Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 30/04/18
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(ACC Blog) The Circular Economy is Here in Edmonton: Analyzing the Benefits of Post-Use Plastics
Apr 30, 2018 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steve Russell
Across the globe businesses, communities and policy makers are pursuing strategies to more sustainability manage the products used by society. -
(ACC Mentioned) Agilyx Launches World’s First Commercial Scale Polystyrene to Styrene Oil Recycling Plant
Apr 30, 2018 | Plastics Insight
The Agilyx begins commercial polystyrene recycling operations at their Tigard, Oregon. -
(ACC Mentioned) The Energy 202: Trump Administration Drafts Plan to Challenge California on Auto Emissions Standards
Apr 30, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
Rep. Doris Matsui asked Environment Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt point-blank last week whether he had plans to revoke the waiver the Obama administration granted to California to set its own auto emissions limits. -
Could Pruitt's Ethics Woes Hamper Him in Policy Negotiations?
Apr 30, 2018 | Inside EPA
Multiple observers believe EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's testimony yesterday regarding the ethics and spending allegations swirling around him will allow him to keep his job for now, but the administrator could still face some important negative fallout from the allegations. -
Republicans Have So Corrupted EPA, Americans Can Only Save It in the Voting Booth
Apr 30, 2018 | The Guardian
Like Donald Trump and the rest of his administration, Scott Pruitt has been caught up in so many scandals that it becomes impossible to focus on any single act of corruption. -
US EPA Formally Issues 'Science Transparency' Proposal
Apr 30, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has started a consultation on a proposed rule intended to "strengthen the transparency" of the science used to inform agency regulatory decisions. -
REACH 2018 Registrations 30% Below Expectations – Echa
Apr 30, 2018 | Chemical Watch
With just one month to go until the last REACH registration deadline of 31 May, the number of dossiers submitted to Echa is some 30% behind initial estimates, the agency said. -
Permian Basin is Helping Drive Big Oil's Comeback
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee and Saqib Rahim
The top three U.S. oil companies are starting to see the payoff after spending billions of dollars to turn themselves into the dominant shale drillers. -
$1B Gas Plant Near Detroit Gets Go-Ahead
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Jeffrey Tomich
Michigan's Public Service Commission scolded the state's largest utility Friday for "bullying" during its pursuit of approval for a $1 billion natural gas plant northeast of Detroit. -
Trump's Offshore Order At 1: Most Changes Still to Come
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
In the year since President Trump launched his "America-First" offshore energy strategy, federal officials have been slow to implement many of the White House's recommendations for deregulating oil and gas production in the nation's oceans. -
Largest US Energy Grid Operator Fears Too Much Reliance on Natural Gas
Apr 30, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The largest electric grid operator in the U.S. on Monday announced plans to study the future risks of too much reliance on one energy source as coal plants retire and markets move towards liquid natural gas (LNG) consumption. -
Taiwanese Petrochemical Firm Building $9.4B Louisiana Plant
Apr 30, 2018 | Construction Dive
By Kim Slowey
Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. announced it will build a $9.4 billion manufacturing facility midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge on a 2,400-acre site in St. James Parish, Louisiana, according to a press release from the office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. -
Marathon Petroleum, Andeavor Combination to Create Onshore Midstream, Refinery Powerhouse
Apr 30, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Marathon Petroleum Corp. on Monday agreed to take over Andeavor, a combination that would create a powerful U.S. refining, marketing and midstream company that, among other things, builds a massive Permian Basin footprint. -
U.S. Supreme Court Offers No Relief for Constitution Pipeline, Rejects Appeal
Apr 30, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jamison Cocklin
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition filed by Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC to challenge New York’s regulatory authority and let stand an appeals court ruling that upheld the state’s decision to deny the project a water quality certificate (WQC). -
Pipelines, Railroads and Utilities Among Rejected Cases
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly and Ellen M. Gilmer
Backers of a beleaguered pipeline proposal in New York won't get any help from the Supreme Court, as the justices today denied Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC's bid to revive the natural gas project. -
Air Agency Committee Decision Aimed at Toxic Chemical Used at Area Refineries
Apr 30, 2018 | Los Angeles Business Journal
By Howard Fine
A South Coast Air Quality Management committee on April 28 ordered agency staff to develop rules or reach an agreement to reduce the risk of accidental releases of a toxic chemical at two local refineries. -
Freight Rail Regulatory Reform Can Boost US Farmers' Global Competitiveness
Apr 30, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Darren Coppock
Since our nation’s founding, agriculture has been the backbone of our society and economy. -
With League Backing, Senate Committee OKs STB Nominees
Apr 30, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
NITL joined with other freight rail customers Wednesday in thanking the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for voting to approve the nominations of Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz to fill open seats on the Surface Transportation Board. -
With League Backing, Senate Committee OKs STB Nominees
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Schumer Urges Metro-North to Fast-Track PTC
Apr 30, 2018 | Progressive Rail Roading
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on MTA Metro-North Railroad to speed up its positive train control (PTC) implementation after a Federal Railroad Administration letter cast doubt on the railroad's ability to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology. -
EU Calls for Rapid Progress on Paris Deal Rules in Climate Talks
Apr 30, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Kalina Oroschakoff
Countries need to “urgently” make more progress on developing the rules underpinning the Paris climate agreement in time for December’s COP24 global summit in Katowice, Poland, the EU’s lead negotiator warned today.
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(ACC Blog) The Circular Economy is Here in Edmonton: Analyzing the Benefits of Post-Use Plastics
Apr 30, 2018 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steve Russell
Across the globe businesses, communities and policy makers are pursuing strategies to more sustainability manage the products used by society. This includes thinking about product design, and designing systems to enhance the recyclability of products, and to develop more circular strategies for materials after they are used.
Brands, investors and policymakers all need a strong factual basis for evaluating options for managing used materials. So to help provide that data we worked with the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and engineers at the Earth Engineering Center at City College of New York to evaluate the environmental benefits and trade-offs of post-use, non-recycled plastics in a gasification system that converts post-use materials—including plastics—into valuable chemicals and fuels. They found that plastics are very valuable and useful inputs.
The City of Edmonton, where the study was conducted, already has a waste management system worth boasting about. The Edmonton Waste Management Centre, employs the latest recycling, composting, and conversion technologies to maximize the value of the post-use materials its citizens generate. The Centre includes a commercial-scale gasification system from Enerkem, a Montreal-based energy company that converts Edmonton’s non-recycled materials into methanol and ethanol.
To find out how non-recycled plastics affect the process, yield and byproduct generation of its gasification system, engineers tested different gasification feedstocks that included varying percentages of non-recycled plastic. The test results were released today in the study, “The Effects of Non-recycled Plastic (NRP) on Gasification: A Quantitative Assessment.”
The study found that compared to a gasification feedstock of just woody biomass, a feedstock that included 50 percent NRP could make the process more energy efficient, yield more useful product (methanol) for sale into commercial markets, while decreasing the amount of unsaleable byproduct that needed to be landfilled. Clearly even post-use non-recycled plastics are too valuable to waste. The real world implications indicate that increased plastics in the feedstock can reduce fossil energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease waste.
We are excited about the tremendous initiative and innovation taking place in communities such as Edmonton, and believe this will become more common as more communities explore how chemical recycling technologies can produce useful commodities from materials that they formerly landfilled. To learn more about the exciting developments in Edmonton and technical analysis, please read the study or watch our video.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2018/04/the-circular-economy-is-here-in-edmonton-analyzing-the-benefits-of-post-use-plastics/
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Apr 30, 2018 | Plastics Insight
The Agilyx begins commercial polystyrene recycling operations at their Tigard, Oregon. The opening of the plant was celebrated in the presence of high dignitaries that included Agilyx strategic partners in the new plastics circular economy, local government representatives, representatives from American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Americas Styrenics LLC (AmSty). The opening ceremony will include weeklong activities.
Mike Levy, senior director of ACC’s Plastics Foodservice Packaging Group, said, “Agilyx is an innovator in finding new ways to capture and convert used plastics into valuable products. Delivery of a polystyrene-to styrene oil/monomer solution is a major step toward greater sustainability and circularity.” Senior Manager for Sustainability and Innovation at AmSty, Jon Timbers, congratulated Agilyx on taking the linear process of plastics consumption and bending the line to close it into a loop – the new circular plastics economy. In addition, Bob Terry, Washington County Commission Chair, and Jason Snider, President of the Tigard City Council, joined Mike Levy in congratulating Agilyx on the start of commercial operations and the major innovation.
Oregan plant will have recycling capacity up to 10 tons per day of previously unrecoverable polystyrene waste to produce high-quality styrene oil. The plant is the first commercial-scale closed-loop chemical recycling process for polystyrene in the world, that will be used by styrene manufacturers AmSty and INEOS Styrolution for processing for manufacturing consumer goods.
Agilyx Agilyx, an environmental technology and development company, located in Tigard, Oregon, extracts value from difficult-to-recycle mixed waste plastic streams. Developing the first system capable of recycling polystyrene (foam cups, packaging materials, and Styrofoam) into styrene monomer, and commercializing the technology, Agilyx is collaborating with waste service providers, municipalities, refiners, and private and public enterprises to develop closed-loop industrial solutions.
https://www.plasticsinsight.com/agilyx-launches-worlds-first-commercial-scale-polystyrene-to-styrene-oil-recycling-plant/
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Apr 30, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
THE LIGHTBULB
Rep. Doris Matsui asked Environment Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt point-blank last week whether he had plans to revoke the waiver the Obama administration granted to California to set its own auto emissions limits.
“Not at present,” Pruitt assured the California Democrat during his high-profile testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday. “In fact, we’ve worked very closely with California officials on that issue.”
However, it turns out the EPA's partner in setting national auto emissions standards was quietly drafting a proposal that would challenge California’s ability to set its own fuel-efficiency rules.
On Friday, just one day after Pruitt's back-to-back Hill hearings, The Washington Post reported on a not-yet-final document from the Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) that suggests the Trump administration is poised to make significant changes to auto standards over the next decade.
Ever since California has been able to use the 2009 waiver under the Clean Air Act to set higher standards for what comes out of cars' tailpipes, automakers have built more fuel-efficient automobiles to maintain access to California's massive market. Withdrawing the waiver would hobble yet another of President Barack Obama's efforts to curb climate change.
One "preferred" option outlined in the Trump administration's plan would freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks at levels now set for vehicles to be manufactured for the model year 2021. That proposal would keep emissions in place through 2026, instead of ratcheting them up like the Obama administration wanted to do.
The draft offers seven options that would also weaken the standards, though not to the same extent as the preferred alternative. A federal official who has reviewed the document described it in detail to The Post. The EPA has not signed off on the draft, and the plan has not yet been sent to the White House for review.
While famous for its car culture, California is at the same time one of the nation’s most progressive states on climate change and air pollution. Under a 2011 agreement reached among the Obama administration, automakers and the state of California, manufacturers’ fleet of cars and light trucks in the United States are slated to average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025 — well above the level of the Trump administration’s proposed freeze.
If finalized, the Trump administration’s proposal would set up a major conflict with the nation's largest car-buying state. The Trump administration document asserts that, despite the Clean Air Act waiver, a separate federal law preempts California from drafting its own emissions standards.
This month, Pruitt announced he would revoke the Obama-era standards. Pruitt concluded they were “not appropriate” in light of new information, including automakers’ input that consumer demand for sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks far outweighs interest in electric and other low-emission vehicles. The agency did not specify what would take their place and said Pruitt was still considering the status of California's waiver.
The EPA administrator has publicly suggested he is unhappy with California’s more stringent auto standards, even while in other instances he has argued that states should have more discretion in crafting environmental rules. “Federalism doesn’t mean that one state can dictate to the rest of the country,” Pruitt told members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January.
California’s top prosecutor hinted Friday that the state may challenge the potential new auto standards in court. “The Trump Administration’s plan would rob Americans at the gas pump and risk our children’s health by polluting the air we breathe,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a statement. “We’ll closely monitor any developments and I’m ready to take any and all action necessary to defend our progress.”
Meanwhile, Stanley Young, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, took exception to Pruitt's characterization that the EPA was working "very closely" with the state's air agency. "Pruitt himself has never met with anyone from CARB -- even when he was in California in March," Young wrote in an email. He added that EPA and CARB officials have had three "nonsubstantive” meetings over the past four months.
“This is not, by any stretch of the definition, 'working with California,' " Young said.
What's at stake: Current standards were set to avert 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles sold between 2012 and 2025, according to the EPA. Since the rules were issued, the transportation sector has outstripped electric power to become the top source of greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States. Some automakers such as Ford and Honda have publicly cautioned against a rollback of the national tailpipe limits.
Nevertheless, automaker advocacy groups have asked the Trump administration to revisit the standards.
There are still a lot of ifs to sort out. The draft, or any other proposal, would be subject to public comment before being finalized. And environmental and Democratic groups could delay any changes through a protracted court battle.
NHTSA officials on Friday stressed in an emailed statement to The Post that the plan was not final, promising the upcoming review process would be “public, robust, and transparent.”
“NHTSA and EPA continue to work together on Corporate Average Fuel Economy and tailpipe standards for future model year passenger cars and light trucks. NHTSA’s top priority is safety and this Administration must also consider economic practicability when setting these Standards,” they wrote. “The agencies intend to take comment on a broad range of options. Given that the work is ongoing, at this time there is nothing to announce until a proposal is actually released.”
The EPA struck the same note of cooperation too. “The Agency is continuing to work with NHTSA to develop a joint proposed rule and is looking forward to the interagency process,” EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said in an email.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies during a hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee for the interior, environment, and related agencies. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
— Fallout from Thursday's hearings: Pruitt signed a memo on Friday to authorize three top agency officials to review expenditures made on his behalf that cost more than $5,000, a move that appears to show Pruitt’s willingness to place a check on the kinds of expenses that sparked recent criticism.
“It is my priority to ensure that all expenditures incurred in support of my duties reflect my judgment and demonstrate good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” he wrote in the memo about the announcement made the day after he was grilled in two hearings on his spending actions, per USA Today.
The three officials are Pruitt’s Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson, EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Chief Financial Officer Holly Greaves, who were all appointed by Pruitt or by President Trump.
— Elsewhere at the agency, Pruitt “further enraged and demoralized Environmental Protection Agency staff,” Politico reported. Current and former EPA officials, as well as others close to the agency, told the publication that Pruitt’s strategy of blaming other EPA officials for granting raises to favored aides, and other issues, threw the rest of the agency under the bus even if it may have impressed President Trump. "It shows a real lack of leadership that he did not defend, or blamed, his staff. These are the people that he's asking for loyalty from," one person close to the administration told Politico. "These are the people that are defending him. He's not returning the favor. That's not leadership.”
— But the probes continue at the EPA’s internal watchdog... The EPA's inspector general confirmed last week it will investigate Pruitt’s controversial condo deal, The Post’s Brady Dennis reported. It’s the 10th federal investigation into the administrator. In a letter to Democratic Reps. Don Beyer (Va.) and Ted Lieu (Calif.), who requested the review, inspector general Arthur A. Elkins Jr. said the office had “received multiple requests from multiple members of Congress as well as other OIG Hotline complaints regarding these same and related issues. After considering the [requests]… the OIG has concluded that it will review the matters enumerated above.” Elkins noted some of the issues will be reviewed as part of ongoing inspector general’s reviews, and others will prompt new reviews.
...and with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) too: The chairman of the House Oversight Committee told CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday that his panel's investigation of Pruitt is on track. "We got documents Friday," he said. "We are scheduling witness interviews."
— Steel tariffs given more time to harden: The deadline for steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for allies of the United States, initially set for Tuesday, will be extended, per CNBC. “The extensions may vary in length for each country, based on the progress made in talks on this and other trade issues,” per the report. “For instance, Canada and Mexico would be granted an extension because they have made progress on steel and aluminum issues in NAFTA talks, which resume late next week. It's unclear where talks with Brazil, Australia and Argentina stand.”
— In the storm’s aftermath, talk of independence: Seven months after Hurricane Maria, power is still not completely restored in Puerto Rico. And the humanitarian crisis left behind by the storm has “added fuel to an ongoing power struggle for the island’s future,” The Post’s Arelis R. Hernández reports. Its current leader, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, and his New Progressive Party advocate statehood as the solution to Puerto Rico’s second-class status while the Popular Democratic Party supports remaining a commonwealth, but with more autonomy from the United States. Meanwhile, the U.S. government under GOP control shows little interest in affecting the status quo.
—The Interior Department won't restore federal protections for grizzly bears near Yellowstone National Park, a decision that ignores a federal appeals court ruling that called on the department to consider a species’ habitat loss in their recovery process. Interior officials said Friday they disagreed with the findings of the case. “Conservation groups and Native American Indian tribes... argue that killing grizzly bears would diminish the chances of Yellowstone's bears re-populating other areas where grizzlies once roamed, reports the Associated Press.
— Proposed shake-up at the National Park Service could make senior leaders hit the road: A potential reassignment of senior Park Service leaders, not yet finalized, could force longtime career employees to move across the country, The Post reported Friday. Among the top employees potentially reassigned is Bert Frost, who runs the Alaska regional office and who is a witness in an inspector-general investigation of P. Daniel Smith, currently the top-ranking Park Service official, who allegedly made a vulgar gesture in a hallway at Interior headquarters this January. The transfers would come just days after the Interior's inspector general found that officials failed to explain why they shuffled 35 top department employees last June.
THERMOMETER
— “There is nothing to indicate that any sort of volcanic eruption is imminent": The Steamboat Geyser at Yellowstone National Park has erupted three times in the last six weeks, The Post’s Alex Horton reports, in an “unusual pattern that hasn’t occurred since 2003.” That spike in activity has puzzled scientists who closely monitor Yellowstone, which rests on top of a supervolcano that is still alive and could someday erupt catastrophically. “Though scientists say the reasons for the eruptions are unclear, officials at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory cautioned that the geyser activity is not a sign of impending doom.”
OIL CHECK
— Saudi Aramco watch: The state-run Saudi Arabian oil company announced Sunday it had appointed a woman as one of the five new members of its board, a milestone for both Saudi Arabia and the industry, which has few women executives. Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, who was appointed to the board, was the former chairwoman, president and chief executive of U.S.-based refiner Sunoco from 2008 to 2012. The state-run company is planning for an initial public offering for later this year or early 2019, Reuters reports.
— Lobbyist leaving: The head of the American Chemistry Council, Cal Dooley, announced he would step down from the group that lobbies on behalf of chemical and plastics manufacturers. “I am extremely proud of what ACC has accomplished over the past ten years, especially the passage of bipartisan chemical regulatory reform legislation,” Cal Dooley said in a statement Thursday. The American Chemistry Council, which Dooley has led for the past decade, spent $7.5 million on lobbying last year, per the Hill, with more than $9 million in annual advocacy spending in the six years before that.DAYBOOK
Today
The Milken Institute’s 2018 Global Conference continues.Collision's planet:tech Conference begins today.The Offshore Technology Conference begins today.The National Hydropower Association’s Waterpower Week begins.
Coming Up
Greentech Media’s Solar Summit begins on Tuesday.The Center or Strategic and International Studies holds an event on an update on carbon pricing on Tuesday.The Atlantic Council holds an event on Russia’s Energy Strategy on Wednesday.The Great Plains Institute & Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions holds a workshop on Wednesday.The Heritage Foundation holds an event on the Iran Nuclear Agreement on Thursday.The Wilderness Society holds an event on climate change and U.S. Public Lands on Thursday.
EXTRA MILEAGE
— This is not what it looks like: The photograph above — seemingly of a giant anteater taking a late-night snack from a termite mounds with bioluminescent click beetle larvae acting as nightlights — earned Marcio Cabral the British Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in 2017. Until, that is, a few anonymous third parties notified contest organizers that something was amiss. The museum determined the anteater was taxidermied.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/04/30/the-energy-202-trump-administration-drafts-plan-to-challenge-california-on-auto-emissions-standards/5ae66bac30fb04371192690f/?utm_term=.0a30e4065bfc
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Could Pruitt's Ethics Woes Hamper Him in Policy Negotiations?
Apr 30, 2018 | Inside EPA
Multiple observers believe EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's testimony yesterday regarding the ethics and spending allegations swirling around him will allow him to keep his job for now, but the administrator could still face some important negative fallout from the allegations.
As Inside EPA's Lee Logan wrote in this news analysis, the perceived political damage from the scandals could hamstring Pruitt in talks over key agency policies, most prominently regarding passenger vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas limits and potential changes to the renewable fuel standard (RFS).
The administrator's scandals come at a particularly inopportune time regarding the vehicle rules, given that Trump officials are crafting proposed changes to the standards after recently determining the Obama-era limits must be eased.
Pruitt made that determination April 2, just as reports of his spending and ethics lapses began to reach a fever pitch.
California officials -- who hold significant leverage on the issue due to their ability to enforce tough state standards amid a federal rollback, a situation automakers are keen to avoid -- blasted EPA's determination as “absurd” given analysis showing automakers have sufficient technology options to comply with the current rules at reasonable cost.
And while state officials have offered to accept some changes to the vehicle standards, the swirl of negative headlines -- and indications Pruitt is losing support in the White House and from some GOP lawmakers -- could be one factor in a possible California strategy to box in the Trump administration by forcing them to accept minor, face-saving tweaks to the rules or precipitate a massive legal and political fight that would cause years of regulatory uncertainty.
Similarly, observers say the barrage of poor press is stopping Pruitt from making a forceful case to “cap” the price of RFS compliance credits -- a policy being pushed by refiners. Instead, the administration might have to rely on smaller-bore changes to the program that it believes can be accomplished under current statute.
During Pruitt's April 26 visit to the Hill, Democrats and even some Republicans strongly criticized him, charging he has not fully explained the barrage of ethics and other charges or has inappropriately shifted responsibility to staff.
“I've been listening to your answers, and the answers are, 'Somebody else knows it,'” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), during a House energy panel hearing. “It seems there is something on your desk with the motto of, 'The bucks stops nowhere,' and yet you're the person in charge.”
Even so, most House Republicans at the hearings largely defended Pruitt and chided Democrats for their aggressive questioning of his ethics and spending practices.
“If you can't debate policies, you attack the person, and that's what's happening to you,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who added that Pruitt is a “victim of, for lack of a better term, Washington politics.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/could-pruitts-ethics-woes-hamper-him-policy-negotiations
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Republicans Have So Corrupted EPA, Americans Can Only Save It in the Voting Booth
Apr 30, 2018 | The Guardian
Like Donald Trump and the rest of his administration, Scott Pruitt has been caught up in so many scandals that it becomes impossible to focus on any single act of corruption. It’s difficult to focus on the damage Pruitt is doing to the environment and public health when seemingly every day there’s a new scandal related to his illegal $43,000 phone booth, or use of Safe Water Drinking Act funds to give two staffers a total of $85,000 in raises (and lying about it), or his sweetheart deal on a condo rental from a lobbyist’s wife (and lying about having met with that lobbyist), or wasting taxpayer funds on first class air travel and military jets, and a nearly $3m per year security detail, and bulletproof car seat covers, and a bulletproof desk, and so on.
Number of federal investigations into Scott Pruitt has now risen to 11. Reps. Beyer & Lieu say EPA inspector general will take up an inquiry into the $50-a-night condo rental from the wife of an energy lobbyist.11:47 PM - Apr 27, 20183525 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy
But while Pruitt’s unprecedented corruption is staggering and would have resulted in his firing long ago in any other presidential administration, the damage Pruitt is doing to public and environmental health is a far greater scandal yet. As George W. Bush’s former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman wrote in the scathing explanation for why TIME included Pruitt as one of its 100 most influential people this year,
If his actions continue in the same direction, during Pruitt’s term at the EPA the environment will be threatened instead of protected, and human health endangered instead of preserved, all with no long-term benefit to the economy.Scott Pruitt is terrible at his jobSign up to the Green Light email to get the planet's most important stories
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Lately it’s been difficult to remember that EPA’s mission is supposed to be “to protect human health and the environment.” As Christine Todd Whitman alluded, Scott Pruitt has done everything in his power to instead endanger public and environmental health. He’s loosened a litany of regulations to allow more air and water and carbon pollution.
Last week, Pruitt implemented a new policy that makes it much more difficult for EPA to use science to create regulations that would protect public health. It’s a policy straight out of the tobacco playbook. In fact, junk science blogger Steve Milloy, who first advocated for this policy change while working for the tobacco industry before shifting to the fossil fuel industry’s payroll, called Pruitt’s announcement “one of my proudest achievements.” As Milloy told the New Yorker,
I do have a bias. I’m all for the coal industry, the fossil fuel industry. Wealth is what makes people happy, not pristine air, which you’ll never get.
Wealth over health – it’s a perfect summary of today’s GOP platform. Quite simply, considering scientific evidence in crafting regulations does not favor the tobacco or fossil fuel industries, and so they have long sought to curtail its use. In Pruitt, polluters have finally found an ally who’s willing to stifle science in order to maximize their profits.
And the day after he testified that EPA was “not at present” planning to revoke California’s ability to set its own vehicle emissions standards, EPA announced a plan to do exactly that. That will trigger a legal battle between EPA and Californiathat won’t make automakers happy, but doubtless will please the fossil fuel industry. Fortunately, legal experts think Pruitt’s plan is “legally indefensible.” That would be par for the course for Pruitt, who’s been so eager to roll back environmental protections that his plans often don’t hold up in court.
Republicans in Congress don’t careFew Republicans in power have called for Pruitt to resign. That’s because, as Oliver Milman wrote for the Guardian, despite Pruitt’s unprecedented level of corruption, they support his “deregulation agenda.” At last week’s congressional hearing, Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) summed up the GOP stance perfectly:
People in the fossil fuel industry could see the deterioration. There is some hope we are seeing the economy start to rebound, thanks to you and the administration taking this fight on.
That’s a clear admission that under Pruitt, the EPA now values polluters’ profits over American lives, and congressional Republicans approve. They’re willing to prop up the fossil fuel industry by sacrificing public and environmental health for the sake of polluters’ short-term profits.
Trump reportedly refuses to fire Pruitt because the right-wing base supports him, although nobody else does – Pruitt’s dismal 29% approval rating is even lower than Trump’s. However, were Pruitt fired, he would be replaced by former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, who every Senate Republican voted to confirm as his deputy earlier this month. Before becoming a coal lobbyist, Wheeler worked for the Senate’s leading climate denier James Inhofe (R-OK) for 14 years. He’s from the same mould as Scott Pruitt, whose main qualification for leading the EPA was his history of suing the agency 14 times, and for whom every Senate Republican save Susan Collins (R-ME) voted to confirm.Want to be healthy? Don’t vote Republican
In short, while firing Pruitt would address one of the Trump administration’s many ethical disasters, it would not address the more important scandal of putting an individual who opposes environmental protection in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency. As Robert Redford put it,
Pruitt should be replaced by a principled leader who will do what the EPA was intended to do: protect America from men such as Pruitt.
But that’s not going to happen as long as Republicans are in charge, because GOP leaders value polluter profits over public and environmental health, as they proved by nominating and confirming both Pruitt and Wheeler.
For Americans who disagree with those priorities, the only recourse is to make their preferences known in the 2018 and 2020 elections.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/apr/30/republicans-have-so-corrupted-epa-americans-can-only-save-it-in-the-voting-booth
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US EPA Formally Issues 'Science Transparency' Proposal
Apr 30, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has started a consultation on a proposed rule intended to "strengthen the transparency" of the science used to inform agency regulatory decisions.
Announced last week, the proposal seeks to ensure that data and models underlying the agency’s "pivotal regulatory science" are "available to the public for validation". This includes studies, models and analyses used when calculating risks, costs, benefits and other impacts of EPA regulations.
The proposal's publication in the Federal Register begins a 30-day comment period, ending 30 May.
The agency is seeking comment on all aspects of the proposal and its sources of statutory authority for issuing it.
It also has called for feedback, among other things, on:how the proposal could affect specific agency programmes;whether certain activities should be exempt;how the agency can "balance appropriate protection" for confidential or copyrighted information with requirements for increased transparency;definitions of "pivotal regulatory science" and "dose response data and models"; andthe effective date, and how the policy should address dose response data and models developed prior to this date.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66443/us-epa-formally-issues-science-transparency-proposal
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REACH 2018 Registrations 30% Below Expectations – Echa
Apr 30, 2018 | Chemical Watch
With just one month to go until the last REACH registration deadline of 31 May, the number of dossiers submitted to Echa is some 30% behind initial estimates, the agency said.
It has so far received 23,495 dossiers covering 8,499 substances – 5,829 of which have not been registered before.
"We expected the numbers of substances and registrations to be 20-30% higher at this point in time," Echa told Chemical Watch.
The experience from previous deadlines, it added, shows "we should expect a substantial peak right before the deadline", but it said it does not have "clear indications whether this will translate into an even higher peak at the end of May or not".
Overall, the number of substances registered under REACH – including those from two previous deadlines in 2010 and 2013 – totalled 19,466 through 75,313 dossiers, the agency said. Its original estimates were for 30,000 substances and 100,000 dossiers to be received by the end of May.
But earlier this year, Echa told industry not to be alarmed about a potential shortfall in registrations for low volume substances. The agency’s director of registration Christel Musset said she is "not convinced at all" that there are as many unregistered substances in the range of 1-100 tonnes on the European market as initially thought.
And last month, Echa said an expected surge in the number of companies submitting dossiers by the end of March – so as to secure a completeness check outcome on their dossiers in 21 days – was not likely.
The agency had previously warned the outcome of such checks on dossiers submitted after 31 March might not arrive until August.High activity
Despite the lower than expected number of dossiers received, Echa says it is observing high levels of activity in preparation for registration.
REACH enquiries, data-sharing disputes and applications for Directors Contact Group (DCG) solutions – particularly concerning the completeness of dossiers linked to lack of laboratory capacity – "are all at high levels", it said.
The agency is also receiving registrations for higher tonnages. The majority of which have been triggered by the deadline, it said. "Companies take the business decision to register for potential higher volumes."
So far, a total of 12,249 companies have submitted REACH registration dossiers, the agency said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66438/reach-2018-registrations-30-below-expectations-echa
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Permian Basin is Helping Drive Big Oil's Comeback
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee and Saqib Rahim
The top three U.S. oil companies are starting to see the payoff after spending billions of dollars to turn themselves into the dominant shale drillers.
The results from the first quarter of 2018 were uneven among the big three: Exxon Mobil Corp.'s share price took a beating Friday when it reported lower-than-expected production, while Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips both beat analysts' earnings projections.
But the companies say their production from places like the Permian Basin will help keep them profitable even if oil prices stay below historical levels. And their massive footprints will help them squeeze every dollar out of each barrel.
"Simply said, our goal is to maximize the return on every Permian molecule," said Mark Nelson, Chevron's vice president of midstream, strategy and policy.
Chevron hit an all-time production high in the quarter, something it said was partly driven by brisk Permian production. Chevron's average daily oil and gas production in the quarter of 2.85 million barrels of oil equivalent per day was 4.5 percent higher than its average for all of 2017.
Not by coincidence, Chevron was working with an average Brent price of $67 per barrel for the quarter, $13 more than the average price for 2017. That uplift in prices was a key reason the company's earnings landed above investor expectations.
But on a conference call with analysts, the company said it's trying to prepare for a world where oil prices are "lower for longer." Its planned acceleration in the Permian Basin fits into that frame.
The Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico is one of the oldest oil fields in the U.S., dating to the 1920s. It was largely believed to be declining by the late 1990s, but in the last 10 years, companies have been squeezing more oil out of the layers of shale rock stacked thousands of feet below the surface.
The turnaround was led by smaller companies that used horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to get at the rock. Chevron and ConocoPhillips have since adopted that approach to breathe new life into Permian acreage they've held for decades.
Chevron has fully entered harvest mode in the Permian, forecasting production to grow 30 to 40 percent a year through 2022. At the end of that run, its total oil and gas output for the region would be more than triple what it is today.
ConocoPhillips said its production from the "Big Three" shale basins — the Permian, the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota — hit the equivalent of 250,000 barrels, and it expects the three formations to hit 300,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.
The shale plays are a key part of ConocoPhillips' campaign to switch to the lowest-cost sources of oil and gas. Two years ago, the company's average production cost was $70 a barrel in the contiguous United States; now it's $45 a barrel.
"Our improved earnings and cash flow are not driven by price increases alone," Don Wallette, ConocoPhillips' executive vice president of finance, said on a conference call.
Exxon has largely had to buy its way into the shale fields. It paid $41 billion for the shale-drilling pioneer XTO Energy Inc. in 2010, and then paid $2.5 billion last year for 250,000 acres in West Texas and eastern New Mexico (Energywire, Jan. 19).
The oil giant's first-quarter production was dragged down to 3.9 million barrels a day — the lowest quarterly production number since 1999 — by slow output from the Canadian oil sands, but the Permian Basin was a bright spot. Exxon expects its shale production to hit 750,000 barrels a day by 2022.
One reason the companies are producing so much: They're confident they can move the barrels.
Exxon and Chevron both own refineries around the world and can transport their oil and gas production through a network of pipelines, terminals and oceangoing tankers. So while smaller producers in the Permian Basin struggle with a lack of pipeline capacity, the supermajors are positioned to move their oil and gas wherever it'll fetch the best price.
"We have a good line of sight on that value chain to make sure nothing's leaking out," Exxon Vice President Jeff Woodbury said on a conference call.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/30/stories/1060080383
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$1B Gas Plant Near Detroit Gets Go-Ahead
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Jeffrey Tomich
Michigan's Public Service Commission scolded the state's largest utility Friday for "bullying" during its pursuit of approval for a $1 billion natural gas plant northeast of Detroit.
But after chastising DTE Electric Co. for the utility's behavior toward opponents, the PSC unanimously approved the project intended to partially replace three coal-fired power plants due to be retired early next decade.
DTE's 1,100-megawatt gas plant is the first large power plant approved in Michigan in more than two decades. It is also among a handful of key decisions facing regulators as the coal-reliant state undergoes an energy makeover. While it's understood that utility generating fleets in the state will get cleaner, parties in the state have been deeply divided over the pace of change.
A coalition of renewable energy advocates and environmental groups challenged DTE's analysis used to justify the gas plant investment, arguing that a combination of wind, solar, and demand-side resources could at least defer the need for a gas plant and would be cheaper in the end.
But the PSC disagreed and ruled in a 136-page order that the utility proposal represented the best option for meeting the energy needs for the utility's 2.2 million customers.
PSC Chairman Sally Talberg said the void left by the coal plant retirements would be only partially filled by the gas plant. And DTE's design was highly efficient, providing fast-ramp capabilities that could help integrate wind and solar energy and represented a cost-effective solution.
"Our state is seeing a fundamental change in our power supplies in a very short time frame," Talberg said.
Trevor Lauer, DTE Electric's president, said the combined-cycle plant is a piece of a broader portfolio planned in the near-term. The utility is also more than doubling its renewable energy fleet and boosting energy efficiency investments.
"We think we've got the right mix," he said in an interview after the decision.
The utility announced plans to shut the River Rouge, St. Clair and Trenton coal plants totaling 2,200 MW.
Construction of the gas plant near the Belle River site northeast of Detroit is slated to begin next spring, and the plant is expected to go online in 2022.
Approval from the PSC required DTE to prove that the energy and capacity was needed and that the proposed plant was the "most reasonable and prudent" option. But opponents questioned the data and assumptions provided by DTE and believe flawed inputs led to a bad outcome, one that will also provide larger financial returns for utility shareholders and haunt utility customers for years to come (EnergyWire, March 20).
"DTE bullied their way into approval for a plant that's going to be more expensive and less beneficial in a lot of ways," said Becky Stanfield, a senior advocate for Vote Solar.
Parties were divided over natural gas price forecasts and the risk to consumers as well as assumptions about renewable energy technologies and costs.
Renewable energy advocates said DTE's modeling relied on outdated technology, generally overestimated costs and low-balled the ability of wind and solar energy to meet its energy and capacity needs.
"Ninety percent of their analysis to justify this proposal was done in 2016 and was done with 2015 data," said Sam Gomberg, senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "That's just not acceptable."
To make their point, a coalition of clean energy groups countered the gas plant proposal with a model portfolio of 2,200 MW of renewables plus expansions of the utility's efficiency and demand-response programs. The model portfolio was developed using the same software used by DTE and showed a $339 million savings to consumers over a 25-year period.
But the commission disagreed. "While demand response, renewable energy and energy waste reduction are also relatively low-cost options, the record did not support the feasibility of scaling up these resources to completely displace this gas plant in this time frame," Talberg said.
The PSC said the addition of the gas plant would help diversify DTE's power supplies, which today consist of coal, nuclear and renewable energy.
And while "there is a risk of gas prices escalating," the PSC found the state is well-positioned to weather any kind of gas shock better than others because of its proximity to the Utica and Marcellus shale gas formations and because it has the most gas storage capacity in the nation.
While they sided with DTE on the merits of the gas plant proposal, all three commissioners called out the utility for not being as transparent enough in sharing data with other parties as well as the tone used in exchanges with plant opponents.
"The commission's hearing system is not a parlor game where you are encouraged to ridicule the process and humiliate the participants," the PSC's Norman Saari said in comments before Friday's vote.
"If DTE had made some of its comments in a third-grade classroom the teacher would make them write on the blackboard 100 times: 'I will not insinuate that my classmates are ill-informed.'"
DTE's Lauer acknowledged that the case became heated as the stakes were high for both sides.
"Sometimes people in the process will use terms that they wish they could take back," he said. "I think it's important that we listen to the commission and learn from what they said."
But environmental advocates say they're concerned that words alone won't lead to a better process — and different outcome — in future cases.
"The commission had an opportunity to tell DTE that you have to come back with something that really supports this decision," said Margrethe Kearney, an attorney for the Chicago-based Environmental Policy & Law Center.
"You have to have something with teeth," she added. "If there's no consequence, there's no change."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/30/stories/1060080389
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Trump's Offshore Order At 1: Most Changes Still to Come
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
In the year since President Trump launched his "America-First" offshore energy strategy, federal officials have been slow to implement many of the White House's recommendations for deregulating oil and gas production in the nation's oceans.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke earlier this year took a major step toward that goal with his controversial announcement that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management would open more than 90 percent of the U.S. outer continental shelf to oil and gas leasing. BOEM's sister agency, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, is expected to unveil changes to an Obama-era offshore safety rule this week.
But BOEM, BSEE and other agencies mentioned in the Trump administration's offshore executive order, which celebrated its anniversary Saturday, have yet to publicly announce developments on nearly all other provisions of the directive.
"The process of deregulating or modifying regulations is slow and torturous," said Kevin Book, managing director of research for ClearView Energy Partners LLC.
That's particularly true offshore where work sites are remote, equipment is expensive and operations are complicated, he said. In comparison, the Trump administration has acted swiftly on its deregulatory targets for onshore production (Energywire, March 28).
Interior's onshore scorecard includes the rescission of two regulations governing oil and gas valuation and hydraulic fracturing, as well as a proposal to significantly rewrite guidance for methane emissions from energy operations on federal and tribal lands.
"There's only so much that Interior can do at one time," said Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which has supported the administration's offshore deregulatory agenda.
As they have with Trump's onshore energy actions, environmental groups have pledged to wage a legal battle against any efforts to increase access for offshore drillers.
"We will fight him at every turn, and we won't hesitate to take the Trump administration to court should it shortcut bedrock environmental laws," said Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe.
Here's where the Trump administration's "America-First" offshore energy strategy currently stands.5-year plan
The banner achievement thus far from last year's order has been Interior's decision to hold oil and gas lease sales in most of the U.S. outer continental shelf between 2019 and 2024.
If approved, the revisions would reverse the Obama administration's move to close nearly all federal waters to exploration and development.
"Our agency has worked diligently to achieve the president's and Secretary Zinke's 'all-of-the-above' strategy for energy dominance, and we continue to make significant progress," said BOEM acting Director Walter Cruickshank. "Safe, reliable and affordable energy is critical to U.S. economic growth and prosperity, as well as to national security. This is what drives us to continuously strive to do our best for the American taxpayer."
The draft proposed plan released by Trump's Interior in January has been opposed by nearly every coastal state outside the Gulf of Mexico, where offshore drilling is already taking place. An interim draft is due this fall, and a final plan is expected next year.
Zinke has indicated that subsequent drafts of the 2019-2024 plan could shrink the acreage available to oil and gas operators.Well control rule
BSEE is expected to announce revisions this week to a key rule drafted in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The proposed changes to the 2016 blowout preventer systems and well control rule will appear in an upcoming edition of the Federal Register, BSEE revealed last week (E&E News PM, April 27).
"BSEE is cautiously optimistic as we sense enthusiasm expressed by industry officials about increased activity in the Gulf of Mexico that stems from treating them as partners while holding them accountable for oil and gas operations," said bureau spokeswoman Karla Marshall.
BSEE so far has provided few specifics on the exact changes it will propose.
Environmental advocates have promised to keep a close eye on the revisions and plan to stay active in the rulemaking process. This week's Federal Register notice will mark the start of a 60-day comment period on the rule rewrite.
"History has already taught us the lesson that when the oil industry drills, it spills," said Steve Mashuda, managing attorney for oceans at Earthjustice. "The administration's attempt to erode commonsense safety and environmental protections designed to prevent another tragedy on the scale of Deepwater Horizon is deeply troubling."Production safety systems rule
Federal officials have also changed several rules, policies and procedures that aren't specifically mentioned in the offshore order.
Among those regulations is BSEE's production safety systems rule. Interior last year floated a batch of changes to the 2016 regulation. Experts largely regarded the revisions as immaterial and warned that changes to the well control rule would be far more consequential (Energywire, Jan. 30).
As a result of the executive order, BSEE has also begun a risk-based inspection program, increased physical inspection times and launched a new quality assurance process for permit reviews, according to information provided by the bureau.Financial assurance framework
In his order, Trump directed BOEM to revisit its financial assurance framework, which could have major implications for offshore operators.
Adjustments to the framework could affect the cost of decommissioning rigs in the outer continental shelf, said Book of ClearView Energy Partners.
"It's no small thing," he said.
While BOEM has concluded that a new framework is necessary, it has yet to propose a new rulemaking.Arctic rule
The offshore order could also prompt changes to BSEE's 2016 Arctic drilling rule, which introduced more stringent environmental standards for oil production in the world's northernmost waters.
BSEE said it is currently working to determine whether revisions are warranted.
The Trump administration has demonstrated an appetite for opening Alaska's lands and waters to oil and gas development. The offshore order also revoked an Obama-era withdrawal of Arctic waters, and the draft proposed five-year leasing strategy would open all but one section of Alaska's oceans to energy operations.
See below for an annotated version of the executive order, or click here for a PDF version.
Executive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017
Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy StrategyBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., and in order to maintain global leadership in energy innovation, exploration, and production, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Findings. America must put the energy needs of American families and businesses first and continue implementing a plan that ensures energy security and economic vitality for decades to come. The energy and minerals produced from lands and waters under Federal management are important to a vibrant economy and to our national security. Increased domestic energy production on Federal lands and waters strengthens the Nation’s security and reduces reliance on imported energy. Moreover, low energy prices, driven by an increased American energy supply, will benefit American families and help reinvigorate American manufacturing and job growth. Finally, because the Department of Defense is one of the largest consumers of energy in the United States, domestic energy production also improves our Nation’s military readiness.The order defines the offshore applications of President Trump’s March 2017 executive order “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.”
Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the United States to encourage energy exploration and production, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to maintain the Nation’s position as a global energy leader and foster energy security and resilience for the benefit of the American people, while ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally responsible.This clause sets the stage for revisions to the 2017-2022 National OCS program. The draft proposed 2019-2024 program would open nearly all of the outer continental shelf to drilling.
Sec. 3.Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy. To carry out the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall: (a) as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the proce-dures set forth in section 1344 of title 43, United States Code, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, give full consideration to revising the schedule of proposed oil and gas lease sales, as described in that section, so that it includes, but is not limited to, annual lease sales, to the maximum extent permitted by law, in each of the following Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) (Planning Areas): Western Gulf of Mexico, Central Gulf of Mexico, Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic;The 2019-2024 program would go beyond these regions to include the North Atlantic, eastern Gulf of Mexico (after 2022), the Pacific and nearly all remaining areas off of Alaska’s coast.
(b) ensure that any revisions made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section do not hinder or affect ongoing lease sales currently scheduled as part of the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program, as published on November 18, 2016; and (c) develop and implement, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and to the maximum extent permitted by law, a streamlined permitting approach for privately funded seismic data research and collection aimed at expeditiously determining the offshore energy resource potential of the United States within the Planning Areas.
Sec. 4. Responsible Planning for Future Offshore Energy Potential. (a) The Secretary of Commerce shall, unless expressly required otherwise, refrain from designating or expanding any National Marine Sanctuary under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq., unless the sanctuary designation or expansion proposal includes a timely, full accounting from the Department of the Interior of any energy or mineral resource potential within the designated area—including offshore energy from wind, oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, and any other sources that the Secretary of Commerce deems appropriate—and the potential impact the proposed designation or expansion will have on the development of those resources. The Secretary of the Interior shall provide any such accounting within 60 days of receiving a notification of intent to propose any such National Marine Sanctuary designation or expansion from the Secretary of Commerce.
(b) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall conduct a review of all designations and expansions of National Marine Sanctuaries, and of all designations and expansions of Marine National Monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906, recently recodified at sections 320301 to 320303 of title 54, United States Code, designated or expanded within the 10-year period prior to the date of this order. (i) The review under this subsection shall include:
(A) an analysis of the acreage affected and an analysis of the budgetary impacts of the costs of managing each National Marine Sanctuary or Marine National Monument designation or expansion; (B) an analysis of the adequacy of any required Federal, State, and tribal consultations conducted before the designations or expansions; and
(C) the opportunity costs associated with potential energy and mineral exploration and production from the Outer Continental Shelf, in addition to any impacts on production in the adjacent region.The Interior Department’s review of five marine monuments resulted in recommendations to amend three sites — Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll — for commercial fishing purposes. Interior also reviewed, but did not recommend changes to, the Marianas Trench and Papahānaumokuākea marine national monuments. The recommendations did not specifically mention energy potential within the monuments.
(ii) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior, shall report the results of the review under this subsectionThe Commerce Department’s review has yet to be released to the public.(c) To further streamline existing regulatory authorities, Executive Order 13754 of December 9, 2016 (Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience), is hereby revoked.With Trump’s offshore directive, the 2016 order withdrawing certain areas of the Arctic out of consideration for offshore drilling was revoked.
to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
Sec. 5. Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition. The body text in each of the memoranda of withdrawal from disposition by leasing of the United States Outer Conti-nental Shelf issued on December 20, 2016, January 27, 2015, and July 14, 2008, is modified to read, in its entirety, as follows: ‘‘Under the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition by leasing, for a time period without specific expiration, those areas of the Outer Continental Shelf des-ignated as of July 14, 2008, as Marine Sanctuaries under the Marine Protec-tion, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 16 U.S.C. 1431–1434, 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.’’ Nothing in the withdrawal under this section affects any rights under existing leases in the affected areas.
Sec. 6. Reconsideration of Notice to Lessees and Financial Assurance Regu-latory Review. The Secretary of the Interior shall direct the Director of BOEM to take all necessary steps consistent with law to review BOEM’s Notice to Lessees No. 2016–N01 of September 12, 2016 (Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal Oil and Gas, and Sulfur Leases, and Holders of Pipeline Right-of-Way and Right-of-Use and Easement Grants in the Outer Continental Shelf), and determine whether modifications are necessary, and if so, to what extent, to ensure operator compliance with lease terms while minimizing unnecessary regulatory burdens.BOEM has determined that a new financial assurance framework is warranted, but the bureau has yet to launch a new rulemaking.
The Secretary of the Interior shall also review BOEM’s financial assurance regulatory policy to determine the extent to which additional regulation is necessary.
Sec. 7. Reconsideration of Well Control Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall review the Final Rule of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) entitled ‘‘Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control,’’ 81 Fed. Reg. 25888 (April 29, 2016), for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, and shall publish for notice and comment a proposed rule revising that rule, if appropriate and as consistent with law.BSEE will this week publish proposed revisions to the 2016 Well Control Rule in the Federal Register.
The Secretary of the Interior shall also take all appropriate action to lawfully revise any related rules and guidance for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order. Additionally, the Secretary of the Interior shall review BSEE’s regulatory regime for offshore operators to determine the extent to which additional regulation is necessary.
Sec. 8. Reconsideration of Proposed Offshore Air Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall take all steps necessary to review BOEM’s Proposed Rule entitled ‘‘Air Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance,’’ 81 Fed. Reg. 19718 (April 5, 2016), along with any related rules and guidance, and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable and consistent with law, consider whether the proposed rule, and any related rules and guidance, should be revised or withdrawn.BOEM has submitted the results of its review to Interior leadership. The department is currently considering next steps.
Sec. 9. Expedited Consideration of Incidental Harassment Authorizations, Incidental-Take, and Seismic Survey Permits. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, expedite all stages of consideration of Incidental Take Authorization requests, including Incidental Harassment Authorizations and Letters of Authorization, and Seismic Survey permit applications under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.BOEM and NOAA Fisheries are collaborating on this effort and expect to have recommendations in the near future.
Sec. 10. Review of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Technical Memorandum NMFS–OPR–55. The Secretary of Commerce shall review NOAA’s Technical Memorandum NMFS–OPR–55 of July 2016 (Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing) for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order and, after consultation with the appropriate Federal agencies, take all steps permitted by law to rescind or revise that guidance, if appropriate.The Commerce Department has yet to publicly announce the results of this review.
Sec. 11. Review of Offshore Arctic Drilling Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall immediately take all steps necessary to review the Final Rule entitled ‘‘Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf—Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf,’’ 81 Fed. Reg. 46478 (July 15, 2016), and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable and consistent with law, publish for notice and comment a proposed rule suspending, revising, or rescinding this rule.While BSEE has so far focused on other regulatory changes, the bureau is reviewing the provisions of the Arctic Rule. BSEE officials are consulting with Alaska Natives and other stakeholders to determine proposed changes to the rule.
Sec. 12. Definition. As used in this order, ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’’ means those areas delineated in the diagrams on pages S–5 and S–8 of the 2017– 2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program, as published by the BOEM in January 2015, with the exception of any buffer zones included in such planning documents.
Sec. 13. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/30/stories/1060080385
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Largest US Energy Grid Operator Fears Too Much Reliance on Natural Gas
Apr 30, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The largest electric grid operator in the U.S. on Monday announced plans to study the future risks of too much reliance on one energy source as coal plants retire and markets move towards liquid natural gas (LNG) consumption.
A new initiative by PJM Interconnection on energy grid reliance is building off conclusions from a 2017 report that found, "The system could remain reliable with the addition of more natural gas and renewable resources, but that 'heavy reliance on one resource type' raises potential resilience risks beyond existing reliability standards."
The first phase of PJM's latest analysis will be to look for fuel vulnerabilities. Then they would model those and finally test criteria against specific delivery concerns flagged by the Department of Energy and other agencies from both a physical and cyber perspective.
PJM will also focus on if there is an overreliance on specific energy sources.
Speaking to reporters Monday, PJM President and CEO Andy Ott said the analysis is a key "proactive approach" to determine future grid stability needs.
PJM will look into how to best maintain energy security when demand is high, or when certain energy sources are unavailable due to physical, cyber or weather-related issues.
While PJM says the current U.S. energy system they operate is secure and reliable, Ott acknowledged "it is also a legitimate question as we look forward in time and these trends continue. Are we overdependent or increasingly dependent on one fuel infrastructure?"
The question comes as coal plants continue to struggle to survive within the U.S. and the energy market trends toward LNG consumption.
"In 2008, 5 percent of total electricity was natural gas — today it's in 20 to 30 percent range," Ott said. "It will continue to climb. We don't have a problem now. In fact, we're more diverse than we've ever been, but in some point in the future we may be overdependent on one pipeline."
Ott points to the reliance on not just one fuel source, but on one pipeline, as a major infrastructure and security concern.
"Today all infrastructure industries are worried about purposeful attacks," Ott said.
Ott said what fuel sources are used will also likely be determined by market competition.
"To play the markets would be the best way to implement these mechanisms, to be secure, reliable, least costly and resilient," Ott said.
He said renewable resources could play a role in supplementing sources, but they would have to be "robust" to qualify.
"Looking at this issue from a resilience perspective is something we feel that we need to do," said Ott.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/385494-largest-us-energy-grid-operator-fears-over-reliance-on-natural-gas
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Taiwanese Petrochemical Firm Building $9.4B Louisiana Plant
Apr 30, 2018 | Construction Dive
By Kim Slowey
Dive Brief:
Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. announced it will build a $9.4 billion manufacturing facility midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge on a 2,400-acre site in St. James Parish, Louisiana, according to a press release from the office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. Dubbed the Sunshine Project because of its proximity to the Mississippi River's Sunshine Bridge, the 10-year, two-phase development will see the construction of a "single-site ethylene hub" that will produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and related polymers under the banner of Formosa subsidiary FG LA LLC. The project, which could break ground as early as 2019, will employ 8,000 construction workers at its busiest.As an incentive, Louisiana is giving FG a $12 million grant to offset some of its infrastructure costs, payable beginning in 2021 as long as the company delivers on its job creation commitment. FG will also be able to tap the state's LED FastStart workforce development program and is expected to take advantage of Louisiana's Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. In exchange, the plant is expected to generate more than $360 million in extra state and local tax revenue during construction and another $313 million during its first decade of operation.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. Gulf Coast has become a hot spot for petrochemical manufacturing operations, mostly due to the thriving domestic natural gas industry, according to the Houston Chronicle. Expansion and new-construction investments are routinely in the billions, creating thousands of construction jobs with each new project. Even Saudi Arabian companies are making the move to the Gulf Coast, the Chronicle reported.
For example, Gulf Coast Ventures, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabian company SABIC, is planning to start construction on a $10 billion ethane steam cracker plant in San Patricio County, Texas, in 2019. The project still awaits permit approvals, but the JV expects that construction will create 6,000 jobs at the height of activity.
Gulf Coast Ventures also projects that the plant's building phase will be a $22 billion economic boon for the state of Texas. The project, like FG's in Louisiana, has also been the recipient of hundreds of millions in tax breaks, possibly more than $1 billion, according to The Guardian. These include a $531 million tax package from the local school board, the San Antonio Express-News reported, and $210 million from the county.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/taiwanese-petrochemical-firm-building-94b-louisiana-plant/522214/
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Marathon Petroleum, Andeavor Combination to Create Onshore Midstream, Refinery Powerhouse
Apr 30, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Marathon Petroleum Corp. on Monday agreed to take over Andeavor, a combination that would create a powerful U.S. refining, marketing and midstream company that, among other things, builds a massive Permian Basin footprint.
The transaction, based on Marathon Petroleum's Friday (April 27) closing price, has an estimated equity value of $23.3 billion and an enterprise value of $35.6 billion.
"This transaction combines two strong, complementary companies to create a leading U.S. refining, marketing, and midstream company, building a platform that is well-positioned for long-term growth and shareholder value creation," said Marathon Petroleum CEO Gary R. Heminger.
Marathon Petroleum already has a significant footprint in the Marcellus and Utica shales, and the combined company would expand its presence in the Permian and Bakken Shale to increase midstream opportunities.
The midstream business would include master limited partnerships MPLX LP and Andeavor Logistics.
"Each of our operating segments are strengthened through this transaction, as it geographically diversifies our refining portfolio into attractive markets, increases access to advantaged feedstocks, enhances our midstream footprint in the Permian Basin, and creates a nationwide retail and marketing portfolio that will substantially improve efficiencies and enhance our ability to serve customers,” Heminger said.
The combination is expected to generate about $1 billion of annual run-rate synergies “within the first three years and significantly enhancing our long-term cash flow generation profile.”
When completed, Andeavor CEO Greg Goff would become executive vice president and join Marathon Petroleum’s board.
"With significantly increased scale, a strong platform for our midstream businesses and a leading nationwide retail and marketing distribution portfolio, the combined company presents tremendous value enhancement and growth opportunities for all shareholders," Goff said.
"This strategic combination provides our shareholders with a premium for their shares and the opportunity to benefit from substantial future value creation…
“As the largest refiner by capacity in the U.S., with a best-in-class operating capability and a strong capital structure, the combined company will be exceptionally well positioned to deliver on its synergy and earnings targets.”
Andeavor's refineries in California, the Midcontinent and the Pacific Northwest complement Marathon Petroleum’s existing Gulf Coast and Midwest refining footprint. The combined company would become the No. 1 U.S. refiner by capacity and a top five global refiner, with throughput capacity of 3 million b/d-plus.
Andeavor shareholders have the option to choose 1.87 shares each of Marathon Petroleum stock or $152.27/share in cash. If completed, Marathon Petroleum would control 66% of the company, with Andeavor owning 34%.
The transaction, unanimously approved by each board, is tentatively set to be completed later this year, subject to regulatory approvals and an OK from shareholders. Headquarters would be in Findlay, OH, with an office in San Antonio, TX.
“Wow!,” said Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) analysts in reaction. It’s the biggest deal, they said, since HollyFrontier Corp. acquired Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc. last year to make it the fourth largest lubricants producer in North America.
The transaction “will create the largest refiner in the U.S. with 16 refineries with just over 3.0 million b/d capacity (16% of U.S. total), midstream stakes...worth a public market value of $22 billion, and a retail network of just about 5,000 outlets…
“The combined $58 billion market cap (before upside from synergies) would edge out Phillips 66 PSX ($56 billion) and Valero ($47 billion) and create a stark difference between these three leading companies and the rest of the group...Despite the size...we do not foresee any regulatory problems given the disparate geographical markets of each company.”
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/114200-marathon-petroleum-andeavor-combination-to-create-onshore-midstream-refinery-powerhouse
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U.S. Supreme Court Offers No Relief for Constitution Pipeline, Rejects Appeal
Apr 30, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Jamison Cocklin
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition filed by Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC to challenge New York’s regulatory authority and let stand an appeals court ruling that upheld the state’s decision to deny the project a water quality certificate (WQC).
It was yet another setback for the 124-mile natural gas pipeline project that has bounced through the legal and regulatory process for years now. The Supreme Court was asked to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The petition was distributed for conference, or discussion, on Friday, but the justices simply denied it.
Constitution received a FERC certificate authorizing the project in 2014. The project’s sponsors have battled the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) since 2016, when after nearly three years of regulatory review the agency denied the pipeline’s application for a section 401 WQC required under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The project’s sponsors vowed on Monday to keep fighting, saying they “continue to believe that this FERC-approved project should be allowed to proceed with construction,” and adding that they are still committed to the pipeline and the remaining regulatory and legal options available.
After the DEC denial, which was mainly related to a disagreement over trenchless crossings and the agency's contention that it didn’t have enough information to determine the project’s environmental impact, the company petitioned the Second Circuit to review the decision.
The appeals court denied the challenge, with a three-judge panel ruling that the DEC is entitled to its regulatory review under relevant federal laws. Constitution later petitioned the court for a rehearing of the case en banc, which was also denied.
Constitution had argued that without a ruling from the Supreme Court, states could use their authority under the CWA to undermine interstate natural gas pipeline development. Monday’s denial, however, is not the last gasp for the project.
Earlier this year, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied Constitution's petitionfor a declaratory order that the DEC waived its authority when it failed to issue a WQC within a reasonable period of time. Constitution has since filed a request for rehearing at FERC, asking the Commissioners to reconsider their decision upholding New York’s authority.
“While we are disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear our case, we are still fully committed to pursuing our primary avenue of relief, which is the pending rehearing request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,” said project spokesman Christopher Stockton, adding that the sponsors would, if necessary, also pursue an appeal of FERC’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Constitution would provide 650 MMcf/d of takeaway capacity in northeast Pennsylvania. About 100 miles of the pipeline would cross New York. Constitution is backed Williams, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Piedmont Natural Gas and WGL Holdings Inc.
The project is not the only one to have met resistance in New York. The state has also denied certificates for National Fuel Gas Co.’s Northern Access expansion project and Millennium Pipeline Co. LLC’s Valley Lateral project.
While Valley Lateral is advancing after the company successfully challenged New York before FERC, the Northern Access project remains bogged down in court. About a week ago, the DEC also denied a WQC for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/114201-us-supreme-court-offers-no-relief-for-constitution-pipeline-rejects-appeal
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Pipelines, Railroads and Utilities Among Rejected Cases
Apr 30, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly and Ellen M. Gilmer
Backers of a beleaguered pipeline proposal in New York won't get any help from the Supreme Court, as the justices today denied Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC's bid to revive the natural gas project.
The Supreme Court will not get involved in the high-stakes dispute pitting state regulators against pipeline developers.
The high court also declined today to take up litigation that questioned whether federal railroad law trumps a state environmental statute, as well as a New Mexico utility's bid to overturn a ruling on right of way easements for transmission lines. It takes the votes of four justices for the Supreme Court to take up a case.
At issue in the Constitution pipeline case is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's 2016 denial of state permits for the project. The pipeline, backed by Williams Cos. Inc., would stretch 126 miles from northeast Pennsylvania to the middle of the Empire State.
Constitution challenged the DEC's permit denial, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the case last year.
The pipeline backers say the case is a big deal for federal versus state power and is an example of state officials overstepping their authority. New York has denied permits for two other natural gas pipelines in recent years, though the federal government pushed one project through.
If states are able to block projects, Constitution lawyers argued, the resulting lack of necessary infrastructure could raise national security concerns (Energywire, April 27).
For now, the issue will continue to play out on a case-by-case basis, as developers challenge state permit denials.
Constitution has also made a final bid for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene and overturn New York's decision. FERC has already denied the request once, but a rehearing petition is pending.Justices decline railroad case
Justices also declined review in a case that asked the high court to decide the extent to which federal railroad law pre-empts California's environmental review statute.
Two environmental groups — Friends of the Eel River and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics — initially brought the suit in California state court. They sued the state-owned North Coast Railroad Authority and a privately owned railroad for allegedly failing to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act's review requirements in their decision to reopen a defunct freight rail line that ran from Novato to Humboldt County.
The lower courts sided with the North Coast Railroad Authority. But the California Supreme Court overturned the rulings, making a distinction between publicly and privately owned railroads.
The state's high court agreed with the defendants that a 1995 law that created the Surface Transportation Board to regulate railroads pre-empted the application of the state law to the private Northwestern Pacific Railroad.
But, in a divided opinion, the court found the state review law could be applied to state-owned railroads. For the publicly owned railroad, California justices ruled that the CEQA is an act of self-governance that implicates the 10th Amendment, which reserved rights for states.
The 1995 law includes no language "that would direct us to the surprising conclusion that a state must operate without its usual tools and guidelines when it becomes an owner-participant in the railroad industry," the state's high court ruled.
North Coast Railroad Authority appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the decision conflicted with other rulings of state courts and warning it threatened the operations of many California-owned railroads.
"If adopted in other states, [the decision] could inject chaos into the interstate rail system," the authority argued in its petition.Utility's right of way
The Supreme Court today also rejected a petition by a New Mexico utility seeking to overturn a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that it cannot obtain a right of way through land partly owned by the Navajo Nation.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM) wanted to renew a right of way easement for a 50-year-old high-voltage power line that crosses 57 parcels of lands allotted to individual tribal members under a 1901 statute.
The Navajo Nation, however, acquired fractional interests in two parcels in 2006 and 2009. The Bureau of Indian Affairs found it could not approve PNM's renewal application on those plots, as well as on three other parcels that had become contested.
The utility sued, but the 10th Circuit ruled that PNM couldn't condemn the parcels that were fractionally owned by the Navajo Nation.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the utility argued that the ruling puts "in jeopardy" other long-established rights of way that will need to be renewed.
"The problem will affect power companies across the Tenth Circuit," the utility's petition said. "Indeed, given the national structure of the power grid, the cumulative impact could be felt far more broadly."
Electric industry and fossil fuel groups had also urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, arguing that the 10th Circuit's decision was a "serious threat" that would have "profound consequences" and hurt the ability of utilities and pipeline operators to obtain extensions of expiring right of way easements.
"Numerous rights-of-way that presently allow such infrastructure are slated to expire in the coming years, meaning many utility companies could soon find themselves in the same unenviable position," the Edison Electric Institute, Association of Oil Pipe Lines and American Gas Association said in a joint amicus brief.
Parties could prevent condemnation by transferring to a tribe "even an infinitesimally tiny fractional interest" in lands crossed by an existing pipeline, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association warned.
They said operators would then be forced to either relocate the pipeline or pay an "exorbitant amount" to extend easements.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/30/stories/1060080437
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Air Agency Committee Decision Aimed at Toxic Chemical Used at Area Refineries
Apr 30, 2018 | Los Angeles Business Journal
By Howard Fine
A South Coast Air Quality Management committee on April 28 ordered agency staff to develop rules or reach an agreement to reduce the risk of accidental releases of a toxic chemical at two local refineries.
The chemical, modified hydrofluoric acid (MHF), is used at Torrance Refining Co., owned by PBF Energy, and at Valero Energy Corp.’s Wilmington Refinery, as a chemical catalyst to produce high-octane gasoline.
In 2015, an explosion at the Torrance refinery, then owned by ExxonMobil Corp., occurred near a container of MHF; had that container ruptured, the highly toxic chemical gas could have drifted over nearby communities containing tens of thousands of residents. As a condition of approving the refinery to reopen last year, the air quality agency said it would look at banning the chemical entirely.
But oil refiners and the business community opposed a ban, saying it would force the refineries to close, cost thousands of jobs and cause gasoline prices to rise in the region.
After a contentious hearing on April 28, the agency opted for a middle course, ordering staff to look at steps that could reduce the risk of an accidental release of MHF.
“If released during a refinery accident, MHF could pose a serious health threat to the community,” Clark Parker, chairman of the air district’s refinery Committee, said in a statement following a contentious hearing April 28. “We are directing staff to identify potential further mitigations to benefit public health and safety.”
http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2018/apr/30/air-agency-committee-decision-aimed-toxic-chemical/
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Freight Rail Regulatory Reform Can Boost US Farmers' Global Competitiveness
Apr 30, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Darren Coppock
Since our nation’s founding, agriculture has been the backbone of our society and economy. Agriculture contributes approximately one trillion dollars to our gross domestic product, more than one dollar of every 19 in our nation’s economy.
But today, America’s farmers and ranchers and the retailers who support them face significant challenges, from global trade disputes to threatened retaliatory tariffs. With our future at stake, the Agricultural Retailers Association urges Washington to support policies and reforms that support American agriculture and the communities that depend on it.
Freight rail reform is one of those big opportunities.Policy Bosses: Scott Whitaker, President and CEO of AdvaMedWatch Full Screen to Skip Ads
Farmers need cost-effective and reliable transportation of the supplies they need to plant their crops. They also need to get their goods to market to ensure that the U.S. continues its important role of feeding the world through as much as $150 billion in annual agricultural exports.
Unfortunately, the domestic freight rail system is leveraging outdated regulations to increase rail rates. This is working as an impediment, rather than a benefit, to farm production.
Excessive rail rates make American farmers and suppliers less competitive in world markets, resulting in higher consumer prices for millions of American families. From 2005 to 2013, the rail rate premium paid by farmers increased 127 percent, while the amount they shipped declined by 16 percent.
If excessive rail rates were not bad enough, the U.S. rail network has recently been challenged by chronic service problems that could ultimately drive up consumer food prices. These service challenges, including slower train speeds and longer terminal dwell times, are delaying fertilizer shipments that farmers need and creating logistical bottlenecks nationwide.
These issues have at their core the federal government’s 30-year-old regulatory policies that led to a dramatic consolidation of the freight rail system. These outdated regulations created a virtual monopoly on shipping, allowing railroads to provide faulty service and charge whatever they want because shippers simply have no other option.
Competition is essential to the vitality of our markets, whether those markets are for grain, farm inputs, or rail transportation. But regulatory protections shield railroads from competition, reflected in expensive rail rates and deteriorating service quality. It’s time for common-sense freight rail reforms to provide regulatory relief and increase free-market competition.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has the power to modernize regulations and remove barriers to free-market competition. Unfortunately, that five-member board is currently operating with two seats vacant, severely limiting its capacity to get this job done.
In order to get the STB back on track, America’s retailers and their farm customers need the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to move swiftly to confirm President Trump’s nominees. We are on record supporting Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz for these vacant posts.
Once that happens, the STB can move forward to adopt long-overdue reforms, such as a competitive switching policy that would allow shippers to move their freight to another line if one is reasonably accessible. This would unlock market-based competition, reducing shipping distances and rates for farmers and shippers in other key industries like manufacturing and energy production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is on record in support of competitive switching, saying it “offers a market-based solution to balance the needs of the railroads and shippers.”
In addition, a fully-staffed STB could fix its overly costly and bureaucratic rate review process. The current process uses a ridiculously complicated methodology that requires shippers to design an entire railroad business and prove that it could serve the same traffic at a lower cost than the rates charged by the existing railroad. Recent cases using this methodology have taken several years to resolve and cost each shipper well over $5 million.
Instead, the STB should implement competitive rate benchmarking, which uses existing rail rate data to develop predictive models for competitive conditions. This would provide simple benchmarks for determining if a railroad’s rates are unreasonably high.
Adopting these long-overdue reforms will provide retailers and their farm clients with greater access to competitive and reliable freight rail service, which will help rural communities across the country to thrive and improve our competitiveness in global markets.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/freight-rail-regulatory-reform-can-boost-us-farmers-global-competitiveness
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With League Backing, Senate Committee OKs STB Nominees
Apr 30, 2018 | American Journal of Transportation
NITL joined with other freight rail customers Wednesday in thanking the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for voting to approve the nominations of Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz to fill open seats on the Surface Transportation Board.
In a letter to Sen. John Thune, the committee’s chairman, and Sen. Bill Nelson, the committee’s ranking member, the League applauded the committee for taking this important and long overdue action. Of the STB’s five seats, only two are currently filled, hindering the board’s ability to address ongoing freight rail issues as well as larger matters such as improving access to competitive freight rail service.
“A fully staffed Surface Transportation Board is vital to the fair and efficient functioning of the U.S. freight rail system and the health of America’s economy,” stated NITL Executive Director Jennifer Hedrick. “The members of the National Industrial Transportation League thank the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and especially Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson, for their timely approval of Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz to serve on the STB, and we look forward to working with the Board to increase access to competitive freight rail service for all shippers.”
The letter to Sen. Thune and Sen. Nelson was sent under the auspices of the Rail Customer Coalition, a group of associations representing manufacturing, farming, and other sectors of the economy. RCC members (including NITL) are major users of freight rail, accounting for more than half of the total volume of cargo shipped by rail and generating more than three quarters of the revenues collected by the railroads.
https://www.ajot.com/news/with-league-backing-senate-committee-oks-stb-nominees
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With League Backing, Senate Committee OKs STB Nominees
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Schumer Urges Metro-North to Fast-Track PTC
Apr 30, 2018 | Progressive Rail Roading
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called on MTA Metro-North Railroad to speed up its positive train control (PTC) implementation after a Federal Railroad Administration letter cast doubt on the railroad's ability to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to install the technology.
In a letter obtained by The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News, FRA Administrator Ron Batory noted that Metro-North had installed 63 percent of the hardware needed for its PTC system. Batory also expressed concern about Metro-North's progress toward fully implementing PTC.
Although railroads can apply for a two-year extension to roll out PTC, Metro-North would not meet the necessary criteria for an extension, The Poughkeepsie Journalreported, citing Batory's letter.
After the newspaper published the story about the FRA letter, Schumer said the railroad's pace of progress is "simply unacceptable." He also urged Metro-North leaders to have an "all-hands-on-deck" approach to implementing PTC.
"Getting PTC installed as soon as possible should be at the top of Metro-North’s priority list," he said in a press release. "The technology is available and the money for installation is in place, including via a billion dollar federal loan I supported, so there's simply no reason for Metro-North not to meet the positive train control deadline."
Earlier this year, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report stated that as many as two-thirds of the 29 commuter railroads required to implement PTC could miss the federally mandated Dec. 31 deadline.https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ptc/news/Schumer-urges-Metro-North-to-fast-track-PTC--54542
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EU Calls for Rapid Progress on Paris Deal Rules in Climate Talks
Apr 30, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Kalina Oroschakoff
Countries need to “urgently” make more progress on developing the rules underpinning the Paris climate agreement in time for December’s COP24 global summit in Katowice, Poland, the EU’s lead negotiator warned today.
“A lot of progress needs to be still made, the progress remains uneven,” said Elina Bardram, the EU’s chief negotiator at climate talks in Bonn, Germany, which kicked off today and last until May 10. “We really do need to see a step change, here and now, if we mean to deliver the Katowice deal.”
Agreeing on language to set up a transparency and accounting system that ensures all countries report and measure their emission reductions and other climate efforts in a comparable way is still far off, she said. The coming days will aim at developing “full textual narratives.”
Setting up a single robust accounting system is a priority for the EU and other developed nations. That objective, however, pits the bloc against some developing countries which prefer to keep a system which differentiates responsibilities more clearly between developed and developing countries.
Bardram’s comments today signaled the EU won’t retreat on the matter.
“Tracking and demonstrating progress domestically allows us to verify the impact of our policies and measures,” she said, adding: “What you don’t measure you can’t manage.”
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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