ACC PM 6/22/2018

Industry and Association News

1. (ACC Mentioned) Use Waste Plastics as Chems Feedstocks to Drive Circular Economy – ACC

   Jun 22, 2018 | ICIS

   By Tom Brown
   
   
   Utilising waste plastics as feedstocks for the production of chemicals should be part of strategies to better deal with waste management, according to the American Chemistry Council’s vice president of plastics.
2. Pruitt Cost-Benefit Plan Could Weaken Emission Standards

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

   By Maxine Joselow
   
   
   While the public and the media focus on Scott Pruitt's ethics scandals, the EPA boss is quietly advancing a regulatory overhaul that could have profound implications for air quality standards.
3. 2 More Republicans Join Climate Solutions Caucus

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

   By Kelsey Brugger
   
   
   The Climate Solutions Caucus continues to grow, even as it fails to produce any climate legislation.

LCSA News

4. (ACC Mentioned) 2 Years After Reformed TSCA, Pruitt’s EPA Has Failed to Protect Us from Toxic Chemicals

   Jun 22, 2018 | Environmental Working Group

   By Melanie Benesh
   
   
   On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law a significant overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, the nation’s primary chemical safety law. It was the first update to the law, which was widely considered to be the least effective environmental law on the books, in 40 years.
5. EPA Celebrates New Chemical Safety Milestones on 2nd Anniversary of Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act

   Jun 22, 2018 | The National Law Review

   On the two-year anniversary of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has met its statutory responsibilities to release guidance and policy on confidential business information, a strategy to reduce animal testing, and a final mercury reporting rule.

Chemical Management News

6. MA Senate Passes Bill to Ban Toxic Flame Retardants

   Jun 22, 2018 | Patch.com

   The Massachusetts Senate voted unanimously on June 21 to ban 11 toxic flame retardants from children's products, bedding and residential upholstered furniture sold or manufactured in the Commonwealth.

Energy News

7. Lawmakers Press Admin over Delays to Safety Rules

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

   By Jenny Mandel
   
   
   House Democrats took aim at the agency charged with pipeline safety yesterday, threatening closer scrutiny in an upcoming reauthorization cycle as its chief promised progress on long-delayed rules to address a host of unmet congressional mandates.
8. More Gas Is Leaking Than Previously Estimated — Study

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

   By John Fialka
   
   
   A new study by the Environmental Defense Fund and a team of university scientists estimates that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere each year, losing $2 billion annually from over 400 leak-prone drilling and processing facilities.
9. Ewire: Study Finds Oil & Gas Methane Leaks Higher Than EPA Estimates

   Jun 22, 2018 | Inside EPA

   A major new study finds that the oil and gas sector's methane emissions are far higher than official EPA estimates, with environmentalists arguing that the figures underscore the need for the agency to impose controls on operators to fix leaks at drilling sites and other equipment.
10. Fracking chemicals linked to weight gain in mice

    Jun 22, 2018 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (In E&E Energywire)

    By Don Hopey
    
    
    A new Duke University-led study links exposure to chemicals used in shale-gas fracking to the development of fat cells in mice.
11. How Big Data Will Soon Tackle Pollution from Industrial Sites near You

    Jun 22, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund

    By Beth Trask
    
    
    One day in the not-so-distant future, oil refineries, chemical plants, natural gas wells and other industrial sites will be fully wired.
12. Exporters warily dodge tariff fight — for now

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

    By Hannah Northey
    
    
    Could a quickly escalating trade spat ensnare the nation's burgeoning natural gas export market and President Trump's push for "energy dominance"?
13. Shale’s Suffering Indigestion, Not a Heart Attack

    Jun 22, 2018 | Bloomberg

    By Liam Denning
    
    
    The Permian basin is the center of shale’s world, whether it fascinates investors or, as today, repels them. The recent selloff has obscured that.

Chemical Security News

14. How Often Is U.S. Grid Attacked? Monitor Doesn't Know — Yet

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Peter Behr
    
    
    U.S. power grid companies should expect dangerous cybersecurity intrusions to keep increasing, with adversaries seeking to break through defenses by infecting utilities' trusted suppliers, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. says.
15. White House Embraces Cyber 'Surge Capacity'

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Blake Sobczak
    
    
    Facing a shortage of cyber talent, the White House is proposing to share security professionals among federal agencies under a far-reaching reform plan from the Office of Management and Budget.

Transportation and Infrastructure News

16. (ACC Mentioned) White House Tries to Revive Air Traffic Control Spinoff Plan

    Jun 22, 2018 | Politico

    By Stephanie Beasley
    
    
    The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a far-reaching proposal to reorganize the federal government, with four pages dedicated to our favorite department.

Environment News

17. Don't Believe the Hype About a Carbon Tax

    Jun 22, 2018 | Real Clear Energy

    By Vance Ginn & Jonathan Williams
    
    
    Gasoline prices have been rising recently as tensions heighten in the global oil market. These increases may soon be exacerbated if some advocates of a carbon tax get their way.
18. Political Shift in Canada Means Uncertainty for Calif.

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Debra Kahn
    
    
    California regulators are preparing for Ontario's imminent withdrawal from their joint carbon-trading market, but it will likely take some time.
19. Oil Group Uses Facebook to Attack Climate Lawsuits

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Benjamin Hulac
    
    
    An oil trade group has spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook advertisements this year in an effort to sour public opinion about climate change lawsuits.
20. EPA 'Good Neighbor' Rejection Draws Bipartisan Wrath

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

    By Sean Reilly
    
    
    EPA faced bipartisan opposition at a public hearing this morning on its planned rejection of "good neighbor" petitions from Maryland and Delaware seeking a federal crackdown on ozone-forming pollution from outside their boundaries.

Industry and Association News

1. (ACC Mentioned) Use Waste Plastics as Chems Feedstocks to Drive Circular Economy – ACC

   Jun 22, 2018 | ICIS

   By Tom Brown

   Utilising waste plastics as feedstocks for the production of chemicals should be part of strategies to better deal with waste management, according to the American Chemistry Council’s vice president of plastics.

   Finding new uses for plastic waste as feedstocks for bio-based materials would help to create a truly circular economy, where petrochemicals firms produce polymer products and then utilise them once they have been used as a means of creating more, according to ACC vice president Steve Russell.

   “I'm confident that new feedstocks for plastics and other chemicals will be developed from biomaterials offering new ways of synthesising materials,” Russell said.

   “All will have a role in helping deliver more circular systems,” he added.

   Feedstock pricing is crucial in petrochemicals production and development of the bioplastics sector has been slower than expected, but the issue of waste plastic in the form of pollution, microplastics and ocean waste have become increasingly prominent in the popular consciousness throughout 2018.

   While pricing is likely to continue to be a factor in the growing market, one key to catalysing take-up of bio feedstocks will be to find cheap, reliable sources of material, according to Russell.

   “As with any commodity, recycled materials compete in the marketplace against virgin materials and there will be times when different types of products succeed where others don't, and the key will be finding materials that can be consistently sourced from competitive feedstocks,” he said.

   China’s decision to restrict waste plastic imports from overseas has had a dramatic impact on on western economies, where the country in some cases soaked up the majority of end-of-life consumer polymers.

   Policy is already spurring the development of new bioplastics markets, with Italy-headquartered start-up Bio-on announcing this week that its new production facility will produce bio-based microbeads for cosmetics after widespread bans of fossil fuel-derived versions.

   Ocean waste has also been a policy driver in the west, but with recent research indicating that the bulk of waste filtering into the ocean comes from developing world, with 55% travelling along the Yangtze River, China, according to a recent study by the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research.

   A solution to this would be for western firms to provide more of a market for recycled plastic materials, soaking up materials that would otherwise have been dumped, according to advocacy group Oceans Conservancy.

   The key issue in developing country waste proliferation is a disconnect between the pace of economic growth and that of waste infrastructure, meaning that consumer purchasing outpaces the roll-out of systems to deal with the additional waste created.

   The average amount of consumer waste created by the citizen of a western country remains four times that of a citizen of China or India, according to Australia’s National Toxics Network, but the systems to deal with that waste are not adequate to cope with it.

   As smaller economies in Asia and Africa continue to develop, the trend of growing prosperity and purchasing power running ahead of government response to increased waste will continue to lag behind in each country to reach that point, Russell said.

   The development of better waste management technology that can be rolled out country to country is paramount to dealing with the issue, he added.

   “[The issue] isn’t specific to those countries,” Russell said. “The larger point is that there are countries where there is a gap that hasn't been closed quickly enough between access to consumer goods and access to waste management. Tomorrow, it will be elsewhere.”

   “So the point is to make sure that we are more quickly matching access to consumer goods with access to systems for managing those goods post-use,” he added.

   https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2018/06/22/10233957/use-waste-plastics-as-chems-feedstocks-to-drive-circular-economy-acc/
   

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2. Pruitt Cost-Benefit Plan Could Weaken Emission Standards

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

   By Maxine Joselow

   While the public and the media focus on Scott Pruitt's ethics scandals, the EPA boss is quietly advancing a regulatory overhaul that could have profound implications for air quality standards.

   The agency earlier this month published the draft plan, titled "Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Costs and Benefits in the Rulemaking Process."

   Environmental and public health groups are now sounding the alarm that the plan could throw something called co-benefits into jeopardy.

   Co-benefits are essentially the indirect benefits of a rule, or the additional gains an agency action was not specifically designed to create. They are particularly relevant to the Clean Air Act's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

   While some of the standards are aimed at reducing levels of ozone or other "criteria" pollutants, they also indirectly reduce levels of particulate matter, which can cause asthma and premature death. And even though co-benefits may not seem controversial at first glance, they have spawned a fierce debate.

   "There is legitimate controversy about the use of co-benefits," said Stuart Shapiro, who served as assistant branch chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2003.

   "The fear here is that because it's Scott Pruitt and because it's this current administration, that they will throw the baby of co-benefits out with the bathwater," said Shapiro, who now teaches at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

   Co-benefits also play an outsize role in OMB's annual report to Congress on the costs and benefits of all federal regulations.

   Contradicting President Trump, the most recent report found that the annual benefits of major federal regulations from 2006 to 2016 were between $219 billion and $695 billion, while the annual costs were between $59 billion and $88 billion (E&E News PM, Feb. 26).

   "If you look at the report that OIRA has to put out every year on the costs and benefits of rules, it's always in the black," said Amy Sinden, a professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law. "And if you look at how it breaks down, you see that most of the benefits numbers are coming out of the EPA's Clean Air Act rules, and most of those are coming from co-benefits."

   The plan states, "EPA regularly receives much public comment related to how costs and benefits are considered in decision making. Commenters argued in past rulemakings the Agency has justified the stringency of a standard based on the estimated benefits from reductions in pollutants not directly regulated by the action (i.e., 'ancillary benefits' or 'co-benefits')."

   Such language, while appearing to state the status quo, worries advocates of strong rules to protect the environment and public health. They see the text as EPA and its allies questioning the validity of co-benefits.

   As an advance notice of proposed rulemaking and not a proposed rule, the EPA action is still in the early stages of consideration.'That just doesn't fly'

   Environmentalists and most economists say counting co-benefits is common sense.

   "Good benefit-cost analysis — and this is what I tell my students — counts everything on both sides of the ledger," Shapiro said. "If, because of this regulation, there's going to be less particulate matter in the sky causing asthma or heart attacks, then we should count that."

   John Walke, clean air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, noted that OMB Circular A-4 explicitly tells agencies, "Your analysis should look beyond the direct benefits and direct costs of your rule and consider any important ancillary benefits and countervailing risks."

   Walke said "it's a matter of basic, honest economics to include direct and indirect benefits, and direct and indirect cost, when conducting credible benefit-cost analysis."

   But conservatives and industry groups say considering the co-benefits of Clean Air Act rules is duplicative, since the NAAQS already takes account of particulate matter.

   Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group founded by David and Charles Koch, wrote to EPA in May 2016 regarding the ozone standard, "The only way EPA could justify the regulation was to use questionable co-benefits."

   The group wrote, "In reducing ozone, there may also be benefits from reductions of other pollutants, in this case particulate matter (PM). However, the EPA already has another set of regulations dealing exclusively with PM. Either the EPA has woefully inadequate standards for PM or it is effectively double counting the health benefits of PM reductions to justify the ozone regulation."A mercurial debate

   The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule has emerged as the sort of poster child of the fight over co-benefits. That's because astronomical co-benefits were the reason the rules passed muster under President Obama.

   EPA finalized the standards in 2011, requiring coal-burning power plants to reduce emissions of hazardous substances including mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium by installing control technologies or retiring the plant.

   Twenty-one states, as well as business and industry groups, sued, and in 2015, the Supreme Court found that EPA had not adequately considered costs when deciding to regulate toxic emissions from power plants. Justices sent the rule back to EPA.

   In 2016, the Obama administration issued a supplemental determination finding that the standards were still "appropriate and necessary," even with the consideration of costs.

   EPA projected that the standards would annually cost $9.6 billion, making them among the most expensive air rules ever. But the agency found that the costs were far outweighed by benefits of between $37 billion and $90 billion a year — including co-benefits of $33 billion to $81 billion a year.

   In its regulatory impact analysis, the agency said the rule would lead to reductions in particulate matter that could prevent between 4,200 and 11,000 premature deaths.

   But conservative and industry groups were quick to criticize the Obama EPA's analysis, saying co-benefits shouldn't be the deciding factor in whether a rule passes muster.

   "That's one problem I have, where you have a rule that can't be justified based on the target of the rule, be it mercury or whatever," said Diane Katz, senior research fellow in regulatory policy at the Heritage Foundation.

   "So you have to count other components that are already regulated under other regulations," Katz said. "You're effectively counting the same particle more than once. And that just doesn't fly."

   Susan Dudley, who served as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the George W. Bush administration, agreed that the mercury rule presented a "concern."

   "In many cases, the co-benefits are orders of magnitude larger than the direct benefits," said Dudley, who now heads the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, in an email. "If that's the case, surely those benefits could be obtained more cost-effectively by tackling them directly, rather than as an ancillary effect of another measure."

   Litigation over the Obama EPA's supplemental finding was pending when the Trump administration took office. In April 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed to indefinitely postpone the proceedings to allow the new administration time to figure out what to do.

   EPA air chief Bill Wehrum said in April that the administration had not made a decision on how to proceed with the standards (Greenwire, April 19).

   https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086173
   

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3. 2 More Republicans Join Climate Solutions Caucus

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

   By Kelsey Brugger

   The Climate Solutions Caucus continues to grow, even as it fails to produce any climate legislation.

   Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo's office announced yesterday that four new members are joining the bipartisan caucus, bringing its membership to 82 lawmakers, split evenly between the parties.

   The two new Republican members — Reps. Bill Posey of Florida and Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, who is retiring — have questionable environmental records in the eyes of greens. Last year, the League of Conservation Voters gave them among the lowest ratings on its national scorecard.

   Two Democrats also joined, Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. Both have been outspoken about the problems associated with climate change, and both have received high scores from the LCV.

   While the caucus's Democrats tend to speak out about the damaging impacts of climate change, its Republican members have been more timid.

   It's unclear to what extent Posey and Jenkins feel that humans are contributing to global warming. Posey has said he doesn't question that the Earth is getting warmer, but he does wonder about "the exact amount of who caused what."

   He has challenged climate experts during congressional hearings. At a House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing last month, when Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said the White Cliffs of Dover in England are tumbling into the ocean and causing sea-level rise, Posey brought up the popular fake Time magazine cover story. He said scientists believed 30 years ago that the Earth was cooling.

   George Cecala, Posey's spokesman, said the congressman views it as his job to question experts. "Mr. Posey's job here is to be a policymaker," he said. "He's not here to be a scientist."

   He said there are a lot of people who don't even want to work on the issue. "He refuses to be one of those people who refuses to contribute to a conversation," Cecala said.

   Cecala explained that the congressman has a long history of supporting local environmental causes in central Florida. Part of the reason Posey joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, Cecala said, was to help promote the bipartisan Congressional Estuary Caucus, which he formed to provide grant funding to restore estuaries.

   Cecala said constituents approached Posey a few weeks ago, adding, "He had been thinking about it for some time. His position is the best solutions come from the places you least expect."

   Jenkins' views are even harder to pin down.

   The Kansas congresswoman tweeted in 2010 that she co-sponsored a resolution overturning an EPA rule that says man-made greenhouse gas emissions are a danger to public health.

   Three years ago, she signed a letter opposing President Obama's $3 billion contribution to the U.N. Green Climate Fund.

   Jenkins' office declined to grant an interview with the congresswoman.

   Made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, the caucus holds semi-regular briefings on climate solutions. It has blocked anti-climate legislation but hasn't crafted its own bills.

   Supporters say the "Noah's Ark" formation allows lawmakers to discuss climate policy ideas that have a better chance of becoming law. Earlier this month, the caucus held a briefing on financing green energy that was mostly attended by congressional interns and climate group representatives.

   About 40 Democrats are on a waiting list to join the caucus. Before they can, they need to find a Republican counterpart.

   Critics say the caucus has failed to take action on an urgent issue, and the group "greenwashes" vulnerable Republicans.

   Curbelo, who co-founded the caucus in February 2016 with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), has pushed back against criticism from environmentalists that the group provides cover for vulnerable Republicans.

   "They are on the record supporting this cause," Curbelo has said. "And obviously, they are willing to at least put their names forward, knowing they will be held accountable in some way. They are opening themselves to these questions — that's great for the cause."

   https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086113
   

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LCSA News

4. (ACC Mentioned) 2 Years After Reformed TSCA, Pruitt’s EPA Has Failed to Protect Us from Toxic Chemicals

   Jun 22, 2018 | Environmental Working Group

   By Melanie Benesh

   On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law a significant overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, the nation’s primary chemical safety law. It was the first update to the law, which was widely considered to be the least effective environmental law on the books, in 40 years.

   The updated TSCA is supposed to regulate thousands of chemicals used industrially and also in an array of consumer products like paint, cleaning products, mattresses, clothes, insulation and more.

   But under Administrator Scott Pruitt’s leadership, the Environmental Protection Agency has taken every opportunity to undermine, not enhance, chemical safety. Two years later, here are 10 ways Pruitt’s EPA has failed to protect Americans under the new law: 

   1.   Rubber-stamping new chemicals

   The update to TSCA required the EPA to make affirmative safety decisions about new chemicals for the first time. At first, the EPA appeared to be taking this responsibility seriously by rigorously reviewing new chemicals before they could come onto the market. However, in August 2017, the Pruitt EPA fundamentally changed the way it was reviewing these new chemicals and eliminated a backlog of 600 new chemicals overnight. Since June 2016, the EPA has reviewed more than 2,000 new chemicals, more than half of which have been approved to come onto the market. In January, the Natural Resources Defense Council sued the EPA over its actions on new chemicals.

   2.    Delaying a ban on a toxic paint-stripping chemical that has caused four deaths in one year

   Methylene chloride is a highly toxic chemical used in paint strippers that until recently most consumers could buy at their local hardware stores. In the waning days of the Obama administration, the EPA proposed banning it. However, the EPA signaled in December that the ban would be delayed indefinitely. At least four people have died using paint strippers containing the chemical since the ban was proposed, and more than 50 people have died from it since 1980. Although the EPA recently reversed course and announced it would be taking action on methylene chloride after meeting with victims’ families, many important details remain unknown. In the absence of EPA action, several retailers – including Lowes, Sherwin Williams and Home Depot – have taken steps to remove methylene chloride paint strippers from their shelves.

   The fate of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, another toxic paint-stripping chemical the EPA previously considered banning, remains uncertain.

   3.      Abandoning proposed bans on uses of TCE, the chemical from “A Civil Action”

   Trichloroethylene, or TCE, is a known carcinogen made infamous in the book and movie “A Civil Action.” It has caused various cancers in former residents of the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina, and it contaminates military bases throughout the U.S. TCE is also linked to birth defects, hormone disruption, Parkinson’s disease, and damage to the immune system and kidneys. The EPA proposed banning some uses of TCE in aerosol degreasing, spot cleaning and vapor degreasing, in December 2016 and January 2017. But earlier this month, the Pruitt EPA signaled that it would delay or even scrap these proposed bans. The EPA also laid the groundwork to ignore a key study linking TCE to birth defects.

   4.      Gutting proposed “framework rules”

   The updated TSCA requires the EPA to develop two so-called “framework rules” governing how the EPA chooses chemicals to assess and how it conducts those assessments. The EPA issued two proposed framework rules that were robust and health protective in the final days of the Obama administration. However, in July 2017, the Pruitt EPA gutted those proposed rules before finalizing them to be in line with the chemical industry’s priorities. More than a dozen environmental and public health groups have sued the EPA in response.

   5.      Cooking the books on risk assessments by excluding key exposures

   The updated TSCA requires the EPA to, for the first time, systematically and comprehensively assess chemicals already on the market by looking at all uses and exposures to a chemical. However, when the EPA released key scoping documents for its assessments of the first 10 chemicals last year, it excluded critical sources of exposures – like asbestos in old building materials, and 1,4-dioxane in personal care and cleaning products. In so-called “problem formulations” released earlier this month, the EPA narrowed these assessments even further and excluded major routes of chemical exposure like air pollution, waste disposal and even drinking water. An analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund found that the EPA will ignore more than 68 million pounds of seven out of the 10 chemicals released into air, water and land every year.

   6.      Stacking leadership positions with industry-friendly nominees and appointees

   The EPA has also looked to industry advocates to fill leadership positions in the offices responsible for implementing the new law. Nancy Beck, who holds a leadership position in the EPA’s chemical safety office, came to the agency directly from the American Chemistry Council, where she lobbied for weaker chemical safety regulations. Michael Dourson was nominated for the top post in the EPA’s chemical safety office after a long career of doing junk science for the chemical industry. He withdrew his nomination after significant public backlash. 

   7.      Protecting “secret chemicals”

   The updated TSCA limits the amount of information the EPA can keep secret about chemical information submitted to the agency, including safety studies. However, an analysis earlier this year found that the EPA is routinely ignoring this change in the law, and is failing to release health and safety studies provided with new chemical filings. In recent guidance, the EPA also failed to acknowledge its obligation to give certain government and medical professionals access to chemical information the agency possesses.

   8.      Cutting critical agency resources

   The new law imposes many new requirements on the agency. To meet these new obligations, the agency needs adequate resources. Nonetheless, the fee rule proposed by Pruitt’s EPA dramatically underestimates costs and lets the industry get away without paying its fair share. Additionally, the president’s budget, released in February, proposed significant cuts to the EPA – including deep cuts to programs that remediate lead in homes and research hormone-disrupting chemicals. Additionally, the EPA has put significant pressure on employees to leave the agency with early buyouts, putting the agency at its lowest staffing levels since 1988.

   9.      Undermining EPA science

   At the end of April, the EPA proposed radically changing the kinds of science the agency can rely on to guide decision-making. This so-called “secret science” rule would prevent the agency from relying on studies based on confidential medical data – even if those studies are thoroughly peer-reviewed. The proposed rule would also restrict some studies that haven’t been published. Even Nancy Beck acknowledged that these draconian measures would make it more difficult to make decisions under TSCA. In emails released to the Union of Concerned Scientists, she warned the proposed rule would “jeopardize our entire pesticide registration/re-registration review process and likely all TSCA risk evaluations.”  

   10.  Failing to adequately consider vulnerable populations

   The updated TSCA requires the EPA to explicitly consider and mitigate risks to vulnerable populations like children, pregnant women, workers and the elderly. But by excluding key sources of exposure from its chemical safety evaluations, the EPA fails to protect these susceptible populations. For example, children drink more water per pound of bodyweight than adults. By excluding drinking water from its chemical risk evaluations, the EPA is failing to account for particular risks to children. By excluding waste disposal and air pollution from its evaluations, the EPA is failing to consider special risks for fenceline communities, where there may be higher concentrations of chemicals in the air or soil.

   https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/06/2-years-after-reformed-tsca-pruitt-s-epa-has-failed-protect-us-toxic#.Wy0WRFUzbX4
   

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5. EPA Celebrates New Chemical Safety Milestones on 2nd Anniversary of Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act

   Jun 22, 2018 | The National Law Review

   On the two-year anniversary of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has met its statutory responsibilities to release guidance and policy on confidential business information, a strategy to reduce animal testing, and a final mercury reporting rule.

   “At this two-year milestone, I am proud to say that the Agency is delivering results and meeting the statutory responsibilities and deadlines of the new law,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “These actions will boost transparency and increase public confidence in chemical safety.”

   Under Administrator Pruitt, EPA has once again met the important deadlines set by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, which amended the nation’s primary chemicals management law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), by the Act’s June 22, 2018 deadline. The legislation received bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and provides significant new responsibilities and authorities to EPA to advance chemical safety. 

   EPA has completed the following milestones at this two-year anniversary:Finalized strategy to reduce animal testing. The strategy promotes the development and implementation of alternative test methods and strategies to reduce, refine, or replace vertebrate animal testing. It also incorporates input from public meetings and written comments. Learn more.Final rule on reporting mercury manufacturing and imports. The information collected through the new reporting requirements will be used to develop future inventories of mercury and mercury-containing product supply, use, and trade in the United States. Learn more.Guidance for state, tribal, and local governments, and medical personnel and emergency responders on sharing confidential business information (CBI). These guidances specify the process that will enable other governmental entities and medical and emergency personnel to request CBI information. Learn more.Policy and procedures for assigning unique identifiers to better publicly track information on chemicals while protecting CBI. An identifier will be applied to a substance, whose identity is protected as CBI, as well as to other related information or submissions concerning the same substance. This will allow the public to connect information related to the same substance, even while the specific identity is protected as confidential. Learn more.Guidance on structurally descriptive generic names. This guidance will allow EPA to share more information with the public about the structure of substances while protecting the confidential elements of the substance’s specific chemical identity. TSCA Submitters claiming the specific chemical identity of a chemical substance as CBI are required to supply a structurally descriptive generic name that can be disclosed to the public. Learn more.

   In addition to these two-year anniversary milestones, EPA has diligently worked to implement the first major update to an environmental statute in 20 years. Here are some highlights:

   On June 22, 2017 – the one-year anniversary of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act – EPA met milestones for three framework TSCA rules: the Prioritization Process Rule, the Risk Evaluation Process Rule, and the Inventory Rule. EPA’s TSCA team is working hard to implement these important processes.

   EPA announced the first ten chemicals to undergo risk evaluations and then issued corresponding scope documents for these chemicals, which describe the scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted, including the hazards, exposures, conditions of use, and potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations that the Agency expects to consider. And last month, EPA released problem formulation documentsto refine those scope documents. This is an important interim step prior to completing and publishing the final risk evaluations by December 2019.

   EPA also released a systematic review approach for public comment to guide EPA’s selection and review of studies and provide transparency in how the Agency plans to evaluate scientific information. EPA proposed a significant new use rule (SNUR) for public comment enabling the Agency to prevent new uses of asbestos – the first such action on asbestos ever proposed as well.

   EPA took a number of actions to address the review of new chemical submissions to the Agency:  EPA decreased the backlog of new chemicals awaiting EPA review, increased transparency through a public meeting as well as a guidance document for companies and the public to better explain how our analyses are conducted, and added a pre-consultation step to engage early with companies, increase their certainty and improve new chemical submissions.

   Pursuant to the amended law, EPA also proposed a fees rule on certain chemical manufacturers – including importers and processors – to provide a sustainable source of funding to support resources implementing EPA’s new responsibilities under the amended law. 

   https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-celebrates-new-chemical-safety-milestones-2nd-anniversary-lautenberg-chemical
   

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Chemical Management News

6. MA Senate Passes Bill to Ban Toxic Flame Retardants

   Jun 22, 2018 | Patch.com

   The Massachusetts Senate voted unanimously on June 21 to ban 11 toxic flame retardants from children's products, bedding and residential upholstered furniture sold or manufactured in the Commonwealth. Public health advocates hailed the vote as an important legislative victory and called upon the House to pass the bill before the end of the Massachusetts Legislative session.

   
   Senator Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton) and 32 co-sponsors filed S.2555 An act to protect children and firefighters from harmful flame retardants. A similar bill, H.1245, has been filed in the House by Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge).
   
   Creem commented, "This is an important victory for the health of children, firefighters and all residents of Massachusetts. We have long been aware of the dangers of toxic flame retardants and it's high time that we protect our most vulnerable populations."
   
   Since 1975, manufacturers have added chemical flame retardants to a wide array of household items. Flame retardants are commonly found in products with polyurethane foam, such as sofas, car seats, strollers, and nap mats. They are also incorporated into electronic products and building insulation. Research has shown that flame retardants migrate out of products into household air and dust and are found in the blood of almost every American tested.
   
   The flame retardants banned by Creem's bill have been linked to increased risk of cancer, fertility problems, neurological disorders, and other serious health concerns.
   
   Kathryn Rodgers of Silent Spring Institute says, "As scientists, we have been sounding the alarm for many years about the public's widespread exposure to dangerous flame retardant chemicals in consumer products." 
   
   In 2012, reporters at The Chicago Tribune found that flame retardant chemicals are not effective in slowing or stopping the spread of fire. Worse, many flame retardant chemicals become more toxic when burned, which puts firefighters especially at risk. Massachusetts firefighters have cancer rates three times higher than the general public.
   
   "Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety (MassCOSH) has made passing a flame retardants ban one of its priorities because each year we read the names of fire fighters on Worker Memorial day who died from occupational disease. Ironically, chemicals marketed as flame retardants are among the substances that can cause cancers and other adverse health effects for firefighters and the public," said Tolle Graham MassCOSH Labor and Environment Director. "We thank Massachusetts Senators for passing this bill and urge the House to do the same before the end of July."
   
   Cheryl Osimo, Executive Director of Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC) says, "Our children and brave firefighters should not be exposed to ineffective chemicals that needlessly cause harm." Margo Golden, Board President, adds, "We continue to defend the health of our firefighters, and to give our children and future generations the benefit of living a safer, healthier, and fuller life."
   
   Nine of the 11 flame retardants banned in the Senate bill passed today are "organohalogen" flame retardants. In September 2017, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) agreed to consider a ban on organohalogen flame retardants. The commission also issued a warning, advising consumers to stay away from products with organohalogen flame retardants and suggesting that retailers stop carrying them. 
   
   In practice, this warning is close to impossible for consumers to follow, because most products with chemical flame retardants are not labeled. That's why the bill passed today is an important victory for firefighters, children, and families.
   
   The bill echoes a growing national outcry over the use of flame retardants in consumer products. In 2012, the Chicago Tribunepublished a series of articles exposing the deceptive campaign by the tobacco and chemical industries to keep in place policies requiring the heavy use of flame retardants. The Tribune reported that through a blatant misrepresentation of facts, industry advocates misled the American public into believing that flame retardants were a life-saving technology. In reality, the heavy doses of flame retardants added to couches, mattresses, kid's pajamas and other items have done more harm than good.
   
   In order for S.2555 to become law, the House of Representatives must vote on its version of the bill, and Senate and House versions must be reconciled, by July 31, 2018. If the bill becomes law, Massachusetts will join 13 other states, including Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Washington, in restricting the use of flame retardants. 
   
   "Kudos to the Senate for recognizing that we can achieve public safety without compromising public health," said Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts Director for Clean Water Action. "We urge the House to take equally bold action so that we can join neighboring states in protecting children, firefighters and all of us for generations to come."

   https://patch.com/massachusetts/beaconhill/ma-senate-passes-bill-ban-toxic-flame-retardants
   

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Energy News

7. Lawmakers Press Admin over Delays to Safety Rules

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

   By Jenny Mandel

   House Democrats took aim at the agency charged with pipeline safety yesterday, threatening closer scrutiny in an upcoming reauthorization cycle as its chief promised progress on long-delayed rules to address a host of unmet congressional mandates.

   Skip Elliott, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, assured lawmakers numerous times that he was doing all he could to move forward with several rulemakings that would resolve most of the open issues before the agency, even as he dodged questions about why they have dragged on so long.

   "We recognize that the 2016 PIPES Act has a number of open mandates, as [does] the 2011" pipeline safety act, Elliott testified. "We're trying to move the rules that close most of those open mandates, as well as open National Transportation Safety Board and Government Accountability Office requirements."

   At issue are measures to address pipeline leak detection, corrosion control, risk assessment, maximum operating pressures and new rules for unregulated gas gathering lines, among others.

   During the Obama administration, PHMSA advanced a so-called mega-rule that would have addressed many of the mandates. The Trump White House pulled that rule from consideration, and PHMSA has since broken some of the most important components of that mega-rule into smaller rulemakings that Elliott said are his top priority.

   Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle asked Elliott to explain PHMSA's delay in implementing requirements passed into law as long as eight years ago, with several Democrats suggesting the failures would be at issue when the agency faces reauthorization next year.

   Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) sought to pin the PHMSA chief down on where the hang-up lies, given Elliott's testimony that the agency has sufficient staff and funding to complete its work, as well as a good working relationship with the Office of Management and Budget, which serves as a gatekeeper for rulemakings governmentwide.

   "I can't put my finger on any one item or thing that's the holdup," Elliott responded. "I can tell you that we will continue to work very, very hard to move these regulations through to conclusion."

   At various times he alluded to delays caused by reviews external to PHMSA, which he quipped he was "learning quickly about" during his first year on the job.

   California Democratic Rep. John Garamendi harangued Elliott for having no concrete timeline to offer, promising to send a wall calendar to the PHMSA chief's office to aid in planning. "Give us a calendar date on when you're going to begin the process to move the process along and when it will be completed," Garamendi said.

   Rep. Michael Capuano (D) of Massachusetts lit into Elliott for the agency's foot-dragging.

   "I'm a little bit more than frustrated, to be honest with you. I'm kinda angry. I would rather be sitting here fighting with you about the substance of your regulations that maybe I don't like or whatever, but I can't even do that," Capuano said.

   "It seems like when you don't want to do stuff, you just don't do it. And for me, that kinda bodes poorly for reauthorization. It means I'm going to be looking at ways to get you to do your job," the lawmaker went on.

   "Honestly, when you want to build pipelines, it makes my job darned near impossible to look at my constituents and say, 'Trust PHMSA,'" he added, "when I don't have a regulation that says what's too much to put in the pipeline; when I don't have a regulation that says how're we going to turn these things off when they do fail; when I have an agency that sits there and tells me something on the order of 35 to 50 percent of the accidents that we've had are preventable."

   "My responsibility," Elliott replied, "is to make you feel good about PHMSA again."

   https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086081
   

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8. More Gas Is Leaking Than Previously Estimated — Study

   Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

   By John Fialka

   A new study by the Environmental Defense Fund and a team of university scientists estimates that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere each year, losing $2 billion annually from over 400 leak-prone drilling and processing facilities.

   The losses, according to the study published yesterday in the journal Science, are 60 percent more than those estimated by EPA.

   The studies "have transformed our understanding of methane emissions from natural gas systems in the United States," said David Allen, a drilling expert at the University of Texas, who was one of 19 co-authors of the paper.

   Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a major greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the climate warming power of carbon dioxide measured over a 20-year time span. According to EDF, the researchers found that 2.3 percent of the gas produced is leaked into the air. That's more than estimates by EPA, which found a 1.4 percent leak rate.

   The additional lost gas would be enough to heat 10 million U.S. homes, according to EDF.

   Steven Hamburg, EDF's chief scientist who has led its five-year methane leak investigation, said it amounts to a "huge problem, but also an enormous opportunity." In a press statement, he said that reducing the industry's methane leaks would be "the fastest, most cost-effective way we have to slow the rate of warming today."

   EDF noted that the International Energy Agency estimates that worldwide the industry could reduce its emissions by 75 percent and that two-thirds of the leaks could be plugged "at zero net cost."

   Jeff Peischl, a scientist from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a partnership between Colorado University and NOAA, said the climate impact of the oil and gas industry's leaks was "roughly the climate impact of carbon dioxide emissions from all U.S. coal-fired power plants" operating in the United States in 2015.

   He called the new study "the best estimate to date on the climate impact of oil and gas activity in the U.S." Colm Sweeney, an atmospheric scientist in NOAA's Global Monitoring Division, said, "Identifying the biggest leakers could substantially reduce emissions we have measured."

   In December, the American Petroleum Institute announced what it called "a landmark partnership" among its members, a voluntary program that would focus initially on reducing methane leaks and emissions of volatile organic compounds.

   EDF noted in its statement yesterday that Exxon Mobil Corp. has committed to cut methane emissions along with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Qatar Petroleum and other producers. EDF recently announced plans to launch a space satellite — "MethaneSAT" — to measure and map human-caused methane emissions almost anywhere on Earth.

   https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086093
   

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9. Ewire: Study Finds Oil & Gas Methane Leaks Higher Than EPA Estimates

   Jun 22, 2018 | Inside EPA

   A major new study finds that the oil and gas sector's methane emissions are far higher than official EPA estimates, with environmentalists arguing that the figures underscore the need for the agency to impose controls on operators to fix leaks at drilling sites and other equipment.

   The June 21 study was published in the journal Science, and was conducted by researchers with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), University of Texas-Austin and others.

   It finds that methane leaks equaled about 2.3 percent of the oil and gas sector's production in 2015, which is nearly double the 1.4 percent rate EPA estimated in its latest greenhouse gas inventory.

   EDF has long focused on reducing methane in the oil and gas sector, given that it is a much more potent GHG than carbon dioxide over the short term. It argues that the sector can reduce leaks by up to 75 percent, and that much of those reductions can pay for themselves by capturing product that would otherwise be lost.

   “Those emissions are avoidable, not inherent,” EDF's Steven Hamburg, a study co-author, told the New York Times.

   The Trump EPA has sought to reverse Obama-era methane rules for the oil and gas sector, with Administrator Scott Pruitt in his first few weeks in office scuttling an information collection request that could have informed future rules on existing sources in the sector -- which environmentalists argue are responsible for the bulk of emissions.

   In addition, Pruitt has sought to delay implementation of 2016 standards for new and modified drilling equipment, and is considering weakening such requirements.

   That Times cited prior research showing that natural gas-fired power plants could be worse for the climate than coal plants if the gas sector's methane leakage rate rose above 4 percent.

   “Neither the EPA’s estimates of leakage rates nor the higher estimates in the new study suggest that gas has crossed that threshold,” the story says. “Still, experts said that curbing methane emissions from oil and gas operations could prove an important climate policy.”

   The study finds a much higher leakage rate due to a greater prevalence of so-called “super-emitters,” which are much larger than normal leaks.

   The Times quotes an official with the American Gas Association as questioning the study's methodology and suggesting that “some alternative hypotheses were too readily dismissed.”

   Similarly, an American Petroleum Institute statement on the study said it is still reviewing the specifics of the paper but that there are “limitations of relying of airborne measurements alone to draw firm conclusions on methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry.”

   https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-study-finds-oil-gas-methane-leaks-higher-epa-estimates
   

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10. Fracking chemicals linked to weight gain in mice

    Jun 22, 2018 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (In E&E Energywire)

    By Don Hopey

    A new Duke University-led study links exposure to chemicals used in shale-gas fracking to the development of fat cells in mice.

    Mice exposed to chemicals contained in wastewater from West Virginia and Colorado operations went through weight gains of 5 to 10 percent, the researchers found. That reflected laboratory experiments finding that living mouse fat cells increased in size and number.

    Christopher Kassotis, lead author and a researcher at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, said the study "doesn't show that people are getting fat from fracking" but does suggest that the metabolic health of mice could changed by contact with small amounts of fracking wastewater. And mice's metabolism works similarly to that of humans.

    A separate study will look at whether humans and other animals exposed to the chemicals would experience weight gain or greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and other metabolic health issues, he added.

    "There's a limited understanding of potential adverse health effects of people living near these shale gas well locations," said Kassotis, "and a lot we don't know about human exposures" (Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 20). — DI

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086041
    

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11. How Big Data Will Soon Tackle Pollution from Industrial Sites near You

    Jun 22, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund

    By Beth Trask

    One day in the not-so-distant future, oil refineries, chemical plants, natural gas wells and other industrial sites will be fully wired.

    A network of sensors will detect a harmful pollutant the moment a leak occurs, and within minutes, a maintenance crew will be deployed to complete the repair. Government inspectors will maintain records of such pollution events and of company response times – and people living near industrial sites who signed up for alerts on their smart phones will rest easy, knowing it’s safe for their kids to play outside.

    We can see this utopia on the horizon. Big data paired with sensors and strong science are changing how we detect and prevent pollution, and fast. Projects are already on the ground, propelling us toward that future.Oil and gas companies test emerging technology

    After four years of research and development, several cutting-edge – and affordable – technology solutions have emerged to help oil and gas companies rein in methane leaks. They point the way to those fully wired industrial sites coming our way.

    Norway’s Equinor (formerly Statoil) and global energy giant Shell became the first energy producers to install a new solar-powered device in 2017 that continuously detects methane leaks. It was created by Quanta3, a Colorado-based startup that developed the technology through the Methane Detectors Challenge.

    PG&E, meanwhile, installed a similar laser-based technology, developed by San-Francisco startup Acutect – another stand-out technology from the challenge – at a natural gas storage facility in northern California.

    The key to bringing these and other innovations to scale is big data.Data from 80K wells helped expose reporting gaps

    State officials in Pennsylvania learned recently that pollution from oil and gas wells within its borders is likely five times higher than industry had reported. By crunching data from more than 80,000 active wells and pairing it with peer-reviewed research, we were able to show what was really going on.

    The new estimates were based on recent pollution measurements conducted by Carnegie Mellon University researchers. Suspecting that the industry-reported data was off, they had used sensors and state-of-the-art mobile monitoring methods to gather accurate emissions data from oil and gas wells in the Marcellus Shale basin.

    Our scientists then used this data to develop a new algorithm for estimating total emissions. Along with finding higher-than-reported methane emissions, they discovered that air toxics and smog-forming chemicals were nine times higher than what operators said.

    A user-friendly platform now gives policymakers and citizens access to this massive trove of data, along with tools for identifying ways to cut emissions.

    At least one other state is already using these tools and we’re planning to expand their use elsewhere.

    Operators can miss 50 percent or more of what they emit.

    By contrast, most well operators today still use a decidedly low-tech approach to report their emissions: They multiply each piece of equipment on their site by an outdated emissions rate that doesn’t account for malfunctions or human error.

    It means they can miss 50 percent or more of what they emit and that the full extent of the pollution from most of America’s roughly one million oil and gas wells is unaccounted for.

    So entrepreneurs are also looking to the next frontiers of science to fill in the blanks.Satellites, data science will pinpoint pollution hotspots

    A new “audacious” project to launch a satellite in early 2021, dedicated solely to tackling methane pollution, is our next step. The MethaneSAT will help companies and governments pinpoint the location and magnitude of emissions virtually anywhere on Earth.

    The transmission of such data from space will eventually help nations build out those real-time monitoring networks and make them ubiquitous.

    At the same time, ongoing advances in data science – especially predictive analytics and machine learning – will soon allow computers to make data-driven predictions, identifying likely pollution events before they even happen.

    BP is already piloting such technologies in Wyoming in partnership with Silicon Valley’s Kelvin Inc.

    This way, companies and governments will soon have the information they need – and the responsibility – to take action.

    Importantly, it will empower citizens to hold them all accountable. That is what democracy looks like and how our kids will soon breathe cleaner air. This is not a utopia; it’s our future.

    https://www.edf.org/blog/2018/06/22/how-big-data-will-soon-tackle-pollution-plant-near-you
    

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12. Exporters warily dodge tariff fight — for now

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

    By Hannah Northey

    Could a quickly escalating trade spat ensnare the nation's burgeoning natural gas export market and President Trump's push for "energy dominance"?

    Maybe, but not today.

    So far, the United States' growing export market for domestic gas has dodged a rapidly evolving trade tiff between the White House and U.S. trade partners like China. But industry players say other countries' willingness to continuously up the ante has triggered concerns about a lucrative and expanding international liquefied natural gas market.

    Trump earlier this week threatened to impose tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese products. China punched back, vowing to retaliate with tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of products including U.S. oil and coal — but not LNG.

    Escalation at such a breakneck pace has triggered questions about when or if LNG could be caught up in the international drama.

    "As the back-and-forth between the U.S. and China escalates, both administrations have demonstrated that when one levies tariffs, there's a response," said Charlie Riedl, head of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.

    Most likely to be affected by a Chinese tariff on LNG imports are the United States' "second wave" of gas exporters, firms that have obtained federal permits for their export terminals and are now aggressively pitching product to China and working to secure long-term contracts, Riedl said.

    China, he added, could offset U.S. gas with sources from Russia, Qatar and Australia.

    But analysts say China's growing demand, driven by a shift from coal to gas and the need for fuel throughout winter months, will buffer the United States' exporters.

    Nicholas Browne, head of Wood Mackenzie's Asia-Pacific gas and LNG practice, said in a statement that U.S. LNG eased tight supplies in China related to the country's switch from coal to gas.

    U.S. LNG, Browne estimates, will account for a third of the incremental global LNG supply growth this year and 45 percent in 2019.

    "The trade war between China and US is at a nascent stage with an uncertain extent or duration," Browne wrote. "However, LNG is clearly seen as an essential good by the Chinese government. Given this, in the event of an escalation, LNG is likely to remain outside the bounds of any additional tariffs."

    Others say market fundamentals — namely, the soaring need for gas internationally — will likely overshadow any near-term concern over tariffs.

    Fred Hutchison, who leads the lobbying group LNG Allies, agreed that the industry is eyeing the tariff fight, but said commercial discussions and negotiations continue to move forward, driven by growing demand for gas.

    Hutchison said there's an acknowledgement that it takes four years to construct an export terminal, and the United States needs to move forward quickly to avoid a spike in prices in four to five years.

    "Commercial discussions are ongoing and close to bearing fruit," he said, adding that the fear of tariffs is a near-term policy issue that isn't likely to affect long-term contractual discussions.

    https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086205
    

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13. Shale’s Suffering Indigestion, Not a Heart Attack

    Jun 22, 2018 | Bloomberg

    By Liam Denning

    The Permian basin is the center of shale’s world, whether it fascinates investors or, as today, repels them. The recent selloff has obscured that.

    The Permian’s denizens are currently victims of their own success. Production of oil and gas has outrun the pipeline capacity to get it all to market, leading to steep discounts being taken on some of it. Shares of exploration and production firms focused on the basin, and their oilfield services contractors, have tumbled as investors grapple with an uncertain 18 months or so until new pipelines get built (along with all the usual uncertainty about oil and gas). 

    Notice that stocks with some exposure to the Permian but a few other options too — the “Permian-exposed E&P” crowd like EOG Resources Inc. — have done well. They’re a reasonable place to hide out if you’re still broadly bullish about U.S. oil and think the Permian’s problems are temporary. After all, even as the Permian struggles, other basins like the Bakken are getting some of their mojo back.
    

    By the same token, though, if you think the Permian’s bottlenecks will be largely fixed by the time 2020 rolls around — and not everyone does, it seems — then it might be worth revisiting some of those harsh selloffs. After all, those diversified Permian-exposed stocks are sought-after partly because they’ll still have a stake in the basin when it gets sorted out.

    That’s because, when it comes to growth in U.S. oil production, the Permian is still the main event. No one expects it to flat-line even over the next year or two, just grow less quickly. As I wrote here, that disconnect between long-term value and short-term stock gyrations should attract acquirers, be they heavyweights like Exxon Mobil Corp. or just smaller Permian players getting together to sell a scale-and-synergies story.

    The latter, if done as all-stock deals, should be a no-brainer (and some activists certainly see it that way). The Permian basin is unusually fragmented, and bigger companies not only get to drill their land more efficiently, they also have the heft to either secure space on existing pipelines or persuade midstream companies to build new ones. Altogether, this should claw back some of that lost ground in valuation:

    There’s also a feedback loop to consider here. If the Permian falters more than expected in 2018 and 2019, then that should have a big impact on oil pricing. U.S. production growth is expected to almost match global oil demand this year and cover almost two-thirds of next year’s, the International Energy Agency forecasts. If fewer of those barrels show up for want of a pipe, then that ought to raise prices in general, all else equal (very little can be counted on to remain equal in oil, as this week’s festivities in Viennademonstrate, but bear with me).

    Higher prices would buoy non-Permian E&P stocks and even some of those Permian-focused players with access to exit routes for their oil, such as Pioneer Natural Resources Inc. and Diamondback Energy Inc. This would only serve to widen the gap between the haves and the (generally smaller) have-nots, offering a further impetus for deals.

    Those higher prices would also help out another set of companies caught in the downdraft, oilfield services contractors.

    The services firms have sold off partly because oil prices have come down ahead of the Vienna Group’s meeting. But Halliburton Co. has suffered more, given its higher exposure to U.S. shale basins and fears that frackers in the Permian will take a breather. Less-diversified rivals with an even sharper focus on fracking, such as ProPetro Holding Corp., have taken an even bigger hit.

    Concerns about the latter are more understandable, given the number of uncompleted wells in the Permian basin has roughly doubled to more than 3,200 over the past year.

    Halliburton, however, has a business spanning not just other shale basins but the whole world. Even if its clients in the Permian ease off, the resulting support lent to the oil price should provide a much-needed push elsewhere in North America and, especially, international fields. Schlumberger Ltd. and Baker Hughes, a GE Co., would stand to benefit even more from an international revival. That said, Schlumberger continues to trade at a sizable premium anyway, and Baker Hughes unfortunately remains in the shadow of the latest Dow Industrials dropout. Plus, of course, Halliburton remains best positioned for when the Permian gets back to full speed.

    Don’t mistake the Permian’s indigestion for a heart attack.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-22/permian-shale-selloff-indigestion-not-a-heart-attack
    

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Chemical Security News

14. How Often Is U.S. Grid Attacked? Monitor Doesn't Know — Yet

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Peter Behr

    U.S. power grid companies should expect dangerous cybersecurity intrusions to keep increasing, with adversaries seeking to break through defenses by infecting utilities' trusted suppliers, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. says.

    NERC's State of Reliability 2018 report, issued yesterday, provides a largely technical, backward look at the ability of high-voltage transmission companies and generators to meet grid operating requirements.

    NERC officials who briefed reporters on the latest assessment offered no comments on the ongoing debate over a proposed Energy Department grid resilience policy. The DOE plan — not yet acted on by the administration — would subsidize money-losing coal and nuclear power plants to keep them from retiring, in order to strengthen grid resources against emergency threats.

    Measures of day-to-day grid performance reflect continuing improvement, NERC said. Outages on transmission lines caused by human error and equipment failures declined.

    But like chin-stroking physicians at the foot of a patient's bed weighing their uncertainties, NERC grid monitors' confidence in grid security is limited by what they can measure, said James Merlo, vice president of reliability risk management for NERC, the high-voltage grid security monitor.

    Uncertainties stem from conditions they can't yet track precisely or adequately, like evolving cybersecurity threats or possible new operating challenges due to the transitions from traditional fossil-fueled power plants to renewable energy and storage technologies, Merlo said.

    Based on reports from industry, NERC stated that there were no successful cyberattacks on the federally regulated power networks. But, it added, "While there were no NERC-reportable cyber security incidents during 2017 and therefore none that caused a loss of load, this does not necessarily suggest that the risk of a cyber security incident is low, as the number of cyber security vulnerabilities are increasing."

    In fact, 2017 saw a succession of cyber campaigns against U.S. energy companies, including sophisticated cyber espionage aimed at penetrating nuclear plants to implant malware to steal operators' credentials and open secret internet channels for further compromises. Officials say that campaign, attributed to Russian state-backed hackers, did not penetrate reactor systems.

    NERC does not receive consistent information on attacks that don't succeed in causing power outages, Merlo noted.

    "Those are types of metrics we don't currently have," he said.

    "We don't know how many times the firewall worked. As we start to understand the threat, we find every day that, gosh, there were more attacks than we ever knew were coming, and we didn't even know they were attacks because they were so well camouflaged.

    "How many shots on goal are there? How many are we actually blocking or that never got even close?" Merlo asked. NERC is hoping to get better data on that front.

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which named Merlo's organization as its designated security monitor, is also seeking a more complete picture of the threat. On Dec. 21, the commission advanced a proposed rule that would require regulated grid companies to report cyber "break-in" attempts as well as hacking attacks that succeeded in interrupting power service (Energywire, Jan. 8).

    NERC yesterday repeated warnings from its threat coordination center, the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), predicting continued increases in phishing attacks against grid companies by hackers trying to steal operator's sign-on credentials.

    More of those attacks are expected to be routed through utilities' trusted vendors, construction contractors and business partners whose systems have been compromised by hackers and used as way stations to mount campaigns against utilities — an issue that is also subject to FERC rulemaking.

    The E-ISAC said that "smaller business partners may make easier targets of compromise from their smaller security budgets. Small businesses make for attractive initial targets because a phishing email from a trusted source may be more likely to be opened."

    Merlo said NERC is seeking more understanding of new complications faced by control room operators when a large power plant unexpectedly is forced to shut down, causing grid voltages or frequencies to veer from the normal, tightly controlled boundaries.

    When such shutdowns happen, nearby generators automatically step up their output to keep the system in balance. If frequency levels fall too low, then protective equipment on the grid begins to automatically shut down programmed sections of the systems, blacking out the customers — called "under frequency load shedding" (UFLS).

    One emerging issue is whether the special digital controls on solar power installations — inverters that convert solar energy from direct to alternating current — may inadvertently upset automatic frequency or voltage support processes, said David Till, NERC senior manager of performance analysis.

    "We're not sophisticated enough, nor is anyone, to say exactly how close you can get [to the load-shedding threshold] before you are in a troubled area," Till said.

    "With the changing resource mix, we have to make sure there's not a degradation that allows the frequency drop to start trigging UFLS, and do so multiple times before we can get it corrected. So we want to stay ahead of that."

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086083
    

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15. White House Embraces Cyber 'Surge Capacity'

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Blake Sobczak

    Facing a shortage of cyber talent, the White House is proposing to share security professionals among federal agencies under a far-reaching reform plan from the Office of Management and Budget.

    A mobile, cyber-savvy workforce would be "useful during a major cybersecurity incident, allowing agencies to surge capacity for incident response activities," OMB said yesterday in a sweeping set of recommendations to reshape the U.S. government.

    The White House office called for reviewing whether the cyber reservists could help the private sector respond to hacks "affecting critical infrastructure."

    OMB said it would coordinate any reservist program with existing cyber services offered by the departments of Homeland Security and Defense. For instance, state governors can already draw on support from the National Guard in the event a cyberattack overwhelms defenses at vital companies like electric utilities or chemical plants.

    The reservist program would cap off a wider effort to reform federal hiring practices for in-demand cyber specialists, according to OMB.

    But the fate of the Trump administration's overall vision for the federal government — which also includes controversial plans to merge the departments of Labor and Education and blend research and development offices at the Department of Energy — will in large part hinge on congressional action. Several lawmakers and nonprofit groups slammed many of President Trump's proposals yesterday, including a renewed push to sell off federal energy assets like those managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (E&E News PM, June 21).

    Margaret Weichert, OMB's deputy director for management, acknowledged that her office's plan is more of an "art of the possible exercise" but said some parts could move forward without lawmakers' approval.

    "This reform plan will not be implemented overnight, but rather can be used to frame the public discourse over the coming years," she said on a conference call with reporters.Workforce hurdles

    The OMB's cyber workforce recommendations may be less politically contentious, though they will still face headwinds for implementation. The Department of Commerce and DHS estimated last month that there are nearly 300,000 active job openings for cybersecurity-related positions throughout the U.S. And while the agencies noted in their report to the president that sharing pools of skilled workers could be an "obvious part of the cybersecurity workforce solution," they also pointed out that scant data exist to support scaling up the idea.

    "The workforce issue continues to be a major challenge for government, as well as industry," said Emma Garrison-Alexander, vice dean of cybersecurity and information assurance at the University of Maryland University College and former chief information officer of the Transportation Security Administration.

    Garrison-Alexander pointed out in a recent interview that private companies keep some competitive edges over federal agencies when it comes to winning over information technology talent, such as the ability to undercut the "daunting" federal hiring process by extending quick job offers to candidates.

    "The government loses people during that process, because they say, 'Hey, I have a job in one hand, and the promise of a job in the other,'" she said.

    The new White House report calls for DHS to lead a governmentwide review of the most "critical" cybersecurity vacancies, and work to quickly hire or retrain employees to fill them by next fall.Mutual assistance

    The North American energy industry has assembled a cyber-sharing effort within its own ranks, running a "cyber mutual assistance program" through the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council. More than 140 investor-owned utilities, natural gas companies and electric cooperatives now participate, according to the ESCC.

    The program is modeled off voluntary aid agreements for responding to severe weather, which see competing power companies share line workers, trucks and other equipment to speed up recovery.

    The White House plans to enable agencies to tap into extra cyber expertise during a major incident by the end of 2019. OMB's embrace of cyber mutual assistance stands in contrast to other parts of the federal government.

    DHS and DOE, for instance, have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the energy industry's mutual aid program in a recent report to Trump (Energywire, May 31). The report found that such assistance efforts may be "stressed" by the "widespread and unexpected" nature of a major attack and technical differences among individual companies' networks.

    "As cyber incidents may impact disparate systems across the country, the impacted owner-operators may not be familiar with each other's systems and procedures," DHS and DOE said.

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086085
    

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Transportation and Infrastructure News

16. (ACC Mentioned) White House Tries to Revive Air Traffic Control Spinoff Plan

    Jun 22, 2018 | Politico

    By Stephanie Beasley

    IF WE HAD IT OUR WAY: The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a far-reaching proposal to reorganize the federal government, with four pages dedicated to our favorite department. The document makes clear that the administration still wants air traffic control operations taken out of the FAA, even though President Donald Trump abandoned a bill from House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster that would’ve done that. “It had a chance five months ago. I’ve passed an FAA bill and had to take out privatization,” Shuster told CQ’s Jacob Fischler. “[The bill] passed the House and the Senate’s not going to do it. So five months too late. Great idea.”

    The administration also proposes:

    — Giving DOT responsibility over commercial navigation instead of the Army Corp of Engineers.

    — Transferring Saint Lawrence Seaway lock operations outside the government.

    — Designating DOT as in charge of “permitting alterations to bridges and aids to coastal navigation” instead of the Coast Guard.

    — Putting transit security grants under FTA instead of FEMA, and surface transportation security programs under DOT instead of TSA.

    — Studying whether the “organizational design” of the DOT Office of the Secretary “is optimal for allowing it to most effectively carry out its statutory responsibilities.”

    IT’S FRIDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Stephanie will be out for the next few days. But don’t worry, you’ll be in Tanya’s steady hands. Be sure to send your tips, scoops and song requests to her at tsnyder@politico.com or @TSnyderDC.

    “She was a real royal lady, true patron of the arts / She said the best country singers die in the back of classic cars.”

    LISTEN HERE: Follow MT’s playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with songs (picked by us and readers) about roads, rails and runways?

    POLITICO will be reporting from inside the World Gas Conference June 25-29. Sign up now for our pop-up conference newsletter to receive on-the-ground insights and information every afternoon from POLITICO Pro Energy editor Matt Daily.

    TWEETABLE: “[Rep. Garret] Graves says @Transport Chairman @RepBillShuster and RM @RepPeterDeFazio will introduce an infrastructure bill this year. Will deal with roads and bridges and promises to be ‘thought-provoking’ he says.” - CQ’s Fischler

    HOLD UP: The Coast Guard is proposing to delay implementation of its rule requiring cargo facilities to install biometric readers to verify transportation workers' ID cards. The final rule was scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 23, but the Coast Guard wants to extend the deadline for compliance by three years for certain facilities. Both lawmakers and industry groups have criticized the service’s rollout of the rule, saying that it has not provided enough guidance on how to meet the requirements. The Senate Commerce Committee announced Thursday that it planned to mark up a bill next week, S. 3094 (115), that would mandate a full delay of the rule until the Coast Guard submits a report assessing the need for biometric card readers. The House Homeland Security Committee approved a similar measure earlier this month.

    Close, but no cigar: The American Chemistry Council, which supports both bills, said the Coast Guard proposal doesn’t go far enough. “It does not extend the deadline for all facilities, just for some,” ACC spokesman Scott Jensen told MT. “So there will be still a number of facilities that need to meet the August deadline.” Given that, he said congressional action is still necessary. ACC is one of three groups that filed a lawsuit against the Coast Guard in April over the requirement. The International Liquid Terminals Association and the Fertilizer Institute are the other two plaintiffs.

    SENATE PANEL OKs DHS SPENDING BILL: Senate appropriators quickly approved a $55 billion fiscal year 2019 spending bill for DHS on Thursday. The legislation would help TSA and Customs staff up and help the Coast Guard pay for a long-sought new heavy polar icebreaker, among other items. Here’s our rundownof some of the top items from earlier this week.

    ** A message from PlanetM – Michigan, where big ideas in mobility are born:As the whole world jumps on the mobility bandwagon, only Michigan provides access to an ecosystem of knowledge, innovation, expertise and infrastructure that allows mobility companies to thrive. That’s why Michigan continues to rank as number one in the nation in research spending-to-venture capital investment ratio. Learn more at PlanetM.com **

    TIGHTEN UP: Four House Democrats think FRA’s exemptions from the positive train control mandate are “overly broad,” allowing railroads to get out of installing the technology by, say, cutting service. “We strongly urge FRA to revise its regulations to tighten PTC exemptions and focus on ways to help railroads comply with the law rather than circumvent it through regulatory carve-outs,” Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Mike Capuano (D-Mass.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) wrote in a letter to FRA Administrator Ron Batory. Brianna has more for Pros.

    READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP? Passengers flying into or out of Orlando International Airport will soon have to get their faces scanned. For now, U.S. citizens can opt out, though privacy watchdogs worry that passengers aren’t made aware of their right to do so, the AP reports. Eight of the nation’s busiest airports already use face-scan technology on a more limited basis.

    Quicker to the gate: The U.S. Travel Association hailed the move, with President and CEO Roger Dow saying it would make travel more efficient and shorten wait times. "The U.S. travel community is hopeful that biometric entry and exit systems will soon be implemented in airports nationwide,” he said.

    KING UP TO BAT: Heidi King will finally get a vote on her nomination to head NHTSA in the Senate Commerce Committee next week. After a May 22 vote was scuttled due to low Republican attendance (and Democratic opposition), the committee is now planning to take up King’s nomination on Wednesday. Democrats are still likely to oppose her confirmation, dismayed at the pace of rulemaking and the wishy-washy answers she gave on climate change, among others. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have not yet gotten a response to their letter urging King to investigate and initiate a long-overdue rulemaking on keyless ignition safety. Check out King’s responses to Republican questions from her confirmation hearing here and to top committee Democrat Bill Nelson’s questions here.

    OUSTED: Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was forced to resign Thursday after violating the company’s prohibition on managers having romantic relationships with employees. Krzanich chaired the Drone Advisory Committee and held to the philosophy that “the future of drones is more about what you can do with that data … than the actual flight itself,” as he said at a drone event last fall. "Data is the new oil.”

    GROUP PUSHES SENATE PROBE OF MCCASKILL: A conservative watchdog group is calling for a Senate ethics investigation into Sen. Claire McCaskill’s use of a private plane owned by her husband during her campaign travels, POLITICO’s Elana Schor reports. “The ethics investigation request, filed by the right-leaning Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, or FACT, cites McCaskill’s 2017 Senate financial disclosure, which reported between $0 and $201 of income from the plane owned by her husband’s company.” McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, is in a competitive midterm race with Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley.

    CAUTION: DRIVER (ASSIST) IN TRAINING: An automated car demonstration on Capitol Hill on Thursday, hosted by Consumer Reports, had a somewhat different angle than industry-sponsored demonstrations in the past. The group showcased both the benefits and limitations of the cars’ advanced driver-assist systems and discussed why some of the technologies should be mandated for all new cars. Consumer Reports also said Senate legislation on automated vehicles is dangerously insufficient. Consumer Reports engineers piloting the cars, for example, made sure to let riders know that the cars would go through stop signs and red lights if human drivers didn’t brake. The cars that were showcased are considered Level 2 vehicles, which are not covered by the bill currently languishing in the Senate.

    FOR YOUR RADAR: Norwegian Air Shuttle Founder and CEO Bjørn Kjos sat down with POLITICO Europe reporter Saim Saeed to discuss the possible sale of the airline, his controversial push for more fuel-efficient engines and the use of biofuels. Pros can read the full interview here.

    SLICE OF PI: “Steven Akey, vice president of government affairs for Bridgestone Americas, will retire at the end of the month. In an interview with [POLITICO Influence], Akey said his decision to retire was part of a pact he made with his wife. Prior to moving to the private sector, Akey was director of public affairs at the Department of Transportation under President Bill Clinton. He told PI that his background in transportation led him to the tire industry. Among the most pressing issues facing the tire industry is the ‘rapidly changing landscape of technology’ as well as the rise in ride-sharing. ‘If you think of ride-sharing, you think of those vehicles being used much more than the car I drive to and from work,’ Akey said. ‘You've got to figure out how to best compete in that space.’ In addition to his work at Bridgestone Americas, Akey was a board member and on several committees for the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association.”

    THE AUTOBAHN:

    — "This new system could help air taxis and drone deliveries avoid crashing." Popular Science.

    — "Tax ruling could lead to more money for Mississippi roads." The Associated Press.

    — “U.K. cabinet minister resigns over Heathrow expansion.” POLITICO Europe.

    — “Elon Musk's tunnel vision for Los Angeles.” Bloomberg.

    — "‘It was a challenging day’: Wilson Bridge crash triggered an hours-long traffic nightmare." The Washington Post.

    — “U.K. government launches hunt for chief Brexit aviation negotiator.” POLITICO Europe.

    THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 101 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 101 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 832 days.

    ** A message from PlanetM – Michigan, where big ideas in mobility are born: The future of mobility will affect all aspects of society and our lives. And Michigan leads the way in the research, development and testing of autonomous vehicles, due in large part to its technology-friendly regulations and public-private ventures. Case in point: the American Center for Mobility. This state-of-the-art global center was recently named a federal driverless car proving ground. Continued federal funding will help Michigan to continue its ground-breaking efforts to create safer, more energy-efficient vehicles tested in real-world environments. Learn more at PlanetM.com. Where big ideas in mobility are born.

    https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-transportation/2018/06/22/white-house-tries-to-revive-air-traffic-control-spinoff-plan-261353
    

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Environment News

17. Don't Believe the Hype About a Carbon Tax

    Jun 22, 2018 | Real Clear Energy

    By Vance Ginn & Jonathan Williams

    Gasoline prices have been rising recently as tensions heighten in the global oil market. These increases may soon be exacerbated if some advocates of a carbon tax get their way. With its flawed assumptions and high costs, politicians should ignore the hype and just say no to a carbon tax. It is expensive and ineffective, as an April report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation showed.

    A recent proposal would set a price of $40 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions on emitters, which would hit fossil fuel producers especially hard. The Department of the Treasury estimated that a similarly priced carbon tax of $49 per ton could increase oil prices at least $21 per barrel. With oil prices hitting four-year highs as recently as May, this would substantially drive up gasoline prices even more, hitting the poorest the hardest.

    The plan also includes rolling back some energy regulations and providing a “dividend” of roughly $2,000 annually to families of four to offset resulting higher energy prices. But this dividend is likely “crumbs” compared with the spike in higher electricity prices, gasoline prices, and overall higher cost of living burdening families because of a carbon tax.

    And carbon tax proponents are also hard at work at the state and local levels. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, for instance, recently announced his support for a statewide carbon tax, and the city of Austin just passed the first resolution in Texas calling for Congress to impose such a tax.

    An argument for a carbon tax is that it can theoretically correct what some economists call “market failures” or “negative externalities” that impose social costs that are generally not factored into market prices — such as pollution. This “Pigouvian” approach to taxation is named after Arthur Pigou, a renowned English economist and Professor at the University of Cambridge.

    Today, some pundits and politicians who claim the conservative mantle argue that a carbon tax is a free market solution to a market failure. The purported failure is that the marketplace does not adequately price the estimated social cost of carbon, which is deemed to be the global damages of climate change from carbon dioxide emissions. Yet, there is nothing conservative or free market about the government expanding its role in our daily lives through a carbon tax.

    In theory, using Pigouvian carbon taxes is efficient and straightforward, but in practice, the Pigouvian solution is anything but simple. Often ignored by advocates of Pigouvian taxes is what gets referred to as “the knowledge problem.” That is, the few individuals in government lack sufficient information from prices and other sources available among the millions of individuals in the market to make sound decisions. A carbon tax is therefore problematic because it forces the decisions of a few on individuals, which may lead to the people and the environment being worse off than without the tax.

    By taxing an economic input like energy production, government essentially taxes everything that we do, wear, eat, and use. History shows that this is all very destructive: Carbon taxes in Australia and British Columbia reduced standards of living, with Australia eventually repealing its carbon tax within just two years.

    While proponents of the dividend approach, or even a revenue-neutral tax swap, claim this is a market-based, conservative plan, the truth is a carbon tax is based on highly questionable assumptions, leaving it as mainly a policy tool for social engineering with huge economic costs.

    It’s discouraging to see otherwise thoughtful policymakers support the central planning that Pigouvian taxes promote. Prominent free-market economists Friedrich Hayek, 1974 Nobel Prize winner, and Frank Knight, co-founder of the “Chicago School” of economics, spent years debunking the rationale of Pigouvian taxes. Ronald Coase, 1991 Nobel Prize winner, spent his career pointing out the numerous flaws with Pigouvian ideas.

    We can all agree that we want a healthy environment for ourselves and our children. It is clear, however, that government-directed central planning is not the best way to achieve that goal. Real environmental progress can and should be measured by the success already achieved in the reduction of toxic pollutants.

    The EPA reports that the aggregate emissions of six common toxic pollutants (carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide) have declined by 67 percent since 1980. Meanwhile, gross domestic product is up 160 percent and population is up 42 percent. Energy-related carbon emissions are down to near 1992 levels —thanks primarily to innovations such as hydraulic fracturing that has allowed far more production of cleaner burning natural gas.

    Going forward, as energy subsidies and tax credits evaporate, allowing markets to work is the best path to more efficient and dependable energy sources that clean the environment and grow the economy. Politicians should not hinder our prosperity by imposing a carbon tax.

    https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2018/06/22/dont_believe_the_hype_about_a_carbon_tax_110304.html
    

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18. Political Shift in Canada Means Uncertainty for Calif.

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Debra Kahn

    California regulators are preparing for Ontario's imminent withdrawal from their joint carbon-trading market, but it will likely take some time.

    Officials with the California Air Resources Board are working with officials in Ontario, where Progressive Conservative Doug Ford ousted the Liberal Party earlier this month on a campaign pledge to end the province's cap-and-trade program. But they're not sure how quickly disengagement will go, or how long Ontario businesses will have to continue complying with the program.

    "Pulling them out in a formal way is actually going to take a regulatory change," the head of California's cap-and-trade program, Rajinder Sahota, said yesterday at a California Air Resources Board workshop.

    Ontario had just begun holding joint auctions with California and Quebec in February, giving the joint market a major boost. Ontario's participation expanded the size of the market by about a quarter.

    Ford announced a week ago that his first act in office would be to withdraw from the joint market and that Ontario will not be participating in the next auction, scheduled for Aug. 14.

    In response, California regulators froze transfers between allowance accounts based in California and Quebec and those in Ontario, to prevent prices from crashing. Prices in secondary trading dropped about 10 cents last Friday but rebounded by Monday. Market participants are waiting to see when the markets will actually decouple and whether it will have an excess or a shortage of allowances at that point.

    "There was an initial freakout," said Dan McGraw, senior market strategist for U.S. carbon markets at ICIS. "Now everyone's waiting to see what does the delinking process look like."

    Ford said that his government "will provide clear rules for the orderly wind-down of the cap-and-trade program." But he won't actually take office until June 29, so California officials are waiting for more details. "We are continuing to engage with the current elected and appointed officials in Ontario," Sahota said.

    Despite Ontario's abrupt change in policies, California is still bullish on linking its market to other jurisdictions, she said. "We do continue to see that collaboration on climate change is the right path to make sure that we're meeting a global threat through global action," Sahota said. "If it works to have linkages with other partners, we'll want to pursue those."

    https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086115
    

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19. Oil Group Uses Facebook to Attack Climate Lawsuits

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Benjamin Hulac

    An oil trade group has spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook advertisements this year in an effort to sour public opinion about climate change lawsuits.

    Since April, Energy in Depth (EID), the political advocacy arm of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, has paid the social media company more than $12,000 to run at least 23 ads critical of environmentalists and plaintiffs in U.S. climate cases.

    The group has focused its attention on a handful of cities suing oil and gas companies for allegedly causing damage by contributing to sea-level rise and other climate-related impacts.

    "Boulder's announcing a climate lawsuit against oil and gas companies today," reads an ad that ran in April, alluding to a case that Boulder, Colo., filed with two Colorado counties in April. "Here's what they don't want you to know."

    Another ad depicts a bearded man holding a sign that reads, "Sue Exxon!" He wears a shirt that appears to show an oil derrick crossed out.

    The series of ads, joined by similar ads the group purchased to run on Twitter and YouTube, is part of a public relations push by the oil and gas industry to fight the cases, which it criticizes as baseless.

    Cities and counties in California, Colorado, New York and Washington state have sued major oil companies, such as BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, ConocoPhillips and Suncor Energy Inc., since 2017.

    "We believe it is important to inform Americans of the coordinated activist effort behind these misguided climate liability lawsuits," Jeffrey Eshelman, a spokesman for IPAA, the oil and gas trade group, said in an emailed statement.

    "Our social media campaign is certainly responsive to what the other side has been doing and is designed to grab the attention of our audience and encourage them to learn more about these attempts to attack our members," Eshelman said. "Our reach on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has been highly effective and is a great way to reach a broader audience."

    An official with EID said the campaign started in December. About 10 million users of Facebook and Twitter have come in contact with the ads, the official said.

    Last month, Facebook unveiled a database to search for political messages that have shown up on its website and on Instagram, which the social media giant owns.

    According to Facebook data, the ads bought by EID cost at least $12,000 and maybe $42,000 or more. It is difficult to specify the costs because Facebook reports its ad sales in ranges.

    The group's Facebook ads have been seen at least 1.3 million times and as many as 3.9 million, according to the database. Currently, the group is running 10 Facebook ads.

    Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a political group based in Houston, is also opposed to climate change litigation and bought two Facebook ads to make that clear.

    One ad thanks Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who said Oakland and San Francisco should drop their lawsuits against oil majors.

    "Climate change lawsuits are weaponizing the legal system to pursue a public policy outcome," reads another ad.

    Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Texans for Lawsuit Reform, called the suits a "misuse" of the court system.

    "It's an issue that we're watching nationwide," she said.

    https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086095
    

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20. EPA 'Good Neighbor' Rejection Draws Bipartisan Wrath

    Jun 22, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

    By Sean Reilly

    EPA faced bipartisan opposition at a public hearing this morning on its planned rejection of "good neighbor" petitions from Maryland and Delaware seeking a federal crackdown on ozone-forming pollution from outside their boundaries.

    Maryland "strong disagrees" with EPA's proposed denial of its bid for help in curbing emissions from coal-fired plants in Kentucky and four other states, Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said at the hearing.

    "Maryland strongly believes we're not asking anything of those units in those five upwind states that we are not already doing ourselves in Maryland," said Grumbles, an appointee of Gov. Larry Hogan (R).

    Following him at the speaker's table was Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D), who said that "transported ozone" wafting into the state can be as high as 80 parts per billion (ppb), or well above federal standards. "Maryland can't regulate that out-of-state pollution, and yet EPA has repeatedly failed to address the problem pursuant to its obligations under the Clean Air Act," Frosh said.

    The two were among nine speakers to show up at the hearing, held at EPA headquarters before three agency officials. Others included representatives of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, American Lung Association, Sierra Club, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Almost all opposed EPA's planned decision.

    Elizabeth Brandt, a field consultant for Moms Clean Air Force, recalled once sharing an impromptu fist bump for kids' health with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt during a break in a congressional hearing. "Well, this is not for kids' health," Brandt said this morning.

    The lone voice of support for EPA's planned decision came from Leeann Veatch, who spoke on behalf of Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R). In her testimony, Veatch said that Maryland had relied on outdated emissions figures for three Kentucky plants covered by its petition and that EPA had thus made the correct decision in proposing to deny it.

    Ozone, the man ingredient in smog, is formed by the reaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds in sunlight. It is linked to asthma attacks in children and worsened breathing problems for people with emphysema and other chronic respiratory diseases.

    This morning's hearing came three weeks after EPA offered a consolidated thumbs-down to both Maryland's 2016 petition and another four filed by Delaware (Greenwire, June 4). All allege that upwind emissions are undercutting their respective states' ability to comply with EPA's ozone standards.

    In its response, however, EPA officials said that the two states had failed to prove that emissions from the upwind plants were impeding their ability to comply with either the 2008 ozone standards of 75 ppb or the 2015 threshold of 70 ppb.

    Besides Kentucky, Maryland's petition targets coal-fired plants in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, while Delaware asks for help in requiring plants in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to reduce their releases of nitrogen oxides.

    Among its reasons for tentatively turning down Delaware's petitions, EPA noted that one of the plants, Brunner Island Steam Electric Station in south-central Pennsylvania, slashed NOx emissions by about 75 percent during last year's summertime ozone season after the owner, Talen Energy Corp., voluntarily switched from coal to natural gas as a fuel source.

    But for now, nothing prevents Talen from returning to coal-fired generation, said David Fees, Delaware's acting air chief. In arguing otherwise, Fees said, EPA is relying on hope and "not good air quality management."

    After about an hour, this morning's hearing was suspended when all registered speakers had appeared. EPA's proposed decision carries a July 23 deadline for written comments. Under a recently issued court order, EPA must make a final decision on at least Maryland’s petition by Sept. 15.

    https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/06/22/stories/1060086207
    

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