Preview Newsletter
AM ACC 7/20/2018
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(ACC Mentioned) American Chemical Industry Fights Against US Tariffs
Jul 20, 2018 | Chemistry World
By Rebecca Trager
The US chemical industry is pushing back hard against the Trump administration for escalating a trade war with China, which it fears could especially damage America’s chemicals sector. -
Court Rulings On Pruitt-Era Delays Seen Limiting EPA Stays Under Wheeler
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
By David LaRoss
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has pledged to carry on Scott Pruitt's deregulatory agenda, but his ability to do so could be boxed in by court rulings that struck down or limited Pruitt's stays of Obama-era rules while he reconsidered them -
(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Launches Fund to Back Firms Trying to Keep the Ocean Plastic Free
Jul 20, 2018 | Deal Street Asia
By Mars Woo
Impact investor Closed Loop Partners has announced the launch of a new investment fund, Circulate Capital, to invest in companies, projects, and innovations that seek to prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia. -
Antitrust Regulators Increasingly Probe Chemical Deals
Jul 19, 2018 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Michael McCoy
As big mergers and acquisitions test the limits of chemical industry consolidation, government scrutiny is on the rise. Companies are responding with a flurry of asset divestments to try to push their combinations past regulators. -
Formaldehyde Fears Complicated Search for Pruitt's Desk, Emails Show
Jul 19, 2018 | PoliticoPro
By Annie Snider
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's staff sought to protect him from exposure to toxic formaldehyde from an office desk last year, emails show — just months before his top political aides blocked the release of a report on health dangers from the same chemical. -
(ACC Mentioned) Staff Aimed to Shield Pruitt from Chemical Risk He Hid from Public
Jul 20, 2018 | Huff Post
By Mary Papenfuss
When former Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt picked out an ornate desk as part of this expensive office remodel last year, staff members planned to take precautions to protect him from the ill effects of formaldehyde in the furniture, Politico reported Thursday. -
After Flint, Watchdog Urges E.P.A. to Monitor Drinking Water More Closely
Jul 19, 2018 | New YorK Times
By Mitch Smith and Lisa Friedman
The Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to intervene earlier and stop the water crisis in Flint, Mich., exposed a need for wholesale changes to how federal officials monitor drinking water systems, a government watchdog said Thursday. -
Energy Regulator Working With Pipeline Agency to Speed LNG Reviews
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is working with the pipeline safety regulator to cut the review times for liquefied natural gas terminals. -
US Crude Oil Production Hit Record Level in June
Jul 20, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
Crude oil and natural gas production hit a new record in June with the highest production ever in the U.S. -
Oil, Gas Industry Frustrated by Rejections to Steel Tariff Exemptions; Permian Pipeline Affected
Jul 19, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
Officials with the American Petroleum Institute (API) said their member oil and gas companies are frustrated with the process that the Trump administration established to request exemptions to tariffs on imported steel, with several petitions -
U.S. Energy Regulator Boosts Cybersecurity Standards for Grid (1)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern and Stephen Cunningham
Power plant owners and transmission operators will be subject to expanded mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting requirements under a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rulemaking. -
(ACC Mentioned) House OKs Bill to Delay TWIC Deployment at High-Risk Facilities
Jul 19, 2018 | Transport Topics
By Eric Miller
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation calling for a delay in deploying thousands of biometric readers for transportation security cards at the nation’s high-risk ports and commercial facilities. -
Let Flint Serve as a Warning: Congress Must to Do More to Improve the Nation’s Infrastructure
Jul 20, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.)
It is completely unacceptable that an American city—Flint, Mich.—still does not trust the drinking water coming out of the tap. -
EPA's San Antonio Ozone Designation Angers Texas
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA has designated the San Antonio area's most populous county as “nonattainment” for the agency's toughened 2015 federal ozone standard, prompting a rare public clash with Texas air regulators, after the Lone Star State's Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) and others lobbied EPA to avoid the nonattainment label. -
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Stay Youth Climate Case
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Dawn Reeves
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to halt discovery and an upcoming trial in the pending district court case where 21 youth plaintiffs are suing the government claiming it is violating their constitutional and public trust rights by not adequately addressing climate change. -
New York’s Climate Change Suit Against Oil Companies Thrown Out (2)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Peter Blumberg and Kevin Crowley
A U.S. judge threw out New York’s lawsuit seeking to hold five of the world’s biggest oil companies financially responsible for contributing to climate change. -
Art of Deal Could Lie With Trump Environment Adviser, Democrats Say
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Abby Smith
Senate Democrats told President Donald Trump’s new nominee to lead the White House environment shop they are looking to her to broker common-sense environmental policy—a break from their sharp opposition that sank Trump’s first pick for the slot. -
Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution Easily Passes House (2)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott
A nonbinding resolution meant to signal congressional opposition to a carbon tax easily won House approval July 19, though with slightly less support than a similar measure two years ago. -
California Is Years Ahead of Schedule on Cutting Global Warming-Causing Pollution
Jul 19, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
Twelve years ago, California set a goal many energy experts thought was too ambitious: reduce climate-disrupting air pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. Last week, the state announced it had not only exceeded that goal, but did so four years ahead of schedule.
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(ACC Mentioned) American Chemical Industry Fights Against US Tariffs
Jul 20, 2018 | Chemistry World
By Rebecca Trager
The US chemical industry is pushing back hard against the Trump administration for escalating a trade war with China, which it fears could especially damage America’s chemicals sector. The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced earlier this month that an additional $200 billion (£153 billion) in Chinese goods, including a significant number of chemicals, will be subject to a 10% tariff that could take effect as soon as September.
Among the Chinese chemical targets for the new tariffs are ethylene propene, acyclic hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol, as well as plasticisers of aromatic polycarboxylic acids.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents US chemical companies, issued a statement on 11 July calling the administration’s action ‘a stunning and unfortunate development’ for the nation’s manufacturers and consumers. ‘Unilateral actions that alienate long-standing US allies and close off the US market to the rest of the world are not a recipe for economic growth and prosperity and are very unlikely to change China’s unfair practices,’ the trade group added. ‘We strongly urge the administration to create a strong, multilateral coalition to bring an end to this unnecessary trade war.’
Of the roughly 6000 products on the USTR’s new list of Chinese items slated for the additional 10% tariffs, more than 1500 are related to chemistry, and these are worth $16.4 billion – about 8% of the $200 billion total, according to ACC analysis.
Specifically, the ACC says 286 of the 1505 chemicals and plastics products listed by the USTR for the additional taxes are not even imported from China, and 77 of those products are not imported from any foreign supplier at all. However, the trade group points out that 44 products originate entirely from China, and for 299 of the products listed, 50% or more of foreign supply originates from China. Therefore, the ACC asserts that these tariffs would considerably disrupt supply chains, suggesting that the imposed tariffs will ‘significantly disadvantage and reduce the competitiveness’ of US chemical manufacturers.
Disruptive approach
The US Plastics Industry Association (Plastics) is also concerned about this proposed 10% additional tariffs on plastic materials, machinery and other products from China. ‘This disruptive approach to trade policy endangers the gains that America’s $404 billion plastics industry has made as a result of this administration’s achievements on comprehensive tax and regulatory reform,’ said Plastics’ president and CEO, William Carteaux. ‘Tariffs threaten to boomerang on the very workers they’re supposed to help, and will only further undermine the confidence manufacturers need to make investments in new equipment, facilities and people,’ he warned.
China’s Commerce Ministry announced on 16 July that it has filed a complaint against the US with the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) related to these proposed tariffs. Meanwhile, eight US trading partners have already challenged the 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium that Trump announced in March against China, and on Canada, Mexico and the EU the following month.
However, the US fought back by initiating its own WTO disputes against China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey, also on 16 July, for the retaliatory tariffs they have imposed on more than $20 billion worth of US exports in response to Trump’s duties on their steel and aluminium exports. The US argues that the steel and aluminium tariffs that Trump imposed are justified, but retaliatory duties on US exports imposed by China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey are without merit.
The Trump administration has said its sanctions attempt to address China’s unfair trade practices with regard to intellectual property and innovation. The USTR notes that its exhaustive eight-month investigation concluded in Marchthat China has actively worked to steal US intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, to gain competitive advantages for its companies or commercial sectors. In its report, the USTR also cited examples of ‘brazen’ Chinese efforts to steal American intellectual property, including the systematic tracking of the research agency grantees and research of scientists at universities across the nation.
Lawmakers and others voiced similar concerns on Capitol Hill in recent months. Witnesses at a congressional hearing in April urged US academic institutions to do more to protect their researchers’ work, as well as their scientific assets and taxpayer investments in federally funded science. Congressional representatives on both sides of the aisle have echoed these calls to action.Profiling or protecting?
Meanwhile, there is some concern that the US government is unfairly persecuting Chinese Americans in its pursuit of espionage prosecutions. Indeed, the authorities did eventually drop some of the most high profile of these cases.
The US Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) first raised such red flags back in November 2015, suggesting in a letter to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch that the US government has unjustly pursued Chinese American scientists.
‘We are concerned that the government is failing to exercise sufficient due diligence when targeting Asian Americans for investigation, surveillance, and arrest, due to their race or national origin,’ the CCR warned Lynch. The organisation’s letter referenced recent news reports that had detailed embarrassing attempts by the US federal government to prosecute Chinese Americans for spying and economic espionage, only to drop the charges following revelations of serious underlying errors.
Inside and outside of Capitol Hill there is recognition for the importance of preserving the open and collaborative nature of US academic research, but several significant proposals have come before Congress. For example, witnesses at congressional hearings this year have advocated greater monitoring and oversight of visa holders, as well as the creation of a comprehensive White House database that would track visa holders’ fields of study.
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/american-chemical-industry-fights-against-us-tariffs/3009278.article
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Court Rulings On Pruitt-Era Delays Seen Limiting EPA Stays Under Wheeler
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
By David LaRoss
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has pledged to carry on Scott Pruitt's deregulatory agenda, but his ability to do so could be boxed in by court rulings that struck down or limited Pruitt's stays of Obama-era rules while he reconsidered them, setting new precedents curbing Wheeler's ability to block the prior administration's policies.
Wheeler is now presiding over ongoing efforts to rewrite or repeal a host of rules subject to administrative stays or enforcement delays, such as the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule, wastewater effluent standards for power plants and facility safety standards under the Clean Air Act, limits on production of “glider” trucks and, once a newly-signed rule takes effect, disposal standards for waste ash from coal-fired power plants.
But his ability to defend those stays could be limited by court decisions that held many of the Trump administration's earlier stay and delay actions unlawful, including a high-profile Clean Air Act rule delay as well as those issued by other agencies.
“Due to the widespread litigation provoked by the Trump Administration’s across-the-board rule delays, there is a large and growing body of law on agencies’ legal authority to delay rules,” former Obama-era EPA policy chief Lisa Heinzerling, now a law professor at Georgetown University, wrote last month in an article for The Regulatory Review. “This body of law exposes the pervasive legal flaws in this early round of the Trump Administration’s deregulatory push,” she wrote.
And an attorney with the environmental law firm Earthjustice tells Inside EPA that even if Wheeler would prefer to bolster the legal justification for stays that Pruitt put in place, it would be impractical to do so when the same resources could be put toward justifying substantive changes to the policies instead of temporary suspensions.
“I can’t imagine it would be worth their time to do that, because the thing they’d have to do to shore up the delay would be to actually have a position on reconsideration,” the attorney says.
Rather, that attorney expects that Wheeler's EPA will have little choice but to defend Pruitt-era stays as they were issued, while working to shore up justifications for proposals to repeal or rewrite the underlying rules. The success of that strategy could rest on whether the litigation lasts so long that the agency can take final action on its rule changes -- rendering any delay moot -- before judges are ready to decide whether the stays were legal.
“I think they’re just hoping that courts hold off long enough for them to complete their reconsideration.”
However, that could be a difficult timeline for the agency to meet in some cases; for instance, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held oral argument over challenges to the delay of the risk management plan facility safety rule on March 16, opening the possibility of an imminent decision that could bring Obama-era amendments to that rule back into force while the agency is still weighing a plan to roll them back.
However, other delays have taken a more circuitous path to court and thus gave EPA more time for rule rewrites. Litigation over the CWA jurisdiction rule delay saw conflict over which court should hear the case, while suits to bring the power plant effluent limitation guidelines (ELG) into force were originally filed in the U.S. District Court for D.C. but then transferred to the 5th Circuit, where merits briefing began in mid-June -- nearly a year after the September 2017 delay rule took effect.
Court Precedent
In the most prominent court decision on rule delays, the D.C. Circuit in 2017 blocked a stay of the Obama-era new source performance standards (NSPS) for methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Clean Air Council (CAC), et al., v. EPA.
There, a panel majority held that regulatory stays are reviewable in court -- rejecting EPA's argument that they merely preserve a pre-rule “status quo” -- and that the air law only allows staying a rule pending reconsideration if the agency can show that reconsidering the policy is mandatory. The judges said that test is satisfied “when someone presents an objection of 'central relevance' that was 'impracticable' to raise during the period for public comment,” which was not the case for the NSPS.
Heinzerling writes that CAC and other decisions will provide ammunition against not only the Trump administration's stays of Obama-era rules but also any future president's attempts at a similar slate of rollbacks.
“[A]dministrations of both political parties have in the past probably broken the law to the extent that they have delayed the effective or compliance dates of final rules without going through notice-and-comment rulemaking. Particularly suspect are broad orders to freeze regulatory actions of the prior administration simply because they are the regulatory actions of the prior administration,” her article says.
For instance, Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell, of the D.C. district court, held in her Dec. 23 decision in Open Communities Alliance v. Carson that a Department of Housing and Urban Development rule stay was illegal because it was issued without “particularized evidentiary findings” to justify the move.
And Howell cited CAC in her opinion, writing that under the 2017 decision “The APA generally requires a federal agency engaged in informal rulemaking to engage in notice and comment procedures.”
On July 7, in a sign that EPA may be taking the CAC precedent into account, the agency sought to use its enforcement discretion to temporarily delay an Obama-era production limit on high-emitting glider trucks while it crafts a notice-and-comment rule extending compliance deadlines, rather than using an administrative process to halt the rule.
However, the D.C. Circuit July 18 stayed the enforcement waiver -- in response to a petition from environmentalists -- while it considers a legal challenge EPA's order.
EPA has also faced courtroom push-back on its use of once-obscure Administrative Procedure Act (APA) section 705 authority to delay the effective dates of final rules pending judicial review, “when justice so requires.” The Trump administration has invoked that power to halt enforcement of a host of Obama-era rules from EPA and other agencies without a notice-and-comment process, but those stays have had at best a mixed record in court.
Most prominently, a federal magistrate judge in California's northern district blocked stays of Department of Interior rules for oil and gas operations on federal lands that invoked the APA power, holding that section 705's “plain language” restricts its use to rules whose effective date has not yet arrived -- rather than halting specific future deadlines in a rule that is already in force -- and that any stay under the section must follow notice and comment.
But the Trump administration's use of section 705 stays has been short-term, which environmentalists say has frustrated their efforts at judicial review. For instance, before delaying the ELG deadlines to 2020, EPA used a section 705 stay to halt the rule during the spring of 2017.
That action drew a quick court challenge, but a judge held the case moot earlier this year because the APA stay was superseded by the long-term delay. Environmentalists are appealing that decision to the D.C. Circuit, arguing that a definitive ruling is needed to stop future abuse of section 705, but merits briefing in the case is yet to begin.
https://insideepa.com/weekly-focus/court-rulings-pruitt-era-delays-seen-limiting-epa-stays-under-wheeler
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(ACC Mentioned) Closed Loop Launches Fund to Back Firms Trying to Keep the Ocean Plastic Free
Jul 20, 2018 | Deal Street Asia
By Mars Woo
Impact investor Closed Loop Partners has announced the launch of a new investment fund, Circulate Capital, to invest in companies, projects, and innovations that seek to prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia.
In a press release, Closed Loop said it has partnered with Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organisation working to protect the world’s ocean, to launch the fund that aims to stop plastic from leaking into the ocean.
Circulate Capital is also supported by intergovernmental organizations, associations and many of the world’s largest consumer product goods and chemical companies, including 3M, American Chemistry Council, The Coca-Cola Company, Kimberly-Clark, Dow, PepsiCo, Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), Procter & Gamble, and the World Plastics Council.
The new fund was set up out of the “Closed Loop Ocean” project, following commitments made by Closed Loop Partners, Ocean Conservancy, and a number of corporate partners at the Our Ocean Summit in Malta in October 2017 to create financing vehicles focused on preventing plastic from flowing into the ocean.
Scientists estimate that more than half of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that flow into the ocean every year comes from developing countries in the region, where waste management has lagged behind rapid economic growth.“Circulate Capital seeks to fill capital gaps and prove the investment market by financing opportunities that collect, sort, process, and manufacture using waste in areas known to contribute to the ocean plastic crisis,” said Rob Kaplan, founder and CEO of Circulate Capital.
“Our goal is to remove capital as a barrier”.
Immediately after the launch, Circulate Capital announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to solicit applications for financing for companies and projects from qualifying entrepreneurs from South and Southeast Asia, with the goal of selecting the first recipients by early 2019.
“South and Southeast Asian countries produce the most plastic waste, but largely because they lack the necessary waste infrastructure to manage the problem. Financing innovative, local companies that are working to address the challenge is a critical step to reducing the flow of ocean plastics and also key to improving economic development and public health outcomes,” Kaplan said.
Closed Loop Partners invests in sustainable consumer goods, advanced recycling technologies and the development of the circular economy.Read more at: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/closed-loop-circulate-capital-102332/
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Antitrust Regulators Increasingly Probe Chemical Deals
Jul 19, 2018 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Michael McCoy
As big mergers and acquisitions test the limits of chemical industry consolidation, government scrutiny is on the rise. Companies are responding with a flurry of asset divestments to try to push their combinations past regulators.
On July 16, Tronox announced it will sell its European business in titanium dioxide for paper laminates to Venator Materials to assuage regulator concerns over its acquisition of the rival pigment maker Cristal. The European Commission had objected to the deal because it would create too much concentration in the special grade of TiO2.
At the same time, Tronox is negotiating to sell Cristal’s TiO2 plant in Ashtabula, Ohio, to Venator for $1.1 billion—if the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires the sale before approving Tronox’s purchase of Cristal. FTC recently filed a lawsuit to block the purchase, arguing that it would give Tronox too much U.S. market share in chloride-process TiO2. Tronox intends to fight the agency in court and will pay Venator $75 million if it doesn’t have to sell the plant.
Also on July 16, the industrial gas firm Linde struck a deal to sell its gas business in North America and some of its business in South America to the German gas maker Messer and the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The partners will pay $3.3 billion.
Linde says it considers the sale necessary to gain clearance of its proposed merger with Praxair. For similar reasons, Praxair earlier agreed to sell its European industrial gas business to Taiyo Nippon Sanso for close to $6 billion.
These regulator-driven divestments follow ones made to win clearance for the mergers of Agrium and PotashCorp, Bayer and Monsanto, ChemChina and Syngenta, and Dow Chemical and Dupont. Celanese and the private equity firm Blackstone abandoned plans to merge their cellulose acetate businesses earlier this year after they were unable to come to terms with European antitrust authorities. Europe is now reviewing the impact of BASF’s proposed buy of Solvay’s nylon business.
“There is increased consolidation in all sectors of the economy, so of course these deals will be coming under increased scrutiny,” says Mark Powell, an expert in competition law at the law firm White & Case. “American and European authorities don’t see eye to eye on everything these days, but in the field of antitrust they do work very closely with each other.”
In some ways, the two sides are getting even closer, Powell says. The U.S. is losing its taste for behavioral remedies—promises by companies to act in a certain way—and is taking the European approach of requiring structural remedies, such as plant divestitures. Europe, meanwhile, is less often giving companies time to find buyers of assets after a deal closes and instead is doing like the Americans and forcing them to identify a buyer up front, as Tronox has done. “To some extent we see the approaches converging,” Powell says.
https://cen.acs.org/business/mergers-&-acquisitions/Antitrust-regulators-increasingly-probe-chemical/96/i30
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Formaldehyde Fears Complicated Search for Pruitt's Desk, Emails Show
Jul 19, 2018 | PoliticoPro
By Annie Snider
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's staff sought to protect him from exposure to toxic formaldehyde from an office desk last year, emails show — just months before his top political aides blocked the release of a report on health dangers from the same chemical.
In the spring of 2017, as Pruitt was finishing the more than $9,500 redecoration of his office, a top career official in the administrator's office noticed a California warning that one of the ornate desks their boss wanted contained formaldehyde, which the state classifies as a carcinogen. It's unclear whether Pruitt ultimately ordered that desk as part of the renovation — which included artwork from the Smithsonian, framed photographs of Pruitt and President Donald Trump and a standing "captain's" desk — but the documents show that his staff took steps to protect Pruitt from exposure to the chemical.
After seeing the warning, acting deputy chief of staff Reginald Allen reached out to the Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, the career official then serving as the acting head of EPA's toxic chemicals office, according to emails released to the group American Oversight under the Freedom of Information Act and shared with POLITICO.
"Sorry to bother you with this but we need some help. The desk the Administrator wants for his office from Amazon has a California Proposition 65 warning. What I am asking is can someone in your area tell us whether it is OK to get this desk for the Administrator related to the warning?" Allen wrote April 7 to Cleland-Hamnett and another career official in the office, referring to a California state chemicals law.
Cleland-Hamnett replied explaining that the desk was likely made of compressed wood in which formaldehyde is frequently used as a glue. Although an EPA regulation limiting formaldehyde emissions from such products had been put on hold by the Trump administration, the state of California regulates formaldehyde in such products, meaning the air emissions from the desk were "likely to be fine," Cleland-Hamnett wrote.
However, she suggested letting the desk sit somewhere other than the administrator's office to air out for a few days. Administrative personnel appeared to make plans to have the desk assembled at a warehouse and left there for a week, when the highest concentrations of formaldehyde are usually emitted.
The email exchange about the desk last spring took place just months before top aides to Pruitt took steps to block a health assessment produced by another division within the agency that found the levels of formaldehyde that many Americans breathe in daily are linked with leukemia, nose-and-throat cancer and other ailments. The chemicals industry has fought the assessment, which could prompt federal and state regulators to issue new restrictions on the chemical, and could lead to class-action lawsuits.
POLITICO reported last month that Pruitt aides, including Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson, and Richard Yamada, a top official in the agency's Office of Research and Development, blocked the report from going through necessary internal review steps, effectively preventing it from being made public.
Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, the watchdog group that obtained the emails, said the emails fit into the pattern of perk-seeking that led to Pruitt's downfall.
“You can add 'EPA chemical safety science' to the list of taxpayer funded benefits that Scott Pruitt kept for himself. The irony would be comical if this wasn't so dangerous. Months before Scott Pruitt blocked the EPA's report on the dangers of formaldehyde to public health, he got the benefit of EPA's safety experts looking out for his own health," Evers said in a statement.
Cleland-Hamnett retired last year. Allen, who had objected to other spending and travel by Pruitt, was reassigned to a job outside the agency this spring, E&E News reported at the time.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/article/2018/07/pruitt-protected-from-formaldehyde-while-public-warnings-were-blocked-698084
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(ACC Mentioned) Staff Aimed to Shield Pruitt from Chemical Risk He Hid from Public
Jul 20, 2018 | Huff Post
By Mary Papenfuss
When former Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt picked out an ornate desk as part of this expensive office remodel last year, staff members planned to take precautions to protect him from the ill effects of formaldehyde in the furniture, Politico reported Thursday. Yet Pruitt delayed the release of an EPA report warning the public about the dangers of ... formaldehyde.
Aides were ready to take action when they noticed a California warning on a desk Pruitt was considering ordering, noting that the furniture contained formaldehyde, a carcinogen found in pressed wood and many other products. It’s not known if the desk was ultimately ordered.
But acting deputy chief of staff Reginald Allen contacted Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, who was then head of the agency’s toxic chemicals office, to ask about the warning, according to emails obtained by nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight. She suggested the desk be aired out for days before setting it up in Pruitt’s office. Ironically, she noted the “good news” is that California “regulates formaldehyde emissions” ... so that “exposure from the desk is likely to be fine.”
At the time, an agency federal regulation limiting formaldehyde emissions had been put on hold by the Trump administration, Politico noted. In addition, a troubling draft EPA report on the risks of the chemical that was completed during the Obama administration has yet to be released by the EPA.
Pruitt, who resigned early this month amid several ethics investigations, was asked about the formaldehyde report during a Senate hearing back in January. “It’s my understanding that the EPA has finalized its conclusion that formaldehyde causes leukemia and other cancers,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told Pruitt then.
The EPA chief responded: “You know, my understanding is similar to yours.”
“The irony would be comical if not so dangerous,” Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement.
The EPA has been lobbied hard by the chemical industry to delay the report. A key member of the the American Chemistry Council lobby group — Kimberly Wise White — now sits on the EPA’s Science Advisory Panel even as she maintains her role in the lobbying organization. A former member of the group, Nancy Beck, is now a top deputy shaping the EPA’s policies on hazardous chemicals.
Politico reported that Pruitt aides, including chief of staff Ryan Jackson, blocked the report from going through an internal review, effectively stalling it and keeping it secret.
Markey and two other senators sent a letter to Pruitt in May expressing concern that “political appointees” were dragging their feet on releasing the assessment as the agency was being pressured by corporations with links to people inside the EPA.
EPA officials have denied suppressing the draft or keeping Americans in the dark about the risks they face, and are continuing to “discuss” the draft report with “our partners.”
Formaldehyde is one of the most commonly used chemicals in the nation. It’s utilized in wood composites in furniture and cabinets, as well as in cleaning products and cosmetics, and is spewed into the air by oil refineries. Formaldehyde can be inhaled as a gas or vapor or it can be absorbed through the skin in liquid form, according to the National Cancer Institute. The federal Centers for Disease Control says that formaldehyde is “known to cause cancer.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-protected-from-formaldehyde-public-isnt_us_5b515adbe4b0b15aba8d406e
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After Flint, Watchdog Urges E.P.A. to Monitor Drinking Water More Closely
Jul 19, 2018 | New YorK Times
By Mitch Smith and Lisa Friedman
The Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to intervene earlier and stop the water crisis in Flint, Mich., exposed a need for wholesale changes to how federal officials monitor drinking water systems, a government watchdog said Thursday.
A report from the E.P.A.’s Office of Inspector General said management weaknesses hobbled the agency’s response to the lead and other contaminants that poisoned Flint’s drinking water for more than a year and that federal officials should have taken stronger action to correct repeated blunders by state regulators.
“While Flint residents were being exposed to lead in drinking water, the federal response was delayed, in part, because the E.P.A. did not establish clear roles and responsibilities, risk-assessment procedures, effective communication and proactive oversight tools,” the 74-page report said.
The inspector general called for the E.P.A. to check on states annually to make sure they are complying with federal lead and copper rules, to pay special attention to state regulators in Michigan, and to improve the federal response to water contamination emergencies.
E.P.A. officials said they accepted the recommendations, though some Democrats said they remained skeptical that stricter monitoring would occur under the Trump administration.
“You actually have to get out there and do the oversight,” said Representative Dan Kildee, a Democrat who represents the Flint area. “It has to be much more aggressive.”
The report comes more than four years after Flint, a financially struggling city of just fewer than 100,000 residents, switched its drinking water source to the Flint River. The move was intended to save money, but officials failed to treat the river water with required chemicals that prevent pipes from corroding. Residents were left with discolored, odd-smelling, lead-tainted water that government officials insisted for months was safe, even as residents complained of rashes and illness.
The E.P.A. inspector general has previously faulted the agency’s response in Flint, and residents for years have blamed the tainted water on failures at all levels of government, especially the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which is responsible for ensuring safe drinking water in the state. Several state and local officials have been charged with crimes for their roles in the city’s water crisis.
The new report called for more aggressive federal oversight of states and cited instances when the E.P.A. could have used its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to intervene earlier and more forcefully in Flint.EDITORS’ PICKSCleaning Toilets, Following Rules: A Migrant Child’s Days in DetentionSilicon Valley’s Giants Take Their Talent Hunt to CambridgeWarren Is Preparing for 2020. So Are Biden, Booker, Harris and Sanders.
“The Flint water crisis demonstrates that public health is not protected when E.P.A. regional staff — with multiple warning signs — do not use” the agency’s authority under federal law, the report said.
Enesta Jones, a spokeswoman for the E.P.A., said in a statement that the agency agreed with the inspector general’s recommendations and “is actively engaging with states to improve communications and compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to safeguard human health.”
The E.P.A.’s missteps and lax oversight outlined in the report occurred during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the hands-on approach to regulation that the inspector general called for contrasts with the preferences of the Trump administration, whose E.P.A. leaders have sought to give more authority to state and local agencies.
The report was seen by some as a powerful warning to other cities and states to not stray from federal drinking water standards.
“What this does is remind us that Flint was a serious governmental failure, and that that failure has consequences for other municipalities,” said Peter Jacobson, a professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Michigan. “Flint isn’t the only jurisdiction with elevated levels of lead in the water, with failures to monitor lead levels in the water.”
As national attention on Flint’s water crisis has faded, the city’s challenges have persisted. Crews are only midway through a plan to replace lead water lines at all occupied homes in the city. And many residents were outraged earlier this year when Michigan officials ended free bottled water distribution and insisted that the city’s water now meets federal lead standards.
Eric Mays, a Flint City Council member, said Thursday that he was pleased that Flint’s situation was forcing a reckoning at the E.P.A. and other agencies that let his city down. “Flint has woke the country up and woke that agency up,” he said.
But the city remains wary. Mr. Mays only drinks bottled water.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/us/flint-water-crisis-epa.html
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Energy Regulator Working With Pipeline Agency to Speed LNG Reviews
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is working with the pipeline safety regulator to cut the review times for liquefied natural gas terminals.
The collaboration with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will better leverage each agency’s expertise and role in the liquefied natural gas terminal authorization process, FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre announced July 19 at the agency’s monthly meeting.
“The new collaborative procedures, which will be implemented imminently, will significantly reduce the time required to review LNG project applications by taking full advantage of expertise of our federal partners a PHMSA, the safety experts,” McIntyre said.
These potential impacts to public safety will be studied for every LNG terminal proposal, he said. A formal memorandum of understanding between the agencies is expected soon.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/energy-regulator-working-with-pipeline-agency-to-speed-lng-reviews
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US Crude Oil Production Hit Record Level in June
Jul 20, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
Crude oil and natural gas production hit a new record in June with the highest production ever in the U.S.
Production of crude topped 10.7 million barrels per day with production of natural gas hitting 4 million barrels per day, according to an analysis released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) Thursday.
API praised the major energy milestone as a sign of the country's "energy renaissance."
“U.S. oil production has supplied all of the growth in global oil demand so far this year and helped compensate for production losses in some OPEC nations," the group said. "With continued increases in drilling activity, the U.S. is poised for further production increases in natural gas and oil."
The analysis also found that petroleum demand with the U.S. is at its strongest since 2007.
The news comes as the United States aims to position itself as an international oil and gas provider. President Trump last week heavily promoted U.S. oil and natural gas exports during his NATO meetings in Brussels, strongly criticizing a planned Russia-Germany natural gas pipeline.
API warned though that recent tariffs placed on steel and iron imports could harm the oil and gas industry's success.
"For the energy renaissance to continue, the U.S. natural gas and oil industry critically needs policies that advance energy infrastructure around the country as well as the access of U.S. energy to global markets,” API said in its statement.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/397929-us-had-highest-production-ever-of-crude-oil-in-june
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Oil, Gas Industry Frustrated by Rejections to Steel Tariff Exemptions; Permian Pipeline Affected
Jul 19, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
Officials with the American Petroleum Institute (API) said their member oil and gas companies are frustrated with the process that the Trump administration established to request exemptions to tariffs on imported steel, with several petitions -- including one for a pipeline to service the booming Permian Basin -- already rejected on vague grounds.
Last March, the Department of Commerce outlined a procedure for the oil and natural gas industry to request an exemption from the 25% tariff on steel imports that took effect on March 8. The industry and its allies argue that specialty steel products used in pipelines and at liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities meet the criteria for an exemption because there is an insufficient supply of comparable products from domestic steel manufacturers.
According to API, its member companies have so far submitted more than 80 petitions for an exemption. Of those, Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has ruled on just 17 petitions -- granting eight and denying nine.
"We've had member companies have some of their petitions approved, and those same companies have had some of their petitions denied," API’s Aaron Padilla, senior adviser for international policy, told NGI on Monday. "They're still working to discern the difference and distinction that Commerce has drawn between petitions for very similar products from the same supplier and the same country."
Padilla said in some cases, API members have laid both approved and rejected petitions side-by-side and found few differences. The BIS has given a "very limited explanation" for why it rejected the petitions.
"The reason that's been given has been that there was insufficient information provided, that it was not a complete submission," Padilla said. Separate reviews by both API and member companies have shown that "it's not clear" where the insufficiencies lie. The companies "are individually in the process" of contacting Commerce and the BIS for clarifications.
Plains Says Rejection 'Unjust'
According to BIS records, Plains All American Pipeline LP's request for a tariff exemption was denied on Monday. Plains requested an exemption in advance of building the Cactus II Pipeline, a $1.1 billion project designed to connect the Permian Basin in West Texas to the Corpus Christi area in South Texas with a takeaway capacity of 585,000 b/d.
Plains' filing showed that it had previously contracted Greece’s Corinth Pipeworks Pipe Industry SA for 26-inch outside diameter (OD) high frequency welded (HFW) pipe needed for the project. Plains said Corinth was "one of only three mills in the world” capable of producing the pipe, and the other two mills are in China and Japan. "There is no production of such pipe within the U.S.," Plains said.
"Even in the hypothetical scenario that a domestic mill was able to technically manufacture 26-inch OD HFW pipe, if a purchase order was issued today, the mill would not likely be able to meet the pipeline system's completion targets, particularly given that the first delivery...is required in June 2018," Plains said. "Furthermore, the foregoing statement does not even take into consideration a mill's current delivery commitments for previously placed orders. Months of advanced planning are needed in such large construction projects."
BIS records show that Berg Steel Pipe Corp., which is based in Panama City, FL, had objected to the request. Berg said while no domestic steel manufacturer could produce 26-inch OD HFW pipe, there were many domestic sources for an alternative product: double submerged arc welded pipe, in both longitudinally welded and helically welded forms.
Plains called the rejection "unjust" because it had ordered the steel in late 2017, before the tariffs were enacted. The company said it would review its options to challenge the decision, adding that the project would "move forward as planned."
"Collecting a tariff on steel pipe orders for projects like this constitutes a tax on the construction of critical U.S. energy infrastructure, which is a significant unintended consequence of current trade policy and risks U.S. energy security and American jobs," a Plains spokesperson told NGI on Tuesday. "The steel tariff exclusion request review process is flawed and does not allow for an applicant to effectively engage in the review process."
The review process, according to Plains, “is opaque to applicants and appears to rely on comments that are not required to be substantiated, and on a review of undisclosed data by staff without meaningful interaction with the applicants. The process is further complicated by more than 10,000 exclusion requests and associated documents needing attention in a limited window of time. This process must be improved to best serve the interests of our country."
API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin said the decision by BIS "ignores the legitimate and critical needs of the natural gas and oil industry for global sourcing of specialty steel products essential to delivering energy to the American families.
"The administration's decision-making is not serving the interests of energy consumers and American businesses, as these tariffs are expected to increase the cost of sourcing steel for the oil and natural gas companies which in turn could increase the cost of energy to consumers. This is not the way to achieve the administration's commendable goal of U.S. energy dominance."
The crimp in Plains' plans is particularly detrimental to Permian development. Despite its current status as the most active oil and gas basin in the United States, the Permian is hampered by pipeline bottlenecks. While IHS Markit predicted last month that Permian crude oil production would reach 5.4 million b/d in 2023, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries opined that the pace of U.S. unconventional growth would "slow down considerably" starting in 2H2018, largely because of takeaway capacity constraints in the Permian.
Trade Wars Likely to Continue
The White House said the tariffs are justified on national security grounds, citing Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Last week, the administration unveiled a list of $200 billion in Chinese-made products that could be subject to a new 10% tariff. The list included LNG and offshore oil and natural gas drilling and production platforms. Beijing vowed to immediately retaliate, should the new tariff take effect in late August or early September.
API’s Chris Kelley, director of federal relations, said he thought the widening trade wars with China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, would continue.
"They're putting a lot of companies through a lot of problems, heartache and paperwork," Kelley said. "It seems to be a very arbitrary process that the Department of Commerce is instituting."
Kelley said it appeared unlikely that the White House had instituted the tariffs simply as a way to gain leverage over America's trading partners and get better trade deals. "I couldn't imagine why they would go through with the rulemaking process, the country exemption process and the product exclusion process, which are very burdensome, complicated and challenging for companies to go through, if they weren't serious about it. We haven't seen any indication that they're going to let up on these particular issues. This seems like a trend that will continue."
Padilla added that the domestic steel industry is not on the same side as the oil and gas industry over the tariffs.
"The petitions are the clearest cut examples of specialty steel products that our member companies cannot source from U.S. manufacturers," Padilla said. "Yet many of those petitions are still attracting objections from U.S. steel manufacturers, who are stating that they can manufacture a product that's close enough in the specifications that our member companies require.
"That would indicate that there's probably not going to be a common understanding of what is procurable domestically versus what is only procurable from outside the United States. On some products where U.S. manufacturers have objected, they have a different point of view than our member companies."
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/115110-oil-gas-industry-frustrated-by-rejections-to-steel-tariff-exemptions-permian-pipeline-affected
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U.S. Energy Regulator Boosts Cybersecurity Standards for Grid (1)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern and Stephen Cunningham
Power plant owners and transmission operators will be subject to expanded mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting requirements under a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rulemaking.
FERC directed the North American Electric Reliability Corp., the entity in charge of cybersecurity standards for FERC, to develop ways to improve the reporting within six months. The regulated entities will have to submit reports on cyber incidents that may enable future efforts to harm the grid, according to a final rule issued at the agency’s July 19 monthly meeting in Washington.
“Cyber threats to the bulk power system are ever-changing, and they are a matter that commands constant vigilance,” FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre said.
FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee cited an “unsettling uptick” in attempts to undermine the grid. He mentioned multiple public reports issued by both the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The current reporting threshold for cybersecurity incidents “may understate the true scope” of threats, staff said in a report in December.
Industry Push BackThe National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents rural electric companies, and the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities, are still reviewing the final rule, but they opposed the proposal from December.
The trade groups, in February comments, raised concerns that mandatory reporting requirements may weaken existing voluntary sharing practices between the industry and the government. They recommended FERC hold a technical conference to consider the impacts of the mandatory rule.
“More work is needed to determine what useful and meaningful information can be collected that is not already addressed by existing voluntary efforts to share threat information,” the groups wrote. “More work is also needed to address the related challenges and potential unintended consequences created by the commission’s proposed directive.”
New Reporting RequirementsIn the existing North American Electric Reliability Corp. cybersecurity reporting requirements, incidents must be reported only if they have compromised or disrupted one or more reliability tasks, FERC said.
Under the new requirements, entities must report cybersecurity incidents that compromise, or attempt to compromise, an Electronic Security Perimeter, which is the logical border surrounding a network to which critical cyber assets are connected and for which access is controlled, or associated Electronic Access Control or Monitoring Systems, which protect a restrictive area that requires permission to access.
The reports will continue to be sent to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Companies will also have to send reports to the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. would file an annual public and anonymized summary of the reports.
The final rule takes effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/us-energyregulator-boosts-cybersecurity-standards-for-grid-1
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(ACC Mentioned) House OKs Bill to Delay TWIC Deployment at High-Risk Facilities
Jul 19, 2018 | Transport Topics
By Eric Miller
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation calling for a delay in deploying thousands of biometric readers for transportation security cards at the nation’s high-risk ports and commercial facilities.
A companion bill in the U.S. Senate (S. 3094) has been referred out of committee but at press time had yet to go to the floor for a vote.
The House bill (H.R. 5729), passed earlier this month, requires that the U.S. Coast Guard complete an assessment of the effectiveness of the biometric readers and the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential program that has been the subject of a number of critical government studies. It specifically requires that no further rulemaking on the TWIC program be conducted until after a “security effectiveness study of the program is complete and can be used to inform future rulemaking,” a House background document said.
“The Transportation Security Administration conducts background checks and issues the credentials for eligible workers; however, high costs of credentialing, lapses in background checks and poor management hinder the program’s security effectiveness,” the document said.
The TWIC allows transportation workers unescorted access to do their jobs at ports and other facilities.
The legislation, if approved by the Senate, could backstop a proposed three-year card reader deployment delay announced by the Coast Guard last month in an apparent reaction to pressure from a number of associations representing chemical, petroleum, manufacturing and business trade groups whose facilities would be included in the reader mandate originally set to go into effect Aug. 23.
The Coast Guard notice of proposed rule issued last month said the delay will include some facilities that handle certain dangerous cargoes in bulk — such as chemicals and gasoline — but does not include a delay for facilities that receive large passenger vessels and facilities that handle bulk shipments of certain dangerous cargoes and transfer them to or from a vessel. Those facilities still would need to meet an Aug. 23 deployment date, according to the proposed rule.
Also, a federal lawsuit filed in April by three of the affected groups alleged that the Coast Guard, which oversees TWIC enforcement in port and other cargo facilities, issued a final rule that was “a surprise to the regulated community” since it differed from an earlier proposed rule. The lawsuit plaintiffs are the American Chemistry Council, the International Liquid Terminals Association and the Fertilizer Institute.
A court hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for a stay of the 2016 final rule is scheduled for July 24.
The Coast Guard said the TWIC is being used as a visual identity badge on many vessels and facilities. Essentially, the Department of Homeland Security requires that a security guard examine the security features, including a hologram and watermark, embedded on the surface of the credential, check the expiration date listed on the card and compare the photograph to the person presenting the credential.
“While this system of visual TWIC inspection provides some benefits, it does not address all security concerns, nor does it make full use of the security features contained in the TWIC,” the Coast Guard said in its original 2016 final rule calling for expanding the number of biometric card readers.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/house-oks-bill-delay-twic-deployment-high-risk-facilities
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Let Flint Serve as a Warning: Congress Must to Do More to Improve the Nation’s Infrastructure
Jul 20, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.)
It is completely unacceptable that an American city—Flint, Mich.—still does not trust the drinking water coming out of the tap.
By now, most Americans know the story of Flint’s water crisis. State officials, obsessed with budget cuts, switched the city’s water source from the Great Lakes to the Flint River to save money. These same state officials also failed to treat the city’s water properly, leading to dangerously high levels of lead leeching into Flint’s water and into the homes of 100,000 residents. Almost immediately, Flint families recognized there was a problem, but state officials dismissed their concerns, telling them to just ‘relax.’
Four years after the water switch, Flint families still depend on filters and bottled water. In the richest country in the world, clean drinking water should be a basic human right.
Today, House Democrats are going back to Flint. During our visit, we will meet with families, receive an update on the progress being made to repair the city’s water system, and highlight what more needs to be done to help Flint’s recovery. While the Flint water crisis has faded from the national headlines, our visit to Flint is an important reminder that this crisis is not over, and that Flint families still need our support.
There is progress in Flint. Nearly 7,000 of Flint’s lead pipes have already been replaced so far, thanks in part to the $170 million aid package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. These federal funds have also helped to expand health care to Flint families exposed to lead, create the Flint Lead Registry and establish the Center for Lead Excellence, which will help make sure families get the care they need for years to come.
While Flint’s recovery continues, Democrats believe more must be done, both to help Flint families and prevent a similar crisis from happening elsewhere in America.
To be clear, Flint’s water crisis isn’t just about water. This crisis is a lesson about a failed Republican philosophy of government that puts dollars and cents ahead of people. Extreme austerity at the state and federal level has a real impact on the lives of working families. Our schools, roads and health care system have been worse off under Republican policies.
In Flint, even after the careless decision to switch the water source from the Great Lakes to the Flint River, less than $100 per day could have prevented the crisis. But instead, the state’s obsessive balance sheet-approach to government created a crisis that will end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
What happened to Flint is a terrible human health tragedy that was entirely preventable. But the hard truth is, what happened to Flint is not an isolated event. Many other America’s cities and towns are just one mistake away from a similar crisis. What happened to Flint is not an anomaly—rather, it’s a warning to other communities across the country that we must get serious about repairing our aging infrastructure.
Republicans in Congress have seemingly already forgotten about the lessons from Flint. Just this week, House Republicans voted to cut $300 million for water infrastructure improvements. By cutting investments for repairs to water systems, Republicans are failing to protect public health and increasing the likelihood that other communities will face their own public health crisis.
Republicans have also failed to take up legislation to rebuild America’s aging infrastructure. Americans drive on crumbling roads and bridges to get to work and get their kids to school. Instead of having cutting-edge schools, millions of students are in buildings that are unsafe and outdated. Well into the 21st century, we still have American families without access to high speed internet. And many communities like Flint still have unsafe drinking water and are not getting help from the federal government to replace dangerous water systems.
Democrats are offering a better deal. We have a $1 trillion plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure—including our roads, bridges and water systems—across America. Our plan puts Americans to work, creating 16 million good-paying jobs. Putting Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure will make us more competitive in the global economy and unleash greater economic opportunity in communities across the country.
We must get serious about improving America’s infrastructure—both seen and unseen—and make investments in communities like Flint so a similar crisis does not happen elsewhere. This Republican-led Congress has failed—we can do better.
Pelosi is House Democratic leader and Kildee represents Michigan’s 5th District, which includes Flint.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/397946-let-flint-serve-as-a-warning-congress-must-to-do-more
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EPA's San Antonio Ozone Designation Angers Texas
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA has designated the San Antonio area's most populous county as “nonattainment” for the agency's toughened 2015 federal ozone standard, prompting a rare public clash with Texas air regulators, after the Lone Star State's Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) and others lobbied EPA to avoid the nonattainment label.
In its nonattainment classification of Bexar County, TX, signed by acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler July 17, EPA rejected efforts by Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), among others, to obtain a classification of “attainment."
The designation, required under a court-ordered deadline along with those for seven other counties in the greater San Antonio metropolitan area, completes overdue designations for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS), which the Obama EPA tightened down to 70 parts per billion (ppb) from the prior level of 75 ppb set in 2008 by the Bush administration.
Designation of Bexar County as “marginal” nonattainment requires businesses in the county to comply with strict new source review (NSR) permit requirements and local regulators to ensure the “conformity” of transportation projects with measures to ensure NAAQS attainment.
But it does not require TCEQ to craft a state implementation plan (SIP) outlining measures to attain the NAAQS. EPA designates the other San Antonio-area counties as “attainment/unclassifiable,” meaning they are presumed to attain the NAAQS even where there is a lack of monitoring data to positively confirm this.
Regardless, TCEQ in a July 18 statement said, “TCEQ disagrees with the EPA’s decision to designate Bexar County as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS as this action creates an unnecessary burden on the residents, industry, and governing bodies of Bexar County without any associated benefit from an air quality perspective.
“Governor Abbott’s recommendation was to designate Bexar County in attainment of the 2015 NAAQS for ozone. The EPA had the discretion to support Governor Abbott’s recommendation, but chose to designate Bexar County as nonattainment. The EPA’s blatant disregard for Cooperative Federalism in not supporting Governor Abbott’s recommendation shows the disconnect between states and Washington D.C.”
EPA is defending its decision based on recent air monitoring data, and to disregard likely air quality improvements that will result from the forthcoming closure of a coal-fired power plant in the area. TCEQ and Abbott advocated taking the plant closure and also international air pollution into account and designating Bexar attainment as a result.
EPA in its Federal Register notice scheduled for future publication and response to comments notes that Texas will be able to use Clean Air Act provisions on international emissions in order to ease implementation of the NAAQS. Section 179B of the law allows areas to avoid “bump ups” to more-serious nonattainment status that would in turn require tougher pollution controls, if they can demonstrate they would meet NAAQS “but for” international pollution.
Meanwhile, EPA also rejects arguments by environmentalists that many more counties in the San Antonio metropolitan area and beyond should be designated nonattainment because of their contribution to the local ozone problem. In separate comments to the agency, American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club called for more counties to be included, including some beyond the San Antonio area on the Eagle Ford shale gas production area.
But EPA says it lacks evidence to conclude that these outlying counties contribute sufficiently to the San Antonio nonattainment problem to warrant designation as non-attainment.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/epas-san-antonio-ozone-designation-angers-texas
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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Stay Youth Climate Case
Jul 19, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Dawn Reeves
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to halt discovery and an upcoming trial in the pending district court case where 21 youth plaintiffs are suing the government claiming it is violating their constitutional and public trust rights by not adequately addressing climate change.
In a July 17 application for stay in United States of America, et al. v. U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of President Donald Trump and a host of federal officials asks the high court to stay the district court case, Juliana, et al. v. United States, pending a decision by an appellate panel on its second request to halt the case.
“The government requests that this Court stay discovery and trial pending the [U.S. Court of Appeal for the 9th Circuit’s] consideration of the government’s mandamus petition and any further proceedings in this Court,” DOJ says.
But the administration also urges the high court to go further than simply staying the case, asking it to grant its own mandamus order while that same request is pending before the 9th Circuit or even to dismiss the district court ruling on the merits.
“Given the numerous manifest defects in this suit and the district court’s egregious errors, the government respectfully submits that the Court may wish to construe this application as a petition for a writ of mandamus or as a petition for a writ of certiorari from the [9th] Circuit’s prior mandamus decision and directly order dismissal of this suit or a stay of discovery and trial until the government’s pending dispositive motions are resolved,” the petition says.
DOJ's petition to the high court marks the latest effort by the government to block discovery and deposition in a case slated for a 50-day trial later this year, on what officials knew about climate change and when.
It already lost an extraordinary effort to halt the district court case before it was complete when it asked the 9th Circuit to issue a writ of mandamus -- a request the court rejected in March.
DOJ then asked again for mandamus relief July 5, from the 9th Circuit, arguing that the lower court has not, as the appellate panel had suggested in its rejection, significantly narrowed the case.
DOJ also asked both the appeals court and the district court to stay the proceedings.
But both of those requests were rejected July 16 and 17, prompting the filing to the Supreme Court.
The 9th Circuit did agree to stay the case during its first consideration of the mandamus request, but the case restarted after it rejected it.
At the same time, Judge Ann Aiken of the Oregon district court is holding a July 18 hearing on DOJ's motion for judgment on the pleadings, where DOJ seeks to dismiss Trump as a defendant in the case and makes two more arguments for why the youth's claims are not justiciable, and on a motion for summary judgment, where it states its prior objections to the plaintiffs' standing and merits of their claims.
DOJ has also moved for a protective order against all discovery, claiming it is “categorically inappropriate because it would violate the” Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution's separation of powers.
When a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit rejected the first mandamus petition March 7 it called such relief “a drastic and extraordinary remedy,” and said there is value in allowing trial courts to consider litigation “free of needless appellate interference. In turn, appellate review is aided by a developed record and full consideration of the issue by trial courts.”
But allowing the case to proceed to discovery or trial would at a minimum present a high-profile event about the risks of climate change even as the Trump administration continues efforts to roll back Obama-era greenhouse gas policies.
'Redirect Federal Policies'
In its application to the Supreme Court, DOJ argues the plaintiffs' suit is “an attempt to redirect federal environmental and energy policies through the courts rather than through the political process, by asserting a new and unsupported fundamental due process right to certain climate conditions. . . . Remarkably, the district court has allowed this improper suit to proceed for nearly three years over the repeated objections of the government and has now set aside 50 trial days this fall for the plaintiffs’ requested 'Trial of the Century.'”
Attorneys for the youth plaintiffs say the Trump administration is seeking to re-argue issues already rejected by the district and 9th Circuit courts, and also note they are not asking the courts to set climate policy but to order the government to do so.
They also mention DOJ's July 5 mandamus and stay request filed with the appeals court and say Chief Judge Sidney Thomas along with Judges Marsha Berzon and Michelle Friedland “again ruled in favor of the youth plaintiffs and denied the Trump administration's motion to stay the case. In a final attempt to stop trial, on July 17, the Trump Administration filed a motion with the United States Supreme Court to stay discovery and trial in the U.S. District Court of Oregon. The Supreme Court has yet to issue and order on that motion.”
They also submitted a formal July 13 opposition to DOJ's stay request to the district court, saying, “Defendants continue to barrage this Court and Plaintiffs with various motions to stay these proceedings, all of which have been denied. In the past [65] days, while refusing to participate in the normal discovery process,” they have filed five separate motions to halt the case.
The parties also submitted a “joint” July 16 status report that contains separate statements by the plaintiffs and defendants, each of which support their respective arguments.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-stay-youth-climate-case
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New York’s Climate Change Suit Against Oil Companies Thrown Out (2)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Peter Blumberg and Kevin Crowley
A U.S. judge threw out New York’s lawsuit seeking to hold five of the world’s biggest oil companies financially responsible for contributing to climate change.
U.S. District Judge John Keenan dismissed the city’s claims against Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips, ruling that the Clean Air Act controls carbon dioxide emissions and blocks suits such as New York’s. The problem of climate change is for Congress and the executive branch to address, he said.
“The immense and complicated problem of global warming requires a comprehensive solution that weighs the global benefits of fossil fuel use with the gravity of the impending harms,” Keenan wrote July 19.
The ruling is the latest courtroom defeat for a legal strategy that sought to paint Big Oil as similar to Big Tobacco, with claims they pushed for increased sales while hiding the dangerous effects of their products on the planet. The companies won a similar ruling in June in which a federal judge threw out complaints by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., and concluded the issue is best addressed by the other branches of government.
“The Mayor believes big polluters must be held accountable for their contributions to climate change and the damage it will cause New York City,” Seth Stein, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, said in a statement. “We intend to appeal this decision and to keep fighting for New Yorkers who will bear the brunt of climate change.”
Shell and Exxon hailed the decision.
“Judge Keenan’s decision reaffirms our view that climate change is a complex societal challenge that requires sound governmental policy and is not an issue for the courts,” Shell said in a statement.
“We have said all along that addressing the risks of climate change is a serious global challenge that should be addressed by policy makers and not by the courts,” Exxon said in a statement.
BP declined to comment.
Human RoleConocoPhillips said that while it recognizes the role of human activity in global warming, “we continue to manage and have successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions in our operations and have integrated climate-related activities and goals into our business planning,” according to a statement.
Chevron said: “It is time for this waste of taxpayer money and judicial resources to end. Responsible leaders should engage in an honest conversation about the policy issues of climate change rather than filing lawsuits and vilifying the men and women who produce the reliable, affordable energy upon which we all depend.”
Exxon, Shell, and BP have pushed back legally and in public relations campaigns that cast themselves as the solution to the world’s future energy needs. They are making the case that low-cost energy is critical to human development and that natural gas in particular can help the transition toward renewable energy.
New York sued in January, claiming the five oil companies are responsible for more than 11 percent of all the atmospheric carbon and methane pollution since the Industrial Revolution. The city argued that greenhouse gases produced by the use of the industry’s products constitute a “public nuisance"—an illegal threat to community welfare, such as a brothel, drug den or illegal hazardous waste dump—and “private nuisance,” an unreasonable interference with the use of someone else’s land.
The city argued that oil companies denied findings of climate change scientists despite knowing that the use of gas and oil posed “grave risk” to the planet. New York also claims the oil companies are liable for trespass, or the intrusion of increased heat, flooding, and sea-level rise onto city property.
The city tried to use state law to sue the companies to avoid running afoul of a 2011 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court against a suit that used federal public nuisance law to target five big power companies. New York said it should be reimbursed for costs to the city to deal with flooding, extreme weather conditions, and other harm caused by climate change.
The case is City of New York v. BP Plc, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:18-cv-182, 7/19/18.
—With assistance from Alex Nussbaum.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/newyorksclimate-change-suit-against-oil-companies-thrown-out-2
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Art of Deal Could Lie With Trump Environment Adviser, Democrats Say
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Abby Smith
Senate Democrats told President Donald Trump’s new nominee to lead the White House environment shop they are looking to her to broker common-sense environmental policy—a break from their sharp opposition that sank Trump’s first pick for the slot.
Mary Neumayr, who has served as chief of staff and de facto head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality since March 2017, faced a relatively warm reception from both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for her July 19 confirmation hearing.
But she didn’t escape all tough questions. Several Senate Democrats raised concerns about the role Neumayr would have in implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which requires agencies to review environmental impacts of infrastructure and other projects.
Neumayr told lawmakers her highest priority, if confirmed, would be to implement NEPA in a timely and efficient manner.
The Council on Environmental Quality’s role is to oversee NEPA implementation and recommend national environmental policies to the president. Under Neumayr’s leadership last year, the council revoked Obama-era guidance outlining how agencies must consider climate change impacts in NEPA reviews.
The council has signaled it intends to make fundamental changes to how it implements the environmental law, which industry and Republicans have argued slows development of infrastructure and energy projects. Last month, the council issued an advance notice seeking comment on potential updates.
More Forthcoming on Climate
Trump’s first pick to lead the council, former Texas environment official Kathleen Hartnett White, withdrew after facing opposition by Democrats over her unusual views on climate change, including comparing it to paganism.
Several Senate Democrats questioned Neumayr about climate change, an issue she has spoken little about publicly.
“I agree that the climate is changing and human activity has a role,” she said.
And she told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in response to questions about ocean policy that she understands the importance of climate change issues to coastal communities.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member on the committee, told reporters after the hearing Neumayr was “a lot more forthcoming than most” Trump administration nominees on climate change, though he added he has some further questions for her on the issue.
Neumayr suggested that despite the Council on Environmental Quality’s withdrawal of the 2016 greenhouse gas guidance for environmental reviews, agencies still have the discretion to consider climate impacts. She also said she expects to receive comments on issues related to greenhouse gas and climate change as part of the council’s June 20 advance notice seeking comment on potential NEPA updates.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked for greater opportunity for public input in that process, urging Neumayr to make a commitment to hold public hearings in each of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 10 regions on the council’s plans to update NEPA.
Neumayr pledged to consider all options for public input, but stopped short of committing to any public hearings.
“We’ll be putting more pressure on you as each day goes by to make sure the public hears what goes on,” Markey said. “I wish you would make a firmer commitment on public input.”
Broker of Compromise
Senate Republicans, meanwhile, generally expressed support for Neumayr’s nomination, and they appeared pleased with her pledges to speed the environmental review process under NEPA.
“In some cases, [CEQ] seemed like a wasteland of shelving certain projects or expediting certain projects,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said. “People can accept yes or no. It’s this maybe la-la land that harms the ability” to move projects forward.
Neumayr responded that she considers it important for the Council on Environmental Quality to reach a timely decision on environmental reviews and other policy issues.
And both Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they are looking to Neumayr to help broker agreement on challenging environmental policy matters.
Sen. Joni Ersnt (R-Iowa), for example, asked Neumayr to commit to implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard, which has pitted corn states against oil states, “consistent with the spirit and letter of the law.”
The Council on Environmental Quality “can play a supporting role, both to the EPA and other agencies with which it consults,” Neumayr told Ernst, though adding she hasn’t participated in discussions among senior administration officials on the issue thus far.
Carper suggested that Neumayr should help foster compromise on federal fuel economy standards. The Trump administration so far has appeared unwilling to work on those standards with either California regulators or automakers. He also said Neumayr should help convince the White House to support a global deal to limit potent greenhouse gas refrigerant chemicals.
“These could be not immediate but near-term wins for the environment, wins for the economy, and why we wouldn’t do that is beyond me,” Carper told reporters after the hearing. “I want to make sure she’s fully on board with that.”
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/art-of-deal-could-lie-with-trump-environment-adviser-democrats-say
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Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution Easily Passes House (2)
Jul 19, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott
A nonbinding resolution meant to signal congressional opposition to a carbon tax easily won House approval July 19, though with slightly less support than a similar measure two years ago.
The 229-180 vote on the resolution (H. Con. Res. 119) from House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), which derides a carbon tax as “detrimental” to the U.S. economy, provides a snapshot of deep resistance to such climate policies in the House. Two members voted “present.”
Six Republicans this time voted against the Scalise measure, half of them hailing from Florida: Reps. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Trey Hollingsworth (Ind.), Mia Love (Utah), Francis Rooney (Fla.), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.).
Seven Democrats voted with Scalise on his messaging resolution opposing carbon tax measures: Reps. Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Conor Lamb (Pa.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Tom O’Halleran (Ariz.), and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).
Two members voted present: Republican Ryan Costello (Pa.) and Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham (N.M.).
The vote showed a slight drop-off in anti-carbon tax sentiment, in contrast to the 237-163 vote for a similar Scalise resolution in 2016.
The GOP-backed resolution states that carbon tax policies would be detrimental to U.S. families and businesses and aren’t in the best interest of the U.S.
The limited support Democrats got from six Republicans on this year’s showdown didn’t exactly impress the Senate author of cap and dividend legislation, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Van Hollen’s bill, the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act (S. 2352) would impose a carbon fee on fossil fuel producers and return the revenues to households in quarterly payments.
“Every Republican that joins the reality caucus on climate change is important. But we’ve got a long, long way to go,” he told Bloomberg Environment. “In my view, this is going to be an issue that, in terms of dealing with it in a comprehensive manner, is going to have to await the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.”
(Updates with comment from Sen. Van Hollen beginning in eighth paragraph.)
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/anti-carbon-tax-resolution-easily-passes-house-2
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California Is Years Ahead of Schedule on Cutting Global Warming-Causing Pollution
Jul 19, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
Twelve years ago, California set a goal many energy experts thought was too ambitious: reduce climate-disrupting air pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. Last week, the state announced it had not only exceeded that goal, but did so four years ahead of schedule.
The California Air Resources Board reported that in 2016, the state emitted 429 million metric tons of carbon and other greenhouse gases, compared to 431 million tons in 1990. That’s equal to taking 12 million cars off the road since emissions peaked in 2004.
And contrary to arguments of President Trump and other skeptics, who say regulations to fight climate change hurt business, California’s economy grew 26 percent during that period. For every $1 million of goods and services, the state emits half as much carbon pollution as the national average, yet its economy is now the fifth-largest in the world.
How did California do it? With a vision to push the envelope on clean-energy technology and a commitment by state officials. And the state’s not resting on its achievement. In 2016, California set a new goal of cutting emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Cars and trucks are the state’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, which is why the state is suing the Trump administration over its attempts to roll back fuel efficiency standards. California has 400,000 electric cars – more than any other state – and it has set a target of 5 million electric cars by 2030.
But the rapid growth of renewable energy – generating electricity through solar, wind and geothermal power, rather than coal, oil and natural gas – is also a big part of the success story.
While other states consider bailouts of money-losing coal plants and allow utility companies to build natural gas plants, California is telling utilities to use renewables, energy efficiency and energy storage instead. The Air Resources Board said that, in 2016, the amount of electricity from solar power in the state grew by 33 percent. Earlier this year, the state revised its building code to require all new homes to have solar panels.
It’s time to bury for good the outdated notion that you can’t have tough environmental regulations and a strong economy. California shows that, in fact, they go hand in hand. Other states and the White House should pay attention.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/07/california-years-ahead-schedule-cutting-global-warming-causing-pollution#.W1G_rtIzZm8
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