Air and Radiation during the George W. Bush administration.
Asked about the FutureGen project at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, the EPA's air pollution head Janet McCabe dismissed comments that CCS is not viable and pointed to a project launched in October in Canada as proof that it can work to scale.
The agency had previously pointed to FutureGen, as well as Southern Co's long-delayed Kemper project in Mississippi as beacons for nascent CCS technologies, the varied ways to capture carbon waste from sources such as power plants and transport it to storage sites.
FutureGen was a collaboration between the DOE and coal companies that aimed to show that producing coal-fired electricity under strict carbon emission curbs was possible.
But FutureGen was beset by delays and management problems from its 2003 start, as well as disputes over where to sequester the captured carbon.
When it became clear that FutureGen would not meet its private sector financing target, the DOE suspended the project on Feb. 3 to avoid about $1 billion in financing commitments.
Brian Potts, an energy attorney at Foley & Lardner, said the EPA's mention of CCS as a viable technology in the new power plant emissions standard puts the proposed rule at risk of being overturned.
This would then delay what he said was the more important EPA proposal for existing plants, which would lead to a 30 percent carbon emission cut by 2030.
But the EPA likely anticipates the challenge, some lawyers said. The agency issued its new source standards in two parts, with one rule focused on new plants and a second governing modified and reconstructed plants.
The standards for modified plants exclude requirements for CCS, said Thomas Lorenzen, a lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney pointed out. The EPA has said that if either of the new source rules were to be vacated by a court, the other rule would remain in effect, he noted.
"They may feel they can proceed with the CCS (rules) even though there are legal risks," because they believe the rules for modified plants would act as a back-up if the other provisions are thrown out, said Lorenzen, a former assistant chief for the Justice Department who supervised the federal government's legal defense of EPA's rules from 2004 to 2013.
But Kipp Coddington, who represents energy companies at law firm Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud and Laseter, said the EPA had put the development of carbon capture at risk by getting "ahead of the technology's development."
He equated the EPA's expectations from the short list of CCS projects under development to being "at Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers and their wood frame plane with an audience waiting for a 747."
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New Oversight Subcommittee to Scrutinize Public Land Access, EPA Regulations
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Anthony Adragna
A newly created House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee will actively scrutinize restrictions on access to public lands and Environmental Protection Agency regulations on power plants and revisions to the national ozone standard, the panel's chairman told Bloomberg BNA.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), tapped to chair the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Interior Subcommittee in December, said “a lot” of the panel's focus would be reducing obstacles to public land access and aggressive oversight of efforts to add more land to federal management.
“A lot of our focus will be on concerns on the expansion of powers of federal land management,” Lummis said in a Feb. 11 interview. “It doesn't make much sense to me to add to the federal estate when we don't have the ability to manage what we already own.”
The Wyoming Republican also pledged to scrutinize limits to energy exploration on public lands.
Lummis, Wyoming's lone congressional representative since 2009, said the subcommittee was “not trying to duplicate what other committees are doing” and would coordinate with Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) of the House Natural Resources Committee to minimize oversight overlap.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah.) announced the creation of the new subcommittee in December, intending to focus on the energy and environmental policies of President Barack Obama's administration (244 DEN A-3, 12/19/14).
Oversight of EPA
While much of her subcommittee's work will focus on public land access and similar issues, Lummis said she intends to hold hearings on a number of high-profile EPA regulations.
Among the regulations identified by Lummis are proposed carbon emissions limits for new and existing power plants under the Clean Air Act and proposed revisions to the national ozone standard. Those rules are expected to be finalized by the EPA this year.
Management issues within the agency are also expected to be examined by the subcommittee, as they have been for the past several years. One prime example of the committee's oversight was the case of former senior agency official John Beale, who is now serving a 32-month prison sentence for defrauding the EPA while claiming to be a Central Intelligence Agency employee.
“Some of those more high-profile issues may go to the full committee,” Lummis noted.
Chemical Safety Board First Up
Lummis said the panel will hold its first hearing on “management issues” related to the beleaguered Chemical Safety Board.
While the date of the hearing hasn't been finalized, Lummis said she expects it will occur in late February or early March.
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso said Feb. 5 that he would step down from the agency at the end of his current term.
Allegations of slow investigations, low employee morale, bullying of dissenting staffers and degraded relationships with other federal agencies have dogged the board over the last several years (28 DEN A-6, 2/11/15).
In late January, the board adopted a motion that consolidated the chairman's power and canceled several pending investigations despite new allegations of improper private e-mail use to conduct official government business.
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CEQ Urges Federal Agencies to Adopt NEPA Review Practices From Pilot Projects
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Matthew Taylor
The White House Council on Environmental Quality has released a memo to federal agencies recommending steps they can take to improve implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act as identified through pilot projects initiated in 2011.
The five pilot programs were intended to categorize goals and best practices for modernizing the NEPA process (205 DEN A-11, 10/24/11).
The memo identifies six objectives that resulted from monitoring the pilots that could lead to improving the efficiency of NEPA implementation:
• simplifying practices such as data gathering, scoping and public involvement;
• coordinating environmental reviews across federal, state, tribal and local jurisdictions;
• reducing the time and money spent on reviews;
• using information technology to improve efficiency;
• improving the quality and transparency of agency decision making; and
• promoting best practices.
The memo, dated Jan. 26, was posted on the CEQ website on Feb. 9.
Actions Recommended to Improve NEPA Process
The memo recommended specific actions agencies can take to meet those goals.
For example, the CEQ suggested that agencies refine and develop management and public engagement information technology tools and make more effective use of existing tools and federal databases.
The memo also suggested that agencies “should have a suite of NEPA IT tools at their disposal” and choose the tool most appropriate for the project and step in the review process.
Additionally, the CEQ said that agencies should review the best practice principles for developing environmental assessments, as developed through the pilot project awarded to the National Association of Environmental Professionals.
The memo encouraged agencies to provide comments to the CEQ on which best practices principles should be incorporated into CEQ guidance.
Urges More Use of Geospatial Tool
Furthermore, the CEQ urged agencies to make greater use of the Environmental Protection Agency's NEPAssist geospatial tool, a web-based application for analyzing environmental and geographic data sets.
One of the pilot projects focused on making NEPAssist publicly available and user-friendly. The tool was previously only available to the EPA and its contractors.
The CEQ launched the NEPA Pilot Program in 2011 to seek improvements and efficiencies in the NEPA process in response to Executive Order No. 13,563 on regulatory review, which directs federal agencies to identify burdensome, inefficient or outdated regulations (18 DEN A-8, 1/27/11).
Other pilot projects included an assessment of NEPA information technology tools, an evaluation of the NEPA review of rail service on the Northeast Corridor and an analysis of NEPA best practices for the Forest Service.
NEPA reviews are required of any major federal action that could significantly impact the environment or of activities needing federal funding or approval.
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Revised Oil Train Safety Rule Expected To Give Companies More Time for Upgrades
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Jim Snyder
The Obama administration has revised its proposal on preventing oil trains from catching fire in derailments, giving companies more time to upgrade their fleets but sticking with a requirement that new tank cars have thicker walls and better brakes.
The changes, described by three people familiar with the proposal who asked not to be identified because the plan has not been made public, are in proposed regulations sent Feb. 5 by the U.S. Transportation Department to the White House for review ( 26 DEN A-3, 2/9/15).
The administration is revising safety standards after a series of oil-train accidents, including a 2013 disaster in Canada that killed 47 people when a runaway train derailed and blew up (21 DEN A-8, 2/2/15). Earlier in February, a train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire outside of Dubuque, Iowa. No one was hurt.
Companies that own tank cars opposed the aggressive schedule for modifying cars in the DOT's July draft, saying it would have cost billions of dollars and could slow oil production. That plan would have given companies two years to retrofit cars hauling the most volatile crude oil, including oil from North Dakota's booming Bakken field.
Railroads and oil companies fought the brake requirement and proposed a standard that featured thinner steel walls on tank cars than suggested by the agency.
‘Too Long.'
Karen Darch, mayor of the Chicago suburb of Barrington, and an advocate for safer cars, said she was encouraged that the rules would require stronger tank cars and upgraded brakes. She disagreed with adding years to the retrofit deadline.
“Taking more time on something that's already taken too long is problematic,” Darch said Feb. 12 in a phone interview.
Officials in White House Office of Management and Budget could change the proposal before the final version is released, probably in May. Darius Kirkwood, a spokesman at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the DOT agency that wrote the rule, said he couldn't comment on a proposed rule.
“The department has and will continue to put a premium on getting this critical rule done as quickly as possible, but we've always committed ourselves to getting it done right,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said this month in a statement about the timing of the safety rule.
Rolling Deadlines
The current proposal would require companies to first upgrade tank cars known as DOT-111s, which safety investigators have said are prone to puncture in rail accidents, according to one of the people. Cars with an extra jacket of protection would remain in use longer before undergoing modifications, according to one of the people familiar with the proposal.
A newer model known as the CPC-1232, which the industry in 2011 voluntarily agreed to build in response to safety concerns, would have a later deadline than the DOT-111s for modification or replacement, three people said.
The CPC-1232s have more protection at the ends of the cars than the DOT-111s and a reinforced top fitting.
The draft rule also would require that new tank cars be built with steel shells that are 9/16th of an inch thick, the people said. The walls of the current cars, both DOT-111s and CPC-1232s, are 7/16th of an inch thick.
A joint proposal from the American Petroleum Institute and the Association of American Railroads argued to set the tank-car shell thickness at 8/16ths, a half-inch.
Company Lobbying
Railroads and oil companies also lobbied against a proposal that the trains have electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, which are designed to stop all rolling cars at a same time.
The Association of American Railroads in June 2014 told Transportation Department officials that the electronic brakes would cost as much as $15,000 for each car and have a minimal safety impact.
Trains often haul 100 or more tank cars filled with crude. These trains have increasingly been used to haul crude as oil production has boomed in places such as North Dakota that don't have enough pipelines.
Rail shipments of oil surged to 408,000 car loads last year from 11,000 in 2009.
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FedEx Hazmat Claims Must Be Assessed In California State Court, Federal Court Says
Feb 13, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
A FedEx company that sometimes transports hazardous materials must convince a state court that federal law on the handling of damaged or defective packages containing hazardous materials, such as nail polish, pre-empts California laws, a federal court has ruled (FedEx Ground Package Sys. Inc. v. Ingenito, 2015 BL 15779, E.D. Cal., No. 2:14-cv-01038, 1/21/15).
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed the case filed by FedEx Ground Package System Inc. in April against the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and several district attorneys in California counties.
It was dismissed because there was litigation against FedEx on this issue pending in state court before “substantive proceedings on the merits” had occurred in this federal case, the court said.
The ongoing state proceedings also implicate important state issues—public health and the environment—and there will be “an adequate opportunity” to “raise constitutional challenges,” it said.
“[T]he Court notes that given the impending state litigation at the time that this case was filed in federal court, the Court is not convinced that this forum is appropriate,” the Jan. 21 opinion said.
“ ‘It is not the purpose of the Declaratory Judgement Act to encourage a race to the courthouse for the purpose of transferring litigation to the federal courts from the state courts,’ ” it said, citing a 1961 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision (Shell Oil Co. v. Frusetta, 290 F.2d 689, (9th Cir. 1961) ).
Damaged, Defective Hazmat Packages
The case centered on FedEx's previous practices in moving damaged or defective hazmat packages that occurred between November 2008 and July 2014, practices the company still follows throughout the U.S. other than California.
The defendants allege FedEx violated state hazardous waste and public health laws using its national practices; however, FedEx says it was in compliance with federal hazmat laws, including the Hazardous Materials Regulations, which pre-empt state laws.
Specifically, the defendants allege that FedEx's intermediary terminals, where these packages are sent to be placed in a “salvage drum” and managed before reaching the final destination of a hazardous waste generating facility, constituted an end of transportation.
This means it should have been registered and managed in accordance with hazardous waste facility laws and should result in enforcement, the defendants argued.
FedEx Ground Package now uses separate practices in California that the defendants haven't challenged.
State Court to Hear Dispute
The dispute will now be addressed in Sacramento County Superior Court through the two civil lawsuits filed by the California toxics department and the People of California in June and July last year against FedEx alleging violations of the California Hazardous Waste Law and California Health and Safety Code section 25100.
FedEx told Bloomberg BNA in an e-mail that the company is reviewing its options, including appeal.
“We remain confident that a thorough review of the facts and regulatory framework through the judicial process will support our position,” FedEx said.
The California department didn't respond to messages from Bloomberg BNA requesting comment.
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Transportation Department Pushes Tough Oil Train Standards: Sources
Feb 12, 2015 | Reuters
By Patrick Rucker and David Ljunggren
The U.S. Transportation Department has recommended crude oil trains be reinforced and have advanced braking systems installed to prevent accidents from becoming fiery disasters, according to sources familiar with the plan.
The proposal, which now faces a White House review, envisions safety improvements that public advocates endorse but oil and rail leaders have said would mean high costs for modest safety gains.
The plan would require adding an extra 1/8th inch of steel to most existing oil train tank shells, while new models would have the thicker hull installed on the factory floor.
Future tank cars would also be fitted with electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, or ECP brakes, which would trigger all axles simultaneously rather than one at a time in current design.
It would take at least $3 billion over the next 20 years to enact the plan, according to a government estimate, but oil and rail executives see much higher costs they say would needlessly hinder a sector that has helped push a national energy renaissance.
Complying with the DOT proposal would send roughly 90,000 existing tank cars into workshops for at least $30,000 in upgrades each or to the scrap heap because the improvements are too costly, according to industry and official estimates.
Roughly 70 percent of the fuel produced in North Dakota's Bakken oil patch moves on the tracks and passes through hundreds of communities before reaching far-flung refineries.
A runaway delivery of Bakken crude killed 47 people in the Canadian town of Lac Megantic in July 2013 - a tragedy that awoke the public and regulators to oil train perils.
The plan conceived by the Transportation Department would largely satisfy Canadian safety demands and fulfill the goals of two former DOT officials who shepherded the proposal for much of last year: former Federal Railroad Administration chief Joe Szabo, who left last month, and Cynthia Quarterman, who stepped down as the head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last year.
"With this braking system, we will be booking safety benefits for decades to come," said Szabo.
Under the DOT plan, large rail shipments of ethanol, a gasoline additive made from corn, must largely comply with the same rules as oil trains, sources said.
The proposal would also keep existing speed restrictions for large fuel deliveries, 40 mph in many heavily populated areas and 50 mph elsewhere.
A DOT spokesman declined to comment on the proposal.
The proposal is now with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the clearinghouse for federal rules, which is due to have a final say in May.
U.S. and Canadian officials strive to harmonize train safety rules to promote cross-border trade, and the DOT plan adopts many measures outlined by Canada over the summer, sources said.
A Transport Canada spokesperson declined to comment on the proposal, saying both sides of the border "remain committed to a North American solution for tank car standards."
Several tank car companies including Greenbrier Company Inc, American Railcar Industries Inc, Trinity Industries Inc, GATX Corp and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp are expected to be affected.
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