Preview Newsletter
PM ACC Clips Report - July 18, 2018
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(ACC Mentioned) Fans of Science Overhaul Hope It Proceeds After Pruitt
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
Scott Pruitt has left the building, but industry and conservative groups hope his plans for overhauling EPA science outlive his tenure as administrator. -
(ACC Mentioned) Tariff Potholes On The Way To ‘Energy Dominance’
Jul 18, 2018 | Breaking Energy
By Mark Green
Tariffs and quotas on imported steel imposed by the Trump administration are self-inflicted potholes on the path to the administration’s goal of U.S. “energy dominance.” -
(ACC Mentioned) Executive Orders Won't Slow R.I.'s Plastic Tidal Wave
Jul 18, 2018 | ecoRI news
By Frank Carini
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s recent signing of her “Tackling Plastics” executive order, like the “Clean Seas Pledge” signed earlier, will likely do little to lessen the plastic scourge that is helping to destroy the world’s marine waters. -
(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Spins off Ocean Plastic Venture as Circulate Capital
Jul 18, 2018 | Waste Dive
By Jordan Schultz
Circulate Capital — an investment management company that originated as Closed Loop Ocean — has officially launched in partnership with Ocean Conservancy and Closed Loop Partners. -
Ewire: EPA Takes Fire from All Sides on Science Transparency Rule
Jul 18, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA is taking fire from a wide range of groups regarding its controversial proposal to require the use of publicly available data to justify major rules, with Democrats and public health advocates blasting the plan at a public hearing as undermining regulatory protections and industry groups concerned about protecting confidential business data. -
'Night and Day' as Wheeler Opens Doors to Press
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
Scott Pruitt got a reputation for stonewalling the press, but his successor is taking a new approach. -
(ACC Mentioned) Questions Swirl Around Pruitt Replacement’s Potential Conflicts of Interest
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Within days of Andrew Wheeler’s taking over at the top of the EPA, questions have been raised about potential conflicts of interest, and how they could play into the long-awaited revised assessment of formaldehyde. -
(ACC Mentioned) Experts Explain the Health Risks of Peeing in a Pool
Jul 18, 2018 | AccuWeather.com
By Chaffin Mitchell
Many swimmers don't think about the effects of pee and trust the power of the chemicals in the water. -
Committee Delays Markup of Bill to Upend EPA Reviews
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
Republican draft legislation to undermine EPA's program for assessing the risks posed by toxic chemicals ran into a procedural hurdle today. -
Audit Faults EPA over Schools' Failure to Test for Lead
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Ariel Wittenberg
Most public schools don't test their drinking water for lead, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released yesterday. -
Clothing Companies Make 'Significant Progress' Towards Greenpeace Detox Goals
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
A Greenpeace report says the 80 fashion companies committed to its Detox campaign have made "significant progress" towards their goal of eliminating 11 groups of chemicals by 2020. -
US Hazcom Standard Update to Align with Seventh Edition of GHS
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Planned updates to the the US Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) are likely to mirror the seventh edition of the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS), and not the upcoming eighth revision. -
Alaska Megaproject Hits Financial Headwinds as Elections Loom
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
The blueprint to finance and build a $44 billion natural gas export project is coming under fire at a time when people here are gearing up for a governor's race that could again throw the future of the Alaska liquefied natural gas project into question. -
FERC 'Days' from LNG Permitting Reforms
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is close to announcing new measures to streamline reviews of liquefied natural gas export projects. -
In a Loss for Trump Officials, Fracking Rule Litigation Will Stay in Calif.
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Trump administration and allies in the oil and gas industry failed in their recent bid to avoid California judges in litigation over the Obama-era hydraulic fracturing rule. -
Gas Exports on Trump's Agenda for Europe
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meets with President Trump next week, "energy security" will share the agenda with controversial topics like trade and counterterrorism. -
Senate to Consider Bill Boosting U.S. Lng Exports to Europe, Taking Aim at Russian Gas
Jul 18, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By James Osborne
Two days after President Donald Trump's controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, some Senate Republicans are looking to hit Russia where it hurts - it's energy sector. -
Big Batteries at Data Centers Could Replace Power Plants
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Storrow
The cutting edge in American efforts to green the power sector can be found in a shipping container sitting in the parking lot of a sprawling Microsoft Corp. data center in southern Virginia. -
Big Oil Says It Likes Carbon Taxes. Will It Join the Debate?
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Mark K. Matthews
A House resolution that condemns carbon taxes as "detrimental" to the U.S. economy has elicited little public pushback from four major energy companies that previously backed the idea of putting a levy on carbon emissions. -
Trump Wants Supreme Court to Halt Kids' Suit
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The Trump administration yesterday launched what plaintiffs described as a "last-ditch effort" to halt a lawsuit brought by kids over the government's role in causing climate change.
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(ACC Mentioned) Fans of Science Overhaul Hope It Proceeds After Pruitt
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
Scott Pruitt has left the building, but industry and conservative groups hope his plans for overhauling EPA science outlive his tenure as administrator.
At a public hearing at EPA's Washington, D.C., headquarters yesterday, about a dozen speakers showed up to express their support of the proposal. That's compared with more than 70 speakers who opposed Pruitt's plan to restrict which science the agency can use in crafting regulations.
Those in favor comprised representatives of the American Petroleum Institute, the American Chemistry Council, the Heartland Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups. Most of them accused EPA of bungling regulations and misusing science in the past. Lawyers representing polluting industries spoke in favor of the rule, as did a few researchers who receive industry backing.
"Federal rules that impact millions of people and billions of dollars should be held to a higher standard," said Dan Byers of the U.S. Chamber's Global Energy Institute.
EPA's draft rule would effectively bar the agency from using some studies for developing new rules unless the underlying data were made publicly available. Pruitt; House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas); and other supporters of the policy call it a necessary step to increase transparency.
When Pruitt proposed the plan, he said it was the "agency taking responsibility for how we do our work." EPA officials said it was consistent with the policies of major scientific journals, including Science and Nature. But the editors of all the journals stated that the EPA policy was not consistent with their policies.
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler recently said he supported the proposed rule, although he left open the possibility that it could be tweaked before it is finalized.
"I don't know if the final is going to look exactly like the proposal," he told E&E News last week. "We're receiving comments; the comment period is still open, and we can't prejudge any of that. But fundamentally, I do believe that the more information you put out to the public, the better the regulatory decisions will be and the better understood the regulatory decisions will be by the public."
Another who spoke in favor of the rule at yesterday's hearing was Kimberly White, a senior director at the American Chemistry Council. She is also a member of EPA's Science Advisory Board, although she did not note that when she spoke at the hearing.
"The utilization of objective, transparent and modern scientific approaches to draw conclusions regarding human health risks is critical to developing sound regulatory decisions," she said. "Throughout the EPA, the application of scientific information that underpins regulatory activities has often been inconsistent and unclear, leading to concerns about how the agency incorporates the best available science to evaluate the quality of that science and applies 21st-century knowledge concerning cause and effect."
White then attacked a major study on formaldehyde, citing research funded by a foundation connected to the American Chemistry Council. Public health experts have cited that study as a "poster child" for how industry will exploit public data in an attempt to discount research (Climatewire, May 1).
The Science Advisory Board, which Pruitt filled with more industry officials, including White, voted in May to review the proposal. Members of the board, which is led by a Pruitt appointee, say the agency did not consult with them in crafting the plan to learn about its potential effects, and many found out through media reports. At that May meeting, White suggested that the rule be implemented while the board weighed its merits.
The vast majority of those speaking at the hearing yesterday said they were opposed to the policy.
They referred to it as "rushed," "secretive" and a "coordinated effort to ignore science." A nurse swapped shifts so she could speak, a nuclear physicist noted that it would exclude data obtained from atomic bomb survivors in World War II, and multiple speakers said it would insert politics into science. Some speakers called the plan a solution in search of a problem and said it would gut the agency's ability to regulate pollution (Greenwire, July 17).
Within the field of science, there has been a yearslong discussion about how to better disclose data and improve transparency. However, some groups attempted to portray that effort as an endorsement of Pruitt's proposed science transparency rule, which has been soundly rejected by the nation's major scientific organizations. The proposed rule favors industry research, critics have said, and even provides exemptions for keeping some industry research data private if it is classified as "confidential business information."
One of the architects of the rule, Steve Milloy, an attorney who has worked for the tobacco and coal industries, said that it was designed to go after epidemiological studies, such as the "Harvard Six Cities" study, conducted by Doug Dockery, and an American Cancer Society study showing air pollution risks, conducted by Arden Pope of Brigham Young University.
"Independent review of the Harvard Six City and American Cancer Society line of studies would prove them to be highly problematic, embarrassing or even fraudulent," Milloy said. "Desperate to defend the indefensible, supporters of Dockery and Pope have wrongly maintained that making the data in question public would violate medical and personal privacy rights."
In fact, the studies have been reanalyzed and held up to scrutiny. What's more, many studies in the decades since their publication have found human health risks from air pollution.
An official with the American Petroleum Institute, which has funded research that suggests air pollution is not fatal to human health, said the proposed rule should go beyond its original intention. Ted Steichen, a senior policy adviser at API, said it should apply to federally funded research, agency research and independent research used to craft regulations. It should also apply to economic calculations used to quantify public benefits and costs of regulations, he said.
"Transparency and reproducibility should also apply to underlying data and information, such as environmental and economic impact data and models that are utilized to predict costs, benefits, market impacts and/or environmental effects of specific regulatory interventions," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060089463
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(ACC Mentioned) Tariff Potholes On The Way To ‘Energy Dominance’
Jul 18, 2018 | Breaking Energy
By Mark Green
Tariffs and quotas on imported steel imposed by the Trump administration are self-inflicted potholes on the path to the administration’s goal of U.S. “energy dominance.”
They’re bad for American energy, which uses steel throughout its operations and delivery networks. They’re bad for American manufacturing, they’re bad for American consumers, and they’re bad for America.
We’ve discussed specific risks for U.S. energy (see here and here) – supply delays holding up important projects and cost increases – yet broad industry alarm seems to fall on deaf ears. In a new Washington Examiner op-ed, API President and CEO Jack Gerard and the leaders of two other trade associations discuss the potential harm from anti-energy, anti-business and anti-consumer steel tariffs and quotas:
Taxpayers and businesses alike celebrated in President Trump’s first year when he reformed regulations and signed a major tax cut — all designed to spur a new era of prosperity and growth for the U.S. economy. The president’s more recent trade decisions could reverse that tremendous progress, adding hundreds of billions of dollars in potential costs for American businesses — costs that could ultimately be borne by consumers.
Gerard, joined in the op-ed by the American Chemistry Council’s Cal Dooley and Edward Hamberger of the American Association of Railroads, write that the U.S. energy, manufacturing and transportation are “prime examples of the collateral damage” threatened by the administration’s tariffs. Steel is critically important in the energy space – for equipment, infrastructure, refining and transportation of natural gas and oil. More from the op-ed:
In many cases, the specialty steel and aluminum components our industries need are simply not produced in the United States. Our industries generate growth and savings that directly benefit U.S. households and small businesses. Fortified by free trade and fueled by the American energy revolution, these sectors support millions of jobs in the U.S. and across an array of industries. Tariffs put those benefits at risk. … While we respect the administration’s vision for U.S. energy and manufacturing dominance, we also know when U.S. trade policy is bad for business and a threat to our economic security.
Even more, Kyle Isakower, API vice president for regulatory and economic policy, said the administration’s process for granting exclusions or exemptions from the steel tariff is creating even more uncertainty for companies that rely on steel. Isakower:
“[T]he administration’s arbitrary process to determine these exclusions lacks transparency as it’s not clear how and why certain exclusion petitions are granted or denied. What is clear, though, is that implementation of tariffs on imported steel undermines domestic energy production and the future of our nation’s energy infrastructure which is critical to bringing American energy to market.”
Again, if the goal is energy dominance, one that could be paved by surging domestic natural gas and oil production, the current tariff and quota policy is the wrong path.
A few words on quotas. Three U.S. trading partners – South Korea, Brazil and Argentina – aren’t subject to the administration’s steel tariffs but are under steel quotas instead. These are set annual volumes distributed over four quarters. Once any one of these nations reaches its quarterly limit, steel imports from that country are halted. It’s possible sea-borne steel cargoes could be turned around mid-ocean.
For our industry, this significant injection of uncertainty could be seriously disruptive to project planning and investment, putting future projects at risk. Gerard, Dooley and Hamberger detail the examples of the risk:Steel tariffs could threaten about half of the more than $194 billion of new chemical industry investment announced since 2010.China is threatening retaliation against U.S.-made chemical exports worth $5.4 billion.Pre-tariffs, the private sector was projected to invest $1.34 trillion in energy infrastructure. Tariffs could hinder hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of projects.
As we say, the administration doesn’t seem to be listening to these concerns. Congress should get into the picture by passing legislation that would amend a 1962 law that granted the president authority to impose import restrictions when he identifies a threat to U.S. national security threat. That’s just not the case with new tariffs affecting Canada, Mexico and our NATO allies. The legislative proposal would require congressional approval before tariffs could be imposed for national security reasons.
Gerard, Dooley and Hamberger:
By requiring the president to sit down with fellow elected leaders and consider a full range of trade solutions, the bill is intended to infuse more dialogue into the president’s decision-making and ensure the best possible outcome is achieved.
The U.S. energy renaissance has given our country a golden opportunity to control more of its energy destiny, to increase its security and to help friends and allies abroad. These largely define “energy dominance.”
Steel tariffs and quotas work against that objective. Delays and cost increases could make U.S. energy less competitive and diminish its benefits domestically and around the world.
https://breakingenergy.com/2018/07/18/tariff-potholes-on-the-way-to-energy-dominance/
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(ACC Mentioned) Executive Orders Won't Slow R.I.'s Plastic Tidal Wave
Jul 18, 2018 | ecoRI news
By Frank Carini
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s recent signing of her “Tackling Plastics” executive order, like the “Clean Seas Pledge” signed earlier, will likely do little to lessen the plastic scourge that is helping to destroy the world’s marine waters.
Plastic production is increasing by some 9 percent annually, and this ever-growing heap of pollution and the collection of poisons that cling to it is accumulating in the sea. It's degrading both human and environmental health. Single-use plastic products such as Styrofoam cups, straws, water bottles, retail bags, and Mylar balloons are among the countless pieces scattered across the globe.
Tasks forces, pledges, incentives, feel-good announcements, voluntary efforts, posting more “Don’t Litter” signs, shoreline cleanups, press releases, extravagant quotes, and relying on recycling will hardly make a dent in reducing the estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean, from 269,000 tons afloat on the surface to some 4 billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer in the deep sea.
The world’s plastic problem is immense. The solutions can’t be timid.
“The stark reality of this ever-steepening upward climb is that more plastic was made in the first ten years of this century than all of the plastic created in history up to the year 2000,” marine scientist Callum Roberts wrote in his 2012 book The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea. “The world is awash with plastic — most of us are rarely out of contact with something made of the stuff. We are literally and figuratively swimming in it.”
Plastic bags, for instance, break up into smaller pieces, but their footprint never vanishes. If they do break down, it’s into polymers and toxic chemicals. Some 500 billion single-use plastic bags are used annually worldwide. Only a minuscule fraction are recycled or reused.
Twenty-five billion Styrofoam cups are thrown out annually in the United States alone. A single tube of facial scrub can contain more than 330,000 plastic microbeads. Nearly 3 million plastic bottles, every hour of every day, are used in the United States. Less than 30 percent are recycled.
More than 300 million plastic straws are used daily in the United States. They are one of the top beach polluters worldwide. Eight million tons of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans annually.
About 100,000 marine creatures die annually from plastic entanglement. About a million sea birds are killed every year by plastic. At least two-thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion. A 2016 study warns that there will be more waste plastic, by weight, in the ocean than fish by 2050, unless humans clean up their act.
Raimondo’s July 16 executive order “takes aim at plastic pollution by establishing a task force to recommend best approaches to avoiding unnecessary use of disposables, preventing waste, and increasing recycling,” according to the press release that announced the signing.
The governor signed the executive order at the pavilion at Scarborough State Beach during her summer office hours at the popular Narragansett beach. Raimondo will appoint chairs and members later this summer, and the task force is expected to provide recommendations early next year.
“Through this Executive Order and the establishment of the Task Force to Tackle Plastics, we will collaborate with all stakeholders — environmental advocates, industry, large retailers and small businesses, communities, municipalities, the General Assembly and state agencies — and innovate for sustainable solutions, technologies, and alternatives to enable consumers and businesses to change their behavior,” the governor promised.
To get there, the unenforceable order with little punch will create a task force that will: encourage the financial and market factors needed to support reducing and recycling plastics; develop non-regulatory recognition and incentive programs, potential legislation and/or regulations, and other measures to eliminate the sources of plastic pollution; support and build on the new Zero Plastics Initiative; and educate Rhode Islanders on the importance of and means to reducing and recycling plastics.
“As a Rhode Islander whose family enjoys the sun and surf at Roger Wheeler State Beach on most summer weekends, Governor Raimondo knows and appreciates how critical it is that we confront the crisis of plastic pollution head-on,” Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management director Janet Coit is quoted in the press release. “DEM stands ready to guide the Task Force to Tackle Plastics to reduce land litter and marine debris, protect our coastlines and promote stewardship of our one and only planet.”
In May, Rhode Island became the first state to sign the United Nations-led Clean Seas Pledge. The pledge’s action items include: posting “don’t litter” educational materials around docks and marinas; providing readily available systems for plastics recycling; expanding shrink-wrap recycling; providing water filling stations at the marina as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles; discontinuing use of polystyrene cups and containers at marina restaurants; and hosting and supporting shoreline cleanups.
Cove Haven Marina in Barrington recently became the first marina in the state to complete the 10 pollution-prevention action steps needed to be certified by DEM as a Zero Plastics Marina Initiative partner. This voluntary program encourages marinas to commit to plastic prevention activities, such as designate a “zero plastics” steward, eliminate single-use plastic bags, post responsible signage, and install a trash skimmer.
DEM is also partnering with the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association, 11th Hour Racing, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, and Rhode Island Sea Grant on a pilot recycling program for abandoned or old fiberglass boats.
Barrington, Block Island, Bristol, Jamestown, and Aquidneck Island's three municipalities have all passed bans on plastic retail bags. A Strawless by the Sea program launched last month in Newport has quickly caught on. Clean Ocean Access has two floating trash skimmers in Newport Harbor and one unit each at Fort Adams State Park in Newport and at New England Boatworks in Portsmouth.
All of these programs, initiatives, and goals are well-meaning actions, but without concrete efforts backing them up, they won't stem the tide of plastic pollution in any significant manner.
Rhode Island can’t recycle, study, or wish its plastic problem away. First and foremost, rampant consumption must be dramatically curtailed. Without that sacrifice — from individuals, families, businesses, corporations, and lawmakers — little to noting will change.
The solution also requires bold action, such as bans on plastic shopping bags, Styrofoam containers, and many other single-use items that provide a brief moment of convenience but come with great cost.
Rhode Island has held numerous hearings during the past several years about instituting a statewide ban on plastic retail bags, but these annual attempts continue to fail. The American Chemistry Council, which, in 2005, launched a $35 million public-relations campaign to improve the industry's image by emphasizing the importance of chemical products, most notably plastics, to everyday life, always makes sure to note its objections.
During the recently completed 2018 General Assembly session, a statewide ban on plastic checkout bags and foam food containers didn't advance. S2354 and H7851 each had a single hearing.
There’s nothing on the governor’s website about supporting a statewide ban on plastic retail bags.
https://www.ecori.org/pollution-contamination/2018/7/17/governor-creates-task-force-to-study-plastic-pollution
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(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Spins off Ocean Plastic Venture as Circulate Capital
Jul 18, 2018 | Waste Dive
By Jordan Schultz
Circulate Capital — an investment management company that originated as Closed Loop Ocean — has officially launched in partnership with Ocean Conservancy and Closed Loop Partners. The firm is led by Closed Loop Partners co-founder Rob Kaplan. The company also announced an RFP aimed at Southeast Asian companies. Circulate Capital will invest in solid waste management and recycling organizations that have the capability of stopping plastic from entering the ocean, with a focus on five core countries: India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.Circulate Capital said in its press release that a 45% reduction in the amount of plastic entering the ocean can be achieved by boosting regional waste management and recycling industries. "South and Southeast Asian countries produce the most plastic waste, but largely because they lack the necessary waste infrastructure to manage the problem," Kaplan said in the press release.
The new firm will operate as a separate, independent entity from the Closed Loop umbrella. It also has financial backing from multiple large corporations and nongovernmental organizations that sit on its steering committee, including 3M, Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark, Dow, PepsiCo, Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia, Procter & Gamble, American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council.
Many of those countries first approached Closed Loop about potential investments in the ocean plastics issue more than a year ago, leading to the formation of Closed Loop Ocean. Though as Kaplan and his colleagues began to explore the investment pipeline, they realized the potential was bigger than expected and decided that a dedicated entity was required to give the issue full attention.
As countries in the region have experienced rapid development, waste infrastructure investment has lagged behind economic growth. Circulate Capital sees itself as a catalyst for more accessible financing to help modernize these systems. "Our firm isn't the only solution to ocean plastic, and we depend on enabling policies, regulatory environments, supply chains, and strong partnerships in the ecosystem. Our goal is to remove capital as a barrier," said Kaplan in the release.
With signs that Chinese recycling companies are moving overseas as domestic supply chains for recycled plastics dry up, there could be new economic opportunities for nascent recyclers in many Southeast Asian nations. China still needs plastics in pellet form to feed its booming manufacturing industry, and the time could be right for underfunded companies in neighboring countries to get into the market early. China's 2017 import policies have only heightened this need as many Southeast Asian countries that also relied on its export markets have now become saturated with exported scrap themselves.
https://www.wastedive.com/news/closed-loop-spin-off-circulate-capital-ocean-plastic-venture/528045/
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Ewire: EPA Takes Fire from All Sides on Science Transparency Rule
Jul 18, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA is taking fire from a wide range of groups regarding its controversial proposal to require the use of publicly available data to justify major rules, with Democrats and public health advocates blasting the plan at a public hearing as undermining regulatory protections and industry groups concerned about protecting confidential business data.
The Associated Press focuses on the public health critiques in its dispatch from the July 17 public hearing on the plan. The measure is a “thinly veiled campaign to limit research . . . that supports critical regulatory action,” said Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY).
It also quoted a nurse, Erica Bardwell, from Arlington, VA, who said health care workers “care about patients and won't surrender their confidentiality. Which means studies won't get done. Which is the point” of EPA's proposal, she charged.
Environmentalists say that limiting the agency to using research with underlying data that is public would restrict a host of critical health studies that rely on confidential health data from scores of research subjects. Such studies can inform toxics and air quality rules, among others.
At the hearing, the AP says, rule “opponents outnumbered supporters.”
However, as Inside EPA's Maria Hegstad reports, industry groups that otherwise back the plan also have concerns, focused on confidential business information (CBI).
The chemical industry had initially balked at the plan because it often crafts studies that rely on CBI to justify EPA approvals of their substances. But some say the proposed rule likely does not apply to their regulatory proceedings as it only covers “economically significant” rules costing more than $100 million.
But the American Petroleum Institute's Ted Steichen told the hearing that “protection for CBI may need to be maintained even for certain data that are submitted to EPA to inform rulemakings. Protections for proprietary information or CBI should not be weakened, though results of agency analyses of this information could potentially be made available. Any such available results should be transparent regarding the agency’s selection of key data, and the interpretation of that key data.”
Additionally, Dan Byers of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged EPA to “[p]rotect sensitive information,” and praised language in the proposed rule stating that even while advancing the new transparency proposal, EPA “must adhere to longstanding statutory requirements for 'the protection of privacy and confidentiality of research participants, protection of proprietary data and [CBI], and other compelling interests.'”
EPA's press office in an email to the AP said acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler wants to balance transparency and privacy concerns.
He “believes the more information you put out to the public the better the regulatory outcome. He also believes the agency should prioritize ways to safeguard sensitive information.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-epa-takes-fire-all-sides-science-transparency-rule
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'Night and Day' as Wheeler Opens Doors to Press
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
Scott Pruitt got a reputation for stonewalling the press, but his successor is taking a new approach.
In his first two weeks on the job, acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has promised transparency to the press and to the public. He has published his daily calendars, has agreed to interviews with a range of news outlets and gave advance notice that his meeting Monday with business officials in Pennsylvania would be open press.
Such practices were commonplace for past EPA chiefs appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents alike, but Pruitt prioritized secrecy, preferring not to release his schedule until weeks later and releasing a private version of his calendar only under litigation. His staff screened for reporters they deemed favorable, and Pruitt rarely held open-press events.
"We've seen some better access to mainstream and objective media since Wheeler came in," said Joseph Davis, director of the watchdog project at the Society of Environmental Journalists, an association that represents professional reporters. "SEJ was profoundly unhappy with the press operation under the Pruitt regime, and we can only hope that any changes will be improvements."
A former Obama EPA press official said, "It's clear that Wheeler has brought a big mop and a lot of disinfectant to how the agency is working with the press. ... Night and day would be an understatement."
Wheeler's press office says it is taking a new tack. Asked if more changes were coming, EPA spokesman John Konkus said that with Wheeler, "you can expect a change in approach, and in this case a change in tone, as well," noting that the acting chief has already said he puts "a premium on transparency.
"I think you can take that mindset and apply it across the board when it comes to how EPA will be communicating with the media and the public going forward," Konkus said.
Under Pruitt, EPA's press shop often adopted campaign-style tactics.
Reporters weren't given advance notice of his events. Others were kept off an agency email press list. Some were even criticized by name for their coverage of EPA (Greenwire, Sept. 5).
Aides also sought not to publicize Pruitt's whereabouts and to limit press access to the administrator. Jahan Wilcox, one of Pruitt's more vocal defenders, said in one text message that the EPA chief didn't want "open press" at an event.
It also led to combative interactions with reporters, resulting in some choice quotes as Pruitt came under heavy scrutiny for allegations of excessive spending and mismanagement.
One EPA spokeswoman, Liz Bowman, said in a story by The New York Times that the newspaper was writing "elitist clickbait." Wilcox directed an E&E News reporter to use Google when asked for comment for another story (Greenwire, May 15).
Wilcox also garnered attention when he called a reporter at The Atlantic "a piece of trash," a comment he later apologized for.
As frustration grew among reporters and press advocates, SEJ wrote a series of letters to EPA asking Pruitt to change his agency's tactics toward the media. But Davis of SEJ said the problems were broader than Pruitt and his staff.
"We felt that this was in fact not just an EPA policy or a Pruitt policy; we felt that it was a Trump administration policy," he said. "Basically, the Pruitt press shop was imitating all the bad actions of the White House press operation. Gosh, we hope that changes, but it's still the Trump administration. Direct attacks on individual reporters, denial of access as retribution, selection of friendly reporters and preference given to them, preferential treatment of friendly reporters. Those things we would like to see stop."
A former career EPA press official who worked under Republican and Democratic administrations said press management under Pruitt was "far from the norm that you would hope for."
The "guiding principle during various periods when I was helping with press at the EPA was that we wanted more than anything to preserve our credibility, to get materials to reporters quickly, to try to be as helpful as possible, to try to serve the public's right to know," that person added. "The stuff that came out under Pruitt seemed to be exactly the opposite, that the press was somehow the enemy. ... There were even stories about reporters claiming to be physically restrained, things that were just really shocking and unimaginable."
Some EPA press officials have left the agency, and Wheeler may bring in some new communications aides.
When contacted by E&E News for this story, Wilcox confirmed that he has left EPA but declined to comment further. Others have left the press office, as well, including several in the aftermath of Pruitt's resignation. Along with Wilcox, Kelsi Daniell and Lincoln Ferguson are no longer working in EPA's public affairs shop. Bowman, who ran the office, left the agency this May.
The political staff in the EPA press office has been depleted, but several staff members remain, including Konkus as deputy associate administrator for public affairs, as well as Michael Abboud, Molly Block and James Hewitt. Christopher Beach is also an EPA speechwriter based in the public affairs office. Still, EPA has not named an acting public affairs chief since Bowman's departure more than two months ago. Asked if the agency plans to name a press chief soon or staff up the office again, Konkus said, "We have no announcements at this time."
Liz Purchia, a former head of EPA public affairs during the Obama administration, said having no set leader in the office can lead to chaos.
"You don't have anyone to set the tone for the communications office in a leadership position with a communications plan in place," Purchia said. "Everyone can be doing their own thing and have to play whack-a-mole with reporters."'You act like you're trying to hide something, people will go looking'
Media experts and former EPA officials say secrecy at the agency has a tendency to backfire.
"Clearly, Pruitt's strategy failed in terms of his engagement with the press," said the former Obama EPA press official. "The more Pruitt and his henchmen fought the press, the worse they did. They invited more scrutiny, which ultimately led to his downfall."
"You have to feed the beast. If you don't make yourself available, reporters are going to pick and choose how to pursue their stories," Purchia said, noting how EPA under Pruitt went after journalists. "You didn't see a proactive plan of them trying to set the agenda."
Bill Ruckelshaus, EPA's first administrator under President Nixon, was brought back in during the Reagan administration in an effort to rebuild the agency after it was tarnished by a Superfund scandal under Administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford in the 1980s. Like Pruitt, Burford was viewed at the time as being secretive and shutting out reporters.
Ruckelshaus made an effort to be as transparent as possible when he came back. "You act like you're trying to hide something, people will go looking and they'll find something."
He started holding regular on-the-record meetings with reporters. "To be honest with you, some of them didn't like it so much, because they lost their ability to break a new story. Everybody got it at the same time. But I think it's absolutely necessary to do that," he said.
Reporters who had swarmed EPA to cover the Burford scandals lost interest pretty quickly, Ruckelshaus said. "It doesn't take long if they see that you're trying to be as open as you can be with them," he said. From the perspective of journalists looking for news, EPA became a less exciting place to work.
Wheeler, a former Capitol Hill staffer, has a track record of regularly talking to the press.
"I think a lot of people give Andrew credit for his outreach to media," said Matt Dempsey, who was a press aide to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) when Wheeler was staff director.
Wheeler started doing pre-hearing briefings with reporters ahead of hearings and committee votes, Dempsey said. And under Wheeler's direction, Inhofe's press office was credited in 2007 with having the first-ever live Senate blog during the State of the Union address.
In 2008, Inhofe's website won an award from the Congressional Management Foundation. In a statement about the award, Inhofe touted the website as a way to bypass the media.
"Creating a top-notch Committee website provides the public more direct information — in many cases by bypassing and critiquing the mainstream media — and greater access to their elected representatives," Inhofe said then in a statement. "The goal of my website has always been to bring our government closer to the people and allows for more feedback from our constituents."
But Dempsey said Wheeler sees value in working with reporters from a range of news organizations. "One of his strengths is working with the various media outlets and working across the spectrum," Dempsey said.
Wheeler's early moves to open up press access at EPA have been greeted with optimism by some of those who criticized Pruitt's approach.
Yesterday, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over EPA's spending, sent a letter to Wheeler in which he recounted that the acting EPA chief had pledged in a phone call to publish his daily schedule after the end of each day and announce events for press in advance.
Udall welcomed those actions but pushed for more change at EPA.
"While I welcome these steps, the job of re-establishing trust with the American people will require more than simply publishing a public schedule and abiding by the appropriations process," Udall said.
Critics of the Trump administration are waiting to see what Wheeler does next.
"The important test will come when there's a crisis, when there's strong political opposition and when there's something they don't want the world to know about, and that's when the rubber meets the road," said Davis of SEJ.
Purchia said of Wheeler, "The bar is so low that anything they will do will be a major improvement." Still, she added, "no one should be celebrating that they are doing the bare minimum."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089523
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(ACC Mentioned) Questions Swirl Around Pruitt Replacement’s Potential Conflicts of Interest
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Within days of Andrew Wheeler’s taking over at the top of the EPA, questions have been raised about potential conflicts of interest, and how they could play into the long-awaited revised assessment of formaldehyde.
Mr Wheeler assumed the role of acting administrator at the agency last week, following the resignation of Scott Pruitt, amid a number of ethics scandals. He had previously been Mr Pruitt’s deputy and worked at the EPA back in the 1990s, before taking a position with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). He later worked as a lobbyist, and counted the Texas chemicals manufacturer Celanese Corporation among his clients.
He takes over as the agency faces heightened scrutiny from environmental advocates and Democrats in Congress, who remain concerned at the Trump administration’s management of the body.
And despite Mr Wheeler’s commitment not to be involved in agency decisions regarding former lobbying clients, the Environmental Defense Fund says "common sense indicates that Wheeler cannot keep his pledge in an effective way."
"His dozens of clients in the energy and chemical industry are affected by nearly every major decision at the EPA," said the NGO.IRIS formaldehyde assessment
One issue that has begun to resurface centres on the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) programme’s revised formaldehyde assessment.
The updated draft is said to link the substance to leukaemia. But the yet to be released assessment has already faced loud industry dissent, and led to questions from Senate Democrats about whether this has slowed the document’s publication.
Last week, news service Politico made waves among environmental groups, when it reported that current and former agency officials say that Pruitt’s EPA had been "suppressing" the report.
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) formaldehyde panel was quick to characterise the article as "misleading". And an EPA spokesperson told Chemical Watch the agency continues to discuss the IRIS draft with programme partners, and is "weighing this assessment with other agency priorities".
Nevertheless, environmental groups like the Sierra Club and the EDF have pointed out that Mr Wheeler’s former client, Celanese, manufactures formaldehyde.
And they are asking the acting administrator to recuse himself from issues where he has a conflict of interest.
According to ethics laws, Mr Wheeler should do this regarding issues he has lobbied on in the past two years. According to a recusal letter, signed 24 May, Celanese Corporation is not a client he must step away from.
The EPA says Mr Wheeler only lobbied for the company on one particular issue related to a product line producing ethanol from natural gas. His recusal letter names the EPA ENERGY STAR programme – which deals with appliance energy efficiency – as the only specific issue he cannot engage on.Reigning in regulatory overreach
Last week, Mr Wheeler addressed employees about his vision for the agency.
He credited the leadership of President Trump and former-Administrator Pruitt for the agency’s "tremendous progress over the past year and a half" and included in the list of EPA accomplishments "improving how chemicals are reviewed for safety".
His comments also indicated that he would fall in line with the Trump administration’s directive to ease the burden imposed by regulations.
The agency is "restoring the rule of law, reigning in federal regulatory overreach, and refocusing EPA on its core responsibilities", Mr Wheeler said in his address.
He added that his most important aim is to "provide certainty on risk communication".
https://chemicalwatch.com/68720/questions-swirl-around-pruitt-replacements-potential-conflicts-of-interest
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(ACC Mentioned) Experts Explain the Health Risks of Peeing in a Pool
Jul 18, 2018 | AccuWeather.com
By Chaffin Mitchell
Many swimmers don't think about the effects of pee and trust the power of the chemicals in the water. However, the chemical byproducts that result from urine and chlorine aren’t as harmless as some swimmers may think.
There can be anywhere from eight to 20 gallons of urine in a typical pool, according to a study by the University of Alberta.
By not peeing in the pool, showering before entering the pool and washing these substances from the skin, swimmers can help minimize pool smell and safety of the pool.
"Urine is meant to be discarded because it is a waste product of human metabolism. It is a necessary by-product of living, breathing, eating and drinking, but it eliminates excess acid and nitrogen to keep our bodies in balance," said Dr. Matthew Karlovsky, double board certified in urology and female pelvic medicine with the Arizona State Urological Institute.
According to Karlovsky, nitrogen is what gives urine its pungent smell and yellow color.
"Urine is acidic but doesn't get any more acidic than a pH of five which is not very acidic, but it is why it can burn or irritate the skin if it contacts the skin continuously such as with a diaper or pad," Karlovsky said.
Karlovsky said urine is relatively harmless unless someone has blood in the urine, or an active urinary tract infection (UTI). If someone is ill with blood in the urine or a UTI, they should stay out of the pool until they are recovered.
"If someone were to urinate in the pool with either blood or urine infected with bacteria near you while in the pool, there is always the chance of coming in contact with it and the small risk of acquiring an infection," Karlovsky said.
When urine is combined with chlorine disinfectant, the combination of the two can pose many risks.
The American Chemical Society released a video explaining why peeing in the pool makes it a more unhealthy environment for all swimmers.
"Pee contains urea which reacts with the chlorine disinfectant to form trichloramine," Dr. Susan Richardson said, Arthur Sease Williams, professor of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina.
Trichloramine is a disinfection by-product (DBP) that is a known respiratory irritant and is the suspected cause of asthma in elite swimmers.
"It is also implicated in red eyes, coughs, and other cold-like symptoms people get when going to indoor pools. Heavy swimmers have nasal tracts similar to heavy smokers, where their cilia (the first defense against allergens that cause colds) are disintegrated due to pool chemicals like trichloramine getting into the air," Richardson said.
Richardson said trichloramine is also the classic pool smell, it's not chlorine. So, when you smell that "pool smell" that it is because of people peeing in the pool.
The pool smell is technically caused by chloramines, which are chemical compounds that build up in pool water when it is improperly treated, according to the American Chemistry Council.
There is no odor to a well-managed pool.
"On average, each person contributes about 70 mL of urine in a public pool. Sweat also contains urea, so some of the trichloramine is coming from heavy swimmers who sweat, but the vast majority is believed to come from urine," Richardson said.
People who take medications and pee in pools can add to the multitude of chemicals.
"People also pee out pharmaceuticals they are taking that will also be in the water you are swimming in. Some of these can also contribute to disinfectant byproducts," Richardson said.
Due to health threats, scientists have been working toward solutions to detect urine in pools.
"Dr. Xingfang Li's group at the University of Alberta in Canada has used artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda) to know when people are peeing in the pool," Richardson said.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/experts-explain-the-health-risks-of-peeing-in-a-pool/70005287
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Committee Delays Markup of Bill to Upend EPA Reviews
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
Republican draft legislation to undermine EPA's program for assessing the risks posed by toxic chemicals ran into a procedural hurdle today.
"We are postponing action on the other bill noticed for this morning to address jurisdictional matters related to the bill," House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said this morning at a markup that was supposed to include the "Chemical Assessment Improvement Act" (E&E Daily, July 16).
The draft, which would allow the agency to shift the assessment process from chemical experts in EPA's Integrated Risk Information System to staffers in the various program offices, may also fall under the Energy and Commerce Committee's purview, said a Science Committee aide.
The IRIS weakening proposal was put forward by Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Environment. He and Smith have been the loudest congressional critics of the program.
IRIS is also opposed by the chemical industry, largely because its health research can lead to tighter regulations on its toxic products.
"We plan to take action on the bill in the near future," the Science chairman said in his opening statement.
The committee then went on to pass by a voice vote H.R. 6398, a bill from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) that would authorize the departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs to conduct collaborative research on big data challenges facing science and veterans' health care.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089489
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Audit Faults EPA over Schools' Failure to Test for Lead
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Ariel Wittenberg
Most public schools don't test their drinking water for lead, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released yesterday.
Only 43 percent of school districts tested for lead in drinking water in 2016 and 2017, and when they did, more than a third found elevated levels of the powerful neurotoxin, the federal watchdog found.
But 41 percent of school districts didn't do lead testing in the past two years, and 16 percent didn't know. Altogether, those districts serve 18 million children, the GAO report said.
Lead is particularly dangerous for children. Their bodies absorb lead more readily than adults', and exposure to the toxin can damage their brains.
School drinking water can similarly be particularly at risk for lead contamination, GAO's director of education policy, Jackie Nowicki, explained on the office's "Watchdog Report" podcast.
"The potential for water to leach into the water gets greater the longer it has contact with the pipes, and if you think about school schedules, with time off for weekend or holidays, you have a greater potential for water standing in the pipes, which can increase the risk," she said.
Environmental health advocates have long been critical of EPA standards for lead in drinking water, frequently slamming weak testing requirements.
While EPA's Lead and Copper Rule governs public water systems and requires utilities to test some taps for lead, there is no federal requirement for testing drinking water in schools.
Eight states have set their own lead standards for schools, with 13 more having programs to fund testing by school districts.
In 2006, EPA wrote guidance to help school districts test drinking water, but GAO says, "Many school districts reported a lack of familiarity with EPA guidance, and their familiarity varied by region of the country."
That guidance also uses a different testing protocol than the federal Lead and Copper Rule for public water systems. The guidance sets an "action level" for lead in school drinking water at 20 parts per billion — higher than the Lead and Copper Rule's 15-ppb standard.
Said Nowicki, "The main thing is that that guidance from EPA, portions of it are neither clear nor accurate, and it can make it really difficult for school districts to have good information for them to make informed decisions about the levels, about whether to test and when to test, how much to test, and also about what to do if they find elevated lead in their drinking water supply."
GAO is recommending that EPA update its guidance for schools and coordinate with the federal Department of Education to collaborate on publicizing the guidance and encouraging more schools to test for lead.
It also urges EPA to consider developing a health-based lead standard for school drinking water as part of the agency's revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.Legislation
EPA has been working on new lead-in-water standards since 2010. The Obama administration had been on track to propose a new regulation last spring. The Trump administration has repeatedly pushed back that timeline, now saying it expects to propose a new rule in February 2019.
In a letter included in the GAO report, EPA water chief David Ross agreed with many of the watchdog's recommendations.
"While EPA has not yet determined the specific role of a health-based benchmark for lead in drinking water in the revised Lead and Copper Rule, the Agency sees value in providing states, drinking water system and the public with a greater understanding of the potential health implications for vulnerable populations of specific levels of lead in drinking water," he wrote.
GAO conducted its review at the request of lawmakers, including Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
"It is unacceptable that even one child is attending a school with elevated levels of lead — and even more unacceptable that a majority of schools don't even know if their students are at risk," Murray said in a statement yesterday.
She also urged Congress to take up a bill introduced by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) last summer to require periodic testing for lead in schools and provide resources to monitor lead levels and replace outdated pipes. Duckworth first introduced the "Get the Lead Out of Schools Act" as a House lawmaker in 2016 (E&E Daily, June 22).
She said in a statement that the GAO report "underscores the need for mandatory lead testing in all schools across the nation."
"When families send their children to school, they should not have to worry about the school's drinking water being contaminated with a dangerous neurotoxin like lead," she said.
Public health and environmental activists slammed the Trump administration in the report's wake.
"This report should shock every member of Congress and jolt acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler into action," Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said in a statement. "In the richest country on earth, none of our children should be attending schools where the drinking water is contaminated with a heavy metal that causes brain damage."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089503
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Clothing Companies Make 'Significant Progress' Towards Greenpeace Detox Goals
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
A Greenpeace report says the 80 fashion companies committed to its Detox campaign have made "significant progress" towards their goal of eliminating 11 groups of chemicals by 2020.
In its recently published report, Destination Zero: seven years of detoxing the clothing industry, Greenpeace has compiled the achievements of Detox-committed companies from their responses to a questionnaire.
Companies that have signed up to the pledge include fashion and sportswear retailers, brands and suppliers representing 15% of global clothing production.
"While we are extremely happy to see the progress of Detox companies towards cleaning up their supply chains, 85% of the textile industry is still not doing enough to eliminate hazardous chemicals and improve factory working conditions," said Kirsten Brodde, Greenpeace Germany project lead of the Detox-my-Fashion campaign.
The Detox pledge requires that companies phase out the 11 priority hazardous chemical groups at all stages of production, with specific reporting limits used as target levels.
Achievements include:72% of Detox-committed brands are working towards disclosing their suppliers lists down to tier two and tier three of the supply chain, where the biggest use of chemicals and most water pollution occurs;72% report having achieved the complete elimination of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) from products, while the remaining 28% are "making good progress" towards elimination;99% are implementing regular wastewater testing and publicly disclosing the results, across at least 50% of their wet processing supply chain (in volume of operation); and62% are reporting wastewater testing data for more than 80% of their wet processing supply chain.Supply chain challenge
The biggest challenge for all Detox committed companies is the complexity of their global supply chain, according to the report.
All the companies "focus their efforts in supporting suppliers on many aspects, primarily on improving or too often setting the basic requirements of precautionary chemical management," it says.
Brands also admitted to Greenpeace that they need to increase their knowledge of the different tiers of their supply chain beyond core suppliers and are only starting to address the level of fibre production.Safer alternatives
Many Detox companies reported knowledge gaps about safer alternatives, which the report says "make it difficult to avoid regrettable substitutions".
Companies also pointed out their "higher cost, lower performance or lack of availability in all markets and sourcing regions", the report says.
Many Detox brands called for a deeper involvement (through Echa) in funding EU research, supporting companies' research and development investments and "lowering the boundaries for marketing green innovation and developing green chemistry programmes."
They also want to see chemical suppliers more involved with Detox and to feed positive lists of formulations that comply with its manufacturing restricted substances list (MRSL) requirements.
Detox 11 priority hazardous chemical groups:
phthalates;
brominated and chlorinated flame retardants;
azo dyes;
organotin compounds;
chlorobenzenes;
chlorinated solvents;
chlorophenols;
heavy metals; and
short-chain chlorinated paraffins.
https://chemicalwatch.com/68744/clothing-companies-make-significant-progress-towards-greenpeace-detox-goals
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US Hazcom Standard Update to Align with Seventh Edition of GHS
Jul 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Planned updates to the the US Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) are likely to mirror the seventh edition of the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS), and not the upcoming eighth revision.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration last updated its hazard communication requirements in 2012, aligning the HCS with the third version of the GHS – a global standard that covers hazard classification, labelling and safety data sheets.
Osha’s spring 2018 regulatory agenda reflects plans to propose a rule in February 2019, to bring the HCS into line with the newer global standard.
There have been recent reports that, because the eighth version of GHS is expected before this date, it was considering using this in its proposal.
But Maureen Ruskin, deputy director for the directorate of standards and guidance at Osha, told Chemical Watch the agency plans to shape its proposal around the seventh edition.
"While the [UN] subcommittee has adopted a few non-substantive changes for the upcoming eighth revision, the bulk of the changes will not be adopted until December," said Ms Ruskin. She said, at this point, it "would be difficult" for Osha to propose a rule based on this.
Ms Ruskin added that other jurisdictions, including the EU and Canada, are looking to align with the seventh revision in the near future.
https://chemicalwatch.com/68768/us-hazcom-standard-update-to-align-with-seventh-edition-of-ghs
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Alaska Megaproject Hits Financial Headwinds as Elections Loom
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
The blueprint to finance and build a $44 billion natural gas export project is coming under fire at a time when people here are gearing up for a governor's race that could again throw the future of the Alaska liquefied natural gas project into question.
Alaska legislators last week raised concerns about funding options that the state Department of Revenue is considering to pay for the state's portion of the massive natural gas commercialization project. Lawmakers were particularly opposed to the department's proposal to invite the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. and various state retirement funds to invest in the Alaska LNG project.
The Alaska Permanent Fund, cherished by state residents, is a $65 billion state-owned investment account created with state oil revenues. Part of the fund's earnings are distributed to Alaskans each year in the form of dividends.
Some Alaska lawmakers are also worry that as the November gubernatorial election approaches, the Walker administration may be willing to sign generous contracts with the state's potential Chinese partners and other investors in order to commit Alaska to building the LNG project.
State Sen. Cathy Giessel (R), chairwoman of the state Senate Natural Resources Committee, said that some of her colleagues are also uneasy about Alaska Gov. Bill Walker's (I) plan to team up on the gas project with three of China's government-owned companies. "There is a portion of us that has concerns about partnering with a communist country," she noted.
If Walker, who is running for re-election, is unseated in November, Giessel suggested the next governor might look to Alaska's top oil producers, BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp., for guidance on the massive gas line venture.
The three companies had been partnering with the state on the Alaska LNG project until they bowed out in late 2016.
Former Alaska House Resources Committee Chairman Mike Hawker (R) said that under a new governor, the Legislature would have a chance to "rebuild our relationship with the gas producers as our business partners," rather than align with gas buyers such as the Chinese companies.
In an interview, Walker said that he could envision inviting BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil to take a small role in the Alaska LNG project. "I would have no objection to them having a minority interest of some sort," he noted. "But what I won't have is them in a position that they can control the timing of it.
"It's critical to me that it's done on Alaska's timing, [and] not being fit into somebody else's portfolio."
He predicted that if the oil companies took control of the Alaska LNG project, it would face a new round of delays and expenses that could further postpone the venture. "I think at that point, it would never happen," he said.
Cost concerns
Alaskans have been waiting for access to cheap North Slope natural gas for decades. Nearly every Alaska governor has worked with state oil companies on ventures to commercialize those gas reserves. Each time, however, the plans fell apart and the producers continued to reinject the gas into their wells to boost crude production.
Walker, the state's biggest champion of the gas project, said he doesn't support the state Department of Revenue's proposals to have the Alaska Permanent Fund invest in the gas line project. "I think it would make Alaskans nervous to invest in it, so I'm not in favor of that," he said.
At a joint hearing last week of the Alaska House and Senate Natural Resources committees, Deputy Commissioner of Revenue Mike Barnhill said those funding options are among several being studied as the state considers how to pay for its portion of the massive natural gas commercialization project.
State Sen. Bert Stedman (R) warned that the Permanent Fund and other state accounts could take substantial financial hits if the Alaska gasline project goes over budget. "When you have cost overruns of $10 [billion], $20 [billion], $30 billion possibly, which is not out of the realm of possibilities, how are you going to factor in the state's exposure to capital calls?" Stedman asked at the hearing.
The legislators also quizzed state officials about how Alaska would receive royalties for the North Slope gas and how payment in lieu of taxes would be distributed to local communities along the pipeline route.
Giessel explained that the Alaska Legislature is eager to commercialize the 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that's now stranded at the North Slope oil fields.
"Most of the committee members here, from both the House and Senate, voted for this project," Giessel said. "But not at any cost. We want to see it built with benefits to the state, not just in jobs. Jobs are critical. But even beyond that — in revenue and royalty for the state."
The Alaska LNG project is being developed by the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a quasi-independent state-owned company. AGDC is counting on a team of Chinese companies to help finance and build the Alaska LNG venture.
Under a nonbinding joint development agreement reached last year by AGDC and the Chinese firms, the Bank of China Ltd. and CIC Capital Ltd. would provide 75 percent of the funding — roughly $32 billion — to build the Alaska LNG project.
The state would repay that loan by providing China Petrochemical and Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, with access to 75 percent of the LNG that would flow through the Alaska pipeline for the length of the loan, which is up to 30 years.
The agreement gives Alaska and the Chinese companies until the end of this year to reach a final pact on the project. But Alaska officials say the Chinese firms are pushing to spell out the terms of the LNG sales before that deadline.
The negotiations are going on at a time when Alaska's political season is heating up. Two Republicans — former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy and former state Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell — will face off in an Aug. 21 primary. Former Alaska U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is the only candidate in the state's Democratic primary. Walker, who is running as an independent, is not involved in a primary.
Polls show that Dunleavy is likely to beat Treadwell in the Republican primary. Dunleavy is also ahead in the polling in a three-way race with Walker and Begich.
Neither Dunleavy nor Begich has made it clear how he would handle the Alaska LNG project.Alaska takes control
The current Alaska LNG project took form in 2014, when the Legislature gave then-Gov. Sean Parnell (R) the green light to partner with the state's top oil companies to conduct preliminary engineering and design work.
During the 2014 race for governor, Walker advocated that the state take control of the gas pipeline project. However, once elected governor, Walker agreed to move forward with the public-private partnership that Parnell had negotiated with BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska and Exxon Mobil.
Then, in late 2016, the oil producers sought to slow down work on the venture due to low gas prices and increased competition on the world market. Walker immediately grabbed the opportunity to put AGDC in charge of the project.
AGDC has continued to advance the outlines of the project originally developed by the Alaska oil producers. That plan includes construction of a North Slope gas treatment plant, a feeder pipeline from natural gas fields at Point Thomson and an 800-mile pipeline to carry gas from Prudhoe Bay to the Cook Inlet. There, the gas would be converted to LNG and exported to Asia.
State officials say AGDC is making significant progress on the megaproject, which would be one of the biggest energy projects in the world.
In May, BP agreed to sell its North Slope gas reserves through the Alaska LNG project. State officials say negotiations are continuing with ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil to ship their Alaska gas reserves through the state pipeline.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is crafting its environmental impact statement for the project. FERC plans to issue a proposed EIS in March 2019 and a final report by December 2019, with the federal authorization decision expected in March 2020.
AGDC is planning to begin construction on the megaproject in 2019 and to start shipping gas through the completed pipeline by 2024-25.
The state agency is also working with the Bank of China Ltd. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC to solicit equity investors in the project beginning in early 2019.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089403
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FERC 'Days' from LNG Permitting Reforms
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Jenny Mandel
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is close to announcing new measures to streamline reviews of liquefied natural gas export projects.
"In just the last few days we have made truly significant strides in reforming the permitting process with our federal partners, eliminating duplicative efforts and instituting a streamlined procedure that will significantly reduce our LNG permitting timelines," FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre said in an unusual statement on FERC's website.
"The details are still being hammered out, but we expect to have a formalized agreement in place in the coming days. I expect to be able to provide more detail on this soon," he added.
In the statement, McIntyre denied a news report that FERC has told companies applying for permits to construct LNG export terminals that there will be a 12- to 18-month delay in processing applications. "FERC has issued no such letter," he said.
But McIntyre hinted that schedule updates for projects pending before the agency can be expected soon.
"Since we have been working diligently to streamline our permitting process and are still making significant strides in that direction, the release of any schedules to date would have been premature," the press release said. "We will not issue schedules until we have all the facts necessary and have implemented our improved processes to create accurate schedules," McIntyre added, noting that "FERC staff is very cognizant of the financial market impacts of its LNG project schedules."
In late June, FERC issued letters to most of the projects with active permit applications — all but those that are furthest through the process — requesting applicants to "consider providing a third party contractor" to assist the agency in reviewing the fire safety portion of project engineering plans.
At various points in FERC's permitting process, applicants are asked to provide a short list of qualified contractors to perform a certain function; FERC selects one of the proposed contractors, and the applicant pays for its work. The fire safety review work would be carried out through that process.
Fred Hutchison, the president and CEO of LNG Allies, an industry group, said FERC has been struggling with staffing and other issues in its LNG reviews in recent months.
FERC's website lists 13 projects under current review and two others in a pre-filing process, along with several under construction or approved and pending construction.
Hutchison said the burden of reviewing applications, combined with oversight of ongoing construction and operational terminals, has been heavy for FERC.
"We've been talking to the agency for a while about the pace on the LNG projects," Hutchison said, adding that FERC has been working on staffing up, streamlining and "some other issues that they're grappling with."
Commissioner Neil Chatterjee recently laid out a case in a series of Twitter postings that the agency should open an office in Houston, where it would have an easier time recruiting the LNG-specific personnel that it needs to move forward at a faster clip.
"We are pleased that FERC has taken concrete action to reduce the time required by the agency to consider LNG project applications," Hutchison said of McIntyre's notice yesterday and the promised announcement to come.
"Technical expertise in LNG is a highly specialized discipline, and senior engineers command top salaries. We are heartened that the commissioners understand this reality. We will continue to work closely with the agency to make sure that all pending and future LNG project applications can be reviewed as quickly as possible," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089413
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In a Loss for Trump Officials, Fracking Rule Litigation Will Stay in Calif.
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Trump administration and allies in the oil and gas industry failed in their recent bid to avoid California judges in litigation over the Obama-era hydraulic fracturing rule.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California yesterday rejected requests to send environmental litigation to Wyoming, where government and industry lawyers hoped to find a more sympathetic judge.
At issue is the Bureau of Land Management's fracking rule, which was finalized three years ago. States and industry groups successfully challenged the 2015 regulation in federal court in Wyoming, but that ruling was eventually set aside by an appeals court.
Trump officials then rescinded the fracking rule — which affects fracking operations on public and tribal lands — in December, drawing a new lawsuit from a coalition of environmental groups in the California district court. The Golden State has long been a favorite venue for environmentalists, and the Northern District has already issued several rulings smacking down Trump officials for flouting administrative procedures in other regulatory rollbacks.
Government and industry lawyers argued in April that moving the case to Wyoming would avoid potentially conflicting legal precedents between the California and Wyoming courts. Plus, they said, the Wyoming court was already familiar with the details of fracking regulation (Energywire, April 13).
But Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. ruled yesterday that the concern was unfounded because the Wyoming court's decision tossing the fracking rule was vacated by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year. The 10th Circuit scrapped the lower court's ruling last summer after declining to weigh the merits of an appeal (Energywire, Sept. 22, 2017).
"Given the posture of the Wyoming Action, the Court is not convinced that there is any risk of inconsistent judgments," Gilliam wrote yesterday. "The Tenth Circuit recently vacated the court's holding in the Wyoming Action. In doing so, the Tenth Circuit found that the plaintiffs' appeals were prudentially unripe as a result of BLM's rescission of the [fracking] Rule. On June 4, 2018, the Tenth Circuit issued a corresponding mandate to enforce its judgment. Thus, there is no standing decision of the Wyoming district court for this Court to contravene."
Gilliam noted that his court has also rejected the Trump administration's requests to transfer litigation involving the suspension of Obama-era methane standards for public lands. Again in that case, government lawyers pushed to move proceedings to Wyoming, which had handled a related lawsuit about the methane rule. The judge found that legal questions about the substance of the rule were separate from legal questions about the legality of the rollback.
"The issue before this Court — the legality of BLM's rescission of the [fracking] Rule — was not presented to or reached by the court in the Wyoming Action," he wrote. "The question in the Wyoming Action, whether BLM had statutory authority to enact the [fracking] Rule, has not been presented to this Court."
Earthjustice attorney Mike Freeman, representing the environmental coalition, said he's looking forward to addressing the merits of the case in court. The challengers say BLM rescinded the fracking rule without proper process or environmental review.
"We're pleased with today's ruling, which recognizes the substantial interest California has in protecting public lands from fracking," he said. "We look forward to briefing the merits of this case and will ask the court to strike down the Trump administration's unlawful decision."
Interior does not comment on pending litigation.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089411
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Gas Exports on Trump's Agenda for Europe
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meets with President Trump next week, "energy security" will share the agenda with controversial topics like trade and counterterrorism.
The White House meeting on July 25 follows months of escalating tensions between the two leaders, stemming from Trump's tariffs on aluminum and steel. The European Union retaliated with trade measures of its own, including on iconic American products like bourbon, blue jeans and motorcycles. And it comes little more than a week after Trump called the European Union a "foe" in an interview, at least on trade issues.
The focus next week will be "on improving trans-Atlantic trade and forging a stronger economic partnership," the White House said.
"Energy security" in this context likely means the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas to Germany for wider distribution across the European Union, and the role that U.S. natural gas exports could play in helping to wean the European Union off Russian gas. Both are likely topics of conversation.
"I would strongly expect President Trump to advocate for U.S. natural gas going into Europe," said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners LLC.
But Trump's "energy dominance" message hasn't gotten a foothold yet in "Old Europe" or Western Europe, especially in Germany.
Europe has ample infrastructure to receive U.S. liquefied natural gas, it just doesn't bring in much because the economics aren't right. Buying gas from Norway and Russia, delivered via pipeline, is more cost-effective. While some Eastern and central European countries have shown interest in diversifying their sources, Gazprom OAO has usually been successful in offering itself to Western Europe as the lowest-cost supplier. Gazprom is Russia's state-owned energy supplier.
"Whatever energy security means to Jean-Claude Juncker, it isn't the same thing as energy dominance. The buying of U.S. LNG at a high price to the exclusion of Russian gas at a low price would not fit into the economic model for Europe," said Book.
He said that rising oil prices would make U.S. LNG prices more competitive, and countries at the end of pipelines in Europe — like Spain — have been receptive to buying LNG because steel tariffs are making pipeline gas more expensive.
Trump signed a NATO communiqué last week that trod lightly on the national security implications of Nord Stream 2, and he spoke little about it at his Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the United States has opposed the project across administrations on the grounds that it strengthens Putin's hand in Europe. Congress passed a resolution to that effect last summer.
"These long-term contracts strengthen Putin's regime by providing a long-term, steady source of income for the Kremlin and granting him de facto legitimacy," said Paul Bledsoe, lecturer at American University's Center for Environmental Policy.
Russia uses its status as a global gas supplier to neutralize opposition to its human rights abuses and election meddling abroad, Bledsoe said. "It's clearly using its natural gas muscles as a way to improve its standing and relations with its critics," he said.
In opposing Nord Stream 2, Trump finds rare common ground with the European environmental community, which worries the pipeline will make European climate goals harder to meet.
"We believe these investments in new gas pipelines are not needed and will form stranded assets for the coming decades when Europe will be phasing out the use of fossil gas," said Wendel Trio, director of Climate Action Network Europe.
"Europe should instead invest in sustainable alternatives," he said, touting 100 percent renewable energy use as the goal.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089419
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Senate to Consider Bill Boosting U.S. Lng Exports to Europe, Taking Aim at Russian Gas
Jul 18, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By James Osborne
Two days after President Donald Trump's controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, some Senate Republicans are looking to hit Russia where it hurts - it's energy sector.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is preparing to introduce legislation Wednesday calling for the Department of Energy to speed up approval of LNG exports to Europe, where Russia has long had a strangle hold on natural gas supplies. Likewise, the bill would authorize U.S. sanctions on Russian energy projects, including the planned Nordstream 2 pipeline, which would run across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
With Republicans anxious to prove their anti-Russian bonafides, Congress is expected to consider in the weeks ahead numerous pieces of legislation designed to punish Russia for its meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
That follows a summit in Helsinki Monday in which Trump, standing alongside Putin, said the Russian president had made a "strong and powerful" case that his country had not interfered in the election. He also questioned unanimous consensus among U.S. intelligence officials that Russia had in fact interfered - a statement the president attempted to walk back Tuesday.
Under the legislation, U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchinson, the former Texas senator, would be directed to encourage members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to work with the United States to "achieve energy security for its members and partners in Europe and Eurasia."
"It is important to the national security of the United States to assist our allies in reducing their dependency on Russian energy resources," reads a summary of the legislation, written by senate staff. "Russia continues to undermine peace and security in Europe through a variety of mechanisms, including its use of energy as a geopolitical weapon."
An increase in LNG exports to Europe would be a big boon for Texas oil and gas companies, which are increasingly moving to ship the glut of U.S. natural gas overseas.
In early 2016 Houston-based Cheniere Energy opened its Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, which now has the capacity to process 18 million metric tons of LNG per year.
The company, which now ships to at least 20 foreign markets, is expanding that terminal and building a second one in Corpus Christi.
Dominion Energy of Richmond, Va., also began exporting LNG from a terminal in Maryland in March. Other U.S. companies are expected to follow later this year, including two Houston firms, Freeport LNG, which will operate a Gulf Coast terminal at Quintana Island, and Kinder Morgan, which is completing an export terminal in Georgia.
Several other companies, including Sempra Energy and Tellurian of Houston, are working on projects expected to start up in the coming years.
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Senate-to-consider-bill-boosting-U-S-LNG-exports-13085007.php
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Big Batteries at Data Centers Could Replace Power Plants
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Storrow
The cutting edge in American efforts to green the power sector can be found in a shipping container sitting in the parking lot of a sprawling Microsoft Corp. data center in southern Virginia.
A team of engineers assembled here to conduct a series of tests to simulate the interaction between a data center and a grid operator. Their question: Can extensive battery systems installed at data centers like this one be used to help grid operators smooth out the small spikes and drops in electric demand that occur throughout the day?
It's technical, tedious work, but the implications for the electric system are sweeping. If they succeed, power companies might not need to build new natural gas power plants. Directly powering data centers with the wind and sun becomes a real possibility. Microsoft engineers even talk about reimagining the way electricity is bought and sold.
"In the future, you don't have a data center or a power plant. It's something in the middle. A data plant, for example," said Sean James, Microsoft director of energy research. "Where this thing isn't just a load on the grid, it's an asset on the grid. We've been doing a lot of calculations, working with partners to get it just right, but to see it actually going is a special moment for us."
Technology companies have led a corporate rush into renewables in recent years, pioneering long-term contracts with wind and solar projects that essentially offset the emissions associated with their electricity consumption (Greenwire, April 20). But many firms, no longer content with merely offsetting their emissions, are moving on to the challenge of directly powering their operations with the wind and sun.
Google announced last year it had offset all of its emissions with renewable production and promptly embarked on an effort to match its consumption to renewable energy production.
A hallmark of that initiative is building renewable projects in regions where it operates, effectively greening the local electric supply. That marks a shift for Google, which had previously relied mainly on projects in wind-rich regions like the Great Plains and northern Europe to offset its emissions in other parts of the world.
Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft have made similar moves. Amazon recently ushered in North Carolina's first wind project online, and Microsoft signed a deal to help develop a 500-megawatt solar farm in Virginia. It's the largest ever corporate solar buy.
"Corporate procurement is driving faster renewable development than we otherwise would have had," said Andrew Levitt, a senior market strategist at the PJM Interconnection, a grid operator that oversees power flows for a 13-state region that extends from North Carolina to Illinois. "Increasingly, you're seeing the sophisticated corporate companies seeking to match their consumption, hour by hour."
The stakes are potentially enormous. Technology companies are large buyers of electricity. Google estimates its global power consumption is equal to the city of San Francisco's. Demand associated with Microsoft's Boydton facility grew by 24 percent last year, according to Dominion Energy Inc., the local utility. Dominion estimates that total data center demand in Virginia this year is growing at a rate of 18 percent compared with the previous year.
The big increases in electricity consumption are part of the reason technology firms have embraced renewables. Wind and solar offer firms two primary benefits: They help companies meet their sustainability goals while providing a hedge against fuel prices. Wind and solar lack fuel costs, meaning they offer electricity buyers long-term price certainty.
Microsoft's battery project in Boydton is illustrative of how technology companies are finding new ways to green the grid. Data centers like this one are equipped with extensive battery systems to back up your photos, videos and favorite web-based news outlets in the event the power goes out. But most of the time they sit around gathering dust.
The essential question for Microsoft is whether a data center's batteries can still perform their backup function while also providing a service for the grid.
Brandon Middaugh, a senior program manager for distributed energy at Microsoft, likens the system to a stranded asset, a valuable resource that is infrequently used. The company's effort represents an attempt to get more value out of its investment while furthering its clean energy goals, she said.
"It's about looking at all the backup resources that we're already installing at data centers here and around the world and saying, 'What could we do to make these underutilized assets more of a resource for the grid and specifically a resource that could help with renewable resource integration and balancing?'" she said.
Batteries are an appealing option for the power sector because of the flexibility they provide. Unlike a natural gas peaker plant, which can take minutes to dispatch and often run on idle in order to better meet short-term spikes in demand, a battery can dispatch power instantaneously. That makes them potentially valuable resources to help smooth out sudden spikes or drops in power supplies.
It is also a key piece of the puzzle for bringing more renewables online. If, say, a cloud moves over a solar facility, a battery can be dispatched quickly to patch the shortfall in electricity production.
But although the cost of batteries has fallen in recent years, they still remain prohibitively expensive, especially if a company is using them for the sole purpose of meeting short-term fluctuations in power.
That's why the allure of data center batteries is so strong.
"I think what it does is provide a stable grid as more clean energy comes online," said Kyle Harrison, who tracks corporate energy strategy at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. "These companies are showing they have an in-depth understanding of energy markets, but they want to help decarbonize the grid while maintaining resiliency, security and all those other factors."
There are other tangible economic benefits for Microsoft. Researchers at the University of Washington studied a Microsoft data center to see whether its battery system could be used for dual purposes like data center backup and grid services.
They concluded the company could cut its annual electric bill by nearly 11 percent by reducing energy use at times of peak demand and, at the same time, gain a new revenue stream by offering services to the grid.
To be sure, there are limits to what battery technology can provide in its current form.
A data center's backup batteries can only dispatch power for a matter of minutes, making them a potential solution for short-term fluctuations in electricity, but less of an option for long-term storage.
The work is also preliminary. The tests being done in Microsoft's shipping container are part of a pilot project with Eaton Corp., a power management company, and PJM.
But the early returns are promising. On a recent afternoon, a team of engineers piled into the container to watch the tests in action.
The container was packed with a pair of industrial-scale batteries, a set of computer servers and a secure internet connection, linking the container to the PJM Interconnection.
Every two seconds the batteries received a signal from PJM, telling them to either charge or discharge electricity from the grid. A graph displayed on a laptop tracked their progress. It showed two undulating lines, one tracking PJM's signal while the other followed the batteries' response.
A laymen could be forgiven for thinking the spectacle was rather bland. But Microsoft engineers like James could barely contain their excitement.
The initial results suggest the batteries are already more effective at responding to PJM's signal than a traditional power plant, though room for improvement remains.
"I don't know if you just see some lines, but for us this is like seeing a lightbulb turn on for the first time," James said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089417
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Big Oil Says It Likes Carbon Taxes. Will It Join the Debate?
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Mark K. Matthews
A House resolution that condemns carbon taxes as "detrimental" to the U.S. economy has elicited little public pushback from four major energy companies that previously backed the idea of putting a levy on carbon emissions.
The companies — BP PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA — raised eyebrows last summer when they got behind a proposal that would, among other recommendations, ease climate rules in exchange for a carbon tax that would start at $40 per ton.
But none of them offered comment when asked about a resolution from House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) that slams carbon taxes as a policy that would "lead to less economic growth."
Josiah Neeley, an energy expert at the free-market R Street Institute, said the reluctance is unsurprising given the low stakes.
"It is, after all, a nonbinding resolution that was done a couple years before," said Neeley, referring to a similar 2016 measure that passed the House with full Republican support. "There may be a calculation among some that it might not be worth getting into a fight that, at the end of the day, is [over] a purely declamatory resolution."
But he said it could be telling whether the companies make any moves on a separate carbon tax measure — currently being drafted by Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) — that would get rid of the gas tax and impose a $23-per-ton tax on carbon emissions from energy industry operations (Climatewire, July 17).
Any movement, however, is unlikely before Curbelo officially introduces the bill, added Neeley, whose group generally supports the concept of a carbon tax.
"People are going to want to see a final product," he said.
Its introduction could come as early as next week.
Yesterday, the pending Curbelo bill came up during a debate over the Scalise resolution in a meeting of the Rules Committee.
"I see this [resolution] as sort of an attack on my good friend and colleague Carlos Curbelo, who is in the process of ... introducing a carbon tax," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).
The Oregon Democrat said the resolution overly simplifies the issue of carbon taxes and doesn't accurately align with proposals put forward by proponents.
"You're creating out of whole cloth something that doesn't exist," Blumenauer said.
His argument was followed by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) — a co-sponsor of the Scalise resolution — who countered that the carbon tax issue itself is too hot to touch.
"It's one of those very divisive issues," McKinley said. "What we have tried to do in [the] Energy and Commerce [Committee] is try to perhaps avoid those and find ways that we can solve the carbon problem without imposing such a divisive tactic."
The Rules Committee ultimately pushed the resolution forward, and the House is expected to debate the measure today.
Despite its lack of legislative heft, the resolution could serve as a gut check for moderate Republicans — especially those on the Climate Solutions Caucus who have signaled an openness to addressing climate change.
So, too, could the Curbelo bill, despite its long odds of becoming law this year.
Joseph Uscinski, a political science professor at the University of Miami, said the competing carbon tax proposals from Curbelo and Scalise are emblematic of the bind that congressional Republicans face on the climate issue.
Because GOP lawmakers have spent so much time questioning the idea of climate change, he said, they're limited in how they can respond legislatively to the problem.
"They've created this monster they don't know what to do with," Uscinski said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089465
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Trump Wants Supreme Court to Halt Kids' Suit
Jul 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The Trump administration yesterday launched what plaintiffs described as a "last-ditch effort" to halt a lawsuit brought by kids over the government's role in causing climate change.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/07/18/stories/1060089505
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