Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 17/04/18
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump's Top Energy Aide Stepping Down
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
President Trump's top energy and environmental adviser is leaving the White House. -
(ACC Mentioned) Top Trump Energy Adviser Resigns
Apr 17, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama and Miranda Green
President Trump’s top adviser for energy and environment policy is stepping down. -
(ACC Mentioned) Trump Energy Aide to Return to Lobbying Firm
Apr 17, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Jennifer A Dlouhy
Michael Catanzaro, a chief architect of President Donald Trump’s energy policy, is leaving the White House and returning to his former lobbying firm. -
(ACC Mentioned) Top Energy Aide is Out. What's Next?
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
The departure of President Trump's top energy adviser raises questions about the fate of the administration's policy agenda. -
Science Advisory Board Sets Meeting Date
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A key U.S. EPA advisory panel has scheduled its first face-to-face meeting since agency Administrator Scott Pruitt imposed a controversial shakeup last year. -
EDF Comments Fault EPA for Deviating From the Law in Proposal for States and Health Professionals’ CBI Access
Apr 17, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Richard Denison
One of the key reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) made by 2016’s Lautenberg Act was the expansion of who can access confidential business information (CBI) submitted by companies to EPA. -
Panellists Call for Congressional Oversight of TSCA
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A legislative briefing in Washington, DC last week heard panellists call on Congress to exercise oversight of the US EPA’s implementation of the new TSCA law, which public health advocates say has been inconsistent with the statute. -
California Legislature Advances Flame Retardant Ban
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie Miller
A measure that would ban the sale of children’s products, mattresses and furniture containing flame retardants has begun moving through the California legislature. -
EPA Outlines Scope of Ammonia Ingestion Assessment
Apr 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Underscoring EPA plans for targeted chemical evaluations, EPA has released for comment its plan for developing an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of the non-cancer human health risks of ingesting ammonia, following the agency's development of non-cancer inhalation risk values for ammonia in 2016. -
Asbestos in Make-Up Sparks Dutch Investigation
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Authorities in the Netherlands have started testing make-up products containing talc on the national market, after they found two contained tremolite asbestos. -
Former Ohio Energy Lobbyist Takes Top Post in Fossil Office
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
A longtime lobbyist for Ohio's coal, oil and gas sector has been tapped for a top slot within the Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy. -
Critics Hit Up 2 Courts to Block Obama Methane Standards
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Opponents of Obama-era restrictions on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry showed up in force yesterday in not just one, but two courts. -
China Chases Elusive North Slope Gas Bonanza
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
During the last week of March, a group of Chinese industry officials flew to Alaska to get a close-up look at the lands on which the state is proposing to build a $43.4 billion pipeline and liquefied natural gas export project. -
Michigan Official: Tugboat Damaged Great Lakes Pipelines
Apr 17, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times)
Recent damage to underwater oil and electrical lines in the waterway connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan that's blamed for an insulation fluid spill was caused by a tugboat dragging its anchor, Michigan's attorney general said Tuesday. -
Chicago, Surfers Criticize US Steel Spills Settlement
Apr 17, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post)
Chicago and some Great Lakes surfers say a federal settlement inadequately punishes U.S. Steel for chemical spills into Lake Michigan. -
FERC Chairman: Cybersecurity a Top Priority
Apr 17, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Eric Wolff
FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre told lawmakers today that grid cybersecurity was possibly the most important issue in front of the energy regulator. -
Eastern Grid Operator Warns of Pipeline Industry Inaction
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak
The nation's largest regional power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, has called for new federal regulation over natural gas pipelines to counter potential threats to electric power plant operations from disruptions or attacks affecting gas supplies. -
(ACC Mentioned) Denham Statement from Hearing on STB Reauthorization Act of 2015 Implementation
Apr 17, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
Today we meet to oversee the implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015. -
Reform Plan Next Month to Focus on Infrastructure — OIRA Chief
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Maxine Joselow
President Trump's regulatory czar said today that the administration's third stab at reform will likely be released next month and will emphasize changes to infrastructure. -
EPA Poised to Leave NOx Standards Unchanged
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
EPA is poised to formally publish a final decision to leave its primary air quality standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) unchanged, ending a review process that began six years ago. -
Coast Guard Bill Would Weaken Water Pollution Rules, Environmentalists Say
Apr 17, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Senate could vote on a Coast Guard bill in the coming days that environmentalists and Democratic attorneys general say would weaken water pollution standards. -
Why Do We Need New Rules on Shipping Emissions? Well, 90 Percent of Global Trade Depends on Ships.
Apr 17, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Jessica F. Green
After a week of contentious negotiations, the 173 countries that are part of the U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed to cut emissionsgenerated by shipping by 50 percent below 2008 levels by 2050.
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump's Top Energy Aide Stepping Down
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
President Trump's top energy and environmental adviser is leaving the White House.
Mike Catanzaro, who has been the chief White House staffer on domestic energy and environmental policy since February 2017, is expected to step down next week, according to an administration official.
He'll rejoin the Washington lobbying firm CGCN Group, where he worked before joining the administration. He's expected to work in a consulting and advisory role.
Working largely behind the scenes, he's been pivotal in crafting Trump's energy policies and in rolling back Obama administration environmental rules.
Among the high-profile issues he's worked on, Catanzaro has been central to efforts to repeal the Clean Power Plan and President Obama's signature clean water rule. He was also a key player in the administration's recent decision to relax climate rules for cars.
He's well known in energy circles and on Capitol Hill, and his presence first on the Trump transition team and then in the White House has offered comfort to industry leaders and Republicans who valued having a familiar face in the administration.
"He's played a pivotal role in helping advance the president's vision for energy dominance," said George David Banks, a former White House energy and climate official. "He also has a ton of courage as reflected by his willingness to fight horrible policies and ideas that would have harmed the administration and the country."
Catanzaro has clashed with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt at times, including over Pruitt's plans to host a so-called red team debate to challenge mainstream climate science. Catanzaro was among the White House officials who told EPA aides that the idea as envisioned by Pruitt wasn't going to happen (Climatewire, March 14).
It's unclear who will replace Catanzaro at the White House.
Catanzaro previously worked for then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and at EPA and the White House during the George W. Bush administration.
During his last stint at CGCN Group, his clients included the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, Devon Energy Corp., America's Natural Gas Alliance, General Motors Co., Koch Cos. Public Sector LLC and others.
CGCN Group said in a statement that Catanzaro will observe all ethics requirements applicable to him as a former White House employee.
"We are thrilled to welcome Mike back to CGCN," said managing partner Steve Clark. "Our firm is like a family, and we are proud Mike wanted to come back to us after his service in the government. He is a tireless worker with an unrivaled command of energy and environmental policy and even stronger sense of integrity. His experience in the White House will be an invaluable resource for current and future clients, and we will make every effort to ensure his work complies with all relevant ethics guidelines."
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060079287
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(ACC Mentioned) Top Trump Energy Adviser Resigns
Apr 17, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama and Miranda Green
President Trump’s top adviser for energy and environment policy is stepping down.
Michael Catanzaro, who has headed domestic energy and environment issues at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC), plans to leave next week and return to CGCN Group, the law and lobbying firm where he previously worked.
CGCN confirmed the move Tuesday, which was first reported by Greenwire. Catanzaro has worked at the White House since February 2017.
Catanzaro was rarely the public face of the Trump administration’s policies, but he was a leading figure in the administration for carrying out Trump’s aggressive deregulatory and pro-fossil-fuel agenda.
He played a significant role in the ongoing rollback of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and its Clean Water Rule.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mike back to CGCN,” Steve Clark, the firm’s managing partner, said in a statement.
“Our firm is like a family, and we are proud Mike wanted to come back to us after his service in the government. He is a tireless worker with an unrivaled command of energy and environmental policy and even stronger sense of integrity. His experience in the White House will be an invaluable resource for current and future clients, and we will make every effort to ensure his work complies with all relevant ethics guidelines.”
Catanzaro and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. It’s unclear who will replace him.
His departure comes two months after George David Banks stepped down from his post as Trump’s leading adviser for international energy and environment issues, which included the Paris agreement.
Banks said he left because he was unable to get a security clearance since he smoked marijuana years ago.
Other staff switch-ups at NEC include recently appointed Larry Kudlow, who accepted the job to lead the council in March a week after Gary Cohnresigned. Cohn left partly due to his opposition to Trump’s decision to place tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.
Catanzaro’s clients at CGCN previously included the American Chemistry Council, the Koch Cos., Devon Energy Corp. and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Under Trump’s ethics pledge, Catanzaro will be prohibited for five years from lobbying the NEC. CGCN says it plans to abide by the pledge and other relevant restrictions he is under.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/383532-top-trump-energy-adviser-resigns
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump Energy Aide to Return to Lobbying Firm
Apr 17, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Jennifer A Dlouhy
Michael Catanzaro, a chief architect of President Donald Trump’s energy policy, is leaving the White House and returning to his former lobbying firm.
Catanzaro, who was appointed in February 2017 as a special assistant to the president for domestic energy and environmental policy, is returning to his previous advocacy and public relations firm, the CGCN Group. Before joining the White House, Catanzaro was a partner at CGCN, where his clients included major oil companies and oilfield service providers, including Hess Corp., Noble Energy Inc. and Halliburton Co., as well as the American Chemistry Council.
The firm announced the planned return in a news release, with Managing Partner Steve Clark saying Catanzaro’s White House experience "will be an invaluable resource for current and future clients." The company promised to "make every effort to ensure his work complies with all relevant ethics guidelines."
Under federal law, there is a one-year cooling off period for White House officials, blocking them from formally lobbying their agency in the 12 months after they depart. Trump issued an executive order requiring employees serving in his administration to wait five years before conducting lobbying activities. However, there is no criminal penalty for violating that pledge.
Catanzaro joins a batch of other top administration officials who have chosen to depart after a year inside the tumultuous Trump administration, including National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, Communications Director Hope Hicks and Catanzaro’s former boss, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn. Another energy adviser on the National Economic Council, George David Banks, left the White House in February, citing problems receiving a permanent security clearance.
In the Trump administration, Catanzaro helped design policy proposals to help deliver on the president’s campaign promises to give a boost to coal -- and the miners who extract it -- as well as slash "job-killing" regulation. That included a directive for agencies to identify policies holding back domestic energy production, an initial plan to rewrite a major water pollution regulation and the launch of a fresh review of U.S. nuclear power policy.
Catanzaro’s career has been steeped in energy and environment policy. Before CGCN, he worked on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, served as a campaign adviser on energy and environmental matters to George W. Bush and was an associate director for policy in the White House Council on Environmental Quality. He also served as a senior adviser to former House Speaker John Boehner on energy and environmental policy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-17/white-house-energy-aide-catanzaro-will-return-to-lobbying-firm
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(ACC Mentioned) Top Energy Aide is Out. What's Next?
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender
The departure of President Trump's top energy adviser raises questions about the fate of the administration's policy agenda.
Mike Catanzaro, who has been the chief White House staffer on domestic energy and environmental policy since February 2017, is expected to step down next week, according to an administration official (Greenwire, April 17). He's the latest in a raft of top aides to leave the White House recently — including major energy players — leaving outsiders uncertain about who's setting the energy policy agenda at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
"It creates a void until he's replaced," said Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who led Trump's EPA transition team. "It's going to be hard to get somebody as good as Mike Catanzaro," he added, although he expects the administration will find someone "who's fully with the program" when it comes to Trump's energy agenda.
The "choice of who fills these shoes will matter a lot" for the energy policy outlook, former Obama White House official Jason Bordoff wrote on Twitter today.
Catanzaro's former boss, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, is among the other Trump aides who have recently stepped down. He's been replaced by longtime cable news contributor and former Reagan White House official Larry Kudlow.
It's unclear who will replace Catanzaro at the White House.
Catanzaro will rejoin the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm CGCN Group, where he worked before joining the administration. He's expected to work in a consulting and advisory role.
Working largely behind the scenes, Catanzaro has been pivotal in crafting Trump's energy policies and in rolling back Obama administration environmental rules.
Among the high-profile issues he has worked on, Catanzaro has been central to efforts to repeal the Clean Power Plan and Obama's signature Clean Water Rule. He was also a key player in the administration's recent decision to relax climate rules for cars.
He's well known in energy circles and on Capitol Hill, and his presence first on the Trump transition team and then in the White House has offered comfort to industry leaders and Republicans who valued having a familiar face in the administration.
"He's played a pivotal role in helping advance the president's vision for energy dominance," said George David Banks, a former White House energy and climate official. "He also has a ton of courage, as reflected by his willingness to fight horrible policies and ideas that would have harmed the administration and the country."
Banks resigned in February. His job has been filled by Wells Griffith, who is on detail from the Energy Department.
Some greens opposed to Trump's policies are happy to see Catanzaro go.
"Mike Catanzaro helped turn EPA into Every Polluters Ally," said Liz Perera, the Sierra Club's climate policy director.
"He leaves the White House having disgraced his career and the entire country," she said. "The policies and environmental protections he has undermined will result in harm to people across the country."
Catanzaro has clashed with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt at times, including over Pruitt's plans to host a "red-team, blue-team" debate to challenge mainstream climate science. Catanzaro was among the White House officials who told EPA aides that the idea as envisioned by Pruitt wasn't going to happen (Climatewire, March 14).
Catanzaro previously worked for then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and at EPA and the White House during the George W. Bush administration.
During his last stint at CGCN Group, his clients included the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, Devon Energy Corp., America's Natural Gas Alliance, General Motors Co., Koch Cos. Public Sector LLC and others.
CGCN Group said in a statement that Catanzaro will observe all ethics requirements applicable to him as a former White House employee.
"We are thrilled to welcome Mike back to CGCN," said Managing Partner Steve Clark. "Our firm is like a family, and we are proud Mike wanted to come back to us after his service in the government. He is a tireless worker with an unrivaled command of energy and environmental policy and even stronger sense of integrity. His experience in the White House will be an invaluable resource for current and future clients, and we will make every effort to ensure his work complies with all relevant ethics guidelines."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079303
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Science Advisory Board Sets Meeting Date
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A key U.S. EPA advisory panel has scheduled its first face-to-face meeting since agency Administrator Scott Pruitt imposed a controversial shakeup last year.
The Science Advisory Board (SAB) plans to meet publicly on May 31 and June 1 at a Washington, D.C., hotel, according to a notice set for publication in tomorrow's Federal Register.
The agenda includes a discussion of EPA's semi-regulatory agenda, briefings by staffers from various agency offices and a review of a draft report on the screening methodologies used in the statutorily required "risk and technology reviews" of hazardous pollutant emissions standards for dozens of industries.
The SAB, which currently has 44 members, advises EPA on a variety of scientific and technical issues. The meeting could offer a first look at its direction since Pruitt reshaped it last fall under new membership standards.
While the SAB's ranks had traditionally consisted mostly of academic researchers, a half-dozen members were forced out under the new policy, which bars most active recipients of agency grants from serving. Others left after Pruitt declined to follow a tradition of reappointing first-term incumbents to a second three-year term. In some instances, their replacements have ties to industries regulated by EPA.
The new chairman, Michael Honeycutt, toxicology director at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, was an outspoken foe of EPA's 2015 decision to tighten its ground-level ozone standard. Pruitt justified the new standards in part on the need to preserve members' "objectivity" and to bring in fresh blood.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079313
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Apr 17, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Richard Denison
One of the key reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) made by 2016’s Lautenberg Act was the expansion of who can access confidential business information (CBI) submitted by companies to EPA. The old law largely limited access to federal government employees and contractors. Congress recognized the enormous value such information could provide to officials at other levels of government and to health providers and environmental officials treating or responding to chemical releases and exposures. It therefore mandated that EPA expand CBI access, subject to certain conditions specified in the law.
In March, a full 21 months after passage of the Lautenberg Act, EPA finally issued draft guidance documents setting forth how it intends to meet the law’s mandate to expand access to CBI. Unfortunately, as has been the case with so many other aspects of TSCA implementation under the Trump administration, EPA got a lot of things wrong in its draft guidance documents.
Yesterday, EDF filed extensive comments raising our concerns over these serious deviations from the law and providing our recommendations for fixing them.
Three groups are to be provided access to CBI:States, political subdivisions of a State, and tribal governments[TSCA § 14(d)(4)]health and environmental professionals employed by Federal or State agencies or tribal governments and treating physicians and nurses in nonemergency situations [TSCA § 14(d)(5)]treating or responding physicians, nurses, agents of poison control centers, public health or environmental officials of States, political subdivisions of a State, or tribal governments, and first responders [TSCA § 14(d)(6)]
Among the concerns we discuss in detail in our comments are that EPA:fails to indicate that disclosure of CBI to qualifying parties subject to its guidance is mandatory, not discretionary;inaccurately suggests that health and safety information is CBI;fails to acknowledge that TSCA confidentiality is now narrower than confidentiality under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA);proposes to share state, local, or tribal government requests for information with affected businesses despite TSCA providing no such right of review;has not specified deadlines to ensure timely processing of requests for CBI access;has failed to provide, or acknowledge its mandate to provide, the electronic database and tracking system for facilitating CBI access required under the law;erroneously asserts that state, local, and tribal governments need to show that CBI they request is “necessary” for administration or enforcement of a law;defines who is eligible to receive CBI more narrowly than is provided in the law; andimposes onerous obligations in health care providers’ confidentiality agreements that exceed the requirements of the law.
We hope that in finalizing its guidance documents, EPA takes more seriously its obligations to provide ready and timely access to CBI by those who need or would benefit from access to it to effectively do their jobs.
More broadly, it is disappointing that EPA appears to have placed such a low priority on implementing the information disclosure requirements of the Lautenberg Act, a critical element in restoring public confidence in the agency and our nation’s chemical safety system.
http://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/04/17/edf-comments-fault-epa-for-deviating-from-the-law-in-proposal-for-states-and-health-professionals-cbi-access/
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Panellists Call for Congressional Oversight of TSCA
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A legislative briefing in Washington, DC last week heard panellists call on Congress to exercise oversight of the US EPA’s implementation of the new TSCA law, which public health advocates say has been inconsistent with the statute.
Organised by the University of California at San Francisco's programme on reproductive health and the environment, the 12 April legislative briefing heard panellists from NGOs, academia and health organisations.
Chief among the concerns raised is the agency’s exclusion of certain conditions of use in a substance’s TSCA risk evaluation. This is consistent with ongoing litigation brought by a coalition of NGOs.
Eve Gartner, a staff attorney at Earthjustice, strongly urged Congress to "let EPA know that anything less than a comprehensive approach to risk evaluation across a chemical’s lifecycle – with a particular focus on vulnerable populations – is not consistent with TSCA."
She said the current administration’s leadership is ignoring Congressional intent to assess all conditions of use and is instead "asserting unfettered discretion to exclude those that are known or foreseeable from risk evaluations". And it is "defying" Congress’s direction for a risk evaluation to cover exposures resulting from an ongoing use or disposal.
Ms Gartner also highlighted shortcomings in the agency’s approach to gathering information for risk evaluation. Despite Congress’s direction for the EPA to rely on all that is reasonably available, she said, the final framework rules modified those proposed by the Obama administration in order to "reduce the amount of information it receives".
The rules say it is illegal for anyone – including the public – to submit "incomplete information" about a chemical, according to Ms Gartner. A violation of this can result in criminal penalties, including a prison term. "This vague provision will undoubtedly chill the public with providing EPA with any information about chemicals," she said.
And panellist David Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labour at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha), raised concerns that the agency is deferring its authorities on managing worker safety, which he said ignores the will of Congress.
"I ran Osha for more than seven years. No one, perhaps outside of Scott Pruitt’s office, would claim that Osha is effective in protecting workers from most – in fact, from almost all – chemical hazards," he said.
The current EPA's approach "flies in the face" of TSCA’s original Congressional intent, added Ms Gartner. From its origin in 1976, the statute was intended to replace a piecemeal approach to chemicals management, and instead require EPA to regulate substances "comprehensively, looking at exposures from all media across the lifecycle of the chemical substance" .
There are several risk evaluation processes with statutory deadlines before the Trump administration leaves office. These include:risk evaluation for the ‘first ten’ TSCA chemicals;risk management for five PBT substances; andthe designation of 20 high- and low-priority chemicals.
‘Problem formulations’ for the first ten TSCA substances are set to be released any day.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66015/panellists-call-for-congressional-oversight-of-tsca
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California Legislature Advances Flame Retardant Ban
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Julie Miller
A measure that would ban the sale of children’s products, mattresses and furniture containing flame retardants has begun moving through the California legislature.
The Assembly’s Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee approved bill AB2998 on 10 April by a 5-2 vote. It now heads to the Appropriations Committee.
The bill would bar, from 1 January 2020, the sale in California of products containing the chemicals at levels above 1,000 parts per million.
Rhode Island, Maine and San Francisco all passed measures in 2017 banning some or all flame retardants in furniture and other products. Proposed bans were pending in 14 states as of February.
At the national level, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted in September to grant an NGO petition to prohibit the use of organohalogen flame retardants in furniture and several other household product categories.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66027/california-legislature-advances-flame-retardant-ban
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EPA Outlines Scope of Ammonia Ingestion Assessment
Apr 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Underscoring EPA plans for targeted chemical evaluations, EPA has released for comment its plan for developing an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of the non-cancer human health risks of ingesting ammonia, following the agency's development of non-cancer inhalation risk values for ammonia in 2016.
The IRIS Assessment Plan for Ammonia and Ammonium Salts: Noncancer Assessment for Oral Exposure, released for public comment April 16, outlines the types and numbers of scientific studies likely to be considered in the assessment as well as identifying the likely health endpoints and sensitive subpopulations to be addressed.
The peer-review draft of the 2016 IRIS assessment had included evaluations of both oral and inhalation exposure to ammonia and ammonium hydroxide, but the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB) recommended that the revised assessment consider studies of ammonium salts and the potential for increased ammonia in blood to induce neurotoxicity, especially in individuals with abnormal liver function.
“Because these recommendations would entail new analyses and further peer review for oral exposure, the IRIS Program separated and expedited the inhalation module, which was completed and released in September 2016,” the assessment plan says.
The National Academy of Sciences recently backed an IRIS approach touted by Tina Bahadori, director of EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment, which oversees IRIS. Bahadori last fall proposed shifting the program to a “portfolio approach,” where its assessments would consider only those aspects most important to the agency office requesting the assessment -- such as an oral assessment only, or just looking at non-cancer toxicity -- rather than IRIS' traditional approach of providing risk estimates for as many endpoints as possible for both oral and inhalation exposure routes.
The final IRIS oral assessment of ammonia “will meet the Office of Water’s need for an evaluation of oral exposure to ammonia and ammonium salts,” the plan says.
Ammonia is used for disinfecting drinking water, but most health agencies have concluded that ammonia does not pose a direct health concern at concentrations expected in drinking water, which is below 0.2 milligrams per liter, EPA says. However, some regions in the United States have elevated levels in their drinking-water sources, and there is also a concern for higher concentrations that might follow emergency spills or contamination situations, the plan says.
In discussing the anticipated uses or interest in an IRIS non-cancer ingestion calculation, EPA says that in addition to ammonia being certified for use in water and wastewater treatment, it is also a high-priority contaminant due to its use in fertilizers and presence in runoff water from agricultural fields.
“The assessment will meet the Office of Water’s need for an evaluation of oral exposure to ammonia and ammonium salts,” the assessment plan says. In doing so, the assessment also will be mindful of SAB's recommendations to include nerotoxicity among the health endpoints, EPA says. “This will be the first oral reference dose for ammonia under the IRIS Program.”
The assessment plan notes that the Office of Land and Emergency Management also has an interest in ammonia because ammonia and several ammonia compounds are listed as hazardous substances under the Superfund law and ammonia is a chemical of concern at 135 sites on the Superfund National Priorities List.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/epa-outlines-scope-ammonia-ingestion-assessment
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Asbestos in Make-Up Sparks Dutch Investigation
Apr 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Authorities in the Netherlands have started testing make-up products containing talc on the national market, after they found two contained tremolite asbestos.
The general investigation began in response to the announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration that it would be looking into reports of tremolite asbestos contamination in talc-containing cosmetics products, sold by retailer Claire’s.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen which can occur naturally in talc. To avoid this, talc mining sites are carefully selected and steps taken to purify the ore.
The Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) detected 2-5% asbestos in a compact powder cosmetics product and 0.1-2% in a colour contour powder product. While these are low concentrations, the ILT said "health risks cannot be excluded when using these products".
The inspectorate immediately removed the products from the market. It said as a precaution it will ask Claire’s to do the same for others with the same raw materials, until further research deems them safe. Asbestos is banned in the country.
The ILT said an earlier test on 28 make-up products from the company did not find asbestos present.
Claire’s did not respond to Chemical Watch’s request for comment.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66012/asbestos-in-make-up-sparks-dutch-investigation
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Former Ohio Energy Lobbyist Takes Top Post in Fossil Office
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
A longtime lobbyist for Ohio's coal, oil and gas sector has been tapped for a top slot within the Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy.
DOE yesterday announced that Shawn Bennett, a former lobbyist for the Ohio Coal Association and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, was named deputy assistant secretary for oil and natural gas in the DOE office.
Bennett will be one of four deputy assistant secretaries reporting to Steven Winberg, the agency's assistant secretary for fossil energy. He will administer oil and gas programs, including research and development, analysis, and natural gas regulation.
Shawn Bennett. Bennett/LinkedIn
Bennett worked for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association for nearly four years, and was a registered lobbyist for the group from the fall of 2014 to Dec. 31, 2017, state records show. Most recently, he was the association's executive vice president.
Before that, Bennett was a director of strategic communications at FTI Consulting from 2011 to 2014. From 2005 to 2011, he served as the government affairs manager and a registered lobbyist for the Ohio Coal Association, state records show.
Bennett is joining an office within the agency that sees itself as a central part of President Trump's promise to revive the coal industry. Winberg, a former vice president for research and development at Consol Energy Inc., last week asked industry leaders gathered at the National Coal Council's spring meeting to help the administration make the case for coal's "comeback" (Greenwire, April 12).
Bennett's appointment comes as DOE reviews a request from Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy Corp. for an emergency order to help rescue its struggling coal and nuclear plants.
The news of his new role came the same day DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office announced up to $105.5 million to fund about 70 projects to advance both solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal power technologies and facilitate grid integration of those technologies.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079305
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Critics Hit Up 2 Courts to Block Obama Methane Standards
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Opponents of Obama-era restrictions on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry showed up in force yesterday in not just one, but two courts.
Two Western states, industry groups and the Trump administration urged a federal district court in Wyoming to keep key Bureau of Land Management methane standards on ice. At the same time, the states asked an appeals court to toss environmentalists' latest attempt to revive the full Obama rule.
"The sudden implementation of the full Rule is directly in conflict with the public's strong interest in certainty and stability regarding the regulatory regime governing domestic oil and gas development," industry groups told the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.
The flurry of filings is the latest in a wild legal fight over the BLM rule, which was crafted in 2016 to reduce methane flaring, venting and leakage on public and tribal lands. Emissions cost taxpayers money and warm the planet.
Trump officials say the Obama rule is too costly for drillers, so they're working on a plan, due out in August, to scale it back.
In the near term, though, they have to make sure the toughest provisions of the regulation don't make a comeback. That's where yesterday's legal briefs come in.
Environmentalists and the states of California and New Mexico have been busy trying to revive the full Obama rule, which had been largely suspended last year. They were briefly successful in February, when a California district court threw out Trump officials' attempt to suspend the regulation.
The court revived the methane rule in full and prompted panic from drillers rushing to come into compliance. The Wyoming court stepped in two weeks ago and let them off the hook — putting the key provisions of the Obama rule back on hold.
Environmentalists and the states that support the regulation quickly moved to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the decision. They also asked the Wyoming court to put the provisions back in effect at least while that appeal moves forward (Energywire, April 9).'Infinitesimal' harm
Opponents of the Obama standards cautioned against the outcome yesterday, arguing that the Wyoming court should maintain the status quo by keeping those key provisions inoperative.
Justice Department lawyers representing BLM argued that the harms alleged by the rule supporters would be "infinitesimal" anyway because it would take so long for drillers to comply.
"[A]s this Court has recognized, operators could not come into compliance with the Waste Prevention Rule immediately, and any reductions in emissions in the limited time necessary to decide the appeal (let alone before BLM issues its Revision Rule in August) would be infinitesimal," they told the Wyoming court.
The government lawyers also defended the Wyoming court's use of its discretion to put the standards on ice while the Trump administration works on the rewrite.
"Requiring compliance with provisions that are likely to change not only wastes millions of dollars, it also brings back into effect a regulation that was previously postponed and suspended — thereby contributing to the 'ping-ponging' regulatory regimes that have generated significant uncertainty over the past year," they told the court.
The agency's two separate efforts to postpone and suspend the rule were both deemed unlawful by federal judges.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Western Energy Alliance, and the states of Wyoming and Montana made similar arguments to the Wyoming district court.
Wyoming and Montana also went a step further, filing a motion at the 10th Circuit asking that court to dismiss the recent appeal from California, New Mexico and the environmental coalition.
They say the appeals court lacks jurisdiction over the case because the Wyoming court's order staying the methane provisions is not a final order that can be challenged.
The rule supporters have two weeks to respond to the motion. They're also expected to ask the 10th Circuit to take quick action to revive the standards while the appeal moves forward if the Wyoming court declines to do so.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079245
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China Chases Elusive North Slope Gas Bonanza
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
During the last week of March, a group of Chinese industry officials flew to Alaska to get a close-up look at the lands on which the state is proposing to build a $43.4 billion pipeline and liquefied natural gas export project.
The 38 delegates represented three major Chinese companies — the Bank of China, CIC Capital Corp. and China Petrochemical Corp. — that could play a critical role in helping to finance and build Alaska's ambitious natural gas venture.
The trip was scheduled after the companies signed a joint development agreement with Alaska last November during a lavish signing ceremony in Beijing while President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping looked on.
Under that nonbinding pact, the Chinese firms would provide 75 percent of the Alaska project's funding in return for 75 percent of the LNG capacity of the Alaska pipeline for the length of the loan. Now the two sides are hammering out the details of an agreement, with the final document due by the end of the year.
While in Alaska, the Chinese visitors toured the North Slope oil facility at Prudhoe Bay, where the state hopes to build a natural gas treatment plant.
Part of the Chinese team drove down the 414-mile Dalton Highway, which follows the route of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline system. Alaska envisions building the northern half of its proposed 800-mile gas pipeline along the same route.
A group also flew to the Kenai Peninsula town of Nikiski, south of Anchorage, where Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) is proposing to build a gas liquefaction plant and export terminal.
The Chinese delegation's visit came just two weeks after Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from China. But Alaska officials insist that the tariffs aren't likely to have a significant impact on the state LNG project.
"We've looked at it, and the impact is really not that material for us," said Keith Meyer, president of AGDC, an independent state corporation that's handling the LNG project.
Meyer acknowledged that the tariffs could add $250 million to $500 million to the cost of building the LNG project, depending on where the state buys its steel and pipeline equipment. But he explained that the extra expense is well within the $9.3 billion buffer that AGDC has built into its budget to handle unexpected events.'America's largest energy export project'
Chinese officials toured the old liquefied natural gas export facility in Nikiski. ConocoPhillips sold the facility in February to the Texas-based refiner Andeavor, formerly Tesoro Corp. Chinese and LNG exports
Meyer, a former executive with Cheniere Energy Inc., came to Alaska in June 2016 to manage the state's latest effort to commercialize its 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas currently stranded at the North Slope oil fields.
When Meyer was hired, the terms of his three-year contract raised eyebrows in Alaska. He's the highest-paid state employee, with an annual salary of $550,000 plus a possible $200,000 performance bonus each year.
At the beginning of Meyer's tenure, the state was partnering on the gas project with BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp., which own three-quarters of the gas on Alaska's North Slope. But in late 2016, the oil companies decided to walk away from the public-private venture due to low gas prices and increased competition on the world market.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I), who had long favored a state-led project, immediately seized the opportunity for the state to go it alone. That decision put Meyer in charge of delivering what he describes as "America's largest energy export project."
Since Alaska took control of the project, Meyer has been traveling throughout Asia seeking potential LNG customers. Back in the United States, he's cajoled federal regulators to speed up their environmental assessment of the natural gas project. And last week, AGDC lobbied the state Legislature to allow third-party investors to help pay for the state's expensive LNG project.
Meyer, a tall, strong-willed man who has spent the last 37 years in the LNG and pipeline business, says he's confident that the proposed Alaska LNG plan can and will overcome all potential hurdles.
He concedes, however, that his industry experience didn't prepare him to work closely with state lawmakers, a role that's required of the head of the state-owned corporation. As a result, Meyer has occasionally locked horns with top Alaska legislators.
"Being part of the state organization, that was an aspect that maybe I underestimated in terms of the justifiable need to keep legislators informed and all of that type of stuff," he said. "But we're learning."Gas sales closer than ever
For the last 40 years, Alaska tried and failed to persuade the state's major oil producers to commercialize the giant natural gas reserves that the companies encountered while drilling for crude on the North Slope. Instead of building an expensive gas pipeline, the companies opted to reinject the gas into their oil wells to boost petroleum production.
Alaska's current gas venture began in June 2014, when former Gov. Sean Parnell (R) signed an agreement with BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil to begin preliminary engineering and design work on a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline and export project.
Parnell's pact with the oil companies became a political issue during his 2014 bid for re-election. His chief opponent was Walker, who strongly opposed the industry's control of the LNG project. Walker won the election but subsequently agreed to continue working with the oil producers.
During the next two years, the state-industry team, managed by Exxon Mobil, developed a comprehensive blueprint for processing, shipping and exporting Alaska's North Slope natural gas. When the companies withdrew from the project, AGDC inherited those plans.
Now Alaska is closer than ever to bringing the state's gas reserves to market.
For the first time, AGDC is negotiating final gas sales and financing contracts with the Chinese companies. The state has also secured memorandums of understanding to sell gas to companies in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, as well as seven other interested parties that have asked AGDC not to disclose their names.
Meanwhile, Alaska is moving forward on the federal regulatory front. A year ago, AGDC filed a formal construction application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In early March, federal regulators released their schedule for reviewing the project.
FERC's timeline was slower than AGDC had hoped for. As soon as the state submitted its application, Meyer began lobbying federal regulators to wrap up their final environmental impact statement by the end of this year.
Instead, FERC said it will issue a proposed EIS in March 2019 and a final report by December 2019, with the federal authorization decision expected in March 2020.
Despite that delay, Meyer insists that Alaska will still be able to meet its original goal of shipping LNG to Asian customers by 2024-25. Even before the first shovel of dirt is turned, AGDC can move forward with other early work on the pipeline project, he explained.
"There's a lot of work that happens prior to ground construction," he noted. "We have detailed engineering. We can have long lead procurement — things like getting slots in the turbine yards, pipe mills, rolling mills."
AGDC can meet its deadline, he said, "as long as we maintain the pace that we're at today."No buyers, no sellers
Alaska Gasline Development Corp. President Keith Meyer at a press conference last month. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) stood behind him. Margaret Kriz Hobson/E&E News
Despite Meyer's assurances, Alaska's ambitious megaproject still faces formidable challenges. None of the Asian countries has actually signed a firm contract to buy natural gas from the state.
For that matter, Alaska's oil companies haven't committed to selling their natural gas and shipping it through AGDC's proposed 800-mile pipeline.
Meyer says the state is offering to pay BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil $1 per million British thermal units for their North Slope gas.
That's significantly lower than the current Henry Hub gas price, which reached $2.80 per million BTU during the first quarter of 2018. But those prices don't consider the cost of building Alaska's expensive cross-state pipeline and a liquefaction plant.
Meyer noted that the Alaska LNG project is proposing to sell roughly a trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year. At that rate, the North Slope producers would earn about $1 billion annually.
"That provides a lot of longevity to those facilities up there [on the North Slope], because that's $1 billion that they're not getting today," he said. "Much better to take it down the pipeline, get the billion dollars for it and call it a day."
So far, none of the oil companies has walked away from negotiations over AGDC's proposal. "We're just getting down to the finer points of the discussion," Meyers said.
Even before the state reaches an agreement with the gas owners, AGDC is facing serious money problems. For the last year, the state corporation has been operating under "an austerity budget," Meyer said, due to the state's fiscal crisis. The gas program expects to have only $34 million in the bank by the end of 2018, and it isn't seeking more state money for fiscal 2019.
Instead, Gov. Walker has asked the state Legislature to allow AGDC to bring in outside investors to help pay for preliminary work on the project.
"It was always envisioned that we would have equity offerings to third parties for the project," Meyer explained. "And we've gotten the project to a point now where we have a significant amount of momentum and we have interest from outside parties. So we want to be able to get prepared to accept funding as we start to get into future phases of the project."
To help raise equity and debt financing for the project, Alaska recently hired the Bank of China and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
But state lawmakers are hesitant to give AGDC a blank check to acquire money from outside investors without substantial legislative oversight.
The Legislature is negotiating a final state operating budget for fiscal 2019. The current state House version includes a provision allowing AGDC to accept up to $1 billion per year from outside investors. The state Senate version of the bill doesn't address the issue.
Meyer insists that without third-party funding, AGDC would be forced to request additional state appropriations to move the project forward. "The amount of funding and the timing of the funding controls the pace of the project," he said. "And we want to maintain a relatively good pace of the project."'The next economic driver'
The future of the Alaska LNG project could also depend on whether Walker is re-elected in November. Since taking office, Walker has been a major champion of the gas line project and one of Meyer's top supporters. The next governor would have the option of changing the makeup of the AGDC board of directors, which hired Meyer.
But it's unclear whether the Republican candidates will share Walker's enthusiasm for the current plan to commercialize Alaska's vast supply of natural gas.
Thus far, former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy is considered the top Republican candidate in the race. But other Republicans are expected to enter the primary before the June 1 filing deadline. On the campaign trail, the conservative Dunleavy has raised questions about the fiscal viability of the current state pipeline project.
No Democratic candidates have filed for that party's primary. Walker is currently running for re-election as an independent.
Regardless of the election results, Meyer is convinced that the Alaska LNG project will transcend Alaska politics.
"This project, to me, has its own momentum," he said. "It's a transformational project that extends beyond any one governor or one legislature. This, to me, is the next economic driver for the state ... similar to the oil line."
To drum home the importance of the Alaska gas line project, AGDC has launched an aggressive campaign reaching out to small Native villages throughout the state and urging state residents to get the training they would need to be hired for pipeline construction and operation.
AGDC has also hired some political heavy hitters. Early this month, the state hired Mike Dubke and Kevin Sweeney to help build support for the Alaska gas line project with Washington policymakers and the Alaska public.
Dubke served a short stint as communications director for Trump and has worked on the campaigns of both Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. Sweeney previously served as Murkowski's state director. Each consultant is being paid $15,000 per month to help advance the Alaska LNG venture.
Meyer maintains that in a world that is increasingly phasing out coal use and turning to natural gas, Alaska's bountiful reserves will transcend Trump's tariffs, federal regulatory delays, money issues and potential political conflicts.
"Demand is coming," he said. "Asia is changing. Their fuel habits and policies are changing. And [Alaska has] such a beautiful resource. You don't get much better than this project.
"When you step back, the resource on the North Slope is one of the largest proven conventional but stranded resources on the planet," Meyer added. "It sits right in the neighborhood of the largest LNG market on the planet — in the Asia-Pacific. And the only thing that separates those two things is 807 miles of pipeline and an LNG plant."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079247
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Michigan Official: Tugboat Damaged Great Lakes Pipelines
Apr 17, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times)
Recent damage to underwater oil and electrical lines in the waterway connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan that's blamed for an insulation fluid spill was caused by a tugboat dragging its anchor, Michigan's attorney general said Tuesday.
Attorney General Bill Schuette said he notified VanEnkevort Tug & Barge that he's planning civil action against the company because of the damage believed to have been caused April 1 by the tug named Clyde S. VanEnkevort in the Straits of Mackinac.
"The vessel ignored markers in the channel and clearly identified hazards on navigational charts that make clear that an anchor should not be deployed in this area of Straits," Schuette said in a statement.
Company spokesman Darrell Wilson acknowledged that a tug and barge belonging to VanEnkefort, based in Escanaba, Michigan, were among vessels that transited the straits area the day the damage happened.
"We are fully participating with all relevant authorities as they conduct the investigation," Wilson said in a statement, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Wilson did not confirm or deny Schuette's contention that the vessel deployed an anchor while passing through the straits or that it was to blame for the damage.
The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the investigation, joined by other state and federal agencies. Spokeswoman Ensign Pamela Manns said the probe was continuing and declined comment on Schuette's announcement.
Two electric cables leaked 600 gallons (2,270 liters) of insulation fluid containing mineral oil and benzene. Enbridge Inc.'s twin Line 5 pipelines carry crude oil and liquefied natural gas. The company has said the pipelines were dented but that the integrity of the lines weren't compromised.
Under Michigan law, causing such a leak is punishable by a civil fine of up to $25,000 per day of the discharge, as well as damages for harm to natural resources, attorney's fees and court costs, Schuette said. He said those responsible for the anchor deployment or maintenance also could face criminal charges or other legal liability.
An anchor strike had been suspected in the damage, but officials hadn't previously released details, including of who might be responsible.
Enbridge announced Monday afternoon it has restarted its Line 5, which was shut down over the weekend. The company blamed a power outage. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan had pushed for a temporary shutdown because of high winds and heavy currents in the Straits of Mackinac.
Line 5 carries 23 million gallons (87 million liters) of oil daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario. The segment that crosses the 5-mile-wide (8-kilometer-wide) straits linking Lake Huron and Lake Michigan is divided into two side-by-side pipes that were laid on the lake bottom in 1953.
The ruined power cables are owned by American Transmission Company. The Coast Guard and other agencies have been monitoring the straits by boat and air but have reported no sheen or other evidence of pollution. Plans call for using an underwater vehicle to check the damaged cables and pipelines.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/17/us/ap-us-great-lakes-coolant-spill-.html
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Chicago, Surfers Criticize US Steel Spills Settlement
Apr 17, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post)
Chicago and some Great Lakes surfers say a federal settlement inadequately punishes U.S. Steel for chemical spills into Lake Michigan.
The University of Chicago discovered last year that the steelmaker's Midwest Plant has violated chromium limits at least four times since 2013.
The proposed deal calls for U.S. Steel to pay nearly $900,000, test for hexavalent chromium daily at the plant, create a preventative maintenance program and upgrade pollution monitoring.
The Chicago Law Department and the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency Monday that they'll oppose the deal in federal court if changes aren't made.
The groups want environmental improvement projects for communities near the Portage plant, an independent study of potential long-term damage and an automated early warning system to detect future spills.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/17/us/ap-us-us-steel-chemical-spill.html
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FERC Chairman: Cybersecurity a Top Priority
Apr 17, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Eric Wolff
FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre told lawmakers today that grid cybersecurity was possibly the most important issue in front of the energy regulator.
“We would be hard pressed to identify an issue of greater concern to us as a commission, the industry, and the nation as a whole,” McIntyre told the energy subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “We are increasingly working with DOE and other components of the federal government on a daily basis mostly at a staff level.“
Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) pressed all five FERC commissioners on how to improve cybersecurity and asked whether the agency needed more legislated authority to address the matter. The commissioners agreed it was a major issue, but none called for new authority.
“In 2005 we were given authority to ensure reliability,” McIntyre said. “I believe we are making good use of that authority.”
Commissioner Neil Chatterjee said he had recently traveled to Israel to study the country's cybersecurity systems. Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur said she had been to numerous briefings on the subject from the Department of Energy.
But she had a suggestion to improve information sharing across agencies.
“Where there’s more we can do is across the different infrastructure sectors — water, gas, finance — that’s where there are weaknesses in communication,“ she said.
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Eastern Grid Operator Warns of Pipeline Industry Inaction
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak
The nation's largest regional power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, has called for new federal regulation over natural gas pipelines to counter potential threats to electric power plant operations from disruptions or attacks affecting gas supplies.
The organization, which runs the high-voltage grid in 13 states and the District of Columbia, asserts that some gas pipelines hold back operating information that could be vital to gas-powered power plants in extreme situations.
PJM's comments respond to an industrywide directive from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for assessments of power grid resilience. The agency is still accepting comments, with no indication of its plans on the issue.
The PJM response touches a live wire of energy policy, raising the issue of mandatory federal cyber and security regulation over some operations of the nation's 300,000-mile interstate pipeline network, which the gas sector adamantly opposes. Thanks to the fracking revolution, natural gas fuels about one-third of the nation's electricity output, slightly ahead of coal, up from 20 percent in 2008, pushing gas-grid interdependency to the top of policy issues.
FERC in 2013 authorized the interstate pipelines it regulates to share nonpublic operating information with grid companies but did not require it.
While gas-grid collaboration has greatly improved in some cases, PJM said, other pipeline operators have held back. Some provide information only when it is posted publicly on their websites, with no advance private release to grid companies. Other pipelines contend that information about their customers' gas use can't be shared even for reliability reasons, causing system operators to go through "circuitous" approval hoops, PJM said.
"In PJM's view, confidential information sharing should be both uniform and mandatory when the information is identified as needed to enhance the reliability" of grid and gas systems, said the grid operator.
"The time has come to move gas/electric coordination to the next level," for itself and the nine other North American regional transmission operators (RTOs), PJM said. RTOs operate 60 percent of grid electricity supply in the U.S. and Canada.
"PJM urges the commission to drive further coordination through the exercise of its authority over both natural gas pipelines and the electric industry," the organization said.
Officials of the American Gas Association and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America were preparing their comments to FERC yesterday and did not reply to the PJM filing. The industry is likely to argue that FERC lacks authority to do what PJM urges for the gas sector. INGAA's board last week announced an expanded set of cyberdefense commitments by its member pipelines.
Former Department of Defense Assistant Secretary Paul Stockton said in an interview, "PJM's response to FERC is enormously valuable and in many ways path-breaking." It is very difficult now for grid operators like PJM to get the information they need to be confident of their systems' defenses, he added.
The level of information sharing among energy companies, government partners and the general public came under scrutiny earlier this month, after a cyberattack on a utility service provider forced several major gas pipelines to revert to backup billing and scheduling methods (Energywire, April 6).
While the flow of gas and electricity was reportedly unaffected, the episode raised questions about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the gas sector.
PJM's comments raise a volatile issue of whether the federal government's voluntary oversight of pipeline cyberdefenses is adequate (Energywire, May 26, 2017).
"The standards governing cyber and physical security are markedly different between the two industries," PJM noted.Government direction
Following the 2003 Northeast blackout, Congress authorized FERC to approve and enforce mandatory reliability and cyber regulation of interstate power networks. FERC also regulates permitting and rates for interstate gas pipelines, while safety rules fall to the Department of Transportation.
Pipeline cyber oversight, meanwhile, is managed by an agency better known for its role protecting the nation's airports: the Transportation Security Administration, which has chosen voluntary standards over mandated rules.
Natural gas industry leaders have repeatedly told Congress that their long-haul pipeline networks have none of the vulnerabilities of interstate electric power transmission systems, making mandatory regulation unnecessary. The Natural Gas Council, representing five leading gas industry trade groups, made that argument in a July 2017 paper titled "Natural Gas Systems: Reliable and Resilient."
While electric power, traveling at nearly light speed, must be kept within tight tolerances at all times, gas moves at 15-20 miles per hour, giving operators much more time to respond to emergencies, the industry says.
Stockton said the difference in how security of the two energy systems is handled isn't justified in the face of steadily increasing cyberthreats.
"[N]o mandatory standards exist for gas system reliability that are remotely equivalent to those that help strengthen the [bulk power interstate grid system] against attack," Stockton said in comments to FERC on behalf of Exelon Corp. Stockton, managing director of Sonecon LLC, provides strategic advisory service to Exelon and other energy companies.
In its filing, PJM also said the grid and gas regulation should be aligned. "Although legislation would be needed to change this disparate paradigm, there is little reason why the approach by TSA and FERC to these cross-industry topics needs to be so diverse."
"[T]hrough greater inter-agency coordination, a base level of resilience to physical and cyber-attacks can be achieved even while still respecting the different regulatory authorities of each agency," PJM said.
On another issue, PJM questioned whether pipeline companies' evaluations of their systems' vulnerabilities were adequate.
It said that assessing the impact on the grid from pipeline incidents "lacks an overall national regulatory framework as well as the regulatory support to ensure that there is cooperation in identification of vulnerabilities and threats on the gas pipelines."
"The commission should direct cooperation on modeling in this area so that each RTO can appropriately carry out its responsibilities," it said.
RTOs need the government's help in ensuring their cyberdefenses can meet the most advanced threats that may be highly classified, PJM said. "There needs to be a process for vulnerability threat verification, with government officials advising energy companies on security gaps that may exist," PJM said.
PJM's proposed remedy is on target, Stockton said. FERC could gather classified threat information and then advise power grid companies on whether their resilience strategies were adequate and what to do about defense gaps, he said.
"The commission would verify the reasonableness of [grid companies'] security assessments. That would provide for much stronger support for resilience assessments than exists today," he said.
Going beyond that, he said, FERC and the Energy Department could tap government resources to provide threat assessments to energy companies "at the front end of the process rather than the back," patterned after the "design basis threats" that define potential emergencies at nuclear power plants that operators must be prepared to manage safely.Threat assessments
In February 2017, the Government Accountability Office told Congress that TSA and other Department of Homeland Security agencies had not created threat assessment benchmarks demanded by Congress in 2014. GAO is revisiting government oversight of pipeline physical protections and cybersecurity readiness, with a report expected this fall, a GAO spokesman said.
In the past year, TSA and the gas industry have taken new steps to strengthen pipeline defenses. TSA recently published new pipeline security guidelines, crafted with input from major gas companies and industry groups.
The agency requests it be notified when pipeline operators spot unusual activity or a "deliberate attempt to disrupt pipeline operations." The guidelines are not binding, meaning TSA authorities count on private-sector cooperation.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske defended his agency's approach to the issue at a House budget hearing last month.
"I find that voluntary guidelines in this regard actually get us further towards a good security solution than perhaps regulations would," Pekoske told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security on Thursday.
Asked by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) about efforts to track security threats and promote better defenses, Pekoske said TSA shares intelligence with the pipeline industry and cited "excellent" updates to 7-year-old security guidance.
"The advancement of security practices to meet the ever changing threat environment in both the physical and cyber security realms required that the guidelines be updated again," TSA noted in a background summary of the changes.
But the agency went on to caution that the guidance document "does not impose requirements on any person or company" and instead amounts to official recommendations.
PJM's comments to FERC go further than other regional grid organizations in asserting specific weaknesses in information sharing and threat identification.
"PJM was trying to be responsive to the chairman's public statements that he wanted very specific recommendations from the RTOs," said Craig Glazer, PJM vice president for federal government policy.
"Some RTOs saw it as a message to report on what they were doing. We decided in addition to give specific recommendations for issues that were beyond any one RTO's ability to solve," Glazer said in an interview.
"It doesn't mean the other RTOs were wrong or ours was right," he said. "It is a different approach."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079253
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(ACC Mentioned) Denham Statement from Hearing on STB Reauthorization Act of 2015 Implementation
Apr 17, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
Chairman Jeff Denham (R-CA)
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Hearing on “Oversight of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015”
April 17, 2018
Opening Statement
(Remarks as Prepared)
Today we meet to oversee the implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015. This is an important law that reformed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to work more efficiently to better regulate the railroads.
This year is the 38th anniversary of the passage of the Staggers Act of 1980, which saved the railroad industry from bankruptcy and played a major role in railroad deregulation. This deregulatory effort culminated in the creation of the STB in the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995.
The STB is a small but significant agency that conducts the economic regulation of the railroads, and its 2015 reauthorization was the very first since its creation.
The STB Reauthorization act streamlined and simplified government regulatory activities. While the STB has successfully overseen a stronger railroad industry, the Act has helped the rail industry better serve its customers.
It streamlined dispute resolution procedures and set hard deadlines for completion of rate cases to reduce litigation costs.
The Act provided greater transparency into complaints received by the STB, and required enhanced reporting by the agency.
Additionally, it rejected big government re-regulatory action that has been proposed in the past.
The Act made necessary reforms to the agency to improve its processes and procedures.
Finally, the Act had broad support from not only railroads and the STB, but shipper groups across the country, including the National Grain and Feed Association, the American Chemistry Council, the Fertilizer Institute, and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
I am pleased with the content of the STB Reauthorization Act and the bipartisan nature in which it was enacted.
Today, we turn to the STB to evaluate their progress in enacting the STB Reauthorization Act. I am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses, and I would like to thank them for being here.
https://www.ajot.com/news/denham-statement-from-hearing-on-stb-reauthorization-act-of-2015-implementation
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Reform Plan Next Month to Focus on Infrastructure — OIRA Chief
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Maxine Joselow
President Trump's regulatory czar said today that the administration's third stab at reform will likely be released next month and will emphasize changes to infrastructure.
"For the spring agenda, which should be out in May, we are focusing on deregulation in specific areas such as infrastructure reform," Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said at a Federalist Society conference.
In response to a question from E&E News, Rao was tight-lipped on the details.
"We're hoping that the agenda will be out sometime in May. We're on target to do that, at least right now," she said. "But I think you'll have to wait and see what's in there because we're still finalizing entries."
The administration's second regulatory plan, the so-called Unified Agenda, showed that the Cabinet had rolled back 22 rules for every new one issued, far exceeding Trump's original two-for-one goal (E&E News PM, Dec. 14, 2017).
The third regulatory plan is expected to show agencies' continued progress in implementing Trump's deregulatory agenda.
With respect to infrastructure reform, it is expected to showcase agencies' efforts to streamline the permitting process for major infrastructure projects.
For instance, the Federal Communications Commission recently voted to exempt certain small wireless infrastructure projects from the National Environmental Policy Act (Greenwire, March 22).
At least 12 agencies also recently signed a memorandum of understanding to expedite the permitting process (Greenwire, April 9). Under the MOU, one agency will take the lead and issue a single environmental impact statement for the entire federal government.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079277
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EPA Poised to Leave NOx Standards Unchanged
Apr 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
EPA is poised to formally publish a final decision to leave its primary air quality standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) unchanged, ending a review process that began six years ago.
The standards, intended to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety, will remain in their existing form.
The one-hour standard remains at 100 parts per billion, while the annual benchmark, based on an average of yearly NOx concentrations, stays at 53 ppb, according to the notice set for publication in tomorrow's Federal Register.
Administrator Scott Pruitt had signed off on the decision earlier this month, in accordance with a deadline set last year in a settlement to a lawsuit brought by two environmental groups (Greenwire, April 10).
The annual standard has not changed since first promulgated in 1971; EPA added the hourly standard in 2010 as a way of addressing short-term elevated levels near roadways.
Following legal challenges brought by industry groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the hourly standard in 2012 (Greenwire, July 17, 2012).
Nitrogen oxides, with nitrogen dioxide serving as a regulatory placeholder for the broad class of gases, are a major ingredient in smog. On their own, they can irritate the eyes, nose and throat.
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is supposed to review its standards for NOx and five other "criteria" pollutants every five years to determine whether they are adequate in light of what's known about their health and ecological effects.
The agency is in the midst of a review of the secondary "public welfare" standards for NOx, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter that is scheduled to conclude in 2022, according to a schedule released last year.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/17/stories/1060079299
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Coast Guard Bill Would Weaken Water Pollution Rules, Environmentalists Say
Apr 17, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Senate could vote on a Coast Guard bill in the coming days that environmentalists and Democratic attorneys general say would weaken water pollution standards.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed cloture on a bill to reauthorize Coast Guard programs late Monday and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said the upper chamber will “hopefully” vote on it this week.
The bill includes a version of the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), which would exempt ships’ ballast water from Clean Water Act oversight under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and stop most states’ attempts to regulate the ballast water.
Ships usually take in water at ports to help balance and provide stability on their journeys. Operators then discharge the water at other ports, potentially bringing invasive species or pollutants from the previous port.
Ballast water has been blamed for some of the worst invasive species cases, like zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and various algae species.
Environmentalists say removing the EPA’s authority — and leaving the regulation of ballast water solely to the Coast Guard — would remove important water protections.
“VIDA moves us away from the responsible management of ballast water discharges by completely removing Clean Water Act authority over ship ballast water discharges,” a coalition of green groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and American Rivers, wrote to senators last week.
“Under VIDA, the Clean Water Act would cease to apply to all ship incidental discharges — including ballast water, nutrient-laden greywater, and chemicals — from commercial vessels,” they wrote.
Democratic state attorneys general also object to the bill because it would block states, in most cases, from regulating ballast water themselves.
“This legislation seeks to preempt traditional state authority to take the actions necessary for protecting state water resources, while doing away with existing federal laws that safeguard our nation’s waters against harmful pollutant discharges from vessels,” 10 state attorneys general, led by New York’s Eric Schneiderman (D), wrote to senators last year.
But the shipping industry has long argued that the EPA and states are not the right bodies to regulate ballast and that the Coast Guard, as the main authority overseeing waterways in ports, is better equipped.
A coalition of maritime industry and labor groups told senators last year that a previous version of the bill “will establish nationally uniform and environmentally sound standards for ballast water and other vessel discharges.”
They complained that an “overlapping patchwork of federal and state regulations makes compliance complicated, confusing and costly for vessel owners and mariners.”
The bill’s sponsors are Thune, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/383495-senates-coast-guard-bill-would-weaken-water-pollution-rules-greens
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Why Do We Need New Rules on Shipping Emissions? Well, 90 Percent of Global Trade Depends on Ships.
Apr 17, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Jessica F. Green
After a week of contentious negotiations, the 173 countries that are part of the U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed to cut emissionsgenerated by shipping by 50 percent below 2008 levels by 2050.
While the decision sounds impressive, meeting the Paris climate agreementglobal targets will take drastic cuts in emissions from all sources — including shipping. The recent decision will not be “Paris compliant.”
Why do we need an agreement on shipping emissions? First, because carbon dioxide emissions from shipping cannot be attributed to any specific nation, they are not regulated under the Paris accord.
Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy
Ships transport about 90 percent of world trade and generate about 3 percentof total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year — a figure set to increase quickly.
The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, projected that the global shipping industry would grow by almost 3 percent in 2017. Rising consumption in emerging markets will keep demand for shipping high.
In the absence of regulations, the IMO estimates that, at a minimum, shipping emissions will increase 50 percent by 2050, but that increase could be as high at 250 percent. The European Union estimates that without intervention, shipping will account for one-fifth of global emissions by 2050.
[Do we really need a new U.N. oceans treaty? Yes, and here’s why.]
The dirty secret about ships
Ships are very fuel-efficient in terms of transporting cargo, but the heavy fuel oil (HFO) used by 80 percent of the world’s shipping fleet is nasty stuff. It’s more carbon-intensive than other fuels and produces other greenhouse gases as well as air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain.
Countries have banned HFO use in Antarctica, for fear of pollution and oil spills that could harm pristine ecosystems. A similar ban has been proposed for the Arctic.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that new technologies, alternative fuels and renewable energy could almost fully decarbonize the shipping industry by 2035. That would eliminate the equivalent of the annual emissions of 185 coal plants.
Although ambitious goals are technically feasible, politics are the main constraint. Ships are long-term capital investments — so taking older models out of commission before the end of their natural life is a costly proposition.
Progress is incremental
The decision last week creates an emissions cap that many countries had hoped would be more stringent. A coalition of high-ambition nations, led by small island states in the Pacific, pushed for deeper cuts, calling for full shipping decarbonization by 2050.
Nations such as Brazil and Panama — with one of the largest shipping registries in the world — resisted, concerned about detrimental effects on trade. The United States and China, both major emitters and among the top 10 ship-owning nations, were similarly unenthusiastic.
The United States objected to absolute targets (as opposed to carbon-intensity goals) and the division of responsibility between developed and developing nations. Neither the United States nor China signed on to a voluntary declaration in which states affirmed their commitment to a shipping agreement that is consistent with the Paris agreement.
In the end, 50 percent was the compromise target. The agreement is an “Initial Strategy,” which means states must now devise measures to meet the cap, to be finalized by 2023.
The new rules also set targets for efficiency improvements, both in the design of ships and through a carbon-intensity target — which reduces the emissions per ton of cargo by least 40 percent by 2030 and by 70 percent by 2050.
Previous efforts came up short
Though it will not achieve the Paris target, the IMO decision is a first step, as policies to date have failed to tackle the fundamental problem of decarbonizing.
In 2013, the IMO implemented energy-efficiency measures for the largest ships — this has been expanded to cover ship types responsible for about three quarters of world tonnage and 85 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping. The rules ratchet up over time, so that by 2025, new ships will be 30 percent more efficient, in terms of average efficiency, than ships built between 2000 and 2010.
But efficiency improvements won’t offset the growth in the number of cargo miles associated with increased global trade. One study shows that although container ships had improved their efficiency by 9 percent, this contributed to just a 1 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions overall. And there is a trade-off between efficiency and decarbonizing: Short-term marginal improvements will keep dirtier ships on the seas for longer.
The IMO has also agreed to a global cap on sulfur content in fuel oil, to take effect in 2020. This will improve air quality, have health benefits and increase the attractiveness of lower-carbon ships.
But more ambitious measures have fallen short. In the mid-2000s, the IMO began discussions on market-based measures to curb emissions. The proposals were varied: port state levies, emissions caps coupled with carbon offsetting and old-fashioned cap-and-trade. Ultimately, this was a bridge too far, and the IMO suspended discussions in 2012.
Critics argue that incremental progress, past and present, is unsatisfactory — in part because of the outsize influence of the shipping industry in the IMO rulemaking process. Indeed, it is common practice to have private shipping registry companies represent nation-states at the IMO.
The Marshall Islands, the second-largest shipping registry in the world, has reclaimed authority from International Registries, the private firm that runs its registry out of Reston, Va. For small islands vulnerable to sea-level rise, decarbonizing shipping is a matter of survival.
[The world is about to get tough on aviation emissions. Here’s what you need to know.]
The path forward
This is the second sector to institute an emissions cap. In 2016, the aviation industry agreed to tepid rules to reduce emissions. Like shipping, aviation now accounts for about 3 percent of global emissions. And, like shipping, if its activities are left unregulated, that number will grow quickly.
The difference between the two sectors is feasibility of reductions. Although aviation rules could have been more ambitious, there is currently no “clean” way to power planes.
By contrast, a number of measures could drastically reduce shipping emissions right now — existing technology could improve the efficiency in construction and operation of vessels, for instance. Operational rules, such as lowering speeds and reducing ship size, also can make a substantial contribution. And biofuels, electric ships and wind assistance can transition fleets to carbon neutrality.
The current IMO decision is a sign that the world’s shipping companies have to begin to implement changes — and that more countries are slowly coming around to this realization. Leadership from big shipping nations could help accelerate the pace and meet the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/04/17/why-do-we-need-new-rules-on-shipping-emissions-well-90-of-global-trade-depends-on-ships/?utm_term=.feb559cb1921
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